SOUTH AFRICA: Hunt With White Lion Safaris

[randallhebert]

The only bad thing I can say is we didn't book a long enough trip. Great hunt experience With white lion from the moment we landed until we walked into the airport to leave. Great food and hospitality. Accommodation's were very nice. It was my son's graduation present and he and I haven't stopped talking about it since we got home. After supper the first night we already felt like family. Ricus and his staff will take great care of you so give them a try.


Randall and Hunter Hebert
Lake Charles, La

 

[cpr0312]

Welcome to AH @randallhebert !

Please share some pics and more stories about your hunt!

 

[randallhebert]

 

[BRICKBURN]

Glad you had a good time.

Welcome to AH.

When are you headed back?

 

[CAustin]

Welcome to AH and thank you for sharing the pictures.

 

[randallhebert]

Trying to get a bow hunt lined up in 2018.

 

[rinehart0050]

Welcome to AH. Congrats on your hunt - thanks for sharing the trophy pictures!

 

[enysse]

Welcome to AH, very nice red hartebeest!

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Welcome! Great to have a couple more folks from Louisiana. Nice work with that Ruger No.1!

Laissez les bons temps rouler! (let the good times roll)

 

[Nyati]

Welcome to AH, and congrats for your hunt !

 

[AB2506]

Massive hartebeest!

 

[randallhebert]

This trip has been 4 years in the making. Talk of going to Africa started in 2012 when I brought my alligator buyer's boss, Charles, out to see how we hunt gators. He lives in Kariba Zimbabwe and invited me to go and see there crocodile farm if I ever got to Africa. I was always joking with the wife about going and then last year she finally came out and told me to get it lined up. After talking with Charles we decided to go in June of 2016 and line up a hunt for my son Hunter's graduation present. Wife told me to go ahead and line hunt up for me also, so I didn't argue at all! Started looking to book a hunt in Zambia, Zimbabwe area, but just couldn't find anything close to my budget. Was reading my bi monthly issue of Texas Trophy hunter and found a hunt offered in the classifieds for a 2 person 7 day hunt with White Lion Safaris
for $2500. Sounded too good to be true so I contacted the individual Jennifer to find out more info. Seems that Jennifer's husband had bought the hunt at a Ducks Unlimited banquet and they were trying to get there money back. After talking with Jennifer and a email to Ricus with White Lion the check was on the way. Now the planning could begin. My wife and daughter decided that they didn't want to drag around and watch us hunt so it was decided that they would go to London and Paris( daughter has been studying French since 1st grade) for a week while Hunter and I hunted. So on May 28th we left for Houston airport to begin our adventure. Wife and daughter would fly British airway to London while Hunter and I would fly Qatar airways to Doha Qatar then to Johannesburg. After getting wife/daughter checked in Hunter and I wait until Qatar opens up 3 hours later. Flight was overbooked and we were offered $2500 dollars to fly the next day, but we had to tight of a schedule to meet. We get through security and go to our gate and run into my wife and daughter. Seems there flight had been delayed for a few hours. We got to spend a little more time together then they boarded there flight and we went to ours. Left Houston IAH airport and arrived in Doha Qatar 15 hours later. We had to go through security screening when landing and going into the terminal and then again before you boarded your next flight. Doha has to be the nicest airport I've been in. After a 5 hour lay over in Doha we head to Johannesburg. After 8 hours we arrive. A 3 hour layover then a 45 minute flight to Bloemfontein South Africa. I had woke up at 7 am on Saturday May 28th to get things ready to go and we land at 4 pm Monday the 30th in Bloemfontein, so after 57 hrs of very little sleep we land in a exact replica of south Texas. We met our guide Jacko and loaded our gear up and headed out to the lodge. Defiantly not south Texas. After leaving city limits we drove a hour and a half out to the lodge. Looked like Eastern New Mexico. Arrive at lodge in the dark and crack open a cold beer. Meet Ricus and sit down to a great dinner. After dinner and a few glasses of great S. Africa wine it is time for bed.

 

[randallhebert]

Wake up the next morning at 6 am and go eat breakfast then walk outside top this beautiful view. The abuse of the last three days is defiantly worth it. Sights, sounds and smell are so spectacular that I started planning trip two. After breakfast its off to the range to shoot the rifle (Ruger #1 30-06)we will be using for the hunt. On the way to the range we come across a female warthog with 4 small ones. While shooting at the range we have a young impala watch us the whole time we shoot. Begin driving around and see Mountain reedbuck, steenbok, zebra, blue and black wildebeest, springbok, blesbok and white blesbok. We make a stalk on a lone blesbok but can't get close enough. When Jacko says lets take a little walk it means lets hike 7 miles and climb 2 mountains, so this flat lander was ready when he suggest we head back to the lodge for lunch. On the way back to the lodge we come across a lone blesbok out in a big opening. He would run ahead of the vehicle then stop so we got out behind a acacia and let our tracker Johannes drive and get ahead of him. It worked as the blesbok turned around and comes back our way. He runs up about 75 yds and turns broadside. Hunter hits him behind the shoulder and he starts trotting off. Tell him to hit him again and down he goes. Get the salt ready boys.
After lunch we got a chance to get a safety nap then headed out. Found a mama warthog with 3 smalls one. Stop to look at them and notice another hog in the brush. Get out to make a stalk but he has broken tusk so he gets a pardon. Drive around and are glassing some impala when we see what we think is a jackal. Hunter grabs the rifle and gets him in the sights. Jacko tells him to hold on, He looks through the scope and sees a aardwolf. We watch him for about 5 minutes and lose him. Very surprised as it is about 4:30 in the evening. Head down to the river to look for impala. Walk up on a young male hog and a old grizzled hog with a huge tusk on left but broken off at gums on right. Lucky is his new name. Have 4 young waterbuck bulls come by and we call it a day. Head back to the lodge for several cold beers, a warm fire, great company, meet Ricus's lovely wife Neilia and son John, awesome dinner and BED.

 

[rinehart0050]

Sounds like a great hunt so far. Congrats on your trophies. I only hear good things about Ricus and While Lion Safaris.

 

[randallhebert]

6/1/16 Wed

Wake up at 6 and eat breakfast. Going look for me a bushbuck this morning. They have been seeing one sunning in an old onion field near the river. Start stalking around looking and come around a cat claw bush and run into the bushbuck coming around the other side. He busted out of there. We looked for a while longer and found a female than gave up. While walking back to truck we found a Meer cat colony. Very interesting animals. Drive around and come up on a nice warthog with large tusk. Get out and put a stalk on. Hunter has only a small head shot opportunity and misses. Left there and go looking for the big blesbok from the first day and run into a nice springbok. My turn. Right through the boiler room and he piles up after a 50 yard dash. Get to start my own salt pile now! Headed back to the lodge for lunch. Spot Mt reedbuck, 6 red hartebeest, blesbok, springbok, warthog, black wildebeest.
After lunch and a short nap we head back out. We jump a herd of impala and try to catch up but are unable to. Ride some more and come up on a warthog. Make a stalk but he is lacking in the tusk department. We walk to a hidden bowl and glass and find a herd of 25 blesbok with 2 nice impala rams fighting around them. They are about 1000 yds away. Begin to stalk but by the time we get there the impala have disappeared. We decide to take a blesbok so I get on the rifle but it is to dark and we can't make out enough detail to tell male from female so we back out and head in.

 

[randallhebert]

6/2/16 Thurs

Head back this morning to where we left the blesbok last night with no luck. Find a nice impala but he is after a ewe and never stopped long enough for Hunter to get a shot. We take a couple short walks and climb a couple mountains looking for gemsbok and impala but no luck. Head in for lunch and a much needed nap.

Head out for the evening hunt and see 5 young warthogs, bunch of young impala, mt reedbuck, blue, black wildebeest, steenbok, hartebeest. Everything but what we're after. That's hunting. Get a text from my wife on the way back to the lodge. They were on there way from London to Paris on the train and some a-hole stole her wallet with all her credit cards, id and $500. Bad day all the way around.

 

[rinehart0050]

sorry to hear about the trouble in Paris.

 

[randallhebert]

 

[randallhebert]

My sons wart hog and my springbok. Yes it was hectic trying to cancel cards and getting them registered in new room. Thank god for cell phones. Able to take pictures of my Drivers license and card and get them settled in for the remainder of there stay.

 

[randallhebert]

6/3/16 Friday

Jacko has to go to Johannesburg and pick up some hunters so Ricus will be our guide for a few days. Start hunting and come up on a springbok trying to go under the fence to the next pasture. Try to stalk but can only get to 300 yds and he makes us. Hunter try's the shot and misses. Make our way into the middle of the ranch into what I think of as Texas hill country terrain. Climbing and stalking around the edge of the cliffs we spot some Blesbok and start a stalk. We get around 200 yds and they lay down. get set up and then wait on the ram to stand up. He finally stands up and I shoot and hit him behind the shoulder. He takes off and runs about 75 yds and stops so I shoot him again. He runs about a 100 yds and drops. We load him in the truck and start back to the lodge. Break out of hills and find a gemsbok but he's on the wrong side of the fence! Found a nice impala ram but was unable to get Hunter a shot. Saw zebra, impala mt reedbuck, warthog, waterbuck, gemsbok, springbok and steenbok.
After another great lunch and a much needed nap we head out again. We climb a mountain looking for gemsbok and come across a springbok. Stalk and get within 120 yds and get Hunter set up. He jerks the trigger and hits a rock in front of the springbok. The harassment starts. We drive around and come up on a warthog that is standing right outside his hole. Hunter gets out and shoots him in the head at 45 yds. Amazing what a little harassment will do for your shooting. Walk up and notice he has a broken tusk but still a nice hog. Head back to the lodge for supper and a couple of cold beers. Saw mt reedbuck, warthog, waterbuck, gemsbok, springbok.