SOUTH AFRICA: Management Hunt With Game 4 Africa Safaris

[CBH Australia]

Just a quick start on my first overseas trip and paid hunt (lunch break) where i hunted South Africa. I try hunt pigs and any pest animal where I can. i enjoy my firearms and shooting so managing pest suits me just fine.
I advertised here last year for a cull hunt and got many offers. I chose to hunt with the Coetzee family of @Game4Africa Safaris a family run business started by the father John and now managed by Colin and Wikus Coetzee. My primary contact was Wikus. All Sako enthusiasts., They also own Connocks butchery in Grahamstown. i think this may be where John and his late wife started before establishing a game ranch.
Wow, its all a blurr now. We arrived at Port Elizabeth airport on the 4 January travelling light with carry on as suggested here. our backpacks conformed to size and came in just under the allowed 7 kg . we were repeatedly asked is we had any other luggage as we made transfers. we walked through the PE airport quickly and I identified my PH Lionel Wicks who would guide us for the next week. He had their cool logo on his hat and shirt. i had it all worked out and he was looking into the crowd looking for his client. i walked straight up and greeted him, I think he was a little surprised as we were quick to transfer and again we were asked if we had luggage.
Then its off to Kudu Ridge maybe 2 hrs from PE and closer to Grahamstown. Lionel was very knowledgeable and spoke a bit about the history and settlement of South Africa as he drove.
We arrived at Beer O'Clock and were treated to beers and Biltong on arrival. I may have made it known i wanted to try the genuine stuff.
Next was supper (Tea or Dinner) Now a Lamb roast is always a favourite with Aussies and some roast chicken portions pleased my wife. A variety of veg and Milk Tarte for desert . It has the consistency of custard tart but a different flavour as it is based on plain milk reduced and set without custard as such. Nice. We ate with Lionel , Wikus and his Fiance Brittany. Colin and Claire were on a their honeymoon being their off season. Wik and Brittany's wedding is fast approaching. we discussed my hunt and they used they identified that I am not a collector. No im not a trophy collector but i was happy to take game animals that would be utilized as meat. This was about hunting Africa not collecting trophies.
The next morning I had coffee and tried Rusks (Home made biscuit of African origin ideal for dunking in coffee ). We went to the range and checked the Sako, I was impressed to be able to use a suppressor as they are heavily restricted in Australia with virtually no permits approved for hunting.
I fired 3 of Wik's hand-loads and Lionel was satisfied and we went hunting.
we started at the far end to start to scout Kudu and see where animals are running. I had 10 animals on my list.
My first animal in Africa was a female Impala

I was doing the African thing hunting in shorts.

 

[BenKK]

Awesome! I’ve been wondering how things went! I’m looking forward to reading more.

 

[CBH Australia]

We headed back for Brunch and Siesta.By the end of day 1 I had my first Warthog, they look so cool, like my Game4Africa hat and shirt

Then it was beers back at camp and another well done meal with all the trimmings. Some beers before tea maybe wine at the table and some whisky after dinner. Never in excess except maybe the food. We always had generous portions for each meal and I had been eating everything on offer on the plane out of boredom.
The Warthog was shot from a Cliff overlooking the Lands. The Lands are like an improved pasture of Cooch Grass, thats what an Aussie would call it. Strangely they are in drought and the property is dry but there is plenty of water for irrigation so they water the Lands. The lands are situated around the property and were originally grazing pasture when the property ran livestock as opposed to running the native animals as stock managed as a hunting enterprise. Its then we learned that in SA the animals are owned by the farmer whereas any native in Australia is owned by the state. Kangaroos are abundant in Australia and may well outnumber what we saw as stock in our travels but In Australia all natives are protected and can be culled by permit or harvested professionally under licence paying a tag fee or royalty.
The Warthog was measured by Lionel as being 230m and thats a long shot in my books given different hunting situations back home. Lionel was just hold it on where you need to hit it. I used short sticks sitting on the edge of the cliff (Nothing like trying something new at this time) i aimed, I held, I squeezed and the shot rang out, I saw the swine buckle I heard the report and he made maybe 20m before stopping dead.
ive misplaced my notes due to work related travel I haven't stopped so I wont get the meals in order but i will try.
The next day would see me viewing some Kudu, Impala Wildebeeste, Buffalo, We looked far and wide. We saw Kudu but it was a management hunt and I just wanted to hunt Africa. I cant afford a Mained Lion or import it anyway so just hunting for meat was enough to satisfy me this time. and I think it was a Warthog in the morning as we travelled from the top surveying what was around and we stopped, got off the Bakkie and started to Stalk warthog. They kept walking slowly we tried to close the gap and get on the sticks. We moved up I was on one and he wanted to keep strolling away from me, i positioned myself waiting trying to keep on him but he wasnt playing ball. Lionel was can you take him? That was all the approval i needed, i fired and hit him behind the ribs dropping him (A bit far back) but he went down and was dead. Congratulations to me and Lionel went to bring the Bakkie up. I sat with Mike the tracker who would accompany us on all hunts. He looked younger than 37 but he was happy go lucky and seemed to enjoy the work and the gratitude we showed when he helped out or just done his job.
Another Impala in the afternnoon for the chiller and something to keep the skinners/farm staff busy.
Another hearty meal of Kebabs and some exotic animal backstrap, Kudu perhaps. I indulged and had desert as it was local I don't eat desert often but we did not pass up opportunity to try different things.
Day 3 , January 7th Well that was our 25th Wedding Anniversary so I generously decided to abstain from a days hunting as that's the sort of person I am. "Hey do you want to go to Africa for our Wedding Anniversary we've never been overseas, All my new friends on this forum tell me its great, Her OK" Giving up one day was part of the plan its only fair.
We went to Addo Elephant Park , Lionel took us in and was our PH/driver/guide on the day. We saw maybe 100 Elephants, The Lion were partly hidden by brush and the Baby Elephants entertained us. They just seem to play like infants do its good to see. It rained light showers on and off that day. We had a great meal at the Steak Baron inside Addo. We only went mains it was great steak,
We travelled back to our lodge taking some back roads. we saw various animals on farms including Golden Wildebeeste. We saw locals selling Prickly Pear fruit roadside. It appears they walk from town and harvest fruit and sit by the road selling what they can. It shows we are fortunate in our lives. In Australia the Prickly Pear is a noxious weed. I had heard some immigrants eat it but its never been that common.
Beers at the Lodge the wife took a liking to the local Apple Cider Savanna and Savanna light. The local beers were good and we had another meal prepared by the domestic staff . Now this I remember as we had a desert called Peppermint Crisp, It seemed to have a lot of fresh cream and a mild mint flavour with a Peppermint Crisp Chocalate bar broken over the top. Delicious. I don't eat dessert so much but i make up for it with a little chocolate. This dessert was nice i may have overindulged on this one.
Its 11:30pm more tomorrow

 

[Mr. Zorg]

What a great so-far rolling trip report!

FWIW in Texas and northern Mexico prickly pear is abundant in the wild and is often used in landscaping / xeriscaping. Pickled strips of the pads (nopalitos) are eaten often with scrambled eggs by some folks. The best dishes I've had from the fruit were prickly pear sherbet made by a coworker back in the 90's, and I made a prickly pear based barbecue sauce a couple of times to go with smoked pork ribs. I hadn't heard it was in Australia but I understand the troubles with invasive species. The South American fire ants transformed the American South into a permanently very different place during my boyhood, and Africanized bees crossed into Texas in the 1990's.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Great report Chris! Looking forward to the rest. I too have mostly been a meat hunter all my life. I think that is one reason I’m still pretty healthy.

 

[BenKK]

Fine shooting on that warthog!

 

[Firebird]

Enjoying your report and fondly remembering the meals there. I hope you had kudu meatballs and Oomas crunchies(I think what they are called) Probably got your tail whipped at darts at some point .
Now back to the hunting and more pix please!

 

[CBH Australia]

Enjoying your report and fondly remembering the meals there. I hope you had kudu meatballs and Oomas crunchies(I think what they are called) Probably got your tail whipped at darts at some point .
Now back to the hunting and more pix please!

No darts, being off season the lodge is undergoing a major renovation and the boys focussed their attention elsewhere. My PH is a longtime family friend of the Coetzee family and freelance PH.
We visited the butcher shop and while it’s a large shop they were in quiet time reducing the variety of produce over January (No meatballs)
There is new homestead that’s Colin and Claire reside in and that can accomodate clients so we were staying in there.
Maybe Next time the lodge will be complete and there may be some little Cooetze offspring coming on as the next generation to run Kudu Ridge. I know one of the wives hunt So it’s in the blood.

 

[CBH Australia]

Jan 8th 2020, a Wednesday. This was the day I woke up sick, none of the usual suspects i just felt like I had Knots in my stomach and it was quite uncomfortable.
OK but I'm not wasting a hunting day I waited my whole life to go to Africa. This would be the day we would hunt hard for Kudu. They run in the hills and the hills have dense bush mostly the succulent that we call Jade (Spekboom or Elephant ear) even in drought the place had plenty of cover and growth. We drive the roads in the hills and look for walk and stalk opportunities. Walking was expected to relax my aches but no luck there. WE saw Kudu. We saw one with a broken horn. Broken near the base so more so only one horn. No there is a challenge and it would be good to take as a management animal but he evaded us. We hunted some more and passed up trophy grade animals and the like. I wasn't well so we looked to take an Impala doe from one of the cliffs. Hey ive got this i done it before. Well we found a candidate and got in position, it was windy and my stomach tight but Im going to have a go. It seemed like a long shot but downhill I set I aimed i tried and I got a clean miss (note absence of photo) What happened was maybe a combination of things and i may have flinched too. Lionel said afterward the shot it was only 160m, Im not good at estimating distance and mostly shoot game under 100m with maybe 200m coming in occasionally. He had a nice set of Lieca binoculars with a range finder in them.
I think that was the only time we went back empty handed. We had Brunch relaxed for some, Tried some more Peppermint Crisp desert and had Siesta.
That afternoon we went back out and there was talk of finding the broken horn. Well it was something to aim to achieve. we went around the tracks where Kudu can be found but its a big area and one specific animal. we tried we hunted we looked. i thought our tracker might be able to find it. Mike was the tracker, he has keen eyes and doesn't miss much. OK trackers track, we wanted the broken horn the lop sided one. The tracker will call it "Walks with Limp" and track it for a stalk. No it doesn't work like that "Myth Busted" maybe that's American Indians.
We found Kudu in the hills and a suitable Cow to take. Still crook but Keen as Mustard we started to follow and close the gap leaving my wife in the Bakkie. This would be the second time in my life that I would wear shorts in the bush. OK we found thorns prickles and other African flora that cut into my lily white legs but we pushed on. We saw an opportunity and put a stalk on it. WE were around 200m so it was not or never settling on the sticks, taking steady aim and squeezing off the fatal round I saw the cow take a hard hit and go down. Of course this one was across a gully. WE had eyes on where it dropped so Mike went forward to locate it while Lionel and I secured the rifle and drove up in the Bakkie. There was talk of bringing skinners up to pull it out but Mike was able to find access and I couldn't see the point in bringing staff out for a 5 minute lift so we worked together with Lionel to bring it to the Bakkie while our trusty tracking dog Rocky tried his best to pull our trophy his way. I'm not used to being a client i just get in and do things.
I said to Lionel that night we thought we would like to see Pumba game reserve and I would book it for the 10th, again he insisted we will arrange this so he called Wikus who was away for a couple of days and asked to have it booked. Its how they do business.

I must add that the property has Lands out the front of the Lodge starting at 200m and ranging out to 4oom while probably longer that 100m wide. This lands (Field) is protected , One they dont shoot it but with a hill behind it and the infrsastructure on the other side on raised grounds it gives animals protection from the wind and hunting pressure so animals feel free to roam and raise young around there. Any given time of the day you could see game animals that graze there and come travel freely through. There is almost always Warthog and water buck but there are Tortoise, Vervet Monkey, Baboon, Zebra, Buffalo that all make an appearance while enjoying a coffee or cold beverage.

January 9th, Not feeling any much better we were still going Hunting, Now this time we went to scout Kudu starting out the back and coming in. We saw Giraffe on the property and got close enough for great pics.
We were to see the One Horn again and John Cooetze had come back for a couple of days and he is still a keen hunter. John the founder of the family business came across to greet us. Lionel said John may pursue the one horn just for the thrill of the hunt but he wasn't hunting the block while we were there.
We went out the back seeing one horn again but not able to dismount quickly enough. we saw Kudu break in different directions and thought we may catch up by walking up hill and down dale. We walked and tried our best but could not get a show at him or suitable management animal. We sat patiently at the end of a gully but he did not show.
I think this was the morning we took the Impala Ram and that was a slightly easier stalk than the elusive One Horn. Rocky in photo.

That afternoon we went to hunt again. WE spoke about Wildebeeste and there a was a Lone Bull and a herd. We passed up on a shot at a Blue Wildebeeste with a damaged horn for its proximity to the herd. Today we would target it. we would scout the high ground and see where they were running and then we walk to a position where we can plan a stalk. Mike saidd they are hard to kill and I had no doubt. I had read this. i try head shoot animals where possible but its not done in Africa but we were hunting from sticks not a seated vehicle rest. So when in Africa do what Africans do. We found the herd we walked to a vantage point and we planned a stalk. We moved cautiously through the Veldt and found a clearing with a clear shot at the cull animal. and then we followed that same practice that was now well rehearsed. and these words that Lionel would recite each hunt. "Get on the sticks" , "Wait" , "Take it" . "Reload" and generally well done when we made the call on its fate. The Wildebeeste was hit hard but ran. We tracked it with Mike as it was out of sight breaking up the road to make its escape. Mike pointed out what he was reading in the tracks and which track was ours as it showed it running. We obviously started from where it was hit and he found blood spore then we went 20 feet of track he said no wrong tracks we veered left and the animal had not made more than 200m before succumbing to the fatal shot.
Mike called the staff for assistance speaking Xhosi. I said are the boys coming out. He said yes i just called them, I said thanks but I could not understand a word you said, he just chuckled. I asked all involved to get in the photo as while they are reliant on tips to supplement income they also appreciate us including them. They got a thumbs up as they drove off and we finished the afternoon at the homestead

 

[BenKK]

More good shooting!

I remember feeling so sick on my second day, trying to stalk kudu!

 

[Mr. Zorg]

I really like your Hemingway-esque use of WE, reminiscent of The Old Man and the Sea to me anyway. "We caught a fish . . ."

 

[Neale]

Nice shooting CBH. Sounds like you enjoyed your trip.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

@CBH Australia , sounds like you had a great time with the @Game 4 Africa Safaris crew. I didn't hunt with Lionel on either of my hunts, but I met him and his wife and they were great. What was the temperature? I imagine it being quite warm in January.

 

[CBH Australia]

We had decent weather. Light showers on tour days. Its hot in Australia but i think it was coller than expected for the time we were there

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

I really like your Hemingway-esque use of WE, reminiscent of The Old Man and the Sea to me anyway. "We caught a fish . . ."

One of my favourite authors I'm only two books short of finishing my collection.

 

[BenKK]

We need more of this story, CBH!

 

[CBH Australia]

Sorry. Ive been at work and spend a lot of time driving. With work and being a remote worker
I will follow up asap

 

[CBH Australia]

I’ve been camping at the river for a couple of days .
So day 6 on Safari we made plans for Pumba game reserve. We got up early and were treated to bacon and eggs for breakfast. Cooked breakfast was always on offer but coffee and rusks were enough on hunting days.
We travelled to the game reserve with Lionel telling us a little about it. We would see different animals as they have a larger variety than Addo. Apparently Addo keep what would have been native in the area and Pumba have animals from the big five for all to view. Both have game running free and free to wander through the landscape of choice and feeding on natural feed.
Addo was good and we saw plenty of elephants including young ones and Pumba was good to for a different experience.
We were dropped at Pumba for a game drive and lunch so we were greeted by Bianca on arrival and made welcome with tea coffee and cold drinks available. We had a short wait for the tour vehicle and unfortunately both tour days we had rain. Fortunate for the area that desperately needed it. Lionel said often the weather can’t often be different pending whichever side of the mountain we were on as Kudu Ridge is one side and Grahamstown and these reserves are the other.
Our open Safari vehicle arrived and we were provided with Ponchos, it was looking like we would have some drizzly rain setting in but we were all tourists and all keen.
We were not too far from our start point when we saw 2 lions and that was good. Probably under 100m and relaxing on their back. The guide advised they are likely to lay around up to 20 hours per day and laying on their back is an indication they have a full belly and are digesting food. We were told at the start to stay in the vehicle and while we are in in we are seen as a one large object therefore we were safe from the animals.
We toured some more seeing all types of animals. Many Impala and other antelope (seen em) we saw elephant, rhino and many others . Giraffe too. We drove various tracks in the park with a bit of weather and rain ever changing.
We spotted some Cheetah walking toward the ridge then I spotted fresh kill down from them. Maybe we were 10 minutes or more late to see the action. We stopped and viewed and the settled on a rocky out crop . The guide new the tracks well and said we will get closer from the other side so we drove around and came up behind them. We were under 200m I guess and the guide said we can walk closer, what? He said they don’t attack humans we are seen as being to big for prey and we walk in a group. I felt so much better when he carried a stick. We got within about 60m allowing people to get some good photos.
We toured for a few hours and we even went past a Lion sitting up. I liked that we stopped to view him. I like Lion. We sat and watched while he watched us. He was sitting up which suggests he wasn’t digesting his last meal, maybe contemplating his next!
We travelled a little further and no exaggeration it was no time more than 500 metres of that Lion and we got in a sticky situation. The roads were all dirt , moreso clay so they would get slippery and tyres tread would fill with mud losing traction, this action is compounded as you travel up an incline. Being a slight rise water runs down and then there is erosion. Well as the vehicle lost traction and slide the passenger side started to slide into the channel caused by erosion. Then the vehicle started to slide lose traction and being top heavy with the raised seating it was starting to get a little unstable. Unstable not unsafe. The tourists would not have been used to this. I work in the bush and have been in all sorts of bother at times so it’s hard to let someone else drive. He stopped and asked us to climb out the passenger side which happened to be the side with one wheel up so any movement rocked that way. I suggested maybe that’s not best but I went first not ideal but it wasn’t going to move far.
I looked at the situation and suggested he back down in along the washout staying stable and reversing back 100 m or so. No he wasn’t having it and asked us to stand on the driver side. Ok, the whole time I’m thinking just how far back did We see that Lion?
To my surprise after 5 minutes the guide adopted my strategy and backed into the washout and reversed down. Each time he tried to drive up it he met resistance. My way worked, it generally does. Now please don’t take me as a Boof Head because I’m pretty quiet but I have experience and some common generally think it out before I open my mouth.
We backed down and took an alternative route. We saw many Pumba as we drove around they seemed to be a favourite among tourists and my self. I just think they are unique in their looks . Other pig species don’t seem to vary so much in the way they look.
We made our way to the Boma where were greeted with hot face cloths to wash up. We entered to find tables set up to accomodate each group size. My wife and I being 2 people still found an open bottle of red and white wine allocated to our table and we were offered other options if we wished and that would be beer and wine tea and coffee. Oh and I was still off on this day with the stomach pain but I would try the food anyway. I suspect part of the problem was overindulging in food so I cut back.
The food was good, the stew was predominantly meaty and that suits me.
There was Malba pudding and other desert. On offer. I tried it all.
We enjoyed the meal and would thoroughly recommend it. You might say it was more like home cooked local dishes but they were all good and part of the African experience for us.
We were returned to the main office and were met by Lionel and his wife who had come out from town to collect us from the reserve.
Both tour days we had some rain and steady drizzly rain. Addo has sealed roads and is accessible anytime with self drive or guided tour vehicles. Pumba is guided and is unsealed roads and set tour times with lunch and tour all inclusive .
The meal at Addo was great and included in my package from Game4Africa but basically they still pay entry and then restaurant fee but it was requested when I booked.
At Pumba the entry is a guided tour with meal included. This was a decision made once I was on target with getting my quota.
On the day each park will be different. In my experience on the day I think I liked Pumba but would suggest people research tho options as on the day Addo put on a great display with us seeing maybe 100 elephant from different groups

 

[CBH Australia]

Last chapter, i have been home travelling working and we are starting to get some much needed rains. Africa is in drought and so are we .

So 2 hunting days left @Game 4 Africa Safaris , 1 Warthog and 1 Kudu bull to go. John Coetzee (Coot-Zea) came across to wish us good-luck and say goodbye as he would depart in the morning, I was surprised but then this is the man who built this business and so i'm sure that is a part of his success is actively interacting with clients. he had been tracking my progress and congratulated me on my progress and success. that being that my track record as one shot kills other than the clear miss i have owned up to in an earlier installment. Now i liked the man and appreciate the fact he made a personal effort to come and meet with although he takes a back seat with the operations now. The only thing that concerned me was that John might show an interest in the one horn Kudu Bull that was recently discovered. Now that was a concern, imagine hunting hard on a management hunt and getting to take something that you truly worked for and that was unique and a trophy in its own right. A Unicorn and a challenge! With John out of the way maybe i had a chance.

We started the day with Brekkie then into the Bakkie heading out to look where the Kudu. we drove we looked we scoured the hills. we tried we glassed and then we passed, we tried we looked and could not see Ole' "One Horn". we think it gave us the slip the previous day. Plan B we chase a Warthog. One left on the list and i like hunting Feral Pig back home and these just look Cooler anyway. we went where we would find a nice Warthog, many of the animals were somewhat predictable but i find our pigs are creatures of habit. we had various places and while some Warthog were transient and moving between properties there was good amounts of game and Baby Warthog to be seen at different times. its good to see the numbers and good game management. if that were Australia and those were feral pigs i would have different views and they would be pest management not game management.

We drove to some vantage points, glassed some pigs and looked for a suitable cull. we finally found an opportunity and then it was time to stalk in a little closer. we went for a short walk stalked in a little closer viewed some pig and found our position. Lionel put up the sticks, we followed that process of "get on the sticks" aim. Wait, wait, ( i'm holding out on you intentionally here) I had the rifle loaded and safety off, i had my finger running on the side of the stock above the trigger guard. Then the words take it! i done my part I aimed, squeezed the trigger and watched the impact. A hit, pig buckles and runs. What? it seems maybe the shot was a little high and it ran, like a bastard. We saw where it ran and it was right into the thorns. Cuss, No this was my last warthog. How could i mess this one up. i want that pig.

Mike and Lionel speaking in Xhosi and using that palatal click thing in the conversation. Lionel explains Mike will call the boys and they will bring Rocky. It wasnt long and he skinners were out on location and Rocky was keen to help. They put Rocky on the scent where we he went in the thorns. like the dog had that pig in no time down and dead. The only problem it was maybe 5 metres in and someone had to bring it out. So without hesitation the skinners crawled in with their 10 foot of nylon rope and tied it onto a leg and started to pull it out. i cant stand by and watch but i wasn't keen on the thorns so i grabbed the rope and tried to pull it out. im not sure what the boys made of this the client trying to do their job but its my trophy and i want it out.
We got the warthog out and i was happy to be sure i done my part. Yes the shot was a little higher than "ideal" but still fatal and quick. it really didnt run that far but out of sight was farther than i expected.
I thanked the boys and took pics, some of which were downloaded in any order as my wife posted them to me and they are not in order.

Next the usual stuff we went for brunch proudly serve by the domestic staff. my notes also are missing in action so it was nice i would remember if I complained. Somehow i never forget a bad experience and the good ones are just hey yeah that was good but nothing to report.

That afternoon we could chase Kudu again. No [pigs left on the list so i may as well see why everyone gets all excitable over Kudu. Actually i recall its tastes OK. Now if i can get the One Horn its means Ive had a "Fair crack at it" just like any Aussie would. we done the Kudu thing we looked for it around Kudu Kluif (Kudu Valley) and we did not see him, we saw other Kudu ( Game4Africa Safaris "Your best shot at Kudu in South Africa) We found other opportunity and decided to do a short stalk on a nice animal. yep, you know the drill we went through the motions and i got the approval to take it. i fired and saw it take a hard hit going down but back up without hesitation. Really not again i stuffed up my last shot in Africa. we all lost sight but believed it moved forward of its position. Lionel made a plan to try view it around the corner, we were waiting and ready but there was no show of the Grey Ghost. Rocky and Mike were in the hills looking hard but needed to get on the spore to track. We were all getting twitchy and radios were not behaving and we cant see it. that was a pretty intense 10 minutes.
Finally Mike signals he has it. Dead in a bush. Much relief for me even though I am not a trophy collector. I ws always happy to see the meat utilized and i did not want to waste a thing.
We called for back up and Mike called his mates speaking his lingo. When they arrived they moved it to a position to get a nice picture

although we already had a nice picture of Mike standing behind it in the bush. Only problem its not his but they are all part of my trip.
After the photo opportunity the boys gutted the animal preserving any parts that are eaten. (Not by me . Meat eater). They secured the animal to a pole and carried it out.

We returned home and the honeymooners were packing an esky for a picnic. They went to the hills with wine and Biltong. Some call it Sundowners in Africa, But hey if that's what they call it these days, In Australia we would just smile.

We had our own generous nibble trays each day with various local beverages so we were set. beers and Biltong with my PH and later Colin and Claire joined us for supper and a few beers on the patio. For the record i never mentioned their romantic escape or asked where they were.

The next morning we had plans to visit Lionels farm we discussed just filling in the day and he said we might be able to get a baboon from the hide. i had never considered these as a hunted animal but learned here after joining just 10 months ago that they are destructive and need some control measures limiting numbers.

We looked around Lionels farm and saw some different game , we did not see Baboon but he says they can be seen on the Lucerne. Driving back we saw Baboon' on he Cliff or Kranz. Lionel asked if i would like to shoot one I said can we? he said its my mates property we are passing through i will ring and get permission. Done! they are tricky little buggers and were quick to shift or hide when i was aiming. I got 2 and wanted to get one off the cliff . i started my ascent and thought I was doing Ok and Lionel is calling out to come down and im kind of determined to get this thing even if i had to throw it down.
Lionel was always looking out for us in town and on tour clearly he could see we would talk to anyone and he wanted to keep us out of trouble. He was most relaxed when when we were hunting at least and that made me feel like i was doing OK as a client i just dont make a good tourist as i was scammed for a 20 rand by a porter at Tambo Airport.

Anyway i had told Lionel @Kawshik Rahman story about an Indian Shikari who was hanged after his clients death from his own poor choices getting him killed. Lionel is reminding me of this as Im climbing but I just said no its OK i don't think they do that here. The climb got the better of me so I came down and we returned to Kudu Ridge.

We had Tea/Dinner/Supper with Wikus and Brittanny , Colin and Claire, Lionel and were joined by Lionel wife and Im sorry but her name does escape me (But she did share a Buttermilk rusk recipe). We all talked for a bit had my last local beer and tried to encourage them to partake in the Great Aussie Spirit Bundaberg Rum. We discussed maybe even returning in a couple of years when i turn 50 about 2 years and some days from now. Wik' did offer to leave the One Horn for me if i was going to book again. Hmm, tempting.... Me i would maybe shoot the horn off one if a client was chasing one. its not hard to find a Kudu at Kudu Ridge but the one horn eluded me but Im sure there are some nice trophies available for those who want to choose.

We slept well got up early had Breakfast and one last Rusk. We said goodbye to Lionel's wife and started toward the Port Elizabeth Airport where we fare-welled Lionel and thanked him for our trip. and went to check in.

I believe Wikus and Brittany's marriage is fast approaching , this month i believe.

I mentioned that I know at least one of the wives hunt (maybe both) but one proudly has her Kudu on display. She was smiling but i'm not sure if its a sore point with the other half who's trophies were not on display. Yet?

If you want to know who has their TROPHY KUDU on display you might have to go and meet the Coot-Zeas yourself............ Maybe John will be in camp too.

Game4Africa your best shot at Kudu in South Africa!

The end.

 

[MMAL]

Thanks for the great report.