SOUTH AFRICA: My First African Hunting Safari With Nick BOWKER HUNTING SOUTH AFRICA

[Trogon]

My next day (starting to lose track now since every day was a new experience) we were going to Nick's father's sheep ranch located west of his ranch. This area was expansive grasslands with gently rolling hills, lots of termite/ant mounds, very few trees or shrubs. Lots of springbuck and blesbuck here. We drove through numerous gates to get to areas to hunt blesbuck. I had been told these antelope were very wary, shots would need to be made at longer distances with no cover on stalking approaches. The Land Cruiser was parked below the crest of a ridge and Ben and I headed forth with rifle and sticks in hand. Scanning the grasslands we spotted two older white bulls which Ben determined would be good first choices to put a stalk on. The first one was not having it and paced off out of range and stood watching us. The second bull had run off behind a dam embankment and we had lost sight of him, as we walked downslope to look at other rams scattered over the grassslands he appeared, headed in the direction of the first bull, 300 yards out parallel to us. Ben had the sticks ready quickly and we watched as he trotted, then slowed, then trotted again, Finally he paused with a quartering on shot and the Sako spoke, bullet punched through, short run and down. These are very muscular antelope, Ben mentioned that a less than optimal strike on one will result in a long chase. These look more goat-like than any other antelope I looked at up close.
The blesbuck was field dressed after photos were taken and we headed in the cruiser towards the top of a ridge to see what might be in the next grassy expanse when Ben pointed out the head of a snake above the grass, which was a Boomslang, we jumped out for a better look but it retreated into a large clump of grass. A little further on we found a big Leopard Tortoise, pic attached. I hoped to see one of these, very nice find! I tried a shot on a Common Blesbuck at 400+ yards at the crest but shot under, we watched a group of blesbuck and were not able able to find a wounding strike. We headed back to Olivefountain for lunch and a break, to come back in later afternoon.

 

[Trogon]

Thank you for sharing. We are heading out to SA Limpopo Mat 14! First time for me!

I really hope you have a great trip, will be looking forward to your hunt report, @mms84!

 

[Chago]

Wow awesome pictures so far. That Nyala is awesome!!!!

 

[Trogon]

Wow awesome pictures so far. That Nyala is awesome!!!!

My PH for my safari, Ben, took great photos. I really appreciated his efforts. I love that Nyala too, they are just gorgeous animals.

 

[flatwater bill]

Love the heavy impala and that beautiful Nyala..........thanks for posting......................FWB

 

[Randy F]

Great read and congratulations on some very nice animals. Enjoying.

 

[PARA45]

Wow, what a great trip, and some fine animals taken. Congrats.

 

[cls]

Congratulations on a successful safari and some fine animals. thanks for posting a report and pictures.

 

[Trogon]

After lunch and a relaxing break, we headed back to Nick's father's ranch for the afternoon to look for a Common Blesbuck. Typically the temps would be a little warm (no jackets needed) by early afternoon and then begin cooling off into very pleasant and dry conditions. I had brought plenty of thermal undergarments and never wore any. April temperatures make for a wonderful month in this area. The afternoon hunt was going to be a long stalk, as we were not seeing what was wanted for a Blesbuck, and we left the Land Cruiser far behind and started hiking up a long, gentle grassy slope to the horizon. A blesbuck was sky-lit in the distance, but obviously not in an acceptable shooting position, and it ran off as we grew closer. Once we reached the top of the rise, we startled a herd of sheep, which thundered off but suprisingly did not upset any blesbuck, we could see multiple heads bobbing at each other over the rise, big problem there wasn't any cover over knee-high. I stayed directly behind Ben as we moved into the wind (always), we were in plain view with almost a semi-circle of blesbuck and more sheep around us. Off to our right were a Common and a White Blesbuck about 300 yards away walking towards us, grazing as they walked. A small group of sheep began closing a gap behind the blesbuck so the decision was made to set up for a shot before they got too close. I was waiting for the Common to stop and lift his head for a chest shot, but he never stopped grazing and walking, and hit him in the neck before the shoulders, dropped at the shot. A very attractive animal, even with the Satan horns. Ben walked back to bring the truck, and I sat and enjoyed looking over the blesbuck and enjoying the quiet. Incredible to not hear any man-made noises out here. After pics and loading the blesbuck we looked briefly at the many springbuck and went back to lodge for another wonderful evening around the braai.

 

[Outdoorbound]

Looks like a heck of a trip. Congrats on some fine looking trophies. Enjoying the report!

 

[Hogpatrol]

Man, you took some nice trophies. Thanks for the report and the pics.

 

[Uncle Sauce]

Very nice animals! and great report!

 

[375Fox]

Look forward to reading the rest of your report. What style of Rudolph quad sticks were you using? One has a flat front for the forearm and the other a V. I find the one with flat front much much better for quad sticks.

 

[Trogon]

Look forward to reading the rest of your report. What style of Rudolph quad sticks were you using? One has a flat front for the forearm and the other a V. I find the one with flat front much much better for quad sticks.

@375Fox these sticks were the flat front, which I liked since it at least gave you a little extra opportunity to move the rifle and not completely move the sticks. Is that why you like them?

 

[Trogon]

This was the time where I really started thinking about the end of my safari, just a couple animals left to hunt. The days had just seemed to transition smoothly from one day to the next, I really liked that. The last two years since I had originally started looking into an African safari had not been really great (except for the birth of my first grandson); my Mom passed away suddenly right before Christmas 2018, Covid happened, we lost employees at work so travel and work load became ridiculous and remains so, I was really determined to have this trip work out no matter what! I thought about this trip everyday. Happy to be here but a little solemn over having it end. 8 hunting days was not enough!

Earlier I had kidded Ben and Rob, it went something like them stating "today will be a nice day to go find a (insert animal name here)". And it nearly always happened that way. Well, today it was finally going to be a Black Wildebeest. We had seen one or two earlier, it is a comical animal, spinning and gyrating around for no apparent reason. I like the appearance of the sweeping horns out in front of the bases and the long, flowing white tail.

We traveled nearby to a neighboring farm, which was very open grassland studded with termite mounds. Not long into our travel a group of wildebeest were spotted a good distance away, watching us. Sticks came out with the rifle and we began moving towards the small herd, which appeared to be a bull with several cows. They grew increasingly active as we began our approach, spinning around a bit, the cows seemed ready to vacate the area, but not the bull. I'd see why shortly.
We probably made it within 400 yards and the group of cows ran off but still watching, while the bull faced us head on, occasionally pacing off then returning to the same spot. It didn't look like he was going to offer a broadside shot, so at 375 yards we put the rifle on the sticks, and as he held still watching us, pulled the trigger and he was down in an instant. Another long walk to see him up close, we found a big Mountain Tortoise on our way there (pic below), I was very pleased to see both of these animals up close.
Apparently bull wildebeest have a spot in their territory where cows visit them, not vice-versa? Because the ground was pawed clear of grass and piles of scattered dung all around this spot. The horns are pretty impressive, these were pretty rough and scarred up. Another great animal!

 

[Trogon]

I also got another opportunity to redeem myself on a Mountain Reedbuck later in the day after the Black Wildebeest was brought back for skinning; we traveled to a hilly, rocky area with shrubs and mixed grasses, where a ram and ewe reedbuck were soon spotted (and they spotted us), running down the hillside before the sticks could be put up. We moved downslope to try to locate them, not seeing them, when they leapt out of a dip in the land before us and ran downhill further, but this time stopped to look back; first shot hit low, not fatal, but the follow up shot was good and the ram was down. The fluffy white tail reminds me of a cottontail rabbit as they run away. Pretty and delicate antelope, another nice trophy.

 

[Trogon]

Besides wanting to hunt and see all of the spectacular antelope (plus warthog) I had high hopes to see lots of other wildlife, smaller stuff, birds, reptiles, all of it. On arrival day, after a brief rain, lots of winged termites began emerging, fluttering around. We got to see an aardwolf running around in a field catching them as dusk was approaching; saw another on the gravel road back to camp another night. We also saw plenty of yellow mongooses, a pair of bat-eared foxes and a banded mongoose (plus the porcupine when hunting the impala), Rock Hyraxes were commonly seen. Would have liked to have seen an aardvark, many hollowed out termite mounds and dug-out burrows. I liked seeing the Boomslang and the two tortoises, but I would have also enjoyed seeing a puff adder and Cape Cobra.
Birding was good, lots of Blue Cranes around, saw 4 Secretary Birds where we hunted the Blesbuck, having a territorial fight then an odd mating ritual (a pair would race side by side for a hundred yards or more, turn, the male would leap onto the females back, then off, then race off with wings outspread back to where they started...just guessing on the mating part. Saw Kori Bustard (2), a group of Crested Kouran (I believe), lots of Ant-eating Chats on termite mounds, Rock Kestrels were common, and very nice to have Fiery-winged Nightjars singing by our braai nearly every night. We would hear Black-backed Jackals in the mornings. Black-headed orioles around the house with Acacia Barbets also and African Hoopoes. Saw plenty of Glossy Starlings, what a beautiful bird in the sun, looking like it was plated in blue chrome, bright red eyes.

 

[Trogon]

Later in the afternoon we went out looking for a nice ram Springbuck, weather being calm and cooling off, starting to become somewhat overcast. We drove a bit and began glassing large grassy fields dotted with termite mounds. Well, Ben and Rob did, my 8x binos not being much help. There were large draws that you could easily miss animals so driving to all points was helpful. We ended up in an area where the land flattened out below a large and long ridge, lots of common springbuck but also saw white, black and copper springbuck. Common was on my list and I really wanted the real deal South African national animal. We just started walking to see what was out and about.
Seemingly every animal had a comfort level and at 500 yards they became very alert, at around 400 yards out they started moving. We tried angling towards a good candidate but off he went. The next one was a little more cooperative, we angled left but seemed to maintain the same distance, over 400 yards. Tried the rifle on the sticks and constantly kept shifting the sticks, the ram would walk and pause briefly, as soon as I began to get set he was on the move again. Finally we decided to just stop to see what the ram would do next. His little jaunts became shorter, and he would pause quarter facing on, finally anticipated him stopping and left fly the bullet. I think I accidentally ranged an termite mound in front of him, as Ben had him at over 400 yards while I had him at 340 yards. Bullet struck a little low but after a short run, the ram was done.
I've seen videos where they talk about the smell of a Springbucks back, I tried it and it reminded me of toasted marshmellows. Beautiful animal, I enjoyed seeing groups of them racing around all week. Last animal... trip done. Happy but a little bummed out. And a nice sunset.

 

[Frederik]

Congrats on a good hunt you got some fantastic animals that Black wildebeest will score very high.

 

[Jörg Krüger]

Thank you for taking the time too report you adventure.
Great report