SOUTH AFRICA: My Wonderful Safari With GAME 4 AFRICA SAFARIS

[Hunt anything]

Great report, every word brings back great memories of chasing Wickus up and down those mountains back in 2018, keep em coming!!

 

[cpr0312]

Heck of a kudu, what a great hunt you're having. Look forward to the rest of the report!

 

[AZDAVE]

Love the write up so far. I grew up in the mountains (Colorado) within 2 miles of the house here in Arizona have mountain to hike all the time. Hunting and stalking in mountainous terrain is challenging and rewarding. Love those coastal mountains in the Eastern Cape. As you have discovered they are a bit tougher than the look from a distance. Keep up a good spirit and I am sure the young PH will give you the challenge you wanted. All the small aches and pains will be worth the lifetime of memories you are making. look forward to the rest of the adventure.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Having had the pleasure of hunting twice with Wik and @GAME 4 AFRICA SAFARIS , this report is bringing back lots of great memories.

Great report so far @PARA45, keep it coming.

 

[Rare Breed]

Congratulations! Brings back good memories from my hunt with them

 

[Uncle Sauce]

Well, its about time we get to read your report Great animals so far! Keep it coming!

 

[degoins]

Very nice report and some fine animals!! Thanks yet again for sharing.

 

[PARA45]

30 May 2022. My apologies if I'm long winded, but I like details, and I hope you guys do as well.

As I'm sitting eating my breakfast, I realize that today was my mom's birthday, and here I am in the Eastern Cape hunting. I can't call her or text her because of the difference in time. Sh*t, what should I do? Well, maybe today needs to be a special hunt, and maybe I should dedicate this hunt to my mom. Sounded like a great idea.

Wik comes in to grab his cup of coffee and to discuss where we are going today. BTW, Wik drinks coffee like drinking water, except he takes that instant coffee out in the bush. Shhhhh, don't tell him, but instant coffee, really ????? LOL!!!!!! Sorry, Wik, had to do it. LOL!!!!! He is trying to figure out a way to make better coffee out in the field.

So, Wik tells me that we are going back to Mountain Top to look for the little illusive Mr. Bushbuck . I'm like yay, and show some excitement, but deep in me I was like, oh sh*t, not there again. I could feel the pain on my knees and ankles, and we were an hour away from there. I knew we would be playing mountain goat on these mountain, and any which way I looked at it, it was going to be painful. So I told myself; hey, you are in Africa, so man up, you don't have a man bun ( I have no hair), be tough, stop your whining and get ready.

We leave the lodge in the dark for the 45 minute drive to Mountain Top. A beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky, with very little wind, and a crisp 38 degrees or so. This is going to be a good hunt, and had a good feeling about it.

So, we get there, and of course we go take a look (which means a lot of walking) on these mountains. We get to one area and we look, and we seen some really nice Kudu bulls with cows scattered all over the side of this mountain, enjoying the wonderful morning sun. Some of those Kudu were studs, even my untrained eyes could tell these guys were shooters. This is a good start, the animals are sunning themselves and this is what we need, but where is Mr. Bushbuck???

After glassing for a bit, Wik decides to move to the other side of the mountain we are at, and to see what was on the other side. Sh*t, more walking up and down. We get going and the walking is not too bad, but still it's up and down. I think Wik's wife Britney told him to take it easy on me. So, we get to the other side, and we immediately see about 8-10 female bushbucks sunning and eating. Wik knows there has to be a buck somewhere. We now pause and we look and look and look some more. Finally I see Wik's stop and look into one area, and he is using the sticks to steady himself. He whispered (like if the Bushbuck is going to hear us, we are across this mountain and 400 yds away ) that there is a nice Bushbuck in there. So, now I get excited and I'm like where???? We need to move, so more climbing followed by going down this treacherous and steep mountain. I'm trying to keep my a$$ from not rolling down to the bottom of this cliff, and Wik keeping my rifle and having to call my wife to tell her I didn't make it. But, I need to keep up with him, because we finally had a shooter Bushbuck, and it's my mom's birthday, so I need to get this done and head back to the lodge so I can call my mom.

We get to a better place, and we are literarily across the valley from this Bushbuck. The problem is, I have no clue where this animal is, I still have not seen him. We walked a little more, Wik looks some more, and whispers again, that this is our Bushbuck and smiles. Ah ok, cool! We move a little more and we are finally in a good spot, so I thought. The sticks go up, and I'm like oh sh*t, I still don't know where this little guy is. Wik points out to where he is and ask if I see him. Ah, no, where, it's a big a$$ mountain, and can't seem to see this little guy anywhere. I'm glassing, and nothing. Remember what I said about Wik being patient? Well, today was the day that I truly tested his patience.

Wik points the rifle in the general direction of where this animal is and he said right there. Ah, sorry, I see nothing. There see the white on his back? Ah no. Right there by that opening, see it? Sorry Wik, I got nothing brother. We go back and forth for what seems like hours, probably 5 min, ok, maybe 15 min and can't see sh*t. Wik gets behind my rifle and say again, right there. I get behind the rifle, and I'm looking and nothing. All of a sudden this little sh*t, takes two steps and I can see him, and tell Wik that I can see him. I'm thinking, I hope this is the one. He goes, put the cross hairs on his back and take him when you are ready. I'm solid, and do as I'm told and fired. He is hit and he takes off. We run, yes run on this mountain, and Wik wants me to shoot him again. The Bushbuck is laying down, and fire and miss, fire and miss, fire again and hit him. He moves, but we can't see him anymore.

Wik gets on the radio for the driver to come get us. Oh shit, we have to go up hill now, sh*t, not again. We get to the road, and I am truly happy to see the Land Cruiser. I'm beat up from the climbing. We drive around to the other side of the mountain, and we discuss a game plan to get this little guy out of the sh*t hole he was in. Wik suggest I stay in the Land Cruiser, and he tells me that this is very steep and difficult terrain. I say, I'm going, it's my animal, my hunt, my mess, I 'm going with you. You may have to find a way to get my sorry a$$ out of there, but I'm going.

We get going, and we start the climb down this mountain. Sh*t, I thought the other ones were rough, but this one was twice as bad as the others one. I'm carefully watching where I step, and I'm trying not to roll down this thing, fall on my a$$ a couple of times, but keep going. We get about half way, and I'm second guessing my decision, but I'm still trying to keep up the human mountain goat. Wik suggest that I wait while he gets his bearings and see where this guy is. A couple of minutes he calls me and there is my Bushbuck, and still alive but badly hurt. I hate to see animals suffer more than they should, and I am not too happy with myself. So, I put one more in him, and we have our Bushbuck. Wik congratulates me and tells me how dangerous these little guys are, specially when wounded and cornered. I had no idea, and I'm grateful no one got hurt.

Oh sh*t, what a great and beautiful animal, old with serious characters. I put my hands on him, and I thank him for being such a tough warrior, thanked God for this great hunt, and admired the beauty and the difficulty of this hunt. I looked across the valley into the other mountain where we were, and realize the difficulty and how challenging this hunt had been. This had been the most difficult and challenging hunt of my life. This hunt tested my determination on how bad I wanted a Bushbuck, tested my endurance, and my will to hunt them. In a scale of 1-10, this was a 50.

Now, how do we get this thing out of here? Wik had told the tracker to take the Land Cruiser to the bottom and to come up. Thank God we are going down hill and not up hill. Well, going down hill was not an easy job either. Wick and the tracker got the Bushbuck on a pole, and down we went. A bit over an hour, and we finally reached the Land Cruiser. I was done for the day, and popped Motrin for the muscle pain like M&Ms. LOL!!!!!

Got back to the lodge, called my mom to wish her a happy birthday, and I dedicated this hunt and this Bushbuck to her.

What a great day, and what an amazing hunt. More to come.

 

[Hunt anything]

Congratulations on a beautiful bushbuck! I can’t imagine going to Africa and being in an area with bushbuck and not hunting them. They are my favorite plains game animal to pursue.

 

[jasyblood]

Very nice bushbuck! Congrats!!

 

[PARA45]

I forgot to mention this very important piece of information. We are walking on this mountain, and I'm holding on to the sling of my rifle, when I feel it come loose. An oh sh*t moment just went through my mind, and with cat reflexes I reach behind me and grab my rifle as it was going towards the rocky bottom. The sling stud came off the rifle, and not sure if the solder gave way or what, but now I had a sling I couldn't use. Thank God I caught the rifle, or who knows what would have happened. I am also glad that the rifle was not loaded with a round in a chamber, the tracker was behind me at that point. Now, I had no other way to carry my rifle than to cradle it as we walked around these mountain, which made it painful to carry around, but I managed.

I forgot also to mention that lunch was Eland soup, and for dinner was Impala back straps with warthog sausage. Delicious stuff.

 

[PARA45]

31 May 2022. Remember earlier I said that Wik offered to swap a cow Buffalo for an Eland? Well, I took the deal and decided to hunt the Buffalo.

The evening before we had talked about Buffalo, and Wik said to me that hunting cows was usually more dangerous, since they are protective of their calves, and don't like intruders too much. He was going to take his CZ 416 Rigby as a backup, and we discussed shot placement. Got it, got a crash course on DG and I'm ready to hunt a Buffalo. LOL!!!!!!!

This morning as Wik and I are eating breakfast, we talk about the Buffalo and that we are going to the property south of Mountain Top called Reedsdale. I heard Mountain Top and I started to get cold sweat, but Wik informed me that it was nothing like Mountain Top, that it was more like open plains and easy walk. Yay, no more mountain climbing. LOL.

We got there early in the morning, and we looked into the thick bush for signs of Buffalo. We drove around the property a bit and stopped to glass, when Wik spotted some Buffalos in the distance. The wind was good, actually blowing quite a bit. So, we kept driving and stopped the Land Cruiser about 1 1/2 miles down wind from where we spotted them.

We got down, and we discussed a plan, and Wik asked me for my GoPro camera. I gave him the camera, and turned it on. He gave some instructions in Afrikaan to the tracker, and handed him the camera. We walked towards the Buffalo, using the wind to our advantage, and trying not to be seen. We walked like what seem an eternity, and finally we stopped and Wik told me to load a round in the chamber. WHAT???? This is different, usually I load a round when the sticks go up and the animal is in sight. But I forgot that we were now hunting DG game. Yikes.

We closed the gap, and we were finally getting closer. Close that I could smell them. Wik gets the sticks from the tracker, and we are now walking really slow and trying not to make any noise. We get behind this Acacia tree, and Wik is looking through this binoculars, and he keeps on looking and motions for me to come next to him. He informs me that they are two Buffalos in the open, and from left to right I was going to take the one on the right or the second one.

The sticks go up, and I get the rifle on the sticks and settled behind rifle. I look through the scopes and there they are. Now, this is the first time I've seen these guys, and they have no idea we are there. Wik whispered and tells me to go haft way up her shoulder and to shoot when I'm ready. I am solid behind the rifle, and I'm trying not to repeat my poor shooting performance on the Bushbuck with this cow. I took two deep breath, relaxed, and fired. I heard the thump, and all hell broke loose. Wik told me to reload and to follow him. I see the heard running, but can't seem to see one that is injured. Wik gets on behind the binoculars to see if he can spot one bleeding, but he can't They soon disappeared over the horizon of the next hill. Wik asks me how I felt about the shot, and I told him that I felt good.

Wik gets on the radio, and he calls the other driver to come over. As we are walking towards where the Buffalos have gone, I noticed blood on the ground and pointed it out to Wik. We knew she was hit, so now we are walking towards the next group of bushes, and Wik stops and point at one Acacia tree and there is the Buffalo, but we don't know if she is alive or not. We approached the down Buffalo with our rifles ready, and Wiks touches her and she is dead. What a relief, this was the one shot I needed to make it count, and I did. The 300 grs TSX went through the right shoulder and excited behind the left shoulder. Perfect shot, the bullet hit the lungs and the top of the heart. This thing ran about 100-120 yards, it shows how tough and strong these Buffalo truly are. I put my hands on her and I was in awe of their size, she was quite beautiful. Buffalo in the salt, and no one got hurt.

 

[Uncle Sauce]

Beautiful bushbuck & buff - Congrats!

 

[Jaegger]

Damn @PARA45 … you stacking up trophies like cord wood - good on ya! The read & details + pictures are very enjoyable … Congrats’s my friend!

Happy Trails

 

[PARA45]

31 May 2022 continuation.

With the Buffalo gutted, and in the back of the Land Cruiser, I asked Wik if we were heading back to the lodge. He said no, you do want a Red Hartebeest, right, he ask. I of course replied of course I do. Well, let's go find one. I was like, who am I to argue with that request. We drove around the Reedsdale area with out much success. The wind picked up and I think it was pushing 40 MPH, boy the wind does really blow on these plains. We drive for what seemed like an hour to 1 1/2 hours, and we finally spot a group of Red Hartebeest. Great, let's do it, but wait, there is no cover, how in the world are we going to get closer to these guy? Sh*t, here we go again walking, but this place was flat. So, I thought I could keep up with Wik, and I'm doing my best to stay on his six. We finally closed the gap from around 600 yds to roughly 200 yds.

Wik is behind the binoculars studying these guys, and they are there without a care in the world. I watching them, and to me, they all look like they are trophies. Well, not for Wik, he spots the oldest out of the group, and sets the sticks. Oh sh*t, it's time to shoot. I'm on the sticks, and he tells me which one to shoot at, which the darkest one. I'm on the sticks, but the wind is blowing me all over the place and can't seem to stop moving. However, the wind is gusting, and I'm trying to time it. The wind dies down a bit, and I'm kind of steady, and put the cross hairs on the shoulder and fired. I hear Wik say missed, shot over it. Reload, and fired again, this time I shot in front of it. WTF, they run a bit, and we go after them, this one turns and gives me one more chance. Fired and miss again. WTF, now I'm angry, and can't believe I've missed three times. I'm cursing at my self, but Wik assures me that the wind was helping us and they were not spooked too bad.

He calls the Land Cruiser, and we tried to intercept them, and got ahead of them in a great position. We waited and sure enough here they come, and of course they are all bunched up, and crossing each other. At this point I don't know which is the one I'm supposed to shoot. Finally I hear Wik say take the last one. He stops quartering away, about 160+ yds, and I fire. This thing takes off, but doesn't jump or nothing. Wik thinks I missed since he saw the puff of dust behind it. I reload and fired again and he drops. Well, I shot this thing twice, and both shots were lethal. Again, two animals in one day, and it's not even lunch time. Wow. This Red Hartebeest was old, and dark and the type of animal I wanted. Again, I was very happy with this animal, but not too proud of my shooting, but the last shots were effective.

I was on cloud nine again, and while we were driving back to the lodge, I couldn't stay quiet and kept talking about such a successful day.

Dinner tonight was Blesbok. Again another amazing meal.

 

[Jaegger]

@PARA45 … BTW: interesting choice, swapping your Eland for a Buff Cow! You know, I’m primed to return & pursue another Buff Cow as I prepare for a near future Buff … really nice shaped Buff Cow - Congrats’!

Man, I’m big Eland fan … I may have had to spy the Eland Bull quality on the properties before making that final final decision + afew tall Gin & Tonics, as an excuse to have afew extra G & T’s!

I know, there‘s more excitement to come …

Bests,
Jaegger

 

[VertigoBE]

Waidmann's Heil @PARA45, a big pig, an old Black Wildebeest, beautiful Kudu and great bushbuck, but also a Buffalo (your first DG hunt?) and a stud of a hartebeest! I can understand why you are feeling on cloud 9 ! Well done so far, and looking forward to hearing about the rest of your hunt, I believe we still have 4 more days to look forward to

Congratulations and thanks for sharing!

V.

 

[CBH Australia]

Great report brings back memories.
I hunted with Game4Africa with Lionel as the PH in 2020, great food , great time.
I'm glad to hear Rocky gets a mention, he came on all my hunts.

 

[Brent in Az]

Great trophies, Oscar, and happy birthday to Mom!

 

[Doug3006]

Fantastic trophies! I also appreciate all the details. You sir had a helava hunt.