SOUTH AFRICA: Royal MacNab Challenge Near Rhodes With BAYLY SIPPEL SAFARIS July 2022

Chris M.

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Back in 2020, I had seen the thread posted by @BAYLY SIPPEL SAFARIS for a mountain hunt and fish challenge in the Eastern Cape of South Africa (RSA) and deemed the "Ultimate Sportsman Challenge." What intrigued me was the rifle hunt for Mountain Reedbuck, shotgun shooting for Grey-Winged Francolin (partridge), and fishing for rainbow trout...all equal passions of mine and to combine together in a challenge sounded very enticing.

I like mountain hunting and have the benefit of the Rockies being quite close to home, have previously self-guided hunted for Tahr and Chamois in the "Southern Alps" of New Zealand; but, realized I'm not getting any younger. I saw the video posted by Bayly Sippel for Dempster (Dempsey) Bayly's Royal MacNab challenge, however, was a little daunted but figured I had over a years' time to get into "sheep shape" (by July 2022).

That being said, Dempsey stressed to me to tell readers of this report that if interested in the MacNab, to be in good physical shape and willing for some possible cold weather and/or wind hardships. More on that later in this report....

I had just finished a successful and very enjoyable Cape Buffalo hunt with Bayly Sippel in the Madikwe Concession and made the transition from being with the PH Mike Sippel to being with PH Dempsey Bayly. We made the approximate 9 hour drive from Pretoria to Rhodes RSA, located in the Eastern Cape near Lesotho, in what seemed no time at all. Dempsey has an outgoing and very friendly personality, so conversation was easy and bided the time. As we neared Rhodes, the large front- range hills and snow covered mountains loomed in the background. Rhodes itself is surrounded by steep hills and has cultivated fields in the valleys. We arrived at our rental house that was quite comfortable. There was a fully equipped kitchen, fireplace and rooms each with their own bathroom, and beds with heating blankets. There was no central heating except the fireplace. I definitely felt the chill in the air as a cold front was approaching (N.B. - being from a cold "clim" I know that when the bones ache a little, it means snow and strong winds and would expect the same here at Rhodes).

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I did arrive in RSA in reasonably good shape for a 59-year old and did get the shake out from previously pushing bush (walking) in rocky ground and hills at Madikwe Concession chasing buffalo. What I didn't know at this time though, was that I had contracted African Tick Bite Fever at the concession and the effects started later in Day 1 of the challenge.

Challenge Day - July 11th:
For additional preparation (training regime) for the challenge, Dempsey cooked up some amazing steaks the night before and we had several of the South African craft beers he had brought ;) (N.B. - not that Castle Lager is bad, but I was a little tired of drinking it over the two safari outfits I had been with since arriving in RSA on June 22nd). It was an early morning start at 7 AM when we met the Guide, Fred Steynberg. Fred is a well known fly fishing guide and writer (with his company Linecasters), and also has English Pointers and takes hunters on the MacNab challenge. While just a little younger than me, I have never met a person that is such amazing shape. It's like the guy is part mountain goat in his abilities. As well, he is a seriously good gentleman hunter and all-round nice guy!

The previous night, the front had dumped some snow and the front was still moving through the range in full force in the morning, generating some serious winds. Fred's plan for taking us to the higher altitude mountain tops in a common area for both the antelope and birds hunting was in jeopardy because of the winds, making moving around let alone hunting near impossible...so he decided on an alternative plan. We headed out from Rhodes towards the mountains to first hunt for Mountain Reedbuck. Parking at Fred's farm house in the valley near a beautiful river, we set out to head up the steep hillside in a slightly lower elevation and more sheltered general area. Getting out of the vehicle and loading up my pack and rifle, I headed towards the gate and was already winded a bit. The base of this hill is at about 2,000 m and the hill (mountain) tops in the general area range between 2,500 m and 2,700 m (8,200 to 8,850 feet), so it is true alpine hunting. I thought to take it just one step at a time!

The rifle I was using was one I brought to RSA for the previous plains game hunting with Shingalana Safaris in June and for this challenge with Bayly Sippel: Kimber Model 8400 Mountain Ascent in 300 WSM and topped with a Zeiss Conquest HD5 3-15 x 42 scope. Ammunition was Hornady 200 grain ELD-X bullets loaded into Hornady brass and 62 grains of Alliant RL-17 powder. COAL of the rounds was 2.848 inches. An accurate light-weight mountain hunting set up.

We took the climb slow and steady and soon spotted some Mountain reedbuck in the opposite hillside slope. The wind, however, was not in our favour and they would spot us if we continued on any approach. So we decided to skirt around the mountainside we were on, gain altitude on them and hopefully approach from behind. Climbing higher and at the top, we spotted another herd and these spooked over the rise. So we decided to continue on along the tops and spot any more herds over the next range. Fred spotted a group at slightly lower elevation below us, but would require some tricky maneuvering. We would need to cross over, drop down through a creek drainage and then approach from this opposite side. It was rocky and steep and the creek was frozen in places and quite treacherous. We eventually got to a rise across from them, but it would be a long shot (400 yards) in swirling and strong winds. I was confident in making a shot of this distance with a stable rest, but the wind factor added enough uncertainty that we decided to stalk closer. Keeping low, we slid back down into the creek drainage and up the opposite side. Crawling, we got to with 120 yards on a rise above them. Fred waived me forward but I fumbled a bit with the bipod setup which just then folded up and used a pack as a rest, and adjusted the magnification; which dialed back to 9x to be able to spot the individual ram amongst the cover. Thankfully, the herd did not spook in this commotion and I set up and shot the easy chip shot with this rifle, shooting a bit low, but securing a very decent Mountain reedbuck ram.

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Posing with Dempsey with the ram, I thought that this would be an easy challenge as by the time we got to the vehicle, we would still have all afternoon for the fishing and the birds. Being a lifetime angler, I am no slouch with a fly rod (stipulated for the MacNab) and can cast in any wind conditions fairly well. Trudging down the steep slope to the valley below, it was an effort to keep up with Dempsey and Fred, and my legs and joints were killing me. The walk from the gate to the vehicle now seemed like I was walking through wet cement! There was Ibuprofen and beer in the truck to take the edge off. Getting Fred's pointer, Ziggy, from the truck, Fred decided to check the hill near his farm as he knew about a couple of coveys of Grey-wing on this hillside. We hiked along the steep hillside for about an hour but Ziggy did not pick up any scent.

We then drove up the mountain side to the area where I would be fishing and that holds a number of Grey-wing. This lake is in fact a melt-water reservoir named Loch Ness, located below a ski resort called Tiffindell. For those that associate RSA with red sands of the Kalahari, bushveld of Limpopo or desert-like savannah of the Karoo and hunting while sweating and wearing shorts, this would certainly be an enlightenment. Adding to the fact that the air temperature was below freezing and the wind blowing at about 40 km/hour, I was told that a previous MacNab challenger after getting his ram, bailed in the lake in these conditions after 5 minutes, indicating that suffering like that was BS. Being a Canadian, I am no stranger to cold weather fishing and wading in freezing water and thought that braving it would not be too much of a problem, and thought it would be fairly soon before I tagged a fish anyway.

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The water was cold even with breathable waders on and the wind bit hard. After many casts using a brace of flies, changing the patterns and moving a couple of times, soon realized that it would be slow going. Fred mentioned that the cold weather and front probably had greatly affected the fish activity negatively. This make sense as I previously had noted that fishing when there are changes in weather pattern affects the barometric pressure and quite often fish activity. In about an hour of fishing and watching the indicator bob heavily in the chop, I finally set the hook on a fish and landed a small rainbow trout. Success! This part of the challenge over! But wait...the MacNab stipulates a minimum size of 30 cm as I was told by Fred. So back into the freezer I go. An hour after that, I missed a strike that was hard to see because wading at water level, the indicator disappeared in the chop. Was this going to cost me? An hour later, I am now very cold. An hour after that, caught another small fish that didn't meet the cut. A while later, it was now 3:30 PM and I am shaking with cold uncontrollably. I ask Dempsey what time is "the cut-off" and he mentions that at 5 PM or so is generally considered "a day." So I decided that at 4:30 PM I would call it and then go for birds to at least salvage a close completion. The birds were in the whole valley system close to the lake, and little did I know at the time that Fred's pointer Ziggy, was busy pointing birds right beside the lake and where the truck was parked. At 4:30 PM, after unsuccessfully catching any more fish, I hauled my shaking and frozen carcass out of the water to the truck. Fred decided to leave the birds be and we would return tomorrow to try again for a repeat challenge. I was thinking at the time, I would just call it a "Common MacNab" and I would be happy to get the birds and fish the next day, sans any certificate, to avoid the tough climb to chase Mountain reedbuck.

That night I felt strange that I couldn't warm up from fishing in the cold water and the pain in my joints was oppressive. Even with the heating blanket cranked and heavy layers of blankets above me, I felt chilled and sore. It was strange because when I felt my skin , it was burning, and yet I was frozen to the core. Alas, the first symptoms of Tick Bite Fever.

Challenge Retry - July 12th:
Fred and Dempsey had it in their minds that this would be a retry and for which Bayly Sippel give a deal for reduced pricing, but I wasn't part of their agenda. After having a good breakfast, getting a pot load of hot tea, and swallowing back the Ibuprofen "Vitamin I" pills, we set out to go after some birds. The weather change was uncanny. It was dead calm and "blue bird" sunny, and all of the frozen puddles in the road were starting to melt. We could go back to Fred's original plan and the mountain top area that held both birds and rams.

Arriving in the flat mesa area of stunning vista, we had arrived at the bird hunting area. I noticed that the ground base was basalt and extrusive igneous rocks with large crystals so each of the mountains originated from an ancient lava flows of what would have been epic volcanic proportions. I picked up some cool rocks including pieces of geodes to add to the future taxidermy display. The vegetation was low and scrubby with thickets of tussock-like grass. Ziggy was soon on point but because this specific area had been grazed out, the birds did not have cover and flushed a long ways away. There was a small covey that Fred thought peeled off to our left and along a fence line that had better cover. Following along the fenceline, three birds flushed and using Fred's 12 gauge over-under, I missed the first easy shot but got the second on the more difficult cross and away shot. One bird down but thought that missing the easy shot may cost me!

After a quick drive, we went to another area and Ziggy got on point. Walking towards the point, the bird's flushed perfectly and I dropped bird number two, the requisite "brace" of birds needed for the challenge. In the photo that Fred took and Dempsey video tapped, the image captured the pattern of lead, ejected burned powder and wad moving toward the bird just before impact.

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Instead of heading back the opposite direction and long drive to Loch Ness, we headed to a closer reservoir, that while not holding as big of fish as Loch Ness is known for, should work out to fulfill the requirements. As we approached the lake, Fred gloomfully mentioned that the most productive part of the lake was still frozen. He had decided to go after the birds first to hopefully give time for the lake to unthaw. Stringing up and walking to the opposite shore, it wasn't long before I tagged my first fish, but again it was too small. We moved to a spot that Fred thought could hold bigger fish; a drop off close to shore. He also brought out his secret fly...an egg pattern. I thought that this was strange as had only used egg patterns while chasing trout feeding off salmon roe both in Alaska and in BC, but Fred assured me that it would work well as the feeder river brought in a lot of eggs in this post-spawn period. Sure enough, first cast in there was a fish on an it met the mark! Fred wanted me to catch a bigger fish for posterity and while Dempsey prepared lunch, I caught several more but none that were any bigger, including near the truck in the part of the lake that did thaw out in the time we were there.

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So with two-thirds of the challenge completed, It was decided to go after the Reedbuck in the remaining late afternoon. We drove to the very top and started the long walk to the cliff faces that formed the margin of the mesa. There was snow drifted on edges of the rock outcrops. I thought it was ironic that after flying for two days to Sub-Saharan Africa to escape cold weather that I see for six months of the year at home, to actually see snow (outside of the top Mount Kilimanjaro).

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There were a couple of Reedbuck seen in the cliff faces while glassing but it would have taken considerable effort to double back and approach them for a shot. It was decided to move towards the cliffs seen in the area in the left of the photo, below. It was in this area that finally saw some Reedbuck bedded down.

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While moving towards the Reedbuck, there was a troop of baboons that were barking and watching us from the opposite steep cliffs. These were unlike any Chacma baboons that I had seen before in that they had thick and long fur, reminiscent of Gelada baboons.

We got the edge of the steep cliff and inching forward, Fred pointed out the ram. It should have been an easy shot that with the drop and corresponding holdover, was only at 200 yards. I was in an uncomfortable shooting position to begin with but also made a rookie mistake in that while resting the rifle on the backpack, instinctually used muscle memory to put slight pressure forward as in using the bipod to which I am accustomed to doing. So when the shot broke, the sighting was low and I hit right in front of the ram by inches. My heart dropped and felt the strong sting of failure! But Fred knew that there could be another chance and so we ran about 400 m to the next cliff face section. When getting there, the Mountain reedbuck were a ways off, but there was a closer group of Vaal rhebok with a ram. I had plenty of time to set up and knew that this would be the "last kick at the cat." I breathed deeply, let the rifle settle naturally while loosely holding the fore-end and had my elbows propped well, holding the sight picture and reticle stable. I let out a half-breath, held, and squeezed the trigger.

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Screen shot from video of the exact moment of the hit on the Vaal rhebok ram and dust and fur cloud from the opposite side. The shot was from a sheer rock face at an elevation of 2,536 m AMSL to the valley below. The distance to the ram was 310 yards but because of the steep drop, the holdover amount was 250 yards. The shot went just behind the shoulder to the slight quartering away ram and blew out the heart. The ram ran 20 yards before dropping. The photo is deceiving in that it seems like the valley is flat but in fact, a very steep slope at this point.

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The ram was gutted and picked up and a photo taken of Dempsey and Fred holding the ram. While not my biggest Vaalie, I feel very blessed that I had the chance to harvest this one in such a beautiful mountain setting. Fred carried the ram nearly the whole way back the several kilometers to the road where Dempsey picked us up with the truck.

That night we went into Rhodes to get pizza and drank many brandy and cokes (a traditional South African drink) to celebrate. This bar is a local haunt and visited also by fly fisherman who ply the local waters for trout. It has a real fishing and outdoorsy vibe to it as well as a large aquarium that has housed for years, African Clawed frogs.
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After a morning recovery, later in that afternoon, Dempsey and I fished the river that runs through Rhodes. That next morning, Dempsey and I made the long drive back to Johannesburg to catch my evening flight. By now the sores in my leg from the tick bites were becoming necrotic (eschars were forming) and my joints were starting to continuously ache (which on 30 hours of flying and airport stopover is never a good thing). The night I arrived home, I got the full-on fever and pounding headache. But all of that didn't matter, as I had such a great memory and was able on the flight, to pour through and sort all of the photos and catch up on sleep.

I was very happy to get the certificate from Fred as I made it successfully through the challenge. It would not have been possible without the knowledge and skill of Fred and the encouragement from Dempsey. It was an amazing trip to see such a beautiful mountain landscape in South Africa of all places and to rifle and shotgun hunt and fish all in one trip. It is a rare gift that Bayly Sippel can offer such an experience.

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Fabulous!
 
Glad to finally read about someone’s McNab, sorry about the tick bite fever.
 
Great job on the McNab. I dislike tick bite fever. I’ve had it and don’t recommend it.
Bruce
 

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