SOUTH AFRICA: Tiny 10 In East Cape

[Green Chile]

Port Alfred is very interesting. We ate at a Greek restaurant in Jefferys Bay but I can't remember the name of it.

 

[matt vejar]

Dang, we must have been typing at the same time. That’s a beautiful Cape Grysbuck. I’ve been to J Bay and I think it’s called the Greek Restaurant. J Bay and Nina’s Cafe are my two favorite places in South Africa. If I lived in Europe I’d go there every year!

 

[Green Chile]

Thanks Matt and you're right...it was just The Greek Restaurant. Hah. Beautiful area...stunning really.

More to come!

 

[Hunt anything]

Great grysbok, that coast is one of my favorite places on earth!

 

[DieJager]

Great report so far. Beautiful pictures and great trophies. Waidmannsheil!

 

[Green Chile]

We are on the last full day of the hunt but booked a late flight tomorrow so we could hunt in the morning. We are going to what was Plan A for the blue duiker but they had a death in the family so we spent 36 hours on Plan B without success. This new area is pretty interesting. There’s not much going on at this farm and it drops down into some really thick brushy country. It’s also only 1/2 hour from the hotel.

This valley is beautiful and looks like there is a dragon sleeping in it with all of the fog coming up. I wish we had more time to spend in it.

This time we have video of at least 3 blues coming into a little water hole yesterday. The water hole is less than 20 meters from the blind and is on the downward slope into the valley.

 

[Hunt anything]

If that’s not a tease I don’t know what is!

 

[Green Chile]

Ok, so the final post of the hunt itself...always a little sad for me as I want the hunt to continue!

The local farm manager shows us the blind and Dieter and I get setup while Luke and the tracker stay at the baakie a few hundred yards away, out of the wind. The video shows daytime activity at the watering hole at 8, 11 and 2. We are there early but the wind is a little unsteady. We sit until 12 and back out for quick lunch at the truck and then back to the blind. We sit for the afternoon and see nothing but I feel like it’s the wind. This is a better setup than the beginning of the week and we have multiple video clips from yesterday.

How do you like our little Barbie tent blind? The animals don't care as long as it doesn't move to another spot or make noise.

We come back the next morning for the final sit and are in place early. A few outrageously colored birds and a big mongoose comes into the water. I've never seen a mongoose during the day and the PH agrees.

Almost right on schedule, the female comes to the water and stays for a few minutes. We are looking out the edges of the tent windows for any sign of the male. Nothing visible and she leaves. Several hours later she comes back and this time we see the male in the bushes 30-40 yards back…no shot but we see him! We think he will come in but he doesn’t. The female leaves again and about 1 hour later she returns to the water. I’m watching her from 15 meters through the binos. She is exquisite! Her features are very delicate and she is on high alert, sniffing the air, wired for survival. There is no sign of the male and after a few minutes, she turns and leaves.

Sigh…our time is up. So many times, I have persevered and gotten the target in the last minutes. Not this time. We were very optimistic after seeing video but the little blue has beaten us on this trip. It’s a mixed feeling as we really put some time into this…7 sits and 3 full days of effort focused on the blue. We head towards the airport and my mind goes to lessons learned, which will be my next post.

 

[Hunt anything]

Damn, I was hoping that the tease wasn’t going to turn into a “should’ve been here yesterday” story!
You did get some quality animals, the grysbok, rehbok and reedbuck are outstanding!
David

 

[Green Chile]

Yea, we hunted right to the end...leaning forward...watching the angles...focused...but ran out of time. If we had put the first day and a half into the last location, we would have gotten him. I'm almost certain of it. We all agreed on that afterwards.

 

[Nyati]

Even if you didn´t get the blue, it was a great hunt.

Congrats !

Now you have an excellent reason to come back.

 

[Hunt anything]

I commend you not taking the ewe, if I ever hunt blue duiker I hope I can have that much discipline and restraint!
David

 

[Green Chile]

Believe me, there is some temptation to take the perfectly legal ewe...but I just can't do it. I would forever regret it. I felt the same way about taking that average springbok ram....yea we worked hard for the big ram but there was no reason to pull the trigger just because we "worked hard for it". Self-discipline.

 

[Green Chile]

The oribi and blue were going to be hunted in Moz while chasing leopard, along with the suni. Taking any of them in EC was a bonus of taking pressure off of the Moz hunt. There seem to be more blues in Moz than where we hunted in EC so it shouldn't be a problem to take one there. We got close in EC!

 

[slam8031]

Excellent hunt and adventure sir! Hopefully Mr Spots and the blue duiker cooperate in Moz!

 

[Hunt anything]

Not sure where you’re going in Mozambique but I saw a lot of both blue duiker and suni in Coutada 10 along with a ton of red duiker and oribi, but you’ll be hard pressed to upgrade your red and that oribi.

When is that hunt?

 

[Green Chile]

That Moz hunt will be with @PANTHER TRACKERS and I think he said Coutada 10. Gavin can clarify. He says the oribi, red and blue duikers as well as suni are very common around camp. That hunt is the last half of Aug, '27. So I need the blue and suni plus the leopard. I hope to have my klippie before then (none there in Moz at that area) and that would leave my dik dik to finish the T10. The leopard would finish my big 5.

 

[Green Chile]

I looked up my paperwork with Gavin and found this description of the area...

LOCATED in the midst of the coastal CHINIZUIA forest, this extensive 240,000-acre hunting block is positioned just South of the ZAMBEZI DELTA and connects to the renowned COUTADA 11 and COUTADA 12 concessions on its Northern and NorthEastern boundary. On its Western boundary, the concession borders the game rich GORONGOZA National Park, separated only by a dirt road.

 

[Hunt anything]

I saw a fair amount of leopard sign as well, tracks around my cabin and several old reedbuck carcasses up in trees. I even helped build a leopard blind, shoot and hang bait, for a hunter that was coming in after me. She was with a bullet company if I remember correctly. It was a fascinating and educational experience to say the least.
Just about every sand river also had leopard tracks around them.
It should be a fabulous hunt?
David

 

[Green Chile]

Let's cover some lessons learned. I go into every hunt with an open mind looking for chances to expand my experiences and skills. Sometimes you get humbled like I did mid-week. It's part of the learning.

I take great care to walk quickly and quietly when following trackers and PHs. This trip messed up my average for sure. I wasn't prepped for the odd terrain at the top of the mountain. I had asked about footwear before the trip but Dieter hadn't been there before so we went with traditional safari footwear. For me, that's Russell boots and I have quite a few trips on 2 pairs that haven't let me down. This would have been a good trip to throw in some hiking boots with stiffer shanks. My flexible soled Russells just bent my feet in every direction on those round rocks and grass tussocks until my feet swelled up. Good socks are always important and hiking boots should be on your list for EC.

I really wanted to see the dog packs run on caracals but I didn't realize how big the area is and that there are TEN dog packs working every weekday and taking 800-900 caracals and jackals each year. Wow...that's impressive and the numbers taken have been steady for years. We got there just as the rains were starting to arrive but it was too dry for success and we were busy hunting or driving to hunt, so caracal will have to be a focus on another trip.

I had a list of T10 to focus on...blue duiker, oribi (didn't know if we could get a permit), klippie (didn't have any on property), and Cape grysbok. The grysbok was only available in EC so that's a major priority and it worked out fine. Oribi was a pleasant bonus due to the outfitter's work on securing a late permit. I was shocked they didn't have klippie on site with all of the cliffs and rocky areas. I said to Luke if I find one, I get him for free. Luke said no problem...and he was right...there are none! Surprising but it's true for that area. There are klippies in EC but not where the lodge is. However, when you're flexible you find other trophies like the vaalie and the killer mountain reedbuck. Also the monster springbok but he had 9 lives so someone else will take him. Keep an open mind on your hunts and I like to ask the question of the PH, what is here that is really exceptional? You never know what they might say. I do want one of those black Cape bushbucks someday and that is reason enough to return.

The rental rifles and optics were very good and better than expected but I still missed having my own setup for long distance shooting. If you know the shooting will be 500 meters plus, ask about the rental guns/scopes and make a decision on what is best for you. It's a real luxury to travel without guns but sometimes you want your own. For DG, I would always prefer to hunt with my own gun but every PH has a 375 to borrow if needed.

I was a little frustrated with the shooting sticks as the head wouldn't rotate and they sticks were collapsing on the uneven slopes. Be prepared to get creative for a field rest and do whatever is needed to get stable, including having someone lean into your back or support side. Some shooting solutions are just going to be awkward so make the most of it and if you miss...keep a clear head and give it your best.

Baiting vs using dogs for blue duikers...this is an interesting topic. You will move the duikers with dogs but you won't get a chance to judge the trophy/sex before shooting. It's more like shooting rabbits with a shotgun as they run past. You will likely get a female or immature male. That's just the odds not being in your favor. If you must have a male blue duiker, find a setup where you can call or bait or sit near water. You might get him and you might not. It's hunting with no guarantees.

I loved this trip and would highly recommend getting to EC and hunting low in the valleys and up on the tops of the mountains. It's a fantastic place with good PHs and a wide variety of game from duikers to eland and buffalo. I will look forward to returning!