SOUTH AFRICA: Tootabi Lioness & PG Hunt My Return To The Wait a Minute Bush

[billc]

Dave since we both have hunted there and you know one of the best parts now that neither of us can share. Can you just think how much must of the guys would enjoy the surprise loodt and family do for there guest. I enjoyed that night as much as the hunt and he seems to have even taken it up a notch. The bonus of being a tootabi client I guess and welcome to that club.

Loodt great job and I will keep that secret in the tootabi family.

 

[Warbird782]

Dave since we both have hunted there and you know one of the best parts now that neither of us can share. Can you just think how much must of the guys would enjoy the surprise loodt and family do for there guest. I enjoyed that night as much as the hunt and he seems to have even taken it up a notch. The bonus of being a tootabi client I guess and welcome to that club.

Loodt great job and I will keep that secret in the tootabi family.

Bill, I am getting to that soon in my timeline.
Yes, Loodt and his family have something very special for sure! I will not give it away but we both know how wonderful it is.

 

[Warbird782]

It was a real pleasure hunting with David and Loodt, glad you had a good hunt!

Pieter, it was a lot of fun hunting with you too! I really enjoyed sharing a camp with you!

 

[Diamondhitch]

I will not give it away but we both know how wonderful it is.

Does it have anything to do with a brass pole by chance?

 

[Warbird782]

Day 8: We loaded up the 4 bakkies and headed out for bushbuck. We all were in the same area but different properties looking for the elusive cape bushbuck. I must admit that bushbuck are on the top of my list for plains game. As Loodt, Konz (tracker), and I were stalking the coastal thickets we happened upon a puff adder. I will say that I am deathly afraid of snakes but I am also fascinated by them. This snake seemed to have 9 lives and when we thought that he was finished, he would magically have life left in him.

With the puff adder sorted out we stalked the thickets some more. We saw many ewes and rams. We put a stalk on a few but it always ended the same with the trademark bark and them disappearing. We got word that one of the other guys scored on a nice ram as we went to an adjacent property. This time there were even more bushbuck sightings. We spotted a nice ram about to "get busy with his ewe" just beyond a hedgerow. We put on the stalk and with one shot my ram fell. It could not have worked out better for photos as the Indian Ocean was in the background for the pictures.

By the time we got him loaded we had learned that another guy in the party had also scored on an ancient old bushbuck ram. 3 rams were down in about as many hours! My last hunt in the cape (another outfitter) we struggled to find bushbucks and it took a few days to finally get one. This says a lot about Loodt's concessions. It took a little while longer but even the 4th guy on the hunt scored on a ram. I cannot say enough about how impressed I was that we all got our rams as fast as we did. I am not trying to make it sound easy or take away from the hunt as these are wild animals and we had to hunt them. There were just that many of them around.

That night the Buchner family had a surprise for us hunters. I cannot say what it is so future clients are not surprised, but trust me when I tell you that if you ever hunt with Tootabi Hunting Safaris be prepared to be blown away! My friend asked if I got this type of treatment on my first hunt and if I was expecting this. No way! This was over the top. If you want to know, you have to go. Sorry.

 

[Warbird782]

Does it have anything to do with a brass pole by chance?

No brass poles. Sorry. It was over the top though.

 

[Royal27]

That's a beautiful bushbuck David!

My wife isn't a hunter, but will be accompanying the hunt for bushbuck in May just because of that ocean view that is shown there. The Puff Adder though? She has made it clear she has no interest!!!!

 

[jeff]

Thanks for the great hunt report, you had a truly amazing hunt! My hunt in the EC was a disappointment, nothing like yours. Reports like this helps time pass before I go to the NW province with Pieter and Gerrit in July. That gemsbok is a real monster!!

 

[Warbird782]

Day 9: The last day of hunting. We all spent time just touring more of Loodt's property and trying our hand at warthogs and baboons. The baboons got he better of us and I passed on a few boars. The old man of the group put down a warthog ending his hunt. At 73 years old he walked the hills and mountains like a champ. He shot his gun a total of 8 times in the bush and collected 8 animals. Not too bad at all! That evening we were up in the hills by the lodge when we spotted a very large kudu. This bull had deep curls and nice length but the tops were not coming forward. If the tops had been I would have definitely shot. Loodt kept saying that if I wanted a 50'' cape kudu there it was. I passed just because of the tops. Today Loodt sent me a message that another guy shot what he thinks was the same bull. It measured out at 53''. That is huge for a cape kudu.

That evening we spent our last night around the fire and squared up our tips to our trackers and camp staff. The next day my friends were leaving and Loodt and I were on to our next adventure.

Day 10 found us touring the Garden Route down to Mossel Bay. I had high hope to cage dive with Great White Sharks but they did not show. This was my only disappointment of my whole trip and it was totally out of anyone's hands. I did get good photos of seals on Seal Island though.

Day 11: We woke up early to get to the Bloukrans Bridge along the Garden Route. My last adventure for the whole trip would be to bungee jump from the world's highest commercial bungee bridge. This was out of this world fun and I would highly recommend to anyone seeking adventure.

 

[bluey]

cool ,cool ,cool . adventure for yourself and the party you took with you , warbird...
did you keep the skin from the snake ?
that bridge is a magic place , hey?
bloody hard typing with an image of a big brass pole , in my minds eye. bloody Canadians ,hey .you can dress em up , but you cant take em anywhere ,ha ah aha ha

great report ,mate , loodt and Pieter seem like magical operators .
thanks for sharing your memories with us ,all warbird

 

[Warbird782]

Here are some photos of the lodge and gardens. I will say that any wife would love to stay there. The lodge and rooms were very clean and very tastefully decorated. My apologies that I did not take any pictures of the rooms.

 

[Warbird782]

cool ,cool ,cool . adventure for yourself and the party you took with you , warbird...
did you keep the skin from the snake ?
that bridge is a magic place , hey?
bloody hard typing with an image of a big brass pole , in my minds eye. bloody Canadians ,hey .you can dress em up , but you cant take em anywhere ,ha ah aha ha

great report ,mate , loodt and Pieter seem like magical operators .
thanks for sharing your memories with us ,all warbird

Yes Bluey the snake will be coming home to America with me.

 

[Bobpuckett]

Great report and pictures Warbird, Loodt and Pieter did you right Good job guys. really enjoyed the read and awesome photos. Congrats to all the hunters good shooting.

 

[Warbird782]

I chose to hunt with Loodt for a variety of reasons but the biggest one was his operation felt like a good fit for what I wanted. This may not be true for others but I knew from the start that I wanted to hunt with him. He was very honest and I did not feel like he was trying to hide anything from me. He delivered on everything that he promised.

Loodt's concessions were outstanding! We not only saw many animals but good trophies as well. His PH's were absolutely top notch and very professional but also personable. They conducted themselves at a very high level the whole time but yet felt like old friends. His equipment was all in good repair or new. The food was mostly cooked by his younger sister who would rival most professional chefs. Loodt took up a notch by knowing that I like Mountain Dew in the morning. He searched around until he found some and each morning an ice cold can was in the cup holder of the bakkie waiting for me. Loodt's trackers and camp staff were also very professional and well kept. I say this as I have seen a few camps where the staff was dressed ragged. He takes very good care of his staff and it shows with how well they take care of their hunters.

If anyone that reads this is thinking of hunting with Loodt and Tootabi Hunting Safaris and not sure please reach out to me for any questions.

Thank you to those who took the time to read this report and comment.

Lastly, there is a saying that in Africa you arrive as a client and leave as a friend. This is not so with Tootabi Hunting Safaris. I arrived as a friend and left as one of their family! The Buchners are outstanding people and I cannot wait to see them again!

Dave

 

[Warbird782]

P.S. If you ever get the chance to hunt a lion, I highly recommend eating the backstraps. I insisted on eating them regardless of taste and they turned out very well. I felt that if I was going to take the life of something that size I would eat it and I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[jeff]

I have eaten both mountain lions I've killed and they were excellent, don't know why African lion would be any different!

 

[G Skinner]

Just an amazing read .... SIMPLY AMAZING !
Thanks
Glen

 

[Wheels]

Warbird,

It sounds like you had a great hunt. Congratulations!

Thanks for sharing the experience with us.

 

[dobber]

Great report and can't wait till we get there, after looking at the pictures i decided to sign my wife up for the bridge jump, eventually i will let her know about it, no sense ruining the surprise and to think this might help her get over her fear of heights

 

[Albertaguy]

Wow! That was a fantastic hunt and report ! I will be putting Tootabi on my short list for my upcoming safari . Thanks for posting.