IvW
AH ambassador
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2016
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- South Africa
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- South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia,Zambia
This is just to reflect on hunting and what a privilege it is to be able to help young kids who are not always as fortunate due to circumstances out of their control to hunt their first animal. What a blessing it has been for me over the years to be able to help them, my own two kids included and to be able to share our wonderful heritage, country and wildlife with them. This year was no different, we are truly blessed with children around.
On this hunt we had my friend’s wife take her first kudu bull, their friend takes his first ever buck, an impala ram, our mutual friend’s son takes his first duiker ram and our friends young son under both parent’s guidance takes his first animal, a steen buck ram.
On the hunt prior to this my daughter took her first animal, a blue wildebeest and my son his first warthog.
Every year, we as a family go on a weekend hunting trip (or more if at all possible). This is mainly to spend time in the bush, time together as a family, time together with family friends, time to stock up on some venison for the fridge and the opportunity to hunt with family and friends.
Earlier this year was no exception and four families headed north, between Alldays and Mussina for our annual pilgrimage (our second actually for the year). Everybody left on the Wednesday except us!
Day 1
We could only leave Thursday morning at 02h00! All went well and we arrived shortly after sunrise to a beautiful day and a camp full getting ready to depart for their morning hunt.
After some very welcome coffee we started unpacking and pitched our tents. After we had settled in we double checked our rifles at the crude bush range and decided to go on a short drive as we were all keen to get into the bush. We did not have much time as we wanted to be back by about 10H30 to enjoy a brunch together.
This is a Picture of the whole family group.
Just to get you in the picture, this is an 8800 ha (19800 acres), it is a high fenced property with cattle on and inside fences that just keep the cattle in certain sections. The game can move over these unperturbed.
This is a meat hunt and we take what the bush overs us. Old males, young males or females (as long as they are dry and not pregnant), horn size is of no consideration.
We opted for a drive down the border fence putting us the furthest away from where my friend’s wife was on foot with a tracker hunting. We had not gone far when we spotted an old Impala ram seeming to have a scruff with something across the high fence. He was a long way off.
My wife, daughter, wife’s friend and two young sons stayed on the Cruiser. My daughter shot her first blue wildebeest a couple of weeks before so now it was my son’s turn. This would not be his first hunt, he has hunted with me since he was 5 and shot his first animal (a Black wildebeest with me when he was 7). My son and I took a hand-held radio, water, shooting sticks he his 7x65R/12ga Hungarian combination gun on Ferlach action, I took my open sighted 375 H&H ZKKK602 Brno. We set off into the bush and attempted to stalk the Impala ram. The wind was not favourable but we still decided to continue. Periodically we would make our way to the fence line to check on the ram, he was still there having a go at another ram across the fence. Foolishly I assumed this was going to be easy meat.
When we came out the last time at the spot we determined would be good to take a shot from he was no longer on the fence! We got the sticks up and my son got his rifle ready as we were sure he would pop out any minute. The wind was a bit dodgy to say the least and the next minute the sharp bark of a kudu cow close to us gave us away as they dashed away into the bush, we never saw the impala again.
We decided to turn away from the fence and head into the bush and see what we could find. I called my wife and informed them of the new plan and off we went. They had a cooler box on the truck and would be fine and unwinding from the long drive.
Me and my son headed off in the opposite direction of the kudu stampede and after about 35 minutes we crossed a very fresh track of a lone Blue wildebeest bull. We decided to track this bull. The wind was still a bit left and right as the day was beginning to heat up. We continued on the track with the bull seeming to head for a thick clump of trees, presumably to lie up for the hot part of the day and chew cud.
Only problem was we needed to cross a reasonably open area and the wind was still dodgy. We pressed on moving slowly and using all available cover. As we got close to the thicket where we suspected the Bull to be he indeed gave a loud snort as they do when alarmed but not sure what was at foot. This would have still made it possible for a shot was it not for another group of Kudu cows in the same thicket that gave an alarm bark sending the whole lot out the other side. We stayed put and followed the general direction of flight by hearing. After waiting for things to calm down we headed of in that direction. After a short while we cut the tracks of the kudu and the Blue wildebeest running together. The tracks indicated after a while they had slowed to a walk. We kept tracking and noticed the blue wildebeest bull’s tracks veering off downwind of the general wind direction that was still not constant. We decided to stay on the kudu tracks. Unfortunately, we bumped them again with the swirling wind and with another bark the old lead cow took off with the group again. The tracks indicating that they were still running, eventually cross one of the low fences and we decided to let them be. We called the girls on the cruiser by radio. They arrived after a while and we decided to head back to camp for brunch and a rest as we did not have much sleep the night before.
We were surprised when we got to camp to not find anybody there, neither was there any sign of an animal that was slaughtered under the old water tank. We had just gotten something to drink and started preparing for breakfast when my friend arrived and announced that his wife had wounded a kudu bull earlier the morning. I immediately volunteered to go and help. The rest of the group arrived except for the two trackers and my friend’s wife, they were still on the tracks of the kudu bull. We grabbed lots of water and my son, my friend and myself left to go and help.
The neighbouring farm manager had a tracking dog (my young Irish terrier was still in training) but, he was unfortunately not home so we could not use his dog.
It took us a while to get to the general area, took a bush track past a windmill and eventually left the pick-up there as we ran out of track. A 30-minute brisk walk got us to the two trackers and my friends wife. We handed out water and discussed shot placement and got all the input from the tracker that had been with her when she took the shot. The consensus was, the shot was not far about 50 meters, the shot was well placed on the point of the shoulder, the kudu bull may have moved just as she shot, the bull was favouring his one front leg (as indicated by the tracks), the bull was now alone, the bull was moving directly downwind and they had been unable to catch up to him, there was no blood on the track at this point. She had used a .303 with 174gr soft nosed bullets. From the track it was apparent that no vitals where hit and we assumed the bullet had not entered the rib cage, it had either deflected or blown up on the shoulder.
We started tracking again as the only way to find a wounded animal is to have somebody stay on the track, at the end of that track you will find your wounded animal. A kudu is quite a large animal but has surprisingly small hoofs and the bull, being on his own, made tracking slow. With the bull heading straight down wind enabled him to get our sent before we could get close and he would move off again.
My son and I decided to dogleg forward while the rest followed on the track. We were hoping to get ahead of the bull while they remained on the track. They would not fire forward and we would not fire back.
We were soon way ahead of the rest when we came to a small dry stream bed. We decided to cut left down the stream bed as this would have us cross the bull’s tracks if he had stayed on course. The area was also more densely vegetated and provided good place for the bull to lie up. It was now well past noon and very hot. We proceeded slowly often stopping to look and check any likely spots where the bull may be bedded down. Coming upon a single track of a kudu bull that had crossed the dry stream bed from left to right, we checked carefully for blood but could find none. The sand being quite course made it difficult to determine if this was the right track. It was however very fresh and we decided to follow it. This was a mistake, as it was the correct track. In hindsight we should have backed off and doglegged again which would have put us ahead of the bull. We had not got 50 yards when the bull got our cent and crashed off downwind. We ran as hard as we could but the bull had cleared the vegetation and we could no longer hear him. We dog legged again and came to a low cattle fence. Following the fence, we checked for the bull’s tracks. Sure enough the bull had crossed the fence still heading directly downwind. We found a small speck of blood were the bulls feet had hit the ground when he jumped the fence.
A short while later the rest of the crew arrived. Time for plan B. My friend’s wife was by now a bit dehydrated and the sun had taken its toll, it was hot. One of the trackers went back to the truck and we replenished our water supply. We made a call to try and arrange the tracking dog from next door but no luck.
As the bull had bedded down when my son and I had jumped him close to the stream bed we were hoping he would bed down again. The wind however was our enemy and the bull was using this to his advantage. We decided to go ahead to the next camp cattle fence (my son, myself and my friend), while the trackers and my friend’s wife stayed on the tracks.
We knew the bull was heading in a straight line so we set ourselves up in the right place on the next cattle fence line. After about an hour and a half to our great surprise the trackers and my friend’s wife emerged from the bush on the fence line not 100 yards from our position! What had happened to the bull!
Unbeknown to us the bull had travelled while we were regrouping at the first fence line and had crossed the fence line we were waiting on before we got there!
The bull had however bedded down just before he crossed the second fence line. At this spot we again found small spots of blood. When the bull had risen and continued we could see in the track that his wounded leg had now started to stiffen up (much like us as it was now 14h00 in the afternoon and this was turning into a marathon of sorts.
Again, we made a call and thankfully we got hold of the owner of the tracking dog. After marking the track, we decided to go back to camp for a quick bite to eat while the trackers left to fetch the dog. We radioed my wife and her friend in camp to please prepare something to eat for the trackers which they would collect on the way out.
Plan C.
After refuelling in camp and as soon as the trackers arrived with Doppies (the tracker dog) we went back to the track. This time everybody came along but would wait at the fence line while we continued.
Thankfully it had cooled down a bit. We put the dog on the track and he took off like a bullet! I took off trying to keep up but to no avail. I soon lost sight of the dog and slowed down. The direction the dog took off into was not consistent with the direction the bull had been travelling in all day. The dog returned and I called the trackers back and we regrouped where the bull had jumped the second fence.
Back to square one!
Plan D.
We had to stay on the track if we were to find this bull. I decided to carry Doppies to prevent him from running around until we jumped the bull again. However, this did not last long. We let Doppies run free and we set off once again on the track, heading down wind.
Doppies, hitching a ride as we track on.
We had gone on the track for about 40 minutes when the one tracker froze! He could hear Doppies barking a long way off (a long way off!). I could not hear a thing with my cordite ears. He beckoned me to come and took off at a rate of knots that would make Bolt smile! I had no option but to take off as well. I did my best to keep up with the tracker who was running at full speed! I come from the summer of 69 and really had to push to keep up, my heart was pounding so hard in my chest I remember thinking boy I need to exercise more. After what felt like an eternity the tracker thankfully started slowing down. By this time the other tracker, and the rest were way behind.
We could hear Doppies going crazy in a thicket of sickle bush about 50 yards ahead. We could not see the kudu. We slowly sneaked closer not wanting to spook the bull again. Finally (thankfully for me as I had a chance to catch my breath!) we spotted the bull. We could only see the bottom parts of his legs and now and again his horns as he lashed at Doppies.
I had taken the 7x57mm with for the afternoon session. I could not see the body of the bull only the lower parts of his legs. I lined up at what I thought were the front legs and estimating where the body was and shot through the brush for behind the shoulder. The bull had no reaction to the shot. I had instinctively re-loaded and repeated the shot. The bull crashed out of the thicket but did not get far, as Doppies stopped him again. The shots were taking effect and the bull had his head down. Waiting for Doppies to get well clear I shot the bull behind the ear and our ordeal was finally over.
The rest of the crew on foot arrived in an exhausted state (all of us were as it had been a long day)! There were smiles all round and we were thankful that we had finally got the bull. The biggest smile came from my friend’s wife! This was her first kudu bull and she had stayed with us on foot all the time even though we had become despondent at times. Her shot had been placed very well, unfortunately the bullet did not perform likewise and had disintegrated on the shoulder and failed to penetrate to the vitals.
It was now 16h00 in the afternoon.
A very happy huntress after a long ordeal and hanging in there all day.
Some of the youngsters first time close to a kudu.
The work however was far from over, we now had to cut open a track for the cruiser to get to the bull to load him. We headed back to the cruiser and everybody got into the action cutting open a track. Well not exactly all of us, I opted to drive and have a cold beer while the rest did the work!
Teamwork and getting ready to load the bull.
No need for the winch with such a big team around.
Although this was a first for the huntress, this is not the buck that this story is about, those come later.
Needless to say, we had quite a few around the campfire that night and some opted to go out a bit later the following day.
Day 2
After travelling so far to get to the camp the previous day and our ordeal with the Kudu bull we opted to take it easy and had a late start. The rest all went out hunting. After breakfast we went out deciding to only explore and enjoy being out in nature and spend some time together as a family. We had on out previous trip shot a blue wildebeest (my daughter) and a warthog (my son) so meat was not a priority for us.
My son with the dry warthog sow shot for meat.
Proud moments when you can enjoy the bush with your kids.
Spending time together on a game drive.
Climbing and exploring the Baobab trees, all the kids love doing this.
My mate and son hanging out in camp.
Last my son with .338 Lapua(affectionately referred to as the Mugabe gun), we took it with to try for a baboon but my son ended up shooting a Kudu bull with it. Not very productive rifle to slog around in the bush.
At this point we had been walking for a long time and stopped to have a bit of a rest.
My son’s Kudu bull that fell to the .338 Lapua.
Nice old Kudu bull.
Day is getting a bit long for this youngster so he decides to take a nap next to Tokelosh, the tracking dog.
This Baobab was completely hollow at the top of the split and had 2-day old leopard claw marks up to the top, probably from an old territorial male who had slept here while patrolling his home range.
I had taken a friend of ours who had her two young son’s there out for a Duiker but we had been unsuccessful and the lad was a bit down but I assured him we still had time.
Day 3
We decided to do some more game viewing and departed for Mapungubwe to show the kids some elephants.
Mapungubwe is where the Shashe river joins the Limpopo river and Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa come together.
Elephant bull tracks in the road.
Beautiful rock formations throughout the park.
Elephants also love Baobab trees and relish the bark during the dry season.
Old military installation from the bush war.
Klipspringer taking refuge from the heat.
Elephant bulls heading to the river past a Giraffe bull.
More bulls on the edge of the riverine bush.
Elephant bull in the riverine bush.
At about lunch time we head back to the ranch and have a brunch and get ready to go out hunting duiker with the young man who has been so eager to hunt his first animal.
When we get to camp we find that two first time animals are already in the cooler….
First Impala ram for this first-time hunter, 375 H&H.
First steenbok ram for my mate’s son, .303 British, the youngster was real chuffed.
To be continued……
On this hunt we had my friend’s wife take her first kudu bull, their friend takes his first ever buck, an impala ram, our mutual friend’s son takes his first duiker ram and our friends young son under both parent’s guidance takes his first animal, a steen buck ram.
On the hunt prior to this my daughter took her first animal, a blue wildebeest and my son his first warthog.
Every year, we as a family go on a weekend hunting trip (or more if at all possible). This is mainly to spend time in the bush, time together as a family, time together with family friends, time to stock up on some venison for the fridge and the opportunity to hunt with family and friends.
Earlier this year was no exception and four families headed north, between Alldays and Mussina for our annual pilgrimage (our second actually for the year). Everybody left on the Wednesday except us!
Day 1
We could only leave Thursday morning at 02h00! All went well and we arrived shortly after sunrise to a beautiful day and a camp full getting ready to depart for their morning hunt.
After some very welcome coffee we started unpacking and pitched our tents. After we had settled in we double checked our rifles at the crude bush range and decided to go on a short drive as we were all keen to get into the bush. We did not have much time as we wanted to be back by about 10H30 to enjoy a brunch together.
This is a Picture of the whole family group.
Just to get you in the picture, this is an 8800 ha (19800 acres), it is a high fenced property with cattle on and inside fences that just keep the cattle in certain sections. The game can move over these unperturbed.
This is a meat hunt and we take what the bush overs us. Old males, young males or females (as long as they are dry and not pregnant), horn size is of no consideration.
We opted for a drive down the border fence putting us the furthest away from where my friend’s wife was on foot with a tracker hunting. We had not gone far when we spotted an old Impala ram seeming to have a scruff with something across the high fence. He was a long way off.
My wife, daughter, wife’s friend and two young sons stayed on the Cruiser. My daughter shot her first blue wildebeest a couple of weeks before so now it was my son’s turn. This would not be his first hunt, he has hunted with me since he was 5 and shot his first animal (a Black wildebeest with me when he was 7). My son and I took a hand-held radio, water, shooting sticks he his 7x65R/12ga Hungarian combination gun on Ferlach action, I took my open sighted 375 H&H ZKKK602 Brno. We set off into the bush and attempted to stalk the Impala ram. The wind was not favourable but we still decided to continue. Periodically we would make our way to the fence line to check on the ram, he was still there having a go at another ram across the fence. Foolishly I assumed this was going to be easy meat.
When we came out the last time at the spot we determined would be good to take a shot from he was no longer on the fence! We got the sticks up and my son got his rifle ready as we were sure he would pop out any minute. The wind was a bit dodgy to say the least and the next minute the sharp bark of a kudu cow close to us gave us away as they dashed away into the bush, we never saw the impala again.
We decided to turn away from the fence and head into the bush and see what we could find. I called my wife and informed them of the new plan and off we went. They had a cooler box on the truck and would be fine and unwinding from the long drive.
Me and my son headed off in the opposite direction of the kudu stampede and after about 35 minutes we crossed a very fresh track of a lone Blue wildebeest bull. We decided to track this bull. The wind was still a bit left and right as the day was beginning to heat up. We continued on the track with the bull seeming to head for a thick clump of trees, presumably to lie up for the hot part of the day and chew cud.
Only problem was we needed to cross a reasonably open area and the wind was still dodgy. We pressed on moving slowly and using all available cover. As we got close to the thicket where we suspected the Bull to be he indeed gave a loud snort as they do when alarmed but not sure what was at foot. This would have still made it possible for a shot was it not for another group of Kudu cows in the same thicket that gave an alarm bark sending the whole lot out the other side. We stayed put and followed the general direction of flight by hearing. After waiting for things to calm down we headed of in that direction. After a short while we cut the tracks of the kudu and the Blue wildebeest running together. The tracks indicated after a while they had slowed to a walk. We kept tracking and noticed the blue wildebeest bull’s tracks veering off downwind of the general wind direction that was still not constant. We decided to stay on the kudu tracks. Unfortunately, we bumped them again with the swirling wind and with another bark the old lead cow took off with the group again. The tracks indicating that they were still running, eventually cross one of the low fences and we decided to let them be. We called the girls on the cruiser by radio. They arrived after a while and we decided to head back to camp for brunch and a rest as we did not have much sleep the night before.
We were surprised when we got to camp to not find anybody there, neither was there any sign of an animal that was slaughtered under the old water tank. We had just gotten something to drink and started preparing for breakfast when my friend arrived and announced that his wife had wounded a kudu bull earlier the morning. I immediately volunteered to go and help. The rest of the group arrived except for the two trackers and my friend’s wife, they were still on the tracks of the kudu bull. We grabbed lots of water and my son, my friend and myself left to go and help.
The neighbouring farm manager had a tracking dog (my young Irish terrier was still in training) but, he was unfortunately not home so we could not use his dog.
It took us a while to get to the general area, took a bush track past a windmill and eventually left the pick-up there as we ran out of track. A 30-minute brisk walk got us to the two trackers and my friends wife. We handed out water and discussed shot placement and got all the input from the tracker that had been with her when she took the shot. The consensus was, the shot was not far about 50 meters, the shot was well placed on the point of the shoulder, the kudu bull may have moved just as she shot, the bull was favouring his one front leg (as indicated by the tracks), the bull was now alone, the bull was moving directly downwind and they had been unable to catch up to him, there was no blood on the track at this point. She had used a .303 with 174gr soft nosed bullets. From the track it was apparent that no vitals where hit and we assumed the bullet had not entered the rib cage, it had either deflected or blown up on the shoulder.
We started tracking again as the only way to find a wounded animal is to have somebody stay on the track, at the end of that track you will find your wounded animal. A kudu is quite a large animal but has surprisingly small hoofs and the bull, being on his own, made tracking slow. With the bull heading straight down wind enabled him to get our sent before we could get close and he would move off again.
My son and I decided to dogleg forward while the rest followed on the track. We were hoping to get ahead of the bull while they remained on the track. They would not fire forward and we would not fire back.
We were soon way ahead of the rest when we came to a small dry stream bed. We decided to cut left down the stream bed as this would have us cross the bull’s tracks if he had stayed on course. The area was also more densely vegetated and provided good place for the bull to lie up. It was now well past noon and very hot. We proceeded slowly often stopping to look and check any likely spots where the bull may be bedded down. Coming upon a single track of a kudu bull that had crossed the dry stream bed from left to right, we checked carefully for blood but could find none. The sand being quite course made it difficult to determine if this was the right track. It was however very fresh and we decided to follow it. This was a mistake, as it was the correct track. In hindsight we should have backed off and doglegged again which would have put us ahead of the bull. We had not got 50 yards when the bull got our cent and crashed off downwind. We ran as hard as we could but the bull had cleared the vegetation and we could no longer hear him. We dog legged again and came to a low cattle fence. Following the fence, we checked for the bull’s tracks. Sure enough the bull had crossed the fence still heading directly downwind. We found a small speck of blood were the bulls feet had hit the ground when he jumped the fence.
A short while later the rest of the crew arrived. Time for plan B. My friend’s wife was by now a bit dehydrated and the sun had taken its toll, it was hot. One of the trackers went back to the truck and we replenished our water supply. We made a call to try and arrange the tracking dog from next door but no luck.
As the bull had bedded down when my son and I had jumped him close to the stream bed we were hoping he would bed down again. The wind however was our enemy and the bull was using this to his advantage. We decided to go ahead to the next camp cattle fence (my son, myself and my friend), while the trackers and my friend’s wife stayed on the tracks.
We knew the bull was heading in a straight line so we set ourselves up in the right place on the next cattle fence line. After about an hour and a half to our great surprise the trackers and my friend’s wife emerged from the bush on the fence line not 100 yards from our position! What had happened to the bull!
Unbeknown to us the bull had travelled while we were regrouping at the first fence line and had crossed the fence line we were waiting on before we got there!
The bull had however bedded down just before he crossed the second fence line. At this spot we again found small spots of blood. When the bull had risen and continued we could see in the track that his wounded leg had now started to stiffen up (much like us as it was now 14h00 in the afternoon and this was turning into a marathon of sorts.
Again, we made a call and thankfully we got hold of the owner of the tracking dog. After marking the track, we decided to go back to camp for a quick bite to eat while the trackers left to fetch the dog. We radioed my wife and her friend in camp to please prepare something to eat for the trackers which they would collect on the way out.
Plan C.
After refuelling in camp and as soon as the trackers arrived with Doppies (the tracker dog) we went back to the track. This time everybody came along but would wait at the fence line while we continued.
Thankfully it had cooled down a bit. We put the dog on the track and he took off like a bullet! I took off trying to keep up but to no avail. I soon lost sight of the dog and slowed down. The direction the dog took off into was not consistent with the direction the bull had been travelling in all day. The dog returned and I called the trackers back and we regrouped where the bull had jumped the second fence.
Back to square one!
Plan D.
We had to stay on the track if we were to find this bull. I decided to carry Doppies to prevent him from running around until we jumped the bull again. However, this did not last long. We let Doppies run free and we set off once again on the track, heading down wind.
Doppies, hitching a ride as we track on.
We had gone on the track for about 40 minutes when the one tracker froze! He could hear Doppies barking a long way off (a long way off!). I could not hear a thing with my cordite ears. He beckoned me to come and took off at a rate of knots that would make Bolt smile! I had no option but to take off as well. I did my best to keep up with the tracker who was running at full speed! I come from the summer of 69 and really had to push to keep up, my heart was pounding so hard in my chest I remember thinking boy I need to exercise more. After what felt like an eternity the tracker thankfully started slowing down. By this time the other tracker, and the rest were way behind.
We could hear Doppies going crazy in a thicket of sickle bush about 50 yards ahead. We could not see the kudu. We slowly sneaked closer not wanting to spook the bull again. Finally (thankfully for me as I had a chance to catch my breath!) we spotted the bull. We could only see the bottom parts of his legs and now and again his horns as he lashed at Doppies.
I had taken the 7x57mm with for the afternoon session. I could not see the body of the bull only the lower parts of his legs. I lined up at what I thought were the front legs and estimating where the body was and shot through the brush for behind the shoulder. The bull had no reaction to the shot. I had instinctively re-loaded and repeated the shot. The bull crashed out of the thicket but did not get far, as Doppies stopped him again. The shots were taking effect and the bull had his head down. Waiting for Doppies to get well clear I shot the bull behind the ear and our ordeal was finally over.
The rest of the crew on foot arrived in an exhausted state (all of us were as it had been a long day)! There were smiles all round and we were thankful that we had finally got the bull. The biggest smile came from my friend’s wife! This was her first kudu bull and she had stayed with us on foot all the time even though we had become despondent at times. Her shot had been placed very well, unfortunately the bullet did not perform likewise and had disintegrated on the shoulder and failed to penetrate to the vitals.
It was now 16h00 in the afternoon.
A very happy huntress after a long ordeal and hanging in there all day.
Some of the youngsters first time close to a kudu.
The work however was far from over, we now had to cut open a track for the cruiser to get to the bull to load him. We headed back to the cruiser and everybody got into the action cutting open a track. Well not exactly all of us, I opted to drive and have a cold beer while the rest did the work!
Teamwork and getting ready to load the bull.
No need for the winch with such a big team around.
Although this was a first for the huntress, this is not the buck that this story is about, those come later.
Needless to say, we had quite a few around the campfire that night and some opted to go out a bit later the following day.
Day 2
After travelling so far to get to the camp the previous day and our ordeal with the Kudu bull we opted to take it easy and had a late start. The rest all went out hunting. After breakfast we went out deciding to only explore and enjoy being out in nature and spend some time together as a family. We had on out previous trip shot a blue wildebeest (my daughter) and a warthog (my son) so meat was not a priority for us.
My son with the dry warthog sow shot for meat.
Proud moments when you can enjoy the bush with your kids.
Spending time together on a game drive.
Climbing and exploring the Baobab trees, all the kids love doing this.
My mate and son hanging out in camp.
Last my son with .338 Lapua(affectionately referred to as the Mugabe gun), we took it with to try for a baboon but my son ended up shooting a Kudu bull with it. Not very productive rifle to slog around in the bush.
At this point we had been walking for a long time and stopped to have a bit of a rest.
My son’s Kudu bull that fell to the .338 Lapua.
Nice old Kudu bull.
Day is getting a bit long for this youngster so he decides to take a nap next to Tokelosh, the tracking dog.
This Baobab was completely hollow at the top of the split and had 2-day old leopard claw marks up to the top, probably from an old territorial male who had slept here while patrolling his home range.
I had taken a friend of ours who had her two young son’s there out for a Duiker but we had been unsuccessful and the lad was a bit down but I assured him we still had time.
Day 3
We decided to do some more game viewing and departed for Mapungubwe to show the kids some elephants.
Mapungubwe is where the Shashe river joins the Limpopo river and Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa come together.
Elephant bull tracks in the road.
Beautiful rock formations throughout the park.
Elephants also love Baobab trees and relish the bark during the dry season.
Old military installation from the bush war.
Klipspringer taking refuge from the heat.
Elephant bulls heading to the river past a Giraffe bull.
More bulls on the edge of the riverine bush.
Elephant bull in the riverine bush.
At about lunch time we head back to the ranch and have a brunch and get ready to go out hunting duiker with the young man who has been so eager to hunt his first animal.
When we get to camp we find that two first time animals are already in the cooler….
First Impala ram for this first-time hunter, 375 H&H.
First steenbok ram for my mate’s son, .303 British, the youngster was real chuffed.
To be continued……
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