Day 5
An early rise. The night brought a lot of rain. After breakfast, Tangini, the driver (whose name I forgot—it wasn’t Opa), and I set out for duiker and steenbok. We hunted an adjacent plot next to the farm where we were staying, where duiker and steenbok could be hunted. Tangini thought steenbok would be possible, but the duiker would be challenging, as they aren’t numerous. He suggested switching areas. I planned to discuss this with Big Hendrik during lunchtime when he arrived with the last hunting group of the year.
We drove to the neighbor’s adjacent plot, separated only by low cattle fences. It was drizzling; the rain hadn’t stopped, though its intensity had decreased during the night. It occasionally paused. Still, it was getting hot. We stopped near a dry riverbed. This area was more open, with shorter bushes but still plenty of cover for small antelopes. We looked for spoor in the riverbed, as Tangini believed this was our best chance to find a duiker. While searching, a female steenbok bolted away. After a while, we found fresh duiker spoor. For over an hour, we tried to get close, occasionally losing the spoor, but to no avail—not a single sighting.
We called for the bakkie. We spotted a few female steenbok but had no luck with males. We saw some spoor and tried to catch up, but it was fruitless. It was nearing lunchtime, so we headed back to camp. As we were almost back, near our original hunting area, we saw a decent male steenbok. We decided to try our luck, and I thought it best to shoot center mass to preserve the shoulder for a mount. I have to confess, this wasn’t my finest hunting moment.
I hit him center mass with the 30-06, nearly splitting him in half, and with his guts out, he bolted away. He fell near a bush. I aimed for the spine near the back legs, hoping to end it quickly. Boom—his lower body was nearly gone. Amazingly, when we approached, the steenbok was still breathing. We quickly ended his suffering. The whole ordeal was over within a minute, but I was distressed. I’d read advice to aim center mass for smaller species to allow for mounting, but seeing this result, I’ll opt for a shot behind the shoulder through the lungs next time, unless I have a solid bullet. Luckily, I’d have a chance to redeem myself a day later.
I thanked the steenbok for its life and apologized for my poor shooting decisions. We took some pictures and headed back to camp, but first, we stopped at the farm owner’s place, where the employees received the meat (what was left of it, anyway).
While driving back, Tangini spotted movement—two jackals running away. We stopped the bakkie, and I took a freehand shot, standing in the back of the bakkie. The distance was about 130 meters. I placed the crosshair slightly ahead of the animal and took a running shot. I yelled, “In die kont!”—roughly translated as “in the arse.” That’s where I hit it. The driver and Tangini weren’t sure I’d hit it, given the distance, but I was confident. Sure enough, we found it with a bullet near the back end but instant death.
Back at camp, Big Hendrik had arrived with the new group of German hunters. They introduced themselves, and some mistook me for one of their PHs for the hunt. No, I’m just a client!
I discussed plans with Big Hendrik. He thought that near Gobabis, and possibly a bit further, we’d have the best chance to take a nice duiker. I could stay at his home in Gobabis for my remaining days and hunt from there. It sounded like a good plan. Tangini and Young Hendrik would stay with the new group of German hunters. We said goodbye. I’d grown really fond of Young Hendrik—we clicked well, being roughly the same age. We’ll definitely hunt together again in the future, so it wasn’t a permanent goodbye.
I rode with Big Hendrik, his wife Trudy, and Young Hendrik’s wife, Bianca. The drive was great fun—Big Hendrik is quite the character. We stopped for dinner, and Big Hendrik was a fantastic host. It was a splendid meal. We arrived at their beautiful home in Gobabis—a great place with a lovely garden and a watchtower. You could tell he lived in South Africa until recently; security was clearly on his mind. Over the next few days, we almost became family. I truly appreciated their hospitality—they’re wonderful people.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll go with Big Hendrik and his tracker, Kelvin. There’s a really nice duiker in the area, and we’ll try to go after it. Multiple sightings have been reported, so hopefully, we can find this big one.
To be continued...
