Rider717
AH veteran
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2014
- Messages
- 175
- Reaction score
- 364
- Media
- 77
- Member of
- NRA, SCI, RMEF, DSC, IGFA
- Hunted
- South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Wyoming, South Africa, Argentina, Tanzania
Having become a frequent traveler to Johannesburg and getting some time off there had me itching to get out in the veldt. I met Stephan Cloete of Lloyd Safaris at SCI 2022 and mentioned this to him and he said to give him a call when I was going to be around and that he could accommodate me on such a short stay. He contacted me in March and asked if I had plans yet and after some scheduling issues we were able to set up a hunt in April. I arrived On Monday April 18 and he picked me up at my hotel in J'oburg and we drove to his farm near Ermelo, Mpumalanga. I had a short list for the hunt and wanted a Common Reedbuck and an Oribi. He was able to get the Oribi permit so we were set. First morning there I was out before breakfast with PH Jerry looking for Zebra near the lodge. We were able to stalk a nice zebra stallion and get a good shot on him. A nice start to the hunt!
Later in the afternoon we headed out to an area thick with oribi that they hadn't hunted in a while. The normally knee high grass was up over 5' and the oribi were difficult to find. After 5 or 6 hours we were able to find one in the long grass and I shot this very nice buck.
Back to the lodge late for some needed sleep.
Up early day 2 to look for Common Reedbuck. We drove all day and again had trouble finding anything in the long grass as well as getting stuck a couple of times in mud on washed out roads.
After lunch we headed out for the early evening and an hour before sunset we found this very nice reedbuck running along some maize fields.
They have a lot of small cats and jackals in the area and I was keen on trying for them on a night hunt. I missed several jackals but was able to get this serval in the early evening.
We also managed to get a porcupine and 2 common duiker!
Not bad for 2 days in South Africa! Next day Stephan drove me back to my hotel in J'oburg a bit exhausted but very pleased with such a successful 2 days.
I would have been happy with just one of my two original targets and can't believe we did so well. His properties are absolutely crawling with serval and reedbucks. I know I'll be back to hunt with him soon, probably down at his Pongola lodge or maybe up in Zululand to try for some other species. If you find yourself near Johannesburg with a couple of days to kill give him a call and if he has open days you won't be disappointed in the result. Lloyd safaris is definitely a first class outfitter!
Later in the afternoon we headed out to an area thick with oribi that they hadn't hunted in a while. The normally knee high grass was up over 5' and the oribi were difficult to find. After 5 or 6 hours we were able to find one in the long grass and I shot this very nice buck.
Back to the lodge late for some needed sleep.
Up early day 2 to look for Common Reedbuck. We drove all day and again had trouble finding anything in the long grass as well as getting stuck a couple of times in mud on washed out roads.
After lunch we headed out for the early evening and an hour before sunset we found this very nice reedbuck running along some maize fields.
They have a lot of small cats and jackals in the area and I was keen on trying for them on a night hunt. I missed several jackals but was able to get this serval in the early evening.
We also managed to get a porcupine and 2 common duiker!
Not bad for 2 days in South Africa! Next day Stephan drove me back to my hotel in J'oburg a bit exhausted but very pleased with such a successful 2 days.
I would have been happy with just one of my two original targets and can't believe we did so well. His properties are absolutely crawling with serval and reedbucks. I know I'll be back to hunt with him soon, probably down at his Pongola lodge or maybe up in Zululand to try for some other species. If you find yourself near Johannesburg with a couple of days to kill give him a call and if he has open days you won't be disappointed in the result. Lloyd safaris is definitely a first class outfitter!
