SOUTH AFRICA: BOWHUNT: Dare To Bowhunt The Pongola Diary

[Nicovl0604]

hi @ all,
just to keep you updated...
sabine and myself had two days of hunting with lammie and allison...
2 nice impala rams, 1 wildebeest bull, 1 warthog male ~ 9 inches... down...
4 more days to come, will keep you updated...
will try to write some tonight.

nico

 

[Thunder head]

congradts on the sucsess so far Nico, keep it coming.

 

[monish]

Nico,

Great hunting !!! Congrats.. waiting for the photos & hunt reports.....

Monish

 

[Nicovl0604]

as the internetconnection is quite unstable out here, i didnt write anymore yesterday.
today, after a little rain and some thunder that night, this morning we didnt do much.
lammie took us out for some rifle shooting, just for the fun of it...
i took my bow with me, just in case we would see this blesbok. i might be a little crazy, but i wanted to try and stalk him... but we didnt see him.... his luck, as i will explain right now.
after some driving around and just having a look at some animal, lammie stopped at one of the hides and told me to get in... he had seen a small herd of blesbok.
ok, there i was, sitting, waiting... for hours... nothing, not even a skinny warthog showed up...
lunchtime at 1pm... it was still pretty windy outside, so we had one of the delicious meal, the cook made at the lodge...
after about 20 min lammie told me to hurry up, the wind would settle down a bit, and the time it stops, the blesbok will come to the water... so i quickly finished the meal, had a cigarette and a toilet break, and off we went again.
1:45 pm back in the hide... and nothing again...
2:45 pm nothing had shown up...
3:45 pm nothing...
4:00 pm guess what... nothing.... right
had one more go on the chessgame on my iphone, and 10 min later i just wanted to check one of the side windows and there they came: 6 blesboks slowly making their way to the water.
quiet as one may think, i stood up, grabbed my bow (did i tell, that i hunt with an elite xlr? )
just gave the shooting window a little push to open up for me, stepped back a bit, for a good shooting position... there they stood... two on the left side of the water, next to each other, ok i wont shoot two at once two of them standing behind those two drinking... too far away... one standing behind a tree... no chance on that one... and there he was, just strolling on to the right side of the water, standing broadside, started drinking.
drawing back the bow as slowly as i could, to be as silent as possible...
put the pin to the spot... he raised his head, after he finished drinking.... i thought that would be the moment, i released...
hit right in the side, a bit low... maybe a bit far back... but he didnt run off, he just took the shot like a man... slowly walking some yrds, stopping, the others... no reaction, he continued walking....
after maybe 40 seconds he bedded down, 5 seconds later: job done...
by that time the other walked off as calm as they came in...
i could see the arrow, which completely passed through, light red blood on it...
i still felt quite unsure about how good the shot was, but i could see him down there, no movement...
in other words: i got my blesbok

lammie came an we took some pics.... and he told me that this blesbok is quite a nice one to have, for a first time bowhunter... a bit more than 16 inches (we havent messured it yet...)

at the skinning shed i watched the guys doing some great work, and when i saw what the arrow did to the bok, i felt better. cut the lower end of the heart, cut through two ribs, cut the liver as well... (dont ask me how this can be, but i've seen it) and took a good bit of the lungs.

i am proud as hell, i can tell you for sure

 

[Nicovl0604]

Hi there, this is Sabine, writing on Nico`s account... (I have registered once, but forgot my password, so that will do for now).

After a slightly troubled start of our journey, since we had to wait hours for our train to the airport, due to heavy thunderstormes in Germany, we finally got to Frankfurt, got our stuff checked in (better give your bows to the firearms department right away, so there`s no trouble and everything will be handled with care), we climbed our Jumbo to Johannesburg. Some nice turbulences and another thunderstorm at 11000ft later we finally got there, checked out and in again right away for our bushtaxi to Richards Bay, where Allison already waited for us to pick up. Allison`s texan mind could easily be recognized when watching her drive or arguing with the local police , and we finally got to Pongola. Since it was near dark, we didn`t see much, but our chalets are really really nice. There we finally met Lammie as well, and we had our first taste of these delicious meals at the lodge, while at once feeling friends with our two hosts. They both are very down to earth, nice and funny...
We fell into bed after this long journey, but had to get up early next morning to check our bows (and shooting skills...) and then go bowhunting for the first time ever!

So... MY first day of hunting:
With Allison I went to "Intibane", the "Warthog blind" (as they all have names after the species that is most common at these places), but at first nothing happened at all. When the birds came back, i thought it would be a good sign for the other animals to be safe at this water hole, but it took another while for the first nyala bull to come near. What a great one, but that was not what I was waiting for, so we let him pass. Again, waiting, watching, trying to stay awake, when all of a sudden a very nice Impala ram strolled straight towards us. we just had enough time to get camera and bow ready, and there he was, standing broadside at about 18yds, bending down to drink. From all I`ve had heard about impala hunting, I knew that this was probably the best chance I`d ever get, so I took it. I drew my bow, and the last thiing I can recall is aiming low on the shoulder, just like all the books say and Lammie told us, and the arrow was on it`s way. The Impala dashed off, running just a few yards, then it stopped, coughed heavily, and off it went. My arrow lay there, a bit off to the left from where the animal had been, glistening from light red blood. Adrenalin was flowing freely in my veins, goose pimples all over my skin! I did it!
That was my first hunt ever, and all the time I had tried to imagine what it would be like, and now I just couldn`t tell, because everything happened too fast.
Then Allison and me watched the video she made. Oh no, my worst fears seemed to come true: the arrow impact was too high and a bit far back, not where I wanted it to be. I was worried if that would be a lethal shot and if we could recover the animal, since it seemed to be able to run quite some distance. But for now we had to be patient again.
We only saw some monkeys and warthogs, and Allison was staying in contact via sms with Lammie, who sat in the other blind with Nico.
The only thing Lammie answered was: Keep the patience, we will find it!
As they came to pick us up for lunch they told us that They had seen my Impala lying down at about 150ys away (but still alive, if only just).
We discussed this during lunch break, and everyone assured me that these things happen, especially with impalas.
After lunch we were back at the hide, but apart from spotting nyala, warthog families and one more beautiful impala ram there was no other chance of making a shot.
No problem, I was absolutely convenient with the course of the day, it was far more than I had hoped for.
In the evening at last we recovered that impala, and we saw that the arrow did come out further to the front than it went in, maybe because i must have hit a rib according to the look of the blade...

Nico`s Day one:
after a short, but good rest, as sabine just told, we got up at 6, shower, breakfast, shooting some practice arrows, to convince lammie that we are no complete idiots, and of we went...
after we dropped allison and sabine, we went to our blind, and we sat there for hours...
as all of you will know, waiting is what you will do 90% of the time... so we sat there, watching some nice nyala come by, a few warthogs with ther piglets... and waited again... i think lammie thought about getting a blue wildebeest bull or maybe a blesbok, but it turned out completely different....
we recieved the sms, that sabine shot her impala ram... so it was up to me, to follow...
we went off to the lodge to have lunch, one of those nice meal, which cant be mentioned too much. i`ll think by the time we leave i`ll have gained some weight.
after lunch, we went back, and as everyone will guess right, we sat their again, waiting... as lammie is the man he is, i had quite a hard time to keep silent, because of his jokes, and funny stories... laughing out loud while sitting in the hide, does not look like the best idea, if you are after some meat for dinner...
lammie decided, around 4 pm i think, that it would be a great idea to hop onto the car to get to different blind, where we might be lucky at last light...
we arrived there just 5 min later, and again we sat there...
all of a sudden a small wildebeest family came to the water... a really good looking bull, with cow and calf... lammie just gave me THAT look... i knew what to do... i silently grabbed my bow and got up. he opend the window for me... i drew back... slowly aiming at the bull. nearly... almost... just about.... 1 mm more and the arrow would have been on its way... but, lammie saw the cow moving... stop, dont shoot he whispered... so i took down the bow... no wildebeest bull for me this time. the cow just walked up right in front of the bull, and he left, covered by the cow... ok, then, next time i`ll be quicker...
after 15 min more of waiting, with 10 min of light left, there he was, standing broadside at the water... a good looking impala ram, that would be my last chance for that day, so i grabbed the bow again.... drew back... lammie opend the shooting window again...
aiming... off the arrow went... hit him perfectly right... he stringjumped about 8 feet(and we saw it on the video, he even reacted, about half a second before the arrow actually struck him) and fast as lightning he went off. i tried to follow, but could not see where he was going, so i lowered the bow. just that second, i hung the bow back onto the hook, lammie already congratulated me... shake hands... nice job...
the ram only went about 100 yards, and he was dead by the time i had hung the bow...

that was a quick and easy recovery... for the first bowhunt, i was more than pleased with the results... (rifle hunting becomes boring very quickly, when you experience something like that )

just one picture we took... more will follow... sorry for the bad picture, i`ll post better ones when there will be a faster connection.

 

[Killzone]

Congratulations ! Nice write up.

 

[Nicovl0604]

day 2 of the pongola diary...
nico:
oh man, what shall i tell you all? the hunting started quite nice on day one, but today...
it was slightly different. sat in the blind whit lammie the whole day... have seen a lot, but did not shoot anything. no shooter turned up. not even a monkey
but the dinner was, once again, so amazingly good, i couldn`t get much sleep, due to
the amounts i ate.

sabine:
this morning we got on our way earlier, went to that blind nico and lammie had been first yesterday.
You`ll know what, waiting, waiting, waiting etc.
Suddenly there were 3 wonderful blesbucks, out of nowhere. One to the right, drinking but facing towards us, two to the left, standing quite, ehm, well... But when I finally had the bow ready, the front left one lifted its head and turned towards us, thus blocking the way to the back one, which was still drinking and holding it`s pose. No way to shoot.
Then the right one spurted away, the others following him as if not having anything better to do.
Fantastic, I thought, that was probably THE chance of the day... and so it seemed to be. Nothing for a looong time, then the inevitable warthog "single parent families". Another nice Impala ram, then a message from lammie + nico, who were again changing hides, that they saw some zebras and 3 male blue wildebeests about 150 yds away from us.
This time, I thought, I won't be late, so I got up from my chair and waited standing.... and standing...and still standing. I didn't dare sitting down in case they would finally decide to have a drink.
More warthogs, about 3 adults and 7 young ones, and then allison said the three sweet words: Get your bow!
Amongst all the warthogs he stood. A strong wildebeest bull, huge and beautiful. Standing broadside, maybe a slight bit quartering away. I aimed low, very low, just behind his elbow, twang!
He jumped, turning away at the same time, with all the warthogs fleeing into every direction, but too late for him.
Allison got the arrow which was lying another 20 yds away from where I shot him, and said she spotted a large blood track and a dark spot not far away that could be the wildebeest.
Message to Lammie and Nico, since it was around lunchtime anyway, they went for the dogs and then met us to look for the bull, which according to the amount of blood loss should be dead by now.
The dogs only had a short excercise as they found the bull gone down about 50 yds from where I shot him, his way marked by large puddles of blood every now and again.
Heart shot.

Afternoon. Changed blinds once again, high, hot, but at least this time with a view to all 4 sides. But it was dead silent for about 2 hours. only a grazing nyala that we are not interested in. Absolutely nothing moved, but after the wildebeest shot I was absolutely content with the course of the day.
Another nyala, or maybe still that same one, obviously feeling safe, approached us, grazing, slowly... What a perfect shot that would have been, you'd have had all the time in the world to prepare. Something right under the blind made noises, and when I tried to look I scared it, a warthog. It made a noisy escape, but the nyala, only 5 yds away, stayed totally undisturbed and continued his meal! He either knew that nyalas were not included in our package, or he was deaf or something!
Some more warthog mamas, then two females without kids, but Allison thought them to be too small to shoot.
It was getting late, the sun already disappeared behind the tree tops, when a large single warthog entered the scene.
Allison and I got a bit caught, she fetching the camera and kneeling down while at the same time I tried to draw my bow and find the best position, which was of course right where she was.
Then I was afraid that she might get the bow limbs snatched into her back when I released, and all the time the hog was drinking...
So I got into a hurry, something you must, under all circumstances, avoid.
I estimated the distance by comparing it with a spot I had ranged before, and twang! before I even realized, I struck it! I thought my shot a little bit high again, disregarding that I shot from so high above, because I'm absolutely sure I didn't think of it consciously while aiming.
Once again we had to wait for the truck and the dogs to look for the animal, which had left speeding to the left.
Besides, the nyala was still there, grazing peacefully!
In the meantime we tried to spot my arrow, and at last I found it. I wondered if we would find the pig as well, as I knew that these are really tough beasts that could run hundreds of yarsd, even if deadly hit.
Maybe it could even reach its hole? But we had the dogs, I hoped they would do the job then.
Then they came and Lammie watched the video. He said that shot looked better as you could see the warthog run... So everyone started searching. The trackers seemed to have found a trace, and I tried to see it as well... I did see nothing! Only grass and earth and animal droppings How the heck are they doing this?
Lammie tried to animate the dogs to track as well, but they only seemed to be playing with each other, and we were walking further... I thought the chance to find the animal was minimized by each step.
Lammie was far in front, and suddenly the dogs were grouping, heading into one direction, then barking excitedly at a bush, and there we found it, HIM infact, since we didn't recognize his sex when I shot it. And what a large one, about 9"!
He got only 150 yds far, that is not much for a warthog, so the shot couldn't have been so bad.
Photos, loading it into the car, and in the last daylight we made it to the lodge.
Nico attended the skinning, and he saw that it was a double lung and heart shot... So maybe I should always shoot without worrying so much?

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

It's like keeping a diary of your hunt... Thanks nico!

 

[Nicovl0604]

hi there,
some writing about the last days...
as i wrote above, day three ended quite well, me taking the blesbok.
the other days where a bit more quiet. for me, just sitting and waiting... but i did not get anything. no shooter turned up, so i just enjoyed the rest of my hunting days sitting and watching the wild.
we went to pongola game reserve for two days... man that is impressive...

sabine managed to get some impala females, and one monster warthog...
the frist day in pongola game reserve she did see one massive male about 11"/10" and took a picture.
when she told me during dinner, i got a bid mad, because she told me she left it for me... so i told her,
if such a shooter turns up, you do not pass him... but take him...
i have to explain, that we did ook a package, which contained 2x impala rams, 2 warthogs up to 10", 1 warthog up to 7", 1 wildebeest male, 1 blesbok male, 2x wildebeest female, and unlimited impala female.
after some talking she at last told me, if the pig would show up again, she will give it a go... and so she did...



in total we managed to bag:
2 nice impala rams
2 very nice warthogs
1 wildebeest bull
1 blesbok
3 impala females

i missed a jackal... still quite sad about that...

overall i have to say, it has been a wounderful week. allison and lammie are great. the manage their property very well, the animals are healthy and make nice trophies,
the blinds are well placed, they just take care of everything.
and: the meals are so delicious!!!!!
i one of you ever gets the chance, you have to try the milk tart allison makes...
would hand in my mother for that one.

some more pics just to give you some more impressions:




oh one thing more:
the pics about the corn feeder, with this little trap...
sabine, one morning, tried to feed the pigs by using the feeder.
there was a trap hanging from the pole, the feeder is mounted to.
as a lady with some really good technical knowledge, she should have realised what this thing might be, but she did not.
so when lammie arrived, two minutes later, he found her, trapped...
her explanation: i just wondered whether that thing might work....
she was not injured, so we had a good laugh....

 

[Zabi]

Hi there, it's me, Sabine,
just having created a new account since I forgot the first one...

As you see I have a special talent to make people laugh (Nico, I have some fresh broadheads left for you telling the trap story, and I've proven I CAN shoot)...

I will post my last shootings soon, as long as the memory is fresh in my mind, but give me some more days, please.

 

[Thunder head]

Congrats to both of you,
Looks like you had a great time.

 

[Zabi]

Ok, here are Days 3-5, last day still missing...

Day 3 no luck

Day4
This morning we went to the Pongola Game Reserve.
When we entered we could already see a rhino, then crossed the way of a group of giraffe... Large kudus standing way back... Crossed the lake by ferry, and finally, after about 30 min drive, I was dropped at my blind called Bhejane. This must be a gathering point for nyalas, for there were lots of them, rams, females and mixed herds. 3 males of a group were fighting, that looked quite impressive. A really old, big warthog boar came by, at least 10", but I wanted to give Nico the opportunity to get a big one like the one I hunted 2 days before, and I would have only one more at 7" (if I get the chance), according to our package. (later on he was angry about that and said I should not have let it go)
Then an impala ram came in, and I was so occupied photographing him that I was quite surprised of his herd, a young male, a calf and some females. One of them, standing broadside to the right, seemed to be so thursty but did not dare drinking, every time she reached down she pulled back , and forth, back and so on, even more nervous than the other impalas I had seen since. Maybe she knew that her time had come? Finally she settled down and relaxed a bit, and that was it, twang! A perfect hit low in her shoulder, still she went off to the right and out of my sight. The others were only slightly confused, stopped after some trotting, just looked around undecidedly as if looking for their mate, then went their way.
Due to poor reception I could not reach Nico or Lammie, so I decided to call the Pongola people, and Niel soon came to look after me and for the impala, but it just got as far as out of my sight, only about 20yds from the water hole. Only my arrow is still missing, we could not find it..
At lunchtime Lammie and Niel dropped Nico at the hide, so I had some company. Poor Nico seems to have no luck at hunting, no chance to shoot today. Only shortly before darkness there was a jackal, but he seemed to only have scratched it lightly, since we (or better: Niel's dog) could not find it and lost track after a short distance.

Day5:
Back to the Pongola Game Reserve, I was again dropped at the bhejane blind.
Nyalas again, lots of them. The males seem to have chosen this place for their arguments and dominance rituals, so many courtship gestures and stalking around each other…. Then a monkey... It turns and looks into the blind, the sun is now shining directly into it, so I'm sure it has seen me, cause after some seconds and thinking about what or who might be looking back at it, finally it runs. Then the next one passes by, looks at me through the glass. Courious as it is it stays frozen for several seconds, then it flees as well. I am a bit worried that they might alarm their whole group and even the other animals as well (Allison had told me so), so I put my camo sunglasses on, and that helps obviously. Some more monkeys come and stare, but since they can't recognize my eyes anymore they just wonder and go for their drinks.
Meanwhile some nyala gather round the water hole, maybe 5 or six…. And soon are accompanied by a small herd of impalas! So it's quite crowdy, some animals near the water on both sides, others watching from a short distance, but everyone seems to be reassured by the others calmness. Then THE warthog appears. No, not the one from yesterday, but an equal one, at least, seeing the crowd, obviously thinking that where such a mass of normally nervous animals have gathered there can be no danger (how very wrong!), and without hesitation it marches to the water and sinks it's nozzle into it. And into my full unbarred view!
Ok, Nico, this time I'll do it. I take my bow, carefully watching all the other animals that could maybe jump into my shot, but no one appears to plan moving…. I draw my bow, still not believing my luck, it is like a fixed image. I hesitate another second, meticulously controlling my shot placement, and twang!
What a turmoil! Every animal turns on its heels and flees into all directions, away from the water, even the warthog, which, with a surprised short squeal sprints off, only to collapse app. 40 yds further, trembling for some seconds, and then lying still.
I called Niel of the Pongola Reserve again, and we found the pig just there, he complimented me on the nice hunt and shot the inevitable trophy photo.
It was a bit early for lunch, so he loaded the warthog into his pickup and left me again. I had tried to sms Nico and Lammie, but to no avail, still no reception. Now there was only a 7” warthog left for Nico…
Settling down in the blind again and not really believing to see another animal here until lunchbreak, which was only 30 min to go, I was very surprised to see a single impala female walking into view after a short while! I couldn't believe my luck, but grabbed the bow in case there might develop a good shooting situation. And there was! She stood completely broadside on the left side of the water, and when I shot, she got off to the left, but only sort of trotting away out of my range of sight.
Since I was not sure to have hit her where I aimed at (see the first impala I shot), I thought of the truck which soon would arrive to pick me up and maybe upset the animal, if only wounded. So I tried again to reach Niel on the phone to wait a short while, but I already heard the roaring engine and then saw the white car! I tried to give them a signal, but they stopped right in front of the blind.
I told them (Lammie + Nico were there as well) what happened, and we all started searching into the escape direction of the impala. It was a very short walk, we found the animal 20yds away, as dead as can be. What a morning!!!
Again Nico stayed with me at the blind, but again the afternoon was very quiet, even more than the day before.

 

[Nicovl0604]

Ok, here are Days 3-5, last day still missing...


Only shortly before darkness there was a jackal, but he seemed to only have scratched it lightly, since we (or better: Niel's dog) could not find it and lost track after a short distance.

just a short note on that one...
the dog actually never lost the trail, but lammie told us not to go to far, due to the possible encouter with some cape buffs.
as it was quite dark at that time (must have been around 5:30 pm) and we did not have a decend rifle with us, we did not recover the jackal. but i am pretty sure we will meet again next year....

 

[Zabi]

ok, the last day...

we still had two female blue wildebeests left, and one minor warthog, and this time we were trying on the Gagu Lodge again.

I was dropped at a blind looking like an oven, and therefore it was nicknamed "pizza hut"... but today it was quite cold inside, especially because it was digged halfway into the ground.
Thank god I had my facemask and gloves with me, that helped a lot.
But there was no sign of wildebeests yet, a lot of warthogs, ok, but again only females and litter. some nyalas again... and after a while I saw HIM.... HE is an impressive impala ram, lammie's best one, I knew it must be, because some days ago he showed him to us, and that was the same area. Apart from that he is a real beauty, easily to be recognized, and he seems to KNOW that he is not for hunting, but for breeding, cause he is acting so calm...
At first I only saw that ram, strolling to the water, taking a sip. Then I saw his harem... 6 or 8 females, all of them longing for water, but he made a little show of his authority and wouldn't let them, grunting and barking. A real macho..
But then his largest female had enough, she approached the water, cautiously as they are, but I was ready to shoot, and waited for the best second. When she settled down for her drink, I once again controlled my shot placement, waited for another second, then... shot! She flashed forward, jumping over the waterhole, and that might have been the reason why the shot again was a bit back, but low enough. She galloped in a large circle, now accompanied by the ram, who seemed to tend his does, but both went out of my sight....
Once again I called Lammie and reported what had happened. He waited a good 45 minutes, then came with the trackers and the dogs. Once again my arrow went right through, blood covered, that was a good sign for a start.
We found the impala about 150 yds away, she must have fallen out of full motion, according to the trace.
Back to the blind, still waiting for the wildebeests, which I could hear snorting when I shot the impala, but now everything had to settle down again, and I heard.... nothing more of them.
I smsed nico about the impala, and all he answered was "do you have a special deodorant, or do you just pass gas? Or why are they coming to you each day?"
But that was it for the day, I again watched how very systematically the warthog sows checked the area before letting their little ones drink, and later I saw that impala ram again, I'm sure it was him, but he was alone, seemed to look for his doe.... do they have social behaving like that? I don't quite know...
But no wildebeest at all.
And poor Nico, late in the afternoon he finally had a nice warthog already aimed at, but then it got scared by a bird, and that was the end of our first hunting adventure.

It was a very special holiday for us, a new, challenging experience, very comfortable lodging, the meals, I must repeat it as well as Nico, were excellent, and our hosts were very dedicated to make our stay a success, and unforgettable, too.

Thank you, Allison + Lammie!

And thank you, Nico, my friend. Next time you'll have better luck!