SOUTH AFRICA: Hunt With Chris Troskie Safaris

[bluebill]

My dad and I just returned from our hunt with Chris Troskie Safaris, and it was a great trip. From the time that Chris and his wife Sabina met us at Africa Sky guesthouse, until they walked us through our rifle check on the departing flight, we were made to feel like friends and family. Chris runs a first class operation, and works very hard for his clients. We were primarily after nyala, and our wish list was pretty modest given that my list last year on a trip to Namibia is still costing me money! Anyway, we arrived in Joburg, took off for Kwa-Zulu Natal, and hunted hard for 7 days. Here's a brief synopsis of our hunt.

Day 1 we realized that hunting nyala was going to be tough. The bush was still very thick, and spotting them (much less stalking them) was rough going. We hunted hard all day with no luck. As you'll note from any post that mentions Chris and his operation, there is mention of the food. That's because it's incredible! Sabina is a fabulous host and cook. If you go hungry, it's your own fault!

Day 2 we move to lower elevation and chase blesbok and common reedbuck. My dad takes a RW reedbuck, and I take a RW blesbok. We chase nyala in the afternoon, with no luck. I'll quit mentioning the food - every meal was crazy good, so much so that I actually took pictures of each meal to show my wife.

Day 2 ends with the decision to go chase another reedbuck and then concentrate on nyala for a few days. I'll pick up there after I determine why my kids are screaming at each other in what appears to be quite the fist-to-cuffs.....

Mike

 

[Buff-Buster]

Congrat's Mike and keep going. Don't worry about the kids, that's why they have emergency rooms......Great trophies. That reedbuck is a MONSTER!!!

 

[bluebill]

Hunt with Chris Troskie Safaris

Ok, back to the hunt.

Day 3 we head downhill to chase another reedbuck. Luck shines on us, and I take a RW ram very early in the hunt. Beautiful animals, and fun to hunt. We chase nyala all afternoon, with one of us sitting on a waterhole and one stalking up canyons. No luck.

Day 4 we chase nyala all day with no luck. We see a number of young bulls, but hunting continues to be tough in the thick bush. However, visibility is noticeably better today than it has been, as the leaves are dropping and things are opening up. Day 4 ends with tired legs, a great meal, and drinks around the fire.

Day 5 begins with the decision to chase nyala. Chris tells me as we depart that he will find an nyala bull and it will be shot. Damn....he sure did. At 8 am I take this 26.5 inch nyala bull. What an incredibly beautiful animal. Stunning. This guy was the reason I booked this trip with Chris. He's the reason that I ended up in KZN, he's the reason I convinced my dad to take another trip with me, and he's the reason that I ended up making some great friends in CT safaris. At to boot, he's gorgeous.

Day 6 sees us head to another area to chase white blesbok, impala, and continue our search for nyala. We're also hoping to find a nice bushbuck. The day starts with some driving and stalking, and late in the morning I take a nice white blesbok after a really rewarding and long stalk.

Late in the day, we find a nice impala ram that my dad wants to try for, so we make a short stalk. He takes his shot, and we realize that it's not the shot we hoped for. We spend the next hour searching until dark, with no luck.

Day 7 sees us back looking for my dad's impala, which we are unable to find. To our delight, he was found right after we left (this was our last day on safari), so although I don't have pictures of him, my dad will be able to enjoy him for years to come once we locate a cape for him. My dad is pretty bummed out when we call off the search, but we decide to go look for nyala. Just before lunch, we run up on 2 bulls in heavy brush and my dad is able to find one of them in his scope and take a shot at the bull just before he decides to move off. The shot finds it's home and a short time later we're looking at a worn bull with a broken tip. We couldn't see the tip when he was in the brush, but it really didn't matter. My dad was on the verge of tears, hugged me like he hasn't since I was a kid, and the taxidermist can provide the bull with a tip!

We spent some time looking for bushbuck in the afternoon and although we found a mature male, he wasn't what I was looking for so we ended the safari and began our long journey home the next day.

If you're looking for someone to hunt with that goes the extra mile, takes his job and your opportunities seriously, and clearly wants nothing more than to make sure you're successful and enjoy yourself, then Chris is your guy. Everything about his operation is first class.

It will be a few years before I go back to Africa, but I will be back. And when I return, it will be with Chris. Thanks Chris and Sabina for a wonderful trip that I will remember forever. I look forward to seeing you again in a few years.

Mike

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Thank you for posting your hunt report and trophy pictures Mike! Nice to hear that you had a wonderful trip.

 

[Diamondhitch]

Congrats on a great hunt. Seeing your Reedbuck makes me wish I had added them to my list when I was in KZN with Chris. Beautiful trophies!

 

[BRICKBURN]

...................the reason that I ended up in KZN, ...........

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These guys are the exact reason to visit KZN.

Great trophies.

Those Reedbuck are great specimens to.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Norwegianwoods]

Great animals.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[enysse]

Thanks for the hunt report and pictures. Very nice common reedbucks.

 

[ChrisT]

Bit late for comment but only came across this hunt report now. Thanks for spending time with us Mike and thanks for the report! It was a pleasure spending time with you and we're looking forward to seeing you in a few year's time for your next African adventure.

 

[Bobpuckett]

Congrats to you and your Dad on a great hunt those are some awesome trophies. Thanks for sharing the hunt and the great pics.

 

[Nyati]

Congrats for a great hunt and very nice trophies.

Thanks for sharing.