Back in 2019, my hunting partner Ross and I got serious about a trip to South Africa for Cape buffalo. I had been to Namibia in 2012 for PG, while this was his first African trip. We researched many outfitters, looking primarily at smaller operations where we would be the only hunters in camp. Recommendations from Craig Boddington and a few others led us to Stanley Pieterse, whose operation is in northern Limpopo, near Botswana and Zimbabwe. We booked the trip for May 2020, and you all know how that went. After rebooking for May 2021, we suffered COVID-related scheduling failures with South African Airways, British Airways, Delta and Virgin Atlantic. Finally, based on advice from this forum, we booked with Qatar, and the trip went off without a hitch. Much has been written on this forum about Qatar Airways; suffice it to say that the Qatar Q suite is by far the best airline experience of my life. The lounge at Hamad Airport in Doha would put some excellent hotels to shame. These people understand customer service at a level unseen on US carriers. We landed at Tambo and were met by the Rifle Permits guy and Stanley, and were on our way with no drama.
While this hunt was primarily about buffalo, we we there during the kudu rut, and had hopes of being able to hunt kudu bulls as well. Stanley and his friend and co-PH Pietr Vermaak were not only friendly and competent, but had well-developed senses of humor. Even though buffalo hunting is serious business, we had fun the entire 10 days. The compound itself is beautiful, sitting on the edge of a valley, overlooking a waterhole. Fieldstone and thatched roof bungalows, each with a large bedroom and bathroom, were very comfortable.
The last photo above is the dining hall. All meals are eaten together, and whatever game is taken is on the table the next day for dinner. We ate buffalo steak, kudu Strogonoff, sable Wellington, wildebeest schnitzel, impala filet; you get the picture. Linda, the chef, is from Zimbabwe and is a gifted cook. Beautiful soups, salads, sides and desserts accompanied impeccably prepared game meats.
Since we were after a variety of game, we both brought .375 H&H rifles. Ross had a CZ 550 with a Leupold VX6 1-6X, shooting Federal 300 grain Barnes TSX, and I had a Blaser R8 with a Swarovski Z6i 1-6X shooting 350 grain Woodleigh Weldcore HD loaded to 2300 fps by Hendershot’s. Since we arrived mid-afternoon, we confirmed zero and started scouting for buffalo. There were giraffes and impala everywhere. Lots of buffalo sign, but none to be seen. We did bump into a nice heard of eland cows:
While this hunt was primarily about buffalo, we we there during the kudu rut, and had hopes of being able to hunt kudu bulls as well. Stanley and his friend and co-PH Pietr Vermaak were not only friendly and competent, but had well-developed senses of humor. Even though buffalo hunting is serious business, we had fun the entire 10 days. The compound itself is beautiful, sitting on the edge of a valley, overlooking a waterhole. Fieldstone and thatched roof bungalows, each with a large bedroom and bathroom, were very comfortable.
The last photo above is the dining hall. All meals are eaten together, and whatever game is taken is on the table the next day for dinner. We ate buffalo steak, kudu Strogonoff, sable Wellington, wildebeest schnitzel, impala filet; you get the picture. Linda, the chef, is from Zimbabwe and is a gifted cook. Beautiful soups, salads, sides and desserts accompanied impeccably prepared game meats.
Since we were after a variety of game, we both brought .375 H&H rifles. Ross had a CZ 550 with a Leupold VX6 1-6X, shooting Federal 300 grain Barnes TSX, and I had a Blaser R8 with a Swarovski Z6i 1-6X shooting 350 grain Woodleigh Weldcore HD loaded to 2300 fps by Hendershot’s. Since we arrived mid-afternoon, we confirmed zero and started scouting for buffalo. There were giraffes and impala everywhere. Lots of buffalo sign, but none to be seen. We did bump into a nice heard of eland cows:
