SOUTH AFRICA: My first Time In Africa With MORETLA SAFARIS

[R.M.C.]

 

[Randy F]

Good read and love the pics! Congrats!!

 

[R.M.C.]

Good read and love the pics! Congrats!!

Thanks Randy! I'm glad you are enjoying it!

 

[R.M.C.]

Day 6: With the only animals on the hit list were wart hog, baboon, and maybe a jackal, we went to a farm about 20 minutes from the main camp, mostly hoping for a good wart hog and possibly run into a baboon or jackal. We hadn't gone very far before spotting a very nice boar with decent teeth sticking out. He was moving down a trail approximately 130 yards away. We set up the stable sticks, waited for him to present an almost broadside shot, took the shot and completely missed the entire animal hahaha. I have no idea what happened other than me dicking the dog, the shot felt just fine lol. We looked for blood to no avail, then kept moving to a part of the farm that bordered the river, never seeing any big boars but seeing bush buck and impala. We hunted that farm on foot and the only fences were some run down cattle wire for the owners cows. We sat on a water hole that afternoon, saw a couple female wart hogs that got me excited but no shooters. Nothing for the skinner today, but still an awesome day to be alive and in Africa.

 

[R.M.C.]

 

[R.M.C.]

Picture of the main lodge, very rustic and authentic for my first time in Africa.

 

[R.M.C.]

Day 7: We returned to the low fence farm where I had missed the wart hog and took a good walk around, before deciding to sit watching the water hole in the heat of the day. We only saw a couple females and I started to really like the looks of the older females, I'm just a red neck meat hunter at home after all. I asked Tyron what he thought of me shooting the next decent female with tusks and he gave me the go ahead, but insisted if I was going to pay for a second one, it would be a big male, he didn't want to charge me full price for a female wart hog. I thought that was pretty decent of him, especially considering it was my impatience and my idea to "lower the standard a bit" lol. Wart hogs were the one African animal I had really dreamed about taking since I was a small child, so I really didn't give a rats ass how long his or her tusks were. I decided to waste no time worrying about a big boar , and I got my chance during a short drive back through the farm, I saw two wart hogs through the brush and shot the best looking one right between the lookers. That hog and the monkey were the only animals I shot from the truck, hopefully it doesn't offend anyone hahaha. I was floating a few feet off the ground with that wart hog in the bed . Another incredible day in Africa.

 

[R.M.C.]

 

[R.M.C.]

Day 8: The morning found us plotting against a large family of baboons that we spotted earlier in the trip . They were seen feeding in a lush green alfalfa field, so we planned on hiding amongst the palm trees and such in the owners yard and waiting them out. The workers said they usually showed up around 10 or 11 in the morning so we were there by 9am in case they came early. No such luck, we sat til 1:00 pm before breaking for lunch. No shots fired but it was a great day.

 

[R.M.C.]

Day 9: Bonus animal. We decided to relax on this day, most of the hit list was in the skinning shed, and Tyrons wife Anne Marie took her two boys to a birthday party . Tyron and I just hung around camp, casually looking for baboons or a big wart hog across the river. My front porch was hanging over the bank of the Crocodile River so we didn't have to go far to watch for activity. The other side was maybe 150 yards, so definitely a doable shot and plenty of stuff to rest the gun on. As it turns out, the shots would be very close. If you have been following this thread, you might remember me mentioning an unexplained hole in my roof. I got in the habit of checking the thatched roof for movement, usually just finding some random pieces of grass from the ceiling on the floor. But finally I spotted something out of place in a small opening up in the peak. I shined my flashlight at the spot and peered through my binocs with the adjustment all the way in. It appeared to be a large scaly head, 15 or more feet above the floor. I told Tyron who called the owner to bring his .22 rifle , which he did but the head was nowhere in sight by the time we got it. The owner said to go ahead and probe the area with bullets and see what happens, the little bullets doing far less damage than the lizard already had. Tyron shot four or five times into the area, and about the time we wondered aloud if we were hitting anything, blood started flowing down onto the floor and the corner of my bed, which we slid out of the way quickly. There was no thrashing about up in the ceiling but I assumed it was dead due to the amount of blood that leaked out. A brave worker came with an extension ladder and dug the beast out of the grass ceiling, and quite a beast it was, at least four feet long. He was definitely the guy who made the hole in the roof and he was definitely in there for days, he would've tore more of the ceiling up if he was coming and going. Tyron said he was probably in hibernation for the winter, not moving much to eat or do much else. After taking some pictures and chasing the staff around a bit with the dead lizard, Tyron threw it over the bank and we laughed. Mystery solved.

 

[R.M.C.]

 

[R.M.C.]

 

[R.M.C.]

 

[R.M.C.]

 

[R.M.C.]

I was glad to get rid of my roommate lol

 

[BnC 04]

I was glad to get rid of my roommate lol

You dang straight I'd be glad to get rid of that lizard sleeping above my head...

 

[R.M.C.]

You dang straight I'd be glad to get rid of that lizard sleeping above my head...

Yeah it was really authentic feeling laying in bed at night, wondering what the hell is in there with you lol. Authentic Africa.
We also had a small infestation of snakes in camp, killed two just minutes apart on my porch, one slithered into my tent and was beat to death by Tyron and the 4 Stable Sticks lol

 

[BnC 04]

Yeah it was really authentic feeling laying in bed at night, wondering what the hell is in there with you lol. Authentic Africa.
We also had a small infestation of snakes in camp, killed two just minutes apart on my porch, one slithered into my tent and was beat to death by Tyron and the 4 Stable Sticks lol

Snakes in the tent??? Yep id be standing a post at night with a full belt of ammo on my waist.
What type of snakes did you come across.
We only encountered one Mamba heading under a rock.

 

[R.M.C.]

Snakes in the tent??? Yep id be standing a post at night with a full belt of ammo on my waist.
What type of snakes did you come across.
We only encountered one Mamba heading under a rock.

Hahaha it was kinda fucked up but I wasn't totally surprised because we were literally on the bank of the river. I hate all snakes, creepy basterds, but these were "harmless" spotted bush snakes and a yellow bellied sand snake I believe. We saw a few more by the main lodge and under the Jacuzzi cover. I'm a lot less squeamish about snakes and stuff after that trip lol. I never saw the mamba but our tracker saw one going into a hole while we were stalking for wart hog. I did see two pythons, one about as big as a man's forearm and one as thick as my thigh. Nasty things lol luckily they were miles from camp but right on the river

 

[R.M.C.]

Snake identifying outside my tent