This report has been a long time coming. I was not sure if I was going to post, but this website has been and still is such an incredible resource to me. I figured the least I could do would be to give some stories in the off season.
My father and I went to hunt with Cruiser Safaris in July. He hunted with a bow and on occasion a .375. I hunted with a rifle for the duration of my safari and shot a 30-06.
This is in the Limpopo Providence of South Africa.
We have great things to say about Cruiser Safaris. I would not hesitate to recommend them. The food and lodging was great and we were very well taken care of.
My father was able to harvest: kudu, warthog, nyala, impala, sable, oryx, zebra, and a female blue wildebeest.
I was able to harvest: warthog, zebra, impala, blesbuck, red hartebeest, female eland, jackal, wildebeest, oryx, kudu.
Two hunts stand out to me, the first was the very first morning we had been walking for a few hours. We were in pretty thick cover and eased up on a group of Blesbuck. There was only one hole and path to shoot in and we kept waiting for a large male to cross. As we were watching out of the corner of my eye, I saw a wart hog. He told me if I saw a big one I would know. Well, I knew he was big. I eased the rifle on him and Hans my PH said he was a good one. He walked straight at us from about 80 yards out. At 15 yards he turned broadside. Still not being use to the rented gun, I only had the safety at it's midpoint. He saw me flinch as I tried to pull the trigger and took off. He stuck back out around 100 yards jogging and that was it with the safety now successfully turned off.
The next hunt was for my gemsbok. We had walked and walked and hunted hard for about two days. One afternoon, we had been following a group for quite some time. We spooked a heard of Zebra we didn't see and thought it was over. We hurried on the track and eventually my PH stopped. I could hear the noise he could. To me, it sounded like whitetail deer fighting. It ended up being a gem buck coming through the bushes rubbing his horns. I was sitting on the ground. He came out at about 10 paces and had no clue we were there. I watched as his horns came into the scope and he stayed just out of sight behind a tree before stepping into my crosshairs. I will never forget watching his horns go through that brush and how close we were to him. By far my favorite shot of the trip.
A favorite story from my father was his first morning in a bow blind. 5 shooter kudus came straight in. He was in a pit dug into the ground. He said he had watched video after video, and still nothing could compare to looking up out of that pit at a kudu bull. He picked his favorite out of the group and smoked him. The bull went about 40 yards and they could see his horns from where he piled up. They gave him awhile and headed to recover. As they went, the bull stood up. 15 yards and dad sent another straight through him. The bull stood for about five minutes looking at them with blood pumping before falling over. Nothing quite like getting to arrow your bull twice.
It was a great trip. There is no question that Africa gets into your blood bad. We are already planning and dreaming of when we can return.
My father and I went to hunt with Cruiser Safaris in July. He hunted with a bow and on occasion a .375. I hunted with a rifle for the duration of my safari and shot a 30-06.
This is in the Limpopo Providence of South Africa.
We have great things to say about Cruiser Safaris. I would not hesitate to recommend them. The food and lodging was great and we were very well taken care of.
My father was able to harvest: kudu, warthog, nyala, impala, sable, oryx, zebra, and a female blue wildebeest.
I was able to harvest: warthog, zebra, impala, blesbuck, red hartebeest, female eland, jackal, wildebeest, oryx, kudu.
Two hunts stand out to me, the first was the very first morning we had been walking for a few hours. We were in pretty thick cover and eased up on a group of Blesbuck. There was only one hole and path to shoot in and we kept waiting for a large male to cross. As we were watching out of the corner of my eye, I saw a wart hog. He told me if I saw a big one I would know. Well, I knew he was big. I eased the rifle on him and Hans my PH said he was a good one. He walked straight at us from about 80 yards out. At 15 yards he turned broadside. Still not being use to the rented gun, I only had the safety at it's midpoint. He saw me flinch as I tried to pull the trigger and took off. He stuck back out around 100 yards jogging and that was it with the safety now successfully turned off.
The next hunt was for my gemsbok. We had walked and walked and hunted hard for about two days. One afternoon, we had been following a group for quite some time. We spooked a heard of Zebra we didn't see and thought it was over. We hurried on the track and eventually my PH stopped. I could hear the noise he could. To me, it sounded like whitetail deer fighting. It ended up being a gem buck coming through the bushes rubbing his horns. I was sitting on the ground. He came out at about 10 paces and had no clue we were there. I watched as his horns came into the scope and he stayed just out of sight behind a tree before stepping into my crosshairs. I will never forget watching his horns go through that brush and how close we were to him. By far my favorite shot of the trip.
A favorite story from my father was his first morning in a bow blind. 5 shooter kudus came straight in. He was in a pit dug into the ground. He said he had watched video after video, and still nothing could compare to looking up out of that pit at a kudu bull. He picked his favorite out of the group and smoked him. The bull went about 40 yards and they could see his horns from where he piled up. They gave him awhile and headed to recover. As they went, the bull stood up. 15 yards and dad sent another straight through him. The bull stood for about five minutes looking at them with blood pumping before falling over. Nothing quite like getting to arrow your bull twice.
It was a great trip. There is no question that Africa gets into your blood bad. We are already planning and dreaming of when we can return.
