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In March we started our first hunt for the 2024 hunting season! We headed up to the Northern Cape first then back to the Eastern Cape to our Karoo and Coastal Concessions.
This is Arnie's third hunting safari with us. What a great start it was in the Northern Cape.
First up was a magnificent and very impressive Kalahari Springbuck.
We spotted some Hartmanns Zebra and Arnie made a perfect shot.
We went to the cottage for some lunch and tasty springbuck biltong (jerkey).
The Golden Wildebeest made us work a bit, but we managed to get a chance on a huge bull. Great first day to the hunt!
Gemsbuck or better known as Oryx, are mainly found in the dry inland areas and deserts of Africa. We had been looking for an exceptional Gemsbuck bull and we found him that morning! Arnie made the perfect shot on this 40" bull.
We moved from the Northern Cape to our Karoo Concession in the north of the Eastern Cape. No words can describe the beauty and size of this concession. It is a sight to see! With plenty of opportunities on a few different species and a challenging stalk through a herd of blesbuck, springbuck and a few kudu, we locked in on a Fallow Deer and Arnie made a perfect shot once again.
The next morning we started early and headed straight to the mountains in search of Eland. We spotted a Red Hartebeest that we could just not pass on by. A quick stalk and the bull presented himself nicely. A great shot was made. We moved through the big mountain range and as we were coming out, we spotted a group of about 8 Eland bulls walking together. Out of the eight, there were six big mature bulls and two were young bulls. We started our approach but bumped a group of Blesbuck, which ran straight to the Eland and they were all gone, over the mountain. We moved in the direction they were heading, towards a big open plain. After about a 5km stalk, we were in range of the Eland bulls. Challenging wind and choice between the big blue bulls. One was selected and Arnie made the perfect shot, once again.
We spotted a Black Wildebeest out on a big open plain near to a small watering hole. After a good stalk, we were in position. Two great shootable bulls were in the distance, one was selected and Arnie had his Wildebeest.
We had some lunch in some shade at a little river stream out on the concession. We moved into an area that is really good Mountain Reedbuck terrain. We saw plenty of females and a few young males. Finally, near the end, we spotted a good representative male. He was bedded down on a small slope. After a sneaky stalk, we were in position. The Mountain Reedbuck ram stood up and faced towards us. Arnie was confident and the difficult shot was made.
Our last full hunting day at our Karoo Concession, before moving down to our Coastal Concession, was a spectacular day! We stalked 2 different Waterbuck Bulls in 2 different areas. Both perfect stalks but both bulls were just not what we were looking for. We passed them up without the bulls even realizing that we were near to them. Hunting isn't only about shooting, it's about the stalk, the experience, the challenge of getting within shooting distance. We moved into an area deep into the valleys of the big mountain range where we stopped and had some lunch. Arnie spotted the big Waterbuck bull and didn't have much time to get into position. Luckily, the waterbuck gave him enough time and a perfect shot was made. The bull ran a short distance and jumped into a riverine. The plan for the afternoon was to just go out for a drive and see what we see. Should something pop out that would be of interest to Arnie, then we can go for it. If not, then it was a relaxed afternoon drive. After seeing plenty of game and beautiful landscapes, we started heading back towards the lodge. Then all of a sudden, a big Fallow Deer runs out of a dry river bed. Plans quickly changed and we stalked up the dry river bed after him. He stood halfway up the mountain slope and we got in range. Arnie made a perfect shot.
We moved down to the Coastal Concession and the first two days had been quite eventful. The first afternoon, we were out scanning for Bushbuck. There were two young rams out feeding on the slope. We noticed that these young rams were on alert and always looking in one direction. Then a big Bushbuck ram sticks out his head and neck out. Arnie gets set up. The next minute, this big ram jumps and runs towards the two young rams, barking and chasing them away. He stands for a second and then runs back into the section of the bush where we first saw him and gone...
We went back early the next morning to that same spot, hoping we get another glimpse or chance at that ram again. We heard a few bushbuck barking and thought it could be him. After a while, a bushbuck ewe ran around and out of the bush through some open areas and ran into thick bush on the other side. About 20mins later, the bush became alive and there were five bushbuck rams running around on that ewe's trail. She must be on heat, which makes complete sense now as to why that big ram did what he did the afternoon before. The ram we wanting to hunt was moving quickly on that ewes trail and chasing other rams away at the same time. Not giving us much time to get a clear good shot. Within a couple of minutes, he was in the thick bush again. We sat patiently and after a while, he popped out at the exact same spot where we saw him the previous day. He gave Arnie just enough time and a perfect shot was made. Now that was an eventful hunt!
We then moved on to go look for Impala, a few stalks with no success. Then luck was on our side and we got in range of the Impala rams. Arnie made a great shot.
The last 3 days of the safari were challenging! Some strong winds, rain and bad luck. We spotted a kudu bull from a distance. We walked and stalked onto the opposite slope of where we spotted him. We sat patiently waiting to see if he would present himself. After about half an hour, we got a glimpse of him heading our way. We set up and got ready. This bull was very clever and sneaky. He would move quickly through small open gaps between bushes and then feed for a long time behind the bushes and trees where we could only see the tips of his horns moving or his mouth. He was slowly heading towards a bigger clearing and we thought that it was going to happen. Much to our surprise, the bull never stepped out. After 40 minutes, we sent the tracker into the valley and onto the opposite slope to see if he could see the bull. Nothing! We sent the tracker back into the valley and he had actually passed the kudu bull and the bull was slowly sneaking back towards the direction where the tracker had come from. Once they saw each other, the kudu bull broke out the valley and into some thick brush and once again gone!
We searched and hunted hard for this bull for 3 days. Nothing! Found fresh tracks and dung, yet this bull was always one step ahead of us. We decided to set our sights on something else, as the kudu bull was just too clever and sneaky for us. We spotted a Nyala and the plans quickly changed. We walked and stalked and soon we were in position. Arnie made the perfect shot to end the last afternoon of the 12 day hunting safari. It has been an absolute pleasure and great time hunting with Arnie and Marysabel!
