Quenton, Tim, Jason & Matt’s – African Safari in May & June 2010
It was a great Safari that will be remembered for a long time and as Quenton stated definitely “TOP 10!!”
We left straight from the Johannesburg Airport on the 29th of May to our hunting concessions in the Waterberg region of the Limpopo Province to hunt especially for Kudu the next day before leaving for our Free State lodge. Matt only arrived on a later flight and Wiehan waited for him at the airport.
The morning of the 30th we left camp early to sight the rifles and divided into 2 hunting groups. Quenton went with me (Andre) and Matt joined Wiehan. Jason and his dad Tim went to play golf at Elements for the morning.
After driving around for a few hours in the mist and very light rain we saw a lot of good trophies worth taking, but the “Grey Ghost” with the weather on his side eluded us. I refused that Quenton take any trophies other then Kudu as he still had plenty of time ahead on the safari. He started to get worried as we saw everything else except what we were after that specific day. We negotiated that if we don’t see a big Kudu before 12pm midday he can hunt another trophy if we see one. Just as negotiations were getting to an end I glazed a big Kudu from a distance away grazing on a hillside. It was clear that it must be a very good bull as even from so far it looked very big through the binoculars.
We decided to stalk the Kudu and slowly proceded in the direction we saw it the first time. On our way there we saw a younger bull feeding in the valley below and then suddenly a huge Kudu came running out of nowhere on the opposite hill. It only took one look to realize it was very big! The only problem was that it was impossible to stalk closer as we were on the hillside facing the Kudu on the other hillside and with no cover a spooky big bull and deep valley below we had no cover expect a very big tree a few yards from us at that stage. We went to the big tree and talked through are options at that stage for a while that felt like eternity.
With not to many options and the bull getting a bit more relaxed we decided that Quenton must try the shot even with the bull standing over 400yards away facing us slightly quartering. His shooting ability and equipment used for long range shots together with the big target on the Kudu made for the decision to give it a go….
The shot went of and with the deafening noise from his .300 Ultra Mag with mussle break we got such a shock that we totally lost the Kudu in the binoculars and camcorder. We then kept an eye on the area for a while and saw nothing. David, the game ranger, decided to go and have a look where the Kudu was standing. We directed him to the spot from across the valley and when he got 10 yards closer to the spot the big bull was lying stone dead in his tracks!!
Quenton and I moved back to the vehicle and followed the road behind the mountains to get closer. The magnificent old trophy bull was taken with one of the best shots I have ever seen and Quenton was extremely happy with his trophy as can be seen in the photo below.
Quenton & Andre with Trophy Kudu
On our way back to camp we saw a small herd of Nyala and decided to have a look if there was a good bull between them. We stalked them and saw a nice “bell shaped” bull feeding in a bush to the right side of the herd. After a well placed shot the bull went down and Quenton took his second spiral horned antelope in the 1st day.
Trophy
Matt and Wiehan also had an extremely lucky morning as Matt also took a Trophy Kudu Bull as his first animal in Africa. He then saw a nice big old warthog with good tuskers and took that the same day.
Matt with Trophy Kudu
Big Tusker Warthog
The hunt was over at about 2pm the afternoon and we decided to head back South towards our lodge in the Free State where hunting for more animals would start the next day.
After a good rest the Sunday night we started early Monday morning to hunt and just as we left the lodge we saw a herd of Black Wildebeest feeding in the distance. Quenton’s dad Tim decided to have a closer look, but we just couldn’t get close enough for a good shot and they disappeared into the savannas. I went to fetch the vehicle and they stayed behind to glaze the rivers and mountains for any animals. As I got back they said there was a herd of Eland below them that moved through the river to the mountains side. Quenton thought there was a good bull between them and we again moved closer to have a look.
We saw a few cows and then suddenly the bull he saw showed himself, it was trophy quality with a big dewlap and thick worn down horns with a patch of long hair on the forehead. A good trophy Eland will have at least a few of these characteristics making him worth taking.
We stalked down the hill through the river bed and got within 80yards from the bull when Quenton placed a perfect shot just behind the shoulder with the bull quartering away from us. He headed about 100yards towards the mountain where he stood still and pumped out a lot of blood, but then suddenly turned to go up the mountain. I told Quenton to place another few shots in the big bull to try and stop him moving up as the recovery will be very challenging in the mountains. The big Eland went down just on the way up and we slowly approached him.
This is the largest antelope in the world and also part of the 4 spiral horned species found in South Africa. With Quenton taking 3 in just 2 days we only had the bushbuck left for his trip.
Old Trophy Eland
Later that day we went to another part of the farm and saw a bachelor herd of Impala rams between thick bushes. Tim wanted to hunt his first animal so we approached them. The wind was blowing from behind us and they were quickly spooked away. We then circled around hoping that they were still in the same area. We saw them and with a good shot on the shoulder the ram went down within a few yards.
Tim,Jason & Quenton
Tim went on the afternoon taking a good Springbuck and old Black Wildebeest bull.
Tim with Trophy Springbuck
Tim
Quenton also took a Springbuck - the national animal of South Africa - the same day and it all ended well with 5 trophies taken between them.
Quenton with Common Springbuck
On the Tuesday we headed out to a concession close to the lodge for Blesbuck. We saw big herds and Tim wanted to take a White Blesbuck. After missing at over 200yards we went a bit closer and Tim bagged a very nice ram.
White Blesbuck
The Wednesday we went “snooping around” and found a herd of Red Hartebeest with a good bull between them. Quenton wasn’t very sure about if he wanted to take this specie and rather decided to also take a trophy Black Wildebeest. We went looking and found 4 trophy bulls on a small hill, with another perfect shot on the shoulder his trophy went down quickly.
Trophy Black Wildebeest
After a few good days in the Free State with almost all the animals taken that they have came for, we reserved a round of golf for Thursday in Clarens. This is a beautiful little artist town close to Golden Gate National Park and Lesotho “Mountain Kingdom” a isolated small country in South Africa.
That afternoon late we returned to the farm and Quenton and Matt took their last animals, a Duiker and a Steenbuck, to conclude the hunt there.
Matt took a few good trophies with Wiehan while spending most of their time crawling around through the grass. See Matt’s animals below:
Trophy Black Wildebeest
Matt with 1st Springbuck
Blesbuck
Matt with 2nd Springbuck
Impala
The Friday morning early we set of for a very long drive to the Eastern Cape where the last part of the hunt took place. Matt went back to the airport with Wiehan and didn’t join us.
We arrived very late the Friday night and decided that Quenton with his dad Tim would go with Peter and Deon the next day to look for Eastern Cape Kudu. This specie is smaller then the Southern Kudu and Quenton really wanted to take both. Jason went with me on a day tour to Port Alfred where we had seafood for lunch and watched a game of international Rugby at a local pub. Jason was definitely the biggest supporter of our national team that day!!
On returning to camp that night Quenton told us he took a good Eastern Cape Kudu and Warthog during the day.
Eastern Cape Kudu
Quenton & Tim with Warthog
The next day the 6th of June we went to a concession close to the main lodge as they saw some big Waterbuck bulls in the area recently. After spending a few hours driving around we found 3 bulls relaxing in the shade. It was evident that one of the bulls was exceptional, but the tip of the one horn was broken down a few inches. Quenton still decided whether to take that specific bull and the stalk began. We had no luck with the bull moving into thick brush and couldn’t get a clear shot. We then found the bulls in an opening a while later and suddenly there were a 4th bull with very wide, long and thick horns. It just took a moment to realize that this bull was a “monster” worth taking. With another perfect shot the Waterbuck bull went down after only 20 yards. The “wet” measurement was close to 33 inches and will surely score very high in the record books!!
Monster Waterbuck Trophy
With only a bushbuck left on Quenton’s list before we started hunting for Blue Duiker and Caracal or Lynx with hounds on Tuesday & Wednesday, we booked a deep sea fishing charter for the Monday at Kenton-on-Sea. Jason didn’t feel well and decided to stay at camp that day.
We (Tim & I) quickly filled our quota before midday and then assisted Quenton whom were struggling with the size limits to fill his bag. It was a perfect day for fishing and even Peter, the owner of the Eastern Cape lodge, felt very refreshed after spending most of the morning sleeping on the boat, he didn’t have his sea shoes on that day and felt a bit sick.
Tim,Quenton & Andre
We arrived back at camp early enough for Quenton to try for Bushbuck to complete his spiral horns on this trip. He got a young male with very narrow horns for the specie but never the less completed this accomplishment.
The Tuesday morning we met our guide on the hunt for Blue Duiker. The wind was blowing very strong and the conditions weren’t perfect for the hounds to get a fresh scent. We tried the entire day without any luck, but had a good time with a lot of laughter.
That evening it started to rain and the next day the hounds tried to get scent of Duiker & Caracal again, but the rain got harder and we decided to call it a day. We rested and played some poker before getting ready to leave for Port Elizabeth airport in the morning.
Rainy last day!!
It was a Safari with fantastic new clients and friends that really makes our work worth-while!!
We hope to have all of them back in the future for another great time in Africa.
From all the staff at World to Africa Safaris, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
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