Eastern Cape - Melody Safaris/Louis Lategan
http://www.melodysafaris.co.za/
Animals I shot: 2 Blesbuck, 2 Springbuck, Mtn. Reedbuck, Duiker, Bushbuck, Gemsbuck
Father's animals - Red Hartebeest, White Blesbuck
Limpopo - Ntshonalanga Safaris/PH-Paul Brits
Nthshonalanga Safaris
Animals I shot: Zebra, Warthog, Blue Wildebeest, Impala
Father: Eland, Zebra
I shot a Ruger RSM 77 in .375, topped with a 1.5-6x42 Swarovski rail scope. I did use the outfitter's .243 for some of the smaller animals.
Day 1, 2 & 3 (July 20 – July 22)
We departed DFW for Washington Dulles to connect with South African Airways flight 208. In Washington, the plane was delayed for three hours due to a battery malfunction. This delay caused us to miss our connection to Port Elizabeth and had to stay in Johannesburg. We flew to Port Elizabeth and arrived around 10:00 am.
Our first hunt was with Melody Safaris, owned by Louis Lategan. Louis hunts around Alexandria in the Eastern Cape. The first afternoon consisted of Blesbuck hunting. For some odd reason, I could not hit anything with my rifle this first day. Luckily, I shot a nice Blesbuck after getting my rifle shooting squared away. We returned to the lodge for a great dinner after having drinks in the lapa.
Day 4 (July 23)
I woke around 4:30 and we headed out around 6:00 to hunt an area about an hour and a half away past Grahamstown. The land owner was a gentleman named Alvin who had definitely played some rugby in his past. We saw a nice Steenbuck, but he ran off before we could really judge him. As we were hunting Springbuck, we saw a very nice Mountain Reedbuck. I shot the Mountain Reedbuck at 150 yards. He measured between 7-8”.
I then shot two Springbucks at 200 to 250 yards from the bakke (truck). The first seemed to go down, then shot the second. Unfortunately, the first got up and took off. I followed the trackers, Smilee and Desmond, to put the injured Springbuck down. However, the Springbuck was not as injured as I had hoped. We followed the animal for what seemed like miles through rough country, often running. I had trouble holding the rifle steady enough to shoot after the runs. Finally, the Springbuck laid down and I was able to put him out of his misery.
Later that afternoon, my father shot a very nice Red Hartebeest. A rough measurement put him at 28”.
Upon our return to the Alexandria area, we tried to hunt two specific Gemsbuck on a certain property. Louis and I stalked to within 250 yards and as soon as I got on the sticks, the Gemsbuck ran for cover. We tried to track them, but they were able to escape to a deep valley.
Day 5 (July 24)
Louis and I hunted Bushbuck in the morning, but the wind had picked up and kept the Bushbuck in the cover of the brush. Later that day I shot my second Blesbuck. That afternoon we hunted the Gemsbuck again. We went to a few spots to glass in an effort to find the Gemsbuck. As we were walking through the area, Louis spotted the tips of the horns and we immediately got down. He then told me it was a good trophy and to shoot. I shot the Gemsbuck in the shoulder from about 80 to 100 yards. She ran after the shot and I put one more in her for insurance, which put her down for good. She measured over 40”. We recovered the bullet from the second shot.
That evening, Louis and I went out for Bushbuck and Duiker. I had some trouble shooting through the scope using the spotlight. Eventually, I was able to shoot a nice Duiker and Cape Bushbuck.
Day 6 (July 25)
My father shot a nice White Blesbuck at about 100 yards running.
Day 7 (July 26)
We left for Port Elizabeth to head up to Limpopo province. On the way to the airport, we stopped at a curio shop to buy gifts for friends and family back home.
We arrived in Johannesburg about 3:00 and met out PH, Paul Brits of Ntshonalanga Safaris. As it was getting late, we stayed in a guesthouse in Pretoria.
Day 8 (July 27)
We left for the Limpopo Province about 7:00 am, destined for a town called Thabazimbi. On the way, we met Dirk and John Faul, owners of Ntshonalanga, and picked up Willy, our skinner/tracker. We finally reached our destination, the Badger Bush Lodge, owned by Jacques and Lori.
That afternoon we headed out for some hunting. We did not see any trophy quality animals we desired, but did see a Caracal during the day and a Roan Antelope.
Day 9 (July 28)
We stayed the entire day on a property hunting Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Impala and Warthog. We dropped my father and Willy off in a blind while we drove around. We saw many Zebra, but could not tell if they were stallions or not due to the brush. Speaking of brush, the terrain in Limpopo, or the bushveld, definitely reminded me of Texas. The afternoon hunt was very dead, but about 5:30 we finally saw a small herd of Zebra. I shot and connected from about 180 yards. Although I hit the Zebra in the shoulder and through the lungs, it still ran about 100 yards.
Day 10 (July 29)
This was the most boring day, which consisted of sitting in a blind while inhaling burning Zebra dung. Such is hunting though.
Day 11 (July 30)
We left for a property owned by Reneil Els, which was not far from the Botswana border. I shot an Impala early in the morning. The shot was around 200 yards and the Impala went down instantly.
Reneil and I then did quite a bit of walking through the bush to either find animals for ourselves or drive them towards the group in the bakke. During one of these walks, we ran up a lot of game, including a very nice Warthog that ran off before we could shoot. We then saw a nice Blue Wildebeest about 100 yards away. I used Reneil’s left shoulder as a rest and let the lead fly. I hit the bull in the shoulder, but he still ran off. We tried to track for a bit, but could not find a good trail. Reniel decided we should eat lunch and resume the tracking with the rest of our crew and a dog. Upon resuming the tracking, Kenny (a PH from a neighboring property) found the bull about 250 yards from where we shot it. I was able to recover a Trophy Bonded Bear Claw from the Wildebeest.
Later in the day, my father shot a Zebra. Unfortunately, his shot was a little low and the Zebra ran quite a bit. We picked up the blood trail and followed it for about 35 yards until it stopped. After spreading out to find the spoor crossing the road ahead, we discovered a little more blood. We were approaching a dry creek and spread out to have a better chance of jumping the wounded Zebra. Willy found the Zebra and it took off running with Sofiel, a Jack Russell Terrier, chasing. Kenny was able to get off a couple of shots to put the Zebra down.
We then crossed to Reneil’s other property to hunt Kudu. We did not see any trophy Kudu, but did see his Cape Buffalo and some nice Eland.
Day 12 (July 31)
We hunted Waterbuck in the morning, but were just minutes late in catching the Waterbuck before they go into the bush. As Willy was still busy skinning the trophies from the prior day, I actually drove the bakke. It took me a little bit to get used to a right hand drive vehicle, but it was smooth sailing thereafter.
The afternoon was dedicated to Kudu, but only young bulls came in to the area. However, I did shoot a Warthog. He was not the biggest, but was old and on my wish list.
My dad returned to Reneil’s for Eland and shot a very nice Cape Eland at 28”.
Day 13 (August 1)
We hunted the same area for Waterbuck in the morning without luck. Jacques took me to his “honey hole” for Kudu that afternoon. Unfortunately, no mature bulls came in to our spot. As this was the last day of our hunt, I was upset not to have had an opportunity for a Kudu bull.
That evening, we cooked Eland steaks on hot cast iron tiles and ate outside by the fire. Paul, my PH, told me he wanted to take me out in the morning for one last shot at Kudu before we left for Johannesburg.
Day 14 (August 2)
We sat in a blind for about an hour, but no Kudu bulls came. I left Africa without my Kudu, but it gives me a great reason to return.
I highly recommend either of these outfitters. We had great opportunities at trophy animals.
nat
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