We picked Marian & Cezar up at the airport and wasted no time in driving out to the lodge. Once we had settled in and had a bite to eat we headed to the shooting range to sight the rifles in. With time to spare we decided to take a drive around and spotted many animals including black wildebees, impala, Zebra, eland and a few others.
Day 1 – Our first hunting day.
We made a great approach on a bachelor herd of impala crawling on our hands and knees for 60m. Marian made a great shot off the sticks and the impala took a few paces and went down.
We moved across the valley and decided to go after a blesbuck. On the open plains this guy can be very difficult. We found a big herd of around 60 with a few rams to one side and decided to use a tree line with the wind in our favour. With a bit more crawling we were able to get pretty close and take this animal at around 150 yards. Another great shot Marian !
After lunch and a siesta, we headed out to look for a Zebra. After glasses the hills for about a hour we spotted a small herd of about 15 animals. Our only approach was a long way around a lot of other animals. A lot of walking and 2 hours of patience and Marian shot a magnificent zebra. Well deserved after a long day. Time for a beer around the camp fire.
Day 2 – We had an early start and left camp for one of our bigger concessions – all 10 000 hectares of it. We were after the elusive “Grey Ghost” of Africa. The early morning hunt didn’t go too well with the day heating up very quickly and making it pretty uncomfortable weather to hunt in. The kudu bedded down earlier than usual and around 10.30am we decided to go after a Red Hartebees. Trophy quality being excellent in this area.
We spotted a heard of 7 mature bulls and decided on a plan and made our way around the back of them to get the wind in our faces. After stalking them for much of 2 hours we had bagged this huge bull and we were on our way back to the skinning shed.
The afternoon proved to be very quiet due to the heat. We spotted a couple of undersize kudu bulls – nevertheless had a great afternoon walking the valleys. Another superb day.
Day 3 – The morning we went in search of a big black wildebees. We started by heading up to the top of the mountain to get a good view of the plains down below. What a site – a view that takes your breath away !
Amongst herds of zebra, blesbuck and red hartebes, we spotted two black wildebees bulls out on their own and planned a way to stalk them. Upon closer inspection we passed both bulls up and headed back for brunch. We were looking for a “bigger” one.
The afternoon we spent glassing the open plains on top of the mountain. We spotted a few herds of black w-bees. Most were surrounded by big herds of blesbuck and were difficult to approach. We made a good sneak on a group that were closer to the trees. Almost stepping on 2 “puffadders” on the way. Marian made another excellent shot on this black wildebees and he went straight down.
After the black wildebees, “Sniper” Marian decided he wanted another blesbuck. “These animals are fun to hunt” he said. So we headed after another wily old blesbuck. Half an hour and we had another superb ram. Good shooting Marian !
Tomorrow morning the guys are heading to Cape Town to relax for two days. We will be back for more hunting action when Marian and Cezar return on Monday.
I picked Marian and Cezar up at the airport Sunday night. Looking very tired and weary. Apparently “sightseeing” can really take up all your energy. I informed the guys that we will be leaving at 5am the next morning. Marian was not happy !!!!
Day 4 – We left camp at 5am in search of the “Grey Ghost”. We wanted to be glassing for kudu by the time it was getting light. As we drove into the hunting area, two big buffalo bulls having a good fight certainly raised the excitement level. We went straight to my favourite spot and enjoyed the early morning sunrise. After and hour or so we spotted what looked like a good kudu bull. It wasn’t long before another bull showed himself and then another !!!! I decided on an approach and told Marian to pack a water we were in for a long walk.
We took the kudu back to the skinning shed and had a bite to eat and decided to take a drive to look for a springbuck. The afternoon wind was picking up and the springbuck were getting more skittish ! We found a small group of around 10 with 1 big ram. They were watching us very carefully and after 1 or 2 failed attempts – Marian made another awesome shot (in the wind) at around 280yards and the springbuck went down in his tracks.
For dinner we were told we were having “testicles” for starters. Marian headed for the kitchen to prepare one of his favourite Romanian dishes. Lots of garlic and fun in the kitchen and we were given a taste of this “not too bad” dish.
Day 5 – We’ve had some early starts and decided we would start a bit later this morning. Marian let me know he wanted another impala – a “bigger” one than his first one. The impala is a beautiful animal and great to hunt. We headed for the thick bushveldt area and hoped to find a old loner somewhere on the hilltops. After passing over a number of good rams we finally spotted 3 old rams some 500yards away grazing together. The approach took us around 2 hours until we set up perfectly for the shot. Marian again showed what a good shot he is – and the old monster went down with one shot !
Day 6 – Was a long day ! We went in search of a tusker. Wind blew like hell which didn’t help us at all. All the warthogs were hiding down in the bottom of the valleys. We weren’t seeing too many pigs so we started the morning by shooting an impressive sow. We made a great stalk with the howling wind protecting us – we took her at 70 yards.
The afternoon didn’t work out so well and we wounded a big boar. We were’nt able to get any closer due to the numbers of animals around us – so Marian set up on the sticks and took a 280yard shot. The boar was hit a little low behind the shoulder and took off. After a 2 hour track, our daylight was up and we marked the spot and headed back to camp. Our tracker Koki assured us he would be up at first light to assist with finding our trophy. Marian is in bed early – “exhausted”
Day 7 – Rain made it very difficult to carry on tracking the warthog. Unable to find our pig we went in search of a gemsbuck. Driving around on the flats amongst large herds of blesbuck – Marian decided to take us up on the “special” we were running on blesbuck. Two for the price of one ! Marian shot the first one at 297yards. By 11am we had the other down. Two superb blesbuck trophies.
Afternoon we took a slow drive winding down from an excellent hunt. We saw herds of eland, red hartebees, and waterbuck. This is the last night of another great hunt. Thank you marian & Cezar, hope to see you in September – thanks for an awesome time.
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