South African Plains Game Hunting

3 July 2019

Today we are in pursuit of Bushbuck. Upon arrival at our hunting location, we spotted a young ram bedded in an alfalfa field. We decided to stalk within a few 100 yards of the ram and wait to see if a mature ram would appear. Half an hour before sunset a mature ram entered the field 500 yards away. We quickly decided to make a stalk through open grass fields without being seen by either ram. The last fifty yards we crawled to a small ridge with some bushes for cover. We were now at 200 yards but needed the ram to turn to present a shot. Finally, as the sun started to set behind us,  the shot was presented and the second trophy was headed to the salt. Steve did it again getting an exceptional bushbuck trophy that he can be very proud of.

Suzanne went along for this exciting hunt and thoroughly enjoyed the varied countryside and all the sights it had to offer, she took some fantastic photos.

4 July 2019

Today we all headed to Port Elizabeth early in the morning to take a boat cruise out in the bay to some of the bird islands close by. We were all very impressed with the quality of the tour and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We got to see some Bottle Nose dolphins playing very close to the boat. And then we came across a large Southern Right Whale, which was really spectacular to see so close up. When we arrived at the island we were lucky to see a large colony of African Penguins. And many other bird species, as well as a seal, and a Minke Whale.

5 July 2019

Today we headed out in pursuit of a Sable. We had heard from the staff that there were some bulls spotted up in the mountains. The weather was not on our side, as the wind was blowing gales, which was exaggerated at the top of the mountain. We came across a group of 6 bulls soon after arrival. We managed to get within 250 yards of them, with our eye on a magnificent bull. They got the better of us, as we were unable to get any closer to them. We sat in long grass watching their movements for approximately 6 hours, without being able to move an inch. We were hoping that they would move into thicker cover, giving us an opportunity to get closer. But we had to call it a day about 20 minutes before sundown as we still needed to hike a way back to the truck, and this was down a steep mountainside.

6 July 2019

After eluding us the day before we were determined to harvest a Sable. We spotted them with numerous Black Wildebeest in a bowl out of the wind. After a long walk around the mountain we climbed its Rocky face only to find they had moved further away. It was decided to stalk to a brushy point above the animals and wait. As luck would have it the bulls slowly fed in our direction. The biggest bull fed out of the grass and presented a 160-yard broadside shot. The animal was quickly dispatched and loaded into the truck for the treacherous trip down the mountain. A picture speaks a thousand words; the picture of Steve’s majestic Sable says it all!

Suzanne went to the Daniell Cheetah Breeding Project and had an enjoyable afternoon seeing and learning about some of the African big cats. And managed to get some photos up and close and personal with one of the adult cheetahs!

7 July 2019

Everyone had a little lie-in this morning, and after a late breakfast, we went to Addo Elephant National Park. We enjoyed the close-up encounters with the elephant herds, and watching them for a while at the waterholes interacting with each other. And of course, we must mention the very impressive Buffalo herd, along with all the other species that were spotted on our game drive.

8 July 2019

Our desired animal today was the Gemsbok and it didn’t take long. We observed a small herd of gemsbok going over the top of an adjacent ridge and decided to go around the next hill to get down wind. After a short hike up the hill we crested the top and saw numerous animals feeding below us. We looked them over and selected a mature bull to harvest. The bull slowly turned broadside to give us a 120 yard shot. After the shot the bull ran a short distance and a quick follow-up shot was required to dispatch the bull. It was only 9:00am and the heavy horned old bull was headed to the salt.

After delivering the gemsbok to the skinning shed we took a short break for lunch. We decided to return to the same location as the Gemsbok and have a better look at some Blue Wildebeest we had seen that morning. Upon locating the herd it was obvious there was a big dark bull that was of very good quality and size. Our first setup was above them. Unfortunately, the bull wouldn’t present a good shot and the whole herd moved into an adjacent valley. Our only option was to back out and go around the next hill and try a stalk from above. After quickly climbing the hill we crested 100 yards above them. Steve was on the sticks waiting for the bull to clear from the herd. Finally, he presented a full broadside shot and was quickly dropped in his tracks for the second animal of the day.

9 July 2019

With a full day left and all Steve’s desired animals in the salt, we decided to look for one more animal in the morning before going to Graaff Reinet for lunch. We decided on the Mountain Reedbuck and were not disappointed. We saw numerous rams in the morning but after careful stalks, none were considered Trophy quality. With only a few hours of daylight left after our late lunch, we again looked for a quality animal. Finally with less than an hour to go we spotted a nice ram feeding with some ewes. We stalked as close as we could, 150 yards away. As Steve waited on the sticks the ram laid down presenting an open broadside shot. The initial shot was low and the ram jumped up and ran 30 yards before stopping to determine where the shot came from. A quick second shot of 180 yards was all that was needed as the animal expired nearby.