Recently hunted in South Africa. Anyone want a recap?

[LopeHunter]

I hunted in Africa for the first time earlier this year. As an old guy who now finds flat lands more enticing than the more exhilerating high mountain adventures.

There are over 10,000 threads on just elk hunting at Hunttalk and less than 1,000 threads on non-American hunting of which Africa is only a portion. That seems to indicate Africa is not a hot button for the next recap most HuntTalkers might read next even as hunting is winding down for 2024.

I could write up a recap in a week or two with pictures, if is of interest.

The short overview: I was in the Limpopo region of South Africa for two weeks and harvested five animals with a crossbow including a Cape buffalo. I also tipped over three more with a rifle including a sable. These were wild animals born in the bush on a ranch larger than most counties in America though there is supplemental feeding in the winter and fences to keep out two-legged and four-legged critters. That is why I use the term "harvesting" while living out a childhood dream rather than any misrepresentation that I needed all of my hunting skills to succeed as I do on public hunts out West with free-ranging game.

There are almost no truly wild hunts left in Africa where you can hunt multiple species in a couple of weeks with no fences while not encountering other people including locals tending herds. I opted for a sure thing. Maybe was like asking the ugliest girl to the prom though I had a heck of a time even if my buddies that are free-range seeking out the pretty girls are smirking.

Is not everyone's cup of tea and for good reason as we are mostly a collection of Western big game hunters typically hunting on public lands.

If anything, I was the weak link on this African adventure as the non-local hunter parachuting into a very professional operation. My experience was thoroughly enjoyable as a traveler to a foreign land surrounded by a myriad of new (to me) plants, animals and behaviors. Including a green mamba at 10 feet. I had a blast.

Any interest?

 

[Hunting Wife]

Yes. Sable pics please. The most intriguing African animal for me personally.

African travel/hunting stories over tariff/election/political threads any day.

 

[WildWill]

I'd love to hear about it. I had some misgivings about hunting in Africa but went in with a open mind. I was amazed at how much I enjoyed myhunt over there. A buff is on the top of my bucket list.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Interested for sure. Sounds fun! Did you take the crossbow or did they have one to use?

 

[Sask hunter]

Yes always

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

Let er' rip!

 

[kansasdad]

Duh!!

Let’s go @LopeHunter

 

[ashersdad]

Heck yeah we want a recap!

 

[rjthehunter]

Yes please.

Hunt stories make this site!

 

[Birdbander]

The farther away the hunting takes place, the more hearing about it intrigues the imagination.

I'll likely never hunt Africa, or anywhere outside of the US, and its only slightly more possible I'll be vacationing abroad but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in reading, learning or viewing programming from all over the planet.

Please share your Africa hunt!

 

[Trap]

i am definitely interested. I went with my dad 7 years ago, also in the limpopo region. I have hunted western public land my entire life but would say that Africa trip is one of my best memories. 2 things I wish I would have taken are sable and buffalo! post them up!

 

[jpcoll01]

We are going to Limpopo and taking the entire extended family in July. I can’t wait, bring on the write-up.

 

[Sytes]

Hunt partner and I returned from a one week hunt trip in S. Africa this past September. Was fantastic!

Send it! Dig the adventures and pics!

 

[Muskeez]

Yes please! As many of us age and change chapters in our lives I think we (me anyway) become more open to the possibility of doing something like this for the adventure, variety and memories it can provide. Thanks in advance !

 

[ploxwithblox]

Please do it. A lot of us will likely never end up doing it, but it's sure a treat to live vicariously through the tales told.

 

[LopeHunter]

The tribe has spoken. Let me get to work on recap. Here are a couple of photographs to get the ball rolling.

First picture: We are dragging a small tree over miles of dirt roads to set the table for looking for fresh Cape buffalo tracks the next morning. The amount of snake trails crossing the road we discovered the next morning was interesting as the pattern allows identification and size of the species so a cobra crossed here, a mamba there, a python over there, etc. One python track looked as if a fire hose had been pulled across the road. There are a lot of species of snakes in Limpopo, South Africa, which can ruin your day though only a half dozen or so are confirmed to have killed people. The rest are also venomous but unlikely to send you home in a crate with your animal skulls and skins.

Mosquitoes here at the ranch rarely carry malaria as would require a strong wind blowing for days from the malarial zones. The ticks, on the other hand, are plentiful and there is a non-zero chance you might develop tick fever which is described as a rough bout with the flu.

Two-legged predators are not prevalent though incidents do happen so precautions are taken on ranches throughout rural South Africa including the fencing, radio check-ins, patrols and carrying personal weapons.

Phillip is standing to the side of the road though he often surfed the truck's front bumper checking for tracks as we drove to a hunting blind. Stian is out of view at the steering wheel which is on the right side of the truck. Charlie the tracking dog is peeking out the back. I, as usual, lack any useful skills to move the needed process along as the guys planned strategy and conducted tactics. I am contributing less than zero to this endeavor. I say less than zero because I took over a week to tip over eight critters while Phillip and Stian likely could have wrapped up things before sunset on the second day if I had instead slept in and swam in the pool.

I had a blast even with my minimal value to the process.

The guys on this ranch understand this is a service industry so they did a great job of having me feel as if I was an interesting person to hang out with for so many days. Was not patronizing but was something they focus upon. I am very quiet on stalks which gained their admiration and I had a lot of practice as a kid slow-hunting autumn woods in the Midwest where dry leaves and twigs are everywhere. No wounded animals required a fool-up shot nor ran into the heavy brush. I am very safety conscious and keep my finger off the trigger until am ready to shoot. No muzzle control issues. The staff seemed to enjoy seeing the pictures I had taken each day.




Next picture: Sunrise through a thorn bush as I paused just before climbing down a short ladder into a partially subterranean concrete blind designed specifically for use by archers. The blind can be buttoned up by keeping the entry door latched and the slider windows closed which was helpful when a green mamba decided to entertain us by playing hide and seek for an hour by using the windows to peer in then disappear for a couple of minutes before showing up at another window.

All hunting on the main property is using bows or crossbows so the blinds being custom-designed is great compared to most ranches that are set up for rifle hunting. Dozens of blinds are installed across the ranch's main property which is larger than many counties in America. Only a few blinds are used each day even when the ranch tops out at their self-imposed maximum number of hunters. The animals are not getting bumped and stirred up by hunters so they might remain deep in the thick brush for weeks at a time, especially if there has been rain which creates hundreds of hidden watering holes.

The big game was bought and let loose decades ago as the ranch converted from cattle to hunting soon after Apartheid began to be dismantled which prompted a gold rush of North American big game hunters. All the animals on the ranch today are several generations removed from those initial few dozen animals of each species. The animals are cautious and spook easily though supplemental feeding and watering takes place seasonally. I never felt like I was shooting a tame milk cow next to a barn.

Okay, the unclaimed fart in the elevator. High fencing. This type of fencing or any other type of fencing is not something you bump into while in the hunting zone. The periphery of the ranch has high fence to keep out two and four-legged predators. I encountered fencing as I passed though the entrance gate on Day 1, another fence surrounds the lodge, another is around the small agricultural zone which raises feed for the big game and food for the ranch, and another fence is around an affiliated family business on a small land parcel which contains sables being bred for auction to game ranches which spend impressive amounts for a sable bull to bolster their herd's genetics. Supposedly these sables are recent descendants of the famed Kalahari herd. I am not into horn porn though the sable bulls being auctioned are impressive.



I will try to wrap up the recap for this weekend. My wife pays me by the words I write now than I am retired so the overall recap will be plenty long enough to fund a new camera lens.