The two couples had booked a mixed package
of plains game hunting and big five game viewing over ten days that gave a nice
mix to their tour. Something for everyone.
Plains game hunting on our in Mpumalaga,
with a trophy Kudu at the top of the list for both guys, was to be followed by
big five game viewing in the greater Kruger National Park.
As ever we like to keep things relaxed and
easy going with our Safaris. Indeed the main reason for hunting on our reserve
is to thin out the numbers of Antelope and prevent over grazing/browsing. That would normally be managed by game capture,
but in these mountains chasing animals with a helicopter into a boma, leads to
animals breaking legs as they run and is just not a viable option. However hunting
is.
The guys had asked to hunt together with
one PH. A toss of a coin set the order of who would shoot first as they took
turns in shooting.
At the end of day five we had a couple of
nice Impala, two warthogs and a Kudu cow in the bag (which made for great
eating). However, although we had glassed some of the monster Kudu bulls that
this area is famed for, we hadn’t had an opportunity for a shot.
Day six put all that right and was one of
those days that will stay with me for a long time. We were on the move before
dawn and drove down through the reserve on a chilly morning. The sun was just
creeping above the mountains, as we set off to stalk an area of around 2,000
acres where we had seen several Kudu bulls the day before.
We had only been on the move for ten
minutes and were still shaking off the morning chill, when our tracker held up
his hand and motioned for us to stop.
All eyes followed his to a huge set of
spiral horns sticking up above some dense bush about 500 meters to our right.
Quickly back tracking to better cover we made a plan to get one gun and tracker
into shooting range.
As he went forward and out of sight, the
rest of the party remained behind, waiting anxiously for some sign of what was
happening.
I have to say that it is those waiting moments
that I have fingers crossed hoping that all goes well and my client gets a
shot.
There was no need to worry. A bang echoed
around the mountains, soon followed by the sight of our tracker with a big grin
on his face, beckoning us to join them.
A 56” Kudu lay within thirty meters of
where it had been shot. There were smiles on faces and relief on mine.
With gun number one happily making his way
back to the lodge with his prize, it was time for Kudu number two.
Normally after a shot I would move to a
different part of the reserve to try our hand elsewhere, but Finius (our
tracker) took me to one side. He’d seen
an even bigger Kudu bull up on the mountainside. It would be a hard stalk but
he wanted to go for it. Both gun and wife were keen, so we grabbed some extra
water bottles and set off.
A three-hour trek around the base of a
mountain had us overlooking a valley where several Kudu bulls browsed below.
Crawling the last 15meteres on our bellies, we came up to a small ledge and
more importantly to within 150 meters of a 60” bull.
First shot knocked the Kudu flat, but he
tried to stand up again, so a second dropped him on the spot.
What fantastic day. Two very nice Kudu bulls
were on their way to the taxidermist and we were headed to a luxury lodge, in
the Kruger Park for big five game viewing and relaxation. It’s a hard job, but
someone has to do it.
Written by Sporting Agent.
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