Trip recap

We feel it necessary to let everyone know that we are home since we found out that someone called the police and reported us missing. We know where we are so its all good.

We learned some new things on the way home. Dancing in the security screening booth will necessitate a second scan and customs guys DO NOT like it when you touch your own guns in front of them. Dogs also can sniff out porcupine quills, but that's a story for another day.

Africa did not cease to amaze and inspire us once again this year. Here are a few additional highlights of our journey....

One way to tell the bull and cow giraffes apart is whether there is tuffs of hair on the tips of their horns (ossicones). The cows (and young bulls) continue to have this hair while the mature bulls lose this hair on their tips when they fight.
They have the highest blood pressure of any mammal (necessary to get blood against gravity to their head), but they still manage to appear so peaceful.







Okay, here's your quiz. Is this a bull or a cow? Don't go looking for your enlargement button on your keyboard. Note the sun glare on his tip...so the answer is.....

Bull!

  Our ranger told us a neat legend regarding the kudu's markings (shown here). The kudu has three white spots on each side of his face and a chevron on his forehead. The legend is when God created the kudu He took the kudu's face in His hands and kissed him, creating the specific markings.

Africa...full of beauty despite all the thorns. To love Africa is to embrace one while accepting the other. We choose to have hope that one day these thorns among the people will no longer be a part of the way of life there- love and forgiveness will prevail.

typical (photographic) safari vehicle

 There is always animals to see in Africa!

Even foreign horses like apples. (:

Happy trails

to ya all 

until next time!

Another great hunting day

white blesbuck

And yet another day of successful hunting.

This is a monster 5" duiker. (Yes, he is full-grown!) 

fallow deer

Just another ordinary day in extraordinary Africa

Ralph was a tough ref. In the end he deducted points for unnecessary roughness. Final score 2/2.

Looking at eland looking at me

The sun slowly hides back into the landscape at the end of another great day.

when you've got nothing better to do, climb a big rock

Another new concession today. It wasn't hard to find since the only directions we needed upon leaving the lodge were "drive to the rock". We glassed the mountain in search of anything left on Jamie's list. If we had been going alphabetically we would have been in search of baboons or a bongo but Jamie chose to just choose randomly.

They spotted some mountain reedbuck (if you're paying attention you'll see he is still going alphabetically since he got the common one yesterday). We tried calling them down but they didn't come. That meant they had to go up there. Since this took more than 10 minutes, I had time to catch up on really important things. Alphabetize the beverages in the cooler. Glass the mountain. Check the time. Look at photos on camera. Realize I've downloaded old ones already so all I have are ones of the mountain in front of me. Rearrange the beverages by color. Glass the mountain. As you can see, I had really important matters to take care of. 

In the end they had success but the success happened on top of the mountain so they had to carry him down. And by they I mean Danie (not that Jamie didn't offer). 

feelin' bucky

common reedbuck



female common reedbuck

We went to another new hunting concession today. Luckily there are plenty of places to hunt near our lodge so we can keep moving all of our stuff to a minimum. While Danie carries his two small duffles this has freed his hands to carry our 8 pieces of absolute necessities. (:

I talked with the property owner while the guys hunted (this seemed a much better option than walking through swampy reeds). This older man lives alone on his farm and he spoke of his concern for his safety. There have been many murders in the area lately- particularly of older farmers. Sometimes this occurs during a theft, while other times there seems be no reason at all. He shared other struggles of life in South Africa but also his faith that has been a source of strength for him. Once again, I was reminded of some of the luxuries of living in the States. It is difficult to imagine the reality of life for South Africans when I consider the freedom and safety (for the most part) we enjoy every day as an American.

After a long day of hunting we enjoy unwinding with a sunset game drive at our lodge.

We watched a group of springbok frolic around, kicking up their heels in enjoyment of the good day they’ve had. We watched long enough to experience how the springbok earn their name. While they run, their gait turns into a cartoon sketch as they appear to have a trampoline under them- springing straight up into the air repeatedly as they move along.



blesbuck

We ended the day with another successful trophy- this time for me. (:

A day of horns and stripes

We went hunting today at one of the same farms we had been to in 2010.

blue wildebeest

red hartebeest

Our goal today was finding another trophy zebra. When we saw this gorgeous, large stallion we were excited to find such a beautiful animal. This trip has been filled with zebra sightings so this trophy will have special memories.

We needed to bring the animals to the butcher shop and here’s where I needed to perfect the fine art of having my eyes open but not see anything. (: While we sat with the pens of sheep and cattle luckily I had some alternate views to look at across the road.

All in all we had another great day of hunting and making memories!

On the road again

Today we said our goodbyes to our new friends and left our lodge at Kuruman. Our next hunting area is by Bronkhorstspruit.

The hunting has been going so well that we are ahead of schedule and had to find a new place to hunt. Our chalets are inside a small game reserve so we are enjoying short game drives here also.

I promise I won't bite...

Today we are at a new camp by Vryburg and we’ve had a really special day. The goal of today was lion hunting. Here is Jamie’s story:

Danie asked the property owner, Johnny, how aggressive the particular lion was that we were after and Johnny’s response was, “Well, you never really know.” The first thing I thought when I saw him was that the lion was not afraid and concluded he must either be really tame…or not tame at all!

We spotted him at one gate and went into another gate so we could get around him. We drove to where we thought we should get out to walk and intercept where he was. Danie and Johnny both had their 458’s and I had my 375 RUM as we went to look where he was, stopping to glass into the bush every few paces. When we got to where we could see he had been lying, he wasn’t lying there anymore! We continued on figuring we’d pick up his track where he went into the bush and continued to stop and glass every few paces. We came to the edge of a small clearing and Danie and I both stopped to glass the opposite side of the clearing. After going about another two paces, the other guy exclaimed, “There he is!” He was where Danie and I had just glassed, stalking us from behind. The lion was 60-70 yards away with only some small brush between him and us. We quickly discussed whether we should try to get closer and I said we should wait and see if he lays down, thinking that if we tried to get closer while he was still standing then he would likely charge. The lion crept forward to the edge of the bush on his side of the clearing and did eventually lay down. We decided not to try to get closer presuming he would charge if we did. Looking thought the scope I found a small opening in the bush directly into his chest.  Danie, the other guy with us and I were all trying to get the shooting sticks up in front of me. We got the gun on the sticks and my first shot was good but a few more shots were fired for good measure. When we walked up to him, we threw rocks at him every few feet. The other guy with us could really throw rocks! He was throwing them starting at 40 yards and continued to do so every few yards. At about 7-8 yards from the lion he was going to throw one more under the brush and it ended up hitting Danie’s rifle barrel.

After the hunt Johnny told me that he hadn’t said anything before this since different people take things differently, but he said he had been nervous going out to hunt because he knew this lion was quite aggressive and a fighter. This was only the second time in his history of hunting 300 lions that he had ever been stalked. Just after the hunt Johnny called his mom whom he said had been down on her knees until after this hunt was over. His wife’s dad also called from a funeral he was attending of a family member to check in. Glasses of champagne were all around as we concluded the hunt with photos and memories for a lifetime.

When I first saw the lion I honestly thought it was a huge rock at my first glance. Whenever I think about a lion, I have always concluded that they really aren’t as big as I think they are, but seeing this one up close and personal gave me a new permanent appreciation for their size. I had Jamie take this photo for posterity of that realization.

Warts and all

This morning we were greeted by all the usual guests on the front lawn as we packed up to go hunting.

This morning yielded continued hunting success. He ain’t exactly cute (we’re talking about the warthog here) but he is a really nice sized trophy.

This large kudu was a great trophy for Jamie. The owner of the property made special mention of him as something to look out for.

A day of letchwe and boerewors

This morning started off with a bang.

red letchwe

We continue to be amazed at how many animals are on this property. Wildebeest, scimitar, zebra, springbok, gemsbuck, blesbuck and plenty of other varieties of antelope fill the hills.

We opted for lunch on the go today. This abandoned house made a great place to get out of the wind and cook up some boerewors over the fire.

We weren't the only ones who were hungry. Clive (the property owner) had to make a stop to feed his pet warthogs along the way.

This afternoon yielded more hunting success. This blue wildebeest was making sport of them by ducking and peeking behind bushes as they stalked him.  

Hunt Day 1

Today Jamie was able to have his first day hunting. Our hunting camp by Kuruman is about 15 km x 5 km so there is plenty of space to roam.

This particular place is thick with game, particularly lots of exotic animals including species like this scimitar oryx. This place is so thick with game that doaens of animals even hang out on the front lawn and run under the sprinklers. It is a bit bizarre to open the front door and see a kudu kicking up grass while he runs past chasing a letchwe. This is quite a unique place for sure!

Jamie wasn't out long before they spotted some barbary sheep up on the rocks. Here is his pride and joy for the day.

Celebrating my birthday in Africa!

 

Jamie and the ranger rigged up the safari car for me! The animals didn't know what to think of all the bling. ( :

Today our quest was buffalo and our ranger didn't disappoint.








After our morning game drive we headed out for the hunting portion of the trip. Our partners have opted to hunt in another area so Jamie and I headed to our next destination- Oryx Trail Safaris.

A day in the life

Some memories from today

The watering hole by our room

                                                  Got an itch!

Our lodge at Madikwe

the infamous wild dog

battle of the bulls