Hunt: Africa 2011
Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 7:52 pm
Shhhh...... They are right over there, below that tree with the white trunk.
But i cant see them and i say so. Right there, look, they are looking at us.
??????? And i thought i had good eyesight.
How am i to hunt an animal if both my Professional Hunter and the trackers can see it without even using binoculars?
But the animal i was hunting is the Greater Kudu. Also called the grey ghost of the bush; and i am now finding it out first hand!!!
But lets rewind back a bit to how i actually managed to reach here.
Over the past couple of years, my interest in the shooting sports has been piqued. I have been around shotguns and rifles since i was a child. There is a certain mystique and aura associated with them. i have always been a great fan of wilbur smith, hathaway capstick and others, then i joined up here and came across people who had hunted. it is my good fortune, that i have made friends, who helped me out. somebody let me try out his rifles, somebody let me look at his trophies and answered my questions patiently, yet other dear friends whom i havent met but have bombarded with silly questions over messages umpteen times.
i finally narrowed down the outfitter i wanted to go to, shortlisted the animals i wanted. as i was going on a hunt for the first time i had to acquire the whole set of clothes and accessories required to hit the ground running there, so as to speak.
over the months this was all done. clothes were made, advice was taken, things were brought, animal anatomy was studied, shooting from different poses was practised,fitness was increased, books were read and reread, posts here and on other sites were checked again and again, ballistics were studied. dad was roped to teach me how to sneak around in the bush quietly.
i tried to do all that i could because this was a realization of a dream, and i wasnt going to mess it up just because i wasnt prepared.
Finally, the big day came and after hopping off the plane in jo'burg, i met the my PH, we got into his pickup and pushed on towards our destination which was 4 hours away.
He had his son, sister in law and her son too. they were going to visit his wife who had just given birth to a lovely little girl.
so the happy group starts out and i start peppering him with questions and questions and questions. the more i spoke to him the better i felt about my choice and the more i looked forward to the hunt tomorrow. the country side was spectacular and a visual treat. miles of rolling hills and golden grass, cool winds and blue skies. a black ribbon running through this picture postcard scenery and no one else around for miles. no horns, no rickshaws, no red lights, no paan stains, no garbage.
five and a half thousand feet up above sea level, i was beginning to fall in love with this place.
before we knew it, we were there, but before we got anywhere, i wanted some biltong and dried sausage. food i had read about and now was longing to eat. so we stopped by at a small store run by an old german afrikaans lady and got some. very charmingly, all the brown paper packets had some small saying or thought written on it by hand. things we dont find in the fast paced life of the metros. we made a quick detour and dropped off our passengers off at Claytons(my PH) home and drove into the manor where i would be staying for the duration of the hunt.
wow
african trophies. and then some more.
but there was not time to admire the house just yet. i wanted to fire the rifle i would be using and get used to it.
so off we went to claytons parents farm after picking up some ammunition from the store. made a makeshift target using black duct tape on the side of a microwave case. set it up at 200 yards and fired a few shots. good grouping. happy all around. met his parents, had a cup of tea with them. gracious hosts, heard some old hunting stories. saw how they made biltong at home, and we were off. came back to the manor. unpacked.
very cold. turned off the airconditioning. showered and came down for dinner. spent a good hour looking at the various trophies. that first dinner i shall never forget. a cosy fire, a light mist outside, great company. and awesome food.
we had double baked steinbuck with mashed sweet potatoes with greens. i was ravenous and along with the excellent conversation, ate a tad bit more than usual. no problems, i shall burn it all off tomorrow me thinks. and oh, how i burnt it!!!
but thats a story for tomorrow.
-- Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:51 pm --
Up at 5. Bloody cold. coming from delhis cauldron to this freezer was a real eye opener.
but like me ole man says, there is no bad weather, only bad clothing.
up go the clothes. jacket. scarf. gloves. woolen socks. hat. i carried a knife on my belt and a swiss army knife in one of the pockets. chapstick. sun glasses. spare pair of laces. hankerchief. binoculars.no perfume, minimal lotion.
i steal a look in the mirror and think i look quite fetching. atleast i looked the part(or my interpretation of it) now we had to see if i could play the part. butterflies in my stomach. prayer on my lips. resolve in my hands.
breakfast. drive out to the ranch. not talking a lot. i am immersed in my thoughts. the enormity of the day is dawning on me. i am going to take a life today if the gods are with me. if my gods are with me. what about that animals god? his desire to live. how would i feel if somebody hunted me for sport. unsettling questions. clayton offers me some of the dried sausage to munch on, i refuse. thoughts which one cant answer satisfactorily on a short 20 minute drive but which assail you in their enormity. all these months my mother dissuaded me and it all comes back to me. i remember her arguments and my counter arguments.
will that animal feel comforted knowing that i won the argument with my mother. in the end i decide that if it written in my destiny to hunt an animal, then it is. life is very often not black and white and it occured to me that i was treading in that grey zone. my hunt helps conserve more animals. and i leave it at that.
we arrive and pick up the trackers and move out onto the game park. the sun breaks out and its a beautiful morning. a new day starts. today an animal will die and i let slip a small prayer that all goes well and the animals dont suffer.
my dad told me something which he had read.
you dont hunt to kill. you kill because you have hunted.
A hunter.
i am he.
i shrug other feelings behind me and focus on the present.
screeeeecchhhhhhh..... the car stops. slowly, so as not to startle anyone. its reversed.
kahtie(the head tracker) spotted something. we get out and walk across to have a look.
i begin to ask where they are
"Shhhh...... They are right over there, below that tree with the white trunk.
But i cant see them and i say so. Right there, look, they are looking at us.
??????? And i thought i had good eyesight.
How am i to hunt an animal if both my Professional Hunter and the trackers can see it without even using binoculars?
But the animal i was hunting is the Greater Kudu. Also called the grey ghost of the bush; and i am now finding it out first hand!!!"
i fumble and get my binocular up. look around, find them after a few moments. my heart skips a beat. then another. etheral, tall, beautiful and graceful, two kudu looking in our direction. big ears pointed to gather as much sound as they can. immobile, on the verge of flight. handsome, in a suit of grey chalk stripes. they are the ultimate denizen of the shadows. is one of you mine, my brothers? clayton says that they are young bulls, we should leave them alone. we quietly make our way back to the pickup. my heartbeat has gone up a few notches, my breathing a bit faster. I notice this as i sit. i feel alive. connected. i felt a connection when they looked at us. they looked at me. this land is magical. the engine starts and i am drawn back to my immediate surroundings.
we spot some giraffe. clayton tells me a few interesting things about them. we continue. kahtie taps on the roof signalling that he has seen something. has seen some kudu on the opposite slope. its amazing how they spot animals at fantastic ranges!
we get out, the three of us and clamber up to have a better look at them. as usual, shikari shambhu cant find the animals and has to be guided onto them. feeling foolish.
and then i see them. two old males, clayton tells me.hanging around with a small herd of kudu.
i see them all, the youngsters, sticking by their mothers side, nuzzling each other, the does, delicate, guiding the little ones along. the adolescent ones, daring to go out further. the sedate mature dominant male. self assured. the older bulls, a little behind, perhaps drawing solace from being around their own kind. they had herds of their own but got thrown out by younger challengers and were now living together. two pair of eyes is better than one.
clayton looks them over and decides that the one in front is ours. i am ready.
we get back. i pick up the rifle, clayton tells me to chamber a round and put it on safe. not very happy with that but i do as he says. we leave the car.
The hunt is on.
clayton and kahtie decide its best if we move down the valley towards them as they are upwind of us and moving away. we start getting down. i am very aware of the weapon on my back. i am very careful not to point it at either the gentleman in front of me or the one behind me.the slope is stony.moving carefully. we finally reach a vantage point where there is a clump of trees. we halt there. clayton and i crawl around. its stonier. ouch. we are immobile. my leg goes numb. cant move. the kudu are on the opposite slope. by the time we are in a position to take the shot, they start moving up directly away. the range is increasing every moment and we dont have a shot. i put the gun down and just watch them go up and over the ridge.
once they have passed, we confer again and start moving behind them. go down, cross a stream, up again. we reach the top and the kudu have disappeared. kahtie has a feeling they have gone that a way and we start. suddenly we hear rustling through to our left. kahtie was wrong and now we are upwind of the kudu. they stand still, we stand still too. i have no idea what we are going to do now.
as one, they explode out of the bush and take off. they are headed diagonally across the valley floor, across a donga and then over a ridge into some very thick bush. clayton tells kahtie to go back to the pickup. he looks at me and asks if i am ready? hold on!! ready for what? what are you saying? i am newbie, remember? no time. i say yes.
and he says follow me.
we head into a dead run to cut across the valley floor and up the hill across the ridge. we have to reach there before they cross the ridge, otherwise we will lose them in the bush. i hold the rifle in both my hands, so that it points at right angles to the both of us. and run. high grass, thorn trees, low branches. we run. we suddenly come up right in the middle of the herd and we try to take a shot, but i am not happy and the opportunity passes. we head off to the right. i suddenly spot two kudu on my right and they have wheeled away and going off. i tell clayton this but he says our kudu are upfront ahead of us. i dont think so but we continue pounding up the slope. halfway up, we see the first of the kudu get over the ridge and disappear. our chance is gone. now we cant observe them on the opposite side and the bush is too dense to follow them in.
we rest on the slope. i am panting like a dog. takes me 5 minutes to gather myself.clayton says there is a road 200 yards up the slope and he is going there to call up the pickup and for me to follow at my leisure.
i start 5 minutes after him and on reaching the road cant find him anywhere. is this a practical joke they play with firstime clients? not very funny. i can hear noises or i imagine i can hear noises. funny situation. i am thirsty and i want to take a leak!!!! but i dont want to be caught pants down by mr spots!(there are two of them on the farm)i know it is being unrealistic, but i am alone and i am not very happy about it.
clayton comes back in sometime and we talk about our stalk. it feels good. but damn, i am thirsty and i dont want to look like a wuss and ask about the pickup but boy, am i mighty glad when it does rumble into view.
i down some water and then join kahtie and clayton.
they have posted a few chaps to watch that valley and we move on. its midday yet and before the end of the day, i will have drawn blood, not once but twice. if only i knew that then.
But i cant see them and i say so. Right there, look, they are looking at us.
??????? And i thought i had good eyesight.
How am i to hunt an animal if both my Professional Hunter and the trackers can see it without even using binoculars?
But the animal i was hunting is the Greater Kudu. Also called the grey ghost of the bush; and i am now finding it out first hand!!!
But lets rewind back a bit to how i actually managed to reach here.
Over the past couple of years, my interest in the shooting sports has been piqued. I have been around shotguns and rifles since i was a child. There is a certain mystique and aura associated with them. i have always been a great fan of wilbur smith, hathaway capstick and others, then i joined up here and came across people who had hunted. it is my good fortune, that i have made friends, who helped me out. somebody let me try out his rifles, somebody let me look at his trophies and answered my questions patiently, yet other dear friends whom i havent met but have bombarded with silly questions over messages umpteen times.
i finally narrowed down the outfitter i wanted to go to, shortlisted the animals i wanted. as i was going on a hunt for the first time i had to acquire the whole set of clothes and accessories required to hit the ground running there, so as to speak.
over the months this was all done. clothes were made, advice was taken, things were brought, animal anatomy was studied, shooting from different poses was practised,fitness was increased, books were read and reread, posts here and on other sites were checked again and again, ballistics were studied. dad was roped to teach me how to sneak around in the bush quietly.
i tried to do all that i could because this was a realization of a dream, and i wasnt going to mess it up just because i wasnt prepared.
Finally, the big day came and after hopping off the plane in jo'burg, i met the my PH, we got into his pickup and pushed on towards our destination which was 4 hours away.
He had his son, sister in law and her son too. they were going to visit his wife who had just given birth to a lovely little girl.
so the happy group starts out and i start peppering him with questions and questions and questions. the more i spoke to him the better i felt about my choice and the more i looked forward to the hunt tomorrow. the country side was spectacular and a visual treat. miles of rolling hills and golden grass, cool winds and blue skies. a black ribbon running through this picture postcard scenery and no one else around for miles. no horns, no rickshaws, no red lights, no paan stains, no garbage.
five and a half thousand feet up above sea level, i was beginning to fall in love with this place.
before we knew it, we were there, but before we got anywhere, i wanted some biltong and dried sausage. food i had read about and now was longing to eat. so we stopped by at a small store run by an old german afrikaans lady and got some. very charmingly, all the brown paper packets had some small saying or thought written on it by hand. things we dont find in the fast paced life of the metros. we made a quick detour and dropped off our passengers off at Claytons(my PH) home and drove into the manor where i would be staying for the duration of the hunt.
wow
african trophies. and then some more.
but there was not time to admire the house just yet. i wanted to fire the rifle i would be using and get used to it.
so off we went to claytons parents farm after picking up some ammunition from the store. made a makeshift target using black duct tape on the side of a microwave case. set it up at 200 yards and fired a few shots. good grouping. happy all around. met his parents, had a cup of tea with them. gracious hosts, heard some old hunting stories. saw how they made biltong at home, and we were off. came back to the manor. unpacked.
very cold. turned off the airconditioning. showered and came down for dinner. spent a good hour looking at the various trophies. that first dinner i shall never forget. a cosy fire, a light mist outside, great company. and awesome food.
we had double baked steinbuck with mashed sweet potatoes with greens. i was ravenous and along with the excellent conversation, ate a tad bit more than usual. no problems, i shall burn it all off tomorrow me thinks. and oh, how i burnt it!!!
but thats a story for tomorrow.
-- Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:51 pm --
Up at 5. Bloody cold. coming from delhis cauldron to this freezer was a real eye opener.
but like me ole man says, there is no bad weather, only bad clothing.
up go the clothes. jacket. scarf. gloves. woolen socks. hat. i carried a knife on my belt and a swiss army knife in one of the pockets. chapstick. sun glasses. spare pair of laces. hankerchief. binoculars.no perfume, minimal lotion.
i steal a look in the mirror and think i look quite fetching. atleast i looked the part(or my interpretation of it) now we had to see if i could play the part. butterflies in my stomach. prayer on my lips. resolve in my hands.
breakfast. drive out to the ranch. not talking a lot. i am immersed in my thoughts. the enormity of the day is dawning on me. i am going to take a life today if the gods are with me. if my gods are with me. what about that animals god? his desire to live. how would i feel if somebody hunted me for sport. unsettling questions. clayton offers me some of the dried sausage to munch on, i refuse. thoughts which one cant answer satisfactorily on a short 20 minute drive but which assail you in their enormity. all these months my mother dissuaded me and it all comes back to me. i remember her arguments and my counter arguments.
will that animal feel comforted knowing that i won the argument with my mother. in the end i decide that if it written in my destiny to hunt an animal, then it is. life is very often not black and white and it occured to me that i was treading in that grey zone. my hunt helps conserve more animals. and i leave it at that.
we arrive and pick up the trackers and move out onto the game park. the sun breaks out and its a beautiful morning. a new day starts. today an animal will die and i let slip a small prayer that all goes well and the animals dont suffer.
my dad told me something which he had read.
you dont hunt to kill. you kill because you have hunted.
A hunter.
i am he.
i shrug other feelings behind me and focus on the present.
screeeeecchhhhhhh..... the car stops. slowly, so as not to startle anyone. its reversed.
kahtie(the head tracker) spotted something. we get out and walk across to have a look.
i begin to ask where they are
"Shhhh...... They are right over there, below that tree with the white trunk.
But i cant see them and i say so. Right there, look, they are looking at us.
??????? And i thought i had good eyesight.
How am i to hunt an animal if both my Professional Hunter and the trackers can see it without even using binoculars?
But the animal i was hunting is the Greater Kudu. Also called the grey ghost of the bush; and i am now finding it out first hand!!!"
i fumble and get my binocular up. look around, find them after a few moments. my heart skips a beat. then another. etheral, tall, beautiful and graceful, two kudu looking in our direction. big ears pointed to gather as much sound as they can. immobile, on the verge of flight. handsome, in a suit of grey chalk stripes. they are the ultimate denizen of the shadows. is one of you mine, my brothers? clayton says that they are young bulls, we should leave them alone. we quietly make our way back to the pickup. my heartbeat has gone up a few notches, my breathing a bit faster. I notice this as i sit. i feel alive. connected. i felt a connection when they looked at us. they looked at me. this land is magical. the engine starts and i am drawn back to my immediate surroundings.
we spot some giraffe. clayton tells me a few interesting things about them. we continue. kahtie taps on the roof signalling that he has seen something. has seen some kudu on the opposite slope. its amazing how they spot animals at fantastic ranges!
we get out, the three of us and clamber up to have a better look at them. as usual, shikari shambhu cant find the animals and has to be guided onto them. feeling foolish.
and then i see them. two old males, clayton tells me.hanging around with a small herd of kudu.
i see them all, the youngsters, sticking by their mothers side, nuzzling each other, the does, delicate, guiding the little ones along. the adolescent ones, daring to go out further. the sedate mature dominant male. self assured. the older bulls, a little behind, perhaps drawing solace from being around their own kind. they had herds of their own but got thrown out by younger challengers and were now living together. two pair of eyes is better than one.
clayton looks them over and decides that the one in front is ours. i am ready.
we get back. i pick up the rifle, clayton tells me to chamber a round and put it on safe. not very happy with that but i do as he says. we leave the car.
The hunt is on.
clayton and kahtie decide its best if we move down the valley towards them as they are upwind of us and moving away. we start getting down. i am very aware of the weapon on my back. i am very careful not to point it at either the gentleman in front of me or the one behind me.the slope is stony.moving carefully. we finally reach a vantage point where there is a clump of trees. we halt there. clayton and i crawl around. its stonier. ouch. we are immobile. my leg goes numb. cant move. the kudu are on the opposite slope. by the time we are in a position to take the shot, they start moving up directly away. the range is increasing every moment and we dont have a shot. i put the gun down and just watch them go up and over the ridge.
once they have passed, we confer again and start moving behind them. go down, cross a stream, up again. we reach the top and the kudu have disappeared. kahtie has a feeling they have gone that a way and we start. suddenly we hear rustling through to our left. kahtie was wrong and now we are upwind of the kudu. they stand still, we stand still too. i have no idea what we are going to do now.
as one, they explode out of the bush and take off. they are headed diagonally across the valley floor, across a donga and then over a ridge into some very thick bush. clayton tells kahtie to go back to the pickup. he looks at me and asks if i am ready? hold on!! ready for what? what are you saying? i am newbie, remember? no time. i say yes.
and he says follow me.
we head into a dead run to cut across the valley floor and up the hill across the ridge. we have to reach there before they cross the ridge, otherwise we will lose them in the bush. i hold the rifle in both my hands, so that it points at right angles to the both of us. and run. high grass, thorn trees, low branches. we run. we suddenly come up right in the middle of the herd and we try to take a shot, but i am not happy and the opportunity passes. we head off to the right. i suddenly spot two kudu on my right and they have wheeled away and going off. i tell clayton this but he says our kudu are upfront ahead of us. i dont think so but we continue pounding up the slope. halfway up, we see the first of the kudu get over the ridge and disappear. our chance is gone. now we cant observe them on the opposite side and the bush is too dense to follow them in.
we rest on the slope. i am panting like a dog. takes me 5 minutes to gather myself.clayton says there is a road 200 yards up the slope and he is going there to call up the pickup and for me to follow at my leisure.
i start 5 minutes after him and on reaching the road cant find him anywhere. is this a practical joke they play with firstime clients? not very funny. i can hear noises or i imagine i can hear noises. funny situation. i am thirsty and i want to take a leak!!!! but i dont want to be caught pants down by mr spots!(there are two of them on the farm)i know it is being unrealistic, but i am alone and i am not very happy about it.
clayton comes back in sometime and we talk about our stalk. it feels good. but damn, i am thirsty and i dont want to look like a wuss and ask about the pickup but boy, am i mighty glad when it does rumble into view.
i down some water and then join kahtie and clayton.
they have posted a few chaps to watch that valley and we move on. its midday yet and before the end of the day, i will have drawn blood, not once but twice. if only i knew that then.