Outfitter / PH: Pieter Kriel

Dates: May 2 - May 17, 2014

Hunter: Charles

Observer: Ellice

Airline: American Airlines DFW to London, British Airways London to Johannesburg

Rifle: Mauser 30-06 and Marlin .243

Animals on my list are: Nyala, Red Hartebeest, Blesbok, and Bushpig.

Side Trip: 3 days in Kruger Park

Sorry to bore everyone with the prologue but it is part of the story of our adventure.

During the week leading up to the trip nothing went as planned. Work was more hectic than usual getting prepared for being gone for two weeks, Ellice was calling me because her file server kept crashing, and I ended up getting an emergency root canal due to an abscess tooth. Time I had hoped to spend packing was taken up with fixing the file server (failing cpu fan caused it to overheat) and getting caught up at work because of the time lost on the dental appointments.

May 2nd: Ellice picks me up at work and we head straight for DFW airport. A very nice and talkative ticket agent tags Pieter's Pelican case and sends me to the oversized luggage check-in without charging me the oversized luggage fee ($150). She was busy exchanging European travel tips with Ellice and they were still chatting when I get back. We get through security and are sitting in the Admiral's Club drinking a cocktail. Things are looking up.



I am tired, but I stay awake long enough on the flight to get my ice cream.


May 3rd: We arrive in London and settle in at the Concord Room for the long layover. This is actually a nice break for me since things have been so hectic. We finally depart and are on our way, or so it seems. An hour and a half into the flight we get the announcement that one engine isn't performing properly and is burning too much fuel. We have to turn around. We have visions of them trying to squeeze all of us a few at a time into regularly scheduled flights and loosing a few days. When we land in London British Airways customer service people board and hand each passenger a letter with instructions. We are heading to the Sofitel Hotel which is linked to our terminal at Heathrow and they will try the same flight again tomorrow, but a couple hours earlier than the flight (with the same number) that is scheduled for May 4th. We loose a day, but I get a good night sleep and British Airways is handling this way better than I think American would have.

May 4th: Everything goes smooth and we are finally on our way, albeit on a 747 with the older interior. We even have the same crew.

I will never tire of seeing the sunrise from 35,000 - 40,000 feet over Africa.


May 5th: We finally arrive in Johannesburg. Our luggage arrives okay, but Pieter's Pelican case is no where to be found. Lost luggage is absolutely no help. They don't know anything and don't seem to care. Our pilot and co-pilot (who are also looking for lost luggage) are more helpful and are running around trying to help people. I fill out the form, but the pilot suggests that I may want to wait for the other flight 57 since by now it is due in about 45 minutes and he suspects that having two flights with the same number is the problem. He was right, the case arrives, and we are on our way.

We arrive in the park late afternoon. We have to get to the camp, but we do get to see a lot of animals and bird species. The Impala are in rut and oblivious to just about everything else.


It is time for a sundowner and a braai.


May 6th: We are up early and our adventure continues. Today we see Rhino, Hyena, Giraffe, Waterbuck, Impala, Wild Dog, Hippo, Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Crocs, Warthog, Ground Hornbills, and a ton of other birds.



May 7th: We are up early and have a few hours of game viewing before heading to Natal. This morning we see Giraffe, Zebra, Kudu, Warthog, Elephants, Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Blue Wildebeest, Hyena, Lion, Leopard, and Hippo. It has been an exciting morning. We have seen the Big Five and it is 7:52 AM. It is now time for breakfast.



We spent a little time looking over this herd and discussing if my preference is width or mass for a buffalo. I like age and mass. The tips can be worn down and the width isn't that important.






I videoed a Kingfisher bashing a fish for over six minutes against a tree limb. I guess he likes his meat well tenderized.

Okay the window shopping is over. It is time to head for Natal.

More to come!

Well , it looks like you had a pretty good start to your trip. Coming to South Africa and being able to visit Kruger is an experience on its own. Really wonderful place. You had some good sightings. Beautiful Leopard.

That's a great photo of the Hyena.

And the ice cream...

Sounds like a great trip so far.

look forward the part 2. Keep it coming.

Thanks guys. Some of the photos are mine and some are Pieter's. We had multiple cameras going. The ice cream and Hyena are mine. I have several photos of the Hyena. We think they had either defended or stole a kill the night before because they were well fed and a couple of them had injuries. The Leopard is Pieter's. I was on the video camera.

Say "Hello" to Pieter from Martha and me. We toured with him in 2006. He is a marvelous traveling companion and guide, and a great source of history and the flora and fauna of South Africa, as well as doing a mean braai!

Clarence

I hope you guys get to do some hiking while you are there. Pieter loves long walks in hot weather.

Ask him about the dead horse hike. Funny story.

quote:

Originally posted by Muletrain:
I hope you guys get to do some hiking while you are there. Pieter loves long walks in hot weather.

Ask him about the dead horse hike. Funny story.

I remember reading that story on Pieter's site. Weren't you there bird hunting?

Charles, congrats on the start of the trip. Looks fun so far.

quote:

Originally posted by CharlesL:

quote:

Originally posted by Muletrain:
I hope you guys get to do some hiking while you are there. Pieter loves long walks in hot weather.

Ask him about the dead horse hike. Funny story.

I remember reading that story on Pieter's site. Weren't you there bird hunting?

After the main event in Zim, we went bird hunting in S.A.

LILNK:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJhgrdR5cqg