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Like so many, Covid has kept us away from Africa for far too long. But now we managed to get back to RSA for three weeks, spending time in Sandton, catching up with friends, working on the Landys, the house and garden, eating great food and drinking wonderful SA red wines - La Motte, Kannonkop, Fat Bastard, The Chocolate Block - to name just a few! All excellent! It was good to be back.

I first contacted Dieter Prinsloo of Mattanja Safaris at the end of 2019 and early 2020 just before Covid and the ‘lockdowns’ hit and we spoke about a simple few days hunting, trying for a red duiker for the wall (or desk as - if successful - it would be a table pedestal mount). Dieter has advertised hunts here on AR from time to time and has guided a couple of AR hunters. We would be the next. The plans we made at competitive daily rates, however, were scuppered by Covid and resulting lockdowns ....... we all know the stories.





But now the world is traveling again and so are we!

Catching up with Dieter, we expanded the plan to run to a 6 day hunt with Anja, my wife, joining me and the two of us doing some non trophy hunting / culling, specifically looking at zebra for Anja and blue wildi for me as well as warthog and impala. It cannot be a bush hunt without warthog and impala! A simple few days hunting, nothing over the top or complicated and no hour long drives from farm to farm. Dieter suggested we base ourselves near Louis Trichardt focusing on red duiker on the south slopes of the Soutspanberg Mountain range and then do one or two short trips to nearby farms for wildi, zebra and impala. We would buy and bring the wines and beers. Dieter and the camp would do the rest. As a side note, we like good wines and so we buy and bring and share our own. Life is too short to drink cheap wine! Dieter made suggestions for lodges and we told him to go ahead and book something. He has his own place but as I wanted to target red duiker, we would hunt out of the Wild Nut farm out beyond Louis Trichardt, a 5 hour drive from Joburg. A great old traditional wilderness farmstead with sprawling, manicured gardens and wonderful views! We had a large bedroom with a large open plan bathroom and floors that were polished to almost dangerous perfection! Great stuff.




















One interesting feature of the lodge was the kitchen door with it's access hole! This was so that you could lock up from the inside at night leaving the keys in the lock and so that the cleaner could open the door in the morning to let herself in without you having to get up early to open the door! Super practical! (Written tongue in cheek!)








Also and very unusually for us, we opted to use Dieter’s camp rifle. We had planned to take our own, but with KLM / Air France charging EUR 250/- per flight section ie 4 x EUR 250,- per gun case from Europe to SA and back, we decided that we could spend that EUR 2.000/- on animals rather than airline baggage handlers! Dieter’s camp rifle is a South African made Musgrave .30-06 Model 80 sporting a Lynx scope and proved more than adequate for everything we shot. He reloads himself and the Peregrine bonded bullets performed flawlessly.

As a throw away, the Soutpansberg ( the Salt Pan Mountains ) south of Musina run 170 km in length and some 50 km in breadth at the widest part with a total elevation of 1.700 m plus minus. They are named after the salt flats at the end of the range.

Thursday, I checked over the Landy 110, measuring the two batteries, topping up all liquids and checking tyre pressures and switching on the fridge / freezer to make sure we would have cold drinks and cold Castle Lites on route and on arrival.

And then early Friday, we set off heading north up the N1 towards Pretoria and then Pietersberg - now Polokwane. An easy drive made easier with our e-Tag allowing us to breeze through all the toll booths without hassle and driving at Landy 110 speeds, we never had any hassles with the dozens of traffic cops hiding in the shadows alongside the freeway trying to make a few extra bucks from speedsters!








We arrived at 14:00 just after Dieter and settled into the lodge. All very comfortable. In the afternoon it was off to the range and then a short game drive - including me missing a young warthog boar off the sticks. Warthog 1 Charlie 0.





That evening Dieter told us that his cook had called in sick so Dieter had told him to stay away and that as a result, Dieter would be doing the cooking. That was the only real downside of the trip as Dieter is not great in the culinary department. I cooked one evening, a potjie, which, whilst somewhat tough, was nevertheless tasty.

After a frozen lasagne dinner the first night, it was drinks by the fire and then early to bed in anticipation of the days ahead.






Red / Natal Duiker



The Red Duiker goes under various names, the obvious being the red duiker. One of the others is the Natal duiker. A rich rusty red in color, with the underparts being slightly paler than the rest of their small bodies. The tail is short and sports a black tip. Bothe sexes carry horns that angle back along the same line as their faces. The males’ horns being longer and thicker. Longer is perhaps an over statement as when it comes to red duiker a trophy is 2 1/2 inches in horn length! To complicate Horn judgement the red duiker has a tuft of hair between the horns which is easily confused with a horn! You find them across north eastern RSA and then up into Moz and southern Tanzania.

Red duiker are listed as LC in the conservation rankings being ’least concern’ with population estimates exceeding 40 thousand animals.

They are a forest animal and quite active during the day, browsing and foraging on leaves, fruits, flowers and when food is scarce roots and barks.

As they are fairly territorial marking their areas with scent from their facial glands and small dung piles, the name of the game when you have spotted a duiker that looks like a trophy that you would want, is to sit it out and wait or to try and call them in with a high pitched nasal whine like sound or a predator call !











And it was with the predator call that we were successful. On day one we stooped and crawled deep into the thickets and finding likely red duiker areas, small open clearings in the bush, often marked with dropping piles, we backed up against trees and bushes and then Dieter called using a predator call, with me on the sticks and all our eyes scanning the bush for movement and red patches amongst the shadows.



We saw a couple of duikers on day one but the opportunity for a good look at them let along a shot never arose, they were away quicker than they arrived.

The second day saw us up at 05.30 and out at 06.00, back into the thickets and undergrowth of the Soutpansberg, calling for duiker.

We tried likely spots and then moved on. On the third or fourth call and after some minutes, Dieter whispered that he could see a duiker on the left. After a moment, I picked up the red patch between the shadows in the scope and Dieter called again. The duiker took a few steps to the right and looked directly towards us. A ram. A good ram! I dropped the crosshairs down from the ram’s head half a foot and the same to the left and squeezed off a shot, all in the space of what seemed like less than a second. Reloading, I apologized to everyone for not warning them that I was shooting. Dieter confirmed that the ram was hit and had bolted right. Elifas, the tracker / skinner, said the same adding that after going right the ram turned to the left, clearly hit.

We waited a moment and then walked the few meters to where the ram had been standing in the thick bush. Less than 15 meters. Elifas then dropped to his hands and knees and crawled into and under the bush where the duiker was last seen.

“Blood!”

“Good blood?” I asked.

“Yes” he replied and began to crawl the blood trail.

I too dropped to the ground and forced my way into the thickets. The blood was good, thick, dark red and wet.

“He’s here!” Elifas called from a couple of meters away and pulled the red duiker from under the thorns and brush into an opening where he stood up and we could all clearly see our prize.

“Is it a ram?” Dieter asked.

Yes it was a ram, a good solid old ram, scarred and marked and sporting a solid set of horns! I was jubilant! Day two and we had successfully taken a super red duiker ram! How awesome is that!








The bullet had hit front right shoulder and exited left just behind the rib cage with an exit wound the size of a nickel.

We took time admiring the ram and then did pictures in the shadows of the thickets and then in the open. I was overjoyed!








From there on in it was easy sailing or should I say hunting. We did the potjie from the duiker filets and a hindquarter. Tough but tasty.

And then we concentrated on impala, wildi and zebra. We were successful on impala a couple of times but not the wildi or zebra and not for lack of trying. We simply saw no zebra and the wildi got the better of us!

As a side note, we continued to see red duiker on the property over the following days, some in the thickets and a few skirting around in the open at the edge of the bush. A great property for red duiker! I think all in all we saw seven.


Crested guineas

I never tire of hunting guineas or just seeing and watching them in the bush. Fun game birds. It was a bonus to see a number of flocks of crested guinea fowl on the farm, running in front of the bakkie with their rich black feather headgear bobbing up and down as they ran. Wonderful birds to see! They are protected so there is not hunting / shooting of crested guineas.


Impala for Anja





Long ago, I lost count of the number of impala that we have taken over the years. There are some thirty plus skull mounts in the garage in Joburg and some more in the living room and study and some more in our home in Germany. We both enjoy hunting rooibokke / impala and never pass on the opportunity to try for one. Plus the meat is superb!

Wildnut had a number of good rams running around and we walked and stalked a number of times before Anja finally got onto one.

Early one morning we spotted a group of impala and kudu warming themselves in the morning sun on an open section of vlei. We stalked in downwind and came out on the edge of the bush below the impala and kudu and Dieter put up the sticks. At that moment and with Anja on the sticks, a kudu barked a warning bark and the next moment there were animals fleeing and flighting in every direction! The larger of the two impala rams pronked away from right to left, head down and tail up, a wonderful sight to see, almost springbok like, whilst the kudu bombshelled in all directions. One cow ran right in front of Dieter and Anja less than 3 meters from where they stood! The second impala ram bounded from right to left and then right again and then stopped directly in front of Anja and Dieter, some 30 meters out, trying to work out where the danger was. Anja took the shot and the ram bolted twenty meters heading for the bush only to pile up, heart shot, at the bush’s edge, all four legs in the air. A big bodied ram with a average head. A good cull impala and an exciting stalk and hunt!








The second impala Anja took at Leadwood, a big game farm an hour north towards Musina.


Leadwood

This was a large farm that we drove to of some 4.500 h with plenty of game including buff, hippo, rhino, croc (large) and lots of plains game. There were some big buff on the property and at 4.500 h I would imagine that an all foot hunt for an old bull on that farm could be fun.

















We did a fair bit of driving but stopped and stalked when we saw game that we wanted to hunt. Anja was on the sticks a few times for impala and finally managed to take a ram late afternoon. We thought he was a young ram at first with his lyre shaped horns, but on closer glassing it was clear that he was the breeding / herd ram with hard horns and worn teeth and a yellow stained underbelly from rutting but just a crap set of horns. The perfect antelope to take out of the herd. The ram dropped to the shot and never knew what hit him, whilst his harem of ewes sprang away in all directions.










Anja and the whole team - Keepa, Elifas and Dieter.

(Before anyone comments on the angle of the rifle in the photo it was unloaded and the bolt is open.)


I would have liked to have tried for a wildi or two and Anja for a zebra or two but we never got the chance. I nearly had a shot at a warthog but the sounder bolted before I could get onto the young boar. Next time.

Of additional interest was the the neighboring triple fenced yes triple fenced 35.000 h farm belongs to the Saudi royal family. A huge farm!


Genet




After the duiker, this was the highlight of the hunting trip for me. We drove to a farm higher up the mountain, in fact the farm almost borders Dieter’s farm. It was a working avocado and macadamia nut farm.

Arriving just after dark, Mark, the farmer’s nephew, joined us on the bakkie and we set off after small stuff - genet and white tailed mongoose (both classed as vermin with no permit required). I was using Dieter’s 1920s/30s Greener 12 bore side by side, loaded with two 28 gramme sevens. A beautiful old London boxlock.

It was dark and Dieter worked the spot light. We drove into the farm and at the first field we spotted a genet- two glowing eyes in the spotlight - but he spotted us too and vanished.

We then drove the rows of macadamia trees and avos and I kid you not, we saw bushbuck after bushbuck after bushbuck! In every row between the trees there was a bushbuck feeding on the fallen nuts and leaves. I would guess that we saw 35 to 40 bushbuck in the space of 3 hours! You had to be there to see it to believe it!

Back at the first field, we spotted the genet that we had seen earlier and I put in a shot at some 25 meters. The genet sprang, tumbled and disappeared across the farm track that we were driving along. We searched for blood and a dead genet but found nothing and moved on.

Shortly after, rounding a row of avo trees, Dieter lite up a genet with his spot light. I did not hesitate and put both barrels across the rodent one after the other and he was ours. Everyone laughed at me firing the second barrel, saying that he was done on the first shot! After my earlier miss, I was taking no chances and gave him both barrels!





A big, solid, old male genet with superb makings and a lovely long tail. I was thrilled!

After a few photos, we carried on searching for a mongoose for Anja to try and take but we only saw bushbuck and common duiker. This property is bushbuck heaven!

We called it a night around 10.00 pm and, thanking Mark, we made the short drive back to our lodge and dinner and drinks by the fire.



Kudu



On the second or third day at Wildnut Farm, we spotted a young kudu bull limping away into the bush. We saw him again the next day, clearly having difficulty walking and looking in generally poor condition. Dieter called the farm manager, Emil, and let him know.

On the second to last day, we decided, at my request, to sit for a couple of hours at a water pan late afternoon in the hope of warthog coming in. Shortly before dusk, the bush parted and a kudu slowly emerged from the thickets, limping. I whispered to Dieter and he glassed the bull and whispered back that I could take him. Emil had said we could shoot him at no charge if we saw him again.

Sighting onto the kudu’s shoulder, I squeezed the trigger. Hit, the bull span around and stood, frozen at the water’s edge. A second shot and he ran four or five meters before falling. Both bullets pass throughs.

A hot to the touch and clearly broken front left fetlock, that would not have healed, was the cause of his condition. He also carried a number of wounds and punctures and had clearly been fighting with another bull. It is never great having to put an animal down but it was good that we managed to put a quicker end to the inevitable outcome of his broken leg.

Kudu - such wonderful animals!








We took a few pictures and winched the bull onto the Toyota. The farm hands were happy. Emil had said that they would get the meat. Kindly, we were given the skin.


Herman's Farm




On the final day, and with Dieter keen to get us a wildi and zebra, we drove some forty minutes south of Louis Trichardt to another game farm which was some 1.500 h in size and predominantly thorny bosveld bush. We saw impala, blesbok, sable and a few duiker but no wildis or zebra and we ended the hunt with a magnificent sunset on Hermann’s farm and a visit to his house to see his 2 week old GSP pups. Were we full time in RSA, I am sure that Anja would have had here name down for one of the pups!



Skinning Shed

Elifas is simple put an excellent skinner! He did a magnificent job on the duiker and also the genet, working with razor blades, a small blade and coat wire for the ears. He skinned the impalas and kudu in minutes and had the skins washed and salted in no time. The taxidermy commented on the quality of the skinning and salting. Praise indeed!












Sundowners

One evening we drove up into the Soutpansberg, up a track that had not been cut for a year or two, to the top of the mountain for G&T sundowners. Awesome views and great moments even if the Schweppes tonic somehow froze in the cool box!









Field & Stream

Dieter took us to Field & Stream taxidermy in Louis Trichardt. An old, established taxidermy with a huge showroom with everything from tiger to lion to leopard and otters to beavers and badgers. Almost overwhelming!



Andre von Rooyen Taxidermy

On the last day of the hunt, we settled our account after breakfast and loaded the salted trophies into the Landy and set off for Johannesburg. An easy and uneventful 5 hour drive and then we offloaded the trophies at Andre von Rooyen Taxidermy in Roederport.

Clifford, who does the small mammals and birds, spent time with me thinking about poses for the genet and looking at my sketches for the red duiker table pedestal mount. He has done a number of mounts for us over the years and we have always been more than pleased.


And then it was a short drive to our Sandton home and an evening braai with a great bottle of Kannonkop Shiraz and recollections of the weeks hunting over a glass or two of red wine!


The Rhino & Lion Park

On our last day, we drove to the Cradle of Mankind some 30 kms outside Joburg and spent a great morning visiting the Rhino & Lion Park. Loads of animals to see and you can bring your own BBQ / Braai meat and coals and have a Braai. A great way to spend the last day of the trip!
























All in all, we had a good week of hunting in an area new to us, the Soutpans Mountains, taking a great red duiker and some other game. Dieter worked hard to get us on the animals that we wanted and he certainly put in the hours. Would I hunt with him again? Yes, I would. Maybe a multiple bushbuck hunt plus some more small stuff like civet, porcupine, mongoose and the like. We saw some monster bushbuck during the week - serious trophy buck! And I would just make sure that we had a cook to do the meals!

And to close here a picture of one of the many great sunsets that we saw over the week!






As a PS. lots of street stands were selling avos, macadamia and pecan nuts along the road side together with 'mpesu' for guaranteed 'hot love'! I was tempted but passed !









Cheers and thanks very much to Dieter and Elifas for a great week's hunting and thanks to all AR members that came along on this report!





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Outstanding Report. I leave in a little more than a month for my sixth Safari to Namibia and your Report conjurs memories of past hunts.

Well done and splendid report!

Great report and pics!

Thank you for sharing.
Red Duiker is very close to the top of my bucket list for 2023.

Thanks Charlie for the great report.

Great read thanks Charlie. Good to see you and Anja getting back into it. Cheers.

Thank you for the wonderful report!
I enjoyed the style it is written in as well as the varied photographs.

JCHB

Great report!!

When I was hunting in KZN a few years ago the red duiker definitely required the most effort to bag.