Outfitter / PH: Pieter Kriel

Dates: May 2 - May 17, 2014

Hunter: Charles

Observer: Ellice (aka Princess Wannatakeapee or Trophy Wife)

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.

May 13th: Today we travel from Natal to Eastern Free State. We have a good breakfast, bid our farewells to Frans, Anton, and Zwelly, and hit the road. We spend most of the day on the road, passing through Golden Gate Park and within view of Lesotho.





We arrive at the lodge late afternoon. It is rustic and very picturesque.

The lodge


Our chalet


Our view


Dinner was a wonderful experience. We each had stones that had been heated up in the stove. We spread butter on it and then cook various game meats and vegetables on the stone while getting to know our hosts and learning about the history of the lodge.



May 14th: Today we start hunting for Red Hartebeest and Blesbok. We start off with our coffee and rusks. It is windy, but not brutally cold as expected. In fact it is very pleasant.

Time to switch to 4-wheel drive and head into the hills.



Soon we were on Red Hartebeest. I was pleased that it was a relatively short shot. I really don't care for 200 yard plus shots.



Only problem is I missed. After multiple shots and I wasn't even close enough for Pieter to see dust get kicked up to tell where I am shooting. When I go to reload I feel the action shift in the stock and flip the rifle over. The Mauser has a crack running from the barrel to the magazine. I show it to Pieter and we switch to the Marlin. Unfortunately my shooting does not improve so it is time to head back to the lodge. We had just checked the scope on the Marlin last night.

May 15th: It was rough night trying to sleep so when Pieter texted me early in the morning asking me if I want to recheck the sighting of the rifle. I responded that I was already dressed and ready to go. We head for the range. When I get it on the bench I notice the crosshairs are a little skewed. Apparently we didn't have the scope screws tight enough. We get it to shooting at the same spot for both of us at 200 yards. I am feeling much better and we head for breakfast.



Ellice decides she has had enough 4-wheeling and will go into Clarens and then do some horseback riding instead.



What a difference a day (and scope alignment) makes. We get onto a group of Red Hartebeest, but I want to try and get closer. We stalk from small clump of brush to clump of brush heading uphill. We get to the point that we are at the last brush large enough to give us any cover. Besides we have dozens of eyes on us and they are getting nervous. Pieter ranges it and tells me it is 231 yards. I get on the sticks and as soon as I am sure I am on the correct bull I shoot. The bull jumps drops his head and spins around. I shoot again and he starts rolling down hill. He has started out close to a "road" on the side of the hill. Now he is about a third of the way down the slope. We gut him on the side of the hill and bring him down to a point that we can get the bakkie to.



We break for lunch and take my Red Hartebeest to the lodge for skinning. After lunch we start hunting for Blesbok.

A group was spotted as we rounded a hill so we backed up and climbed over the hill. On the way up the hill the local guide was scampering up the hill as if he was going downhill. There may been some discussion about winging him to slow him down. On the other hand I was feeling the effects of altitude and age. Pieter was hanging back so I wouldn't feel bad. : By the time we got to the top the guide had probably taken a nap and the Blesbok had moved off to our right. We take a stroll down the ridge of the hill and I mention to Pieter how I feel about heights, but the view was great. We get close to the end of the ridge and see the Blesbok way off. We start back when the guide shows us a path that angles down on the opposite side and then we can walk around the hill to get back to the bakkie. This is an easier path than the one up so we start down this trail. We are about a third of the way down when a small bachelor group come around the hill. We are caught on the side of the hill with no cover. We lay back against the hill. The hill is so steep that this meant just leaning a little to our right. Pieter asks if I can make the shot. There is no way to put up the sticks and I have nothing to rest the rife on. I pull my left leg up to rest the left elbow on. My foot keeps slipping. When I finally find a good foot hold my knee is too high. I stretch to get the rifle barrel down and thinking that any moment they will notice us on the side of the hill or possibly come up the trail that we are on. I take the shot and the Blesbok drops. After a few minutes Pieter says he will go back over the hill and bring the bakkie around. I keep the crosshairs on the Blesbok until we hear the bakkie coming.



It is now time to put the rifle away, head back to the lodge, get packed up, and get ready for dinner.



May 16th: I am done hunting and we have one day left so we head for a guest house in Pretoria. We have the pleasure of meeting up with Karin (Pieter's current first wife) and Chris for dinner.

May 17th: Our flight isn't until evening so Pieter shows us some of the sites in the Pretoria area. One of the highlights is a tour of the Sammy Marks Museum and have a lovely lunch there. We are reminded of Pieter's past life as a Curator when the tour guide greets Pieter and introduces him to the group. One of the advantages that we have with Pieter as our outfitter is that each trip we get to learn some of South Africa's history.

Thanks great report

You really did get to see and hunt diverse areas : Kruger , Kwa Zulu Natal and Eastern Free State. Congrats on a great hunt.

Yep Jan. It was sorta like hunting east Texas river bottoms one day and Wyoming two days later.