Hello All,
I really don't know where to begin, but here goes. The trip over and back was HORRIBLE!!!! I am already looking for an alternate route for next year. My friend Dave and I were met at the airport by Andries of Africa Bushveld Safaris and taken out to the waiting 4X4 and his partner Marius. After greatings all around we were taken to the base camp and cabin and were introduced to Lammie who owned/operated the facility. We dropped off our luggage in our cabin which was spacious and clean as a pin, having a bathroom with shower, coffee pot for hot water, instant coffee, electricity converters etc. We then went over to the combination bar, and dining area to again be greeted by the 3 mentioned above and welcomed to Bushveld Safaris. The meal that night was hard to take, T-bone steaks that rivaled the one on the Flintstones, along with hot fries, salad, and anything we wanted to drink from water to Cognac. After dinner we discussed the following day and were informed that Lammie (a gentle giant of 6' 4") would wake us in the AM at 6:45 and breakfast would be served at 7:15. Although we were exhausted they all recommended we stay up as long as possible to assure acclimation to the time changes. Off to bed, a knock at the door and we were off for our first day. Breakfast was hardly worth getting up for. We were greated by Lammie, his beautiful wife Linda, and two steaming cups of coffee, on the table was fresh juice, jams, butter, and place setting any resturant would be proud to serve on. Breakfast was served consisting of 2 eggs, ham, sausage, bacon, a slice of cheese and tomato on lettuce and a rack full of toast (so much for my diet). After breakfast we were off with Marius to look for Wart Hog, and due to the fact Andries clients, a newly wed couple, would not arrive until that afternoon he and Lammie said the would scout out a different location to see if they could come up with a respectable hog. On the way Marius stopped at a large dairy farm pulled in and told Welcome (our skinner tracker) to take an orange and place it on a fence post 150 yards (by range finder) away. I was using one of the rifles Marius owned due to the horror stories I had heard regarding customs, and not wanting to have any bad experience I opted to take mine on the next trip. Marius introduced me to shooting sticks and made me a firm believer in their ability to steady a rifle. The rifle I was using was a Brno with set trigger in .270 with a 3X9 scope, it was a bit on the heavy side but turned out to be a nice little rifle. On to the orange!!!! Marius said that the rifle was sighted in at 125yds and that I should hold dead on, I did so, pulled the trigger, and was told I had shot high and to the left. I shot again with the same results, Marius said OK one more shot. I held dead on pulled the trigger and high and to the left. Marius took the rifle fired it and said the rifle must have been knocked off of zero. We moved the scope down 4 clicks and 6 clicks to the right, I fired, the orange exploded, and we were off to hunt. During this first day we saw 15 hogs, birds, monkeys, and several varieties of plains game but Marius said we would wait for a better hog. During this first day we stopped for lunch in the middle of nowhere and Welcome cleared an area beneath a shade tree (BTW everything had thorns) set out chairs, a table, built a fire, and proceeded to make a pile of Kudu links and Wart hog sausage that was out of this world. We all had too much to eat the area was cleaned and left exactly as it was found except for a small pile of ashes that were thoroughly soaked from a 5 gallon can carried on the back of the truck. We moved after lunch to another location where we saw more game but again nothing Marius was happy with, (did I mention everything has thorns???). To make a long story short we left the cabin at 7am and returned at 7pm in love with South Africa!!! Due to the fact I had not killed anything that day other than an orange I took on the name "Lemon Skieter" which translates to Orange shooter in South African. We met the newlyweds and sat down to a mediocre meal consisting of Ostrich steaks, beans in wine sauce, potatoes, salad, and again a choice of anything you wanted for a beverage. Andries was doing the cooking on the corner grill and the next thing we knew he was bringing over smoked Wart Hog ribs, (just in case we were still hungry!!!) The meal. place settings, conversation, and company was fantastic!!!!!! After the meal we sat around the bar, discussed the day, and wished the newlyweds luck as they would be heading out to another camp in the morning to hunt for Kudu. The following morning we arose, layed out our clothes from the previous day to be washed and ironed, had a repeat breakfast, (I feel funny describing it that way due to the fact it was outstanding) and we were off for Wart Hog. (thorns did I mention thorns????) Seeing SA on a cool crisp morning is worth the trip in itself. We stood on the edge of a ravine (100ft deep) and glassed the meadow below. Welcome said something in SA and we were off. As it turned out the hog wasn't what we were looking for and after seeing several more Marius decided we would move to another area. We drove over to another site and due to the fact my friend Dave had some leg problems and was just getting over lung surgery, we left him in the truck and headed into a large valley. About 1000 yards around the side of the hill Marius and Welcome saw 2 hogs in as adjacent field, and we doubled back and dropped into the valley crawling under a few thorn bushes and taking care to keep brush between us and the hogs (have I mentioned that most everything has THORNS!!!) We were finally close enough (200yds) to get a good look at the hogs and Marius said the one was a big one. The hogs started moving and we moved to the left and sat down waiting for the hogs to come into view. I had the sticks ready a good seat (thorns) and had the rifle pointed where I thought Marius had instructed me they would come out. He saw where I was pointing and said they would be coming out from a tree about 75 yards to my left??????, not where I would have looked, but there they were, moving fast and just the top 5" of their backs showing over the tall cover, I held on the shoulder, squeezed the trigger and thump!!!!! Marius said, you hit him but it looked like you were a little to far back. We started looking for sign and Welcome came up on a few spots of blood and a piece of what looked like lung to me, Marius said he may be gut shot, we walked 15 more feet and there he was dead as a doornail. The bullet had gone in at an angle 6" behind the shoulder and we found out later was lodged under the skin on the far side of the neck, having exploaded the heart and one lung (and the hog had gone 75yds) Welcome went back to get the stretcher and Marius and welcome wrestled the hog up 500 yards of hillside stopping every 30 yards for a break and to joke about the climb. At the top of the hill my friend Dave was waiting at a 2 strand fence taking pictures, we were within 90yds of the fence when they picked up the litter and started up with heads bowed, I walked up along side Marius and said "good grief it looks like Dave has moved that fence back at least 50 yards". Without looking up Marius just said "Dirty Bastaaad" with a heavy emphasis on DIRTY. The hog turned out to have 11 1/4 inch tusks and as Marius explained for that area due to the hard soil, the tusks were most acceptable. Well all, I have a farm to run so I will write more later. Take care and God bless


cordell

Sounds like a good trip. I'll check back for more details. Please post some pictures if you can.

Hello Again,
I mentioned (in jest) in the above article that the meal of Ostrich steaks was mediocre, I hope everyone reads farther where I state it was fabulous!!!! This trip along with the food was one of the great experiences of my life and I would not want to take one ounce of credit away from the GREAT people at Africa Bushveld Safaris. Take care and God bless.

cordell

Nice report Cordell. Any photos to share with us????

Sounds like you had a great hunt.

Phil

Hello Charles and Phil,
Thanks for the kind words, I will try to add more this evening. There are probably 300+ pictures of our visit. As soon as they are on disc I will see if one of our brothers here on AR will help me post 2 or 3. Take care and God bless.

cordell

Hey Cordell,

Congrats on your hunt. I will look forward to your full report and photos!!

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by cordell:
Hello Charles and Phil,
Thanks for the kind words, I will try to add more this evening. There are probably 300+ pictures of our visit. As soon as they are on disc I will see if one of our brothers here on AR will help me post 2 or 3. Take care and God bless.

cordell

You can email some to me for posting if you like. My email address is in my profile.

Thanks for the write up and congrats on the warthog. Look forward to seeing/hearing more about the trip.

Brad

Well let's see, the large Wart hog had been brought up the hill and loaded into the 4X4. Marius decided we would drop Welcome off to take care of dressing out the hog, and since we now had reason to celebrate my new name "Vark Skieter" (pig shooter) he would take us to one of the small restaurants in the area for Kudu burgers. We dropped off Welcome had lunch (which was excellent) and took Welcome a burger and fries. We then packed up and headed back to the area we had been at on the first day. We had pulled up on a knoll and were looking out over a large area of thorn bushes when Welcome said something, and Marius swung his binoculars to the left. He told me to move up to where they were located and I just had a moments look at a Black Bushbuck as he moved into the thorn bushes. Marius explained that this Bushbuck would probably go over 16" leaning more towards 17", and that it was a trophy sized animal. He further explained that they were territorial and that we had a good chance of taking him if we just waited him out. We watched the area below for over 2 hours and decided to move down and see if we could catch him from a different angle. After another 45 minutes or so Welcome spotted another hog, and I decided to take it and maybe look for the Bushbuck in the morning. We moved into the little valley keeping the setting sun at our backs and a small bunch of thorn trees (have I mentioned they have thorn trees?) between us and the hog. We came within 125 yards and I sat down with my back against Marius and the now comfortable shooting sticks braced below the Brno. Marius said shoot right behind the eye and we will BBQ this one, I took aim and fired. The hog dropped on the spot but the tail moved several times and Marius said where did you aim. I said I had been behind the eye, however when we got there I had hit high on the neck (3 inches above where I had been aiming) I had forgotten it was an uphill shot, but dead is dead. This hog had 9" tusks and was typical of the area. Welcome headed off to get the 4X4, and arrived back in about 45 minutes. The hog was gutted and loaded into the truck for the trip home. Marius had informed us earlier that he would like to have us over to his house for dinner, and after dropping off Welcome and the hog we headed over to his house. We were met by his lovely wife Rita, his mother-in-law who was visiting, and his two darling daughters Marelize and Lisa Marie. The meal and company was outstanding with baked chicken, several casseroles, and a table full of assorted other goodies. After dinner we went out to the rec room which was filled with skins, horns, and native items. We enjoyed coctails, a warm fire, and conversation you would expect from old friends. Dave (my friend) and I fell in love with the family and when asked, quickly agreed to my making spagetti the following evening (I had been bragging). The evening ended too quickly and after hugs all around we were of to the cabin. Lammie our gentle giant was waiting for us when we arrived and Marius said to let us sleep until 7:15 the following morning because the area we would be hunting was not that far from the compound. He had scouted the area for Impala prior to our arrival and said there were several in that area that would be more than acceptable (I believe 22" is an acceptabe buck in SCI) Well, after another good nights sleep and another fantastic breakfast we were on our way to hunt an Impala. As we drove into the area we were going to hunt, Marius and Welcome both saw a Buck but by the time I spotted him he had walked behind some thorn bushes (thorns?????) we left the vehicle and tried to make it up to where we could get a look at this fellow but after a 200 yard stalk he had spooked. We walked back to the 4X4 and searched the area for about 45 minutes, Marius said "lets head back and see if we can catch him coming back out again". We went back down the hill, left the vehicle well behind and Welcome built a blind from the surrounding shrubs (I bet you thought I was going to say thorns) and the wait was on. We had put on insect repellant that morning but they were having a ball with us, when to our far right I noticed a movement and it was an Impala with a doe. Marius took a look and said it was well over 22" and I should take a shoulder shot on him. The range was approximately 160 yads and when he stepped between two bushes I held the cross hairs on his shoulder, set the trigger, and fired, at that instant the buck lowered his head to the side to take a bite of brush and he was down. I added the fact that the head was moving to explain the bullet hole through the horn and hitting 3 inches forward of the shoulder dropping him with a neck shot. I explained to Marius it was the only way I could get a shot and when he finished laughing we set about taking some pictures and loading the Impala for the trip back to the camp. Have to stop here I have a phone call. I will write more tomorrow. Take care and God bless.


cordell

Let's see, how am I going to wrap this up??? Because in reality the hunt portion of our trip was over. I had harvested the animals I went for, and now we just wanted to enjoy the remaining time visiting the Addo wildlife park, doing some shopping for the family and a little gambling at the Port Elizabeth casino with our new friends Marius and Rita. All was accomplished and when it was over I felt I was leaving friends instead of just being a client (which by the way is worded just that way on the ABS web site). If you get the chance, and want an exceptional hunt at an affordable price, see Ray Atkinson here on AR and he will be more than happy to set up your hunt and take all the bumps out of the road for your trip over and back. Or should you wish to handle the trip on your own, drop Marius or Andries a line at Africa Bushveld Safaris Vandeventers@xsinet.co.za and see what they have to offer. They will be happy to foreward you a brochure and answer any questions you may have concerning hunting SA. I will say this, I was quoted a price before I left the States and when we settled up, that is exactly what I paid!!! Your tips are extra and gladly given due to the exemplary service you are afforded. In closing this lengthy write up I wanted to add a few items I missed. First, I forgot to mention meeting a 3rd beautiful lady, and that was Andries wife Rentia, I swear guys I don't know what those guys have to offer but they all have BEAUTIFUL wives. Secondly, I wanted to thank Susan at Gracy travel for making this a hassle free trip, in spite of the fact she probably was on Xanex after dealing with me for months prior to the trip. Also, to my friend Dave, who when another friend decided he couldn't make the trip decided he would go along just to take pictures!!!! I want to say thank you!!! He had just undergone lung surgery and although he took well over 300 pictures he spent most of the trip resting in the truck just to be able to make it through the day. His nickname was Ou Slaap kows pronounced old Slopkost, which loosely translated is (affectionately) Old Sleeping Sock, this was later changed to Ou Foto Vater (old photo taker). And last my loving wife who only expected on my return, GOLD!!! and plenty of it . In reality she (under the watchfull eye of my daughter) ran our Angus farm in my absence, and everything that could go wrong went wrong and she wouldn't tell me until my return. BTW all the problems were taken care of before I arrived home!!!! Charles_Helm has graciously offered to post a few pictures for me, and hopefully I can have them over to him today. Thanks for listening, take care, and God bless. P.S. Two other fine gentlemen we encountered on the trip were Neville and Flip, in South Africa you won't meet a stranger!!!!!!

cordell

Posting for Cordell:



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Very nice!

Charles,
Thank you for posting the pictures. If you will enlarge the first one (larger hog) you will be able to make out my AR patch on the left shoulder of the shooting jacket. Thanks again and God bless.


cordell

Cordell,

Great report and well done on the hunt. it sounds like you also have the bugnow!!

BTW, How did you get on with the 9.3 barrel in the end? sorry for not getting back to you but work is madness.

Regards,
FB

Hi FB,
Yes I beleive I have been bitten badly, I am already trying to set aside time for next year. How have you been, and hows the hunting going??? When last we spoke you had just returned from a friends estate after a great hunt. How about some updates on the 202 any more problems with the forearm tightness?? The extra 9.3X62 barrel for the Sauer 200 went on the back burner, and I just purchased a Husqvarna Model 146 in that caliber instead. I understand your plight in the work area, we are both retired and I can't get a week off without a years planning????????? (Well I could sell the cows ) Well guy, catch me up on some of your hunts and guns, it has been to long. Take care and God bless.

cordell

Cordell;

I did almost the exact trip like you did with Marius & Andries this past April. They sure are wonderful, and we anticipate going there again next year.

Cordell, very informative and enjoyed your writings especially the thorns..

Mike

Hello Terry and retreever,
Terry I will be honest with you I don't know which I miss most, the hunting/country or the great bunch at ABS!!!!!! What did you end up getting and did you post any pictures???? retreever, thanks for the kind words and BTW did I mention that everything had thorns over there???????? Take care and God bless.

cordell

Cordell:

Sorry I don't have a way to post pictures, but maybe I could send hard copy to someome that can.

I shot a 15" Bush Buck that was very old, with huge bases, but his one 17" horns were worn down. We shot several Impala, Kudu, and a Wart Hog that had 11" tusks, and weighed in at 226 lbs, on the same dairy farm you were at. Just a monster, but Welcome and Addie had to carry it 500 yards out of a valley floor.

We had a great time a Lammi and Linda too.

Did he sing for you after dinner? I have a great picture of my wife and Andries trying their hand at performing, ( after they each had one too many beers).

What a laugh that was.

My wife took all the wives to the Spa in Addo for the day, and what stories they had to tell that night at dinner.

Can't wait to get back there next year.

Cordell,

Great trip report & photos!

Very toothy looking Warthog there!

Well done. Hey, when you get an opportunity let us know about the folliage in RSA, any thorns?

Can't wait to hear next year's report on the 9.3 boomer.

Hello Gerry,
Glad you enjoyed the write up and pic's. I have a patch for your jacket if you will drop me a PM or email me with your address I will get it across the pond ASAP (yep, I lost your address ). Now, it's funny you should mention thorns!!!!!. Take care and God bless.

cordell

Hello Terry,
I would love to see your pictures, and no I didn't get to hear Lammie sing, Marius tried to persuade him but he just wasn't in the mood. What caliber rifle did you take and were you satisfied with it's performance? I had planned on taking a 9.3X57 along next year that I am very fond of but, I may take a little Sako 30-06 instead. The 9.3 has a 4X claw mounted scope with VERY HEAVY posts (pre-war Hensoldt) that would be OK for the short range shots but I am afraid it wouldn't be of much help over 100 yards. I had an email from Rita yesterday and she said the girls had gone fishing with Marius, I can't wait to hear this story!!!! Take care and God bless.


cordell

Cordell,

Thanks for the kind words, glad you enjoyed yourself.

A PM with my address is underway......the patch will receive a place of honor on my very colorful shooting vest.

Starting to finally get serious with my Kettner catalog after initially skimming through it - noticed (new this year) Norma is offering an Oryx factory load for the 9.3x57 - reconsider the 9.3 boomer for Africa next year, those old Hensholt posts are certainly minute-of-Plains Game!!!

Gerry,
Hey you just woke me up with the Kettner catalog!!!!!!!!! I have an Eduard Kettner Model 2000 combo in 9.3X74R and 12Ga. Hmmm maybe I will take the little Husky (with your sling and swivels) and take the Kettner along for birds and maybe the long shots???? However, when I purchased the Kettner it came with a set of claw mounted rings and I haven't found the scope to fit the rings yet . Maybe some of the guys on the optics forum could help if I posted the bell diameter Anyway Gerry, the patch will be in the mail Monday morning I hope you like it. Take care and God bless.


cordell