Outfitter: Kei River Safaris
Booking agent: Wade Derby
PH: Andrew Renton
Rifles: Searcy 450 Ne and Winchester M70 375
Game hunted: Eastern Cape Kudu, wildebeast, impala, warthog, blesbok

The hunt was fantastic. We went on the hunt Wade offered two years ago as the Eastern Cape special, and it truly was special. We were canceled in '10 due to the volcano in Iceland and almost missed it this year due to a tornado in St. Louis just prior to our departure. We finally made it to East London and all went great. I chose to get trigger time with my 450 and Andrew work very hard to get the game with the double. We succeeded on haresting all but the Kudu with the double. We hunted five days for the kudu and after a few good stalks in the hills, I concluded that the 450 does not make a good mountain rifle. Had to switch to the 375 and closed the deal on the hardest stalk I've had in three safaris. It was a great hunt. The 450 performed fantastic on all other game. We made some tough and slow stalks, getting in to ranges of 30-70 yards on the other animals. Andrew worked extremely hard to make sure the double was the primary weapon, as I wanted trigger time with the double. The country was beautiful and more rugged than I had anticpated, much like a Mulie hunt in Wyoming than the two previous hunts I've had in Limpopo and Tanzania. Next time I'll get in better shape. All hunts were spot and stalk, nothing from the truck or water holes. We worked for each animal, except blesbok, which just came easy. Most of the areas were low fence, with kudu escaping several times to properties which were not part of Andrew's leases. We also would seem kudu and impala crossing roads as we went out to go to the various concessions, much like a western big game hunt. The lodge was as good as any I've been to and the meals were excellent. The best part of the trip were staff and the Renton's themselves. We arrived to pleasant, professional people and left as members of a family. Great folks. If any of you have any thoughts of hunting the Eastern Cape or wanting an experience that combines the African safari with North American low fence cattle country type hunting, I don't think you could do better than Andrew Renton of Kei River Safaris. I had some camera issues so the photos were pretty limited. Thanks.

Andrew and Sharyn certainly run a family friendly operation!

Some of their hills, aka mountains!, will test some of the areas I hunt here in Colorado for elk.

Glad to see another successful safari come from Kei River!

Congrats!!!

congratulations for the great hunt.

Did you have time to check out their gardens?

Congrats on a great hunt. To kill most of them with your double must have been a blast but I imagine a challenge as well.

ozark hunter;

Congratulations on your successful safari.

Your Searcy is as beautiful as your trophies! Good Going!

D. Nelson

Congratulations, OH!!

After all the trials you endured getting there it sure looks like it was worth the wait.

Great hunt! I remember when Wade was offering that deal -- the price was so low that some skepticism about it was expressed. But Wade was just trying to establish himself in the business.

Plainsgame with an iron-sighted double!

Hell-yeah!

Great job!

JW

Well done!

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Wemmer:
Plainsgame with an iron-sighted double!

Hell-yeah!

Great job!

JW

+1

Good show sir!!!

Brett

Beautiful country. A bit like the Ozarks?

Hey, thanks for the nice comments. For those of you with doubles, this was a great way to enjoy hunting with a double and provided a challenge as well. The area in places looked very much like the Ozarks and Wyoming, or a cross there of. Thanks.

Matt, I am certainly glad you enjoyed your trip. I recall the disappointment we all had when the Iceland volcano put your plans to go last season on hold. It was worth the wait though, congratulations on some hard earned trophies.

Thanks for your trust in me and Kei River, Andrew thoroughly enjoyed your company! Wade

Good shooting with the double.

Mike

Great looking safari. Andy, his wife and the rest of the Kei River team are top notch. I had a great hunt with them last May for blue duiker, vaal rhebok, nyala and bushbuck. Had a blast!

Thanks for posting your trip. Not too shabby a choice in weaponry!!

What a great safari!

I really enjoyed my time with Andrew and his family last year too. They really go out of their way to make you feel like family.

Hoping to go back in 2013!!

Matt thanks for the thumbs up,it was a great time spent with you and spiderman,that double was a pleasure to watch perform.
thanks again

Andrew,

It was a blast, will be back ASAP. Thanks for the great safari.

Matt