Just returned from a great plains game hunt with Blaauwkrantz Safaris in South Africa. I am still a bit jet lagged so if I ramble a bit I will appologize now.

This was our first African hunt and I was joined by my 13 year old son and my wife.

Hunt was booked through Global Adventure Outfitting (Greg Rodriguez) in Houston.

Was booked as an 8 day hunt for plains game at Blaauwkrantz Safaris just outside Port Elizabeth South Africa.

Animals booked were Zebra, Gemsbok, Bushbuck, Springbuck, Blesbuck, Impala, and Kudu.

Animals taken: Zebra, Impala (2), Gemsbok, Bushbuck, Blue Wildebeest, Kudu

Rifles taken: Remington 700 built by Hill Country Rifles in .308 and Waffn Hein in .300 Win Mag.

Ammo used: Winchester Accubonds; 165 grain in the .308 and 180 grain in the .300 Win Mag.

PH: Eric Daniells
Tracker: Welcome
Assist tracker: Magnum the wonder dog.


This hunt was originally scheduled to be a cape buffalo hunt for my brother and I. Due to schedule conflicts and the desire of my then 11 year old to join me, I changed the hunt to a plains game hunt allowing both my wife and son to join me.

Greg Rodriguez with Global Adventure Outfitters did a great job in meeting the requirements of a memorable hunt for my son and me and also providing the amenities and diversions for my wife, who prior to this hunt had never expressed an interest in hunting.

We arrived in P.E. after a long flight from Houston to Joburg via Continental and KLM. As our flight from Amsterdam arrives late, we elected to spend the night at Afton House before heading off to P.E. the next morning (my sons 13th birthday). I can not recommend the folks at Afton House enough; they did a great job at steering us first timers through S Africa customs. Afton House provided a brief rest from the long flights and after a hearty breakfast, dropped us off at the airport to catch our flight to P.E.

On our arrival at P.E. we were met by Arthur Rudman owner of Blaaukrantz and after a brief lunch stop headed off to the ranch. We were told that there would be three families hunting the farm that week and that a bow hunter was in camp but would be leaving early the next morning. After getting settled into our rooms, off we went to check the guns and to relax prior to starting our hunts the next day. Our PH was not going to be in until later that night as he had gone to catch the South African rugby team play a match the night before and he was currently driving down to the farm. At sundown we were introduced to the bow hunter in camp, to our pleasant surprise the bow hunter turned out to be a fellow member of the Houston Safari club who was just finishing up a week of hunting at Blaauwkrantz prior to going on to Tam Safaris to hunt Sable with Tam.

Monday morning was our first hunting day. Up at 6:00 for a light breakfast and off we went with our PH Eric and our tracker Welcome (his real name). This morning we were hunting one of the farms adjacent to the main lodge and would be looking for my Zebra and whatever else we could see. Well at 7:30 we hit the ground and for the next four hours we walked up and down the hills of Blaauwkrantz in what turned out to be a memorable first day of hunting.

Up first we spotted a small group of impala about a quarter of a mile away. Our PH said that there was a nice ram in the herd but the wind was wrong and we would need to loop around to get upwind. So off we went (as a side note, I was mildly concerned about my ability to keep up on this trip. I am a big guy and though I had lost almost 45 pounds prior to this trip and spent a lot of hours walking the trails around my home, I was still concerned about my physical condition) the loop turned into a mile long stroll through cactus and thorn, up and down a few hills until we got within 200 yards of the impala herd. My son would take the impala as this was his birthday present from dad. In towards the herd we went, single file using brush piles and scrub oaks to shield us from the impala. Once inside 150 yards the herd started to spread out and the chosen impala provide my son his shot.




The impala dropped at the shot from Tyler’s .308 the shot was a picture perfect heart shot with the impala not moving an inch after the shot. The impala was later measured at 23.5 inches and more importantly was an old bull with very worn teeth. Our first animal was in the salt.

As we were loading the impala we noticed a herd of zebra about a half mile away. We quickly loaded the Impala and headed off at a walk towards the zebra. Well let me tell you Zebra do not stand around the open waiting to be shot (or at least mine did not). The group of 5 zebra moved in and out of heavy cover with us in close pursuit. After playing hide and seek for about an hour (the last part with a group of impala boring holes into us and us trying not to move a muscle as not to spook the zebra again) an old stallion finally moved into the open and I was able to take a shot. At the shot the zebra hunched and moved off at a run. I knew my shot was good as I was steady on the chevron on his shoulder when the trigger broke. After a short tracking job we found him laying on his side in the open and our second African animal was in the salt.



He was a very old stallion with a large body and nice coloring. The strange thing was he was a gelding. Our PH said that in Zebra herds the herd stallion will sometimes bite off the testicles of other young stallions to reduce competition breeding the mares.

First morning two nice animals in the salt and as it was now close to 1:00 Pm it was time to head in for lunch. When we arrived at camp we found that we were the last party back and the staff had to prepare additional food for us (our being last to camp turned into the norm).

After a brief break at 2:30pm we were back out looking for bushbuck. Let me tell you if you have never hunted bushbuck you need to do so at least once. These little guys are game. They are about the size of a German Shepard and the uglier and thicker the brush the better they like it. We hunted hard for the next two hours and must have pulled a truck bed full of cactus off us without seeing a single bushbuck. At 4:00 we headed back to the truck and would drive along the canyon rims looking for Kudu until dark.

Just before dark Welcome spotted a lone Kudu bull about 200 yards away on the opposite side of the rim we were on. It was decided that Tyler and the PH would try to stalk close to the Kudu and take a shot if it presented itself. Well a few minutes later we heard a single shot and headed down to investigate. Tyler had scored another one. This time the Kudu had presented a downhill quartering slightly away shot at roughly 200 yards away the Accubond had entered just behind his near shoulder and exited the far shoulder taking out the top of the heart. The Kudu had taken one step down the hill and had expired. Our third animal was in the salt and this was just the end of the first hunting day.



The bull was aged at around 7 years old and had very nice curls with ivory tips. We would later find out that he measured almost 50 inches.

The next day, we took a break from hunting and had a family day trip to Addo Elephant park and Schotia game farm for a bit of game viewing and a diversion for my wife. Addo was only a short 45 minute drive from Blaauwkrantz and we had the opportunity to get close elephant and a small pride of lions eating off a Kudu bull kill. Schotia was also a lot of fun with game viewing and a marvelous wild game dinner at the lodge in the evening. As they are breeding lions (they are trying to breed back the Cape Lion subspecies) it was magical to hear the lions roar at night around the campfire. This was a treat I was not expecting in South Africa and made the day trip for me.

Wednesday we would hunt for the bushbuck again. After having taken three animals the first day, confidence was high we would find our bushbuck with not too much trouble. Well Africa had other things in mind. We hunted hard all morning walking more than 3 miles through dense brush up and down those hills again and not so much as a glimpse of the elusive bushbuck. Back at camp at 1:00 back out at 2:30 more miles on the shoes more thorns more cactus more of those hills and not a sign of a bushbuck. Close of day two and we were fine and truly skunked. Well the next day would be another day. June 12th my birthday and we were going to go after my Gemsbok.

For those of you who have not been there, P.E. is a coastal city on the Indian Ocean, the terrain rolling with dense vegetation consisting of cactus, schotia thorn bushes and what look to be scrub oak. Here and there you will find open pastures as this is sheep country but you do not have vast open areas in this part of South Africa. To get Gemsbok we would have to drive inland two hours to the high country where there are deep canyons feeding open savannahs. This is South African cattle country with large farms consisting of thousands of acres.

The two hour drive was very enjoyable as you see a different type of terrain. The rolling hills slowly give way to higher hills then mountains. As we get into the mountains we start to see baboons coming down to the road to snatch produce that fall off the trucks driving down the roads. Further on you feel the temperature start to drop and the expanse start to open as you arrive in the high plains. At 8:30 we arrive at our destination. After meeting the farm owner and exchanging pleasantries we are off to hunt my Gemsbok. The game plan is to drive along the spine of two valleys, park the truck and walk the rims looking for Gemsbok. Once a Gemsbok is spotted we would stalk down the face of the ridge and up the opposite ridge to keep the wind in our face.

On our third ridge, we find our first Gemsbok. My Ph has a game plan; he will send the tracker to the upwind side of the valley and try to drive the gemsbok into the opening at the valley floor. Meanwhile my PH and I would beat feet down the valley and set up about a mile in front of the tracker to try to ambush the gemsbok. Game plan made and with confidence high off we went. Well the Gemsbok did not read the play book, just as we got to the valley floor and set up, we look at the next ridge and see our gemsbok heading north at a fair clip. Round one goes to the gemsbok and back up that hill we go back to the truck. Two hours and two stalks later my legs felt like concrete and our confidence was bruised and battered but not bested. We decide to drive to another part of the ranch and see what we could see. Up we climb, going up goat trails that threatened to rip the bottom off our truck at every turn. Finally we made it to the highest part of the farm. The view as out of this world, clean fresh, cold air and we could see forever. At a distance we can see a small herd of gemsbok and another plan hatched. This time we would drop off our tracker and one of the ranch hands at the head of the valley that held our small herd. They would drive the herd toward the narrow end of the valley and we would attempt to head them off at the pass. Game on, off they go and up the trail we go. After driving about two miles we stop the truck and select a suitable spot for our ambush. As I pull two pillars of concrete that I now have for legs out of the truck I contemplate the walk ahead. I will not shoot him from the truck I tell my PH, not on my birthday. I grind down the sloop and we set up in a small grove of trees. My PH expects the herd to travel down the canyon and out into the opening providing a shot. Just then the wind picks up going from a gentle breeze to a 50 MPH gale blowing down the canyon from our R to L. After waiting for about 45 minutes we see our herd moving in our direction. They stop at about 400 yards away and start to turn up the canyon away from us. My PH advises me that I might want to take a shot as the herd appears to be heading away from us. A suitable gemsbok gives me a shot and I place my crosshairs about a foot behind his shoulder and squeeze off a shot. Dirt flies three feet in front of his nose, that damn wind. Rack another round in the chamber, gemsbok looking around but not moving, move crosshairs mid way across his body, squeeze the trigger. Dirt flies two feet in front his nose. Now the things get interesting, the gemsbok now know something is not right and has moved another 50 yards further away. Another broadside presentation, I place the crosshairs on his backline about perpendicular to his hind quarters and squeeze the trigger. Dirt flies a foot in front of the gemsbok. I turned to Eric and tell him that I am not comfortable holding off his arse end with my cross hairs in space to try and compensate for the wind. By now the herd has bolted up the opposite side of the canyon. Eric tells me that we could cut them off if we hurry (he has got to be kidding I am lugging around two boat anchors here) and off we go. We get set up again; the canyon splits in front of us one path down and across the other path up and behind our position. Of course the herd go up. We turn around and can see the herd moving past us at less than 100 yards. The herd will cross above us the sticks are moved so I can shoot my feet are below the sticks and I have a very hard uphill shot. The herd moves between clumps of brush above us, giving glimpses of animals as they file past. As they pass, Eric makes out a nice Gemsbok with heavy bases, we can not tell the length of the horn due to the heavy brush and the hard uphill angle. The gemsbok gives me an opening and I take the shot. The herd rushes past us but our gemsbok is not with them. Up the hill we go. We find her laying down behind the brush my shot had been a little low due to the angle but the Accubond had taken out the bottom of her heart and she lay where she fell. My birthday gemsbok was in the salt. My concerns about my physical ability had been laid to rest and I had taken her fair and square. I can not tell you what she measures and I do not care. She is not the longest and I do not care. She is my birthday present and much more.



Friday and we are looking for bushbuck again. Spend all morning beating the brush and have no luck again. Decide to take a break and look for an impala for my wife. My wife has decided that she would like to try to take an impala as her first animal ever. She has never expressed an interest in hunting before but I jump at the chance to share my favorite pastime with her. She can not walk far as her knees are bad and the hills are too much for her. We drive the farm roads looking for impala. We see a number of impala but none provide an opportunity. As we drive back getting close to dark we decide to put Tyler up in the shooting seat in case a bushbuck is seen. A half our before dark Welcome spots a bushbuck hidden in the opposite hillside. Tyler and the PH decide this is the one for him. Tyler makes another great shot and the bushbuck is down for the count. His accubond goes in just behind the shoulder and the bushbuck drops at the shot another one shot kill for the .308 and Accubonds.



Saturday, we would try for Tyler’s Blue Wildebeest this morning. Our PH was concerned about the .308 for Wildebeest as another hunter in camp had shot and lost a wildebeest earlier that week and he knew that they could be hard to kill. He asked that I take my .300 in case I needed to back up Tyler. Well his worries were for nothing. The .308 and the Accubonds did great. The Wildebeest presented us with a 90 yard shot and Tyler put that 165 grain Accubond right behind his shoulder. The Wildebeest bucked and turned at the shot, took a few steps and went down.



This was an old bull with heavy bosses and good mass. We found the Accubond just under the skin on the offside when we caped the bull it was a classic mushroom with most of the weight retained. This was now Tyler’s forth and final animal and he had made four perfect one shot kills. To say that I could have busted the buttons off my shirt with pride would have been an understatement.

Monica’s Impala was next. After getting the wildebeest back to camp we set off to find an impala for my wife. Eric suggested we try a different farm where the terrain is more open giving Monica a better opportunity for a shot. After arriving at the farm we came around a bend and Eric locks up the brakes on the truck and tells Monica that we have a shooter. He climbs into the shooting rest next to Monica and helps her find the impala in the scope (she is using my sons rifle and the LOP is too short for her) the impala is up hill from us at about 160 yards. He calmly talks Monica through the process and reminds her to squeeze the trigger. The shot goes off and the impala bolts down the opposite hillside. Out jumps our PH Eric our tracker Welcome and the last member of the crew, Eric’s trusty dog Magnum. We come over the rise with Magnum leading the pack and see the Impala limping up into the brush line bleeding heavily. He tells Monica to wait and he will head off the impala and bring him back.

A few anxious moments later Eric and Welcome are back with Monica’s impala.



He is 24.5 inches long and matches the record for the longest impala taken on Blaauwkrantz. Our PH is jumping for joy and hugging everyone. He was afraid to tell Monica how good this impala was as he did not want to make her nervous. Pictures are taken and we take the impala back to camp. More hugs from Arthur for Monica and our PH spends the rest of the day bragging to the other PH's about the impala his client had taken. Not bad for beginners luck.

All in all we had a great time and I would highly recommend Blaauwkrantz and the Rudman family as a great destination for a family friendly safari experience. I would like to that the Rudman family, Greg Rodriguez our PH Eric Daniells and our tracker Welcome for making this a truly memorable experience.

We can not wait to get back (Greg we need to talk about that Buffalo hunt )

sorry guys I posted the wrong picture of Tylers Kudu, here is the correct one.

Nice report, Mario. It looks like you guys had a great time. I know you must be so proud of Tyler and Monica.

Next, we have to work on that Cape buffalo.

Hey Mario,

What a great hunt, especially with Tyler and Monica along with you!!!

Big time congrats!!!

I know Greg did a great job for y'all....that is all he knows how to do!

I was suprised not to see any of your rifles in the photos, especially since they were from HCR?

Bob

Congrats on a great hunt enjoy the memories

I think it's great that you hunted with your family. I'm sure it is an experience that they and you will treasure for forever. Whenever possible, I take one of my sons or daughters along on hunts.

Namibiahunter

Both impalas are most impressive, but that last one is a PIG! What mass!

Very nice. Congratulations on a great family hunt.

Congratulations on a fantastic hunt.

The Rudmans are terrific people; I hunted with them in 2000.

Great report and you've made memories for your family that I envy.

Congratulations on the wonderful hunt. You're obviously a great family man, letting your son do most of the shooting.

Looks like Eric still has the touch!

Your son's Blaauwkrantz kudu is atypical -- even on both sides. Great job!

CBNHUNTER,

Now,... you definitely know how to write a story!!!...I ENJOYED IT VERY MUCH!!!

Congratulations to your entire family for an incredible hunt..It is very easy to see that you all had a wonderful time...

I too, have just returned from a SAFARI in Namibia for PG with my 19 yr old son and we had a BLAST too!

I understand the feeling of being such a PROUD dad! And to see you all enjoying your birthdays there was quite special too!

Great shooting to EVERY one of you!

Again, I enjoyed the excitement and the passion you've shared for your SAFARI!

Aloha,

Ro