Summary:

This was my fourth hunting trip to South Africa with the primary objective to taking a mature bull elephant. I had some other plainsgame I wanted, with a bushbuck being at the top of my list. I had hunted bushbuck twice on prior trips for probably a total of 10 days. So it was my “ghost” I was after.

Dates of Trip: November 10-24

Safari Operator: Thaba Mmoyo Safaris; booked through Cape to Cairo

Elephant Camp
- Private free-range area adjacent to Kruger and near Phalaborwa; separated from park by Olifants River
- Animals hunted/taken: Elephant
- Animals seen: Elephant (30+), cape buffalo (~150), hippo (~40), crocodile (~10), giraffe (~20), waterbuck (~100), kudu (2), impala (~200-300), nyala (~5), bushbuck (~10), duiker (~10), baboon (~10), fishing eagles (~5)
- Animal sign: fresh lion and leopard tracks daily; one set of rhino tracks and dung

Plainsgame Camp:
- Private 20K acre ranch in Limpopo near Waterpoort and nearby ranches
- Animals hunted: duiker, steinbok, klipspringer, mid-30” waterbuck, 55”+ kudu, baboon, sable, bush buck, red hartebeest, warthog
- Animals seen: duiker, steenbok, klipspringer, waterbuck, kudu, baboon, sable, bush buck, red hartebeest, wart hog, eland, giraffe, blue wildebeest, impala, monkey, porcupine, monitor lizard
- Animals taken: Sable, Red Hartebeest, Bushbuck

PHs: Erhard “Stix” Muller, Joe Botha, and Faatji (sp)

Trackers: Samson & Tanashe (both from Zimbabwe as well as rest of the staff)

Rifles:
-Primary – 404 Jeffery on 1917 Enfield action with 430 gr Northfork FPS @ 2,200 FPS & 380 gr Northfork SS @ 2,315.
- Backup rifle – 458 Win Mag Whitworth with 450 gr Northfork FPS and SS bullets both at 2,225 FPS. Both rifles had Leupold 1.5-5x20 scopes.

Binos: Zeiss Victory 8x20 T (couldn’t justify dragging my 10x42 ELs around in the bush)



Day Zero: Arrival and Settling In

I arrived in Phalaborwa on November 12th and was greated at the airport by Stix and Joe. Both were in mid 20’s and this was to be Stix’s 19th elephant as a PH. I thought the airport was pretty neat – very small in the style of an African lodge. We made two stops at the stores to get some additional food and beverages and headed to camp, about 30 minutes away.

I got settled in that afternoon and we checked zero on my rifles at the range and drove around a bit before sunset to get a feel for the area. We were all a bit concerned about the weather. The camp sat on the Oliphant River with Kruger National Park just on the other side – allowing the animals to cross freely both directions; more easily up river where it was shallower. We even saw a tour jeep driving around on the other side that evening. There was a dam not to far downstream from us that the mining company had built.



The camp was basic and comfortable. The buildings were masonry with thatched roofs, hot water, and AC. We ate our meals in dining rooming with a kitchen and soon to be opened bar. We had sporadic cell coverage (it was better out of camp), no wireless internet, but satellite TV in the dining room. A fire pit area separated the dining building from the building the PH’s stayed in. It had an attached wooden deck and outdoor living area. Between the dining building and two other guest buildings, a new swimming pool had just been installed and the adjoining cabana was still under construction. We took a few dips in the pool despite the extremely cold water. The remaining two buildings were guest quarters. One had three beds and a full bathroom, but the AC was not working. I stayed in a room with two beds and a full bathroom. A new game room with an outside deck overlooking the river had just been added outside of my door.





That evening I counted 97 cape buffalo on the other side of the river with one in the 42-44” range. We were serenaded by hippos each evening in the river below our rooms. On a previous hunt a hippo actually came into camp. In addition, there was a water hole with a spotlight adjacent to the east end of the camp. I never saw any animals at it while I was there, but Stix and Joe had seen many different plainsgame, elephants, and a leopard in the past.





In general, the terrain was slightly rolling hills interspersed with larger hills and “rock hills”. The vegetation started with reeds along the river banks spanning anywhere from a few yards to a 100 yards, then a line of tall trees and thick brush spanning 10-50 yards before giving away to a low forest and low bush that covered the remainder of the area inland.



We would also learn that the baboons were mind readers. They knew we were not hunting them and saw several large males that never cared we were nearby. They have no idea how lucky they were.

Day One: Making a Plan

The weather started out great on the first day – basically clear and warming throughout the day. We awoke at 5 AM everything morning and were out the door hunting by 6 AM. The morning was a bit slow, though we had lots of impala and waterbuck, along with the previous evening’s heard of buffalo across from the camp. We only spotted two elephants in the morning: an old cow on our side and a young bull on the other side of the river. We ended our initial morning survey at the Southwest border of our hunting area. We climbed onto a railroad bridge that spanned the river. We used this location to glass the banks for elephant. As I surveyed the bridge’s construction I wondered if there was enough room for a train to pass safely by us. I soon found out the answer as we heard train approaching and Stix instructed us to climb to the outside the bridge’s railing and hold-on until the train passed!





It was from this vantage point that we saw elephant sign in the reeds below. Stix and the trackers went to examine and Joe and I met them at the other end in the truck. It was heating up by this point and they made comments about the humidity. I said they had obviously not spent a summer in Texas and the humidity was not bad in my opinion! We decided to come back in the evening and look for the elephants that made the tracks. Late in the morning, Stix and the trackers climbed a peak to glass for elephants and spotted a poacher. We went looking for him, but only found his camp. From the looks of it, he was a meat hunter versus poaching animal parts like rhino horns.

We retired by to the lodge around 11:30 for lunch and a nap until 3 PM. This became a daily routine and I usually threw in a shower as well.

That afternoon the animals were moving quite a bit more. We saw more plainsgame, including two nice kudu across the river with one going 55”+, and started seeing more elephants. The largest group we found was 15 elephants in the reeds on our side of the river, but unfortunately there were no bulls worth pursuing. It was comprise mainly of cows, calves, and young males. Throughout the day and the rest of our time there, the impala and waterbuck were “thick”. The waterbuck trophy quality was impressive, with at least one in the 34-35” range.

We finished the evening by returning to the area near the bridge where we had found the tracks in the morning. We started by glassing from the bridge and I spotted two elephants on the opposite side of the river and we spotted a third elephant on our side. We also pushed a good sized herd of buffalo out of the reeds on our side when we walked onto the bridge. There were several 40”+ bulls and they moved inland on our side into the hills. We ended in the evening in the reeds observing the elephant we had spotted. We also saw some nyala and bushbuck on the opposite bank. One of the bushbucks was an absolute toad – well over 17” with enormous mass.

It would be these three bulls that we would continue to focus on.

On the way back to camp we spotted several bulls further inland. Unfortunately none were of trophy quality. One of the trackers thought he saw a larger bull so we made a stalk, but we didn’t find anything other than one of the younger bulls which had taken a keen interest in us and had to be shouted away.



Day Two: Almost

The morning of the second day was cool and overcast, not good for the animals, especially the elephant. Stix said if the elephants sensed rain they would move deep into Kruger to avoid getting stuck by a rising river. We spent the entire morning glassing and looking for tracks, including from the railroad bridge. We didn’t see much of anything except for a few impala.

The previous day we had discovered there had been a fire in a large portion of the hunting area, burning the grass down to the bare dirt and destroying many of the bushes. Most of the trees were intact and starting to sprout new leaves. They indicated this was not a good sign as they often found elephants in this area feeding. We would later found out at least one elephant did not follow the rules.

In the middle of the morning we decided to take a long walk through the burn area. The plan was for Joe to meet us on the other side by a water hole. We had a good walk through the rolling hills and burn area, but only saw a few impala and waterbuck, no elephant sign. As we ended our walk and approached the truck, we saw Joe talking to a group of folks. It was the anti-poaching patrol that regularly covered Kruger and the area we were in. It turns out they thought we were the poachers and were setting up an ambush for us. Luckily Joe drove up on them and explained the situation. I surely hope they would not have shot us, especially seeing two white guys walking in the bush. Anyway, we spoke with the head guy, Johan, and he told us that the fire started about a month ago when a car overturned on a nearby road. He had tried to contain it using a front loader by making a fire break, but it got out of hand. He also told that they had recently darted two rhinos on our side and relocated them to a safer area inside of the Kruger. I asked for pictures and we posed together.



We finished the morning by climbing to the top of one of the tallest hills and glassing the entire area, including Kruger. We didn’t see anything. It was on this morning that we found the most lion and leopard tracks near some water holes and found rhino tracks and dung in a dry river bed.



We had a turn for better weather in the afternoon. The game was definitely moving and the number of plainsgame we saw increased dramatically. We found one young bull in the reeds early on, but obviously passed.



We ended at the bridge at 5 PM and spotted the three bulls from the day before. All three were on our side. We decided to move closer and hoped the bulls moved inland. We could have taken them in the reeds, but there was always a chance something could go wrong and a wounded elephant would cross back into Kruger. Not a good situation because at that point your trophy is gone.



The elephants were about a half mile out, but we were upwind. We made a plan and moved parallel inland and positioned ourselves a quarter mile downwind from them. We stood in a small clearing and waited.

Luck would be it that they elephants started moving inland. The tree line was on a bank the marked the transition from the reeds to the higher inland area. This was one of the larger areas of reeds, extending perhaps 100 yards from the embankment to the river. And the elephants were moving diagonally towards us.

Then things got tricky. All three elephants moved into an area on the bank that was probably 10 by 30 yards with extremely thick cover. So much, you could not see them from less than five yards. We had three bull elephants: one carrying light tusks and two carrying heavier tusks. One of them had a very large body, the largest that the PH’s had ever seen in the area, but the ivory was not as big as the other bull’s. At one point the bull with the heaviest tusks saw us and started towards aggressively, but not a charged. We backed up and he stopped. At this point it was getting dark and even if we decided to take the bull, it was unclear what the other two bulls, which were obscured in the thick cover, would do. Stix decided the proper course of action was to back-out and come back tomorrow, a wise decision given the circumstances. Had the elephants gone another 20-30 yards inland past the embankment, we would have gone in for a shot.

Exciting, but disappointing. That night I did not sleep well thinking about the elephants we saw so close. And on top of that, it was lightning, blowing wind, and sprinkling during the night. I dreaded a storm that would push the elephants back across the river. I finally took some sleeping aids and slept soundly from 1-5.

When I awoke in the morning, it was clear and the wind had died down. My mood had gone from fatalistic to ecstatic enthusiasm.

Day Three: The Rule Breaker

We went straight to the bridge to glass for the elephants we saw the night before. We didn’t see them, but we did see anti-poaching patrols everywhere: on the bridge, on the other side of the river, and ran into Johan again on our side near the reeds. They were chasing a group of poachers that had killed two rhinos in Kruger and the Timbavati. They had a million rand award on them. We were obviously concerned that all of this commotion would disrupt the elephants and they asked us to stay put for 30 minutes while moved through the area.

Once we started on our way, we spotted the smaller bull from the night before heading towards the river. Then we found some a single set of tracks heading inland and put Sam and Tanashe on the tracks. We proceeded to move to the top of a hill to glass the area and spotted the large bodied bull on the other side of the river feeding in thick cover on a hillside. The third bull was not in sight. We suspected the tracks were his heading into the burn area.





We met the trackers further inland and Stix joined them on the tracks. Joe and I were to drive ahead and wait at a dirt road intersection for them. The plan was to keep cutting the tracks and find the elephant.



Joe and I had waited about 20-30 minutes when we got a call saying to come quickly that they had found “the bull of the night before”. Joe and I proceeded on a quick walk of a half mile where we met Tanashe who led us another half mile to Stix and Sam in the middle of the burn area. The longest Stix had tracked an elephant was 20 miles, but he was amazed that Sam and Tanashe could track the elephant over the hard burned ground. I could even track the elephant in the sand where we found the initial tracks, but this stuff was dark and hardened. It was a feat of shear skill. They had tracked the elephant approximately four miles. I’m quite certain they could have tracked that elephant down a freeway if given the challenge.



At this point we got the video ready, Tanashe holding a video cam and Sam with a GoPro on his head. We made a quiet stalk towards the elephant’s last location, finding him in about a quarter of a mile. It was amazing how the bull could blend in and disappear so easily and so close in a forest that had been burned.

We found the bull in thick cover, but he moved into an opening and saw us. We were expecting a side brain shot, but he turned to his left and moved quickly towards us. It was not a charge, well at least he hadn’t built up enough speed, when I sent a 430 gr flat point solid between his eyes at 30 yards. He crumpled to the ground with his front legs going out first and rolling onto his left side with his back parallel to us and his head to left. He wasn’t moving. Stix put a quick shot into the top of his head and we moved quickly up where I put an additional two insurance shots in – another brain shot and a heart shot. The elephant was down. We had stared each other down the night before and now he laid dead in the area we least expected to find him.



















And now the work started.

We started with pictures and then Joe and I returned to camp to fetch lunch for the crew and two of the camp staff to help field dress the elephant. When we returned, the others were in the process of hacking a half mile path from the dirt track to the elephant so we could get the recovery vehicle in. The crew then proceeded to field dress the elephant with Tanashe getting completely inside of the elephant to ensure everything was quickly and properly removed.













The recovery vehicle arrived shortly thereafter. It consisted of a metal flatbed trailer with a winch towed by a Toyota HiLux, two wheel drive nonetheless! It took some work, but the elephant was eventually loaded onto the trailer and covered with a trap and net. The gentlemen, who I nick named Crazy Ivan due to his driving, owned a meat processing company. One of the PHs later fetched the skull, feet, and skin panels a few days later. It was quite exciting watching Crazy Ivan drive out of there. Although we were in Joe’s four wheel drive HiLux, he outran us with elephant and all on the track we had just cut – until we got stuck in the sandy creek bed. With the help of a winch and some shovels to dig out a large boulder, he was off and we never saw him again. Crazy Ivan.





We returned to camp and had a great dinner, but skipped any exuberant celebrations since we were so tired.

Day Four: Onto Waterpoort

We “slept in” the next day until 7 AM and then loaded up for a four hour drive to Thaba Myomo’s main farm near Waterpoort. When we arrived we unloaded, checked zero on the 380 gr soft points, and took an evening drive.



The farm was very nice and is the personal residence of Fanie Steyn, the owner of Thaba Myomo, and his family. They are good people. It was a very warm and welcoming family atmosphere. We even joined hands and said grace at every meal.

















Day Five: The River

The farm was 20,000 acres and consisted of slight elevation changes, several rocks hills, and typical Limpopo bushveld cover. It also had a river running through it some six miles long. We would spend most of our time walking this river in the morning and evening. We saw an enormous amount of game at all times. We also kept the tradition of a midday lunch and nap!











That evening I had the opportunity to take a nice 16” bushbuck. We were glassing a nice waterbuck and kudu when we spotted him at 300 yards and moved in for a closer shot at 150 yards. We were sure he saw us as he froze directly behind a small bush. Fortunately, the 380 gr soft point from the 404 made quick work of the bush and bushbuck. I had hunted bushbuck on two previous hunts in the Eastern Cape in 2006 and 2011 for a total of ten days. The bushbuch was truly my “Ghost”.



Day Six: Hartebeest

We spent the following day at an adjacent farm hunting for red hartebeest. While there was some on the main property, I wanted an old bull that was very well worn. We spent the entire morning and the afternoon on a single herd of red hartebeest, but without any luck. The bush was extremely thick and every time we thought we could get close enough to take the oldest bull, they moved on. We were convinced that the hartebeest had a drone in the air.

It wasn’t until late evening, about thirty minutes before dark, when the old bull and a single cow made the mistake of breaking from the herd and moving lower into an open area. The light conditions were not ideal with the sun in my eyes, but I made a clean shot at 150 yards. The sound the 380 gr soft point made upon impacting the animal’s lungs was unbelievable. I finally had an old, worn hartebeest.







Day Seven: Sable

We spent the next day hunting sable on a farm about ninety minutes away. It was very similar to hunting the red hartebeest, but the brush cover was even thicker. We finally got a shot opportunity on the largest bull right after lunch and I had to send the 380 gr soft point 150 yards through some very thick brush at varying distances between us and the sable. The bullet deflected slightly before hitting the bull, but he fell on the spot.



Days Eight, Nine and Ten: More River

We spent the majority of our time stalking along the river in the morning and evening. I was primarily after duiker and steenbok, but was also looking for any opportunities on 30”+ waterbuck and 55”+ kudu. I passed on several impala, waterbuck, and kudu that most other people would have shot, but already having several good trophies of these animals, I passed. And unfortunately, the smaller animals would not cooperate and show themselves long enough for a shot.

Some of the highlights included shooting at baboons at 300+ yards in fading light with a 404, unsuccessfully I might add. This prompted us to start bringing a loaner BRNO 30-06 along after this for the smaller animals and better ballistics.

One evening we hunted another property in Waterpoort that Fanie owned, but were unsuccessful on baboons and monster kudu. It consisted of a long flat narrow piece of land, mountains, and valley on the other side. We stayed on the flat portion in Waterpoort, but next time it’s to the mountains! The PH at that time, Faatji, showed me where he built a ground blind for a previous hunter that wanted baboons only. The hunter took twelve baboons over seven days – quite a haul! Next time I will get a baboon. I have a butler outfit and silver platter waiting for him.



On the last evening we sat in an elevated blind on the main farm waiting for any small animals to come to four waterholes that the blind overlooked. Blue Wildebeest, check. Kudu, check. Impala, check. Waterbuck, check. No small antelope. Oh well, there is always next time.





Day Eleven: Departure

On the last day, we left at 7 AM and headed for the airport in Polokwane. The hunt was over.

I had a great time and enjoyed hunting with Thaba Myomo team. I also commend Cedric at Cape to Cairo for helping organize and book the hunt for me. We had to reschedule the original dates from October to November at the last minute due to a delay in getting the necessary permit for the elephant, but Cedric worked with Fanie and kept me posted the entire time.

Finally, I want to recognize the excellent work and professionalism of the PHs: Stix, Joe, and Faatji; and the trackers: Sam and Tanashe.

VIDEO LINK - select settings to HD for best quality

WOW! What a wonderful report. Thank you for sharing your hunt with us.

Great report and pictures

Mike

Great report and well done on your ele.

No pictures of the bushbuck?

Just gotta love the Realtree Hilux.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
Great report and well done on your ele.

No pictures of the bushbuck?

Just gotta love the Realtree Hilux.

I didn't have ny camera when we did the bushbuck pics and still need to get them from the PH. The SD card I got with the videos were supposed to have the pictures, but were blank.

Congratulations, well done. Enjoyed all the pictures.

very good report well done

Great photos and report. Thanks for sharing. AIU

great report thank you very much .

Outstanding report! Well done!

Thanks for sharing! Congratulations!

Heck I don't know, seems like a damn good time to me!!!! Congrats!!!

Thanks for sharing your great hunt report! Congratulations for an awesome trip!

Looks like you had a great trip. Always nice to get an animal that has eluded you on past trips. Nice pics. Bruce

Great report super pictures congratulations on a good hunt

Very nice. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for all the kind notes. It was a great experience. I was very fortunate to take an elephant as early as I did into the hunt. Next up is leopard with Thaba Myomo.

It's a great outfit
Hunted with Fanie twice
Ele, buff, leopard and pg
Sticks is great kid and fun to be around
I talked to Fanie, he'll be in Vegas
Great report
Thanks for sharing

BTW he's got some huge cats there
I was lucky to get one
17&7/8 and body of a wrestler

Great report.
Thanks for sharing. That's a great area to hunt and awesome experience.
Dave

Outstanding report!

Where's the picture of the bushbuck?

Great hunt and report, Austin!!!!

I really like that "Greater Kruger" area, you never know what you are gonna run into!

Outstanding!

enjoyed the photos and report, thanks for sharing...sounds like a great time.....

Looks like a very successful hunt and judging by the smiles, you had a great time as well.

Congratulations on a successful safari! Your pics are very artistic too! Great report!

Best regards, D. Nelson

Thanks for all the kind comments. Referring to D. Nelson's comments about artistic photos, here's a cool one of the sable:

I love the Sable shot!! Very, very cool!

Thanks for the great post, and thanks for taking the time to speak to me tonight about hunting with Thaba Mmoyo.

Bushbuck:

Fantastic hunt and nice shot on the elephant. The only thing that bugs me from the video is the quick follow up shot by the PH. I see no reason for that since there was plenty of time for you to follow up yourself. Maybe he just wanted to shoot that day...

quote:

Originally posted by G L Krause:
Fantastic hunt and nice shot on the elephant. The only thing that bugs me from the video is the quick follow up shot by the PH. I see no reason for that since there was plenty of time for you to follow up yourself. Maybe he just wanted to shoot that day...

Didn't bother me. Never know when something could go wrong, don't want a wounded elephant crossing back into Kruger. I probably should have shot again right away, but I was awestruck with the whole experience. Anyway, I think the PH shot was a bit behind the brain, so I had to do the finishing shot up close.

Super safari and super photos! Congrats to you.