I was going thru some computer files and was re-reading my hunting story and thought I would post it.

MY FIRST TRIP TO SOUTH AFRICA (RSA)
David Culpepper
October 5-13, 2003

Day One

On Sunday October 5, 2003 Ben and I leave Atlanta for RSA and endure a fourteen and a half-hour flight. Ben is sick the whole way, mainly due to the excitement of the trip.

Day Two

We arrive in Johannesburg, RSA on Monday October 6, 2003 and Ben is immediately feeling better. We get through passport control and then collect our baggage. While getting our gun cases we tip one the attendants $10 and he gets us right in to gun check and hunting permits officer. The attendant then took us to customs and hands the officer our declaration forms says something in another language and we are waved through.
We finally get through the final doors to the main arrival section of the airport. We immediately see Scott Van Zyl and Mof Venter, our professional hunters with SS Pro Safaris, holding a sign with our names. We all greet each other and they take our luggage and we head to the truck. At the truck we meet our trackers Innocent and Patson. We all get in the truck and head out of the airport.
We drove about an hour North to a town called Heidelburg that looked like any small town in Georgia with a main square and all the little shops, and ate lunch at a local restaurant. During the drive we learned a lot about life in RSA.
We left Heidelburg and drove a little while to the first ranch we hunted at during our trip. The ranch was located in the Mpugalanga Province. We met the owner, Willie, and shot our rifles. Ben decides to use his .270 Weatherby Magnum I am using the only rifle I brought my .300 Winchester Magnum. While we were shooting our rifles we saw a herd of about 150 blesbok. At this point we were very excited and I did not take great care in checking the sighting of my rifle, a move I would later regret. Ben, Scott, Mof and I pilled into the back of the truck while Willie drove and we went hunting.
The trucks we hunted from during our trip were equipped cushioned seats and shooting rails in the beds. The truck set-up aided in the safari type hunting. So depending on the terrain and hunting conditions a shot could be taken from the truck off a shooting rest or we would spot and stalk the animal to get a shooting opportunity.
The terrain of Willie’s ranch was mainly rolling hills with grass and only a few trees for as far as the eye could see. Occasionally we could see herds of animals running over the hills and they looked like swarms of ants coming out of their mounds.
As we first starting hunting Scott asked who was up first and we replied “Ben if a blesbok, me if a springbok.†The first herd of animals we spotted were blesbok so Ben was up first. Scott and Mof spotted a good male blesbok at about 50 yards and Ben made a good a good shot on it. We quickly drove to it and took the blesbok to Innocent and Patson waiting in another truck.
The next animals spotted were springbok, a male and three females. After several attempts to drive into shooting range while not spooking the animals into high-speed flight, I was able to take several shots at about 200-250 yards. I quickly learned my rifle was shooting high and was finally able to adjust my sight picture enough to make two good shots at the springbok at 175 yards. After loading the springbok, I adjusted the scope on my rifle down four clicks.
We quickly went back to hunting and before we could drop off the springbok another group of springbok were spotted. We got into shooting range and Ben took a shot at 100 yards. He was only able to see the hind end of the springbok so he broke its hip and the springbok fell to the ground. When we drove up on the springbok, it jumped up and began to run. Ben was able to shoot it again but it continued to run and Stumpy, a small white tracking dog, jumped out of the truck and chased the springbok. The springbok finally fell again and when we drove up Stumpy had a hold of it pulling and growling.
We loaded the second springbok and again before we could drop off the springboks we spotted a herd of blesboks and Scott spotted a real nice white one. We got into shooting distance several times but was unable to get a clear shot due to high number of animals around the one we wanted. Finally I had a clear shot at a little over 200 yards. I aimed a little low due to the earlier problems and was able to make a good shot.
We dropped the animals off with Innocent and Patson and they took the animals to begin cleaning and skinning them. We went back out to hunt black wildebeest. Mof and I got out of the truck and set up in some tall grass along a fence line. Scott and Ben drove on the other side of a hill so if Ben could not get a shot, the wildebeest would run in front of where Mof and I were waiting. After about 10-15 minutes we heard a muffled shot and then another a few minutes later. We heard on the radio that Ben had shot a black wildebeest. His first shot was at about 350 yards and his second shot, which Ben felt was longer, finally dropped the wildebeest.
After Mof and I got back in the truck we were able to get back on the wildebeest. I was able to put three quick shots in a wildebeest at about 125 yards. We loaded the two black wildebeest and took them back to Willie’s lodge to be cleaned and skinned.
When we got back to the lodge there was still an hour of day light left so Scott and Mof wanted to hunt some blesbok for themselves. This hunt turned out to be hilarious as one was hunting the other would drive across a plowed field the wrong way and blow the horn. To make matters even worse they picked a herd of blesbok of about 200 and would yell, “Shoot the 58th one from the right.†Finally they were each able to get a nice blesbok and we headed back to the lodge. After our first day of hunting we must have seen over a thousand animals.
After all the animals were cleaned and skinned we headed out to Petoria to get some dinner at a restaurant. Then we drove about two hours north to the next ranch we hunted located in the Limpopo Province. After meeting the ranch manager we went to his lodge and went to bed. Ben got the room on the second floor and Scott, Mof and I each took one of the rooms on the first floor.

Day Three

We awoke on Tuesday October 7, 2003 at 5:30am and the sun was all ready up. We grabbed a piece of fruit and a cup of coffee and head out hunting kudu and impala. During the day we saw young kudu bulls and cows, warthogs, zebras, blue wildebeest and a few giraffe.
In the truck during the morning hunt was Ben, Scott, Mof and myself in the back, Chubby, one of the ranch’s trackers, drove and the ranch manager was in the passenger seat. The terrain at this ranch was more flat with more trees and brush, mainly thorn bushes. On one part of the ranch there had been a fire a few days earlier. Fires can start very easily due to the dry conditions from no rain in over a year. It is very hot and dry in RSA as Ben and I discovered the first day. We both got a little dehydrated, as you do not realize how much you are sweating as it evaporates very quickly. We also incurred chapped lips, of which I later developed a small sore on my lower lip, and sun burned thighs as we forgot to use any sunscreen. We began drinking more water, got ointment for our lips and never forgot to use sunscreen again.
After driving around for awhile, Scott spots a herd of impala with a nice ram in it. Ben took a shot at it through the trees at about 40 yards but missed it. Later in the morning after seeing several more groups of impala, Scott and I got out of the truck to stalk a group we saw run into some brush. After going about 250 yards we see a nice ram and we are able to get within 30 yards of it. I take careful aim and shoot right over its back, clean miss. Here begins my impala jinx, whitetails of Africa. After driving around awhile longer and not seeing anything, we headed back to lodge for brunch and a nap.
I awoke from my nap at about 2:00pm and learned that Ben, Scott and Mof drove into a local town to pick up salt to put on the capes from hunting the day before. A little later I met the owner, I can’t remember his name, a 14-year-old boy who worked there and lived down the road. The owner was fourth generation Indian in RSA. He and a small group of friends and relatives bought the ranch a year ago and they were all very excited as they have plans to build six chalets and put in a swimming pool, which will make their ranch truly magnificent. The conversation with the owner turned a lot more to the political issues of RSA, probably since he is a member of Parliament. But since Ben had returned and we were there to hunt we loaded into the trucks and headed out.
That afternoon we split up, in Ben’s truck was Mof, the 14 year-old boy and the ranch manager, in my truck was Scott, the owner and Chubby. After about an hour of looking for kudu and impala, Chubby spotted a good male bushbuck about 30 yards off to the right. I quickly moved into shooting position and made a good shot. As we are loading the bushbuck, the owner tells me that it is the first one taken on the ranch since he has owned it.
After dropping off the bushbuck at the lodge, we search the rest of the evening for kudu and impala unsuccessfully. Upon returning to the lodge I find out that Ben’s crew had come up empty handed.
It was after dark when we got the trucks loaded up and starting farther north to Scott’s lodge located outside of Ellisras also in the Limpopo Province. Scott’s lodge is in the mountains and he boosts the he has the longest driveway in RSA at 9km long and taking 20 minutes to drive. The lodge is 1st class with three bedrooms all with private baths. There is a nice kitchen with pantry, great room with exposed log beams and stone floors through out. Out back there are porches all around with a swimming pool that overlook the mountains. Downstairs there is a wine cellar and game room. Ben and I had the whole lodge to ourselves. At the lodge we met Sure’, Scott’s finance, who basically runs the lodge and did all the cooking. The food was absolutely delicious, there was daily laundry service and each night the housekeepers put a chocolate on your pillow. In a nutshell the lodge would compare with any 5-star resort in the world.

Day Four

Wednesday October 8, 2003 we got up at 5:30am and ate breakfast and headed out hunting kudu at 6:00am. We drove about an hour to ranch next door to Mof’s ranch. The rest of the ranches we hunted at were located in the Limpopo Province. The terrain at the rest of the ranches was similar to Saeed’s place except for fewer trees and some open grass fields mixed in. Also for the rest of trip Ben and I hunted separately and basically with the same crews, Ben with Scott and Innocent and me with Mof and Patson.
When we arrived at the ranch we met the owner and picked up Pete, one of Mof’s trackers and the owner got in the truck with Ben. As we started hunting we saw a family of warthogs running across a field. Shortly after we saw five young kudu bulls in some tall brush. We were only able to see their heads and/or long horns above the tall brush, god those animals are huge. After awhile see spotted another large old kudu bull along side the road. As we approached it it did not run away. As Mof was commenting on how skinny it was, it collapsed. After several attempts by Pete to get the kudu up, it was apparent it was never going to get up again. About 50 yards down the road there was another dead kudu, a young bull. Later we found another large old kudu bull that had died several days earlier. What was happening was that the owner had only been allowing hunting by a few family members and the kudu’s were poorly managed. The old and sick ones were having trouble finding food due to no rain. The owner now is starting a supplemental feeding program and will be allowing more hunting to better manage the animals.
Later that morning, Mof spots a good kudu bull moving in the tall brush about 100 yards off the road. We quickly get out of the truck and began stalking it. We were able to get within 50 yards of it where I made a good shot and it ran 50 yards before collapsing. The four of us tried to load the big kudu in the truck by hand but quickly decided to use the winch. On the way to Mof’s ranch to clean kudu, we hear on the radio that Ben has taken a large kudu bull with his .375 rifle.
When we arrived at Mof’s, Ben and Scott were there waiting on us. They had struck a deal to trade Ben’s .375 rifle for a zebra. Both were happy with the trade, as Ben had bought the rifle a couple of years earlier specifically for Africa at about the same price as the trophy fee of a zebra and the rifle would cost Scott about twice as much in RSA. So, we all pilled into one of the trucks and went hunting for zebras. After about 20 minutes of driving around Mof’s ranch we see a zebra about 110 yards away. Ben makes a good shot and we are quickly on the way back to Mof’s lodge.
At Mof’s we ate the lunch that Sure’ packed for us. While eating we saw a large monitor lizard in the yard going after the chickens. Two of Mof’s little wiener dogs began to bark at it and Mof’s three bulldogs chased after the lizard. They grabbed a hold of it several times and pulled it around but eventually the lizard able to get in the limbs of a nearby tree.
After lunch Ben and Scott went into Ellisras to the police station to get the paperwork for the gun trade. Afterwards they hunted the mountains at Scott’s ranch for baboons but saw none.
After lunch I took about an hour nap and then Mof, Patson and I headed to the Limpopo River. The Limpopo River is the border between RSA and Botswana. The Limpopo River is mainly dry with only a few small pools of water scattered about due to the lack of rain, but there are still a lot of trees and green brush along the river banks. Mof tells me that when the river is full it is full of crocodiles and hippos. About 40 yards beyond the entrance to ranch is the Botswana border crossing. It is surrounding by high fencing, razor wire and military guard.
When we started hunting I finally saw my first monkeys, small white-gray colored. A little later we saw some baboons running on the riverbanks. I laughed because Ben kept saying before we came that we would be seeing baboons on the Limpopo and there they were. While we were hunting we saw some small warthogs and had several unsuccessful stalks on impala. Then finally I had a shot on a good impala ram about 75 yards through the brush. As the impala jinxed continued, I shot over its back. After driving around awhile longer and seeing a huge giraffe, we headed back to Scott’s lodge for another delicious dinner. At the lodge I decided to adjust the scope on my rifle down five more clicks for shooting high on the impala.



Day Five

Thursday October 9, 2003 we again arose at 5:30am, ate and were off to the hunting areas by 6:00am. Mof, Patson and I returned to the ranch on the Limpopo River to hunt impala. When we arrived the owner joined us in the back of the truck and in less than 10 minutes we had an impala ram at 60 yards standing in a road. As my impala jinx got worse, I shot low and broke the impala’s front leg just below the shoulder. We tracked the impala but lost the blood trail. We continued looking for two and half-hours with no luck. Mof explained that a wounded impala could go for miles before finally lying down and dying. The owner will continue looking for it as he is out there every day and if he finds it, they will send me the skull and horns.
We went back to hunting impala and soon were making a stalk on a group of rams. At about 60 yards I made a shot at another ram and it ran away. Being unsure of what happened we went and looked for any sign. At first we could not find any sign but when I got down low and looked through the trees I saw the impala lying about 50 yards away. The impala jinx has been broken even though my shot was still a little low.
We went to Mof’s place to clean the impala and eat lunch. After lunch I decided to shoot my rifle on paper again. I was losing confidence in my rifle and shooting abilities. My rifle was shooting a half-inch high at 50 yards so it was the shooter and not the rifle. Now knowing the problem that needed fixing, I was ready to go hunting again. Before we left Scott called to tell me we had made an error in our budgets. Ben and I had taken the money out of our budgets for the dipping and packing of our animals for the local taxidermist. Scott told me that we do not pay that now that we would be billed later, that is what our shipping broker was for. So now with that opening in the budget, I decided to go hunting for a gemsbok before the warthog.
Mof said he had a good male gemsbok on his property he thought we could get and still have time to hunt warthog. After searching for 20 minutes, Mof figured the gemsbok was bed down in the thick brush in the corner of the ranch. Patson went on foot to the other side and we waited to see if it would come out. In just a couple of minutes the gemsbok ran out but there was no clear shot. When began zigzagging the roads until we found him again in some more thick brush. Before we could move in, the gemsbok took off running. Mof gave the word to Patson and we gave chase going what seemed 100-mph in the truck. I was holding on to my rifle in one hand and holding on for dear life with the other. We were being bounced all around in the back of the truck and every time we stopped to get a shot, the gemsbok would move behind something. Finally he was running just inside the brush along side a field and I had a small shooting window in the brush at 75 yards. I took aim and made a neck shot on the running gemsbok and he fell straight down. All doubts in my shooting abilities quickly washed away.
After quickly dropping off the gemsbok at Mof’s, we made the short drive to the ranch to hunt warthog. The ranch was another owned by the same man of the Limpopo River ranch. He was feeding a group of gemsbok near a waterhole and warthogs had been coming in too. When we pulled into the ranch we saw a bunch of eland running across the road. We parked the truck at the house not too far from the waterhole and feeding area. We set-up under some small trees about 125 yards away from the waterhole. We could see the gemsbok in the edge of the brush along the field but they would not come in until feed was put out. After a little bit the ranch worker came and put out the feed for the animals. In 5 minutes there were 20 gemsbok and a few small warthogs feeding. Then Mof saw a huge male warthog at the waterhole drinking and said we had to get this one. I moved to get a good rest on a nearby tree but just as I got into shooting position, a gemsbok chased the warthog a few feet away from the waterhole and right behind a tree. I needed to wait for the warthog to take two steps but was only patient enough to wait for one so I shot it right behind the eye killing it instantly.
When we returned to Scott’s lodge we found out that at another ranch Ben had taken an impala, warthog and a steenbok. Then they hunted the mountains again for baboons and he got a long shot at one running but missed.
After dinner I was in the shower when a call came about trouble in the skinning shed. Scott and Ben ran up and found a female bush pig, similar to our wild hogs, had gotten in the shed. Scott was able to get a hose and spray it so it ran out. But before they could get half way back to the lodge, a male bush pig appeared. However, both pigs settled in at a pile of scraps and fed.
While Ben was at the shed he learned that the trackers and housekeepers live in a building behind the shed. Each gets room and board and 450 Rand a month that is a little more than $65. They also get all the game meat and made jerky call biltong and sell it. Each person had his or her own room with a TV connected to satellite. They shared a bathroom and a kitchen. During the trip Ben and I gave the staff tips of cigarettes, knifes, flashlights, boots, old binoculars and Ben gave Patson a pocket watch. They were all very thankful for the gifts. Even when Ben told Patson he could sell the watch if he wanted, Patson said he would never sell it and that he would pass it on to his kids and tell them all about him and the hunting they did together.

Day Six

Friday October 10, 2003 we slept in until about 8:00am. We took our time preparing for the day’s hunt and before breakfast we got word from the trackers that some baboons were coming over the mountain across the valley. Ben got his rifle and soon we could the baboons at a waterhole 370 yards away. Ben shot twice from prone position off the back deck hitting the baboon in the chest and shoulder. Scott says he is the first person to make that shot at any animal at that waterhole. The housekeepers were very happy that the baboon was taken, as when they get close to the lodge they are very mean and nasty. The baboons have even killed a couple of the housedogs.
After breakfast at about 9:30am, Mof, Patson and I drive for about an hour to Mof’s cousin’s ranch to hunt red hartebeest. We spot one after about 15 minutes but it takes off running. Mof and I try to stalk it but are unable to catch up to it. We did jump a couple of jackals, but they quickly ran into the thick brush. We started to cover the area where it ran in the truck when we spotted it about 75 yards away coming out of some brush. I shot the hartebeest in the chest but it ran about 100 yards. When it stopped I quickly shot it again and it laid down. When we approached it, it jumped and ran and I shot it again. The hartebeest ran another 30 yards and laid down again. This time I was able to put a finishing shot on it.
After lunch at Mof’s place, we drove his fields looking for steenbok. We saw quite a few during the afternoon but they are so small and fast I could not get a shot. Steenbok are no bigger than 15-25 lbs. and run like rabbits. Just before dark I was able to shoot a steenbok that stopped 40 yards from the truck.
We went back to Mof’s place and picked up his wife, Minnie, and his two little daughters and headed to Scott’s for dinner. Along the way it is reported over the radio that Ben had taken another impala and had taken another big male warthog with a spotlight after dark.
Day Seven

Saturday October 11, 2003 we slept in again until about 8:30am. It’s the last day of hunting and I haven’t even planned on hunting anything until Scott proposes hunting warthogs over waterholes for $100 a piece. Ben and I both take him up on the offer and at about 11:00am we head out to Mof’s ranch. Ben and Patson hunt from a ground blind and Innocent and I hunt from a tower blind.
On Ben’s waterhole things are slow but Ben does see a kudu bull, duiker and takes a large male warthog of only four warthogs that came into the waterhole.
On my waterhole, however, things are quite different. We see over 20 warthogs, female water bucks and a female duiker. It wasn’t until about 4:00pm when a large female warthog came in and Innocent gave the thumbs up on her. I shot her and she dropped in her tracks. We climbed down and moved the warthog into the shade away from the waterhole. About 5:15pm a large male warthog came in and I made a frontal chest shot on it but it runs. We track it about 300 yards and finish him off. When we walk back to the blind we try to get Scott on the radio but can not. Innocent runs down the road with the radio to get Scott. While I waited I leaned my rifle against tree and then sat on a rail at the bottom of the tower stand. Two male warthogs came into the waterhole from behind me at about 25 yards away. I reached over and grabbed my rifle and they ran over to just 10 yards on the other side of a tree. They began snorting and one charged up 5 feet towards me so I shot it as not to give it another chance to charge. The warthogs ran off and I heard it crash into the thick brush. Since I had no light I waited for the truck to track the warthog. We found it just 30 yards into the brush.
We all return to Mof’s place and we ate dinner there that night. After dinner Scott, Ben and I returned to Scott’s lodge for Ben’s and mine last night in Africa.

Day Eight

Sunday October 12, 2003, last day in Africa. We sleep until 8:00am then pack all our stuff. After breakfast Scott and Sure’ take us on the long drive to the Johannesburg airport. Ben and I endure the 21-hour flight and arrive back in Atlanta on Monday October 13, 2003. The flight back was longer because we stopped in Cape Town and Sal, a small island of the coast of Northern Africa. And on the flight home Ben does not get sick.
As titled this is only my first trip to Africa, but thanks to the great trip put on by Scott Van Zyl with SS Pro Safaris this will definitely not be my last trip. Scott can be contact at www.ssprosafaris.co.za.
Final List of Animals Taken

David Ben
Springbok Springbok
White Blesbok Blesbok
Black Wildebeest Black Wildebeest
Kudu Kudu
2 Impala 2 Impala
4 Warthog 3 Warthog
Steenbok Steenbok
Gemsbok Zebra
Bushbuck Baboon
Red Hartebeest

Forgot to add the pictures, there are quite a few.

What a great full bag plains game safari!

Congratulations - very good Bushbuck.

Brad