I have basically finished writing my story and will try to copy it in and add pictures.

Second Africa Hunting Trip
Limpopo Province
South Africa

October 2005
David Culpepper

October 19, Wednesday
Paul Pendergraft and I leave Atlanta for South Africa. Paul is a college friend and long time hunting buddy. This is Paul’s first trip to Africa and my second hunting trip with Scott Van Zyl with SS Pro Safaris in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.

October 20, Thursday
Arrive Johannesburg airport about 10am and get through Post Port Control, South African Police (SAP) and customs by 11:30am. There were only about 8 hunters going through of which only 4 of us had our paperwork straight. Luckily we were in front of the ones who were still filling out their paperwork.

We meet up with Scott waiting for us. We quickly load our stuff in his truck and start out on the 3-hour drive to his place outside of Ellisras. Waiting for us at the lodge is Sure’, Scott’s wife, and find out they are expecting a baby but is only about 7 weeks along.

We get our rifles sighted in and sit down to discuss the upcoming 10 days. Paul plans on hunting: kudu, impala, warthog, duiker, bushbuck, blesbok and gemsbok. I plan to hunt: lioness, nyala, blue wildebeest, duiker, impala, warthog, waterbuck, klipspringer, baboon and bush pig. Scott tells us that I would be hunting with him and Paul would be hunting with Herman, a PH and SAP officer who sets up undercover buys in illegal trade, and would be arriving in the morning. Also, joining us will be Abel, Scott’s younger brother and PH, the following afternoon.

October 21, Friday
Awake to a beautiful African sunrise. At breakfast we meet Herman and he and Paul take off looking for kudu and impala, while Scott and I go looking for klipspringer. Not long after getting to the mountain range, we spot a male klipspringer but he jumps away too quickly to get a shot. We drive around for awhile but only see some female klipspringer so we decide to set-up a ground blind near a waterhole at the foot of the mountains. No klipspringers come but we do see kudu, female reedbuck and a tribe of about 15 baboon. We decide it is still early and just watch the baboon for about 30 minutes before one off to my left busts us and puts out an alarm call. So we head back to the lodge, as Abel should be arriving soon.

We pick up Abel back at the lodge and head out to Mof Venter’s place, a PH I meet 2 years earlier, to hunt for blue wildebeest. It takes us about an hour to locate a herd of wildebeest, but it takes probably about another hour to get a shot. Finally, after getting a shot, the chase was on, as I made a lung shot and missed breaking the shoulder. After 45 minutes of chasing them and two more shots to the chest the wildebeest is finally down. After some pictures we started back to the lodge for dinner, but shined a big duiker so we started to hunt again. We lost track of the big duiker and went out the fields to see if we could locate any more. We shined up eyes everywhere it seemed but most of the eyes belonged to springers. We saw several duiker but they were either small or could not get a shot at them. Finally, we were leaving for the lodge a second time, we spot the big duiker again lying down in some tall grass. Scott says to shot it in the ass as not to mess up the cape, but I promptly shot it in the neck as that is all I can see through the grass.




October 22, Saturday
In the morning we all head to hunt for the same as we did the previous morning, Paul & Herman for kudu and impala and Scott, Abel and I for klipspringer. At the mountain range we spot a male klipspringer run over the top of a smaller mountain and decide to climb up after it. By time I made it to the top the klipspringer was long gone, but the view was amazing and I left my camera in the truck. After about another 1½ hours we see another klipspringer but they are so tough to see when they are standing still, I miss the shot as it took me too long to locate him. After that we head back to the lodge for lunch.

After lunch we go out on Scott’s place to hunt waterbuck. We spot a nice one and after doing some tricky stalking and maneuvering we get a shot at about 100 yards which I promptly missed and the waterbuck disappeared. Also, that afternoon I was able to shoot a rock that was right behind another klipspringer. After all that missing it was time to go to the lodge to watch the rugby finals. The team that everyone wanted to win, The Bulls lose. They actually beat themselves but I will not rub salt in an open wound. After the game we all decide to go out and see if we can shine Paul a warthog. I decide to just ride along to watch since I missed 3 animals that day. We shined a lot of warthogs, but none were big enough to shoot. But we did shine the waterbuck that I missed earlier that day. So Paul quickly tossed me his rifle and I was able to take a good quartering away shot at about 50 yards. The waterbuck ran but left a good blood trail. After Scott determined where the waterbuck was going he sent the tracker back in the truck for help to track in the dark. But right after the truck got out of sight, Sticks, a jack russel terrier, began barking and the waterbuck was just around a bunch of large boulders. I quickly put another round in its chest and it went down surrounded by large boulders. When the trackers return in the truck, Scott tells then it looks like the tracks head over the boulders behind us which are 15-20 feet tall. As the trackers are looking at the tracks they can not see the waterbuck at our feet behind some rocks and are agreeing with Scott in the direction the waterbuck was going. Finally we burst out laughing and the trackers finally see the waterbuck at our feet.



October 23, Sunday
Morning starts as the others except Scott, Abel and I head to a different mountain range. Soon after arriving to the mountain range, we spot a herd of impala with several goods rams. We quickly put on a stalk and able to get within 50 yards of one of the rams. With one good shot to the shoulder, the impala was down. Due to the heat, we decide it was best to go ahead and dress out the impala at the manager’s house before looking for klipspringer. It was not more than 10 minutes after leaving the manager’s house that 2 female and 1 male klipspringer ran across the road and up the mountain. We quickly jumped out of the truck and luckily the male stopped about 100 yards up the mountain. I was able to get a steady shot off the shooting sticks and the klipspringer came rolling back down the mountain.

Since it was still early, we decided to go back the lodge to eat lunch rather than eating in the field as planned. After lunch we hunted a waterhole for warthog but no good ones came in. We did see small warthog, impala, blesbok, mongoose and duiker. That evening back at the lodge Paul reports that he has finally taken his first African animals, an impala and a kudu.





October 24, Monday
This morning I awoke not feeling too good but decide that I will hunt anyway since it is my first lion hunt and I did not come all this way just to miss it. It takes all of us, even Paul and Herman are with us today, about 3-hours to get to the concession where the lioness hunt is to take place. When we get to the concession, the trackers have all ready located some tracks which is good news to us as it is going to be a very hot day. So, after some quick introductions we take off. The lioness is moving an area that has a dried up riverbed with a lot of off shoots and some pretty thick brush in areas. The lioness is zigzagging, circling and backtracking all over the place and finally after an hour I catch a glimpse of her. She was moving in some tall grass and in just a few seconds she had disappeared. About 45 minutes later we were finally able to get close to her when she stopped in some thick brush. But as Scott and I moved in she growled and bolted out the other side of the brush and was gone. Now things get interesting as 5 minutes later is the first time I get sick. I have to take a break as I think I am just getting overheated. After about 30 minutes and a bottle of water later, I am ready to go again. Now Herman is carrying my rifle for me and over the next hour we get close to the lioness several times but can not get a shot. Then I get sick again and this time we take a 15 minute break and now I am about ready to call the hunt off but I am reassured that we are still very close to the lioness and she is tired. 15 minutes later as we walked out of one off shoots in the riverbed, everyone begins to scatter and shout, “Shoot Her†and all I can do is call out “Who has my rifle?†as Herman is placing it in my hands. I quickly turned as she was standing about 15 yards away on the riverbank staring right at me. I quickly put a shot straight into her front chest and she fell never to make another move. I was able to hold it together long enough for pictures before I got sick again.

Later that evening when I am still unable to hold anything down, I decide to it time to go to the doctor/hospital. When we arrived at the doctor’s he proceed to chew me out for waiting so long to see him as me being a diabetic, I should have known better. We then have to go to a lab for blood tests and finally I am checked in at a small private hospital. There is where I found out that I have contracted some sort of infection and will be there for several days.





October 25-29, Tuesday – Saturday
I spent the next five days in the hospital, the first three I could not keep anything down. Scott is great, he visits everyday and makes sure I have everything I need. He calls and gets my Medjet coverage extended in case it is needed. And when the hospital starts asking about my account and they would not accept my insurance, Scott just gave them one of his own checks and tells them to fill in the amount when I get discharged. And he and I will settle up when I am back in my feet. As far as my hospital stay goes, the staff was good but they woke me every hour on the hour for tests and the food left a lot to be desired. They had four bags of fluid running into me, there was saline solution, antibiotics, insulin and anti-nauseous medication. While there I learned that this was a small private hospital that was under liquidation and I was lucky it was still around or I would be in the state run hospital. All the specialty doctors from Pretoria make monthly visits to the hospital and everyone from around will be at the hospital, I witnessed the day the urologist made his visit and it was a mad house. Paul’s hunting reports are vague at this point, but I told him to keep on hunting, as it appeared that I would live. While I was in the hospital, Paul took gemsbok, blesbok, steenbok and duiker. He also missed a bushbuck.

So here I sit in the hospital writing my story as they only other thing I can do at this point is stare the four walls. Wait news just in, the doctor is going to release me tomorrow the 29th. The next morning Scott is there early to pick me up, which caught me by surprise because I had not even called him yet. I later found out that Scott had called the doctor everyday to check on me. We had to go see the doctor after I was discharged and by the time I left his office I had 5 prescriptions. I spent the rest of the day lounging around the lodge and just taking it easy. Paul was out playing golf for most of the day.

October 30, Sunday
My 42nd birthday and out of the hospital, the day could not have started better than that. Paul, Herman and Abel go out to hunt warthog and take 2 huge females. Scott and I decide to take it easy and try to get my nyala at a waterhole where they have been known to frequent. We first sit in a tower blind and see several monkey, impala and young nyala. But when some warthog come in and smell us, we realize we have to move over to a ground blind on the other side of the waterhole. As we eat lunch more warthog young nyala and impala come into the waterhole. The dominant ram of the herd of impala was trying to keep the herd from the water and would keep chasing them back into the brush. This continued for about 45 minutes until the ram finally let the herd start to drink. But this is when he decided to butt one of the females into the waterhole for a swim and impala scattered everywhere. With all the commotion and blowing by the impala, I figure that whole hunt has been blown but Scott just remained patient. And 30 minutes later 7 nyala bull worked their way through the brush to the waterhole but stopped short of coming out. I saw a real nice bull and kept my rifle on him as Scott checked out the rest of the bulls. Finally deciding we had picked out the best bull I waited for a shot but the bulls would not come out if the brush about 75 yards away. The bull finally stepped into a small opening through the brush and I put one right into his chest and shoulder and he dropped.

After taking pictures, Scott tells me of a monster warthog he had seen once before and that we had permission from the owner to hunt for him. He knew no one had hunted for him since the waterhole Scott had seen him at was just a low metal trough with no blinds anywhere near it. So, we grabbed some chairs and took off for the waterhole. Upon arriving at the waterhole, we stopped about 175 yards out and saw a huge female warthog at the water. So, I promptly took a shot and missed her cleanly. We set-up our chairs about 80 yards down the road from the waterhole. No blind, no cover just sitting in chairs on the side of the road, luckily warthogs have poor eyesight. For the next hour and half all we see are small warthogs. Then about an hour before dark I think the hunt gets blown as one of the farm workers drives his truck right past the waterhole and us. But we decide to stay and with about 5 minutes of light left the monster warthog appears in the road. Scott’s instructions are not to shoot the metal water trough, so as the warthog is drinking facing away from us, I aim high on the back and fire. The hog goes down in a cloud of dust and as I reload he gets to his feet and tries to move away. Scott tells me shoot him again but not to shoot the water trough, so as he steps to the right of the water trough I put one through his chest and he collapses and I did not shoot the water trough. We did not have a tape measure so I used my hand to measure and measured by hand later. I estimated the length of his tusks from gumline to tip were just over 15 inches.




October 31, Monday
Paul gets up early to hunt for warthog and I sleep in as we have to head to airport today. When Paul returns early I know he has been successful. He has taken a nice old male warthog that has one tusk slightly broken. That afternoon we head out to the airport and all in all I had a great time hunting but could have gone without the hospital stay. But even so the only animals on my list that I did not get this trip were baboon and bush pig. Guess I will just have to put them on the list for my next trip.

Great Report, Glad you got well enough to hunt again. Nice criters, I say well done.

Amazing report - great animals.

What is MedJet??

Thanks & Congrats.

MedJet is an issurance that you can get, so if you get injured or sick they will fly you out to where ever you need to go, with a nurse. The also have a connection with the Flying Doctors. It is a very good insurance to have as the cost of flying you out can be thousands of dollars.

great hog

David, Great report , glad you got to finish with more hunting .Wish I had been there with ya'll. I see Scott is still running a top notch outfit. Congrats Ben(Rug)

Hi,
Nice trophies, especially that huge warthog.

Was the lion shot in the gameranch too? Or was it straying from a national reserve?

The lioness was at a game ranch, but I never saw any fences except when we first went in. We even found a impala carcus that she had killed and had been feeding on. So, I believe she had been out there for at least sometime.