15 June 2011, 04:01
OmegaOur trip with Wild Horizon in the Eastern Cape
Dates: May 31 - June 11, 2011Outfitter: Wild Horizon
PH: Guy Swart and Clint Gower
Tracker/Skinner: Anton
Area: Eastern Cape - Lady Grey, Bolo and Kei Mouth
Rifle: Custom Rocky Mountain Rifles in .338WM and 7WSM
After more than a year of planning May 28th arrived and we started our journey to East London in the eastern Cape of South Africa for our plains game hunt. Guy met us at the airport and we traveled north to Lady Grey very near the border with the Free State. Our first area was very unusual from the typical Africa with us hunting at 5000' high mountains and canyons.
We arrived in camp in the middle of terrible weather and there was snow visible on the peaks and frost on the ground in the mornings. The PH was very worried about hunting in the rain as they didn't do it often yet that first day was very successful. The animals were bunched up in holes out of the wind and we made the most of it. Sandi made 155, 182 and 303 yard shots on springbok, blesbok and a great black wildebeest on that first day. We were shocked at how many animals we saw and how good the stalks in were. When we complemented the PH he laughed and said that it must have been the weather as the animals just never held tight and bedded like that.
The next day had a more familiar tune with a long hard stalk on a great Mountain reed buck come apart right at the end when Sandi missed an awkward uphill shot off the sticks at 200 yards. Later in the day we topped out over a canyon and caught a herd of blue wildebeest napping in the sun b200 yards below us. It was my turn at the rifle and I made sure of my shot carefully placing a 185 grain GMX from the 338 into his heart. The bull was huge at over 28" wide and heavy he goes into gold SCI.
Two and a half more days were spent climbing the rocks until Sandi got a second chance on the reed buck and she made it count with a spectacular throat shot at 262 yards on the diminutive creature.
The first five done we moved locations south to near the town of Bolo where we hunted for warthog, kudu, impala and zebra. The first morning we spent hitting high spots where we could glass slopes and ravines that were catching the morning sun. We stalked a couple of prospectives that looked dang good to me only to have my PH tell me that he wouldn't shoot it so I shouldn't. The third stalk was the charm but was interrupted by an unseen monster bull. Clint the PH voice was shaking as he told me it was good an to shoot it before he took the gun from me. One shot from the .338 at little over 360 yards off the sticks and one quick follow up shot and the bull was mine. When we walked up I could finally understand what all the fuss was about. A trophy Eastern Cape kudu starts at 44" this deep curled bull goes 55 4/8 and 55 1/8 with 11 bases! A very rare trophy!
The next day we played hide and seek with the impala in the bush veld and finally tagged an ancient old warrior at 60 yards shooting from my knees through the brush. His bases are very heavy but the tops have been wore way back from use.
Just before the sun went down we spotted a small clearing in the thorns with several warthogs and we snuck into 135 yards and I made an easy shot with the 7 wsm.
Next morning we made a great stalk to withing 90 yards of two zebra stallions in the bush veld. Before Sandi could get a shot on the bigger one a pair of warthogs burst out from in front of us to stampede them off. 4 hours later we crept to within 184 yards of a great stallion and Sandi made sure of her shot with the .338WM. The was the animal that Sandi came to Africa for and her emotion over her trophy was touching.
From here we moved to the coast and the bush chocked hills and valleys the bush buck calls home. The bush buck also loves the sun and we would hunt him like whitetail spot and stalk. Working our way from one vantage point to another looking for rams that had moved into the open to sun and feed. We saw 7 the first day but never got a chance on the very wary creatures. Bush buck are earned and yet the next day it seemed like a gimme when the PH turned away to move to another spot and my last scan through the binos caught a horn tip in the weeds. 5 minutes more waiting and the dark bodied beauty was mine and we finished our hunt just before the heavy rains deluged us for the next two days.
Food and camps were great, we caught very bad weather twice in our trip and i should have packed some heavier clothes but other than that the trip has me planning the next one already.
Guy and Clint were great professionals, hunters and companions. The areas were first class with us being the first hunters ever on the one. I always look for smaller outfits to hunt with. I like to be hunting with the owner and not being another number in a big camp. Owners care and have a lot of pride in the results and it sure showed here. I like people who don't pressure me into shooting just any animal but instead look for great trophies. As Guy said, not only the wealthy come to Africa and everyone rich or not deserves that once in a lifetime hunt and memories.
