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Originally posted by kudude:
My sister-in-law, Val Miller, and I went to South Africa to take advantage of a Rhino darting hunt I bid on at our Tallahassee SCI Chapter Fund Raiser in 2006. The hunt was for two people, and I invited Val to go because she is an avid hunter and had commented how much she’d like to go to Africa after my son and I returned from Tanz in 2005. The hunt was with Wiets Safaris in Kimberly, RSA and was for 10 days. Wiets counts the first and last days as travel days, so the hunt was really for 8 days. Under the terms of the hunt, we had to take and pay the trophy fees on five additional animals, and, although they offered a large selection of animals, I had taken all of the animals which counted against the five. This meant that Val had a lovely opportunity to take some very nice animals. . I sent Val my list of things to do immediately (Number 1: get a passport!), and my load list.

I made arrangements to let Val shoot several of my rifles in order that she would not have to get a Form 4457. She picked a semi-custom 7mmRemMag on a CZ24 Mauser Action and a custom 30-06 on a Mark X Mauser action, both guns from Walt Sherman. I had already worked up loads for these rifles, a 175grain, Hornady soft point for the 7mm and a 180grain, Nosler Partition for the 30-06. Both rifles shot sub-MOA groups and fit Val. I urged Val to practice off the sticks and shoot as much as she could from field positions; however, she told me as we left that she had been unable to do this.

When I saw how many bags she’d packed, I knew we, no I was in trouble (and what she had been doing instead of practicing off the sticks!) I had never hunted with a woman before, and was shocked at how much logistical support they require. My hat is off to you guys who hunt all the time with your wives. Before it was over, I ended up upgrading from a Nissan X-Trail, to a VW bus, and finally to a Mercedes Benz eight-passenger, diesel bus for our tour through Kruger with Val’s husband and her brother. I have to say that the Benz bus was a dandy set of wheels in which to travel.



I made reservations for our entire party on line via Delta out of Atlanta and into Johannesburg. This worked very well, with our driving to Atlanta by Avis rental car and dropping it off at the airport. Our flight was as good as one can expect from an 18 hour plus airplane ride. (Oh, how I wish they put the 747 back on that route and eliminate the fueling stop.) We arrived at Johannesburg and were met by Charl van Rooyen. I had contacted Charl, who is Infinito Safaris and one of us, about staying at his B&B before we drove down to Kimberly; however, he had not gotten his certification from the government, and made arrangements for us to stay at the Farm Inn in Pretoria. The representative of Henry Durrheim’s RiflePermits.com, which I had used at Wiets’ suggestion, also met us with our rifle permits. Charl advised me later that most outfitters will handle getting the permits for you if you ask them (particularly those up near Jo-burg like Charl.)

Charl was very helpful in helping me get the appropriate SIM (?) card for my European cell phone and arranging to get air time for use in country and overseas. I highly recommend picking up one of these cards if you have the right kind of phone. It was terrifically convenient and we were able to call home the entire time we were there for 100Rand, and left with a credit balance. We had to buy about 330Rand in local air time for talking with Hannes and Charl in addition to our calls to the international base. (That’s $60 to stay in touch the entire trip!)

After collecting our rifles and getting us money from ABSA, Charl led us to the Avis store at the airport where I collected the Nissan sedan I would be driving to Kimberly the next day. After this, he led us to the Farm Inn. Charl’s assistance was well worth his 1000Rand fee. The Farm Inn was delightful. The three of us had an excellent dinner, although Val and I were so tired we could hardly enjoy it; but after Val turned in early, Charl and I had a couple of single malts and talked hunting.

The next morning, Val and I had a wonderful breakfast and using Charl’s good directions drove down to Kimberly. We were not starting our hunt until the next day and Wiets did not have accommodations for us; therefore, I made arrangements to stay at Milner House, a B&B in Kimberly’s Belgrave area. We were beginning to get our feet under us, and had a very nice dinner at Umberto’s a local Italian restaurant about four blocks from Milner’s. We felt quite secure in this area of town and with the car locked behind Milner’s considerable fence. Milner’s was very nice and very “English.†We couldn’t have had a nicer or better place to stay.

I had been told that we would be picked up at 10:00 am, so we slept late and were the last ones to breakfast. Val and I were ready long before our ph arrived and I attempted to call Wiets using the number on their web site and the information provided in their emails. There was no answer and neither Val nor the clerk at Milner’s could get through. We tried looking up Wiets Safaris, but there was no listing. Finally, remembering that they were also engaged in the trucking business, we called that business number and immediately were told that the ph was on his way. He had apparently been over at the offices and had just left. (The communication problem resulted from Wiet’s failure to update their web site and e-mail forms after a recent change in phone numbers in RSA. It’s been corrected.)

Our ph showed up in few minutes in an older Toyota Raider, loaded our gear into the truck, and followed us to the airport where I turned in our rental car. We then drove about 25 kilometers in the direction of Bloemfontain to the farm. The Wiets farm is approximately 10,000 acres, but seems even larger because it has at least three separate, distinct ecospheres: grassland, karoo arcadia scrub, and river bottom together with several large koppies. There were significant herds of blesbok, springbok, red hartebeest, eland and black wildebeest. There were herds of rhino, kudu, gemsbok, Barbary sheep, red lechewe, and giraffe, which with the exception of the rhino and giraffe were not being hunted. Significant numbers of gray duiker and steenbok, as well as caracal and black back jackal, were resident on the farm. It was very inviting.

Our first afternoon, we zeroed our rifles and I unpacked our gear. Val did not unpack, I think for fear that not even 10,000 acres could hold all she had brought! Our ph was Hannes Fouchet, who would turn out to be a good friend and good hunting guide, was impressed with Val ability to shoot and clearly looked forward to working with her. He restated what so many of us have heard that women are better hunters because they listen to their ph’s.
We drove around that afternoon, and got further acquainted with the farm. This was made more interesting because we used a 60’s era Ford F-100 truck. It was identical to the ones I had in my motor park as a young officer in Germany 1965 and 66. We used a series of these vehicles during our stay as they required considerable maintenance. Some of the repairs and adaptations were interesting, if not amazing, to an old wheeled vehicle maintenance officer.

We got a chance to see several of the rhino bulls which ran in groups, and females which were separate and running with one or two calves. The farm is a game farm which breeds and raises white lions as well as the rhinos. (We got a chance to see the lions fed one afternoon and they are beautiful and very scary. They are an additional attraction for this hunt, although it is hard to see these beautiful animals penned up even when the pens are as large as theirs are.)

The next morning, arrangements were made for the vet to come over and for another ph to join us, Barend Vermuelen, the son-in-law of the owner. Barend would be the person who would lead me on the rhino dart. Dr. Van Heerden, the vet, was the key member of the team. Without him, nothing happens. He instructed me on the dart, the drug (M99), the dart gun, and how it all worked. He supervised my target practice and explained the possible dangers: the dart could skip off, burst, or miss and, of course, the rhino could possibly attack us. If that occurred we were to remain very still unless clearly discovered, when we were to jump out of the way at the last minute. (Believe me, if Dr. Van Heerden gave his talk to potential bidders at the SCI auction there would have been even fewer bidders on this hunt.) My shooting with the dart gun was on target; however, I wondered a great deal about the “jumping out of the way at the last minute†bit. Having proved my marksmanship and being warned of the dangers, I signed a document relieving everyone from any responsibility for any injuries that I might incur on the hunt and we began.

The farm management must keep records of those animals who are potential “targets†of the hunt, because the rhino can only be darted a limited number of times during their lives. I don’t know how this is done, but the workers know the animals. The rhino dart is an “all hands†event on the farm with all of the workers participating to some degree or another. For those of you who have hunted elephant, you know how quickly such a large animal can disappear in the bush. The same is true with the rhino except it doesn’t stand as tall and can disappear even quicker! By the time we began the hunt, it was after mid-morning and the temperature had increased and the wind was variable. For rhino darting, ideal conditions are a good stead wind from one direction. This permits you to approach the animals into the wind and get close enough to fire you dart. How close is that? We practiced at 20 yards; however, the darting could take place out to 50 yards.

We conducted multiple stalks on two groups of rhino: one a group of bulls and the other a female with a two year old calf. You would not want to argue the right-of-way with a two year old rhino, even if you were in a car! They are large, over three-quarters of the size of an adult. Because of the swirling wind, we could not conclude a successful stalk. We’d get within 40 yards, even closer, but before we could get an open shot, they would scent us and be off. They may not be able to see well, but they can smell very well and those ears move like radar dishes all the time. After one of the workers walked up through a dry reservoir and spooked a group of bulls just as we were getting into position for a shot, Barend called time and we went to lunch. His reasoning was the hunters and the hunted could relax and eat, and it would give the rhinos a chance to bed down in the noon day heat. The koppies are used as posts for “watchers†who keep an eye on the rhinos during the hunt because once darted the rhinos must be observed until the vet can reach them and administer the antidote. They watched while we ate keeping an eye on the two groups we had pursued during the morning to see where they went to ground.

After lunch, Barend decided, after consulting with the “watchers,†that we would make another stalk on the female with her calf. We drove to the area where they were, dismounted, and Barend, the doctor and I began our stalk into the arcadia brush. This is grassland with arcadia bushes 5-7 feet tall spaced out through it along with other small bushes. We approached the general area with caution and a great deal of kicking dirt to see which way the wind was blowing.

The rhino we sought had bedded down in a thicket of arcadia with her calf. After walking 50 yards from the road into the bush during which Barend had spoken with the “watchers†several times, he suddenly got a call and stopped. The rhino we were hunting was lying directly to our front, protected on our side by an arcadia thicket consisting of three to four large bushes, and we had all but walked over them “invading their personal space!†We carefully backed up, and moved to our left and around the clump of arcadia to our front. From our new vantage point we could see momma’s distinctive horn protruding through the brush. We had been very, very close to the pair.

We continued to circle left trying to get an opening, but they were both lying down and the arcadia prevented a clear shot. We finally moved to a position almost directly in front of momma and had the doctor move back around the way we had come. The moment they scented him they were both on the feet so quickly they stirred up a minor dust storm. Once they identified the direction of the scent, they were off, but much to our distress neither to our direct right or left, by essentially 90-degrees to our left as we looked at t them. They ran about 50 yards and then stopped, sniffing the air and determining which way they were going to go. Barend whispered to me to stay ready because they were liable to come our way.

After a very short time, they moved obliquely towards us towards a spot about 25 yards down wind of us. When they got there, they scented us and turned looked directly at us and then suddenly whirled 180-degrees around and began a rapid trot away from us. Barend told me to hold two feet over momma’s head and fire. I did exactly as I was told and the dart hit momma right in left “cheek,†a perfect shot. Upon being hit, she picked up the pace and disappeared. Things began to happen at a very fast tempo at this point. We ran after the departing rhinos; the doctor caught up with us asking if we had shot; Barent radioed for the truck to pick us up; the truck arrived and we all mounted up and continued to chase the rhinos across the ranch.

This is when the “watchers†really earned their keep. From their vantage point they could see the rhinos’ every move and directed us and the other truck load of players to their location. After about a mile and a half, the drug took effect and momma stopped, collapsing into a seated position. When we arrived, the other truck was already on the scene and just beginning to discharge workers. The doctor was off our truck in a flash, along with Barend. The doctor rushed to put shunts into the rhino’s ears as a means to administer drugs if a medical emergency developed. I got my still cameras from my photo bag and dis-assed the truck, but by the time I got off, the doctor was checking momma’s teeth with the help of several of the workers. Barend was standing ready to begin the measuring process. The doctor moved to the rear of the animal and I stayed in the front watching the operation.



As soon as the measuring was completed, Barend placed me behind the animal and began to photograph me with the animal. After a number of shots, he joined me, and Pauli, our driver, took pictures of both of us. The whole time, the doctor continued his examination of the animal and began to administer the antidote to the drug. Within a very short while, less than five minutes, we had re-mounted the truck. About the time we re-mounted the truck, Hannes and Val showed up from the other side of the farm where he had been called to supervise unloading of Gemsbok. He had my video camera and he began filming by asking me about the darting. While this was going on, the doctor and Barend were working at getting momma rhino cooled down and back on her feet. This involved dousing her with water and administering a second set of drugs, not to mention pushing on her ample behind as she attempted to gain her feet. Hannes caught all this on film along with my urgings to her to get up. We were all gladdened when she finally got on her feet and slowly began to move under her own steam. She rapidly gathered herself and her calf, who had never moved more than 50 yards away, led her away.







The doctor told us that his examination revealed she was one of the original rhinos “stocked†on the farm from her age as revealed by her teeth. That she was pregnant and had high blood pressure, which would complicate her pregnancy. Given her age and the high blood pressure, the doctor was concerned about her ability to carry the calf to term which is 18 months in rhinos. The doctor and I had a chance to visit after we got back to the camp. It was no surprise to learn that he is very, very knowledgeable about darting animals, using this method in several contexts to relocate and treat large animals. He had recently had to dart a pet tiger to treat its eye. (I’ll guess I will have to stop correcting people who mention tigers in Africa!) I can say that anyone of us would be happy to have doctors caring for us who were as skilled and interested in our situation as Dr. Van Heerden was in his patients. Barend was off shortly to his bow hunting store in Kimberly, but before he left I found out that momma measured in at 82 and 2/8 inches and would have made the book if shot for real. We lacked a SCI record book with darting data.



It had been a new experience, completely different from any hunt I had ever been on, but very real and every bit a exhilarating as hunting elephant or lion with a gun. There had been several times during the morning when we could have successfully concluded a “gun†hunt with a fine trophy, but the necessity to have a clear pathway at very close range had prevented us from darting an animal. The concern evidenced by the doctor for the welfare of the animal was heart felt and heart warming. For me it was a good feeling not to have to kill the old gal in order to accomplish my big five dream. I heartily recommend this hunt notwithstanding issues with the safari company which in no way impacted either my darting or my sister-in-law’s plains game hunt which was extremely successful.

My sister-in-law had a wonderful first time experience in Africa. She had wonderful stalks and hunts for Blesbok, Black Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, Black Springbok and Grey Duiker. I got good pictures of all the animals but the best one, of course, which was the Springbok. It was HUGH, and I will try and post pictures from her camera.

The animals are hunted regularly and from the reaction of the animals, often from vehicles. If a vehicle even slows, they put some space between themselves and the vehicle. The same is true of people who look like hunters. I was amazed at how good their vision was and the range at which they considered us a threat. As a result, the hunting is very rigorous and we got in many stalks, some of which were successful. Val took the following animals:







I limited my hunting to duiker and black backed jackal. I got my duiker, which I thought was pretty good (13 and 1/8), until Val got one 15 and 1/8! I also shot an African Wildcat one evening while hunting jackal.




The hunting for rhino and other species was excellent and Hannes was a terrific guide/ph, but he was incredible when it came to hunting the jackal. Unfortunately, a series of events over which we had no control combined to deny us any success. (Well, I could have shot better on the one chance I got at one.) One thing I learned, that clothing warm enough for hunting during the day, ain’t warm enough for hunting at night. If you think you might be out at night, consider preparing for temperatures 30 degrees lower. The constant grind of hunting all day and then a good portion of the night in very cold conditions was one reason I concluded our hunt a day early.

Regarding the aforementioned collateral issues which diminished the experience, Wiets did not provide water or beer. They “required†that clients pay their tips to them for later distribution to the staff and ph. (This was in the category of Fat Chance.) When asked if they could pick up a bottle of whisky at the package store for our group (the three of us finished what I had brought after I darted the rhino finishing my Big Five), we were told that we’d have to buy over $100 worth for the wholesale house to deliver it, although both the owner and his daughter drove to town from the ranch everyday. Our ph did not take us to town at the end of our hunt. We had to ride to town with the owner and his daughter at their convenience (7:30am) which meant we had to get up and pack at 5:30am. On the way to town, they explained their requirement to have any other taxidermist other than their own sign a contract that they would export the trophies in 18 months or less or hold Wiets harmless for the VAT, penalties, and interest. Only after getting my good friend Roy Hayes to send them a fax agreeing to their terms, were they willing to put our bags back in the car and take us to the bank to arrange getting the cash they required at the end of the hunt. This was accomplished with the help of Sarehn Roberts who works in their office and with whom I had exchanged so many emails about the hunt. Even with her help, extracting the money took an extraordinary long time. Together, this took valuable time away from our plans to print our pictures before the rest of our party arrived.

I can honestly say that in 10 trips to Africa, I have never seen an operation quite like this.
The hunting wasn’t bad, it just was not a hunter/user friendly experience. I was not surprised when I learned that neither the owner nor his daughter who manages the operation have ever hunted. The accommodations were adequate. The house was a prefab’ed used on one of the farms purchased and incorporated into the property. We each had a room with private bath, plenty of hot water, but it was just a room with bath. The food was excellent. It was the first hunt I have ever been on when I did not loose weight. Cheryl, the chef, took very good care of us. Hannes and Cheryl added immensely to our enjoyment and the success of the whole event; however, there has been a significant turn over in ph’s on the ranch and this will undoubtedly continue given management’s policies. If you are interested in this hunt be aware of the foregoing issues. Kudude