I had been exploring the idea of a 2026 African hunt for some time. I thought about trying a new location like Namibia, Zambia or Tanzania. My son Eric was tied up with work and Joan wasn't going to let me go alone - so she said she was coming. And then Eric's work situation changed, and I had a hunting buddy available. I contacted my regular outfitter/PH, Arnold Claassen (African Select Hunting Safaris) and he had a cancellation window in May. It all came together quickly and I was off. Joan was a bit disappointed.
On the way to Joburg from Cincinnati.
They saw 5 different kudu bulls and covered a lot of mountainous country. There's one bedded in the photo below.
Eventually they got on a really good bull and tracked him to the edge of a drop off. He was facing almost dead away from Eric and was ready to go off the edge. Eric got prone at 300 yards. Arnold told Eric to shoot him "left of the tail in the cheek". He did that and his second follow up shot hit him in the neck and he was down. As they walked in, he got up and ran 25 yards behind a bush. Eric shot him in the boiler room. The entry wound showed a tumbling bullet and they assume he had hit a twig. But he was done.
Back at the truck, we got the call on the radio and the whole crew mounted up. We drove the cruiser on the ranch roads up a drainage as close as we could get. The young guys went running up the mountain with the sled and I slowly picked my way up the mountainside.
In the photo below, the kudu went down on the far side of that peak in the top of the photo. They got him down about 1/2 way to the cruiser when they encountered this barbed wire fence. They eventually got him thru the fence. Here's a video of some of the recovery. Kudu Recovery
It took some time and effort but they got him down the rest of the mountain and loaded him into the cruiser.
We drove to one of the ranch cabins, made a fire and grilled game sausages for lunch.
The area around the cabin had some really interesting geology.
The ranch manager had hired a guy for varmint control. He was sleeping in the cabin. He had been out all-night calling, spotlighting and shooting jackals in this rig. They do this to protect the sheep and cattle but it is also beneficial for the other game.
After lunch we headed out for a drive to see if we could spot the gemsbok. I had taken a gemsbok on my first trip in 2014. I was interested in upgrading if a really nice one was available, but it wasn't my highest priority. They are usually around on this property so that's why we were trying to find them. While we were looking, we spotted something else.
Eric shot a trophy steenbok at 200 yards. The shot was a little low and right but he was recovered. Eric has limited wall space so he has been concentrating on the small antelope.
This was really an exceptional one.
After that recovery and photo session, we took a last light drive to a really neat overlook on a bluff above the river. We saw some impala but not the nyala or eland that we were looking for.
We got back to the skinning shed and Rasta had made good progress on the leaning poplar.
We had lasagna for dinner and woke up the next morning all fogged in. It was 38 degrees (did I mention no heat). We drove on the lodge property and Arnold managed to spot a black wildebeest in the fog - even with the limited visibility. We piled out, I got set on the sticks and took a shot that turned out to be 125 yards. He dropped like a ton of bricks.
The shot was a bit high and right but spined him and he was done.
Kind of an eerie morning but a lucky one.
The recovery was just about 150 yards and downhill. A short clip of it. Wildebeest Recovery
Back at the skinning shed, the property owner - Clive - came down to greet us and check on the trophies.
The big leaning poplar was down but there was another one that needed attention.
Due to the fog, we in went early and had a leisurely lunch. The sun eventually burned it off and we headed back out on the lodge property. It was a completely different day. Arnold spotted a mountain reedbuck from the truck. We jumped out and Eric got on the sticks and made a nice shot at 300 yards. He was near the top in the photo below.
Another small antelope for Eric.
And a nice native species from the area.
This was a classic Arnold recovery.
He just carried him on down to the truck.
We resumed the touring of the property, and it wasn't long when another native species was spotted - vaal rhebuck. Eric jumped out and got set up across the hood of the cruiser for another 300 yard shot.
This turned out to be quite the specimen. A trophy vaal rhebuck has horns as long as the ears. This one was about 2" longer.
They are interesting with fur almost like a rabbit - unlike the hair on other antelope.
By this time, it was getting late in the day and we took a walk around some ponds hoping to find some nice warthogs. They weren't cooperating though.
It was a new moon that night and Eric captured the sky full of stars in this photo. No light pollution here.
The next morning we returned to the property where Eric took his kudu in pursuit of a gemsbok. We went up to the saddle again, climbed up for glassing and the staff tried again to drive gemsbok our way. Once again, it didn't work out, but this time, a huge eland ran off the mountainside into a creek bottom and seemed to hold up in the thick cover. Eland was one of my top priorities but Arnold thought it was iffy whether we would see one.
We drove down to the bottom and the staff walked it to try to push him out. After trying for about 2 hours, suddenly he did bolt out of the cover and ran almost parallel to us on the other side of a creek. I got on the sticks. He was still on the move at about 275 yards. I dialed for that and Arnold tried to stop him with a whistle and a yell. He kept moving and we had to move the setup around a tree. He finally stopped for a second at about 350 and I rushed a shot. It was unclear if he was hit.
He was a very nice, mature bull but now he was down on the top of the mountain a long way from the truck.
We piled into the cruiser, raced up our side of the creek to get ahead of him, pulled across the creek and were just stopping when he broke thru cover in front of us. I jumped out of the truck, leaned over the hood, and shot him on the run at 75 yards. He dropped immediately.
We walked up the hill and there he was. He was huge and the shot was a little high and right but spined him. The earlier shot was a clean miss.
With great effort, we rolled him down the hill a bit for photos.
Arnold thinks he's 10+ years old and he seems like a monster to me.
Big horns and a "Donald Trump" hair clump on the forehead.
To aid a bit in the recovery, they took the guts out. Open the Eland We got the cruiser close.
With a winch and 8 guys we got him in the bed of the cruiser. Eland Recovery Eland Winch
We drove him back to the skinning shed and got him hung up.
One chain hoist on each leg.
If he didn't seem huge before, he sure did now.
The rest of the day was spent skinning and butchering so that there were pieces that would fit in the cooler.
The cooler was getting pretty full with kudu, black wildebeest, eland, and three small antelope.
Hides and heads were salted and packed for travel.
The next morning we loaded the trailer with meat.
And packed the cruiser with everything else - including the roof rack.
We left the mountain camp and moved down to the "Bush Nest" camp near Kirkwood. Eric and I have hunted here before. He lost a zebra here and I missed a nyala from this camp. We were planning to rectify that situation.
Always nice to be welcomed.
Shortly after arriving, we went for a walk. This is a high fence property with about 6,000 acres. It backs up to a mountain range and Addo National Park is on the other side of the mountain. It is just outside of Kirkwood.
On the first walkabout, we spotted zebra from almost the identical spot as last time. The difference was they were only 200 yards away this time. Eric got on the sticks, Arnold picked out the stallion, Eric squeezed the trigger and click. The chamber was empty and the zebra ran up the mountain. Snakebit on zebra again. PH's must have the patience of Job.
We went to the back of the property and took a walk. There were a lot of blue wildebeest and a few golden wildebeest. Impala - regular and black were everywhere and in rut.
It got late and we returned to the lodge. Ryan bult us a fire.
I think that this was kudu tenderloin.
The next morning we returned to the property in Kirkwood with the nyala. This is where I missed on the last trip. We had some clouds and rain.
Eric found this leopard tortoise.
We searched and saw a ton of impala. We drove up the mountainside to glass.
That's the citrus fields in Kirkwood down below - some of the fields under nets.
We covered a lot of ground and only saw a few nyala. The day was a bit yucky. This is a video that does not do justice to the steepness of the mountain road that Arnold took us up. Switchbacks and Dropoffs Just remember that Jumbo was sitting up in the game spotting seat.
At mid-day, we did some outfitter chores and put some oranges out on one of Arnold's hunting properties. The animals love them. He's been seeing a special kudu at this spot. And bushpig.
It was an overcast, drizzly, windy day but the property was perfect looking.
Not so many mountains or rocks but still lots of prickers. Easy walking country.
Eric found this fist sized snail.
We tried a couple different properties and saw kudu, bontebok, oribi, and a few warthogs. But few bushbucks. This was apparently quite unusual for this property, but we gave up to head back for zebra and nyala. Conditions just weren't right. I would like to try again in better conditions.
Quick stop at Arnold's house for a vehicle swap.
We pulled into the nyala property, spotted one immediately, moved to within 300 yards and I got on the sticks. I shot across this valley as he was quartering away. Nyala Cross Valley
He took a couple steps and went down. I had a new scope on my rifle that I zeroed at 100 yards at home. I set the dial based on a ballistics app for a 300, 400, and 500 yard mark. I was only able to confirm the dial at 200 yards before leaving for the trip. This shot confirmed the 300 yard dial mark for the first time.
Another very nice trophy and redemption from my previous miss here,
After shooting the nyala, we hustled back for a chance at zebra on our last night. No luck on zebra again.
The next day we drove to Port Alfred. Bushbuck was on my list and Arnold said this property was the absolute best for bushbuck. It was a couple hour drive down to the edge of the Indian Ocean.
Dinner that night back at the Bushnest lodge,
We had time in the morning before heading to the taxidermist and the airport so Arnold suggested another walk to find zebra. We were on them almost immediately and pushed them a couple times in heavy cover. Eric got on sticks and Arnold picked one out. There was a small window and Eric was too tall on the sticks to get a clear shot. Zebra Attempt Foiled again on zebra. We kept walking.
Eventually we caught them crossing a road and Arnold put Eric on one. He made the shot at 100 yards and it dropped.
I think Arnold was very surprised and disappointed when we walked up on it. He was very young/small. A rare error in judgement by Arnold in judging trophy size on the hoof.
We teased him a little but it is still a stunning hide - just a little smaller rug than anticipated.
We had another great hunt with Arnold and have a bunch of trophies at the taxidermist. The diversity and density of game in the Eastern Cape is amazing. Arnold goes the extra mile and we always have a great experience hunting with him.
It was fun but it's good to be home.
This hunt was less physically intense for me. I shot my three trophies by stepping less than 100 yards from the truck. But we did cover some ground. I had between 8,000 and 15,000 steps a day. Doesn't seem like much but some of them had elevation changes equivalent to 300 sets of stairs. Travel days were 5/13 and 5/22.
The Port Elizabeth airport was a zoo for some reason. It's a tiny little airport and they were having computer and security issues. It took over two hours to get checked in and thru security. But we made it on the plane with 4 minutes to spare. And spent the next 30 hours on planes and in airports.
