The hunting day started as normal. Breakfast at 6:30, depart at 7:00. We were going back to the same property as day 1 so we picked up Winston again (owner's tracker). He got us thru the gate, Jerry and Winston went up in the seats in the truck bed, and we started to tour. They spotted a group of blue wildebeest almost immediately.
Arnold and I rolled out of the truck and prepared for a stalk. He spent a long time at the back of the truck talking to Jerry and he eventually came up and told me that we had a problem. Apparently, when the truck was washed out yesterday from the warthog and the gemsbok, the shooting sticks were left in the skinning shed. He had only short (sitting) sticks. We decided to make a stalk and see if we could use them or find a tree branch to rest the gun on.
We walked in on 10 or so blue wildebeest. The brush was high and the short sticks were useless. We got busted before we could find a rest and identify the bull that we wanted. The herd started running. Arnold was pissed because it was a good opportunity that we could have capitalized on with the right sticks.
We walked back to the truck and he decided to just drive back to the lodge for the sticks. As we started driving out of the property, a blue wildebeest bull was standing beside the road. He hit the brakes, we rolled out of the truck, he sat down with the short sticks and I started to join him when the bull put it in gear and cleared out. Now he's really pissed - two good opportunities blown due to missing shooting sticks.
We high tailed it back to the lodge, picked up the shooting sticks, and headed back toward the hunting grounds. The resident giraffe was hanging out by the gate as we made our exit.
Arnold spoke to Winston and they decided to access the property from a back gate. We tore up a dirt road and turned into another dirt road. We had to pass thru 6 or 8 gates over about 10 miles before we got on the back side of the hunting property.
We drive some more and got to high ground to glass. Then we drove some more looking for animals. At about 11:00, we stop for an early lunch.
After lunch we drive some more and spot a herd of blue wildebeest. We start a stalk and work our way closer. They move off casually and we keep following. As we're getting to where we can see them, a stampede of cattle and zebra come running towards us from the right. There is no obvious explanation for what they were running away from. Their movement makes the wildebeest nervous and we can't stalk any closer. Arnold sets up the sticks and tells me to take a shot. It looks like a long way to me but I take a shot and miss. They're gone.
We drive some more and see a few small warthog. Arnold suggests that I take a cull warthog but they're gone before I can take a shot. We drive some more and spot a lone bull in the distance. Arnold, Jack (the dog) and I make a long stalk and get within reasonable range on a big bull. As I'm setting up on the sticks, Jack the dog gets in front of us and the bull sees him. He puts on the afterburners and is gone before a shot is possible. Arnold conveys his displeasure to Jack (using his shooting sticks as the means of communication).
So, we're back to glassing and looking for wildebeest. Arnold gets elevation wherever he can to try to spot a bull. As we're driving around, we see large herds of blesbok, kudu cows and impala. Eventually a lone bull is spotted in the distance. He seems to be hanging out with a zebra or two. Arnold, Jack and I make a long stalk. Visibility is not good due to heavy brush cover. Arnold has him spotted and we are working closer and closer. We're probably within 100 yards but can't see him due to the brush. We're maneuvering for a shooting lane and an impala spots us. As we're trying to get out of his field of view, I bump the gun barrel on a branch and the impala sounds the alarm. Wildebeest, zebra and impala are out of there. No shot.
As we're walking back to the truck, we spot cape bat eared fox and we walk to within 15' of them. Arnold sends Jack on them and they go for a run. Now it's 2:20 and we start the drive again looking for wildebeest. We go to some high ground and spot them in the open near a pond. Arnold and Winston decide that the best strategy is to drive straight at them and push them down to some dry creek beds where the cover is thicker. That part went exactly as planned. We get out and start a stalk for them down in the low cover. We bump them a couple times and then they catch our wind and clear out. Now it's 3:30 and we start the search again.
We drive for miles looking for them again. This property is huge and they have many places to hide. The fence line in the picture goes for miles to the base of the mountains. At 5:20, we call it a day. We had seven stalks and one missed shot. Busted without a shot on the other six tries. It was a long day with lots of walking.
There was a lot of this stuff - is it sage?
Joan had success in Port Elizabeth. She bought an unset tanzanite stone.
She and Nico also had lunch at the beach and toured some of the historical areas of town.
We had this beautiful pasta dish for dinner. As we were sitting down to eat, Joan made a comment about not wanting to eat that ugly warthog. Our hosts went strangely silent. After dinner, Kerneels told me that we ate warthog and he wouldn't serve it again since Joan was opposed to it. He said they wouldn't tell her what she ate. I told him that it was fine, we enjoyed it. It really was good. When we went to bed, I told Joan what she had for dinner.
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