SA Hunt - Day 6

Last day of hunting and I still need a blue wildebeest.  We spent all day yesterday stalking them unsuccessfully.

Most hunting mornings I had a cold breakfast but I thought it best to be fortified for the last day.

We got in the truck and headed out.  Arnold decided we needed diesel so we took a detour to Kirkwood to gas up.  Yesterday was payday and there were drunks (falling down drunks) wandering on the road at 7:30am. We picked up Winston, headed to the same property and went to high ground to glass.

We saw these waterbuck but not a blue wildebeest in sight.  Arnold thought they felt the hunting pressure and went into thorn cover to hide.  While we drove around and glassed, Arnold contacted other land owners to see if they had blue wildebeest and if their land was available. By 9:15, we were dropping Winston off and heading to a different property. 

At 9:40, we were back in Kirkwood.  Now there were lines 20 people deep at the ATMs and the payday loan window.  Drunks everywhere and vendors selling stuff on the sidewalks.  We went to an orange grove packing barn and met the land owner.  He gave gate keys to Arnold and we headed toward Addo to his hunting property.  We met his caretaker at the gate and entered the property.  As we drove in, a huge herd of springbok ran off.  

We took a short drive on a road under the power transmission lines.  Almost immediately, Jerry spotted blue wildebeest up ahead.  Arnold and I got out to start a stalk and we were pushing impala and springbok with every step.  I was worried that we'd never get near a wildebeest with all these body guards around.  We only walked a couple hundred yards and Arnold spotted one.  He set up the sticks and I shot.  It sounded good but he ran out of sight.

We moved forward and saw him standing further out.  He was quartering away so Arnold told me to hit him behind the shoulder.  I took another shot and it sounded good but the bull ran off.  We followed and saw him wobbling in the distance.  He was facing the opposite direction from the other shots and Arnold told me to hit him on the shoulder.  I took another shot and he went down. Arnold sent Jack on the blood trail and we met Jack at the wildebeest.

He was a fine old bull with beat up horns from fighting.  My first two shots were behind the shoulder and either one should of been fatal.  My third shot was directly on the opposite shoulder. 

We found scars on one leg from a snare wire.  Arnold told us a story about when the owner bought the property and fenced it, he retained an old black man who had been living on the property.  Eventually the man had a fight with his son and the son told the owner that his resident caretaker was poaching his game.  He asked for proof and the son took him to a snare spot where a trophy eland had been butchered for meat after being snared. An eland is worth about $2500 in trophy fees.

Anyway, by 11:00 we were setting up the photo op. This concludes all of the animals included in my hunting package.

Amazingly tough animal that took three direct hits in the boiler room. We took all of the standard photos including the "Hollywood Shot".  It makes the animal look huge. 



 

So then we loaded him up and took him back to the orange grove because the owner wanted the meat delivered there.  We pulled into the packing shed and the orange grove crew watched Jerry and Arnold skin and gut the animal.

We left the skinned headless carcass and the entrails with the crew in the orange shed.  We took the skin and the cape and drove over to the local prep school to a rugby game.  We met the owner there and returned the property keys.  He suggested (jokingly) that the trophy fee should be higher for a successful hunt in 20 minutes on property. 

Jerry did recover one of the three bullets on an opposite side rib. 

While we were skinning, Joan took a walk around the adjoining orange grove. 

She also encountered this passed out woman on the side of the road with someone sitting beside her.

 

Hunting was done and we would be touring for the next two days.  Some additional hunters were arriving at the lodge.  We had kebobs for dinner - not sure which variety of game meat that it was but it sure was good.  Arnold lived up to the job title - Professional Hunter.  He did a great job getting me on animals and getting the shot. Also setting up the photos.