Monday, August 15, 2005
A Magic Day
We have had any number of excellent days -- successful hunts taking wildebeest, or impala, or kudu. We had other days where our hunt brought no trophies back to the lodge, but we still saw amazing sights and game. Added to the list from previous posts are zebra, rhino, lion, jackal, hyena, waterbuck, bushbuck, duiker. We have seen new life birds including yellow-beaked hornbills and pied cuckoos. Nothing, however, prepared us for Sunday, August 14.
It was early on in our morning hunt, about 7:45 AM, when the PH's spotted a herd of red hartebeest. "Who is most fit to go walk-and-stalk?", asked Hannes. I grinned and pointed at Elizabeth. She gave me the look, then climbed out of the bakkie and disappeared into the bush with Carl and Hannes.
About 25 minutes later, we heard a single shot, in the distance. After a wait, Hannes emerged emerged from the bush, showing me a bit thumbs-up. He was excited as he climbed into the bakkie.
"That was a HUGE red hartebeest. He must have been very old. I have never seen one that large before. We set up the shooting sticks for her, waited for him to step out into the clearing, and then she made the perfect shot, right through the heart. He went only 7 metres, and then fell down, as dead as can be."
Elizabeth was thrilled with her first success as a hunter. She did not yet know that this particular red hartebeest would probably put her in the record books among the top 5 or 10 women in the world, once properly dried, measured, and certified.
Flush with her success, we hunted until late in the morning, when the PH's spotted a large warthog in the distance. "Come, Elizabeth," they said, and the three of them scrambled from the bakkie to begin the stalk. Hannes took my video camera, to capture this hunt on video. They again disappeared into the bush. The video shows them walking single file, at times bending low to avoid being seen or looking human, until Carl set up the shooting sticks for Elizabeth.
She looked through her scope, and felt a bit shaky after the stalk. "Can I have another minute?", she asked Carl. "No, you must take him now," Carl replied. She squeezed the trigger, and the video showed a good hit. We all scrambled out to join the tracking, but were not really needed as we only had to track the warthog for about 20 metres, before finding him dead as can be. It was another single shot kill. She had placed the bullet just as Carl told her, behind the last rib on the animal which was quartering away from her.
We dropped Pete, the tracker, and Philippe, the skinner at a place where they could skin the animals and place them in a cooler, and went to lunch.
Our afternoon started as well as our morning had. It was my turn to walk and stalk, and I was able to put a very nice gemsbok down, no tracking required. The usual posing for pictures and we were back in the bakkie.
What followed was an extraordinary afternoon for seeing kudu bulls. The kudu is called the Gray Ghost by some, and not all clients who want kudus will see them. This afternoon, we saw at least 45 kudu bulls. One particular bull had the PH's going wild in the back of the truck, as they begged me to shoot him. I declined, saying "One kudu per family," and they were beside themselves. "He is at least 60 inches. You may never see this again in your lifetime." They tried to talk Elizabeth into shooting it, and she declined. I was resolute, and they were biting their knuckles as we moved on.
We moved along, seeing some wonderful sights. Large herds of red hartebeest running back and forth across the plain, and through the brush. Kudu everywhere. A very large waterbuck gazed at us from a moderate distance.
Suddenly the PH's were practically falling off the truck again. "That is a HUGE impala! Elizabeth, do you see him?" She was pretty worn out by this point in the whole adventure. She raised her rifle and peered through the scope. "I don't see him." Arms were quickly extended over her shoulder by the PH's and by Pete, the tracker, to help her find it. "Right there, by that yellow tree. He is looking right at us. He will soon run. You must take him quickly."
She still couldn't focus. "I can't see him." I thought the PH's were going to have a stroke, in their excitement to see this monster impala taken by a client of theirs. I tried to use a very calm voice, and asked, "Elizabeth, would you mind if I took the shot?" She looked very relieved, and said, "Go right ahead."
One shot and a 25 metre stalk later, we were marveling over the size of the impala. 25.5 inches on one side, 26.25 inches on the other. The PH's informed me that I had fortunately managed to join my daughter on the lists of people who had taken world class animals. Once again, there were many pictures taken on the PH's cameras as well as my camera. "That is the largest impala I have ever taken with a client, or myself for that matter," Hannes said. "That is the largest impala I have seen," said Carl.
We returned to the lodge late, about 8:15 PM. The cook had put up diner for us in the warmer, and gone home already. Carl showed the others at the lodge, Jessica, Nick, and Neil our videos from the day. After dinner we sat around the fire outside the dining room, and discussed the day. Across the Limpopo River, in Botswana, we could hear the intermittent rumble of a leopard. After a bit, one of the baboons made a mistake, and we heard the leopard having a meal while the baboons who had not made a mistake shrieked in protest.
As we were going to bed, Carl told us, "I have never had this successful a day with a client before."
Certainly his clients had never before had a day like this, either.
