Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa My Turn on the DARK Continent

Welcome back to the MO heat!!! I'm 30 miles south of KC.

Looking forward to the pics and the report!!

TJ, welcome back to the States, happy 4th.
When you do post the photos,,,can you let me know what rifle/bullet combo was used & distance of the shots. I leave for RSA in Sept, hunting the first week of October and I would like to get your views. thanks, John H.

Well sorry for the delay and I most likely can't get it all told in the first go, but I will start to tell the story now.
As mentioned we starting planning over 3 years ago and saving the dollars.
My wife and I both worked our regular jobs on June 7 then went home did our final packing and said our goodbyes to our pets and the son's girlfriend. We headed out about 1:30 AM headed to Kansas City airport.
Flight to Dallas then long flight to Dubai, another long flight to Joberg and we are there, well almost. We were met by Anna of Afton guest house as arranged but there was also a large group from Texas meeting them as well. It seems they were overbooked and Anna said she was escorting us to the "City Hotel" within the airport for our overnite stay. I had heard it was an okay place to stay so went along.
Until she left us at the door to the hotel and left us to fend for ourselves. She gave the impression Afton had booked us a room at the City Lodge and left. The City Lodge had no reservation or record of this but they were able to get us a room even though it was a late check-in. They even set us up for a great breakfast in the morning. So all turned out okay, just not real happy with the treatment by Afton. We made reservations while we were there for our last nite which was also supposed to have been at Afton but by now we took matters in hand and handled it.
Up the next morning caught another flight to Durban and had a pleasant taxi ride to our overnite accommidations. We made contact with our Tour Guide for this portion of our trip and he picked us up promptly at 7 the next morning to begin our tour of the Hluhluwe Game Park and the Drakensberg mountains.
I must take a moment to talk about our tour guide. We booked this tour with "Tim Brown Tours" of Durban and I can't say enough about his level of expertise and knowledge, his great courteous service and attention to detail. Simply superb and when I go back, I will be going with Tim again.
We toured Hluhluwe which is the Oldest Park in South Africa. We also toured a Cat rehab facility and were able to play with and pet a pair of 3 year old Cheatahs and see many other cats of Africa. At Hluhluwe we began with a nite drive and saw 9 Hyeanas on the hunt, Rhinos, Giraffes numerous other game. Back to Hilltop camp for a late dinner and then settled into our chalets for the nite.
Up the next morning early for touring and game drive, breakfast can wait! We caught up with 3 African Wild Dogs on the hunt, another Hyeana fat from feeding through the nite. Rhino's Elephants, Cape Buff and many different birds. Tim's knowledge of the flora and fawna was amazing and his zest for nature makes him a perfect fit for his chosen career path.
After 2 nights at Hilltop Camp, we went back to Durban for one night. Tim picked us up the next morning for our visit to the Drakensburg mountains and the Spionekop Battlefield. We spent another 2 days touring this area with Tim and this was a spectacular portion of our trip.
Stay tuned, the hunt is getting real close.
Les

Here are a few pics to go with first report.

Sneak peek. [img]http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/plumbbob/Africa%20first%20pics/IMG_4948.jpg[/img] [img]http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/plumbbob/Africa%20first%20pics/IMG_4898.jpg[/img]

Nice trophies! Look forward to hearing more details of your hunt.

30mmplumber, to answer you a little quicker. I used the 168 barnes tipped triple shock x bullet. Penetrated deep on everything. only recovered one from Eland with a lot of penetration and missing 3 petals. that shot was quartering towards me. placed just inside the shoulder and I think it was recovered deep into the stomach on a 1300 or 1400 pound animal. I probably would have used a softer bullet such as my favorite Hornady 165 if not for the Eland. Everything else I believe would have been handily taken with that, in fact I loaded 139 hornadys in my wifes 7mm-08 and it worked perfect on Red Hartebeest, Impala and Blesbok.
I loaded the triple shocks in preparation for the Eland and liked the result. It was either that or take my 375HH for everything which I almost did, but my favorite 30-06 won out and did its job quite nicely. Hope this helped some.
Take care, Les

Very nice!

Congrats. Who did you hunt with?

Wow! That Buff pic is outstanding!!!!

TJ (Les),
Thanks for the note on guns & ammo. I will be leaving my 338 home and renting a 30-06 from the PH...I was planning to use the 180gr soft point (local purchase) and the PH told me most shots will be around 200 yards. So, I was just asking for your views.
I think I will be fine, Thanks again.

A few more. [img]http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/plumbbob/Africa%20first%20pics/P1000636.jpg[/img] [img]http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d106/plumbbob/Africa%20first%20pics/P1010016.jpg[/img]

TankerJock

It sounds that other than the Afton House fiasco yours was an excellent trip. My wife and I also went together and it added immeasurably to the joy of being there.

You my friend have an excellent eye for photography (or is it your wife?), and that first photo of the buff is the stuff of dreams. I would put my name on the photo or you will see it published without credit.

Thank you for the non hunting as well as hunting shots.

Randy

Thanks Medicman, Actually most of the photos were shot by my 18 year old son. He was part of the inspiration for this trip. He just graduated high school with excellent grades including 26 hours of college credits, became an Eagle Scout in January and starts college this fall. He is an excellant artist and has a great sense of putting together some great photos. He does not hunt but was along on the entire safari except for my wifes impala.
The past dozen years or so, all of our family vacation time was set up around Boy Scout trips and summer camp. We started planning this 3 years ago to make it a special time for just our family before he heads to college.
I'm gonna miss that boy.

I'm gonna miss that boy.

I'm sure you will. He does have an excellent knack for taking live wildlife photos. It may be a skill he can explore as a hobby or a career. The photos are quite good.

Welcome back and I'm happy for your safari to South Africa. Congrats.

What a cool trip. You've been a great example of a man who includes and is true to his family. Glad you're back. Can't wait to hear about this while you buy me lunch!

Thanks Mike, I'll buy you lunch sometime this week if you call me. I'm usually available for lunch.
Take care, Les

I find well centred kids come from well centered parents. You will miss him for sure, but can and should still be a valued part of his life. Y girlss are of mine and they are 25 and 30 now. You have done a good job.

Randy

Excellent Pix! Love that wildebeest.