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OK, before I start forgetting everything, I wanted to document my hunt last month with Richard Holmes. This was a plains game hunt in the Eastern Cape and had been planned for several years and been postponed due to Covid. I am going to break it up into several posts, over several days, so no one post is too long to read. Also, how do you document a 2 week long vacation in one post..........I cant. I will attempt to document everything as I post but feel free to ask any questions and I will attempt to answer them as I can. If anybody wants to volunteer to post pictures, I will be happy to email them to you. I have never figured out how to post pics on this site.

July 9, 10, 11, 12.......Getting there.

July 9: We were flying Delta out of Atlanta so we decided to drive down the afternoon of July 9th so we would be in Atlanta early and not have to worry about traffic or car problems and God forbid miss our flight. We live about 4 hours north of Atlanta in the mountains of WNC.

July 10: Parked in long term parking at the Holiday Inn Express across from the Porsche dealership in Atlanta. We used Ways to find the long term parking. The Holiday Inn Express was located very near the airport, so it was just a short shuttle to the International terminal. We vastly over packed like I figure most folks do when traveling. Check in was very simple. We were flying Delta One so we went straight to the front of the line and checked our baggage with no issues. The Atlanta terminal was hot and muggy as you would expect on July afternoon. After we checked our luggage, we went to TSA to check in our (my) firearms and that is when the fun started.............

Apparently Delta is supposed to check the firearms at check in and make sure they are unloaded. They will then give you a red card, looked orange to me, saying that the firearms are unloaded. Nobody had told me this and I had not seen it on any travel advisories. So, TSA will not check the guns so back to the Delta counter we go. The check in people at the Delta counter have no idea what I am talking about and don't want me pulling out my guns at their counter. Finally, someone figures out what I need. They give me the red card and I open my case enough that I can shove the card in with the guns. The card is supposed to be in the case when TSA opens it. I am not supposed to be holding the card with the guns. Anyway, back to TSA we go. TSA then searches my gun case thoroughly, I lock it back up and off the guns go. We go hang out at the Delta Sky lounge for a couple of hours. We have a few snacks and a couple of drinks to calm the nerves on flying that far. The plane was an Airbus 350 I believe.

Everything else goes smoothly and we board our flight around 6:00pm. We are flying a direct flight to Johannesburg so flight time is roughly 16 hours. Our seats have their own pods and fold flat. The wife insisted that if she were going, we had to have "the seats that fold flat for that long of a trip." Holy crap they were expensive but after this trip that is the only way to go. The flight was uneventful, lots of naps, no real sleep. I was able to watch Dunkirk on my movie scree. Lamb chops were for dinner, snack was a mini pizza. Breakfast was a quiche and sausage I believe. The food was decent, service was great. I would definitely fly that way again..............if I can afford it.

July 11: We arrive in Johannesburg at 4:55 pm local time. We are staying at the Afton House that night and we purchased the gun permits and the VIP meet and greet through them. We are met at by a fellow as soon as we get off the plane. It was nice to see someone waiting on us to get us through the airport and customs. He escorts us through customs and then to the baggage claim area and helps us claim our luggage, again we had a lot of luggage.........way too much. He then takes us to the SAPS (South African Police) office to claim the guns and passes us off to another gentleman. That guy has my gun permits and we get the rifles claimed. There is some confusion now. The second fellow thinks I need to pay the SAPS 150.00 for my rifle permits. I am certain I have already paid for the permits and am wondering if I am getting shaken down for another 150.00. I stick to my story that I have already paid for my permits. This frustrates this second guy. Anyway, this fellow calls Mister X, yes that is really what he goes by. We meet Mister X and he straightens everything out. Mister X seems to run all the logistics at Tambo/ Johannesburg airport for the visiting hunters and their guns. Apparently it was another hunter that still has to pay for his permits. Tambo is a big, nasty airport by the way. It is not laid out well.

Guns are claimed and we are taken to the Afton house van and off we go. We are very tired. I notice that all the residences we pass have walls around them with either barbed wire or electric wire on top of them. Luckily, the wife did not notice that. We arrive at Afton and are warmly greeted by Elize Bester and her staff. Everything goes well. We met Elize's husband, another hunter from Arkansas, 2 fellows from Anchorage AK, a South African PH and a husband and wife from Australia. The pre dinner conversation and the dinner conversation was very good. There are some very impressive mounts at the Afton house. Dinner was their steak dinner and it was very good. We turned in fairly quickly after dinner because we were tired. We then learned about load shedding. ....... Apparently the electrical grid in SA is so old or mismanaged that there are rolling blackouts for 2 separate 2 hour periods during the day. I use a CPAP so it was a little bit of a start when the power shut off and I was breathing in an empty coke bottle. Luckily, the Afton generator kicked in and all was well. Showers were hot, beds were comfortable. Nighty night.

July 12: Up, showered and breakfast at 8:00. Breakfast was bacon, eggs, toast and fruit if I remember. It was good. Back to Tambo we go. In the daylight now and the wife notices all the barbed wire and electric wires. Luckily we are leaving. Check baggage and meet the guy from the night before. We get guns checked in and paid for. Airlink charges an extra charge for handling guns and ammo. Ammo has to be in a separate hard sided case. Mine was a small pelican case and checked as well. On Delta they want it in your checked baggage, Airlink is different. The guy apologizes for the confusion from the night before about the gun permits. Apparently Elize has called him to straighten it out. I had just casually mentioned it to her last night and she cleared up any issues. It was appreciated.

We are flying out of Tambo going to Port Elizabeth. We are flying just shy of 2 hours on an Embraer 190. Flight goes fine. It has the cattle car feel and Airlink is not Delta. But we arrive in one piece and with all our luggage. Yeah. Port Elizabeth has an old time airport feel. Walking down the steps onto the tarmac. Small terminal. Only 2 luggage carousels. We meet our PH wife and claim my guns. Marian is a delight. We load up our luggage in the back of her Toyota Tundra pick up along with her 2 weeks worth of groceries. She makes a grocery run every-time she goes into PE. Her mother is also joining in on this trip. She is going to visit on the farm. Her mother is a delight as well.

We have about a 4 hour drive north from PE to their farm between Craddock and Graaff Reinet. Along the way we saw monkeys, baboons, kudu cows and other plains game. We are playing typical tourist and taking it all in. Marion is telling us about the local culture, languages, environmental problems in SA and lots of other topics of conversation. She is delightful, smart, well educated and a very good conversationalist. The trip flies by. Soon enough, we arrive at their farm. We are greeted by Richard and the 2 PH's I will be hunting with, Lalasa (?) and Anthony. They give us a choice of 2 places to stay. A rondoval or the lodge. We choose the lodge because it is bigger and will allow us to spread out. Did I mention we have a lot of luggage? The beds are good, mostly twin and 1 double. The floor is stone which is nice but can be a little tricky at night in the dark. The shower is also stone and is huge. The accommodations are nice although a little rustic for the wife's tastes. I am good. Dinner that night is a braai with pork being the protein. Dinner conversation between Richards stories and Marion stories is fascinating. This turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. We turn in after dinner and immediately are reminded of load shedding. No power from 7:00pm-9:00pm. I have to wait until the power kicks on for my cpap. But hey, we are here in Africa.

To be continued.: Going Hunting.

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Great read! Can’t wait for more!



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Going Hunting July 13, 14, 15

So for the rifle loonies out there, aren't we all. I took a left handed Remington 700 300 win mag with a Hart barrel and a McMillian stock. It has a Leupold 6.5X20X50 VX III LR scope on it. The rifle started life as a 270 but I bought it for the action. I shot my own hand loads in it. Federal nickel brass, Remington 9 1/2 M primers, H1000 powder and 180 grain accubonds. This load worked great. I only caught 2 of the accubonds and they both looked like an advertisement for Nosler. They were caught in the blue and black wildebeests. My other rifle is a Ruger Model 77 (left hand) Hawkeye Guide gun .375 Ruger with Leupold Mark 4 3.5X10X40 scope. I shot 260 grain accubonds in this gun. For both guns, all my shots were taken at the lowest power setting. I was overscoped in the form of magnification. I had practiced extensively shooting standing off of shooting sticks..............I only took 1 shot (the kudu) standing off of sticks. All my other shots were from a seated position off of sticks. This was a very stable position for me. I took a bipod as well. It was never used.

The properties we hunted are all high fenced, but in South Africa all properties containing game must be high fenced. Low fenced properties only contain live stock. Do the animals stay in the fencing, some do, some don't. I imagine springbok do, Kudu definitely do not. Now, this is not a canned hunt. The properties we hunted are large. Richards is 8500 acres or 13.28 square miles. For you WNC folks that is 500 more acres than the entire Biltmore estate. Another property was 10,000 acres or 15.625 square miles. The 3rd property we hunted I have no idea of the size. The game was spooky, they had been shot at before. They had lots of room to hide and evade.

July 13: My 55 birthday and it is day one of my hunting trip in Africa. To say I am stoked is an understatement. We check zeros on the rifles. The 300 win mag is on, I have to do a minor adjustment to the 375 Ruger and we are ready to go. There is frost on the ground this morning. The weather is lovely for this mountain boy. First on the list is Springbok, the official animal of SA.

We go out hunting and I quickly realize I am way overdressed. They had talked about how cold it is in Africa this time of year. They are wearing winter coats, toboggans and running the heater in the truck wide open. I guess when your highs are 130 degrees in the summer, cold temps are relative. I am in long pants and 2 long sleeve shirts. I am hot natured anyway and live in shorts and tee shirts in the winter back home. The temperature quickly rises to 70 degrees and I am cooking from the way I am dressed, the truck heater and the ambient temp. I am miserable.

We start glassing and Springbok are everywhere, like rabbits. We finally find a suitable ram, set up an ambush and I get a shot. Springbok #1 walking right to left 200 yards. 300 win mag. Spined, (damn it) I had to put a finisher in it. July 13, 2022 10:50 am. Not happy with my first shot or the way it turned out. I am miserable the way I am dressed. Pictures are taken and we take the animal back to camp. I quickly change into more suitable clothing for me. Luckily I brought camo shorts and t shirts along with a baseball cap. Much better now. I also start rolling my window down in the Toyota Landcruiser so I can have some cooler air and help regulate the temp inside the vehicle. Lunch is eaten and back out we go. Another springbok is on the list. We drive and glass for a good part of the aftrenoon. We are also looking for a good kudu bull. We have seen a lot of kudu cows and young bulls but no mature bulls yet. We eventually find another suitable Springbok ram and set another ambush and I get a shot. Springbok #2 walking left to right 238 yards. 300 win mag. DRT July 13, 2022 4:15 pm. Make a good shot and he is down. That is more like it. Pics are taken and it is loaded up. We had also seen a big kudu bull but he had one of his horns broken off about a foot from his head. I passed on him hoping to find a big bull with both horns. Anyway, back to camp with the 2nd springbok. Dinner was wildebeest stew and sides with a chocolate birthday cake for the birthday boy.

I was much more comfortable on the afternoon versus the morning due to clothing change. I will hunt the rest of the trip in long sleeve t shirts and shorts. My calves take a beating due to the thorns and various stickers but it is so worth it to be comfortable. The weather was like a late Sept-early October day here. Lows in the 30-40s highs in the upper 70s to 80 in the afternoon. Humidity was very low and such a nice change from the swampy, humid weather currently at home. The weather was fabulous.

July 14: We start the day cruising for kudu. We are glassing and trying to locate them as they move from the fields to back up in the mountains in the early morning. It is also their mating season. No luck on locating a good bull. So, we decide to go hunt another farm. We are looking for Blesbok and Blue Wildebeest. Blesbok are just about like Springbok in that they are everywhere. We eventually locate a good ram, make a stalk and I get a shot. Blesbok standing broadside looking left 287 yards. 300 win mag. DRT July 14, 2022 9:35 am. My PH, the driver and the representative from the other farm are very happy with my shot. The blesbok is a very nice one and is DRT. Time for pictures and then it is gutted and loaded up. I noticed Anthony, who does the gutting, keeps the stomach and intestines. This is apparently an important source of protein for the farm workers. They do this for all the animals but the Springbok and Zebra.

We continue driving and glassing. We are looking for Kudu, Blue Wildebeest and Black Wildebeest. We are really looking for Kudu. As we are up in the hills, we come around a ridge and come up on a herd of Blue Wildebeest with a nice bull with them. Game on. They don't immediately spook and give us time to get in position. No stalk here, this was just sheer luck. I get a shot and what feels like a solid hit. They were saying shoot again. They did not need to. I was already racking another shell. I had decided that as long as the animal was on its feet i would keep shooting. One more shot did it. Blue wildebeest Walking left to right 350 yards hit lungs, 2nd shot put it down. 300 win mag July 14, 2022 11:55 am. Pictures, gutting and loading up time. I am really happy. This is a nice bull and a really big animal. I am also happy with my shooting. The animal was hit well and was going down. The 2nd shot just hastened it a bit.

We spend the afternoon looking for a good Black wildebeest bull and finally located one. We tried stalking it and also setting an ambush. No luck. The closest we were able to get was 350 yards but it was on the plains and the wind had kicked up. I was not comfortable with the shot so I passed. The wind seemed to kick up everyday around 11:00 am and stay up until around 4:00 pm. You will notice most of my animals were taken before 11:00 am and after 4:00 pm. This is obviously due to their activities but also due to the wind. We spent the evening riding and glassing for Kudu. Lots of Kudu were seen but no big bulls. Back to camp and dinner. I think dinner was chicken. either way, it was good and plentiful.

Passing on the bull yesterday was weighing on me a bit. The saying, "Don't pass on the first day an animal you would shoot on the last day" kept being on my mind. Did I make a mistake on my Kudu? I kept my thoughts to myself.

July 15: The early morning finds us riding and glassing for Kudu again. More of the same story. Lots of cows, a few small bulls but no big bulls. Dang it. The PH and driver seem frustrated. I am too but keep my feelings to myself. Apparently due to the drought, the kudu had moved out. Yes, they can get through the fences. They were starting to move back in but the big bulls were not back yet. Mid morning we decide we are going to stop looking for kudu and go pursue something else on another property. I think we are going for Gemsbok. We change properties and start riding and glassing for Gemsbok. No gemsbok to be found. Dang.

But...........remember the one horned Kudu from Monday. We trip over him and about a dozen cows he has herded up in a thick creek bottom. He does not get a pass today. I let the PH and driver know and things get exciting in a hurry. We stop and come up with a plan for a stalk. The PH tells me to be ready. It is going to be fast and close. Out comes the 375 Ruger and the scope goes on the lowest setting of 3.5X. This is a great brush gun. We have many eyes watching us as we slowly stalk them along the edge of the brush. They are getting nervous and are about to bolt. We can not find the bull and are worried the entire herd will run. Has he disappeared? We are all perplexed as to where he went. He is truly "The gray ghost". we are all looking hard when he raises his head. He had been feeding in a bush and we could not see either of his horns. We thought he was another cow. The sticks come out and I get on them quick. He is 150 yards away facing me outlined in some brush. He is nervous. I confirm with the PH which animal is the correct one since the brush is interfering with me seeing his horns and I don't want to shoot the wrong one. I also don't want to get nervous by looking at the horns. I ask "The one facing me , Correct?" The PH answer was " Yes, shoot him. Shoot him NOW." There was a certain urgency in his voice. I got a sight picture on the middle of his chest and squeezed the trigger. Kudu Standing facing me 150 yards. 375 Ruger DRT July 15, 2022 9:55 am. The gun roars and the kudu disappears from my sights. The PH and driver are jumping up and down and celebrating. Apparently at the shot, the kudu went lights out and just dropped. He is DRT. We get over to him and he is beautiful and massive. I don't care that one horn is broken. He is mine. I have my kudu. He was #1 on the list. We celebrate. The PH and driver reenact the kudu reaction at the shot. We take a little more time with this one. It is special. Eventually time for pictures, gutting and then loading up and back to camp. I accompany the kudu to the skinning shed. As he is being hung up for skinning we notice blood coming out of the dead center of his chest at his beard. I made a perfect frontal shot on him. The practice was worth it. Lunch is eaten and a plan is made for the afternoon. We will go out about 4:00 pm for impala. I have time for a good 3 hour nap. I need it. The pressure is off and I fall fast asleep.

4:00pm comes and we head out to set up for impala. This is very much like whitetail hunting and I am in my element. The PH knows where they are moving in the evening and we set up and wait. We don't have to wait long. The herd start to come by with the ram trailing. He stops broadside at 150 yards and I send it. Impala #1 Standing broadside going left 150 yards 300 win mag DRT July 15, 2022 4:45pm. He is DRT. This is an absolutely gorgeous animal and even more so in the fading sunlight. A beautiful end to a spectacular day. Pictures, gutting then back to camp. Dinner is Blesbok schnitzel and it is fabulous. That is a great eating animal. Everybody offers congrats on the kudu. Lots of speculation on how the horn got broken. Fighting, shot at and the horn was hit, broke it pushing through a fence, no idea and it does not matter. Of note, Richard said it is a very large bodied animal. He says it is about the 3rd largest Kudu he has ever seen in terms of body size. I am elated and full from a great dinner. I sleep well that night. The 260 Accubond was found and I am told it was perfectly mushroomed. Before I could get my hands on it, it was lost in the skinning shed. Dang it. i would have liked to have had that bullet.

To be continued: Next: Playing Tourist

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Playing Tourist July 16-17

So, in addition to the hunting we also arranged a couple of side trips through Richard Holmes Safaris.

July 16: Today was the day to go explore the South African town of Graaff-Reinet. But first breakfast. Eggs, bacon, toast and some fresh Kudu off the bull I killed yesterday. The Kudu was chewy but good. Aging the meat, like any meat definitely help the chewiness. Graaff-Reinet is located about an hour away from our camp. Honestly, there was not much to see or do in Graaff-Reinet. There was very little shopping that was worth a darn. We checked out a jewelry store and it was minimal at best. I tried to get by the local gun store, Karoo Guns, but it was closed. There was a famous Dutch Reformed Church that was pretty. There was a Graaff-Reinet museum that was semi interesting if you are into that sort of thing. Unfortunately, I am not. A lot of the items in the museum ie: pots, pans, dishes, toys, etc. I had seen in my grandparents house growing up. The was a section that had a collection of guns from back in to day until present. That was semi interesting. I eventually went outside and sat on a bench under a Banyan tree. It was very pleasant and I ended up meeting some South Africans on holiday and had some fabulous conversation with them. That was the most fun.

Lunch was at a restaurant called "The Spur". It was decorated in a South Western US style. Think Plains Indians, war bonnets, spears and grizzly bears..........In South Africa? It was apparently the hot place to be as it was covered up. The food was decent but the food at Richards and Marion's was way better. I had pork ribs and fries. There is a local training center for the South African Police and their cadets were everywhere, literally hundreds of them were all over the town. It must have been their day away from their classes. They were all shopping.

The afternoon was spent at the Valley of Desolation in Camdeboo National Park. Now, this was fun. It was a drive up into the mountains that ended at an over look of Graaf-Reinet and the surrounding valley. There were some spectacular views and it was well worth the trip up there. We eventually worked our way back to camp. Dinner was a shepherds pie with some kind of wild game that we never figured out what it was, but it was good.

July 17: Day 2 of playing tourist, off to Mountain Zebra National Park. This park is about an hour away from our camp. This park is 109.7 square miles in size or about 70,208 acres. This was definitely worth the price of admission. We saw Mountain Zebra, hence the parks name. They are different than the Burchell's Zebra that we would be hunting. We saw all sorts of plains game to include Kudu, Springbok, Eland, etc. We also saw mongoose, meerkats, and monkeys. These animals are not hunted, at least by us, so we were able to get close to them for easy picture taking. We did see Rhino poop but unfortunately no Rhino. The high light of the day was when we were glassing an Eland. My wife and the PH were focused on the Eland and I happened to be looking around. I said to myself, "Hey, those rocks on the ridge look an awful lot like to lion heads." Then the rocks moved................ Lions!!!!! There were 4 of them,. There are only 7 lions in that park so we felt really fortunate to see them. We ended up watching them for at least an hour. They were very patiently stalking the Eland we had been watching. We never got to see if they make a kill. The lions blended in to their background extremely well. Even when we knew they were there, if they stopped in the shade or in the grass, they were still very difficult to see. The PH had been in the park several times and had never see Lions. We were elated to say the least. Lunch was in the park and was a pork rib special. We also had Springbok carpaccio. Raw Springbok. It was tasty. We left the park about 4:00pm to avoid the crazy traffic that was supposed to be out on a Sunday evening with all the taxis taking people home from the weekend. Apparently it is very dangerous. Dinner was a dish with Kudu and it was tasty.

To be continued: Next: Back to the Hunting

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Congrats! Looking forward to the pictures.

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Congratulations DR!! Sound like you had a great adventure and made a lot of great memories!!!

It's also good to see that you're taking a bit of time to do some sightseeing of some of what Africa to offer.

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Damn, it was my birthday too. I could have tagged along and carried your stuff.

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Back to the Hunting July 18, 19, 20

Thanks for the comments........ and the offer to carry my stuff. Did I mention we had a lot of luggage. LOL

July 18: Black wildebeest is on the ticket today. We go out to the other farm where we had seen the good bull a few days earlier on July 14th. We end up locating a good bull in the same area. It may have been the same bull since the bulls tend to be territorial. We set up an ambush in the middle of the plains near one of the only big bushes. This must have been a frequently used spot because there was wildebeest poop everywhere. Eventually the bull fed closer to us. I don't think they have the greatest eyesight since they tend to hang out with other animals that serve as their look out. Anyway, I was set up and steady, no wind today, and was able to take a shot at 400 yards and make a good hit. The animal stayed on its feet and ran in a short circle which actually brought it closer to us. I don't think it knew where we were. It was hurt bad and was going to go down but it was still on its feet. Since it was still up, I took my first and only Texas heart shot of my hunting career. A 280 yard Texas heart shot put the wildebeest down for good. Black wildebeest, standing broadside looking left, 400 yards hit lungs, 280 Texas heart shot finisher 300 win mag July 18, 2022 9:30 am. Pictures, gutting etc soon followed. Of note, the Texas heart shot entrance hole was almost exactly 1 inch below the animals butt hole. I was pleased with the shot placement but will continue to try to avoid this shot in the future. I made an exception because the animal was wounded. This was the second accubond that was recovered that I have in my possession. Perfect mushroom shape. Back to camp we go.

That afternoon was spent riding and glassing for a good Gemsbok bull. We did not have any luck locating a bull that we wanted to take. We also knocked off a little early due to the PH needing to do some family obligations. Dinner that night was Zebra steaks and it was fabulous. I was some of the best steak I have ever had. The flavor was very mild and the meat was really tender. Lions and the French are on to something. I also heard horse was Geronimo's favorite meat. Fabulous dinner conversation and then off to bed. It was going to be an early morning to make up for an early quitting time today.

July 19: Up early and out before sunrise. It is a beautiful morning. Gemsbok and Zebra are the plan for today. Momma wants 2 Zebra. 1 for a wall hanging and another for other projects (pillows, handbags, seat covers, etc.) The pressure is back on. LOL. We locate a herd of approximately 40 zebra but are having difficulty getting close to them. I hear they have eyes like an 8X binocular. We eventually decide on a strategy. The PH and I get set up near some bushes for cover and the driver and 1 of the skinners are going to try to drive the heard close enough to our hide for a shot. We try this a couple of times but the zebra are not cooperating. They are staying several hundred yards away. My PH is getting frustrated and the zebra have run off from us and the skinner a ways. We are thinking about trying something else when the zebra start moving our way. For some unknown reason they start coming right towards us. I think they have no idea were we are and are trying to get to the area where we are. Anyway, we are on top of a small rise and they come up over a ridge about 175 yards away. They are in a large group and I don't want to risk hitting another animal due to a pass through. I am on the sticks, sitting and steady. Eventually a zebra comes up by itself slightly following the main herd. The PH says to shoot it. It is ranged at 150 yards, so I do aiming for the chevrons. Zebra #1 broadside walking to the left at 150 yards. Stood for maybe 30 seconds then went down where it stood. DRT 300 win mag July 19, 2022 9:30 am.

At the shot, Zebra #1 stops walking and just slumps with its head down. I prepare to shoot it again since it is still standing. My PH says no, it is going down. He actually says get ready to shoot another zebra. The herd has run off about another 100 yards and stopped. They are milling around and uncertain what just happened. They are confused. I am trying to pick out another Zebra but the herd is all bunched up and moving around. I am also trying to watch Zebra #1 which is to my right. It is still slumped and about to go down. Eventually, more like less than a minute, a zebra separates from the herd to the right. Both the PH and I see this and he gives the go ahead to shoot it. Range is 255 yards. Aim for the chevrons again and send one. Solid hit but it steps back into the herd. They mill around for just a second then decide to run off. Or at least all but 1 run off. Zebra #2 is standing there slumped up as well. We quickly confirm that it is the same zebra I just shot. It is confirmed so I send another and Zebra #2 is down all within less than a minute, probably 30 seconds. Zebra #2 broadside going left 255 yards, 2 shots both lung DRT 300 win mag July 19, 2022 9:30 am. Check back on Zebra #1 and it is down. 3 shots, 2 Zebra all solid lung hits and all down within steps of where they were shot in less than a minute. We are all excited. Zebra #1 is a medium sized male zebra. Zebra #2 big. He is a large male zebra. Pictures and gutting commence. Zebra #1 is loaded by 4 of us. They call for reinforcements for Zebra #2. Since I am helping, we attempt to get Zebra #2 in the truck. With some considerable effort and planning, we are able to get Zebra #2 loaded just as reinforcements arrive. The truck is seriously loaded down, that is a lot of meat. Back to camp we go. Momma is happy with the 2 different sizes of zebra. Lunch is whatever was packed in the cool box and leftover zebra steaks. The zebra steaks are just as good today as they were yesterday.

Lunch is quick and we are back at it. Gemsbok time again. We ride and glass a good part of the afternoon but to no avail. They tell me there are Gemsbok here and we will find them. A front has come through and it has gotten really windy. I have my first, and only miss today. I have asked to shoot a black Springbok if we get the chance. We locate one as we are out and I take a shot. I believe the range was around 350 yards but I don't recall. Either way, I missed. The wind is higher than I realized and the PH says I shot just in front of his chest. We discuss it and decide the wind blew me enough to miss. Dang it. I hate the wind.

The Gemsbok are hiding well on the 8500 acres. Eventually late in the afternoon we locate a good bull. We make a stalk and I get into position. The herd has probably 20 animals in it. They are milling around and walking and I am having extreme difficulty picking out the correct one to shoot. To quote: "He is 7th from left, he has one behind him, he is behind one now, he is now 6th from right.........." Argh. They all look alike to me. I understand that is how herd animals are to confuse their predators. It is working well. We are all frustrated. Finally he ends up standing broadside looking left and I get on him at 260 yards. I shoot and forgot about the wind, gut shot. Damn it. The wind. He takes off and the chase is on. He breaks away from the herd and stops momentarily. I get another shot at 310 yards. We hear the hit but he remains on his feet and takes off again. We are back in the truck and following him. He gets into a thick, brushy creek bed and we are attempting to locate him. We are cruising the edge of the brush attempting to locate him. We eventually spot him laying on the opposite bank in some thick brush watching us. He runs but does not go far. When he stops again, I have my .375 Ruger ready and shoot him square on his front shoulder as he is slightly quartered to me. That ends that. Gemsbok standing broadside looking left 260 yards (gut shot) 310 yards 2nd shot, unknown hit. 300 win mag. Finisher to shoulder 75 yards in creek bed 375 Ruger July 19,2022 4:00 pm. We are glad that we got him and he is a beautiful animal but I am disappointed in my shooting. He is squarely gut shot. I messed up the first shot. We did not find the second shot. I will look when i get the hide back. The finisher was square on the shoulder. Pics and gutting follow. He died on the creek back so the PH and driver are happy. They are able to back the truck up and slide him straight into the back. Easiest loading job ever. I guess that is something to be happy about. Beautiful animal, it just did not go down as planned. I don't recall what dinner was but I am sure it was good. All the meals at the camp were delicious. Of to be for tomorrow is my last hunting day.

July 20: The last hunting day: We are going to wrap the hunting up today. I have a blesbok, impala and gemsbok left on my trophy list. I am good on the blesbok. I would like another impala. And after yesterday, I don't want another Gemsbok. I have talked to Richard a few days earlier and am going to swap a Gemsbok for a black Springbok.

We are out and hunting early today. We find a black springbok fairly early. There are at least 2 on the 8500 acres. This one is a nice ram. We try to ambush him, stalk him and drive him......all to no avail. He is on to us and is doing a great job avoiding getting near us. He eventually leaves the country and the game is over. No chance on him.

We go out cruising and driving again looking for impala and another black springbok. Apparently male springbok stake out territories and we found the other black springbok on his territory. We put on a stalk and get to within 295 yards of him. He is aware of us and is playing peek a boo behind some bushes. He wants to run but does not want to leave the females. Any closer and he will run. I get set and steady. He continues playing peek a boo and I get my nerves in check. He finally decides we are not a threat and comes out from behind a bush at 295 yards. He is broadside. I get the OK to shoot and send it. He is down. A perfect shoulder shot at 295 yards. Did I mention there was no wind and that I hate wind? Springbok #3 (black one) broadside looking left. 295 yards 300 win mag DRT July 20, 2022 10;00 am. Pictures and lots of congrats go around. He has a broken horn and they know this springbok. Anthony, the driver and other PH has been trying to kill this animal for a couple of years with several different clients and has been unsuccessful.............until today. This is an old, broken up, tough animal. I am very happy with him and even happier with the shot. I feel a little redeemed. We gut him and load him up.

We are headed back to camp but are going to see if we can find another impala ram on the way. We get lucky and trip over anther nice ram. We have seen several over the trip but they all had "soft bases" which apparently means they are not fully formed and will shrink when they get to the taxidermist. Anyway, I get set up and get the OK to shoot. Impala #2 standing broadside looking left 150 yards 300 win mag DRT July 20, 2022 10:55 am. A perfect shot and he drops. I am elated. Beautiful animal, perfect shot, but I am done with my hunting. I savor the moment for a bit. I can't believe I am here..... I can't believe it is over. Pictures, congrats, gutting and then back to camp. I have time for a nap this afternoon. After a short nap, we continue lounging around and just enjoying everything. We get our luggage organized and ready to go for in the morning. I settle up with Richard for some items we brought him and some items we bought from him along with tips. Everyone always asks about tips. My answer is do what you can afford and you think is right. I used a tipping guide that I found on the AfricaHunting.com. You can find it by Google. It made the most sense to me and I used it as my guide, but you do you. I do think if you can ask what they need before you go over and take those items with you that would be appreciated. I took a set of hand held radios over with me. If I knew what they needed I would have brought more. It is difficult to get stuff from the US because it gets stolen in route. Dinner was another braai. I believe it was Kudu this time. It was fabulous. Off to bed as tomorrow was another early day.

Next: Back to PE, Playing tourist and then home.

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Great report. Sounds like a great hunt as well.


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Back to PE, Playing tourist and then home. July 21, 22, 23, 24

July 21: Up and at it early. Marion is taking us back to Port Elizabeth and has some stops and shopping she has to do. She wants to leave by 6:00am so we are on the road early after a good breakfast and good byes are said. The 4 hour drive is uneventful with the usual monkeys and game spotted as we drive in. Marion's mother joins us as she is going back home. The are both delightful company. We get to PE and Marion takes us to their version of a farmers market. It is crowded and noisy but apparently the safest place because all the vendors are sitting on a box of cash and they are all armed. They say the vendors look out for the customers since they don't want the customers messed with. It is a culture shock for this mountain boy from NC. There are all types of produce everywhere but what I notice is all the citrus and pears. We get done with what we need to do and then move on.

After I retired from education and law enforcement, I became a real estate agent. I am currently associated with Keller Williams. I ask Marion to run us by the KW office in PE. She graciously accepts our request. We spend about 20 minutes in the office with the local agents. It is really interesting to compare notes with agents from other countries and see what is similar and what is different about their jobs versus mine. We exchange business cards, emails and Facebook profiles and then we are off. We are staying the next 2 nights at the Beach Hotel in PE. Marion drops us off about 12:30pm at the beach hotel and we say our final goodbyes. Our room is not ready so the staff store our luggage and we head to one of the restaurants at the hotel "The Verandah" for a bite of lunch and some libations. Lunch was a Springbok carpaccio as a starter followed by cheese burgers. It was quite good and the gin and tonics were as well.

Eventually our room is ready and we get settled in. The Beach Hotel is an old colonial hotel with not elevators, AC or heat, but none is needed. The rooms are very nice and spacious. We had a balcony that overlooked the Indian Ocean. I would stay there again. We took naps and basically hung out at the hotel the rest of the evening. Dinner was back at the Veranda. We ordered a couple of their pizzas. They were good and provided leftovers for breakfast the next morning. Off to bed.

July 22: We are up early for a day trip with Raggy Charters. We are going out on Algoa Bay in the morning for whales, dolphins and sharks. The afternoon will be spent in Addo elephant park. We are picked up at the hotel by Alan, the owner. He is in a newer 4 door land cruiser. He was born in South Africa but has spent some time working in and around New Orleans. He is a very nice guy.

We end up at the Nelson Mandela Yacht club and board the boat to take us on our tour. There are numerous countries represented on the boat. We are the only Americans. There are people from SA, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Great Britain. Apparently they saw a rare bird, Snowy Sheathbill, yesterday. This bird came up from the Antarctica. Word got out and the boat is full with lots of bird watching enthusiasts. We spend some time on the bay and see humpback whales, bottle nose dolphins and the endangered Indian Ocean hump back dolphin. No sharks were seen. We eventually head out to St Croix Island to look for the Snowy Sheathbill and other birds. We see gulls, gannets, African penguins (they are tiny) but no Snowy Sheathbill. Apparently it was seen again on the 24th of July. We met a nice young lady who owns "Pro Dive", a scuba diving shop and tour company in PE. She is originally from Great Britain. She is very interesting to talk to and a world of information about the local area. She is also the only other person on the boat, besides us, that is not worried about getting splashed by the waves from the boat. Everybody else is huddled up in the cabin worried about getting wet and complaining about being cold. Not us, it is refreshing to us. Eventually we get really soaked and it is a bit much but we are dressed appropriately. The water part of the tour runs late and we eventually head back in. We eat lunch at one of the local restaurants. I don't think it is the one at the yacht club. I have the Hake and chips. It is tasty. We eat quick because we are running late for the land part of the trip.

After lunch, Alan takes us to Addo Elephant Park. He is working really hard to try to get as much in since we are short on time. We end up seeing elephants, lots of elephants, bulls, cows calves and they are close. We also see several species of plains game to include zebra, kudu and warthog. My favorite was the Cape buffalo. we saw several big bulls. They were most impressive. We end up staying in the park as late as possible. Alan worked really hard to try to get us to see as much as possible. Unfortunately no rhino, lion, leopard, hyena or cheetah were seen. The big predators stay hidden really well. We head back to the hotel after dark. Alan, along with Marion makes note that a large section of the streetlights on the highway are not working because the copper has been stolen out of them. Crime is really becoming an issue in SA. Corruption is rampant.

We get back to the hotel and decide to eat dinner at one of the other restaurants on the premises, "Ginger The Restaurant" It is quite nice. We have a trio of raw, carpaccio, crocodile, springbok and kudu as an appetizer. The crocodile has an earthly taste to it. I imagine what raw frog legs would taste like. The raw kudu and springbok are very good. Dinner is SA venison and tonight it is kudu. Wine and dessert are also consumed. ut, the highlight of the evening is the company. Remember Keller Williams? I was contacted shortly after visiting by an agent. She was not at the office but wanted to know if she could meet for a cup of coffee. Our schedule being tight, the only time we had was this dinner. We called her as soon as we got back from Addo and she was able to join us. It was an absolute delight to meet her. We all compared notes on life. She has a daughter the same age as ours. They are both in college. Hers is as a college in St. Louis, Missouri. The 5 year plan for the family is to leave SA and move to the US. She was a delightful person and I bet we talked for 3 hours. It was another highlight and we are now friends on Facebook. eventually we are off to bed because tomorrow is a long day.

July 23: Up and at it. Travel time. The next bed I sleep in will be my own but it is a long ways away. We take a shuttle from the hotel and get to the PE airport around 10:00am. It is a small airport and we get checked in. I am sent to pay for the extra handling fees for the guns. The lady that is taking my money for the guns tries to say I owe for extra weight for the baggage. This has already been paid for. We go back and forth until I pull up an email from SA Airlink and mention the person's name that said it was already done. Whomever that person was must be of some importance because the shakedown immediately stopped and everything was solved. Did I mention corruption was bad? We eventually load the plane. This one is a 737 and off we go. This ride is a bit rougher but we eventually arrive in Johannesburg around 2:30pm. Our Delta flight is not until 10:00pm that night.

The original plan was to go back to the Afton house for our layover but in looking at time and check in procedures, Mr X, remember him, decides we should just hang out at the airport. That sounds fine by us. We get all our luggage and they park us at a restaurant with our luggage carts. We order a couple of burgers, drinks, etc. and just hang out and people watch. I notice one of our bags is unlocked. I am certain it was locked when we checked it at PE. More on that later. The Delta gate opens at 5:00pm and we get our luggage checked in and then off to find a lounge. We hang out in the lounge, eat, nap and generally goof off. We are told to be at our gate at 8:30pm due to TSA check in searches. We arrive and they have a bunch of airport workers doing searches of us and our carry on bags. They are not very through but they do take the half consumed Coke from my wife. Their search techniques did not instill confidence. We eventually board and we are on our way.

We are both exhausted in the best possible way from running so hard on vacation. We fight to stay awake for dinner. Dinner is a steak and side items. It is good. I rack out after dinner. When I wake up and check the flight path on my monitor, we are about halfway over the Atlantic. I must have really racked out. I watch the movie 1917. The snack was a charcuterie board. Breakfast is a quiche and sausage. We make good time and land around 8:00 am Atlanta time on Sunday July 24, 2022. Back on American soil.

July 24: Unload in Atlanta. It is warm and muggy, swampy is the best description. There are people at the gate randomly checking people for their Covid vaccine. We don't even slow down or make eye contact. We go to baggage claim and I take my wife's carry on luggage. She goes to get a couple of carts. As I am putting the baggage down, a Home Land Security agent and a beagle sneak up on me. The dog is sniffing around the carry on baggage. I have been around drug dogs a fair bet so I am seeing if he alerts. I am not carrying anything but the dog will not move on. No alerts such as barking, pawing or sitting down but he continues sniffing. Eventually the agent asks if we have any food in the bag. My wife gets back and tells him yes. He asks if it is biltong. Yep, she bought a bunch at the airport to bring home. Apparently that is a NO NO. He takes her passport and says we will have to come see him when we claim our luggage. I tell him I have to get guns as well. He decides to just take the biltong and returns her passport to her. So much for our crime spree.......Guns get claimed. They want your hunting boots as well to decontaminate them. Make sure they are handy to dig out of your luggage or better yet, wear them as I did. They had no answer when I asked about all the other shoes on the tourists feet that were not being decontaminated, just the hunters............. Anyway, shuttle back to parking and then head towards home. Atlanta traffic was easy on this Sunday morning. We ate lunch at a Fuddruckers in SC. We get home about 2:00pm. We get the car unloaded and wife orders a pizza to be delivered to the house. In 26 years of living here we have never had any delivery food to the house. Hell, i did not know they would come out here. We eat and lay down for a nap at 5:00pm. Daughter gets home from work around 7:00pm..............I think. We slept right through it until 6:00am the next morning. Our daughter brought in the rest of the luggage which I had accidentally left on the porch. I never do that. She realized we must be exhausted so she let us sleep. We had our reunion the next morning.

Conclusion: This was a fabulous trip. Everyone has been calling it a trip of a lifetime, but I hope to have many other trips to various places so I am not calling it that. Richard, Marion and their staff were a delight and a pleasure to work with. They helped us navigate getting to and from SA and everything in between. The game was plentiful and wary. I am pleased with the quality of the game as well. I could not recommend them highly enough for a safari. They also made my wife's part of the trip pleasurable as well. She stayed in camp when I was hunting. She and Marion became friends. Marion explained the Karoo Cats Conservation Trust that they have and took her up at feeding time most days. She also let her be around when they gave the monkeys their morning snack. My wife really enjoyed just hanging out and watching the monkeys. Richard and Marion were wonderful hosts and were kind enough to answer all our numerous questions. Again, I could not recommend them any higher.

Couple of notes: If you are going to go as far as Africa, take the time to do and see everything you want to see. It takes so long to get there, do it all. This is the first vacation I have ever returned from that I said, "I did it all." I got the full Africa experience that I wanted. I have no desire to shoot a lion, leopard or Cape Buffalo. I shot all the plains game I wanted. I saw what I wanted to see. I left Africa feeling like I accomplished everything i wanted. For me, that is extremely rare. I could not do it better if I had to do it again.

If you can, use an American Express to buy your airline tickets. We did. Remember the unlocked bag we found in Johannesburg…… Well, my wife had put some of her camera accessories in that bag. When we were finally able to check the contents when we got home, all those accessories were gone. This was not bases, batteries or memory cards but a bunch of other things that I don’t know about. That is her hobby. We reported the loss to AMEX and they have already paid for the loss. Excellent service. I will use them again.

Make sure you know what you paid for. This was not an issue with anyone associated with Richard Holmes safaris. But, other people ie: airlines and SAPS will try to get you to pay for services you have already paid for. Corruption is bad. Document what you paid for and be prepared to stand up for yourself. They are looking at you as a dollar sign and an easy target. Don't be either.

Lastly, have fun, roll with it. You are in Africa hunting. Obviously, Life is good.

If you got this far, thanks for taking the time to read about my adventure. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Thanks,

DR

IC B3


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