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Jesse's Hunting > Hunting Articles > Articles > A Country Boy Goes on Safari - Part 2 of a Series
A Country Boy Goes on Safari - Part 2 of a Series
Brad Swadley - JHO ProStaff
- Dallas, TX
December 11, 2007
The sun was just starting to peek out over the horizon and there was a slight chill in the air when TJ arrived. After we were loaded, Pine, Johan’s dad, followed us through the gate to ensure we got out safely. I could tell Pine desperately wanted to go, but unfortunately, he was unable to. We pulled into the street and TJ coaxed the gas pedal to get the little diesel truck moving. Before I knew it, we were on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Incessant chattering about the ranch we would be hunting quickly took over the conversation, and we followed the GPS unit’s brightly lit screen towards our destination.
We had about a five hour drive to Boshof, and along the way we never really got below 130 kilometers an hour (or so it seemed). The weird thing was, there were actually people passing us! So it took me a great while to get used to the driving methods over there (to be honest I never did, sorry Gus and TJ). We got off the main highway about two hours west of Johannesburg. Fortunately, we weren’t involved in any carjackings or other issues that Johan had cautioned me about. I have to admit, even with the firepower we had, I was a little nervous about something happening the whole time I was there. But I think driving through South Africa added to the trip because of all the people and culture I was to meet along the way.
For clarification, Boshof is located in the Free States. Typically the Free States area is wide open and flat, very similar to West Texas. Small trees dot the area, and lots of dry grass and bushes inhibit this part of South Africa. In some areas you could see endless stretches of land buried in front of the few mountains that pockmarked the landscape. Cattle grazed about listlessly and occasionally you would see some Springbok and Blesbok out in the fields. It was enough to make my hands tremble.
By the time the five hour trip was up and we had arrived in Boshof, I realized just how much the landscape we had driven through reminded me of back home: lots of farms, tractors and other things that accompany rural life in America. Except for the names of the towns and driving on the left hand side of the road, it was hard to tell the difference.
We drove from Boshof out Bosmansrus which was about 10 kilometers and met up with Boeta and Annemie. They run Bosmansrus where we would stay for the next five days. As the others excitedly bantered in Afrikaans, Annemie was kind enough to remind the other South Africans that I spoke English, and that much of the conversation should be in English. Once unloaded, we talked with Boeta about the hunt and the agenda for the next few days. He had everything pretty much planned out, and talked about Reino, our professional hunter while here at Bosmansrus. We could have stayed at Reino’s ranch, but TJ knew Boeta very well and was enamored with his past experience of Annemie’s cooking, so he had us lodge with them for this trip.
Nice Gemsbok
The author's introduction to the African bush had so many animals it was hard to remember the pocketbook. This nice Gemsbok is one of several animals he couldn't resist. |
Talked turned to shooting distance and Boeta was a bit surprised that all we had brought was our .375 H&H Magnums. Johan had originally talked about bringing my Remington 7mm Magnum and his Remington 30-06. But we decided against it about two months before we left. Boeta pointedly told us to sight in at 200 meters, as that was probably the distance most of our shots would require. We took about an hour to do this and were happy with the end product. I also had my SunBuster® SportEnhancementEyewear™ in The Dude™ style frames I wanted to wear, so after cycling through a couple of the different lens colors, I finally settled on the dark green which really helped to make the animals stand out.
We headed back to the cabin and settled in for the evening. We started a fire in the iron kettle and relaxed with some local brew. As we scanned the night skies, you could see everything very clearly. The Milky Way was like a cloud floating overhead, and the South Star shone like a beacon in the night. Boeta said that there were lions on a ranch nearby and occasionally you could hear them roar. Unfortunately we never did, but it was exciting to think about it. Annemie provided a delectable dinner of South African lasagna and vegetables which I devoured. This would go on throughout the stay, as she was a fantastic cook. As Boeta left, he let us in on what the next day’s agenda was to be: Hunting Gemsbok and then attempt to find an Eland time permitting.
We woke up early and ready to go. Unfortunately, Boeta had truck trouble. The old 1969 Ford he was using had a bad starter. So we didn’t get started until about nine o’clock in the morning. Once the repairs were complete, we headed out to the first farm for Gemsbok. Driving through the rural countryside to our destination, we saw several animals, including Blesbok and Warthogs. I was riding with Boeta as the others followed, and he just laughed at my antics as I excitedly kept pointing out new animals that I observed.
Upon arrival, the ranch manager met us. One of the things about this hunt was the fact that on every ranch in the Free States, there was someone there to ride with us and point out which animal to take. Not much for the Professional Hunter to do, (Reino in this case), but for the Free States area we hunted in, that seemed to be a typical thing. Also, we did a lot of hunting out of the back of a truck. A lot of the locals hunted this way, but it was not really what I expected. But we were there for a shortened period, so to cover the expanse of land to get the game we were after, it was almost a must.
We located the Gemsbok and watched them for a little while. To actually see them up close was mind boggling. Realization finally sunk in that I was here in South Africa and hunting. It was such a moving moment that I almost cried. The emotions that were running through me at that time were just unbelievable. I just wish I could have shared this moment with more in my family, but knew that my grandparents were up in heaven looking down on me and smiling. But I was elated that I would be able to share the trip with my mother, wife and daughter and others in the family through the photographs and video upon our return.
We selected the best males to shoot and were given approval by the ranch manager to go ahead and take them. I did notice that some females had a lot longer horns, but we were told not to take any of them. Also, to tell the difference, it was pointed out to us that the females’ horns had a swept-back look while the males’ horns were very straight in nature.
We selected and took two nice, male Gemsbok, and it was exhilarating to get our pictures taken with our first African game. We loaded them up and headed back to Bosmansrus. We then headed out looking for the next animal, an Eland for me, on another ranch. We searched the rest of the evening but to no avail. We then headed back to Bosmansrus where we took two nice Blesbok. These shots came at about 200 meters, so Boeta had been pretty accurate on the distance.
We ate another fine meal, with Boeta doing the braiing for us. Lamb’s tail was an extremely tasty appetizer, and really made the evening for me. Sausage, pork chops and a wide variety of vegetable dishes, including one with pumpkin, rounded out the evening’s meal. Pumpkin seemed to be used quite a bit for cooking in South Africa, a lot more prevalent that what we see here. Johan and I wrapped up the evening by enjoying some nice cold beer and two wonderful Cuban cigars. For a first day, you couldn’t have asked for more. I went to sleep that night dreaming of Eland, with my mind still bouncing around from driving on the rough terrain.
We headed out the next morning, after celebrating Johan’s birthday in search of a trophy Eland. We would hunt Reino’s ranch the next day for Johan’s Eland, but it was rougher terrain than this. So hopefully we would find the Eland this morning because if we didn’t, we would have to move on to the Springbok due to our time constraints. We finally located the herd amidst some thick brush and chased them for what seemed like an eternity.
We finally were able to get them to stop for a shot on a nice big bull. He absorbed the impact of the .375 H&H Magnum and took off. On any other North American game, this would have been a quick kill lung shot. On this behemoth antelope, it seemed like a mere flesh wound. I was finally able to put another couple of insurance shots into it to take it down. The ranch manager proclaimed that this was the largest Eland taken on the property that he was aware of. So my first great trophy had been taken! Photographic evidence was required so we posed and recorded the event to share with everyone. After getting the beautiful animal loaded into the back of the truck, we took the drive back to Bosmansrus so they could start the caping and skinning.
After a quick bite of lunch, we headed out to the other side of Boshof for Springbok. Boeta and Reino’s friend, Jacque, would meet us there. Jacque was a police officer in Boshof, and Reino, in the off season, ran a bar. Boeta did some ranching, along with being a local hunting guide. They had all grown up in the area, and all knew each other on a personal basis. Reino had actually coached a soccer team that Boeta was on. Jacque was a pleasure to meet, and we were able to take two nice Springbok while on his property. I must admit that the driving on the property was quite exciting, as the fields had several termite mounds in them. One made me think we were stuck in a pinball machine, as we bounced around in-between the hardened little red hills that dotted the pasture.
The only bad thing that happened while there was as we were taking pictures, I laid my SunBusters® on the ground and forgot about them, that is until I took a wrong step and broke the lens in half. Later in the evening, I would appreciate the fact that they come with four extra pairs of lenses, as I was able to switch over to the brown set to finish out the trip. One thing that touched me while loading up the Springbok, TJ pulled up some dead grass, gently raised the head of the Springbok, and made a pillow out of the grass. I asked TJ about that and he replied that it was to give them food for their journey home. I thought that was very special gesture.
We headed back to Bosmansrus with only one good headlight to lead the way. I rode with Boeta on the way back and he filled me in on some of the things about Boshof and the great flood back in the 1980’s that had flooded out a lot of the road we were driving on. When we arrived back, we ate another wonderful meal. We went and checked out the caping progress on the Eland and Springbok. The hides and heads were packed in clean salt. Then they were moved to the cooler. We would end up delivering these to Kwiktan ourselves on our journey back to Pretoria. I went to bed and slept hard throughout the night.
The next morning we headed out to Reino’s ranch. The ranch is divided into two sections, with a road splitting them. It is located in a small mountain range in the area, and on top of them, you could see for endless miles, it seemed. The ranch was a fine one, and even had Cape Buffalo on it. The Cape Buffalo were quite expensive, he explained, as he talked about the red veterinary line that separated the “clean” animals from the potentially “diseased” animals. In fact, on our second hunt site, we were right on the edge of the red line. We drove around looking for Eland on one side, and were able to locate some young bulls. We saw a nice herd of Black Wildebeest, but I was trying to watch my budget. We saw no more of these Eland and headed for the other part of the property.
We scoured over and through the mountains, saw some trophy red Hartebeest, and I almost took one. One thing I learned over there, you get excited and caught up in the moment, and you almost forget about the cost. I was like a kid in a candy store on a two dollar budget, but saw five dollars worth of things to shoot. I calmed myself and got back to the task of locating Eland for Johan. We rumbled up a rock path to the top of one mountain to continue our search. From this vantage point, we could see lots of animals. We finally located the Eland and came up with a plan: TJ and I would stay and keep an eye on them, and let the others know which way they were headed. Now, this sounds like a great plan, but soon TJ and I realized we were on top of a mountain, unarmed, and with a herd of Cape Buffalo somewhere in the area. Needless to say, I was a little tense, but after enjoying the scenery, it didn’t seem to bother me as much.
We saw Giraffe, Gemsbok, Hartebeest and Baboons from our vantage point. We watched as the rest of our crew chased the Eland around. Finally, they caught up to them and Johan was able to take a gigantic bull. As I took off down the mountainside to meet up with him, I finally realized how far from him I was. As this thought raced through my head, I realized TJ had went down another direction. Okay, here I am alone on a ranch, with Cape Buffalo and Baboons, with nothing except my camera and a smile. I found the closest fence line and followed it. I encountered some Gemsbok and Zebra, and then the truck arrived. I was quite happy about that!
We loaded up Johan’s Eland and took off for Bosmansrus. Reino stopped off at his ranch to do some paperwork and gave us directions on where to meet him the next day for the paperwork to give the taxidermist. He gave us a quick tour of the lodge before we left. When we arrived at Bosmansrus, Boeta’s next group had just arrived. Most were from the Johannesburg area, and asked us about our days hunt. They had come in to hunt Springbok and Blesbok, and were amazed at the Eland we had taken.
I then went over to watch Boeta as he whipped up a batch of biltong and dry wors. Biltong is similar to jerky, and dry wors is a dried sausage similar in style to a Slim Jim, but exponentially better. Afterwards, we immersed ourselves in talk with the other guests over a nice hot meal and continued later by the fire. Later I called my wife back in Texas to fill her in on the day’s events. I actually called her several times while there, and must admit, my Blackberry did a fine job. At all locations, I was able to use it to call home. It made the trip that much nicer as I could fill her in as I experienced the hunt of a lifetime.
By the time my head hit the pillow, I could hardly move.
The next morning found us loading up the animal skins and procuring a large bag of dry wors and another large bag of biltong. We settled up on the bill and headed into Boshof to meet Reino for the final paperwork for Kwiktan. While at Reino’s bar, Jacque stopped by in his paddy wagon and full Boshof Police regalia. We finalized the paperwork, said our goodbyes, and headed out on our five hour journey back to Pretoria. The trip back was uneventful but full of talk about the past hunt.
We pulled into Kwittan and dropped off the hides and skulls. We were lucky enough to get another tour of the facility, this time from the back where the hide prep is done. It was quite an operation, and from what I had seen, the skins looked very nice as they finished them up. Our skins had done well traveling in the trailer and Winnie and John both gave us high praise for the quality of trophies we had taken. We finalized the paperwork and headed on into Pretoria. Upon arrival back in Pretoria and after answering all the questions an excited Pine could produce, we started preparing for our next leg of the journey, a short trip to Kruger National Park.
This concludes this part of the series. Next up, Kruger National Park.
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