Hi Guys.
My first hunt of the year was a hell of a hunt for a first timer to the Dark Continent, Brian Veer and his daughter Tara! Brian was after Sable, Nyala and Kudu being his main animals. I had decided to hunt two different areas for the species Brian was after. First been the Orange Free State Province and the second being KwaZulu Natal provinces of South Africa.
Our first day had us sighting in the rifles and then off into the field to see what we were in store for. We spotted a group of Waterbuck bull on the side of the hill. We started our stalk. The bull did not give us a chance and headed off quickly. We soon spotted a large group of Lechwe and there were some great bulls in the group. We picked out a real wide and long horned bull and he leaped forward to the shot. He did not manage to go far and our first prize was in the bag. What a fantastic start to our safari. That afternoon had us out in the plains looking for Springbuck and Black Wildebeest. We found three groups of Wildebeest and we tried to close the gap. They knew there safety zone but did not know how far Brian could shoot. 250 yards and down he went to a fine shot by our new Daniel Boon. Even better still that was not to be our longest shot of the safari.
Our next day had us out looking for Kudu, but as we passed this large open plain we spotted a very good White Springbuck. Was he going to give us a shot at him? He finally stopped and I asked Brian if he could make the shot. YES! Was his answer and down went this excellent buck. What a start to the morning! No luck further that morning, but we were rewarded with another gold medal trophy that afternoon. A Red Hartebeest! What a bull. We shot him out of a group of 12 bulls. Brian made a perfect 150 yard shot on him and down he went.
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The next day we were ready to find him. We followed his blood and not far down his trail he lay dead. Wow! What a bull. We took pictures of him and recovered him in no time. The skinners had their work cut out.
We took off to another ranch to look for Gemsbuck. There was game everywhere. It felt like we were on the Serengeti. After plenty of glassing we spotted some Gemsbuck we would like to try and get. We finally closed the gap and Brian made a perfect heart shot on a really fantastic Gemsbuck. When we approached her we did not realise how big she really was. Brian was taking some of the best trophies this ranch has yielded. We were on a roll. Tara was loving the outing too and could not come to terms at the amount of animals we were seen. I kept telling her his is Africa. She just smiled and said it’s surreal isn’t it?
The day did not end there as we were out for the finale hours of the day and again spotted those Waterbuck bull together. Then we spotted him. I don’t know who got more excited. Brian was on him and waited for him to clear and made a great 250 yard shot and down he went.
We got up to him and I could not believe how big he was. I got the recovery team in and we carried him out of the mountain for some wonderful pictures of a wonderful bull. Wow, Wow, Wow! What fantastic trophies we have so far. Great shooting Brian!
We were back out in the field after a light breakfast, but soon knew we were in for a tough day due to the strong winds. We tried for Black Springbuck and yes Sir it was tough. We then got our break as a very good male had not seen us and was feeding towards us in some scrub brush. Brian was on the sticks and he fell to the shot. What a lucky break and a great shot. Fantastic!
That afternoon the wind dropped right down and we knew the Springbuck would settle especially when the sun starts to go down. We peeped over a ground pond wall and there was a single Common Springbuck way out there. I guessed him over 350 yards. Brian wanted to try and make the shot. He lay over the ground pond wall and squeezed off his shot. The buck reacted to the shot. What a shot! We soon found him down and finished him off. A 400 yard shot was to be our longest shot of the safari. A great old male with heavy horns!
This was to be the day for the Sable hunt. We left really early as we had a 2 hour drive to where I had organized to hunt Sable. The brush was thick and we knew there were quite a few Sables in the area. After covering plenty ground and spending many hours in the field without a trace of a Sable we took a break for some lunch and would try again that afternoon. After lunch we spotted a group of Sable with a very good bull in it, at the same time we also spotted a group of Kudu bull too. They gave us the slip, so we went after the Sable. The bull we were after stepped into a clearing and he bucked to the shot. He will not go far I said! What a bull man, so majestic are these beautiful animals. 
The next day we decided to take a day off and visit the sites around Bloemfontein. Brian needed a day off from all that hard work. Work really!! Tara really wanted to visit an orphanage and get out of the warm African sun, which she was lapping up coming from the icy cold Alberta Canada. We set it up and she was in her element. Brian’s heart was also stolen by the kids and he donated some funds towards the home. We then went off to visit a Lion park as Brian was very keen to see the king of beasts in person. Was this going to be his next quarry on his next safari?
Our last day in this area and Brian wanted to complete the grand slam on Springbuck. We had seen some very good Copper Springbuck and this was to be the last one for the slam. We spotted a great buck and the stalk was on. He gave Brian a great chance and he dropped to the shot. Another wonderful trophy! What an end to Brian’s slam! Heading back to camp after some great picture and reminiscing on the safari so far, I spotted a wonderful Mountain Reedbuck. Brian was on him in no time. Bang! Down he went. A great trophy to add to Brian’s bag!
The next day we spent the day on the road heading to the other area were we plan to hunt Kudu, Nyala, Impala and Warthog. After a long drive we settled in and had a great meal, with a good night’s sleep. We were ready for our last few days.
We were to hunt on a 100 000 ace reserve with all of the big 5 on it. This was to be a treat for us. On our way into the park we bumped into a small pride of Lion’s. Wow! Turning down many great Nyala bulls, we finally decided on a wide heavy horned bull. Another wonderful trophy! We had him in the salt in no time. It helps to have great skinners.
That afternoon we found a few small groups of Kudu bulls, but not what I wanted Brian to take. We bumped into a group of Elephants and enjoyed the moment. Moving around and again turning down some good Warthog and Impala, we found the ram we wanted. Down went a great Impala ram to a frontal shot at 70 yards. A great end to a fantastic day!
Was today going to be our day for Kudu? After many hours that morning we spotted a couple of young bull’s but not what we wanted. Later that day heading back into the park after lunch we spotted him with a group of Kudu cows. My heart was beating in my mouth, were we going to get him? Oh yes Sir we had the grey Ghost of Africa. I could not stop telling Brian how lucky we were to get a bull like this.
I nick named Brian, Mr. Lucky because of the quality of the trophies he had got throughout this safari. This was truly a legendary HUNT!
We did not get a Warthog, but that’s a good excuse for Brian to return. We spent some time sight seen the beautiful province of KwaZulu Natal before heading back to Johannesburg in time for Brian and Tara to catch their fly back to Canada.
Brian and Tara thank you for the great laughs and the legendary memories we shared together over the 12 days. Keep warm! Mr. Lucky don’t let anyone rub the mojo off those rifles of yours.
Remember to live it and love it. Keep in the shade until next time.
Legendary Safaris were hunters become legends!
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