Duffield, SASS #23454 Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 Jeanie and I just got home from a hunting safari in South Africa. Our outfitter was Kuche Hunting Safaris. I was the high bidder on this three years ago at a Ducks Unlimited dinner. We would have gone last year, but Covid shut the country down, so we went this year. This was positively the greatest trip that I have ever taken. The hunt was for two hunters and two non-hunters, so we took our friends Craig and Sherrie along. From the time we stepped off the plane we were treated like royalty. Everyone was formally polite, but very friendly at all times. The maids cleaned the room daily and washed and ironed our clothes daily. The chef would fit in with any gourmet restaurant anywhere, and prepared great meals with the animals that we were bagging. My PH has been hunting for over 20 years, and was able to put me on a really nice Waterbuck, Red Heartebeast, Wildebeast, Impala and Gemsbuck, rejecting several of each (except the Waterbuck they don't get much better than he is)before approving a shot. I would have had a really big Kudu except for a bad attack of Buck Fever. We had one heck of a good time, and I have already booked a hunt for next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 Wow! Sounds like the adventure of a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffield, SASS #23454 Posted July 4, 2021 Author Share Posted July 4, 2021 7 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: Wow! Sounds like the adventure of a lifetime. It was! They run a really first class operation. There were several other parties in camp, at least half of them were repeat clients. One man said that he came there every year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 PLZ, post details of this hunt. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffield, SASS #23454 Posted July 4, 2021 Author Share Posted July 4, 2021 Lumpy, The hunt is conducted on Ranches whose owners decided to concentrate on preserving game animals rather than cattle, although some ranches have both. The typical ranch is 35,000 acres up to 55,000 acres and all covered with native vegetation, all of which has thorns. Sharp thorns. The game can be hunted any way that you want to - I saw a bow case come in while I was there. Being that I am old and decrepit, I hunted from the truck. The PHs have four wheel drive diesel pickups with high seats in the bed. The tracker drives the truck slowly along the two tracks while the PH looks for game. When the game is spotted, you can hunt it any way that you choose to. You can get off and stalk it, which I would do if I were ten years younger, or you can shoot from the truck. Or you can establish a blind at a water hole and wait. Had I had the opportunity to hunt bushbuck or wart hogs, I would have been able to have a walking hunt, still hunting just like white tail deer. But you can do it your way, as long as your way is legal and ethical. The game knows what that truck is, and they darned sure know what it means when the truck backs up for a better look at them. We got up at 5:30, had breakfast and went to the ranch of the day for our hunt. There was usually game in sight at any time, the PH determining whether it was mature enough to shoot. Whenever we got an animal, we hunted our way back to the field dressing shed, where our tracker field dressed the animal and then put it into a refrigerated locker. All meat from these animals is either given to the local natives or sold to help finance the operation. At night we returned to the lodge, where there was a fire outside to chat around while dinner was prepared. Unlimited beverages were included in the package, there were no surprise fees for anything. The website is: Kuche Hunting Safaris South Africa – Where it's all about you… They have pretty comprehensive information there. If you have any specific questions, please PM me. Duffield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adolph Vancinghand, SASS #28923 Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 Congratulations on your trip...and welcome to the addiction that is Africa! My wife and I pitched up in Zimbabwe the first time in 1995 and I remember that trip like it was yesterday. Nothing in all my hunting years has equaled that "first safari" experience where EVERYTHING (even the stars above you at night) are new, different and exciting. We'd made that trip to "get Africa out of my system once and for all"...and that turned out to be the biggest lie I've ever told myself. And cowboys seem to fit right in! "Ad" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Ron Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 Howdy, Any caves in the area? I was told old drawings are still on cave walls. I doubt I will ever go. Looks terrific. Best CR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adolph Vancinghand, SASS #28923 Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 3 hours ago, Chili Ron said: Howdy, Any caves in the area? I was told old drawings are still on cave walls. I doubt I will ever go. Looks terrific. Best CR Ron, While I can't speak for RSA, I know that there are cave paintings in Zimbabwe in at least one location (in Rhodes-Matopos Park south of Bulawayo). If you'll PM me your email I'll send a pic I took there in 2002... "Ad" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffield, SASS #23454 Posted July 5, 2021 Author Share Posted July 5, 2021 5 hours ago, Chili Ron said: Howdy, Any caves in the area? I was told old drawings are still on cave walls. I doubt I will ever go. Looks terrific. Best CR There were no caves near where we were, but there are caves with cave paintings in other parts of South Africa. You doubt that you will ever go? So did I until I won that auction at DU. I saved up for three years to take the trip, and have most of that savings left over. You will be amazed at how economical a hunt like this is. The whole trip cost less than my Moose/caribou hunt in Newfoundland did, including airline tickets for two and all incidental expenses. I have now decided that I want to die as the poorest man in the nursing home, not the richest. Duffield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adolph Vancinghand, SASS #28923 Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 A sample of the cave paintings at Rhodes-Matopos south of Bulawayo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Rick Posted July 6, 2021 Share Posted July 6, 2021 What rifle(s) did you take your game with? Doesn't look like a "cowboy" rifle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffield, SASS #23454 Posted July 6, 2021 Author Share Posted July 6, 2021 I took a Remington 721 in .300 H&H, and a Browning A-bolt in .375 H&H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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