CRUISER SAFARIS 2010 Client Newsletter.

LANCE & CHARLOTTE CASKEY – Texas

Animals taken – Zebra, 2 – Impala*, Waterbuck, Blesbok*, Red Hartebeest, Kudu* (50 ½”)

Highlights:

3/12 - After over a year of planning, we were finally on our way to DFW airport for the start of our trip. Weather in ATL caused us to miss our flight to JNB, and Delta quickly absolved themselves of any responsibilities and rebooked us on the 3/14 flight from ATL to JNB and put us on standby for the 3/13 flight. This was incredibly disappointing and stressful. I immediately called Cruiser Bob to let him know that we were either going to be late or were not going to make it at all.

3/13 - After spending the night in a hotel in downtown ATL, my wife and I spent a few hours at the ATL Aquarium and Coke museum before heading back to the ATL airport to see if we could make the 3/13 flight. Luckily, we were the last 2 passengers on the standby list to make the flight. The gate agent told us to just find the last 2 empty seats and take them. We did not get to sit together on the 15.5 hour flight over, but I was able to sit next to another hunter who was headed to MOZ to hunt elephant and hippo. We talked for a long time and my anticipation steadily grew.

3/14 - We are finally on the ground at JNB and waiting on our luggage that never showed up in the baggage claim area. Luckily, the last thing we did during packing was throw a set of hunting clothes in our carry-on bags. Johan met us right outside the customs/immigration area and was helpful getting us some Rand and a cell phone rental so that we could call home and check on the kids each night. We filled out all the paperwork with the Delta baggage claim folks and left the keys to the gun case and the forms with them. They would have to get the gun through the SAPS office. Finally, we were driving and arrived at camp around 11 p.m. After meeting the staff, we were off to bed.

3/15 - Off to the gun range to make sure the rifle we are renting is sighted in. I met Hans who would be my PH for the trip and Frakkie the driver/tracker and we are off to hunt. We stalk gemsbok and zebra all morning with a nice stallion finally giving me a shot opportunity off of Hans shoulder while we are crawling under a tree. I could not hold steady on Hans' shoulder enough before the stallion spots us and is gone. After lunch, we are off again after gemsbok and zebra. We stalk into a group of zebra that we can hear, but not see. Hans says a nice stallion is coming and to get ready. I'm on a knee when the stallion comes around a bush at 20 yards and I have my first African animal on the ground. Pieter and Craig come and pick up the zebra so that Hans and I can keep hunting. We stalk a group of gemsbok for over an hour and end up crawling up to a waterhole behind them. I'm up on the sticks and Hans spots a nice impala coming in and I have my second animal of the afternoon on the ground. While walking up to the impala, a 2 or 3 month old zebra comes out of the bush and walks by us at about 5 - 10 yards heading to the waterhole. I got some nice photos of that. Hans said that it was either separated from the herd or had lost its mother.

3/16 - We are off to another property to hunt waterbuck and kudu. We spot a really nice waterbuck right away and start the stalk. The waterbuck spotted us as I was setting up for the shot and disappeared. Hans has a pretty good idea where he is going to go so we drive around to the river bottom to get the wind right. We are off the truck and creeping up the trail from the river when I spot horns under a tree. I am down on my knee and up with the rifle. Hans is about 5 yards in front on his knees with his fingers in his ears. I guess that means shoot, and I have a very nice old waterbuck on the ground. After lunch, we sit in a blind on a waterhole on the same property and three kudu came in. Two of them were juveniles, but the third was mature according to Hans. He does not give me a shot opportunity and I wanted to pass on him anyway since he looked a little small to me.

3/17 - Back to the same property chasing kudu. Hans really impressed me that morning as we were following a very large kudu track thru the bush for over 2 hours in the rain. We never saw the kudu, but were close on several occasions. The kudu was smart and kept circling us without ever coming out of the bush. We spent the day driving and stalking to no avail.

3/18 - Back to the property we hunted the first day in search of kudu. Hans and I worked hard all day with Frakkie tracking and stalking. We finally catch a break with a large kudu bull coming out on the road at about 350 yards right at dusk. Hans and I pass on the shot and vow to be back tomorrow early to find him.

3/19 - We were back in the same spot as yesterday evening searching for that bull. We cut a track early and Hans is pretty sure it is the same bull. Frakkie is out of the truck to track him while we wait on the other side to see if he pushes out of the bush. Hans finally catches some movement and I am up with the gun. All we can see is his head and horns, so I am waiting on him to make a move. Frakkie calls on the radio to let us know the bull is headed right for us, but the bull hears the radio and is gone. We spent the rest of the morning on his tracks to no avail. After lunch we were hunting kudu again. We spent many hours tracking and stalking until finally I took a shot at a kudu that Frakkie had pushed out of the bush. The bull was running right at us and I took the shot at about 80 or so yards. The dust flew and the kudu disappeared. We searched for blood for quite a while and found none....a clean miss (or so we thought).

3/20 - After the disappointment of the previous evening, we are headed back to see if we can pick up the tracks of the bull I missed the night before. We worked pretty hard that morning trying to find kudu. Had a clear shot on a nice gemsbok, but passed since I was only interested in knocking down a kudu. After lunch we were off to another property. We spotted some wildebeest early in the afternoon and stalked into them. I was up on the stick with a nice bull about 30 yards away for over 20 minutes waiting for him to move out of the bush for a good shot opportunity. He finally moved straight away from us without giving us a shot. We spotted a group of blesbok later on and stalked into about 100 yards and was able to drop a nice one. Later that evening we were chasing wildebeest and hartebeest to no avail.

3/21 - I passed on going on the elephant back safari ride with my wife so that I could keep hunting the elusive kudu. Early on Hans spotted a nice hartebeest about 200 yards away from the top of a tree and we stalked into about 30 yards. Hans whistled, the hartebeest moved from behind the bush and he was down. We hunted hard for the remainder of the day for the elusive kudu until a call came in over the radio that another one of the PH's had spotted a wounded kudu on the property where I had shot and we thought missed the kudu from 2 nights before. We raced over to the property and located the bull, and I was able to finish him off. I finally had my kudu bull. I was happy, but at the same time disappointed that the animal had to suffer for 2 days.

3/22 - On the last day of our hunt, we were after warthog or impala (whichever came first). The mature male warthog proved to be tough to locate throughout the hunt due to the tall grass. By 6:30 a.m. Hans had us on three very nice impala rams. I setup on Hans' shoulder and dropped a very nice ram. We spent the rest of the day reading, sleeping, and otherwise relaxing around camp.

3/22 - Time to go. We took some pictures around camp and finally were off to Highveld Taxidermy for a tour. After the tour, we were on our way to JNB. We had a nice meal with Pieter (Grassi) and his wife Maggie, picked up some gifts for the kids, and then headed to the gate to catch the plane.

We cannot express enough how impressed we were with the camp, staff, PH's, and overall experience. I have never hunted with a better, more experienced person than Hans. His ability to follow tracks, judge trophy quality, and overall decision making was almost unbelievable. I hope to have the opportunity to hunt with him again when we return. The stories and camaraderie around the dinner table kept us in stitches each night. The meals and service were top notch. We will definitely be back.

Click HERE
to see photos of Lance's hunt.

ERIC JONES – Ohio

Animals taken – Kudu* (51 ¾”), Zebra, Impala*, Waterbuck*, Blue Wildebeest*, Blesbok*

NORM CABAN – Ohio

Animals taken – Kudu* (56 ½”), Gemsbok, 2 - Impala*, Blesbok*, Warthog

Highlights Eric:

When I decided to go visit the University of South Africa, I also decided to fulfill a life-long dream of hunting in Africa and visiting Kruger National Park. I told Norm Caban about my ideas and he immediately said that he wanted to go for the hunting too. It was set we were going hunting and just had to find out where and with whom. I recently retired so it was my job to scour the internet and see what could be found. We found Cruiser Safaris. From October until departure on March 31, Norm and I had intermittent bouts of “kuduitis” and the only cure was to get a kudu.

We arrived in Johannesburg on April 1 at about 6:00 PM. Cruiser Bob prepared us well for the firearms importation and the pick up to the Afton Guest House. One of the PHs wives from Cruiser picked us up the next day at 10:00 AM. She drove us for a quick four hours in the rain up to the lodge. Maggie was the first to ask about our expectations (i.e. what size and what kind of animals did we want (dream) of getting). I answered for both of us that Norm wants a Kudu, but we both want nice looking animals. “Mature animals. No problem” was her response. I was, however, in a quiet process of cautious optimism and not wanting to have the trip be a bust.

We got to the lodge and hustled to sight in our rifles. Before leaving we had carefully sighted in our .30-‘06s for 2 inches high at 100 yards. Pieter Lamprecht wanted them dead on at 100 yards so eight rounds later we were each set. It was 3:00 and Pieter asked if we wanted to go out for an afternoon hunt. If we shot something he would charge for an extra day, but if we didn’t he wouldn’t? Ready to part with some of my extra money, I said I was ready to go. Norm and I grabbed our binoculars, rain jackets and more ammo and headed for the truck. We were introduced to Hans who would be my PH for the trip. His tracker Frankie and Pieter Lamprecht joined us. We drove to a property. Before we could check in with the owner, a bachelor herd of impala ran across the road. Pieter asked “How many impala you guys want.” There were several good bucks in that bunch. After checking in we got into the back of the hunting truck with Hans. After a few minutes he asked me “What are your expectations?” I told him that I was booked for impala, kudu and gemsbok. Of course he already knew that and rephrased “What are your expectations? How big do you expect your animals to be?” I said that I wanted animals that looked nice. I said that if I see a huge kudu with horns that drop out to the sides very far I have no space for it. Hans gave me the biggest smile and said, “You are going to have a lot of fun.” Truer words…..

About 15 minutes later Hans spotted a “good waterbuck” and asked “There is a good waterbuck do you want to try for him.” I did a quick calculation based on no rational logic at all except that I liked the looks of waterbuck and said “Yes”. We bailed off the truck and set out on a quiet-as-possible walk. The waterbuck had gone into the bush already, and I figured that we were trying to head him off or catch up with him – whatever. After about 20 minutes Hans stopped and signaled me to pause. He scanned and motioned me to come up carefully. He knelt down and motioned to rest the rifle on his shoulder. “There is a baby and the big one is going to come out”. I had the scope on 5 power and was looking and looking. At first I could not see any animal then I could not miss seeing the beast in the brush at about 70 yards. Only his face and neck were exposed, but Hans softly said “Shoot him” so I tried to find the shoulder. I have killed about 50 deer and never taken a neck shot. I moved down the neck and carefully squeezed. The beast dropped instantly! We got up to him and found a BIG waterbuck not just nice but BIG. Waterbuck have long necks and I was only half way to the chest. I was elated. Hans was excited too. He loves hunting, and I imagine that he and Frankie were also happy not to have to track a wounded animal in failing light.

In the morning of our first official day, we spotted a herd of six or seven zebras running in the bush. I wanted a zebra so we bailed and sent the truck on down the road. Hans hustled back down the road about 30 yards to an intersection and set up the shooting sticks. “I think they are coming back across the road”. In about a minute, three or four mares ran across the road. Then came the stallion. He paused on the side of the sand road about 125 yards away. I got on him quickly and fired. We both heard the bullet hit, but he showed no sign of being hit and took off into the brush. Five or 10 seconds later he ran back across the road and about 20 or 30 seconds later re-crossed. He ran like a healthy zebra. It was not an easy shot, but I felt like an idiot. Hans poked around in the bush and found blood – mixed with vegetation. I was sick. I never gut shot an animal before. We gave him a few minutes to settle down. Hans has about 8 years experience as a PH, and he was a tracker for several years before that. He and Frankie had worked together for about 5 years. I should have been confident. Frankie got on the track and Hans kept me behind him and kept looping ahead. After a bit he said the stallion is having a lot of trouble, but we were not seeing blood – only tracks. At one point we thought that we could hear him go down in the brush. Then a bit later we heard him thrashing. When we got up on him, he was dead. Hans said, “You got him with one shot.” That comment said more about his ability to maintain a sense of humor than about my shooting. I was glad that I followed Bob’s suggestion to get a premium bullet. I used the Black Hills 180 gr. with Barnes XST bullets. On a quartering shot, the bullet plowed through about 2.5 feet of gut and blew out the far lung. I don’t think that the standard bullets would do that. It turns out that after being hit the zebra only went about 500 yards, but it seemed like 5 miles. We loaded him up on the truck. On the way back to lunch and skinning, we picked up Norm’s blesbok. At lunch, I asked Pieter if I could switch the gemsbok to a blue wildebeest. I was becoming interested in them and we saw a particularly animated bull that morning. Pieter said sure, have fun. In the afternoon we went out looking for wildebeest, and they suddenly became harder to find. We spotted a bunch moving away from us and bailed off the truck to stalk them. For some reason, after a few minutes they came running back past us, several good ones. Hans and I followed for a while but they seemed to clear out. After about 20 minutes we suddenly confronted a big bull. He stood head on to us. Hans said shoot under his nose. I did that and he dropped, bounded back up, when down again, and then 30 feet to the side and then expired. Such an ungainly looking animal acted like a large mouth bass. That guy had a solid lung/heart shot. I felt a little bit redeemed after the morning. We hustled back to the skinners and then back out for a kudu.

We saw lots of female impala, but no bucks. We saw a bull kudu that I thought was marvelous and Hans said firmly “He is a young bull and you are not going to shoot him.” I protested a little but I knew that anyone who hunts every day for 8 months a year for more than 10 years knows best will have the better eye. My “beautiful kudu” was about 38” according to Hans. We tried to get on some others but no luck that afternoon.

On the morning of the third day we went out for the impala. Somehow this animal that everyone thinks is a given, disappeared after our arrival. Early on we hopped off the truck to find impala. We dodged hartebeest, zebra, and giraffe. We caught up with some groups of impala bucks, but Hans was not satisfied with them. I would have been, but I followed my rule “don’t debate with the guide.” We pussyfooted around for at least an hour and then got picked up. We rode for a bit and then Hans called for another walk. This time the brush was thicker and spikier. (As for thorns, they are everywhere and every bush intends to stick or hook you so bring a bandana and band aids.) After about 30 minutes we spotted a big buck in his bed at about five yards. He caught my movement as I tried to raise my rifle and got out of there. About five minutes later Hans stepped out from behind a big thorn bush and froze. I was still behind it, but stopped too and watched as he slowly set up the shooting sticks. I crouched down eased up and put my rifle into the V. I heard Hans say “Shoot him” I could see an impala shoulder in the scope, and I shot him. That shoulder was connected to a 23” impala.

In the afternoon we went out to the most overgrown, thorn infested low-hanging-branches-across-the-road property. We saw many female kudu, waterbuck, impala, and ostrich. At 4:30 we cut across a couple of female kudu. Then we came up on a nice bull kudu that was looking at us from under a tree about 40 yards away. Hans saw him and knelt down. He put his fingers in his ears and said “Shoot him”. I was on him too, but slapped the trigger as though I was shooting a shotgun. I am not proud of the shot, but it broke his spine. Everyone was elated. Our tracker, Frankie is a pretty sober fellow, but he was smiling a lot. Hans said the kudu is special. I agree and this one was almost 52”. I also think that just before twilight it is nice not to have to chase a wounded animal through the thorns so I will take the spine shot.

In the first three of my five days I had five record book animals and had completed my contract. On the fourth day Hans went with his family to see his father-in-law in the hospital. I slept the morning away and then went out with Norm and Young Pieter to see if they could get a warthog. There had been so much rain that the animals did not need to go to the water holes so big male warthogs were particularly scarce.

On the morning of the fifth day Hans took me out for blesbok. For the first time I told him that I wanted one that would make the record books – not because I cared about record books but just for symmetry. All of my other beasts qualified. Mid morning we caught up to a group of five and followed them into a grove of small trees. Hans knelt down and set me up on his shoulder. Then he told me to wait. All of them were very nice, but finally the big guy came into view. I had a pretty easy 50 yard shot over high grass. After taking six animals, each of which exceeded my expectations and imagination, I called it a wrap.

I had a fantastic time and great fortune. I planned to hunt with the idea that I would be happy if I got a couple of nice animals and did not experience a disaster. Despite the guides concerns that animals would be hard to find given our 5 day limit and the abundance of rainfall, we were apparently unaffected. The days were warm enough that I could sweat and overcast such that I was not aware that I was getting some sun. The damp ground did not generate any dust. I wear contact lenses, and I hate dust. I brought some goggles, but who wants to look like a dork. Although both Norm and I were fortunate to take several good animals, we had good chases on all of them. We did not have a drive in a park. We saw lots of animals and learned a lot from the guides too. We were well attended to at the lodge. It is something of a luxury to hunt in cleaned and pressed clothes each day. Meals were great. We ate some game each night. Kudu sausage, impala kebabs, wildebeest fillets, blesbok stew and kudu steaks. It was all good.

Highlights Norm:

Chronicle of My 2010 Cruiser Safaris Experience

Sept 19, 2009 - How it all began…..Driving to a Chesapeake Bay fishing trip my good friend Professor Eric Jones from Bowling Green asked, “Normando, I have to do some work in South Africa in April, and I'm thinking of going a week earlier to take in some safari hunting action. Do you want to come?” With those words started the process of fulfilling my life time dream to hunt in South Africa. Little did I know when my good friend asked if I wanted to tag along what awaited me.

Let the Adventure Begin

March 31st Wednesday 5:35 PM …. Eric and I boarded our plane in Columbus, Ohio to start our odyssey by catching our connecting Trans–Atlantic flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg for a five day safari.

April 1st Thursday….. After what seemed to be an eternity, flying 16 arduous hours from Atlanta to Johannesburg, we finally rejoiced when we arrived about 6:00 PM. Tired and restless, we retrieved our luggage and finished the bureaucratic formalities with the South African Police (SAP) weapons dept. to obtain our weapons permit. At the SAP we were then met by the representative from the Afton Guest House, where we spent the night.

April 2nd, Friday About 9:30 AM - after having an excellent breakfast we were picked up at the Afton Guest House by a very delightful employee of the Cruiser Safaris. She was a very cheerful, pleasant young lady called Maggie. In the few minutes of meeting Maggie, her personality made it seem as if we had known her for years. Maggie informed us that her husband Pieter Fourie was one of the PHs at Cruiser and that he would be assigned to one of us. Maggie certainly made our four hour drive to the Limpopo region very entertaining, as she detailed her own accounts of learning to bow hunt with her husband, who I labeled “ Young PH Pieter” (to distinguish him from Pieter Lamprecht who owns Cruiser Safaris). As things go, it was just one of those days. We had torrential non-stop rain that lasted almost all the way to our destination. Upon arriving at the Cruiser Safari Lodge, we were cheerfully greeted by the staff who took our luggage to our assigned rooms. Shortly after settling in, Pieter Lamprecht met us and recommended that we should make sure our rifles were still sighted in before the rains got any worse. So off we went to the gun range. After firing our rifles and making the recommended scope adjustments, Pieter Lamprecht asked us that if we were up to hunting this evening. WELL with the rain stopping and our rifles sighted in, that’s all we needed to hear……HECK jet lag or not, we were eager to go. At 3:00 PM we boarded a specially equipped Toyota Land Cruiser 4 wheel drive UTE and off we went to begin our long awaited adventure.

Let the Hunting begin: As the Toyota UTE drove through a heavily gated fenced property we immediately were greeted by small herd of impala that darted across the road. Pieter Lamprecht said that there were some shooters but we had to check in first. Inside we saw kudu, warthogs and more impala. The animals seemed to be everywhere … darting in and out of the brush and running all over the darn place. It just seemed that the animals had deliberately come out in droves to taunt the newly arrived anxious hunters. Pieter informed us that those are not all trophy animals, but the excitement of seeing all that game just quickens our appreciation of the natural beauty around us.

After driving about 20 minutes, Eric’s guide Hans spotted a HUGE and I mean HUGE thick long horned waterbuck over 150 yds to our left. He was racing toward the thick brush. Hans asked Eric if he was interested in a water buck. Eric quickly thought about it and said “Yes!” So he was dropped off with Hans, and off they went to stalk the trophy. The end result was that after several unsuccessful attempts to narrow the distance, they eventually stalked within 70 yds down wind of the waterbuck and deliver a well placed neck shot that dropped the quarry in its tracks.…. the ice was broken.

April 3rd Saturday - Young PH Pieter who had been assigned to me, took me to a different 10,000 acre ranch where he hoped to “break me in” on impalas. As things go in hunting we just could not find any large impalas, but soon spotted a small group of Blesboks. This prompted my PH to ask “Norm, do you want to take a blesbok?” I scoped the unique white faced reddish-brown critter and being a person of modest means quickly calculated the extra trophy fee involved and said “YES!” We stalked downwind of the Blesboks until we were roughly about 120 yards. At first opportunity Pieter whispered “the third one on the left” ….. Up went the shooting sticks and with a reassuring BANG my 50 year old Browning 30.06 broke the ice on a very nice 16 ½ inch blesbok. I cannot tell you the sense of accomplishment and personal confidence that ran through me watching the blesbok drop. After making arrangements to take the blesbok to the game cooler, we continued the search for the elusive impala, but instead we encountered 5 gemsboks grazing over 400 yards away in an open area. Recognizing there was no way we could openly stalk them without scaring them, Pieter decided we needed to circle downwind around them, so we back tracked and conducted what I easily estimate was over a mile and half downwind stalk, through thorn bush. It was a slow precise stalk, which also permitted us to encounter numerous wildebeest and zebras that were romping in the thorny thicket. As we approached the area where Pieter estimated the gemsboks would be, we eased our way to the corner of the open area to look…. BUT WHERE ARE THEY? With no gemsboks in sight, we silently walked another 15 minutes until we located them in another clearing about 90 yards away. “GET READY” Pieter whispered, “Take the one on the right” he instructed. In the instant that my rifle settled on the shooting sticks and my scope’s cross hairs met the quarry’s shoulder, the gemsboks caught our movement and started to bolt. (Pay attention here, this can happen to you….in the millisecond I was squeezing the trigger, my PH was trying to tell me not to shoot because the animal was moving. Unfortunately in my zealous mental state I did not hear him and fired anyway). OH BOY, WHAT JUST HAPPEN? ….. Instantly I did not feel good about the shot and Pieter confirmed it, “Norm, I think you gut shot it.” ….. Regrettably, the instant the gemsbok started to run my shot hit the animal almost in its mid section. Instantly the wounded gemsbok separated itself from its brethren running into the thick thorn brush. Our tracker Isaac quickly picked up the trail by finding drops of bright red blood, indicating a possible liver shot. After tracking the gemsbok for more than an hour we finally located it hiding in the thick brush roughly 60 yards away. Somehow I was able to weave another shot through the tangled bushes into the gemsbok’s shoulder, but the darn thing just kept running. After another 20 minutes of tracking, we finally were able to dispatch the tenacious beast. The gemsbok’s horns measured 34 ½”….. As PH Pieter and Isaac went to retrieve the Toyota UTE, I silently marveled at the cream & black masked long horned beauty and thought to myself…..”Hmm…I could have really screwed this one up”. I was still totally embarrassed about the whole ordeal.

April 4th, Easter Sunday …Yes we did go out Easter Sunday, but the Good Lord must have been weighing heavily on my mind, and I actually had mixed feelings about hunting on a holy day. To tell the truth, this was the first time I had been away from my family on Easter, so my thoughts were not on kudus or warthogs, but on family things. Anyway, with two animals down and with only 3 more days to hunt, Young Pieter decided that I had shown enough confidence and ability to go after kudu. He explained that he was concerned that with my limited days to hunt, it was going to be tough just to see a decent kudu, let alone harvest one. So we departed the Cruiser Lodge on Easter Sunday morning roughly about 6:00 AM to hunt an area they called the “mountains”. I was informed that this particular ranch was more than 20,000 acres and was known to have leopards, cheetahs, and baboons and was especially well known for producing very large kudus. After spotting and stalking almost two hours an extremely large wide horned kudu that kept eluding us, Pieter decided we needed to work our way to a remote section of the property where he expected kudus would eventually appear. As we slowly worked our way into a heavily thick brush area, Pieter excitedly grabbed my shoulder and whispered “KUDU! TO THE RIGHT ABOUT 100 YARDS, QUICK SHOOT OFF MY SHOULDERS!” I instantly scoped an enormous grayish body quartering away. The kudu bull had already galloped several steps when my cross hairs found its mark. A loud CRACK! Is all I can honestly remember, then I distinctly recall seeing long black spiral horns waving from the ground as the large animal was struggling to get up. “HE’S DOWN!” shouted Pieter and instantly he and Isaac took my rifle and sprinted like Olympic hurdlers dashing to the struggling beast. (Note: I think my PH took my rifle so I would not accidentally shoot anyone in the excitement of the moment while running). As the old guy in the bunch, I raced behind them and in seconds Pieter who had already reloaded my rifle instructed where to deliver the final “coup de grace”. In a second, it was all over. I was totally awe struck marveling the downed kudu. I distinctly recall jumping in the air like a little kid saying “THANK YOU LORD” when Young Pieter high fived & bear hugged me in a total jubilation shouting "NORM, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE JUST DONE, YOU HAVE JUST TAKEN A KUDU THAT”S THE EQUIVALENT OF A 400 CLASS ELK !” He then quickly measured the horns and excitedly announced “It’s almost 57 INCHES! This could be the fourth largest kudu taken here in the past two years. THIS WILL EASILY MAKE THE SCI RECORD BOOKS!” After this successful morning I was flying high emotionally. I quickly recalled that today is Easter, so as we are returning to the lodge with our well earned trophy, I pronounced a moratorium on hunting for the rest of day and that both Isaac and Pieter need to spend the rest of the day with their loved ones. I guess this was my way of rationalizing some sort of personal penance for hunting on one of our most sacred Christian Holidays.

*side note: While winching the magnificent trophy in the Toyota , it was determined that the loud crack we had heard had been the sound of the 180 gr. Black Hills Barnes triple X bullet severing the spine and shattering the shoulder as the animal was quartering away. (A shot that will vividly live in my memories).

April 5th Monday, 6:30 AM - We had not been at our hunting property more than 20 minutes, when we spotted 8 impala roughly about 140 yds out prancing under some trees in the misty morning fog. We parked the Toyota then began our stalk, looking for a clear shooting lane. “Can you shoot kneeling” Pieter asked me….as I nod yes… “Okay, kneel here and you’ll have a clear shot at that big impala”. I aimed, squeezed and instantly dropped a 24 inch impala. After loading the impala in the Toyota, we continued looking for the elusive warthogs which were extremely difficult to find due to the rain and abundance of high green grass.

April 6th, Tuesday …. With four magnificent animals in the cooler, my attitude was, I could hang up my rifle and quit while I was ahead. Following the success of the kudu, I really did not care if I hunted anything else. However, given I still had two more days to hunt; we continued our search for warthogs. We started about 9:00 AM, returning to the nearby property where we had seen a large number of warthog families. We continued driving through the vast open savanna, then after several hours, we were suddenly caught off guard when a very large tusked male warthog exploded like a cat on fire from the brush. In a flash, the large tusker had covered over a 100 yards and was still running. Watching where it had ventured we decide to try to stalk it. After 20 to 30 minutes of wading through the tall wet grass, Pieter motioned me to stop and whispered…. “Norm over there, want another large impala?” It did not take me long to calculate that it was in the budget ... I nodded “YES!” (I had mentally justified the extra impala, by rationalizing “I need a match set, one for each of my daughters”. I squeezed the trigger and at 120 yards another beautiful impala is down. This one measured about 23 inches. After searching another few hours for warthogs, it was decided that we would continue the hunt in the evening when the hogs would be more active. At 3:00 PM we again boarded the Toyota to continue our warthog quest. At about 5:00 PM with evening settling in I really had no expectations of spotting another large tusker. However, as we turn a corner …..HOLLY CRAP! ……What is that brown spot in the tall grass about 220 yards in front of us? Using his binoculars Pieter declares…. “Norm, it’s a male hog, but we can do better tomorrow, but it’s your decision”. The old cliché came to my mind “one warthog in hand is worth a dozen in the bush”. I also considered that tomorrow was my last day and as a taxidermist, I just wanted something to mount. So at 220 yds, I carefully aimed just above where I think the hog’s shoulders would be and squeezed the trigger. At the shot, I saw the hog dash across the road into the tall grass savanna…..My first thoughts were that I had missed. However, as we neared the spot where we saw the warthog go in, Isaac quickly found bloody lung tissue. Following the trail for about 90 yards, we all stop to hear the telltale sound of the pig’s death moan. In seconds we locate a good 180 lb plus 8 inch tusker. This was the cherry a top my African safari sundae... “WOW, WHAT A WAY TO END THE SAFARI” The Hunting Gods had certainly generously smiled upon me AGAIN! JJJ

April 7th, Wednesday…. With six wonderful trophy animals in the cooler and an empty wallet, I decided that I was done hunting, so I went to visit the souvenir shop in town. Upon returning, I packed my suit case, cleaned my rifle and just kicked back relaxing, reminiscing the successful hunts and the camaraderie I had been so fortunate to experience these past few days.

April 8th, Thursday….Time to GO Home…..we left the Cruiser Lodge about 9:00 AM to begin our 4 hour drive to Johannesburg. As we neared the airport, we made the necessary stop to finalize the trophy shipping arrangements with Highveld Taxidermists. I then was dropped off at the airport where I waited 6 hours to board my 16 hour flight back to the States. Back to reality L

In retrospect: I fully recognize that taking six trophy animals, of which four will qualify for the SCI record book just does not happen every time, so I was truly fortunate to have been with Cruiser Safaris. If things work out, I plan to return in a few years, this time with the weapon of my passion – a recurve bow.

Peace to All

Norm

Click HERE
to see photos of Eric & Norm's hunt.

JIM PILEGGI – Maryland

Animals taken – Kudu*, Impala, Warthog, Gemsbok*, Blesbok*, Blue Wildebeest*

Highlights:

I came alone to South Africa, but I never felt that way. Maurice from Afton House met me at the airport and right away got me to the SAP for my firearm permit. It didn't take long. I waited for the 4 other hunters from Oregon and we all went to the Afton House. It was very well appointed and we had a great steak dinner. After a good sleep, PH Peter Fourie and his wife drove all of us to Cruiser’s. Tiny met us with fruit juice cordials and then we had lunch with owner Peter Lamprecht. After lunch we were offered to hunt the afternoon and most of us did so. My PH was Hans and we hit it off right away. We stalked two Blesbok for about 40 minutes and finally I had a shot of about 125 yds and the animal went about 20 yds and was down for good. It was a 16 1/2" Blesbok. On the way back to the Lodge, we had a rainstorm that was great to watch from the Land Cruiser. We were up early on Saturday and hunted all day. It was hot! I didn't get a shot but we saw lots of game and stalked wildebeest and Kudu. The lodge and the buildings near it are really nice and my room was especially nice. There was a lot of thought that went into designing the lodge to make it pleasant and relaxing for the hunters. On Sunday Hans located a big Kudu but I could not pick it out with my scope in the brushy background and didn't get off a shot all day. Monday was different. We spotted a Kudu, but my long shot was over the animal at about 200 yds. Later, Hans spotted a big wildebeest with his harem and we moved out of the bush to range him and set up the sticks. He saw us and charged from about 300 yds. At 100 yds, I put a bullet under his chin with my 338/06 and the animal spun about and ran about 50 yds and was finished. It was a 29" bull that weighed over 450 lbs. What excitement! I have never been charged before but stayed cool and put the round where it would put him down. The 215 grain bullet did its job. That evening we had another of Tiny's great dinners with game meat featured. I got to know Fred, Nolan, Marty and Adam and we traded stories at the table with the PH's. Peter likes to play practical jokes and we had a good laugh!

The next day I took a very nice Impala at about 150 yds, after missing one at half that distance earlier in the day. I shot it off Hans shoulder and we took pictures in the twilight at about 6:30 pm. Another great dinner and we all went to bed. I got up early on Wednesday and we stalked two Gemsbok for about an hour. I was kneeling for about 35 minutes until Hans put up the sticks and I stood awaiting the Gemsbok who were laying down. Hans whistled and they both stood up, one was behind a lot of brush but the one on the right was in the open and I shot through both lungs and it went about 30 yds and was down. About a 75 yd. shot. What a beautiful animal! 36" horns! We went back to the lodge after pictures so we could get the Gemsbok to the skinning shed quickly. After lunch we were again looking for Kudu and I missed on a monster- I shot over it - at about 120 yds. Those Kudu are hard to pick out in the brush! Later, as it was getting dark, Hans spotted a big Warthog facing away from us. I aimed for the spine and hit it hard, but it was not dead, just paralyzed. I quickly dispatched the big male. After pictures, we headed back for a great meal of Eland tenderloin. The game meat meals will always stand out as the high point of eating for me!

The next day we went to follow Adam's Wildebeest who he had only wounded. We jumped him in the bush and Hans was off with my rifle to finish him off. He hit him on a running shot and I finished him off near the Matlebas River. We marked the spot on the road with white paper and went off to look for Kudu - the last on my list of six animals. It only took about 15 minutes and Hans spotted a big bull bedded down. I put the rifle on Hans shoulder and he whistled and the Kudu stood up and all I could see was his neck and back and I shot him in the spine. He dropped like a stone! When we got up to him, about 125 yds, he was already dead. What a magnificent animal! Pictures do not do this animal justice. He was 50 1/2" and regal looking. He will get the place of honor on my wall! We loaded him up and then Peter called and asked if we could also load Adam's Wildebeest too. We did, with a lot of help from Ismael who is a big strong guy. With both animals in the truck we headed back. It was only 11 am! Wow, what a morning. I spent the next couple of days going out with Fred Nelson as he still had a Gemsbok and Wildebeest to harvest. I took a lot of great pictures, some of the many Giraffe on the savannah. We had a lot of fun at dinners with Peter playing practical jokes on me and me playing the straight man! Great fun. We went varmint hunting one night and had a great time trying to kick up jackals! On Sunday I went to church with the Lamprecht’s and two of the PH's and their wives. It was a beautiful Methodist church not far from the lodge. Craig took us to Ellisras and we did some shopping for our wives and kids on Monday and went to the gun shop there. A really nice store. We had a big game meat bar-b-que on the last night that went on until about 10:30 pm. It was our last night together and it was sad to know we would be leaving the next day for Johannesburg. Peter Fourie and his wife drove us to the airport, but first we went to Highveld Taxidermy. After getting a tour of the facility, I was glad that I was getting my trophies mounted there. I was impressed with their professionalism and attention to detail. The other four hunters were staying at the Afton House for a couple of days and seeing the sights. I said my goodbyes to all my new friends and went in and checked my luggage and did some shopping after getting through security. It was a long trip home but it was great to see Pam, my wife, at Dulles Airport.

Click HERE
to see photos of Jim's hunt.