Africa...

Heading out this side of the property it was immediately apparent that (if possible) it was dryer than where we had been previously. The further we drove out, (about an hour from the base camp on well formed roads) the more the geography changed, hills were higher and lots more rock formations etc. I had been sitting on the verandah of my hut earlier looking in this direction and seeing the way the ground rose up.



 
I think our driver got spoken to about NOT taking a nap this time and keeping an ear open for a shot or two. We also made arrangements that should it get to 5.30pm there was a track that ran parallel (about 500m above it) to the watercourse we were walking toward that he should go park up on and we would meet there.

The going was pretty hot out here, I don't know if it was perception or because it was that much more rocky etc to reflect the heat but it seemed to sap the strength. After about 40mins of walking we came to a well grassed/treed area just on the other side of the hill. We all came to a screaming halt at about the same step as there, about 30metres in front of us, laying down, were a small group of Cape Buffalo, they were hard to spot and the thing that gave it away to each of us was the occasional flicking of tails to hunt about bugs. None of us thought too much of it, me not enough to grab out my camera (I should have !!!), but we did have to back track and skirt around them and down onto the watercourse properly.

So, prior to all this we had been discussing how to spot a good Warthog, I mean MOST have tusks that look impressive (when you compare them to hogs that I usually hunt) ...
 
By way of example...I snapped this one from the track earlier...



....looks bloody impressive to me !!!!!

Anyway, it seems that a big old boar (tusk wise, as it seems that unlike our hogs they hit a size and stop growing, body wise), most likely will be thin and with a well defined ridge down the back. Walking they will look to snake along to a degree. You can spot those things from a distance, then you need to take the time to get close and check the tusks.

Soooo...after skirting the buff we dropped down onto the watercourse and started walking "up stream" well, if there was a stream it would be following down...we took a rock for five and drink, these two came stumbling down onto the sand....



....and milled around on what turned out to be a damp patch. I think if you dug down a bit there would be water.

So we followed this along for about another 30mins and then decided to get up a bit higher on the far side so we could look down on the watercourse AND see around a bit in all directions... GOOD MOVE, (I just wish it were my idea ;)

A little further along we spotted a hog snaking his way up and away from the watercourse... I could not see more but yes he was long and thin, swaying as he walked and with a pronounced ridge back (and a horrible looking matted fringe that also seems to come with old age).

We lost sight of him into some rocks so climbed up a bit higher, and a bit higher till we caught another glimpse and figure a way to get a bit closer.... and down we headed, it was pretty much a case now of getting a look at the tusks and then into a spot I could shoot from. In reality both things happened together and very quickly. Got to about 50yds away but slightly above him, I was getting myself braced against a tree, he then took off with a bit of a start and ran down between some rocks, I saw one large tusk but not the other...he ran no more than 10 yards and turned back to look up toward me, it placed him with his right shoulder facing me and his body quartering to his right, through the scope I had a clear view of the tusks and I can vaguely remember Boet saying (I had already decided at this point).... "Nail..." BOOOM "...Him" ...then "OK I guessed you figured he was a good one alone"... ;) For the first time he also didn't suggest a second shot, though I was back on him in case. I had seen him spun and flipped by the shot so didn't figure it was needed :) :)

We then sat him up in the rocks down through which I had shot....





Long, skinny and horrible looking...


and for the Busse fans... ;)



After about 25mins of playing around with the cameras we heard the sound of the vehicle slowly making its way up the track a bit further up the hill, at least this time he was awake... :) :)
 
Funny, I had to start with shorter posts and then build up as I went or it would time out and tell me BF was offline.... but we are there :)
 
Back into camp and the guys were still working on my Kudu (having stopped to finish prepping trophies for the American party that had departed just before we got back), we dropped off my Hog and went back to decide what now...



Taking a break we had a chat about what to do next, for me that was the end of my hunting ($$$s being the factor) adventures. The camp manager also came down and had a chat, she had just seen the Hog and was impressed. She arranged us some food and more drinks.... I could get use to being taken care of !!!!! We were telling her how dry it was and she pointed out they didn't get the normal wet season they had last year so were suffering a bit. General chatting about the place and their time there (her and her cousin are English and on a limited tenure here) etc etc.... I just mentioned seeing the Cape Buffalo and got "the look".... errrr what... Where ? When ? How many ? etc etc... :) It seems that she has NEVER seen their buffalo (in 9 months there) and WE have seen their elephant, lion cubs and BUFFALO all in a couple of days.... :D She was great about it and really just wanted to know about them. At best estimate there are only about 15 of them on the whole place. They are hoping to be able to relocate some from a reserve to get the numbers up but they have to get the poaching around the fringes of their concession under control as well. As a note, they have removed over 50 of those Gin Traps pictured above in the last few months.

After a bit we decided that if we could we would pack up and get back to the main camp that night (a loooooong drive but once it was done it was done). This was good news to the manager (she was polite about it but you could tell it was what she wanted to hear as it was Friday and with no one else in camp they could have the weekend off). So it was off to packing !!!!!

My constant companion this trip...



...waaay out in the distance you can see the area we hunted the Hog in... :)

One funny story... the English speaking guy that drove for us, I was talking to him as we were loading up gear and such, he was having a bit of a laugh and told me that one of the Professional Hunters from the company that manages this concession has taken three different hunters out after THAT Warthog as he has seen it a number of times... he was back the following week and they were looking forward to letting him know ;) ;)

After some running around we got ourselves pack up and back in the truck.... yes I was getting very good at this now !!!! In the end we had about 5hrs driving ahead and to be frank...I was not looking forward to it !!! The manager also asked if we could drop a couple of her guys back out on the main road to town, sure. In around an hour and a half we had hit the horrible tar again and slowed right down. 60km took over 2hrs as there was traffic and such as well... bleh !!!

Now, there are no rules about passengers and you can see why so many people are killed on the roads...



And about Mozambique burning..... constantly... just how much is the difference !!

We could see it as we approached.. !!





And right next to us (taken out my window (closed !!!).... !!!



.... it was uncomfortably hot for me IN the cab...I hate to think what it was like for the guys in the back !!!!

So... we rolled into the main camp again late that night... the last couple of hours were truly a blur !!!! Boet and I were both knackered and in reality I had only stayed awake on the drive to keep a conversation with him going !!! Bed and sleep were welcome !!!!!!!!
 
Andy, mate.... I remember, when we first found out about your trip, asking you for pics and some text. This far exceeds my expectations.

Once again, thanks a bunch for such great divertissement .... A joy to behold:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
No problem at all mate. No more of me hunting now..... being hunted yes...and some general roaming around with the camera. Then back to South Africa and Kruger NP... :D
 
Ha! Ugly, ugly, ugly indeed... those where some nasty looking tusks! And that fire looked way too close for comfort. Every time you post the adventure just gets better...
 
Still more to come.... I now need to get back editing (during one event I snapped off just on 600 pics - need to get that down to the best few ;) ) AND find some time to write as well....of course my role at work till Nov is now 25/7 so fitting it in will be fun :)
 
This is an EPIC thread! Thank you very, very much for sharing. I almost feel like I was there with you--simply terrific!!
 
Thanks very much guys, you can probably guess I loved each and every moment of this trip (some moments were loved purely in hindsight, but loved nonetheless !!)... happy to share it, and the written record gives me something to jog the memories with in years to come. Especially as that crocodile grows and grows and gorws with each telling ... ;) ;)
 
Hell man, when I saw it strung up, it might as well have been Godzilla...
 
I agree... it will also fit with my shrunken head collection... keeps the troops on their toes ... ;)
 
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