Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Out Of State Hunting => Topic started by: hunting4sanity on March 11, 2014, 06:10:37 PM

Title: Back from Africa
Post by: hunting4sanity on March 11, 2014, 06:10:37 PM: My first trip to Africa turned out to be an amazing experience. Getting there was a bit tedious, from home to hunt was roughly 11,000 miles and 44 hours, airplane seats are not designed for that many hours of use, but once there I loved every minute of the hunt. My brother and I hunted with Kido Safaris in KwaZulu-Natal and for anyone interested in hunting South Africa I would recommend them without hesitation. After finally arriving, the rest of the first day was spent checking rifles and then just getting to know the area and seeing some African wildlife.

I knew the weather would be hot, but hey, I'm a farmer and I'm used to working in the hot summer sun. After hunting hard all day on a sunny day that reached 104 degrees I decided this farmer spends more time than he thought in a nice air conditioned John Deere on those hot summer days. On the second full day of hunting I got a shot at my first ever African animal and thought it was very fitting that it was a kudu. After committing on this hunt I made a kudu target to practice on at home and then my kudu was the first thing I put crosshairs on in Africa. The first animal for my brother was also a kudu. The first few days were very hot, but productive.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: hunting4sanity on March 11, 2014, 06:13:23 PM: It was surreal to be hunting these animals I had only seen pictures of and read about, now it was happening. We also had to be aware of where other animals, like elephants and rhinos, were at to avoid any unwanted run-ins. The trackers, Elias and James, were unbelievable in their ability to spot game. One day as Elias seemed to be concentrating on the opposite side of the canyon, I spotted a group of impala and proudly blurted out "impalas!" In his unique cadence and accent Elias quietly said, "yes, 6 females." I quickly glanced back to 'my find' and sure enough, 6 females happily feeding away. I swear the guy had eyes in the front, back and sides of his head. Over the course of our trip we hunted in blistering heat, cool light rain, pounding heavy rains and loved every minute of it.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: hunting4sanity on March 11, 2014, 06:16:37 PM: Hunting Africa is certainly different from a western DIY hunt, but by the sunset of our last day I was already planning how to get back there and hunt again. Thanks to all those on this forum who helped answer some of the many questions I had as I prepared for this great hunt.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: bowhunterforever on March 11, 2014, 06:19:17 PM: Looks like you had a awesome hunt :tup: Nice trophies
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on March 11, 2014, 06:24:43 PM: Sweet hunt right there! :tup: so what does giraffe task like?
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Bmcox86 on March 11, 2014, 06:24:51 PM: Man that's a lot of kills, is it pricey to bring all the hides back?
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: hunting4sanity on March 11, 2014, 07:22:33 PM: As to what giraffe tastes like I can't say, the giraffe meat was headed to a nearby town/village the name of which I can't begin to pronounce. It was amazing as big as a giraffe is, the only thing left behind was about 20 lbs. of the gut pile, on most all the other animals they utilize everything - even all the gut pile. The best tasting meat of the ones we did try was kudu, in my opinion.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: bugs n bones on March 11, 2014, 07:47:37 PM: Nice job, I love hunting africa
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: stevemiller on March 11, 2014, 07:51:15 PM: very cool,welcome back.Are you having taxidermy done there or shipped here?
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: hunting4sanity on March 11, 2014, 08:31:43 PM: Quote from: stevemiller on March 11, 2014, 07:51:15 PM
very cool,welcome back.Are you having taxidermy done there or shipped here?
I'm having the taxidermy done here in the states, I've heard both pros and cons to having it done there in Africa, but the consensus seems to be that the best chance for a long-lasting quality mount is to have the taxidermy done here.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: stevemiller on March 11, 2014, 09:04:32 PM: cool,I think I would do the same.How long was the hunt package?
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Timberstalker on March 11, 2014, 09:10:08 PM: Wow. Very cool. What a great set of memories.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: runningboard on March 11, 2014, 09:18:35 PM: Quote from: hunting4sanity on March 11, 2014, 08:31:43 PM
Quote from: stevemiller on March 11, 2014, 07:51:15 PM
very cool,welcome back.Are you having taxidermy done there or shipped here?
I'm having the taxidermy done here in the states, I've heard both pros and cons to having it done there in Africa, but the consensus seems to be that the best chance for a long-lasting quality mount is to have the taxidermy done here.
1st what a great looking adventure thanks for sharing.
2nd I had my taxi work done there in SA by a guy trained in Thompson Fall Montana. guy switched 2 of my capes out and no easy way to rectify as it 1000s of miles + nightmare to return. told myself it would be better to have them done by someone who sees them all the time, I have seen some blue wildebeest done stateside that looked all goofy, color not right, etc.
again looks like you had a great time, when you going back?
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Bean Counter on March 11, 2014, 09:21:29 PM: Outstanding! Welcome home and good job on the writeup and photos. What was the total animal count between the two of you?
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: hunting4sanity on March 11, 2014, 09:45:36 PM: Quote from: stevemiller on March 11, 2014, 09:04:32 PM
cool,I think I would do the same.How long was the hunt package?
The arrival day we checked our rifles and used our cameras on a few critters and on the departure day we hunted for about 3 hours and then had to get going, in between we enjoyed 8 full days of hunting.
Quote from: Bean Counter on March 11, 2014, 09:21:29 PM
Outstanding! Welcome home and good job on the writeup and photos. What was the total animal count between the two of you?
We each got 9 animals. It wasn't by design but we each got a kudu, a zebra, a nyala, a springbok, and two impalas. I also got a common reedbuck, a giraffe and a black wildebeest. My brother, Rob, also got a warthog, a blue wildebeest and a gemsbok.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: jason stevens on March 11, 2014, 09:49:47 PM: First that must have been an outstandind trip congrats.two questions how much does a trip like that run? Can it be done with a bow? Thanks and glad you returned home safe.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: lhrbull on March 11, 2014, 09:53:28 PM: were you close to Pongola or Hula Hula
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: MLBowhunting on March 11, 2014, 09:58:05 PM: It looks like a blast. Hope to get to that place someday :tup:
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: hunting4sanity on March 12, 2014, 08:15:39 AM: Quote from: jason stevens on March 11, 2014, 09:49:47 PM
First that must have been an outstandind trip congrats.two questions how much does a trip like that run? Can it be done with a bow? Thanks and glad you returned home safe.
The hunts can definitely be done with a bow. Costs vary widely from outfit to outfit, the costs are mainly comprised of daily fees and a per animal species/trophy fee. This hunt was a donation/auction hunt through SCI and that covered the daily fees. The species/trophy fees ranged from $440 for an impala to $2,250 for kudu.
Quote from: lhrbull on March 11, 2014, 09:53:28 PM
were you close to Pongola or Hula Hula
The closest town was Mkuze, we did travel through Pongola on our way to hunt near Vryheid once, not sure where Hula Hula is in relation to where we were.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Odell on March 12, 2014, 08:47:48 AM: Very interesting and fantastic pictures! What will you do with the giraffe? I can't imagine a wall mount, it would be so big. A rug would be awesome, they have beautiful coloring.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: hunting4sanity on March 12, 2014, 10:16:22 AM: Quote from: Odell on March 12, 2014, 08:47:48 AM
Very interesting and fantastic pictures! What will you do with the giraffe? I can't imagine a wall mount, it would be so big. A rug would be awesome, they have beautiful coloring.
I'm doing a shoulder mount, probably on a short pedestal base maybe using some of the skin as inserts. The highest ceiling in my house is the front entrance, when I told my wife where I hoped to put the giraffe she was completely in favor of the idea - I'm a lucky guy, she likes taxidermy.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: h20hunter on March 12, 2014, 10:20:58 AM: Thats great...I like seeing the non hunting pics as well as your trophy pics of animals on the ground. Thanks for sharing.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: lostbackpacker on March 12, 2014, 10:23:27 AM: I really like the pic of the cape buffalo
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: D-Rock425 on March 12, 2014, 10:27:24 AM: On my bucket list.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: lewy on March 12, 2014, 10:51:37 AM: :tup: awesome!
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: elkoholic1 on March 12, 2014, 10:58:38 AM: :tup: :tup: :tup:
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: jordanramos_79 on March 12, 2014, 11:07:14 AM: Wow cool pics.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: RB on March 12, 2014, 11:42:21 AM: Awesome thanks for sharing hope to do that some day! :tup:
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: wildmanoutdoors on March 12, 2014, 12:12:39 PM: Awesome pics! Awesome trip. Thanks for sharing.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: hunting4sanity on March 12, 2014, 12:38:55 PM: Quote from: lostbackpacker on March 12, 2014, 10:23:27 AM
I really like the pic of the cape buffalo
I saw a few bulls bigger than him, but that's one of my favorite photos from the trip.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: hardrichard on March 17, 2014, 09:41:44 PM: Looks like a one hell of a hunt :tup: great pics :)
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: fvh40 on March 25, 2014, 01:12:37 PM: Very nice report and pics, thanks for sharing
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Upton O. Good on March 26, 2014, 08:36:53 AM: Great post! The only problem is your hunting stateside will never be the same. And you are going to try and get back to Africa again...and again...and again!
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Broken Arrow on March 26, 2014, 08:51:18 AM: Thanks for sharing. Awesome pics. :tup:
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: bearpaw on March 26, 2014, 08:53:27 AM: Sounds like an awesome trip and you took some really great photos. Congrats.... :tup:
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: pianoman9701 on March 26, 2014, 11:26:28 AM: I'll just have to live vicariously through you. Great pics. Thanks so much for sharing. The money for my African hunt just got spent on an addition. Arrrrrrrrrg!
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Skillet on March 26, 2014, 11:29:47 AM: Quote from: pianoman9701 on March 26, 2014, 11:26:28 AM
I'll just have to live vicariously through you. Great pics. Thanks so much for sharing. The money for my African hunt just got spent on an addition. Arrrrrrrrrg!
To house the taxidermy from your future African hunt, I hope. :chuckle:
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Ingwe on March 26, 2014, 08:07:38 PM: I thought I would go once and be happy. I was planning my second trip before I got home. I have been 4 times now.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: actionshooter on March 26, 2014, 09:05:15 PM: What an incredible trip!
someday!
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: hunting4sanity on March 26, 2014, 09:22:20 PM: Quote from: Ingwe on March 26, 2014, 08:07:38 PM
I thought I would go once and be happy. I was planning my second trip before I got home. I have been 4 times now.
I understand about planning the second trip before the first even ends. Luckily for me I've got a wife who would love to go over there as well ................ I can't think of a better anniversary present.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: fvh40 on April 01, 2014, 08:37:05 AM: lhrbull

were you close to Pongola or Hula Hula

Is it not "Hluhluwe" your talking about ? :hello:
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: gunnarnewt on April 01, 2014, 09:19:31 AM: Great pics and write up! Congrats on the hunt of a lifetime! :tup:
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: pd on April 01, 2014, 09:29:54 AM: Thank you for sharing. I loved the picture of the "white" rhinoceros.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Natures Way on April 01, 2014, 09:52:09 AM: Looks like you had a great time. Congrats to you and your family.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Mudshark on April 09, 2014, 07:33:35 PM: Looks like you had a great hunt and bagged some great trophies! I've been twice, Tanzania and Namibia. :tup:
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on April 15, 2014, 08:37:30 PM: Some nice animals! Looking at going in 2015.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Mr Mykiss on April 15, 2014, 09:35:25 PM: Wow
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on April 15, 2014, 09:58:11 PM: Quote from: Skillet on March 26, 2014, 11:29:47 AM
Quote from: pianoman9701 on March 26, 2014, 11:26:28 AM
I'll just have to live vicariously through you. Great pics. Thanks so much for sharing. The money for my African hunt just got spent on an addition. Arrrrrrrrrg!
To house the taxidermy from your future African hunt, I hope. :chuckle:

My animals will probably just end up sitting in the freezer after they come back from the tannery. I'll never find time to mount them. :o
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: h2ofowlr on April 15, 2014, 10:05:43 PM: Very cool pictures. Thanks for posting.
Title: Re: Back from Africa
Post by: steen on April 16, 2014, 04:53:25 PM: Our taxidermist has been many times and took a giraffe. He did a shoulder mount on it and has it in his trophy room. It looks awesome! Great pictures and great trophies!