Dec 10, 2020 | News
Both my parents immigrated to then Rhodesia from Mauritius. My father was only 20 years old in 1964 when he left Mauritius to come and work in the sugar industry in a place called Hippo Valley, in south-eastern Rhodesia. He started as an assistant section manager, then manager, until he was able to buy his own sugar farm in the early seventies. My mother was only 16 years old when she moved to Rhodesia with her parents. My parents married when she was 19. Three children and 52 years later they are still married. Unfortunately, events that happened in Zimbabwe in the early 2000s forced them back to Mauritius where they are today.I was born on 19 Feb 1979 in a small town called Triangle in the south-east of Rhodesia now Zimbabwe.
My father was a very keen hunter and he would take me hunting from a very young age. Without doubt he was my biggest influence and taught me so much about hunting, gun safety, etc. To this day when I’m faced with decisions in the field, I often ask myself, “What would the Old Man do?”
I did my apprenticeship under Roger Whittall. Roger is definitely one of the legends and pioneers of the safari industry in Zimbabwe and am so privileged to have been mentored by him. Working for Roger Whittall at the time as a PH was a local man called Magara. He was truly an amazing hunter/tracker. He too taught me very valuable lessons indeed.
It’s hard to pick any one particular lesson learnt during my early years as an apprentice because there were many but one of the things that I will never forget was the point Magara made to me once when we were on an elephant bull hunt. We caught up to a bull after several hours of tracking and it turned out not to be the trophy we were hoping for, so instead of just walking away I wanted to get the client in close to the bull and explain the various shot placements, get the adrenaline pumping, etc. Like a dress rehearsal! We were about 60yards away and I wanted to get to at least 20 yards from it. As I started taking the client closer Magara touched me on the shoulder and asked me if I was going to shoot that elephant. I told him no, and explained what I wanted to do. He asked me why we should go, and if we couldn’t see it from where we were.
He said, “Look through your binoculars and explain to the client where to shoot because if we go closer and the elephant ends up charging, we might end up having to shoot it in self-defense and it would be a waste of an animal’s life.” This made a lot of sense, so basically I’ve learnt not to unnecessarily and purposely put myself into a situation that can go south quickly.
My early years of professional hunting started in the Zambezi Valley in an area called Chewore South. It truly was an incredible place back then. It was on one of my first hunts there that I learnt it was not ideal to build a blind on a well-used elephant path.
We had a nice tom leopard on bait, so we built a blind and the plan was to walk into the blind in the early hours of the morning and wait for it to get light and, hopefully, catch the leopard there. Upon quietly sneaking in towards the blind it became evident to us that it had been completely destroyed by elephants and no longer existed. Back to the drawing board, and a lesson well learnt.
Another rather awkward moment was when I was hunting leopard on Humani. The client and I were in a tree blind about 20feet off the ground when the client informed me that he was having a movement of the large intestine. Murphy’s law. The leopard was close as I’d just heard a bushbuck bark less than a few hundred yards away. I told the client to do his business and to avoid going to the ground and walking around with a flash light. I suggested he tried just hanging off the ladder. He tried. To cut a long story short, the leopard never came in, and the climb down the ladder proved for obvious reasons very challenging for me when it was time to get back down.
Sitatunga from Uganda
My career has taken me to countries and places I would otherwise never have been to. I am blessed to have guided in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Cameroon, Uganda, C.A.R. and Mauritius. I have also accompanied clients on hunts to Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana and Ethiopia. Today the only country I no longer go to is C.A.R, and most of my hunting is in Zimbabwe.
My father and I with the 60lb bull from Sapi 2009
I have had so many interesting and successful, fun hunts along the way. But the one fondest memory that I have of is the elephant bull hunt I did with my father in 2009. He was my client, so to speak. The hunt took place in Sapi, Zambezi Valley, and after a couple hours of tracking we managed to get a 60lb bull on the fourth day of the hunt. I remember being with my father on his very first elephant bull hunt in Nyakasanga, Zambezi Valley in 1986 when I was just seven years old, so to be able to personally guide him onto such a great bull 23years later was special.
If I had to choose to return to any time or place in Africa, that would be a tough question. Having been fortunate to hunt in so many countries and areas, perhaps I’d have to say it was my time in the Chinko area of eastern C.A.R in the early 2000s. C.A.R was an incredible hunting destination and usually you earned every trophy you got. Areas were massive, logistics tough, and roads were limited. I mean imagine hunting an area that was 4 million acres and where you could realistically hunt 20 different native species on one safari in one area. But from reading and listening to stories from older PHs, I feel I was born 25years too late, anyway.
I truly enjoy hunting all species, but my favorite hunt has to be leopard. I really enjoy the challenge of trying to outsmart a large, old tom. Leopard hunting is a roller coaster of emotions, and you have to be mentally strong to put up with the monotonous routine of hanging, checking, replacing baits, driving the same roads and building blinds. However, the euphoria of finally getting your hands onto a cat you have specifically targeted is hard to explain. One of my fondest memories of a leopard hunt was with good friend Will Parks, and was for a cat nicknamed “The Professor”, a smart cat that had been shot at and lightly wounded by another client a few years prior. Since then the tom would never hit the same bait twice, but after we persisted, he finally made a mistake and we got “The Professor”.
Will Parks and me with “The Professor”
My favorite hunt
Zimbabwe Lowveld Leopard
One of my top 5: yellow-backed duiker from C. A. R.
It’s hard to single out any one particular trophy that stands out as the best trophy taken by one of my clients, as there have been many. But, if judging the best trophy as to where it would be ranked in the record books, I’d have to say a blue duiker and a yellow-backed duiker taken by the same client in C.A.R., both ranking in the top five at the time. To mention a few other outstanding trophies I’d say a 32” roan, a 17¼” leopard, a 75lb elephant, a 45” buffalo, a 52” Lord Derby, an 18¾” Chobe bushbuck, a 61” kudu, a 30” common nyala, a 33” waterbuck, a 16” warthog, and a 7½” bushpig.
One of my top 5: yellow-backed duiker from C. A. R.
52” Lord Derby from C.A.R.
45” buffalo
One of my most memorable hunts was one I have just completed this year. In 14 days we managed to get two great lion, a 53lb elephant, a 13,5ft crocodile, two awesome buffalo, and a bunch of plains game. Equally as memorable was a hunt I did with a good friend from Honduras. On that particular safari we got a 75lb elephant and a 17¼” leopard. Turned out that those two trophies were the biggest of their species for the year in Zimbabwe. Talk about a lucky hunter!
One of the two lions from one of my most memorable hunts
Thankfully, disaster clients are very few and far between, but one that stands out was a guy who’d come for an early season elephant/leopard/hippo hunt in the Zambezi Valley. Chewore North, to be precise. The bush was thick that time of year with some rain still around. He arrived with a .416 Rigby which he personally had never shot. Supposedly the guys that had sold him the rifle had zeroed it in for him. Anyway, as always before starting a safari, we went to the range to check that the rifle and scope had made the journey – it also gives me an idea of the client’s shooting abilities.
Well! His abilities were not great and it wasn’t the rifle and scope that was the problem, as I eventually shot it myself to see, and it was dead on at 100 yards. The client argued with me that he never shot well at paper, but at animals he was a sniper of note! Reluctantly I agreed to give him the benefit of doubt. Lesson learnt.
He wounded, and we lost his leopard in the early morning, and wounded and lost his elephant bull in the afternoon of the same day. The leopard bled a few drops only for the first 15 yards from the tree, and as thick as the bush was then it was impossible to follow the tracks without blood. His elephant we followed until late in the evening, and we were to return in the morning, but that night it poured with rain which erased all tracks. Gone!
The client then went on to miss three separate hippos in the water during the course of the hunt. The only trophy he got to take home was a gut-shot zebra which we eventually found. Upon saying goodbye I advised him to spend a bit more time at the range before coming on a hunt to Africa, and to rather get himself a .375 which would be easier for him to shoot. For some reason I’ve never heard from him again.
For a first-time hunter to Africa and depending where and what he’s coming to hunt, I generally recommend a .300 Win Mag for plains game and a .375 H&H for dangerous game. Both those calibers are more than adequate and ammunition for those calibers is easy to find in Africa should for any reason client’s ammo doesn’t make it. As far as ammo goes, any of the premium softs will work. Personally I like the 180g Swift A-Frames out of the .300 and 300g Swifts or Bear Claws out of the .375. Always bring about 10 solids for the .375 especially if hunting elephant. I like the Federal Sledge Hammers, Barnes and Woodleigh solids.
My .458 Lott
Personally I carry a .458 Lott which was custom-built for me by Sabi Arms in South Africa. It’s built on a CZ action, has a 22” barrel, peep sights and a Winchester-type safe. The stock is made from Turkish walnut. I’ve been carrying that particular rifle since 2005 and it’s got me out of trouble on numerous occasions. I like that caliber as it is pretty versatile. It’s fairly flat shooting for a heavy caliber and delivers good knock-down power. I generally carry it loaded with 500g solids, but will change to 500g softs when following wounded cats. I also have a .375 H&H Dakota built for me by my good friend Duke McCaa of Gulf Breeze. It’s fitted with a Swarovski Z6i 1,5 – 10. My tracker Mudini always carries my .375 just in case there is a longer shot on a wounded animal. Clients are also welcome to use this rifle should they wish to travel without guns. My light caliber is a .300 Win Mag, Parker Hale, fitted with a Swarovski 2-12, illuminated reticule.
My closest brush with death was one time I really annoyed my wife… (Joke!)
I have been charged by all of the big four that we hunt in Zimbabwe – three times by buffalo, twice by elephant, once by each of the cats, and they thankfully all ended well, but I must say the one that I truly felt could’ve gone badly wrong was the elephant bull.
The client had attempted a side brain shot with his .500 double. The first shot actually dropped it, but I could see it was not a direct hit to the brain. He followed up with the second shot to the body somewhere as it was going down. Normally at this point I tell the client to put an insurance shot to the back of the head and another into the heart/lung area, but where the bull had fallen you could not see the back of its head as it was covered by a large bush, so we walked around and I got the client to put another two shots into the heart area. I still wasn’t happy with the insurance shots as I felt they were too low, so thought I’d walk to the front of the bull and get the client to put another couple of rounds into the chest area. As we were making our way around, the bull started rocking from side to side with his head up off the ground trying to stand up, at which point I told the client to shoot it in the head/brain. He fired one shot, and I was waiting for him to fire the second shot but it never came.
The bull was still trying to get up, and at this point was close to getting back onto his feet. I personally didn’t want to shoot the bull myself – after all it was the client’s elephant. Lesson learnt! I took my eyes off the bull to see what the client was doing and why he wasn’t firing his second shot. Turns out he had only reloaded one barrel, so after that shot he back-tracked while trying to reload his double. When I turned back towards the bull, to my surprise I found it on its feet and staring down at me. I fired my first shot in haste, but instantly knew that I’d hit it too high. It lifted its head and then lowered its head and started coming for me. Thankfully, my second shot brained it properly and it fell with its front feet tucked under its chest and tusks impaled into the ground. It was literally five paces from me. If I had missed that shot I believe I would’ve been tickets! Nothing more daunting than a big-bodied elephant bull with 55lb tusks staring down at you. I learnt a valuable lesson that day.
Close call!
I feel the hunting industry has changed a lot due to all the pressure from the anti-hunters. There seems to be a lot more rules and regulations in place to help appease those folks, such as minimum age limits on lion and leopard, for example, and because of this, modern technology – such as trail cameras – is today a must have for any PH, as they help us guess the age of the cat on bait. The fast pace of today’s world also means that safaris are getting shorter and shorter, as not many people today can afford to spend 3-4 weeks away from work, so effectively people are trying to accomplish in 10 – 14 days what used to be a minimum of 21 days. All of this adds immense pressure to us as PHs. I feel there are some good changes, however. I feel we as PHs are trying to put more emphasis on the age of the animal hunted rather than the size, and in my opinion this is what it should all be about. A great hunting experience culminating in the taking of an old animal.
To improve your hunting experience, practice at the range as often as you can. Practice shooting from various positions. Sitting positions, off shooting sticks, free hand, off your knees. I can think of hundreds of opportunities missed by clients because they weren’t comfortable shooting at something that wasn’t quite standing broadside, in the open, and because they weren’t happy shooting off sticks, etc. Practice, practice, practice. Bullets are cheap compared to the total cost of your safari. It also helps to study and learn the anatomy of the animals you’ll be hunting. Lots of good books are out there on shot placement.
I think our industry is under immense pressure and in a huge battle with the antis, and unless we can convince the majority of the uninformed that sustainable utilization of wildlife is key to its longevity, we will lose the battle. The way to do this is to prove to them with facts that hunting contributes to conservation. It’s up to us to make sure quotas are set correctly and that hunting ethics are maintained. We must also try and move away from judging the success of a safari on how big the trophies taken were, and rather on how old the animal is. In general I feel that as an industry as a whole we are trying hard and we are moving in the right direction.
And a dream… If I were to have one last safari, it would be a 28-day safari with leopard, lion, elephant bull and multiple buffalo (at least 10) on license. My father would be the primary client with my mother, wife and son as observers.
Dec 10, 2020 | News
My ancestors were from the two original de Villiers brothers who came to the Cape in the 1670s and started Boschendal Wine Farm.
I was born in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1959. We ranched at Matetsi in Zimbabwe. In the 1950s and 1960s in that area, my father, Max de Villiers hunted problem lions that killed cattle there, and I hunted with him, so that is what started my hunting interest. I did my apprenticeship under the late Ian Lennox and Clive Lennox, and an important aspect I learnt was to respect all wildlife, otherwise you will get hurt.
I moved to South Africa and hunted for Bophuthatswana Parks Board under the State-owned Parks Board hunting company, and then I opened my own hunting company. I have hunted mainly in South Africa.
My favorite trophy animals to hunt are buffalo and kudu. I hunted a beautiful 46” inch spread buffalo on the State Reserve of Letaba Ranch, and received the award from PHASA for the Outstanding Trophy Taken in 2018.
The weapon I recommend to my clients to hunt Africa is a .375 H&H as a good allrounder caliber, with Swift A-Frame and FMJ Solids.
In the old days, hunting logistics and everything pertaining to the hunt was easy and not so modern. The way it should be. Nowadays the technology is crazy, and I prefer not to deal with modern stuff, just good old basics to conduct a good safari.
I always suggest to clients to practice well before a safari and be totally familiar with their firearm, and equipment.
For the future of wildlife, the industry must continue to plough back into conservation so that hunting can continue and wildlife can be managed and protected.
If I could ever go back to sometime in Africa for a classic hunt, it would be 21 days of collecting an array of species with the old traditions in place.
Nov 6, 2020 | Archive, News
The mountain zebra is white with black stripes and the legs are ring-striped to the hooves. The underparts are white and there is a distinctive “grid-iron” pattern of transverse black stripes on the rump above the tail. The muzzle tip is black blending into orange-brown. An erect mane runs from the top of the head to the withers and there is a dewlap on the throat. The Cape mountain zebra (E. z. zebra) is not a huntable species at this stage. The plains zebra, where their ranges overlap, has light brown shadow stripes on the white, stripes extending onto belly and comparatively shorter ears.
Distribution
Hartmann’s occurs naturally only along the escarpment of the Namib and adjacent flatland, but it has been introduced into South Africa outside this range. Namibia and South Africa are the countries offering this zebra as a trophy. Hartmann’s once had a more or less continuous distribution in the rugged, broken hill country from south-western Angola, right down western Namibia and into the north-west of South Africa’s Northern Cape province. It has expanded naturally again into the Richtersveld National Park and has been reintroduced into the Goegap Nature Reserve and Augrabies Falls National Park. The exact former range of the Cape Mountain Zebra is unclear, but it probably occurred along much of the South African Cape Folded Belt ranges and many of the adjacent inland mountains, within today’s Western and Eastern Cape provinces. Brought to the verge of extinction, it now occurs in several national parks and provincial nature reserves as well as several privately owned game reserves.
Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra
Conservation standing
Hartmann’s has lost both range and numbers in Namibia, having dropped from more than 16 000 in 1972 to an estimated 7 000 today. Approximately 250 Hartmann’s have been introduced in South Africa. Sometimes considered to be a problem in Namibia where they at times damage fences.
Habitats
Generally associated with rugged mountain terrain they frequently move onto plateaux and adjacent flatlands to feed.
Although not currently huntable the Cape mountain zebra may well become so in the near future
Behaviour
Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra
Small harem groups of mares, usually 3 to 5, and their young, are controlled by a stallion. Larger groupings of 40 and more individuals may be observed at feeding grounds or watering points, but each group retains its integrity. Stallions that do not hold harem herds form into bachelor groups, which may include young mares and weaned foals. Harem holding stallions are not territorial, but defend the mares against the attentions of other stallions, although submissive stallions are tolerated.
Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra
Cape Mountain Zebra
Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra
Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra
Nov 6, 2020 | Archive, News
Contact: (Owner/Manager) Lestie Cloete-Trollip
Mobile: +27 82 667 8675
Contact Email: Limpopo.taxidermy@vodamail.co.za
Website: limpopotaxidermy.com
Tell us a little about your operation
How it started and how we got into the industry…
I am Lestie Cloete-Trollip, Co-Owner of Limpopo Taxidermy in Phalaborwa. My interest in Taxidermy art started in high school already. I did two beginner courses at the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria in a school holiday in my Grade 10 year. After Matric I got a job at Zululand Taxidermy (I feel honoured to have had Coenie Swanepoel as mentor and teacher in this trade) as an apprentice where I was taught the technical side of taxidermy and other tricks of the trade.
How many years have you been in the business?
In October 2004, my father Herman Cloete and I opened our taxidermy in Phalaborwa. We are still a small taxidermy operation so that we can be hands on with the quality of each trophy that our clients receive.
What are your favourite mounts & why?
I really enjoy doing the smaller full mounts like small cats and small antelope. So far my favourite is the Genet! I also enjoyed the times when I had the opportunity to do leopard, cheetah and lion and scarcer animals like Oribi and Pangolin. I like doing shoulder mounts and even a common antelope like Impala stays interesting to do when realising each individual is unique in colour, markings in the face, interesting horn shapes etc.
Current processes offered
- Pick up & collect trophies: No. Trophies need to be delivered
- Own tanning facilities: NO
- Forms -bought in
Delivery time (approximate)
- Dip and Pack: 4-6months
- European mounts: 6-8 months
- Shoulder mounts: 10-12 months
- Full mounts: 10-16 months
Trophy Gallery
Nov 6, 2020 | Archive, News
A couple of months ago I was down in Graaff Reinet for a Greywing Partridge shoot with my good friend Tim Van Heerden from Karoo Wingshooting (which is a hunt anyone interested in wingshooting must go and do, but that is a story for another time) and we got to talking about Vaal Rhebuck while we were prowling the mountains in pursuit of those little grey missiles that would flush in front of the pointers noses. I had never hunted, let alone seen a Vaalie (the nickname that we give them) and was really keen on the possibility of hunting one of these small king’s of the mountains.
I got back to my home base in Limpopo, after our very successful wingshoot, and immediately started planning the next trip down for the Vaalie. I had recently purchased a custom built .308 on a Warrior chassis that I had done some load development for and was keen on stretching its legs on a real hunt and not just the range. A friend of mine offered to fly us down at the cost of the fuel and I immediately jumped at the opportunity, as it would make the trip a lot more comfortable. We set the dates and all that was left was to sit back and wait for the days to pass.
It was finally the week of the trip and we were due to fly early Thursday morning to be in Graaff Reinet by mid day to be able to still get in an afternoon hunt, as we knew we would need all the time we could get to have the best chance at success in the mountains. Wednesday afternoon came and the weather forecast for Thursday was not looking promising and I had to make the call to cancel the flight and opted to rather leave at 3am by car to be in Graaff Reinet at the scheduled time. I was very glad I did as the weather was not favorable anywhere along the 10 hour drive and it would have delayed us by at least a day if I had not left by car that morning. Not a great way to start the safari, but I was not discouraged.
I arrived at our accommodation, close to where the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape converge, at around 1pm and immediately unpacked and got ready to head out to the mountains. Tim was already there and had set up a great lunch for us to enjoy before heading out. After we finished eating we left for the farm we would be hunting at for the next couple of days and upon arriving we picked up Ronan, the farmer’s son, who would be our mountain guide for the hunt as he knew the farm inside out. Ronan and his family farm with cattle, sheep and goats. The farm has no high fences anywhere and all the game animals are free to roam wherever they like, making this hunt a truly 100% free range experience that would add to the challenge and allure of the Vaal Rhebuck.
That first afternoon we saw a lot of Vaalies and mountain reedbuck, but nothing worth shooting, at least not on the first afternoon. As we headed off the mountain some very cold weather started to move in and shrouded the mountain in a thick cloud as we reached the vehicle.
The next morning we got up at around 6am and had a quick breakfast, and as we looked outside we saw that the clouds from the previous day were still low in the mountains and there was a very gusty South East wind, which normally brings moisture to that area. Not discouraged by the weather we set off to pick up Ronan again, who wanted to look at a different mountain that he hadn’t been to for a while, but which held some good potential. We left the vehicle at the base of the mountain range and started our hike to the top. We immediately got into some Vaalies, but once again there was no ram worth shooting in the group. This trend went on for the rest of the morning, but I must say that I did not expect to see so many Vaalies in one area. It was truly spectacular to watch them through the binoculars and spotting scope.
As we headed back to the vehicle for lunch some more weather moved in and it started to sleet-rain on us. It all sounds miserable, but how can anyone be miserable when out in “big sky” country pursuing ones passion; the scenery was truly breathtaking. After lunch we decided to drive to another part of the farm where Ronan had seen some Vaalie, but never been able to hunt any. We did see some but they were out of the area long before we could even make a plan to stalk up to them. The Vaal Rhebuck has amazing eyesight and usually spotted us long before we ever saw them, and we usually only spotted their white tails as they ran up the mountain and over the other side. Vaalies don’t stick around for long and definitely don’t ask questions or wait around to find out the answer. Another day with many kilometers of rough terrain under our boots, and even though we still did not have our quarry we were not discouraged as we still had one full day left.
It was now Saturday morning and our final day in the mountains. Again, we got up at 6am and had breakfast. The weather at our accommodation was consistent with the previous day’s weather, but fortunately as we crested over the hills towards the mountains we would hunt, it cleared up and was a very pleasant morning. We decided to go back to the mountain we hunted the Thursday afternoon as we had seen a Vaalie that would probably measure about 7-7 1/2 inches, which is a very respectable trophy in anyone’s books. Having discussed a game plan with Ronan we set off and made our way up the mountain. As we peered over a ridge close to the top of the mountain we spooked a herd of 14 (!) mountain reedbuck, which hightailed it down the other side never to be seen again. We inched our way forward and to our surprise there were two Vaal Rhebuck rams still grazing down in the gully where the mountain reedbuck had come from. We got into a position where I could set up and see if it was a shooter. We judged the bigger of the two rams to be about 6 inches and I must say that I was very tempted to shoot. But after all the effort we had put in so far it did not seem right to shoot a sub-par and still-young animal just to be able to say I shot one. I would rather go home empty handed, but with the knowledge that I did everything I could to get one, than to go home with something I wasn’t happy with, so we let the two of them spot us and move off. We continued on and had reached the other end of the mountain before seeing anything again, and all we saw was the white tails of Vaalies that had spotted us long before we saw them (as usual), disappearing over the edge never to be seen again. We were now starting to worry and get discouraged, as there was no sign of the Vaalie we had seen two days before. Heading back on the other side of the mountain we came across the 6 inch ram and his younger companion, and had a serious look at him again. But it still did not feel right. As we watched them disappear off the mountain to our left Tim spotted something on the highest peak about 1km away.
It was the Vaalie that we had been after. He was laying right on the skyline overlooking his kingdom, and had clearly been watching us all morning knowing that we had not seen him and thus we were not a threat. We quickly made a plan for Tim and I to try and stalk him from the back side as Ronan headed to a vantage point where he would try and guide us to the location of the Vaalie. As we headed around and up the far side we unfortunately spooked some Vaalie females that we had not seen prior, and they ran up the mountain. Ronan let us know that our ram had gotten up to look at what was going on. We rushed to get up the mountain in the hope that we could spot the ram before he saw us, but as we crested the mountain he and his companions caught a glimpse of us and headed down the other side. We hurried to the edge of the mountain in the hopes that we could see them as they stopped to give us one last look before disappearing for good. They stopped at 500m and I picked out the one with the biggest horns and squeezed the trigger. A clean miss! I was devastated! There went my only chance so far and I had not taken enough wind drift into consideration. We were now not far from the vehicle and seeing as it was already half-past-one we decided to go down to the vehicle and grab some lunch. We called Ronan to come and meet us at the vehicle. We were only about half way down the mountain when Ronan, who was coming around the mountain from the bottom, contacted us and told us that he had spotted a large Vaalie, probably 8 inches plus, about 1 km away. This was a ram that we had not seen before and it got us excited. Ronan saw where the ram had bedded down; we could not spot him from our location, and he met us at the vehicle for a quick lunch.
Lunch was gobbled down quickly and we were ready to put a stalk on the bedded ram that Ronan had spotted. We proceeded around the base of the mountain hugging a small ledge that managed to conceal us well from the weary eyes of the Vaalie. Once we got to just below where Ronan believed he last saw it, we told him to go and peek over the ledge so it wasn’t too many people that could potentially spook the animal. He peered over the ledge. Nothing! My heart sank a bit but I was hopeful we were just in the wrong place, and we hadn’t heard or seen anything run away yet. Tim got up on the ledge and looked to the left with his binoculars and dropped to his knees whispering “big Vaalie to our left laying down!” and I leopard-crawled to a rock about 10m from our position to get a better view. Once I was set up I started to hear the Vaalie alarm bark and frantically started looking where it was coming from. These little creatures are so well adapted and camouflaged in their habitat that without movement they are invisible. Ronan helped guide me towards the direction of where the Vaalie was standing, as he was the only one who could see it at this point. I finally picked it up in my scope, it was facing me dead on and I remembered Tim saying that the frontal shot is a very difficult one as 4 inches left or right would be a miss on this small animal. He was starring right at me so there was no time to range him or even wait for him to turn, as he then would surely had disappeared up the mountain. I steadied the crosshairs high on his chest at the base of the neck and let the bullet fly. The sound of the bullet impacting was, at that point, one of the most amazing sounds to hear. The recoil took me off the animal and I lifted my head just in time to see the Vaalie go down after having run just a few meters up the mountain.
At that moment I felt Tim jump on me, congratulating and shaking me! I honestly was a bit in shock and couldn’t believe that we had finally done it. I never got a good look at his horns, however I did see that they were thick and passed the ears, because I was just focusing on getting steady and putting in a clean kill shot. Walking up that mountain for the last time was easier than I thought, and it must have been due to the adrenaline that was pumping through my veins. Getting up to a killed animal always holds a mix of sadness and happiness to me, and I am always thankful and filled with respect for the animal that has just given its life for me. Seeing the Vaalie for the first time up close I could not believe how small they actually are, and when I saw the horns on this one I knew he was something very special. I had never seen one up close before and thus didn’t want to have a go at judging the length but they were definitely above average. The fur is more like a rabbit’s fur than that of an antelope and that probably adds to the fact that they are so well camouflaged. Touching him and holding the horns for the first time felt surreal and only after we had set up for photos and started the walk back down the mountain to the vehicle did it really kick in what we had just accomplished. This is one of the trophies that I will cherish the most and definitely one that I have worked the hardest for. But after more than 40km of hiking in two-and-a-half days we had finally done it!
Tim was singing all the way to the vehicle, which lead me to believe there might still be something else he hasn’t told me yet. We got down the mountain, Ronan carrying the Vaalie on his shoulders, and Tim met us with the vehicles by the road. Tim, who also works for Karoo Taxidermy, wanted to get the innards out of the animal as quickly as possible to prevent hair slip as this trophy definitely deserved to be full mounted. Before we got to that it was time to finally measure our hard earned trophy. As Tim put the measuring tape on the horns and I saw the tape get longer and longer I waited in anticipation to see how long they were. 9 2/8th – 9 inches in length and 2 6/8th bases! We were all flabbergasted at what we had just achieved, and I say “we” because it truly was a team effort. Tim admitted to me that he was singing because when he saw the Vaalie laying there on the mountain he had a feeling it would be very close to 9 inches. To put 9 inches (which doesn’t sound like that much) into perspective, a 9 inch Vaalie is like shooting a 60 inch kudu bull! Adding the length and bases of the two horns together put it tied 24th in the SCI Record Book rankings.
After the entrails were removed and we made our way back to the farm house to skin it properly, I looked back at the mountains which were the Vaalie’s kingdom and I thought to myself how privileged I was to be able to pursue such an amazing creature completely free range in its natural environment. Nothing can beat that experience and it will stay with me for the rest of my life. The king of the mountain had fallen but would not be forgot and will be forever preserved to show him the respect that he deserves and allow everyone to revel in his glory.
Hitting the long road back home I couldn’t help but think back to those days spent in the mountains and as hard as it was, it was also satisfying and nourishment for the soul. There is just something about being out in wide-open country pursuing a quarry that has every advantage over you – eyesight, hearing, smell etc – which speaks to the primal nature in our soul. I believe every human needs to tap into this primal instinct every now and then for our souls to stay healthy and whole, and what better way to do this than to pursue the king of the Sneeuberg Mountains.
Tim van Heerden was born and has spent most of his life in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Apart from being the marketing manager at Karoo Taxidermy in Graaff-Reinet, he offers bird hunting trips to clients from all over the world. He feels most at home in the highlands of the Karoo, especially behind a brace of English Pointers pursuing Greywing Francolin. He also offers Waterfowl hunts, as well as European-style driven Guineafowl hunts in South Africa to discerning clients.
www.karoowingshooting.co.za
wingshootafrica@gmail.com
082 929 5373
Nov 6, 2020 | Archive, News
Daybreak finds us sitting close to the camel thorn fire, for the morning air is chilly. Soon the kettle boils and coffee is brewed. Another day on the arid hunting grounds awaits. My hunting friend Lance and I have pursued many animals with some success, but it is the gemsbok, Namibia’s most formidable swordsman, which Lance so dearly longs to track, test his skills against, and hunt…
This particular gemsbok has grazed throughout the night to escape the heat of the desert’s scorched lands. It now stands in the direct sun, with burning sand under its hoofs, shifting its weight now and again. It hasn’t had water on its blackened tongue for weeks. It has maintained its diet by scenting out roots and bulbs, and digging them out of the sand with its strong, sharp, heavy hoofs, quenching its thirst by lucky finds of moisture. When Africa is conjured up in the mind, many see lush savannahs and jungles. But the Kalahari and Namib deserts are regions defined by drought, and they test survival on a daily basis, of both man and beast.
Lance and I have left camp early, grateful for the blessed coolness of morning with its refreshing dew. From years of a semi-sedentary life, he has been unable to cope with discomfort and irritation. We walk in a landscape that consists of vast level plains, haunted by mirages, sand dunes, with arid mountain ranges – usually mere piles of bare rock. Soon the sun sucks the last drop of moisture from the air and sands.
We push on. We see some bustards and snakes, and groups of springbok in the distance. We climb to the top of a small dune, lie down and carefully scan the plains from east to west. A faint breeze swirls over our perspiring bodies. While we lie there, a jackal shambles up the steep slope of loose sand and meets us, face to face. It regards us with bewilderment for a second and then dashes back with a yelp. Lance and I exchange glances as we wordlessly share this moment. The heat has now reached full force with temperatures must be around the 40s.
“Let’s push on and forget about the heat,” I try to motivate my friend. The sun beats down fiercely, and the sand over which we trudge burns through the soles of our shoes. On the right, a small thicket of black sticks becomes visible, standing at various angles. The rest of the gemsbok is out of sight, nothing visible but the long and straight horns. But as we near them, the thicket of “black sticks” becomes agitated. It breaks up, scatters and regroups in smaller thickets. Then the herd of gemsbok swings away at a gallop and speeds upwind, leaving a long trail of dust to mark its course and finally melting into the mirage.
Far off, ahead of the herd, the aristocrat of the desert, a lone bull is resting in the mid-day haze under the scant shade of a tree, surrounded by miniature pyramids of dry gemsbok droppings, where he has marked this area as his territory. He left the herd months ago, leaving the females to their fate. They have their own lethal set of horns to defend themselves and their young. He is old and tired, and the natural instinct to pass on his genes for future herds is long lost. He faces the slight breeze, pants, inhales and exhales rapidly through his nose, a nose lined with a network of small blood vessels that are cooled by the air pulled into the nose to ensure that blood enters his brain at a lower temperature.
Lance and I don’t escape our share of hardship. We carry our own water, but that previously cool refreshment has now warmed to a hot tea temperature. Even so, we drink it gratefully. The heat reflecting off the ground and stones is almost unbearable, but we are able to endure it while moving. But the stillness of the desert and the glare from the surroundings is weighing Lance down.
“Shade – coolness – where is it,” he asks. “Even darkness would be a relief.” I realize that something approaching desperation seizes him, and I feel close to calling it a day and turning back. But then I spot a tree in the distance towards the west. As Lance turns to face a slight breeze, he regains some enthusiasm and puts my thought into words: “Wind in your face, sun at your back.” With renewed hope we turn westward and head for the shady tree. Suddenly, and with our sights set on tree in the distance, three gemsbok calves rise at about sixty meters and stare at us.
About three to four months old, they are a most extraordinary sight. Their necks, chests and flanks are covered with long vivid red hair. They have shaggy red manes and big, black, muzzles; their ears are enormous. Lance mistakes them for lion and becomes terrified, until I tell him what they are. Once his adrenaline rush subsides, we are able to continue. The gemsbok calves gallop off in confusion, sweeping left and right, and finally speeding towards the direction where we last saw the big herd disappear. I admire their agile movements in the rocky terrain, which poses no obstacle for gemsbok – the divisions of their hooves, connected by a strong membrane of muscle, expand widely and stretch apart when they tread on a stone, the membrane serving as a supporting spring.
And then, as we look back to the lone tree with its inviting coolness, I spot the slight movement of a white underbelly beneath it, and whisper excitedly to Lance to look at it though his binoculars. Finally, with sweaty fingers slipping and sliding over the warm binoculars, Lance lays eyes on the striking beast. We gaze at the black and white patterns around its legs and underbelly, the iconic facial markings that deflect the heat and make the gemsbok so stunningly beautiful. It is the result of a long period of evolution to make him attractive in the eyes of the females of his species. He is a mere 200 meters away, still facing away from us.
Lance and I swiftly move closer, he crouched low, my head bent downwards, hoping that the gemsbok will not sense us closing in on him. But when, at 120 meters away from the gemsbok I raise my head to take a quick look, it is as if he had read my mind – the famous sixth sense of the gemsbok has already kicked in. He is facing us now. He stands statue-like, defying his enemy, his muscular shoulders and flanks, tense, his wiry hair erect and quivering. His trumpet-shaped red nostrils seem to exude defiance.
I look at his deadly weapon, the long, slim, pitch-black horns shimmering in the sun, and a quick thought plays with my sub-conscience… that the gemsbok, without breaking his stride, can sweep his formidable horns as quick as lightning and impale anything within a meter on either side of him. And suddenly, at this moment I am not eager for Lance to shoot. It is enough to simply gaze at the impassive face. I, the hunter, who with my friend, so much longed to take this formidable swordsman, now just want to revere him.
The hunter’s instinct is one which is most deeply rooted in the mind of man. As Lance slowly lifts his rifle to his shoulder – a second too late, a deliberate moment too long spent scrutinizing the beast before us. The gemsbok turns and trots off, as if challenging us to follow. Lance follows him only through his scope, lowering his the rifle as the gemsbok pauses on top of a dune It catches the evening breeze, and gazes down on us one last time. I realize that Lance had had the same fleeting emotion pass through him.
Day faded, and the dome of stars seemed to be drawn around us. How intensely still it was, how utterly peaceful, where Lance and I seemed to have reached Nirvana.
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The gemsbok has several interesting peculiarities. Namibians think so highly of the gemsbok Oryx gazella, that the national coat of arms depicts two of these magnificent animals representing courage, elegance and pride, on either side of a shield covered with the national flag. If you see these antelope in their desert surroundings you will immediately understand their prominent place in the hearts of Namibians.
