Hunting from the coast to the mountains

The hunt was booked. I saw the wish list which made me check twice.
It was a varied request which you don’t often come across. This client was definitely not on his first safari to Africa.
Mostly you see game such as cape kudu, gemsbok, impala etc. on the list. This was far away from those regular species.
We had blue duiker, cape grysbok and Vaal rhebok listed. We were certainly going to visit some varied locations in the next couple of weeks.
It was August so the weather was wintery, with pleasant days but cold nights. The clothing to pack would definitely contain some of my UK hunting attire as it seems to withstand the cold slightly better than the South African gear.
First of all we would head to the coast for the blue duiker and the cape grysbok. Two animals which form part of the tiny ten antelope. These would complete this prestigious accolade for the client which he had been slowly working away at for many a year.
The plan would be to do the blue duiker first and then head slightly inland for the grysbok.
We met with our host and drove to a property overlooking the Indian Ocean.
Here we would make our way into the thick bush in wait for the smallest of antelope to appear. The three of us would wait patiently with our eyes peeled on the small footpaths in the thickets. At the other end of the thicket two jack Russell dogs would be unleashed to pick up the scent and hopefully disturb the animals to run away and into our line of sight.
Armed with a shotgun we listened to the distant sound of the dogs which had obviously picked up the scent.
We knew to get ready as the sound of the dogs approaching meant that the blue duiker would quickly dart by in front.
Suddenly a flash of movement and the shotgun fired. In front of us down the track tumbled the small antelope. We moved forward to collect our prize before the dogs arrived. The client was like a kid in a sweet shop. Happy and surprized at how quickly he had had to react.
We moved back to the farm house overlooking the sea where a comment came out from the tracker who was originally from the Northern parts of South Africa that the farmer which owned this property had to be very wealthy. I ask why as there was nothing extravagant about anything to see. He said that to own a dam that size he had to have money. We then realised that he had never seen the ocean and a plan was quickly made to take him to put his feet in the great block of water which we all knew as the Indian ocean. These experiences make hunting special.
We then headed a couple of kilometres inland where we were lucky enough to bag a cape grysbok during the day which is quite a feat. He was spotted sunning himself on a bank and we quickly made ready and the tiny ten was complete.
The third animal on the list would take us inland about 300 kilometres and raise the altitude to over 2500 meters above sea level. This is where we were going to find the Vaal rhebok.
We arrived that evening in the small town called Nieu-Bethesda. The weather had certainly turned and a cold front had arrived at the same time as we had. The temperature that night dropped to -10 degrees centigrade which made leaving the lounge heated by a log fire at 06:30 quite difficult.
We did get out and defrosted the hunting vehicle which was also a new experience for the tracker as the only ice he knew was that which was put in a drink.
We headed for the mountains. The sky was grey and the cold climate reminded me of those cold wintery days I had spent hunting in the UK. Not long after leaving the town the snow started to fall. Small flakes to start with but it quickly changed to a full blizzard as we started our climb to the farm.
This hunt was going to be very different. Up to our knees in snow we glassed the mountains for our designated quarry. Eventually finding a nice ram high up above us. We moved in on him to where we would be able to get a shot.
The snow had stopped falling but it felt as though we were on another planet. Laying the rifle on the rucksack we took the shot. The ewes which made up his harem bolted but he was ours. Photos were taken and we started the journey down through the snow.
There were two men on this safari who had new experiences on this trip. One was the client who got his new animals and completed a chapter in his hunting journal. The other was a tracker who for the first time in his life had seen the ocean and in the same few days saw snow.
This for me is one of the great things which hunting does. It exposes people to new things whether you are the client or the staff member, which can be shared with others who may never have the chance to experience it.