Africa Trip 2023

[300magman]

Me and my son just returned from our first trip to Africa, and man oh man what a time!! My expectations were far exceeded, and we already cant wait to go back (already booked for 10 days in late 2024). From the landscapes to the people to the food to the hunting and more, it was the best trip I have ever taken in my life by a longshot! We went with Nick Bowker Hunting who does free range hunting in the Eastern Cape, and from the minute arrived until the minute we left we were more than taken care of.....he recently opened a new lodge which was excellent, the food was great and him and the PH we were hunting with (Meyrick Bowker) went above and beyond to make the experience amazing for us. And that went alot further than just the hunting (hunting itself was unreal, we were on game consistently and saw piles of different species/animals), but Meyrick took the time to show us random things that had nothing to do with hunting, explained different cultural things to us, took us all around Port Elizabeth and the coastline for a tour on the last day, etc. Just all around great people running a great outfit that i cant wait to spend more time at. And the views from the Lodge is something that I could wake up to every morning for the rest of my life and never take for granted lol.



Day one started with the 2.5hr drive from Port Elizabeth to the lodge, where we had dinner, took in the view before dark (while watching sable and springbok feed in the valley behind camp), met the other guys in camp and then basically passed out for a dozen hours.

The first morning we woke up to fog and rain, so the start to hunting was delayed but we were treated to extra special breakfast and brunch and got to know the other guys in camp a bit better while we waited for the weather to clear. Around noon the weather broke and we were off. One animal my son was very interested in was Impala, and that afternoon we found a suitable ram and the stalk was on. After playing cat and mouse for a bit, he got his 160yd shot and we were on the board.



Later that even while glassing from a ridetop, we spotted a decent Kudu bull. Our PH made it clear that we would likely find larger bulls on the hunt, but my son was happy with this one and the shot scenario and after a great 302yd shot down from the ridge, he anchored his kudu in its tracks. By time we were done dealing the bull day one was done.



Day 2 started much the same as day 1, with fog and rain first thing. Fortunately, it broke earlier and by mid morning we were back out hunting. The target for the day was a waterbuck for me. While exploring, we came across the first wild tortoise me or the kid had ever seen, so we spent far longer than we should have taking pictures and just watching it do its thing lol....



Anyway, after some tortoise watching and walking of ridgetops, we found a small group of waterbuck. After a fairly lengthy stalk, we were in position for a shot and I had my waterbuck down. The rest of the day was spent dealing with the bull, and then shooting some vervet monkeys (at our request).





More to follow....

[300magman]

Day 3 finally broke clear and mostly sunny, so we were off to the races bright and early. A missed stalk on a kudu bull for me, a missed shot (the only one of the trip, again by me lol) on an impala ram was the story of the morning. In the afternoon, we headed out and found a very nice warthog way up on a hillside. After another long stalk, the pig gave us the slip. However, we worked our way around into a clearing on a saddle and found a herd of blesbuck bedded. My son made a great shot and we ended the day with a nice blesbuck down.



Day 4 it was raining again and extremely windy. Things were hunkered down for the most part, but we found a group of impala with a nice ram sheltering under a tree. It was a long wait in order to get a shot at the ram as they were all huddled under the tree, but eventually a shot presented itself and I took it.



The winds started to die down, and we hiked to a ridetop and spent about an hour glassing as things started moving again. About a mile and a half away our tracker spotted a nice kudu bull, so the stalk was on. Eventually we got ahead of the bull and I had my kudu on the ground.



For the evening of day 4 we headed back to the same hill where we had seen the nice pig the evening before, and there were some others in the same general area. We made a play on the biggest of the bunch and I was able to anchor him in his tracks. He was a really old pig, losing body mass and really not a tooth left in his head. Exactly the kind of pig I was looking for.



Day 5 we were out first thing looking for a gemsbuck for my son. We found an incredibly old one, that wasnt much but skin and bones. After what again was a long stalk he had his gemsbuck down. The teeth of this animal were worn down to the gums, its hips and ribs were very apparent and it was definitely at the end of its life. The perfect animal to take!



For the final evening we went looking for steenbuck. We had seen them throughout the hunt, but had decided to leave them for later in the trip. early in the evening I got a fanatsic ram, and later in the evening my son got a pretty good one too!





All in all, I couldnt have asked for a better first trip to Africa or trip with my son. These will be some days that i never forget and cant wait to get back and build upon as many more times as I am able to in my life!

[300magman]

[coxy95]

Looks like a great trip! Thanks for sharing!

[livinthedream]

Awesome adventure! Thanks for sharing.

[58thecat]

Huge wow factor, well done and thx for sharing this adventure.


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[badbrass]

Awesome adventure! Thanks for sharing. Congrats!

[cowmanbob]

Cool stuff.

[Smoky buck]

Congrats to you and your family

Have you ever considered adopting a 41 year son lol

[2 Tollers]

Very nice --- thanks for taking the time to put the travel log hunt story and pictures together

[thumper]

Very cool! Thanks for taking the time to put this post together for us!

[Wolftrapper]

Awesome job. Thanks for sharing.

[Smokinyotes]

Very well done. Beautiful pics

[300magman]

Thanks guys.....it was an amazing trip, truly cant wait to be back already lol!

[Moo Snukkle]

Congrats on a great adventure!

[leaseman]

Very impressive!!

[hayseed]

Wow!!! Looks like a fantastic hunt, huge congratulations!!

[HyperMOA]

That is awesome.

[DiabeticKripple]

For those of us not in the know, what does a trip like this cost - all in? 30k?

[HyperMOA]

Originally Posted by DiabeticKripple

For those of us not in the know, what does a trip like this cost - all in? 30k?

Hahahaha. I didn’t want to ask, but wondered the same.

My bet is the taxidermy ends up costing more.

[roper1]

My wife & I went to South Africa on an eco-safari few years back. It also was awesome, neat the way giraffe cross the roads like whitetails do here. many, many things to see, hear, and smell on the dark continent.

Awesome memories made for you & your son!

[alder]

What a great job, magman. Your boy looks like he knows how lucky he is to have a Dad like you.

And congratulations on all the trophies. That’s something else!!

[300magman]

Originally Posted by DiabeticKripple

For those of us not in the know, what does a trip like this cost - all in? 30k?

Thats really close to to the all in price. Not including tips for the camp staff, PH, etc but obviously that is a personal decision on what that "costs".

[300magman]

Thanks everyone! Roper, your bang on, its a pretty amazing place!

[Phil McCracken]

Awesome trip/stories/pics!

Thanx for sharing...