May 11, 2018
We're hunting on another guy's land and so far, it's been an interesting day...in the sense of "different." I'm not complaining, so don't take it that way. The man was kind of late getting to our meeting place. Then he had to get a key from someone. We hunted at the first place for an hour, give or take. J.L. and Big J. only saw females and young. [They were hunting red hartebeest.]
We were heading to the next place and the guy had to get another key. And then something else delayed them.
Just a while back, we had to make a special stop so the two guys could get their smoke. I truly am not upset, but this has been the happenings of today. As far as shooting anything, there's very little to write about at the moment.
We're relaxing under a shade tree now, waiting for the heat of the day to break.
***
[Here are some pictures taken while at the lodge, relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather. These two birds were just hanging out and eating, so I took the opportunity to shoot a few pictures. Also since the flowers and plants were pretty, I shot them.]
2:30pm
Big J., J.L., and S. are on foot, trying to find a group of red hartebeest. We just passed them, so they shouldn't be too far.
We got a picture of Dad with his sable [he was hunting with another guide at a different location.]. I'm very happy for him!
We drove right by some giraffes, like we would drive past cattle. They watched for a bit and then one "ran" away. The way they travel is so interesting. They use both legs on one side of their body at once. When they run it literally looks like slow motion.
No hartebeest. They out-smarted everyone.
Fact: we got firsthand experience of having to pay to use the toilet. It cost 2 Rand where we were.
After we came back for Dad, the spotlights, and to eat supper (which was blue wildebeest and it was super. We also had a pudding that was so good.), all of us (a group of about 10 people) piled into 2 vehicles and drove to another farm. There, all 10 of us got into 1 truck, and plus we had another guide climb on.
While spotlighting (and trying not to freeze), we saw female and young steenbuck. And then it happened--J.L. found a bushbuck. A very, very good one. The animal had brains. He hunkered down in a big bush so all we could see were his horns. We drove by, shined the huge, bright light on him, whistled... The other guide (a young looking, kind, happy man) even got off on foot and climbed the fence to get the critter out. But no, that wise old guy just watched. The guide clapped his hands, shook a fence which ran past the bushbuck, and still it didn't budge. I think it was when he threw a rock that the buck stood and bolted.
(In South Africa, you can shoot from in the pickup, on the roads, and while spotlighting. We were doing all three.)
We drove back and forth on that dirt road, keeping a close eye on the bushbuck. When at last it stood slightly still, Mom shot through the fence wires. After looking a short while with flashlights from cell phones, we drove around, back to where she shot.
J.L. kidded with Mom, saying that it got out and ran away. She "tracked" it and found the bushbuck where J.L. and the guide had carried it.
J.L. had been hunting this one for 5 years. He normally doesn't measure horns, but he did this one. He got the size and jumped aside with a shy, boyish grin. The horns are 15inches--a trophy size almost. It's a nice one. : ) It has a long scar behind his neck, along his shoulders, that he got while fighting.
While we drove past a field, still spotlighting, I saw some movement on the ground near the truck. J.L. put the light on it and it was an African Wild cat kitten! It was so cute! [I wanted to bring it home, which I'm sure would surprise no one who knows me...] J.L. yelled, "Catch it! I've always wanted one as a pet." So the other guide jumped down and grabbed it. It sure wasn't happy, but they put in something to safely transport it to J.L.'s home.
There's an old place here called Sarahbell and back in the 1800's, during a war here in South Africa, a couple lived in the house. Apparently, the husband was away at war and the enemy was heading towards his home, where his wife was. People told the wife she should leave, but she refused and said that that was where her husband knew to look for her. Well, the enemy came and hanged her in a tree on this place. 1 or 2 days later, her husband came back and found her.
Anywho, J.L. told us we might get a strange feeling at the gate, but none of us felt it.
And last of all, at 20 some minutes till 12 AM, we got our daily selfie.
