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First African safari!

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SChunter View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SChunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/09/2012 at 06:42
Made it back. Harvested a brown hyeena, impala, blesbok, zebra stallion, warthog, blue wildebeest, and kudu. My wife shot her first animal ever-impala. We heard cheeta, saw 3 leopards and had a great time. Photos and stories to come!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucytuma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/09/2012 at 07:31
Please!!!!!!!!!
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." - Thomas Jefferson
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SChunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/09/2012 at 12:10
I'm going to need some help with the Photos! Read instructions but still having trouble. I'll work on this this weekend.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rancid Coolaid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/09/2012 at 14:20
Best option is photobucket account and link to them.  With photobucket, you can store them indefinitely, secure them behind a password, or post for all the world to see.

Hope it is going well.
Freedom is something you take.
Respect is something you earn.
Equality is something you whine about not being given.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chris Farris II Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/15/2012 at 13:39

The trip to Africa with Warthog Safaris really began when I was seven.  I read a story and I was mesmerized by the tales of adventure from Teddy Roosevelt’s trip to the Dark Continent.  I was afraid that my dreams would outpace reality.  Thankfully, I was wrong!

Following a 16 hour plus plane ride from Atlanta to J’burg, the PH met us in the airport to clear rifle customs.  In my one time experience, having the PH meet you at the airport for this is worth the cost.  We had heard horror tales about the airport, but our PH got the three hunters through the airport rifle check in under 20 minutes total.  What a relief!

We travelled the first night approximately 4 hours into the Limpopo region and arrived at the lodge about midnight.  The animals present even in the dark were amazing.  It felt like it was a dream. 

The following morning we arose for a good breakfast and two hour ride around a concession with our wives to see game.  I am not sure that my lips have relaxed from being wrapped around my ears in a grand smile at the sight of all the good Lord has placed in His creation.

We returned and shot our rifles to verify zero and had a late brunch.  We then travelled with our PH’s for the first afternoon of hunting.   I am not sure that I could have pulled the trigger anyway, but I witnessed a large male civet cruising through the brush, several rhino, one with a new baby (28months gestation, try that one on for hormonal problems!), and it was all sensory overload.  That night, we witnessed another civet cat and small offspring skirt along the edge of the lodge.  What a first day!

Monday I was able to harvest a brown hyena (possibly the most awful smelling thing I have ever witnessed),  and a very good impala.

The impala was huge bodied, with  the average adult male weighing in the 170 pound range.  Mine was over 200 lbs!  The impala were in rut, and they make the most interesting bark.  They are the whitetail of South Africa!

Tuesday was humble pie day.  I didn’t see the 53 inch kudu beside the truck that my wife is staring at, and then I didn’t see the 14 inch warthog standing on the rocks.  I was beginning to think I had a major problem.  Tuesday could not end fast enough!

Wednesday we packed lunch and travelled north towards the Botswana border to a 50 thousand acre concession.  The primary animal today was the blesbok.  We tracked zebra in the morning, to include two stalks of over 2 hours each.  One animal that I had underestimated was the zebra.  We stalked within 30 yards of thirty in the herd, and I didn’t see them until I stepped on a twig. Unbelievable.  We had a great lunch of kudu sausage with onions and tomatoes cooked over a fire and then I was able to make a 400 yard shot on a the blesbok below. 

The rest of the afternoon we pursued zebra.  We ran across a small herd of gemsbok, but none presented a shot.  We worked hard in pursuit of the zebra, and were about to load up and roll out.  We spotted a herd of zebra about 400 yards out.  We closed the distance to 300 yards, the PH pointed out the old stallion in the group, and I squeezed off a 175 grain Aframe from the 7mm Rem Mag.  The thump was significant.  He travelled less than 40 yards.  I am still blown away by the  magnificence of the creatures we hunted and saw!  This harvest was the first tear shedder of the trip!

So, Wednesday ended with the harvest of two great trophies for me.

One day your life will flash before your eyes; Make sure it's worth watching.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chris Farris II Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/15/2012 at 13:40
Originally posted by SChunter SChunter wrote:

I'm going to need some help with the Photos! Read instructions but still having trouble. I'll work on this this weekend.
There you go, all done.
One day your life will flash before your eyes; Make sure it's worth watching.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rancid Coolaid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/15/2012 at 13:51
Great job, congratulations.

I have 6 weeks till I am wheels up.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SChunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/15/2012 at 14:22
Thanks CFII, great job on fixing my mess!

Jeff, wish I were going with you again!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/15/2012 at 14:32
Sam, great pictures and stories.  
Jeff, I don't know how you can stand it... SO close...
Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.

There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Glock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/15/2012 at 15:06
Well done Sam fantastic animals, Africa has a way off drawing you back. So I'm sure we will be seeing you here again. Glad to see you look like one of the locals with your short pants.
Regards Chris
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucytuma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/15/2012 at 15:12
Thanks for sharing, I'm sure you realize how fortunate you really are. Great story, great pictures!
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." - Thomas Jefferson
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SChunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/15/2012 at 16:35
Guys, I am blown away by how blessed I am to have gone and done the things you see in the photos. 
I couldn't stand the noise with the long pants stalking, so I decided scratched legs were quieter! 

And you are right, I have already planned to go back!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 8shots Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/16/2012 at 03:40
Seems like Africa smiled upon you. Great hunt, great story.....thanks for sharing.
 
Yes we have it all at our back door...sometimes we do not appreciate it enough.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bigdaddy0381 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/16/2012 at 08:33
A dream of mine. one day it will happen. I'm in awww of your hunt.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Glock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/16/2012 at 09:31
So what did you think of the local cuisine Sam, did you get to try anything interesting?
Regards Chris
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SChunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/16/2012 at 10:35
I am quite adventurous with foods.  I liked everything that I ate.  Ate guava fruit off the tree, picked oranges on one concession.  Really enjoyed salami of mixed wildebeest and kudu. 
cant remember the egg cheese meat dish that was a local favorite that was tremendous!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Glock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/16/2012 at 12:32
Originally posted by SChunter SChunter wrote:

I am quite adventurous with foods.  I liked everything that I ate.  Ate guava fruit off the tree, picked oranges on one concession.  Really enjoyed salami of mixed wildebeest and kudu. 
cant remember the egg cheese meat dish that was a local favorite that was tremendous!




Must say we have some really good food here, suppose that's why most South African men have what I call big stomach syndrome. To much good food and beers.
Regards Chris
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/16/2012 at 13:23
ExcellentExcellentExcellentExcellent
"Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be" - Abraham Lincoln
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sparky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/16/2012 at 17:19
Very Nice!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rancid Coolaid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/18/2012 at 15:40
Rifles were on the range today, confidence is a good thing.

Shooting from sticks ain't easy, especially when on is 6'4" tall.

"We're gonna need a bigger boat."
Freedom is something you take.
Respect is something you earn.
Equality is something you whine about not being given.
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