Don't Judge A Book By Her Cover

My journey begins 3 years ago when my friend Marc and his wife Mary return from their second safari to South Africa with Thaba Mmoyo Safaris. Their pictures and stories triggered an excitement in me I had not felt in years since my father/hunting partner of more than 38 years passed away. Immediately after their return they began planning a third trip. This time I would not be left out. One year later we were booking our seven day safari with Thaba Mmoyo. Every day at work Marc and I talked about the trip. From the animals and birds we would see, to the guns I would use, the ammo I would try, to joining a rifle range for the much needed practice shooting at distance off sticks. Since, I never shot over 100 yards and not picked up a rifle in 25 years (I'm a bow and shot gunner). We had a two year wait for our trip but every day felt like Christmas Eve when I was a young boy. With only one month to go before the trip our flight to Johannesburg was canceled due to the poor economy. Panic set in but we were able to rebook a fight out the following day. With the loss of a day my excitement dropped a little but Marc assured me six days was enough time to see a lot of game. Only one week to go before the trip and I already can’t sleep. The night before, I sleep very little if not at all. I’m so pumped with excitement!

Sixteen hours and 8,000 miles later we arrive in South Africa. As we head to the police station to get our gun permits, Mary spots Ellizy and Willie. Mary heads for the crowd and out pops this young woman with dark hair and RED stripes to give Mary a big hug. She was not quite what I was expecting to see. We loaded up the van and started our six hour drive north to the ranch. Along the way we stopped for a photo opportunity at a sign that reads Tropic of Capricorn. It is then, when I realize that I’m far from home and on a trip of a life time. Minutes later I spot my first African animals in the wild and my blood begins to pump. Paved roads begin to change to dirt and more animals appear. We arrive at the main gate to Thaba Mmoyo which has the shooting range just next to it. As the sun begins to set we all jump out of the van and scrambled to the guns so we could check them after the flight. Ellizy’s father (Fanie) comes out with some of the staff to greet us at the range. If and when you go to South Africa you will notice that the sun sets very rapidly! Therefore, we did not get a chance to sight-in all of the guns. Some of us decided it was best to shoot the guns in the morning before we went hunting. As we arrived in camp Zeriah, Pieter and Zaniah all came out to greet us. It felt as though we already knew each other. Right after the greeting we were handed our keys to the rooms and personalized Thaba Mmoyo caps, so off we went to the chalets. Zaniah was my guide to my room. My key had a metal rhino attached to it which corresponded to my private cottage with a beautiful wood door with a rhino carved into it. The room was just like the picture on the website. However, I was not expecting an air-conditioned room in the middle of nowhere.

At dinner I learned that Ellizy was my PH for the week. Remember that young woman with RED stripes in her hair. I felt a little apprehensive during diner but then I remembered how much my dad had taught me and how much I learned from spending time in the woods by the time I was 21. It could not be that bad! She was brought up hunting and spends more time in the bush in one year than most people spend in a life time. So, by the end of dinner I felt more comfortable with Ellizy as my PH.

The 5 AM knock at my door came quickly after approximately 30 hours of travel. I was already up, dressed and ready to go! Except I forgot one big thing, we had to wait for the sun to rise so we could shoot the guns. I was shooting a 30-06 and 7 mm Remington Magnum. After a few shots both guns were good to go. However, I would hunt with the 7 mm rem. mag. first since the gun belonged to my father and grandfather. My dad has shot elk, sheep, mule deer and numerous white tail deer with this gun. My grandfather had only shot white tails with it and now I will shoot something on the Dark Continent using the same gun… so I hoped.
Ellizy and I hunted the mountain the first day. Minutes into the hunt we see a Klipspringer and I pass on the animal. Immediately after, I hear animal sounds that I never heard before. Ellizy states it’s a group of Impala and their nervous, like there being hunted but it’s not by us. Soon after we spot fresh Leopard tracks then a second set of tracks from another Leopard. Now, I know I’m hunting somewhere special because something can be hunting me and that gives you a feeling inside I just can’t explain! One hour later I spot my first Kudu bull, a flash before my eyes as it disappears in the bush. That evening back at camp, I took some razing because I was the only one that did not pull the trigger.

Day Two
We are hunting the main ranch. We start off stalking a Jackal and we get busted. Ten minutes later, we spot a herd of Waterbuck and we start stalking them but we lose sight of them. I don’t understand how such large animals could disappear in front of your eyes just like that! A few more steps and up pops a herd of Kudu with a very nice bull. Then they disappear as five Blue Wildebeest show up and they catch our wind and begin snorting. Ellizy has us sit down in the grass to let things calm down. Just then a huge Waterbuck walks out from behind Ellizy, not thirty yards away and stands behind a bush with no shot for me. The wind changes and the Waterbuck bust us, gone in a flash! With that, we head for a water hole minutes away. We spot another large Waterbuck at the water hole and the stalk is on. We never caught up to him but we came across six Giraffe. Minutes later, we run right into a large mature Kudu bull about 60 yards away. We stalked within 30 yards of the bull and two minutes later Ellizy convinced me that I should wait for an opportunity on a better trophy quality specimen. Later that day we jumped a herd of kudu with a large bull but did not get a shot. However, after making our way to the blind it took only about 20 minutes until a fine Impala came to water and I took my first African animal with my dad’s 7 mm rem.mag. What a day we had! Hunting in the USA does not compare to hunting in South Africa. You never know one minute to the next, what large game animal you’re going to be hunting and there are no tags to draw. You can shoot something on the first day and not worry about what to do with the rest of the trip, you just keep hunting!

Day Three
We ran into Baboons, Monkeys, Eland, a Steenbuck and a Duiker. Ellizy spots several Waterbucks coming to water at about 200 yards. There is one large bull and they know something just isn’t right. We managed to crawl thirty feet to a ground blind. As I waited for a shot at the Waterbuck, a Blue Wildebeest came into the mix. What a dilemma for me, I now had to choose what to shoot. The choice was made easier as the animals began to leave starting with the Wildebeest. Now I begin to panic because I lost sight of the Waterbuck. Ellizy and Ricus (PH in training) spotted him to my left. I had to change shooting holes and I was not sure if it was the right animal because the head was down. Trusting my lady PH, I pulled the trigger. It dropped like a rock and everyone congratulated me on my second African animal.

Day Four
The stalk is on. I, my tracker Mabati and PH Ellizy are following Kudu tracks through the thick cover and tall grass. I have no idea how they are doing it because most of the time I see nothing but tracks going in all directions! We run into several Waterbuck but no Kudu? Finally, we spot the Kudu at about 275 yards. I just don’t understand how animals that are twice as high as the grass at the shoulders can just disappear into thin air, again! Just then, Ellizy points out Wildebeest while opening the sticks and tells me to get ready and shoot as “my trophy” is going to bolt if I take too long. I lowered the gun onto the sticks and pulled the trigger. I did not have time to think! The Wildebeest turned to run and stumbled but then took off like a rocket. Tracking – again! Ellizy turns to me and said “that’s why they call it the poor man’s buffalo; it is as tough as nails”. Blood and a good amount! But for only 30 yards and the trail goes bloodless! My heart is sinking and I feel sick. Ellizy looks at me, sees my expression on my face and says “we will get this animal”. I’m thinking that I have been here before; everyone who hunts has been here before! She is nuts if she thinks we are going to get this animal. Four hours and 5 miles later we still have not caught up to it. I cannot believe they are tracking this animal through tall grass, over gravel, sand, hard rock and through a dry river bed without any blood. It’s like being in a movie. It’s not possible! We follow the two trackers up the mountain. I still think this is just for show…. I cannot believe they are still on the trail. The Wildebeest started running again! The decision was made to stop tracking the animal and let it lie down. I was told that when the animal lies down the leg will stiffen up and later we will have a better chance to catch-up to it and get a shot. I asked the $64,000 dollar question. How on earth are you going to find these tracks later because we are in the middle of no were without a GPS unit? Response, African tracks. One of the trackers picked up a stick and began dragging it behind him and I could hardly see any tracks in the dirt. They told me that the trackers could follow the marks that they made like I could follow the yellow line down the middle of the road. Back at camp, I was convinced to let Ellizy’s brother, Pieter, go after the Wildebeest with a tracker because I would only slow them down and I only had two days left to get a Kudu. That afternoon Ellizy and the two trackers spot a large male Warthog. We move quickly to cut the distance. Ellizy sets up the sticks and tells me to shoot the hog as soon as I get a good shot. I pulled the trigger and stopped him right in his tracks. A record book trophy! With only a half hour of light before dark, several beautiful Nyala (one was around 30”) come out and and move towards us as darkness falls. Back at camp – Great news, Pieter and the tracker got my Blue Wildebeast!
Unfortunately some sad news – One of my oldest and dearest friends and the father to one of the guys on the trip, went into the hospital back home and it did not sound good. It was logistically not possible to get him home sooner and would continue hunting and still arrive on the scheduled date.

Day Five
The day starts out very somber and my PH does not push the hunt. That evening Ellizy decides to sit on top of Pride Rock and overlook a river bed. With about a half hour of light left my tracker spots a kudu bull about a half mile away. A decision is made to stalk the bull before it got dark. We stalk 200 yards as light begins to fade. We sink into the grass watching a female kudu walk past. We’re now crawling on our stomachs for a few yards and its getting dark. The bull kudu lets out a call and Ellizy slowly stands up to look. She sees the bull about 100 yards from us. She then turns to me and tells me it’s a mature bull but it’s not that big and she wants me to pass on this bull. I decided that, though suggested differently, I’m going to shoot it if I can only see it! She spreads the shooting sticks and points to a black spot in the tall grass in front of us. With the cross hairs on the lower shoulder, I squeezed off the shot! The bull falls, gets right back up and runs 15 yards and….falls dead. My PH lets out a loud YOU GOT HIM! If only my father and my best friend in hospital could have been here hunting with us!

Day Six
As things go, large Kudu bulls are everywhere! Just standing there, looking at us! Ellizy says to me, you knew this would happen, it always does! About an hour into the hunt we here this loud growl/high pitched squeal. Even the tracker does not recognize this sound. The noise came from a clump of bushes about 70 yards away... within 35 to 40 yards of the bushes a very loud growl! My eyes opened wide and my hair was standing on end! I quietly whispered “leopard” to Ellizy? Yes and a very angry one at that! She told me to shoulder my gun and take the safety off and to be ready in case it charges. We backed out of there very slowly. We retreat about two hundred yards before we turning around and start walking away, looking back every now and then. We made our way to the property line, where we spot the leopard tracks in the gravel as it slid under the fence from the neighbors’ property. My nerves were still shaking a bit when Ricus picked us up to head back to camp for lunch. The afternoon things started off slow. Just as it got dark, five or six Gemsbuck came to a water whole only 35 yards away. Ellizy pointed out the one to shoot and she kept telling me to wait for the others to clear. Finally, she gave the OK and I took my last animal in South Africa for 2009. Thaba Mmoyo! What a great experience definitely the place to take your family on a safari for a trip of a life time and remember, never judge a book (PH) by her cover.
Thanks Ellizy and the rest of my “professionals” for this ever lasting memory.

Extracts from ‘SA Story’ by:
Edward Hudzina