Bisch's African Adventure

Well, I just returned home from my first African hunt with Ledjadji Safaris in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. I bought my hunt in an auction at the Lone Star Bowhunters Assn annual banquet in June '08 and was very anxious to go for the entire next year. The package I bought was a 5 day hunt with 5 animals included (Gemsbok, Blue Wildebeest, Impala, Warthog, and Baboon or Jackal) for 1 hunter and 1 non-hunter. I bid on this package so that I could take my wife with me (she is definetly a non-hunter).

On June 18th,2009 my wife and I boarded the plane for SA. We arrived at the airport in Johannesberg safely and I was pleased to find that all our luggage was there too.

My PH,Danny Massyn, from Ledjadji Safaris was at the airport to pick us up. We loaded everything into his truck and started on the 4 hour drive to the hunting area. While enroute Dannie advised us that he had a client that was not leaving until the next day and that we would be staying the first night at a place called Inguna Safaris. We arrived at Inguna to find a beautiful lodge and got settled in for the night. Here are a few pics of the Inguna Lodge.
 
 
 

Saturday 6/20/09

This is my first day to hunt in Africa. We went out at daylight to a tent blind near a waterhole. A front had come in and the wind wrong. We saw lots of Guinnea Fowl and many different birds. At about 8:55am a group of warthogs with a monster came in but winded us before I could manage a shot. We had breakfast in the blind and did not see much else that morning. We got out of the blind around 11:00am and went back to the lodge for lunch.

That afternoon we went to an elevated hide that was a perfect set-up for trad shooters but the wind was still wrong and we saw nothing but guinneas. I shot at and missed 2 of the guinneas. Here is a pic of the elevated hide:
 

After the hunt we went back to the lodge, loaded our stuff in the truck, and headed to Ledjadji Safari Lodge. This would be our home base for the rest of our trip. Here are a few pics of Ledjadji Safari Lodge:
 
 
 
 


Sunday 6/21/09

Sunday moring found us in a pit blind I named Pit Blind #1. This is the hide I would spend the most time in on my hunt. The wind was still wrong but my PH Dannie told me it would change and when it did I would see a lot of animals. On this morning I would see a Steenbok ewe, shooter Impala ram that would not come in close enough, and lots of Guinneas all morning long. We could only hunt in the am today as my wife and I were going on an overnight side trip. At about 10:15am a whole herd of Impalas came into the waterhole. There was a nice ram in the herd and, as I was getting ready for a shot, they spooked and ran off. Then we heard the truck coming to pick us up. That must have been what spooked them. We went back to the lodge and prepared to leave on our day trip to the Tuli Lodge in Botswana.

Sunday 6/21/09

We left the lodge at 11:00am and arrived at the SA/Botswana border crossing just before noon. There to pick us up was Abraham from the Tuli Lodge. A short 15 minute ride across the Limpopo River to the lodge in a land rover and we were there. The Tuli Lodge is a 5 star accommodation. My wife and I were the only 2 guests and it felt like we owned the place and had all the people there waiting on us. Abraham was our guide for the afternoon game drive. During the game drive he stopped and popped up a small table and we had wine and took in the beauty. We spent the night there and in the morning went on another game drive where we saw a lot of animals. Here are a few pics from our day at the Tuli Lodge:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

By noon we were back at the border crossing and Dannie was waiting for us to take me back to hunt for the rest of the afternoon.

Monday 6/22/09

Monday afternoon found me back in Pit Blind #1. Here is a pic of the hide:
 
 We were in the hide by about 1:30pm. At about 2:20pm a small warthog came in and drank. At about 4:30 a Duiker ewe came in. At 5:20 a group of 3 warthogs came in and were feeding right in front of the hide. There was a nice boar and I decided I was going to try to shoot him. I stood up and proceeded to get the shakes as if I was looking at a Boone&Crocket deer in front of me. The warthogs stayed for a while but I was unable to get the one I wanted to position right. They spooked and ran off before I could manage a shot. Man, that was a neat, fun experience.

Tuesday 6/23/09

Tues morning we decided to give another hide a try. This hide I named Pit Blind #2. Here is a pic of Pit Blind#2:
 

The morning was cold but the wind was still out of the wrong direction. We sat there with nothing happening when, at 7:30am, Dannie tapped me and pointed out the window. There was a nice Impala ram coming in. I stood up and got ready. At 7:45am he finally worked into a position I thought I could shoot. I drew my Sarrels Blueridge TD longbow and let an arrow fly. WHACK! The arrow hit him but my impression was that it was too far back. Dannie told me he thought it would be OK because of the way he was quartering away from us. After a short while we exited the hide and began to look. We could find nothing and Dannie called in a tracker. Joseph, the tracker, arrived and began to look. He finally found some sign and we bagan a long track. Several hundred yards into it, Joseph jumped the ram up, still alive. Dannie decided to back off and call in a tracking dog. I was getting worried about this now. Dannie said that we should go ahead to another hide and let the trackers with the dog do their job. We went to Pit Blind #1. About an hour later the call came that they had recovered my ram. They brought him to us and it was picture taking time! Here are a few pics of my first african animal:
 
 

We did not see much else for the rest of the day: a duiker ewe and a few more Impala. I was pretty much on cloud 9. This place is soooo cool!!!

To be continued-

[tradtusker]

Awesome

pit blinds look like they need some work dont like to see light through those

Fantastic Impala Ram Bisch looking forward to the rest        

Wednesday 6/24/09

This day was another good one with two animals harvested. With the wind blowing hard and still out of the wrong direction we headed out before daylight to Pit Blind #1. When we arrived a warthog ran off from in front of the hide. We got our stuff out of the truck and he comes strolling right back in and begins eating. Danie asked if I could shoot him and I said yes. I pulled out an arrow and proceeded to miss him low at about 12 yards. He spooked and ran about 5yds then turns around and walks right back in. I stepped to the side a bit and the second shot at about 14yds was right on the money. He tore out of there with a tracer nock just visible in the entry hole. There was a good trail to follow and we recovered him in less than 50yds. Here is a couple pics of my first warthog:
 
 

We took pictures and then got in the hide. At about 8:15 we had a Duiker ewe and a couple more warthogs come in but they winded us ans spooked off. We decided to go to an elevated hide on another part of the ranch. We got situated in the elevated hide by about 9:00am and the wind was howling. Dannie checked the trail cam at this hide and there had been a huge Kudu bull there at 7:27 this morning. The wind was shaking the hide around and, with nothing seen, we decided to go for lunch at about 11:00am. Here is a pic from the elevated hide:
 

After lunch we headed back to Pit Blind #1. I told Dannie that I had a selfbow with me and that I really wante to try to shoot a warthog with it. I got out my Arvin Weaver Osage selfbow and took it to the hide. During the afternoon we saw a couple small warthogs and a Steenbok ewe. At about 4:45 a nice steenbok ram came in and I decided I was going to try to take him. I made a noise as I picked up my bow and he was out of there. At about 5:00pm Dannie pointed out the side window. There were several Kudu with a nice bull in the group heading toward us. There were a couple warthogs at the waterhole and the Kudu would not come in. They finally turned off in the brush and left. At 5:15pm 3 warthogs came in. One of them was a sow with pretty good tusks. I decided I was going to try to shoot her. It was 5:59pm and nearly dark before I could get off the shot. It felt good but I could not see the arrow hit her. We got out and looked for sign. The back half of the wooden arrow was laying near where I shot her. We found the front half covered in blood about 30yds away. We could not pick up any sign after that and decided to wait till morning to get the trackers after her. I began to worry about the shot placement.

Thursday June 25th

The morning started with us back in the elevated hide where the big Kudu had been yesterday. At 6:30 a Duiker ewe came in for a bite to eat and then slipped off into the bush. At 7:10 Dannie spots a huge Kudu bull about 200yds off in the bush. We hoped he would come in but he did not. At 7:30 a nice Duiker ram came in. He fed just out of range and then started working his way in closer. I was ready to shoot and he just walked on past without stopping so I did not get to shoot.

At 7:40 the call came that they had found my warthog from last night. I had made a perfect shot and they said it went about 100yds. We got out of the blind to go take pics. Here are a few pics of my first animal with a selfbow:
 
 

By 8:45am we were back in Pit Blind #1. We saw nothing but Guinneas and I decided to shoot one. Here is a couple pics of my Guinnea Fowl:
 
 

The rest of the day was uneventful with a few warthogs and that was about it.

Friday June 26th

I had told Dannie that I wanted to try some walk and stalk hunting and we decided to go back to Inguna Safaris to try to walk and stalk for Nyala. We walked around for a while and could not find the bulls. We then got in a Land Rover and drove around. We spotted a bull and off we went on foot. We actually got within range of him but there was too much brush to attempt a shot. We could not find any other bulls that morning and went back to base camp. Today the wind actualle calmed down and finally started to blow from the right direction. For the afternoon hunt we were back at Pit Blind #1. At 1:55pm I saw my first Kudu at a hide. It was a small bull. These are magnificent animals. In the next hour we saw 2 small Kudu bulls and a cow, but no shooters. At 3:15 a herd of Blue Wildebeest came in. There were several good ones. I picked one out that was about 18yds and was ready to shoot. I did not shoot because there was another one right beside it and I was afraid of sticking 2 of them. Something spooked them and the whole herd ran off. Man that was exciting! At about 4:15 we gat a call that they had spotted the Nyala at Inguna so we went back to see if we could get one. We chased several bulls around but could not manage to get close enough for a shot. Before we left I talked to a worker there and asked him to make me a brush blind near a waterhole that they were coming to every afternoon. He said he would and we decided we would come back in a couple days.

Saturday June 27th

This day would turn out to provide the highlight of my trip. We again went to Pit Blind #1 early. We saw a duiker and steenbok ewe and I saw my first Jackal. At about 8:45 a herd of Impalas came in. 10 minutes later in came the Wildebeests. I picked one out at about 17yds and let and arrow fly. The arrow sailed a foot over his back and they all spooked. A nice bull stopped and I nocked a second arrow. I let this one fly and missed low. They spooked and left for good this time. I was feeling pretty frustrated at this point. Upon discussing the first shot we noticed that ny broadhead had hit the side of the window I was shooting through. That explained how I missed so high. Here is a pic of the window:
 

The second shot happened real fast I misjudged the yardage. We stayed in the hide and at about 11:30 some workers arrived with a trailer load of orange peels. They use the orange peels for feed and the animals love them. Here is a pic of the orange peels being unloaded off the trailer:
 

By noon we are quietly sitting in the hide again. At 12:50 a small Kudu bull and Kudu cow come in and begin eating orange peels. Then several more cows come in. At 1:10 a nice bull comes in at 22yds. I shoot and miss him low! Everything runs off and I am sick to my stomach. Dannie says he is going to peek his head out of the hide to see if he can spot them. As he nears the door a big Kudu cow comes back in in front of us. I stop Dannie and all the animals make their way back in. 2 small buls, 5 or 6 cows, and a whole herd of Impalas. Then the big bull that I had just missed walks back in at exactly the same spot where I had missed him a few moments ago. I draw back this time and let another arrow fly. WHACK! It hits him but very low. Dannie said that it should be OK but I am worried after all that has transpired this morning. Dannie calls in the trackers. Joseph and Reggie get on the trail and 120yds away they wave us up to find my Kudu laying dead. I did a small victory dance and was as happy as I could be. Here are some pics of my Kudu bull. The longer horn measured 54":
 
 
 

We take all the pics and get him loaded in the truck and head back in the hide. At about 3:45 a bachelor group of Impalas comes in and when the big one walked out Dannie told me I really needed to shoot him. I could tell by the look on his face that this must be a really good ram and decided to try to shoot him. They milled around and at about 4:00pm I finally got a shot. He was quartered away and the hit was a little forward. Here is a pic of him before the shot:
 

The trackers came out and got on the trail. They look until dark without finding him so they will have to try again in the morning.

Sunday June 28th

I did not hunt on Sunday. My wife and I went on another side trip to see the Blyde River Canyon. This is the 3rd largest canyon in the world behind only the Grand Canyon(2nd) and a canyon in Namibia(1st). It is about a 4-5 hour drive. While we were on the way there we gat a call from the trackers that they could not find my Impala from last night. What a bummer that was to hear! We stayed at the Moholoholo Forrest Camp which was another 5 star accommodation deep in the canyon. While at Moholoholo we took part in a night game drive and a game walk in the moirning. This is one truely beautiful part of the world and I am glad we took the time to go explore it. Here are a fer pics from Moholoholo and the canyon:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Monday June 29th

We headed back to camp to try to get an afternoon hunt in at Inguna for the Nyala.

The next two days are a time that I would just as soon have erased from my memory. I cannot tell the sory and leave this out though and so here it is.

Monday June 29th

4:30pm finds us back at Inguna in a brush blind looking for an Nyala. By 5:00pm we see the first bull. He works his way in and Dannie gives me the green light. He positions at 13yds and draw and take the shot. Oh,no, The arrow hits him about 5" below the top of his back. Here is a pic a little before the shot:
 

I knew as he ran off that there was little chance of a recovery and I was really sick about this one. I did put the video on the TV when we got back to the lodge and it appears that my arrow might have hit something in the brush blind. That dose'nt really make the feeling any better though.

Tuesday June 30th

This is my last day to hunt and we head off bright and early back to Pit Blind #1 in hopes of one more chance for a Wildebeest. At 6:40am a nice Steenbok ram cam in but he would not get close enough for a shot before he left. Nothing else till about 11:00am when the Wildebeests come in. Some of them are eating the orange peels while others are drinking water. I pick one out at 20yds and proceed to miss low. The all spook but then turn around and come back in. This time I get one in the right position at 20yds again. I draw and shoot. Another terrible shot high in the back. This is a wide open shot with nothing to blame it on but myself. Here are a couple pics. The first is just before the shot and the second is on impact:
 
 

Again, I knew this was going to be an unrecovered animal. I was really feeling down. The tracker came out and we searched for several hours to see if we could find him or the group with him in it but to no avail.

We gor back in the hide at about 3:30pm. We saw a few Duiker and Stenbok ewes and a small Impala ram. At about 5:50pm 3 warthogs came in. Dannie tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I wanted to shoot the boar. I initially said no. He then leaned over and said that since I did not get a chance at a Gemsbok that he would not charge me for the extra warthog. I said OK then. At 5:59 in the last minutes of the last day of my hunt I took my 3rd warthog. We could not find him in the dark and decided to take up the track in the morning. Here is a couple pics; one just before the shot and one on impact:
 
 

Wednesday July 1st

We wer up at daylight to try to locate my warthog from last night. Myself, Dannie, Joseph, and Reggies began looking and got on a blood trail. It kept going and going. A little after 7:30am Dannie said we had to leave to begin our trip back to the airport. I did not want to leave. About an hour into our drive to Johannesberg we got a call that they had recovered my warthog from last night. I was relieved and happy to hear that news. I am still awaiting some pics of him from Dannie.

This was the most fantastic hunting trip I have ever taken part in and I will be back to Africa (If for no other reason than I have a score to settle with those wildebeests HAHA). I had a great time and my PH worked his butt off to get me on the animals.

I hope everyone gets to experience this at sometime in their life. It is truely amazing!

See y'all later,

Bisch

P.S. - I used the following bows on this hunt:
 
Bob Sarrels Bluridge TD longbow 50#@28" took the Impala, Kudu, 1 warthog, and the Guinnea Fowl.

Bob Sarrels Bobbcatt TD recurve 50#@28" took 1 warthog.

Arvin Weaver Osage Selfbow "Rule Breaker" took 1 warthog

[J-dog]

Awesome hunt, great pics and good story tellin! I have been once - dyin to get back. Africa is just an amazing place.

J

[Wile E. Coyote]

Bisch,
Thanks for sharing your stories with us. Nice pics and story. Congrats on your trophies and a great hunt. 10 days of waiting left then I'm off.

[Tim Fishell]

What a great time you guys had.  I can only hope I will make it there at some point in the life!!

[saumensch]

congrats on this awesome trip. real nice pics, good story - thanks for sharing!

You make a really nice couple with those big smiles by the way!

[BUFF]

Attaboy Bisch

[Joseph]

Reading these threads really makes me miss Africa more than I already do!  Congrats

[bloodyarrow]

[Young Buck]

Wow, I'm so happy for you.  Thank you for sharing your adventure with me.

[jonsimoneau]

I'm so glad you had a good experience.  Sounds like hunting as we all know it.  Some highs and some lows, but in my opinion, the highs usually outweigh the lows.  By the way....I can pretty much guarantee you will be back.  I have never met anyone yet who has hunted there who has not planned a return trip.  The first time I went it was a "once in a lifetime" hunt.  Then I got an offer I could not refuse and went back the following year.  Now I am busy working on my 3rd "Once in a lifetime" Trip! Great pics by the way!

[Steel]

What arrow/broadhead setup did you use on your hunt.

Steel, I used a GoldTip XT Hunter 55/77 cut to 30 1/2" with 150gr GK Silverflame broadheads on everything except the guinnea. I used a Judo point for that one.

Bisch

[amar911]

Nice story and pictures Bisch. I'm glad you got your wife to go along. Women enjoy a trip to Africa much more than they would ever expect. Now you just need to get her to do some of the hunting. The trouble with that is she may do all the hunting so that you don't get to do much, if any, as happened to me. Seriously, my wife now loves hunting. I just need to get her practiced enough with a bow to arrow something. It is difficult to do that when the women are as small as my wife. Not a long enough draw or enough poundage to shoot animals that are too big. But she still could shoot impala and some of the other smaller animals.

I enjoyed hearing the uncut version of the hunting. Too many people only talk about the good shots and the animals they harvested. We all know there are some that are missed or are hit poorly and cannot be found. Just to maybe make you feel better about those high hits, I have had that happen several times on whitetails, and I know that two of the three survived. I don't know about the third, but I suspect he did too. I also once shot a whitetail from a treestand nearly straight down. The arrow went through his back between his shoulder blade and came out through his chest. I thought for sure he had died, even though I could not find him. About six weeks later, a kid on the neighboring land shot a deer on his land during gun season. It took 11 shots from various rifles to finally kill that deer. My best friend helped with the recovery. I had described the unique antlers on the buck, and my friend thought this deer looked like what I had described. Sure enough, there was a three blade scar between the shoulder blades and another similar scar in the chest of the deer where my three bladed broadhead passed right through. Obviously, that deer had survived and did very well. I imagine at least one and perhaps both of the animals you shot high also survived. That is an area where there are not many vital organs unless you hit the spine (which you would know immediately) or the top of the lungs. Otherwise, you are just cutting meat. Those African animals are incredibly tough and likely just had a sore back for a week until it healed up.

I agree that you will probably be going back before you know it. Jon's experiences with Africa are just like mine and most other people's.

Allan