cooperjd
Well-Known Member
We got back from a fantastic adventure in RSA.
Outfitter: Stefan Joubert Safaris (near Thabazimbi)
PH: Stefan Joubert
Dates: left ATL 17 July, returned 29 July.
Bowtech CPXL, 31.5", 82#. Gold Tip 720gr total arrows with Iron Will 2 blade single bevel "buff" (no bleeders).
borrowed rifles: .308, .243, .416 Rigby, .577NE double
Species taken: Hippo, Croc, warthog, and zebra (by Larry),
Buffalo, eland, zebra, gemsbok by me. Warthog and blue wildebeest were taken as cull animals.
I met Stefan at the Western Hunting Expo in Salt Lake a few years ago and we hit it off. I was looking to bowhunt buffalo and my Dad was wanting to chase one with a rifle. Stefan made me an offer I couldn't refuse, but Dad ended up aggravating an old back and hip injury during a knee replacement surgery, so the trip was postponed a couple of years. He started making progress with therapy, so we booked the hunt. I also reached out to several friends to see who wanted to join. My friend from grad school, Larry, was in as well. Unfortunately Dad just didn't get well enough to make the flights, so he had to back out.
Stefan, being a man of his word, kept my pricing the same even though it was a couple of years and "some" inflation later. I told him if he needed to adjust for inflation I would understand. He not only kept the original price but made me some great deals on my other animals. And, said if Dad can make it later, he will still honor the original price. This is but a small indication of Stefan's character, of which I cannot say enough good things about.
The hunting: He arranged hippo and croc permits on another lodge about 3 hours from JNB. We arrived Thursday evening the 18th, were picked up and taken to a nice dinner then to a hotel for some needed sleep, and headed out Friday morning for the first camp. It was very nice with some great game viewing. We saw buffalo, rhino, a few pet lions the owners had raised from cubs, hippos, a few crocs, and several plains game species. There was one large hippo bull in particular we were targeting. He had been a loner in one of the lakes on the property, but had recently moved to be with several cows. This would make the hunting trickier, as we would need to drop him on land. The first afternoon after lunch, we went to let Larry shoot Stefan's .416 Rigby and get familiar with it. Larry is a very experienced shooter, so no problems there. After shooting we drove the property a bit to look it over, and when we got to one of the lakes the big bull hippo had moved back into it overnight and was alone. We went from a scenic drive to game on in an instant. I didnt' have my camcorder with me, but luckily I did think to bring my Nikon dslr. We got a good wind and snuck to the edge of the lake to wait the big bull out. We assumed he would come out right at dark to feed. The wind was swirling a bit, and when he was making his way to the edge, he winded us and went right back to the middle and stayed submerged. We backed out and re-positioned, and at last light he finally did make his way out. In this lake he was alone except for the crocs, so as soon as he got out of the water and gave Larry a good shot, he brained him. The big bull dropped flat, and Larry ran one through his shoulders as a backup. Hippo down!
Some celebratory drinks, fantastic food, and off to some jet-lagged sleep for croc tomorrow. The mornings were chilly, around 40*F, so the crocs were coming out to sun themselves and warm up around 10-11am. So it was not an early start. I was up early with the time difference, so I sat outside and watched and listened to the world come to life while sipping some coffee. No light pollution, no city, no cars, no noise, just birds and lion roars is a fantastic way to start the day! Some breakfast, and it's off to check the banks of the lakes for a warming croc. After checking a couple we found a big lizard out sunning, got the wind and stalked in. We were able to stay below the lake wall due to the topography, so we got pretty close, I think 70 yards or so. Stefan and Larry crawled up, got prone on a pack, and steadied for the shot. This time I was prepared and had my camcorder, hovering just high enough to see the croc. Larry made a great shot right behind the smile with the .308, couple follow ups for insurance, and had his ~12' croc! They were able to get a truck/trailer to him, winch him up and take him to the skinning shed.
We ate lunch, packed up, and headed to Stefan's property. Stefan has over 20k acres they own, and access to a ton more all over RSA, as well as property in Zim where he conducts elephant hunts. Stefan lives on the property, as well as his parents, and they have built a fantastic lodge that can accommodate up to 16 guests in total. He only books one group at a time, though, so you have the entire place to yourselves. Larry and I got quite spoiled by Chef Mari and Kristina, his cleaning and laundry lady. His dad has about 3k head of cattle on part of the property as well. The Joubert's have owned at least part of the property for decades (Stefan grew up there), and have slowly acquired neighboring lands over the years, and torn down the interior fences in the process. The property is large, and a lot of it is very, very thick bushveld. We each had our own bungalow with 2 beds and full baths. We would be here for the remainder of the hunt, so we unpacked, I shot the bow to make sure the airlines didn't damage anything, ate some snacks and went for a drive to check out the property.
Sunday the 21st: We went out looking for a buffalo to walk and stalk with the bow. This was primary mission #1 for me. We found a few buffalo bedded down, their heads were just sticking out into a road a bit as they lay sleeping. Stefan and I got a good wind and started stalking through the thick brush. Not far from the buff a herd of wildebeest busted us and spoiled the stalk. We looped around trying to anticipate where the buff may go since nothing winded us and we got lucky and had the herd run right in our lap. Unlucky in that we were caught too much in the open. The herd was from 50-70y away, but really no shooter bulls in this herd. It is pretty exciting to be on the ground so close to these big animals with a bow in your hand! No dice for more stalking that morning so we headed over to where they feed the cows in feeding troughs, to see if any warthogs were in there nabbing food. Stefan likes to shoot warties in here for fun, but we ran into a very large boar. Larry was up on the sticks. After some stalking, some cat and mouse, he finally got a shot. It wasn't the best shot and Stefan and Enocent (tracker extraordinaire) went and finished the big pig.
After lunch Stefan and I sat a blind to see what was around and coming to water. Eland was #2 on my list, it's the animal i most regretted not shooting on my last trip to RSA back in '15, and are my favorite plains animal. A group of eland came in just before dark with one big bull. We also had a large sable bull off the the left in the brush. I would've shot the first one that gave me a good shot. The eland kept his *** to me the entire time and the sable stayed in the brush. The wind was drifting slowly towards the sable so he finally barked at us and the eland scattered. I drew quickly but the big bull didn't stand still long enough for me to settle the pin and he moved behind some brush. I let down, but now the sable had walked out of the brush towards us, but was facing us head on. As dark as it was getting, and as dark as the sable's body is, I didn't feel comfortable trying to get a shot, even when he turned and was quartering slightly away. I just couldn't make out the details of his shoulder well enough. To have a little fun we took Stefan's .243 with a thermal scope over to the cow feeding area to see if any pigs were around. There was a medium sized boar so a shot on the shoulder put him down in about 3 seconds. This was my first time using a thermal scope, it was fantastic!
Monday morning the 22nd: we decided to sit another blind close by for the first hour to see if the big eland was still in the area. As luck would have it a herd of buffalo was the first thing that came in! This was NOT the plan! This time there were 2 nice bulls in the group. One was bigger and prettier, but was just a couple of years too young. So we shifted our attention to the older bull, and he eventually offered me a "mostly" broadside shot at 30 yards. I was not planning to hunt buff from a blind, but when the Good Lord gives you a great animal at 30 yards, you take it! I buried the arrow to the fletchings, and watched blood immediately cover the green and white vanes. After a brief minute or two we could hear death bellows from the brush not 50-60 yards away. We radio'd Eno to bring the truck and started on the blood trail. This was an exceptionally easy blood trail to follow, i'm happy to say. However, when we got to where he laid down, he was not there. The herd bumped him up and he got back to his feet and kept going. We went another 40 yards or so and saw the herd staring at us in the brush. We knelt down and watched them, and they finally sauntered off. There was one in the back that was going pretty slowly behind the herd. I heard Stefan tell Eno "impossible!, that's not possible". I had a sinking feeling of 'oh *****, that shot wasn't what we thought. I did not want to put us in any danger and I didnt' want any .577 holes in my buffalo. My anxiety disappeared however when we took about 5 steps and saw my bull laying where the herd had just been standing. He was done, and I had a 41" bull on the ground. I have dreamt of this moment for probably 30 years. I only wish Dad had been there with me.
We dropped the bull off at the skinning shed and was headed back for lunch when Stefan spotted an ear-tagged wildebeest cow. 5 years ago, about 15 ear-tagged blue wildebeest made their way onto his property from a neighbor, and he has been trying to kill them ever since. But don't worry, hunting high fence is just "easy", so much so it's taken 5 years and this is the last one left. I was in the back of the landcruiser so I see the .308's suppressed barrel come out Larry's window, then pop (it is suppressed, so not boom
), the cow dropped. Then, she got up and hauled ***. Now, I thought maybe he went high shoulder but too high, but apparently he was aiming between the eyes and went a bit low/wide. We get out and look for a while, no wildebeest. Stefan sends his trackers out, they turn up nothing as well. So we will keep an eye out for this one.
Lunch, rest, then back out that afternoon. I wanted stalk something, so we went looking to see what was out and in a stalkable position. We found a lone gemsbok bull about 1200y away down a long powerline cut. Stefan and I got a good wind and went down a parallel powerline cut to try and get close. There were a few parallel powerline cuts in this area with rows of brush in between. We got as close as we could to the bull after a long stalk, but 80 yards was about it. A great way to end the daylight! This time we went and picked up Larry from the lodge and it was his turn on the thermal for pigs. He whacked one as well playing the 'real life video game'.
Tuesday the 23rd: Spent a lot of time driving around trying to find a good eland to stalk. No luck so we eventually decided to sit a blind for a bit to see what comes in. As we were about to leave some wildebeest started making their way in. That lead to a herd of eland as well. Then a second herd of eland from behind us. There was one shooter bull in the group. With so many animals and all the moving around getting a shot is tricky. I drew 3 times on this bull. With the first two draw/let down some of them caught movement and got nervous. A few of the bulls started to leave, and the big one was with them. This proved to be lucky since they walked to my side of the blind where I had a great shooting window. Third time is the charm, so this time as he was walking broadside, we stopped him with some grunts and i zipped my arrow through his shoulders at 35y, and we watched him fall not 40 yards from where he stood! Holy cow these things are huge! We got him winched into the land cruiser and to the skinning shed.
Lunch, rest, back after spot and stalk gemsbok. At this point I had shot 2 animals from blinds, and I said no more blind hunting for me. Even if I have to use a rifle, I want to only spot and stalk for the remainder of the hunt. Now, this style of hunting is much better suited in Mar/Apr when everything is green, not in July when everything is dry and dead. Stefan is a bowhunter and loves to stalk so he was happy to indulge my request, no matter how difficult. We found a herd of gemsbok in the thick brush, got a good wind, and started in. We got fairly close this time before we got busted by a swirling wind. Bowhunting in this is like bowhunting in the oak brush in the Rockies, it's thick and it sucks to try and sneak an arrow through. Stefan's dad, a great hunter in his own right, told us it was impossible to get a gemsbok this way. So now we are even more determined and hard-headed to make this work! We left that herd alone and went looking in the power line cuts again and found the old bull again. This time it was more cat and mouse, as he was moving from one cut to another. while we were moving from one to the other the big bull came out of the brush and spotted us. Game over!
Wednesday the 24th: Wash, rinse, repeat, more gemsbok stalking! This time we got to within 35 yards of one in the brush. I should've drawn earlier.... It was feeding towards a tiny opening I had and I should've drawn before it got there. As soon as it hit the opening it saw us standing in the brush, and when i tried to draw then he was gone in a flash! The herd didnt' run though, nothing winded us this time. So we gave it a few minutes and kept pursuing the herd as they fed through the brush. We did get 55y from a feeding cow, and 75 from a big bull near her, but they saw us trying to sneak through the brush and the gig was up. We radio'd Eno to come to a waypoint and pick us up in the truck. As we were walking to the meetup point, it happened to be by a water hole. Just as we were getting to the water, we heard a lot of noise in the brush. A herd of buffalo also picked this time to water, so we had to beat feet and get away before they popped out of the brush. Lots of cows with calves, so we didn't want to be anywhere near those babies. Luckily Eno arrived with the truck not a minute later. There was a giant bull we spotted on the way out, maybe 45" or so, a real beauty!
Went to a different area of the property and found a couple zebra in the road. When they bolted, we set out on foot tracking them. This time I had the .308. We tracked for a while, and watching Eno track these things was incredible! The wind was just swirling too bad and they kept winding us and staying too far ahead. The winds here are very, very frustrating! It blows every freaking direction every 5 minutes, and if it is steady, it only comes directly from the direction of the sun!
Lunch, rest, back after gemsbok! Found the big bull in the powerline cuts again. There were a couple bulls that liked this area, though I think we only saw them together one time. This stalking is easier, since we can get in a parallel line and walk fast and not deal with brush, but it is so open it is very, very difficult to get close. Again, these bulls are not big because they are dumb. He was in the brush this time, and we though we had some time to cross the lane. Nope, as we were halfway across he stepped out, gave us the finger, and off he went!
Thursday the 25th: Guess what? More gemsbok! Saw a bull and a cow in the powerline openings. We got in one lane parallel and worked our way in. When we got to where they had been, they were nowhere to be found. Mind you we started from over half a mile away, so they could easily move in some brush or in another lane while we can't see them. The wind was swirling like crazy this morning and we knew even if we found them there's almost no way we are going to get in bow range. We snuck in to a herd of eland in the brush lines by accident, that didn't help us any either. So we decided to back out and wait for a better wind situation. We walk back to the truck, and as we were leaving, the big old lone bull was out in his cut, laughing at us again! We had actually been pretty close to him but in the brush we never knew it.
Let's try to mix it up before lunch...So we found more zebra. A fairly large herd, as well as 2 lone stallions that were near, but not with, the main herd. Stefan said leave that **** bow in the truck, so I grabbed the .308 and off we went. The 2 stallions were hanging with a few eland as well, and luckily these guys didn't run. I'm not sure why, I guess the hunting gods felt bad for me. The stallions saw us and were nervous, so they were hanging in the brush. We moved a bit and got a clear shot at one of their chests for a frontal at about 125y. There was a tree between me and the zebra that forked, and his chest was perfectly placed in the fork. The 180gr hornady bullet found the chest and the zebra made it about 40 yards. This was an old, old stallion. He had a good head and neck but small body, as he was shrinking. His skin was loose on his hams where he was getting smaller. Unbeknownst to me, my wife did NOT want me shooting a zebra. Oops She's really going to be happy when the shoulder mount shows up...
Lunch, rest, went and tested Stefan's new .22-250 and some loads he made up, they were terrible, so back to the drawing board with those. Then we went after, yup, more gemsbok! Driving in we saw a couple of bulls right off the road in the brush. So we drove a few hundred yards then stopped and got out to sneak in. Remember how the wind only blows from the sun? Bright afternoon sun right in our face. Perfect for stalking! We somehow snuck up to 25 yards from this bull. He was facing directly away from us so I got in position to shoot and drew the bow. He turned as he was feeding and the only thing I could see through my peep was a ball of fire in the sky. You have to be kidding me! Poof, he was gone! Back to the truck....found some more, this time we were back in the brush stalking a herd. We got close! Really close! We had one at 35y in the brush, one at 55, and one at 60. The big bull was at 55. All 3 were completely covered up in the brush, and of course, the one at 35 busted us and snorted. I drew, as the one at 55 stepped out in the clear, not knowing where the danger was, but it happened so fast he was gone before i could settle a pin. The herd didn't run, only one of them snorted and nothing winded us. So there was one standing at 70y, at the outside limit of my range. There was a row of brush between us, but Stefan said, look, your arrow will arc over that brush, it is clear from the brush to the bull. So I drew, settled my pin, and released. The arrow looked perfect. It was arcing over the brush as planned, heading straight for a grey shoulder. The gemsbok had other ideas. It simply ran away! **** thing was completely gone before the arrow got there. Well, we got a shot at least!
Friday the 26th: You guessed it! Gemsbok! Back in the brush, and FINALLY a good, steady, stiff wind in ONE DIRECTION! OK, this is going to be our day! Except, we couldn't find the herd once we got in the brush... We had to leave the truck quite a ways back and by the time we got to where the herd was, it wasn't! Visibility is 20-60y in here, so it is pretty easy to lose the animals....but still pretty aggravating. We radio'd Eno to bring the truck closer to us so we could just walk straight to a road, and when the truck moved it bumped a herd of buffalo straight towards us. We could hear them coming, and when Stefan said, we probably need to run get behind some trees, I was thinking oh ****! I wish he had his rifle! All we had for weaponry was my bow! We ran a bit and found a decent sized tree and got behind it. The buff kept coming our direction, so when we saw their heads through the brush we took off again, hid again, but this time they veered off to the side.
Me: "You're so proud of that new 577, yet you leave the **** thing in the truck?!?!"
Stefan: "*****! We are fine, this is fun!"
I freaking love this kid! (He is 28 at the time of this writing, and has been a PH since 18, guiding since 16). However, I liked it a lot better when he was armed! On the way back to the road we ran into some young impala rams. He wanted one for bait so we stalked in on it. We got to 25 yards but before I could get in position and draw it looked up and saw us and spooked. We happened to look just to our left and there were a handful of buffalo heads peering at us through the brush about 40 yards away, so we made a quick right turn and walked with purpose away! Made it back to the truck safely, and licked our wounds. On the way out there were some blue wildebeest he wanted culled. So against his policy he handed me the .308 to shoot from the truck window. Using the sideview mirror, I shot her about 100y away, she went 10y and piled up.
In for lunch, some daily bow practice after lunch, then a quick nap/shower and back at it. Again, after gemsbok. We will not give up! Especially today with a good strong wind. We find the herd and make a slow, careful stalk. This is our best chance with a steady wind and we cannot afford a mistake. We of course want a really old bull, but I also understand that in this type of hunting, I will pretty much have to take what opportunity I am presented with, and am OK with that. Somehow, Stefan spots a tail swish in the brush. It took me a long time to find this thing, but she is feeding 59y from us. We sneak in as close as we dare, and there is a little "hallway" opening in the brush that is exactly 60y long. She is very slowly feeding towards this opening. We find a good bush to hide behind and wait. Sure enough it works, and I draw as she is stepping into the opening. I settle my pin on the shoulder and pull through the release. The shot looked and felt great, but she whirled at the shot. And my beautiful shoulder shot suddenly, was not. We heard the arrow hit but it didn't sound like a good vitals hit, and with her whirling away, it was a blur and we couldn't see where the arrow actually hit. We found the arrow, looked like muscle meat. Not good. We get Eno on the track and he finally found tiny bits of blood. I stayed with Eno and Stefan went back to get his drone. Eventually, as we were with Eno on the track, the drone flew above us and bounced a few times indicating Stefan wanted us back. We were on her track but were going to bump her in this super thick brush and just keep pushing her. We went out and joined up with Stefan, I got the .308 and we ended up getting her while she crossed a road in front of us with the rifle. The arrow just nicked the top of her neck as she was whirling away, not in any way a lethal hit (unless by infection). Definitely not how I wanted to get my "archery" gemsbok. They are just too jumpy to shoot that far.
That night after dinner we walked in to where they dump the gut piles to see if we could do some predator control with the thermal. No jackals were around, but there was a big honey badger. We didn't want to shoot it but was awesome to see! By now the full moon had gone so the star gazing was UNBELIEVABLE tonight.
Saturday the 27th: Our last full day in camp. Larry had decided he wanted a zebra after all, so we spent the morning looking for a good stallion for him. We finally did find some, and after a good stalk he made a good shot at a little over 100y with the .308. The shot was good, but was a tiny bit back so the stallion ran for a few hundred yards. I had it on video though so we could see exactly where he was standing, and his path for the first bit of his run. There were lots of tracks in the dirt so it gave Eno a starting place, and then of course, he was on it. It is unbelievable to me how fast these guys can track tiny, tiny drops of blood in the red sand. I love watching them but feel very very terrible at my own tracking ability! Once the zebra started bleeding it was a good trail to follow. With no exit hole it just took a little bit, and Larry had a beautiful stallion on the ground.
We got a peek into Stefan's gun room, and he let us each have a go with his .577NE before lunch. I've owned a couple of .375HH, but the power of that big double is AWESOME!
On the way from Stefan's house to the range to go shoot the .577, somehow, we spot the ear-tagged and previously shot blue wildebeest cow. I grab the .308 next to me in the front seat and she was trotting away but giving me a good quartering angle, and I put her down. Larry's shot was just a bit off, but enough to miss the brain/spine. She is now out of her suffering thankfully.
After lunch it was down for me to decide what to do. We had seen a couple of really big blue wildebeest bulls. However, the only way to really get one with a bow was to sit a blind...and I didn't want to do that. So I said let's just go and see what we see. A nice impala, wartie, waterbuck, something with bow or rifle is fine with me. He said he has an ancient old waterbuck he's been hunting for a couple of years, but hasn't gotten yet. Perfect, let's go! He knows the area where this bull lives, but it is thick and nasty. So I take his .375HH since the brush is so thick and off we go. We walked through this thick section and found some pretty fresh heart-shaped tracks, but no bull. We were coming out of the brush onto a road and spotted a porcupine and was taking pictures of him, when we got a message saying Larry and Eno had eyes on the waterbuck. He had stepped out to feed along the road. We happened to be about halfway between the truck and the bull, so we only had to go 10y or so, and stop taking pics of the porcupine, to be on the same road. We saw the bull, about 400y away. However, he also saw us, and that was that, he was gone! This is why he is old.
Went after jackal that night after dinner with the thermal but the scope settings had gotten changed, and the only jackal that came in I could barely see and missed. Once Stefan fixed the scope it was great, but nothing else wanted to come in to the calls tonight.
Sunday morning, our last morning, we drove around and looked for the big waterbuck again for a bit. But it was time to do some business and settle up, pack, shower, have one more great lunch and head back to JNB for the long flight home.
The lodge was great. Several bungalows for the hunters to stay in. There are also 2 buildings, one with the kitchen, bar, and dining table and a seating area. There is another hang-out room with a TV and couches. There is a covered outdoor seating area, as well as the firepit / braai area. Every evening when we got back to the camp, there was a fire waiting for us, with beer and booze as well as appetizers.
Chef Mari made absolutely top quality meals. I gained a legitimate 3-4lbs that I am currently working off. Fresh buffalo tenderloin, eland backstrap, tenderloin, and holy cow zebra is delicious! But above the amenities, Stefan and his crew are just top quality people. They are a pleasure to be around, and a pleasure to hunt with.
I am not some greatly experienced African hunter. I have been to RSA one other time back in 2015. I am, however, an experienced hunter. I have been very fortunate to be born into a hunting family, and my Dad started me when I was 5. I have been hunting now for 38 years, and lucky enough to take several species in North America as well as a few now in Africa, many of those adventures with my Dad. Like many here, hunting is my absolute passion. I have lived it, breathed it, eaten it, my entire life. As y'all know, finding people like this in your life, to be your hunting buddies, is difficult. Finding people that hunt as hard as I do, willing to go the miles I will go, endure the cold and the pain and the suck is hard to find. I have a few of those guys that will pack miles in the rockies, or walk miles and miles for antelope, but not many.
Hunting with Stefan was just like hunting with a great hunting buddy. The young man is absolutely passionate about hunting, animals, and doing it right. It was an absolute pleasure to hunt with him, and I will somehow figure out a way financially, to go back. This trip was so much more than I expected. I simply cannot say enough good things about Mr. Joubert.
Some general camp pics:
bungalows and covered seating area:
evening firepit:
hang-out lodge:
I will have to pull some others off my phone.
Good hunting!
John Cooper
Outfitter: Stefan Joubert Safaris (near Thabazimbi)
PH: Stefan Joubert
Dates: left ATL 17 July, returned 29 July.
Bowtech CPXL, 31.5", 82#. Gold Tip 720gr total arrows with Iron Will 2 blade single bevel "buff" (no bleeders).
borrowed rifles: .308, .243, .416 Rigby, .577NE double
Species taken: Hippo, Croc, warthog, and zebra (by Larry),
Buffalo, eland, zebra, gemsbok by me. Warthog and blue wildebeest were taken as cull animals.
I met Stefan at the Western Hunting Expo in Salt Lake a few years ago and we hit it off. I was looking to bowhunt buffalo and my Dad was wanting to chase one with a rifle. Stefan made me an offer I couldn't refuse, but Dad ended up aggravating an old back and hip injury during a knee replacement surgery, so the trip was postponed a couple of years. He started making progress with therapy, so we booked the hunt. I also reached out to several friends to see who wanted to join. My friend from grad school, Larry, was in as well. Unfortunately Dad just didn't get well enough to make the flights, so he had to back out.
Stefan, being a man of his word, kept my pricing the same even though it was a couple of years and "some" inflation later. I told him if he needed to adjust for inflation I would understand. He not only kept the original price but made me some great deals on my other animals. And, said if Dad can make it later, he will still honor the original price. This is but a small indication of Stefan's character, of which I cannot say enough good things about.
The hunting: He arranged hippo and croc permits on another lodge about 3 hours from JNB. We arrived Thursday evening the 18th, were picked up and taken to a nice dinner then to a hotel for some needed sleep, and headed out Friday morning for the first camp. It was very nice with some great game viewing. We saw buffalo, rhino, a few pet lions the owners had raised from cubs, hippos, a few crocs, and several plains game species. There was one large hippo bull in particular we were targeting. He had been a loner in one of the lakes on the property, but had recently moved to be with several cows. This would make the hunting trickier, as we would need to drop him on land. The first afternoon after lunch, we went to let Larry shoot Stefan's .416 Rigby and get familiar with it. Larry is a very experienced shooter, so no problems there. After shooting we drove the property a bit to look it over, and when we got to one of the lakes the big bull hippo had moved back into it overnight and was alone. We went from a scenic drive to game on in an instant. I didnt' have my camcorder with me, but luckily I did think to bring my Nikon dslr. We got a good wind and snuck to the edge of the lake to wait the big bull out. We assumed he would come out right at dark to feed. The wind was swirling a bit, and when he was making his way to the edge, he winded us and went right back to the middle and stayed submerged. We backed out and re-positioned, and at last light he finally did make his way out. In this lake he was alone except for the crocs, so as soon as he got out of the water and gave Larry a good shot, he brained him. The big bull dropped flat, and Larry ran one through his shoulders as a backup. Hippo down!
Some celebratory drinks, fantastic food, and off to some jet-lagged sleep for croc tomorrow. The mornings were chilly, around 40*F, so the crocs were coming out to sun themselves and warm up around 10-11am. So it was not an early start. I was up early with the time difference, so I sat outside and watched and listened to the world come to life while sipping some coffee. No light pollution, no city, no cars, no noise, just birds and lion roars is a fantastic way to start the day! Some breakfast, and it's off to check the banks of the lakes for a warming croc. After checking a couple we found a big lizard out sunning, got the wind and stalked in. We were able to stay below the lake wall due to the topography, so we got pretty close, I think 70 yards or so. Stefan and Larry crawled up, got prone on a pack, and steadied for the shot. This time I was prepared and had my camcorder, hovering just high enough to see the croc. Larry made a great shot right behind the smile with the .308, couple follow ups for insurance, and had his ~12' croc! They were able to get a truck/trailer to him, winch him up and take him to the skinning shed.
We ate lunch, packed up, and headed to Stefan's property. Stefan has over 20k acres they own, and access to a ton more all over RSA, as well as property in Zim where he conducts elephant hunts. Stefan lives on the property, as well as his parents, and they have built a fantastic lodge that can accommodate up to 16 guests in total. He only books one group at a time, though, so you have the entire place to yourselves. Larry and I got quite spoiled by Chef Mari and Kristina, his cleaning and laundry lady. His dad has about 3k head of cattle on part of the property as well. The Joubert's have owned at least part of the property for decades (Stefan grew up there), and have slowly acquired neighboring lands over the years, and torn down the interior fences in the process. The property is large, and a lot of it is very, very thick bushveld. We each had our own bungalow with 2 beds and full baths. We would be here for the remainder of the hunt, so we unpacked, I shot the bow to make sure the airlines didn't damage anything, ate some snacks and went for a drive to check out the property.
Sunday the 21st: We went out looking for a buffalo to walk and stalk with the bow. This was primary mission #1 for me. We found a few buffalo bedded down, their heads were just sticking out into a road a bit as they lay sleeping. Stefan and I got a good wind and started stalking through the thick brush. Not far from the buff a herd of wildebeest busted us and spoiled the stalk. We looped around trying to anticipate where the buff may go since nothing winded us and we got lucky and had the herd run right in our lap. Unlucky in that we were caught too much in the open. The herd was from 50-70y away, but really no shooter bulls in this herd. It is pretty exciting to be on the ground so close to these big animals with a bow in your hand! No dice for more stalking that morning so we headed over to where they feed the cows in feeding troughs, to see if any warthogs were in there nabbing food. Stefan likes to shoot warties in here for fun, but we ran into a very large boar. Larry was up on the sticks. After some stalking, some cat and mouse, he finally got a shot. It wasn't the best shot and Stefan and Enocent (tracker extraordinaire) went and finished the big pig.
After lunch Stefan and I sat a blind to see what was around and coming to water. Eland was #2 on my list, it's the animal i most regretted not shooting on my last trip to RSA back in '15, and are my favorite plains animal. A group of eland came in just before dark with one big bull. We also had a large sable bull off the the left in the brush. I would've shot the first one that gave me a good shot. The eland kept his *** to me the entire time and the sable stayed in the brush. The wind was drifting slowly towards the sable so he finally barked at us and the eland scattered. I drew quickly but the big bull didn't stand still long enough for me to settle the pin and he moved behind some brush. I let down, but now the sable had walked out of the brush towards us, but was facing us head on. As dark as it was getting, and as dark as the sable's body is, I didn't feel comfortable trying to get a shot, even when he turned and was quartering slightly away. I just couldn't make out the details of his shoulder well enough. To have a little fun we took Stefan's .243 with a thermal scope over to the cow feeding area to see if any pigs were around. There was a medium sized boar so a shot on the shoulder put him down in about 3 seconds. This was my first time using a thermal scope, it was fantastic!
Monday morning the 22nd: we decided to sit another blind close by for the first hour to see if the big eland was still in the area. As luck would have it a herd of buffalo was the first thing that came in! This was NOT the plan! This time there were 2 nice bulls in the group. One was bigger and prettier, but was just a couple of years too young. So we shifted our attention to the older bull, and he eventually offered me a "mostly" broadside shot at 30 yards. I was not planning to hunt buff from a blind, but when the Good Lord gives you a great animal at 30 yards, you take it! I buried the arrow to the fletchings, and watched blood immediately cover the green and white vanes. After a brief minute or two we could hear death bellows from the brush not 50-60 yards away. We radio'd Eno to bring the truck and started on the blood trail. This was an exceptionally easy blood trail to follow, i'm happy to say. However, when we got to where he laid down, he was not there. The herd bumped him up and he got back to his feet and kept going. We went another 40 yards or so and saw the herd staring at us in the brush. We knelt down and watched them, and they finally sauntered off. There was one in the back that was going pretty slowly behind the herd. I heard Stefan tell Eno "impossible!, that's not possible". I had a sinking feeling of 'oh *****, that shot wasn't what we thought. I did not want to put us in any danger and I didnt' want any .577 holes in my buffalo. My anxiety disappeared however when we took about 5 steps and saw my bull laying where the herd had just been standing. He was done, and I had a 41" bull on the ground. I have dreamt of this moment for probably 30 years. I only wish Dad had been there with me.
We dropped the bull off at the skinning shed and was headed back for lunch when Stefan spotted an ear-tagged wildebeest cow. 5 years ago, about 15 ear-tagged blue wildebeest made their way onto his property from a neighbor, and he has been trying to kill them ever since. But don't worry, hunting high fence is just "easy", so much so it's taken 5 years and this is the last one left. I was in the back of the landcruiser so I see the .308's suppressed barrel come out Larry's window, then pop (it is suppressed, so not boom
), the cow dropped. Then, she got up and hauled ***. Now, I thought maybe he went high shoulder but too high, but apparently he was aiming between the eyes and went a bit low/wide. We get out and look for a while, no wildebeest. Stefan sends his trackers out, they turn up nothing as well. So we will keep an eye out for this one. Lunch, rest, then back out that afternoon. I wanted stalk something, so we went looking to see what was out and in a stalkable position. We found a lone gemsbok bull about 1200y away down a long powerline cut. Stefan and I got a good wind and went down a parallel powerline cut to try and get close. There were a few parallel powerline cuts in this area with rows of brush in between. We got as close as we could to the bull after a long stalk, but 80 yards was about it. A great way to end the daylight! This time we went and picked up Larry from the lodge and it was his turn on the thermal for pigs. He whacked one as well playing the 'real life video game'.
Tuesday the 23rd: Spent a lot of time driving around trying to find a good eland to stalk. No luck so we eventually decided to sit a blind for a bit to see what comes in. As we were about to leave some wildebeest started making their way in. That lead to a herd of eland as well. Then a second herd of eland from behind us. There was one shooter bull in the group. With so many animals and all the moving around getting a shot is tricky. I drew 3 times on this bull. With the first two draw/let down some of them caught movement and got nervous. A few of the bulls started to leave, and the big one was with them. This proved to be lucky since they walked to my side of the blind where I had a great shooting window. Third time is the charm, so this time as he was walking broadside, we stopped him with some grunts and i zipped my arrow through his shoulders at 35y, and we watched him fall not 40 yards from where he stood! Holy cow these things are huge! We got him winched into the land cruiser and to the skinning shed.
Lunch, rest, back after spot and stalk gemsbok. At this point I had shot 2 animals from blinds, and I said no more blind hunting for me. Even if I have to use a rifle, I want to only spot and stalk for the remainder of the hunt. Now, this style of hunting is much better suited in Mar/Apr when everything is green, not in July when everything is dry and dead. Stefan is a bowhunter and loves to stalk so he was happy to indulge my request, no matter how difficult. We found a herd of gemsbok in the thick brush, got a good wind, and started in. We got fairly close this time before we got busted by a swirling wind. Bowhunting in this is like bowhunting in the oak brush in the Rockies, it's thick and it sucks to try and sneak an arrow through. Stefan's dad, a great hunter in his own right, told us it was impossible to get a gemsbok this way. So now we are even more determined and hard-headed to make this work! We left that herd alone and went looking in the power line cuts again and found the old bull again. This time it was more cat and mouse, as he was moving from one cut to another. while we were moving from one to the other the big bull came out of the brush and spotted us. Game over!
Wednesday the 24th: Wash, rinse, repeat, more gemsbok stalking! This time we got to within 35 yards of one in the brush. I should've drawn earlier.... It was feeding towards a tiny opening I had and I should've drawn before it got there. As soon as it hit the opening it saw us standing in the brush, and when i tried to draw then he was gone in a flash! The herd didnt' run though, nothing winded us this time. So we gave it a few minutes and kept pursuing the herd as they fed through the brush. We did get 55y from a feeding cow, and 75 from a big bull near her, but they saw us trying to sneak through the brush and the gig was up. We radio'd Eno to come to a waypoint and pick us up in the truck. As we were walking to the meetup point, it happened to be by a water hole. Just as we were getting to the water, we heard a lot of noise in the brush. A herd of buffalo also picked this time to water, so we had to beat feet and get away before they popped out of the brush. Lots of cows with calves, so we didn't want to be anywhere near those babies. Luckily Eno arrived with the truck not a minute later. There was a giant bull we spotted on the way out, maybe 45" or so, a real beauty!
Went to a different area of the property and found a couple zebra in the road. When they bolted, we set out on foot tracking them. This time I had the .308. We tracked for a while, and watching Eno track these things was incredible! The wind was just swirling too bad and they kept winding us and staying too far ahead. The winds here are very, very frustrating! It blows every freaking direction every 5 minutes, and if it is steady, it only comes directly from the direction of the sun!
Lunch, rest, back after gemsbok! Found the big bull in the powerline cuts again. There were a couple bulls that liked this area, though I think we only saw them together one time. This stalking is easier, since we can get in a parallel line and walk fast and not deal with brush, but it is so open it is very, very difficult to get close. Again, these bulls are not big because they are dumb. He was in the brush this time, and we though we had some time to cross the lane. Nope, as we were halfway across he stepped out, gave us the finger, and off he went!
Thursday the 25th: Guess what? More gemsbok! Saw a bull and a cow in the powerline openings. We got in one lane parallel and worked our way in. When we got to where they had been, they were nowhere to be found. Mind you we started from over half a mile away, so they could easily move in some brush or in another lane while we can't see them. The wind was swirling like crazy this morning and we knew even if we found them there's almost no way we are going to get in bow range. We snuck in to a herd of eland in the brush lines by accident, that didn't help us any either. So we decided to back out and wait for a better wind situation. We walk back to the truck, and as we were leaving, the big old lone bull was out in his cut, laughing at us again! We had actually been pretty close to him but in the brush we never knew it.
Let's try to mix it up before lunch...So we found more zebra. A fairly large herd, as well as 2 lone stallions that were near, but not with, the main herd. Stefan said leave that **** bow in the truck, so I grabbed the .308 and off we went. The 2 stallions were hanging with a few eland as well, and luckily these guys didn't run. I'm not sure why, I guess the hunting gods felt bad for me. The stallions saw us and were nervous, so they were hanging in the brush. We moved a bit and got a clear shot at one of their chests for a frontal at about 125y. There was a tree between me and the zebra that forked, and his chest was perfectly placed in the fork. The 180gr hornady bullet found the chest and the zebra made it about 40 yards. This was an old, old stallion. He had a good head and neck but small body, as he was shrinking. His skin was loose on his hams where he was getting smaller. Unbeknownst to me, my wife did NOT want me shooting a zebra. Oops
She's really going to be happy when the shoulder mount shows up...
Lunch, rest, went and tested Stefan's new .22-250 and some loads he made up, they were terrible, so back to the drawing board with those. Then we went after, yup, more gemsbok! Driving in we saw a couple of bulls right off the road in the brush. So we drove a few hundred yards then stopped and got out to sneak in. Remember how the wind only blows from the sun? Bright afternoon sun right in our face. Perfect for stalking! We somehow snuck up to 25 yards from this bull. He was facing directly away from us so I got in position to shoot and drew the bow. He turned as he was feeding and the only thing I could see through my peep was a ball of fire in the sky. You have to be kidding me! Poof, he was gone! Back to the truck....found some more, this time we were back in the brush stalking a herd. We got close! Really close! We had one at 35y in the brush, one at 55, and one at 60. The big bull was at 55. All 3 were completely covered up in the brush, and of course, the one at 35 busted us and snorted. I drew, as the one at 55 stepped out in the clear, not knowing where the danger was, but it happened so fast he was gone before i could settle a pin. The herd didn't run, only one of them snorted and nothing winded us. So there was one standing at 70y, at the outside limit of my range. There was a row of brush between us, but Stefan said, look, your arrow will arc over that brush, it is clear from the brush to the bull. So I drew, settled my pin, and released. The arrow looked perfect. It was arcing over the brush as planned, heading straight for a grey shoulder. The gemsbok had other ideas. It simply ran away! **** thing was completely gone before the arrow got there. Well, we got a shot at least!
Friday the 26th: You guessed it! Gemsbok! Back in the brush, and FINALLY a good, steady, stiff wind in ONE DIRECTION! OK, this is going to be our day! Except, we couldn't find the herd once we got in the brush... We had to leave the truck quite a ways back and by the time we got to where the herd was, it wasn't! Visibility is 20-60y in here, so it is pretty easy to lose the animals....but still pretty aggravating. We radio'd Eno to bring the truck closer to us so we could just walk straight to a road, and when the truck moved it bumped a herd of buffalo straight towards us. We could hear them coming, and when Stefan said, we probably need to run get behind some trees, I was thinking oh ****! I wish he had his rifle! All we had for weaponry was my bow! We ran a bit and found a decent sized tree and got behind it. The buff kept coming our direction, so when we saw their heads through the brush we took off again, hid again, but this time they veered off to the side.
Me: "You're so proud of that new 577, yet you leave the **** thing in the truck?!?!"
Stefan: "*****! We are fine, this is fun!"
I freaking love this kid! (He is 28 at the time of this writing, and has been a PH since 18, guiding since 16). However, I liked it a lot better when he was armed! On the way back to the road we ran into some young impala rams. He wanted one for bait so we stalked in on it. We got to 25 yards but before I could get in position and draw it looked up and saw us and spooked. We happened to look just to our left and there were a handful of buffalo heads peering at us through the brush about 40 yards away, so we made a quick right turn and walked with purpose away! Made it back to the truck safely, and licked our wounds. On the way out there were some blue wildebeest he wanted culled. So against his policy he handed me the .308 to shoot from the truck window. Using the sideview mirror, I shot her about 100y away, she went 10y and piled up.
In for lunch, some daily bow practice after lunch, then a quick nap/shower and back at it. Again, after gemsbok. We will not give up! Especially today with a good strong wind. We find the herd and make a slow, careful stalk. This is our best chance with a steady wind and we cannot afford a mistake. We of course want a really old bull, but I also understand that in this type of hunting, I will pretty much have to take what opportunity I am presented with, and am OK with that. Somehow, Stefan spots a tail swish in the brush. It took me a long time to find this thing, but she is feeding 59y from us. We sneak in as close as we dare, and there is a little "hallway" opening in the brush that is exactly 60y long. She is very slowly feeding towards this opening. We find a good bush to hide behind and wait. Sure enough it works, and I draw as she is stepping into the opening. I settle my pin on the shoulder and pull through the release. The shot looked and felt great, but she whirled at the shot. And my beautiful shoulder shot suddenly, was not. We heard the arrow hit but it didn't sound like a good vitals hit, and with her whirling away, it was a blur and we couldn't see where the arrow actually hit. We found the arrow, looked like muscle meat. Not good. We get Eno on the track and he finally found tiny bits of blood. I stayed with Eno and Stefan went back to get his drone. Eventually, as we were with Eno on the track, the drone flew above us and bounced a few times indicating Stefan wanted us back. We were on her track but were going to bump her in this super thick brush and just keep pushing her. We went out and joined up with Stefan, I got the .308 and we ended up getting her while she crossed a road in front of us with the rifle. The arrow just nicked the top of her neck as she was whirling away, not in any way a lethal hit (unless by infection). Definitely not how I wanted to get my "archery" gemsbok. They are just too jumpy to shoot that far.
That night after dinner we walked in to where they dump the gut piles to see if we could do some predator control with the thermal. No jackals were around, but there was a big honey badger. We didn't want to shoot it but was awesome to see! By now the full moon had gone so the star gazing was UNBELIEVABLE tonight.
Saturday the 27th: Our last full day in camp. Larry had decided he wanted a zebra after all, so we spent the morning looking for a good stallion for him. We finally did find some, and after a good stalk he made a good shot at a little over 100y with the .308. The shot was good, but was a tiny bit back so the stallion ran for a few hundred yards. I had it on video though so we could see exactly where he was standing, and his path for the first bit of his run. There were lots of tracks in the dirt so it gave Eno a starting place, and then of course, he was on it. It is unbelievable to me how fast these guys can track tiny, tiny drops of blood in the red sand. I love watching them but feel very very terrible at my own tracking ability! Once the zebra started bleeding it was a good trail to follow. With no exit hole it just took a little bit, and Larry had a beautiful stallion on the ground.
We got a peek into Stefan's gun room, and he let us each have a go with his .577NE before lunch. I've owned a couple of .375HH, but the power of that big double is AWESOME!
On the way from Stefan's house to the range to go shoot the .577, somehow, we spot the ear-tagged and previously shot blue wildebeest cow. I grab the .308 next to me in the front seat and she was trotting away but giving me a good quartering angle, and I put her down. Larry's shot was just a bit off, but enough to miss the brain/spine. She is now out of her suffering thankfully.
After lunch it was down for me to decide what to do. We had seen a couple of really big blue wildebeest bulls. However, the only way to really get one with a bow was to sit a blind...and I didn't want to do that. So I said let's just go and see what we see. A nice impala, wartie, waterbuck, something with bow or rifle is fine with me. He said he has an ancient old waterbuck he's been hunting for a couple of years, but hasn't gotten yet. Perfect, let's go! He knows the area where this bull lives, but it is thick and nasty. So I take his .375HH since the brush is so thick and off we go. We walked through this thick section and found some pretty fresh heart-shaped tracks, but no bull. We were coming out of the brush onto a road and spotted a porcupine and was taking pictures of him, when we got a message saying Larry and Eno had eyes on the waterbuck. He had stepped out to feed along the road. We happened to be about halfway between the truck and the bull, so we only had to go 10y or so, and stop taking pics of the porcupine, to be on the same road. We saw the bull, about 400y away. However, he also saw us, and that was that, he was gone! This is why he is old.
Went after jackal that night after dinner with the thermal but the scope settings had gotten changed, and the only jackal that came in I could barely see and missed. Once Stefan fixed the scope it was great, but nothing else wanted to come in to the calls tonight.
Sunday morning, our last morning, we drove around and looked for the big waterbuck again for a bit. But it was time to do some business and settle up, pack, shower, have one more great lunch and head back to JNB for the long flight home.
The lodge was great. Several bungalows for the hunters to stay in. There are also 2 buildings, one with the kitchen, bar, and dining table and a seating area. There is another hang-out room with a TV and couches. There is a covered outdoor seating area, as well as the firepit / braai area. Every evening when we got back to the camp, there was a fire waiting for us, with beer and booze as well as appetizers.
Chef Mari made absolutely top quality meals. I gained a legitimate 3-4lbs that I am currently working off. Fresh buffalo tenderloin, eland backstrap, tenderloin, and holy cow zebra is delicious! But above the amenities, Stefan and his crew are just top quality people. They are a pleasure to be around, and a pleasure to hunt with.
I am not some greatly experienced African hunter. I have been to RSA one other time back in 2015. I am, however, an experienced hunter. I have been very fortunate to be born into a hunting family, and my Dad started me when I was 5. I have been hunting now for 38 years, and lucky enough to take several species in North America as well as a few now in Africa, many of those adventures with my Dad. Like many here, hunting is my absolute passion. I have lived it, breathed it, eaten it, my entire life. As y'all know, finding people like this in your life, to be your hunting buddies, is difficult. Finding people that hunt as hard as I do, willing to go the miles I will go, endure the cold and the pain and the suck is hard to find. I have a few of those guys that will pack miles in the rockies, or walk miles and miles for antelope, but not many.
Hunting with Stefan was just like hunting with a great hunting buddy. The young man is absolutely passionate about hunting, animals, and doing it right. It was an absolute pleasure to hunt with him, and I will somehow figure out a way financially, to go back. This trip was so much more than I expected. I simply cannot say enough good things about Mr. Joubert.
Some general camp pics:
bungalows and covered seating area:
evening firepit:
hang-out lodge:
I will have to pull some others off my phone.
Good hunting!
John Cooper
