Changing of Seasons: Big Hole to South Africa

This fall has been quite the "change of seasons" experience for Lia and I! As the season was wrapping up, we decided to head to South Africa for our first trip to the continent. We had the opportunity to go on a safari in the Limpopo Valley, in the northern part of the country. After a 17-hour flight, we were whisked away to a nice hotel for the night, where we tried some local beer and food. The next morning, we got picked up at 8 am and drove about 4 hours to the lodge. Once we arrived, we immediately hit the shooting range to get a feel for the rifles, and then we were told to hop in the truck. The bush was teeming with game birds, which got us pretty excited, but that wasn't our main focus. During the evening truck ride in the bed of a Tacoma (not my first rodeo), we spotted a group of wildebeest, a few gemsbok, waterbuck, and impala.

Upon returning to the lodge, we kicked off our boots, and headed to the main lodge where there was a cozy fire, drinks were being served, and appetizers were laid out. Things got a bit hazy after that, but the food was amazing. The next morning, we were up at dawn, ready in the truck for our hunt. We started off by going after Impala. It didn't take long before we spotted a nice buck, and Lia nailed it with a great shot.

Turns out those African animals are super tough! We followed one through the bush for about 45 minutes. During that time, one of our trackers came face to face with a leopard and bolted through the bush. After we found the impala, we headed back to the truck and found our missing tracker. Back at the lodge, it was amazing to watch a pro skinner do their thing. We had the back straps for dinner and loved it.

The next day started off the same as the one previous, but with a different species for our target, the Kudu.

These bad boys are beautful. We had spotted a couple Kudu late in the evening the day before, so we had a good idea of where they were located. Turns out they are called the 'Grey Ghost' for a reason. It reminded me of chasing elk in the Big Hole. We had seen two bucks, but had not been able to catch up with them until after lunch. Shortly into the afternoon hunt we finally had an opportunity to take a shot, and again Lia made a great shot and dropped him.

The weather was not what we expected. I thought it was going to be blazing hot (it was 90 the week before), but it turned out to be fairly mild. After eating the Kudu, Lia and I headed back to cabin to throw on a jacket and came across a snake near the cabin. It was small, maybe 2 feet, with white and black stripes. I still had my boots on for some reason so I decided to step on it to see if it was aggressive. I snapped a picture and headed back to the fire to show the lodge owner what I had found. Turns out it was an African Tiger Snake, which is one of the most poisonous snakes in the country. I was politely asked by the lodge owner and staff to not test the wildlife, I concured!

The rest of the hunts went great too, and we managed to add a wildebeest and a warthog to our list. I can't praise the staff and hunt crew enough. If you've ever thought about going on an African hunt, I highly recommend this place. It's super comfortable, yet has that rustic feel, with nice accommodations and plenty of hot water for showers.

If anyone is interested in one of these hunts please feel free to contact us and we will get you intouch with the right people. If you like the outdoors and enjoy hunting, this place has it all. At the end of our hunt we flew to Cape Town for some beach, sun, and amazing wine!

Stay tuned for another post about our glorious return to Andros Island!