Days at Schoonwater (the mountain camp)!

After the clients left we got to go up to Hannes mountain reserve from Tuesday until Thursday. The camp took about 3 hours to get to, is just below 7,000 ft in elevation, and is about 10,000 acres. I didn't get to see much on the ride up since me and Seepo were in the back of the of the tarp covered truck, but the sites on the way back were much more exciting.

Once we got to the camp I was able to see just how amazing it was up there. It was also much colder. From the inside of the camp and off the front porch I could see for miles. Rolling and sharp mountains filling the background with jutting rocks and a smoke from the prescribed fires filling the distant sky. The house up there was huge and had amazing accommodations. I got my own room and bathroom and there were multiple fireplaces to warm this place up. The people that usually stay there don't hunt but they fish so there were pictures of trout and fly fishing lures placed all over the walls. Once I got to check the place out and Mandi and the kids arrived we went out on a hunt since the owner of the property requested Hannes shoots 2 blesboks so that he has some meat.

As we drove around I was stunned at how far you can see in every direction and just how many animals were up there. It was difficult to get close to them since there was no cover to hide behind, but you could still see them nonetheless. Herds of a couple hundred blesbuck scatter throughout the area along with several eland, zebras, springbok, and reedbuck that stood among them. There were also quite a few black wildebeest, which are quite goofy looking and funny acting creatures. With their black bodies and white tails they scamper, run, and bump into each other constantly while kicking and jumping. They are commonly called the clowns of the plains. We drove around for a while and Hannes got the first blesbok with ease, shooting it right in the head to preserve the meat. The second one took a little but more time to get, but we eventually got it and loaded it on the back as well. We took them to the skinning shed and got them skinned and gutted. There are several other spectacular houses on this land and after driving past them we went back to the house to get some good dinner. It was very cold even with the fires going, but as the night drew to an end Hannes told us to get ready for our blesbok hunt tomorrow and get some rest. Before I went to bed I turned on the heater in my room and got a bath ready since there was no shower. This was probably the first bath I had taken in I don't know how many years, but it was still quite enjoyable. I went to bed with nothing but thoughts of my hunt in my head.

The next morning came very quick and I was ready. We got some breakfast and got the vehicle packed for the hunt. We drove to the shooting range first, because Hannes wanted to make sure the rifles were sighted in properly. It turned out that both were slightly high, but it was soon sorted out. Soon after we started our drive around to see if we could find a properly sized blesbok. It was probably a good 2 hours before we found a situation worthy of trying a walk. It is very difficult to hunt up here due to the lack of hiding spots for us and the intense wind. Susie was chosen first to go after the animal. They walked a ways, but were eventually seen by both groups of blesbok and returned to the vehicle empty handed. Another hour passed and then a better opportunity arose. They got off the vehicle once more and after about 20 minutes I heard a shot and watched one of the blesbok jump, but it wasn't down. I later saw them following behind it and a second shot was fired when everything was out of sight. We drove up with the truck and saw the blesbok had went down right next to a steep slope and a waterfall. It was a good amount of work to drag the animal up the slope due to the lack of oxygen at those heights, but all was said and done and Susie had her first ever kill and African kill.

We brought it to the shed and I helped Susie skin it even though Seepo did most of the work preparing it for the shoulder mount Susie was going to get. That was finished and we went back to the camp for some delicious and desired burgers. Right after we all finished we quickly headed back out since it was now time for my hunt. As soon as we left the main driveway Hannes told Mandi to stop the vehicle and back up. He had spotted some old eland that he needed to shoot for the meat. He turned to me and asked if I was comfortable shooting and eland. I paused because I was so surprised since the plan was for me to shoot a blesbok, but I quickly replied with a yes. I was extremely nervous and excited because the eland is the largest of the antelope species. Hannes handed me the 30.06 (thirty ot six) and told me to follow him and keep low. This was going to be difficult because we not only had to avoid the site of the elands, but the site of about 200 blesbok, a few black wildebeest, and some zebras. There was a big pile of rocks up ahead so we had some cover. We crawled probably 100 yards before we reached the first potential shooting spot at about 125 yards from the animal. We got there and Hannes told me to catch my breath and showed me which eland I was to shoot. My heart was pounding like it never had before and it wasn't even from the crawl. After about 10 minutes he said how about we try moving even closer to the next patch of rocks at about 85 yards from the elands. We crawled up there and after catching our breath once again we got the rifle situated on the sandbags. Now we just had to wait for them to stand up so I had a good shot at it and it wasn't going to take long since one had spotted us, but wasn't sure what we were. After another 15 minutes they finally stood up. I followed it through my scope as it walked and it stopped perfectly broadside. Hannes whispered to me to shoot it right above the shoulder and I squeezed the trigger. The shot went off and the huge animal jumped up in the air flailing its legs. It ran a mere 10 yards, stumbled around a little, and then fell to the ground. I'm sure my eyes were as wide as they've ever been. Hannes turned to me shook my hand and told me nice shot. I had the biggest smile I've had on my face in a long time and now we sat and waited for the other animals to move away. A little while later we went down there to look at my kill. This thing was huge! Hannes estimated it weighed around 1,200 lbs. It was a beautiful old eland and I couldn't have been happier. We took the pictures and then loaded the massive animal onto the back to be taken to the skinning shed. Once it was there I requested Seepo to show me how to skin it and I did. We decided that since a shoulder mount would be around $2,000 it was best to get a rug made from the hide and to get a European skull mount instead. It had been an extremely eventful and exciting day and it couldn't have gone any better. To finish things of the ride home was beautifully scenic and I had killed my first ever African animal, the largest species of antelope on the plant, and it will be a hunt I will remember the rest of my life!!!

The next day we got to sleep in, except for Hannes who went to go pick up his new puppy. We were going to go fishing, but it was just too cold and windy. The puppy arrived and we headed back down the mountain the Mahlahla. On the ride down Hannes told me to start practicing with my bow for my hunts are not over. He plans for me to shoot a blue wildebeest with my bow and get a shoulder mount of that. It is just one more thing that I have awaiting me on this unbelievable trip.