South Africa Eastern Cape Safari May 2022
Sept 18, 2022 12:22:14 GMT -5
speedbump and sevenfan like this
Post by para45 on Sept 18, 2022 12:22:14 GMT -5
This Safari was almost one and half years in the planning. I had gone to Africa in 2012 for my 50th birthday. My wife and I were sitting sitting in the living room watching tv (which we never do), and her mind was not on the show, but on the wall of our living room. She turns to me, and tells me that we have too much empty wall space, and that I need to go back to Africa to fill in the empty spaces. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. BTW, she is my biggest fan when it comes to hunting. So, the seed was planted, now where to go, and with which outfitter. Decisions, decisions.
Lurking on Africa Hunting Forum (AH), like I always do, I saw an advertisement here for 4 animals in the Easter Cape, and the price was right, so I decided to jump on it. Having been burned in the past, I asked for references, and everyone who hunted with them had nothing but positives things to say about Game 4 Africa Safaris. All these positive references made it easy to go with them.
Preparation:
With all this time to plan, I didn't know what rifle or caliber to take. Well, this was until a member from AH decided to put this beautiful CZ-550 in 375 H&H worked by AHR (American Hunting Rifles) on sale. I knew I had to pay for a safari, and didn't want to buy this rifle, but the deal was good, and I didn't have a 375 H&H. Mr. Degoins worked with me, and we made payment arrangements, and I bought the rifle. My decision was made on which rifle to take to the Arica. Like any 375 H&H rifle, they need to go to Africa where they belong. Here is a picture of the before and after.
My question was, what scope to put on this beauty? I knew I wanted to use this rifle mainly for plains game, but with the possibility of maybe hunting DG one day. After reading many post here about which scope to put on a 375, I decided to put a Trijicon 1-6x24 scope on QR Alaskan Arms. Now what ammo to use? I was able to purchase some different factory ammo to see which my rifle liked the best. Got the rifle sighted in with the ammo on hand. Remembering from my first safari, I decided to get my own shooting sticks, and to practice from them. So, I decided to order a set of Rudolph shooting sticks to practice from. My routine consisted of shooting my 22 LR, followed by the 375, and ending with some more 22LR shooting. I decided to do this once a week. I noticed my shooting improving with every range session, and I knew I was on the right track.
Purchased my tickets using Travel Express, because with COVID, I didn't want to risk losing money or not being able to leave on time, etc, etc. I was scheduled to fly from Atlanta on Delta, to Johannesburg, spend the night and then fly on Airlink to the Eastern Cape. I decided to stay at Africa Sky, and to have them handle all the permits since I was flying alone, and didn't want to mess with this. BTW, this was the best $180, it's worth it.
I was still debating on what ammo to take, and since I reload, I figure I could get something shooting good on this rifle. I wanted to take Nosler Accubonds in 260 grs. Unfortunately, my powder supply was limited, and I couldn't get them to group good with the powder I had on hand. So, I decided to go with factory ammo. I had some Nosler 300 grs Partitions, and Barnes 300 grs TSX factory ammo. My rifle for some reason didn't like the partitions and loved the TSX. But I only had three boxes of TSX, and I wanted to practice more with them. Thanks to a guy on AH Forum, I was able to get 3 boxes of TSX within two weeks of my trip.
Finally my departure was fast approaching, and then someone here said something about COVID QR codes, and how SA was checking for this, and that the Vacc Card was not accepted without the QR Code. I was panicking and with only a couple of days before departure didn't know what to do. In my small town there was nowhere I could get a PCR test done, and didn't want to pay the $250 at the airport if I could avoid that extra expense. Well someone here posted a link, and got my QR code and saved a copy on my phone.
Departure day:
I live two hours away from Atlanta, and decided to take a shuttle (great idea) to the airport, got there with plenty of time to spare. Flight was late 1 1/2 hrs, but truthfully, I didn't care. I was at the airport, and I was on way back to Africa. So, I basically planted my rear end and waited for boarding. The 16 1/2 hrs flight was uneventful, and landed in South Africa the next day without any issues. The QR Code on my phone worked like a charm, and to my surprise the SA inspectors didn't even check my name, they barely looked at the code and waved me in. Go figure. Gilbert from Africa Sky was waiting for me with a sign, and a big smile. What a pleasant and helpful individual. I was out of SAP in around 1/2-hour, Gilbert did all the work to clear my rifle.
Spent the night at Africa Sky, and the next day to the airport for my flight to East London. Got to the airport and the line at Airlink was long. Gilbert used his charm/connection, and got me to the front of the line, and my rifle checked in less than 15 minutes. BTW, your ammo has to be outside your suitcase on its own, different than flying out of here.
My 1 1/2 hrs flight to East London was uneventful. Got there and didn't have a clue to where to collect my rifle and ammo box. I asked a couple I had spoken to while waiting to board, and he was able to put me in contact with the right office. Got my rifle and ammo box, and I'm ready to go. But where is my ride, where is this Don from Game 4 Africa Safaris? What does he look like? I had sent Wikus a picture of what I look like, and he had forwarded that picture to Don. Well, as I'm walking towards the exit, this guy yells my name and there was Don waiting for me. LOL!!!!!
Don is one of the PHs at Game 4 Africa Safaris. We had a 1 1/2 hrs drive to the lodge, and we got to talking about hunting, fishing and scuba. We had a lot in common, and we share the same passion of hunting with a rifle, bow or spear gun.
Made it to the Lodge, and I was welcome by Wikus (Wik). BTW, Wik is a young man in his late 20s, with an eagle eye for spotting game. He is also very patient (you'll find out later), and easy going. I met Wik's dad John a very pleasant individual. John used to run the operation and passed it on to Wik and his brother.
Lurking on Africa Hunting Forum (AH), like I always do, I saw an advertisement here for 4 animals in the Easter Cape, and the price was right, so I decided to jump on it. Having been burned in the past, I asked for references, and everyone who hunted with them had nothing but positives things to say about Game 4 Africa Safaris. All these positive references made it easy to go with them.
Preparation:
With all this time to plan, I didn't know what rifle or caliber to take. Well, this was until a member from AH decided to put this beautiful CZ-550 in 375 H&H worked by AHR (American Hunting Rifles) on sale. I knew I had to pay for a safari, and didn't want to buy this rifle, but the deal was good, and I didn't have a 375 H&H. Mr. Degoins worked with me, and we made payment arrangements, and I bought the rifle. My decision was made on which rifle to take to the Arica. Like any 375 H&H rifle, they need to go to Africa where they belong. Here is a picture of the before and after.
My question was, what scope to put on this beauty? I knew I wanted to use this rifle mainly for plains game, but with the possibility of maybe hunting DG one day. After reading many post here about which scope to put on a 375, I decided to put a Trijicon 1-6x24 scope on QR Alaskan Arms. Now what ammo to use? I was able to purchase some different factory ammo to see which my rifle liked the best. Got the rifle sighted in with the ammo on hand. Remembering from my first safari, I decided to get my own shooting sticks, and to practice from them. So, I decided to order a set of Rudolph shooting sticks to practice from. My routine consisted of shooting my 22 LR, followed by the 375, and ending with some more 22LR shooting. I decided to do this once a week. I noticed my shooting improving with every range session, and I knew I was on the right track.
Purchased my tickets using Travel Express, because with COVID, I didn't want to risk losing money or not being able to leave on time, etc, etc. I was scheduled to fly from Atlanta on Delta, to Johannesburg, spend the night and then fly on Airlink to the Eastern Cape. I decided to stay at Africa Sky, and to have them handle all the permits since I was flying alone, and didn't want to mess with this. BTW, this was the best $180, it's worth it.
I was still debating on what ammo to take, and since I reload, I figure I could get something shooting good on this rifle. I wanted to take Nosler Accubonds in 260 grs. Unfortunately, my powder supply was limited, and I couldn't get them to group good with the powder I had on hand. So, I decided to go with factory ammo. I had some Nosler 300 grs Partitions, and Barnes 300 grs TSX factory ammo. My rifle for some reason didn't like the partitions and loved the TSX. But I only had three boxes of TSX, and I wanted to practice more with them. Thanks to a guy on AH Forum, I was able to get 3 boxes of TSX within two weeks of my trip.
Finally my departure was fast approaching, and then someone here said something about COVID QR codes, and how SA was checking for this, and that the Vacc Card was not accepted without the QR Code. I was panicking and with only a couple of days before departure didn't know what to do. In my small town there was nowhere I could get a PCR test done, and didn't want to pay the $250 at the airport if I could avoid that extra expense. Well someone here posted a link, and got my QR code and saved a copy on my phone.
Departure day:
I live two hours away from Atlanta, and decided to take a shuttle (great idea) to the airport, got there with plenty of time to spare. Flight was late 1 1/2 hrs, but truthfully, I didn't care. I was at the airport, and I was on way back to Africa. So, I basically planted my rear end and waited for boarding. The 16 1/2 hrs flight was uneventful, and landed in South Africa the next day without any issues. The QR Code on my phone worked like a charm, and to my surprise the SA inspectors didn't even check my name, they barely looked at the code and waved me in. Go figure. Gilbert from Africa Sky was waiting for me with a sign, and a big smile. What a pleasant and helpful individual. I was out of SAP in around 1/2-hour, Gilbert did all the work to clear my rifle.
Spent the night at Africa Sky, and the next day to the airport for my flight to East London. Got to the airport and the line at Airlink was long. Gilbert used his charm/connection, and got me to the front of the line, and my rifle checked in less than 15 minutes. BTW, your ammo has to be outside your suitcase on its own, different than flying out of here.
My 1 1/2 hrs flight to East London was uneventful. Got there and didn't have a clue to where to collect my rifle and ammo box. I asked a couple I had spoken to while waiting to board, and he was able to put me in contact with the right office. Got my rifle and ammo box, and I'm ready to go. But where is my ride, where is this Don from Game 4 Africa Safaris? What does he look like? I had sent Wikus a picture of what I look like, and he had forwarded that picture to Don. Well, as I'm walking towards the exit, this guy yells my name and there was Don waiting for me. LOL!!!!!
Don is one of the PHs at Game 4 Africa Safaris. We had a 1 1/2 hrs drive to the lodge, and we got to talking about hunting, fishing and scuba. We had a lot in common, and we share the same passion of hunting with a rifle, bow or spear gun.
Made it to the Lodge, and I was welcome by Wikus (Wik). BTW, Wik is a young man in his late 20s, with an eagle eye for spotting game. He is also very patient (you'll find out later), and easy going. I met Wik's dad John a very pleasant individual. John used to run the operation and passed it on to Wik and his brother.