The 22nd November brought Tiaan Brits to the area on a quest for cape bushbuck, impala, common duiker and bushpig. In the afternoon we hunted an old impala that had been kicked out of the group – he had an impressive shape and equally impressive body. Tiaan had told me that he wanted to best his last common duiker measurement and was adamant to beat it even though it would mean hours of walking and scouting. This was a challenge I was more than happy to take on after being stuck in the house for so long with fitness levels not quite what they usually are! I had knowledge of a decent male living not far from one of my coastal bushpig baiting spots that we tried the Monday morning. We gave this spot a go first and managed to catch sight of him. He was definitely one up on us and saw us before we even had a chance.
We walked a couple more coastal slopes and eventually gave up for the day.
The next day we decided to try for another of the species on Tiaan‘s list – the cape bushbuck. An animal that I’ve grown up hunting and have great respect for. Observing bushbuck always brings fond memories of my childhood, like going on driven hunts on neighboring farms that brought an adrenalin rush like no other. Walk and stalk is no different and still brings the same amount of excitement. Knowing that the moon was almost full, we decided to hunt through the lunch period, picking a few look out points to walk to and check hourly. By 2.30 pm the females were feeding, and we patiently awaited the arrival of the male. At 4.15 pm movement was picked up on the right of the ewes, and there he was. Dark in colour with clear markings and a shining cape. He was the one to take. Tiaan made the 170m shot with his 308 look effortless. What a beautiful specimen, all the features you need in a bushbuck ram, he had them all.
We decided to head back to give the bushpig a go. This one did not go according to plan. The first night, the pigs came in just before the feeder threw and got a fright from the sound of the feeder going off. They did not return that evening. The next evening we tried again, this time a younger sounder of pigs came in and ate all the maize. Yet again another long sit with no success. The last evening I was confident our luck would change, and I threw out lots of extra maize to keep the younger sounder from finishing all the food, giving the group we were targeting time to come in and still have food available. Let’s just say this plan didn’t work out, and it was the porcupine‘s turn to mess us around.
After a few disappointing evenings, we set our eyes back on the common duiker. We had one afternoon left to try to find a suitable duiker trophy, so back to the coastal hills we went. We checked a couple of look-out points and then went back to the area we had seen the male on the second day. Walking carefully and slowly, we combed through the areas where usual sightings had taken place and spotted him just over the ridge, making his way along the cattle path towards a silver oak that he had been feeding on. After a quick stalk we set up above him on a ridge, about 130m away. A well placed shot saw him drop right there. It was an impressive common duiker almost measuring 5 & 1/4 inches. Moving just over the hill, we had the Indian Ocean as our back drop for the photo. Tiaan will be back to try for the ghost of the darkness that evaded us those 3 evenings. Well done Tiaan and look forward to your return for the pig.