After 8 months of lockdown, time felt like it was coming to a stand still.Regulationschanged every few weeks and curfews restricted evening hunting activities.Thinking we were in for a December with no hunts, Machiel and his brother, TinusJacobsz, quickly came to helpease the mental strain lockdown had created.Machielis a familiar face and this would be his third time hunting with us.Machiel and a few friends(Mackie, Sniper and YellowSnake – to mention a few of the many nicknames this gang has given each other) usually make it their goal to do a hunting trip with us once a year. Whilst spending quality catch-up time together, they usually also get to experience the peace and tranquility the coast between Port Alfred and Kenton provided. Their accommodation of choice is always the small holiday town of Kasouga. This timethough, Machiel was joined by his twin brother, Tinus.This wasTinus’s first trip hunting with us, and if I have evermet a lucky person with hunting, it is him.Machiel, on the other hand, had not been so fortunate. His few expeditions for a certain species – the cape grysbuck – have not gone according to plan. This particular animal has given me many sleepless nights and isalways an animal that provides a challenge. Lockdown also meant that we had only harvested one cape grysbuck the whole year, so I was excited to see how the population was doing after a relatively long resting period.It was the 13 December and we were ready to start the evening expedition for the capegrysbuck. The first hour and a half was quiet but things started looking up from 9:15 pm when we spotted a female and a young male grysbuck. Another 20 minutes and Tinus had harvested his prize.Wedecided that we would continuelooking for another grysbuck even though in the back of mymind I hadmydoubts due to past experiences – getting two trophy grysbuck in one night is virtually impossible. This was alsoMachiel‘s third trip for capegrysbuck, so wehad to try. This member of the tiny 10 seemed to be an Achilles Heel for the both of us.We drove around for another hour and 15 minutes, and with every passingminute I thought that goinghome would have been the better plan. As my negativity levels were peaking, we caught a glimpse of a grysbuck crossing an old ploughed up field heading for cover. Rushing to get a better look, we caught sight of the horns, and it looked good.Machielmade a great shot finally putting an end to the bad luck that had haunted us with the grysbuck, an elusive member of the tiny 10. Two capegrysbuck within 2 hours of each other was a first for us and will never be forgotten! And to topit off, wemade it home before curfew!
After a successful evening, Tinusmentionedthat he’d be keen to try for an oribi and bushbuck the next morning, so that’s what wedid. We knew of a particular old male oribi, and we went straight to this area. Whilst driving the hills in search of the oribi, wepicked up the dark shape of what seemed to be a bushbuck ram feeding on the same slope we usually spot the oribi. After a quick judging session, taking him was a no-brainer. He had a beautiful cape and colours, and a set of horns to match the impressive body. Moving a little farther along the ridge, we spotted the oribi and within a few minutes we managed to move into a position to get a clean shot.All of this happened in the space of an hour and felt like it was more of a dream than reality. The whole hunt didn’t feel realat all!All these amazing trophies harvested over the span of a day.Well done to the brothers on these awesome trophies and for bringing hope that good things can still happen amidst the storm that covid has created.