An Irishman hunting buffalo in Africa

Those of us who have hunted buffalo will understand the feelings perfectly. When Eric the tracker turned around and sniffed silently and indicated to his nose I knew then we were very close.

But a bit of background first. Some years ago I purchased a Browning A-Bolt in 375H&H with a left hand drive. Being a leftie I reckoned that if you are shooting something that requires quick reloading you had better stack as many of the chips in your favour as possible.

I used it on several trips to Namibia hunting plains game. Shooting 235gr bullets it was easy enough to shoot and accurate. Slowly the idea of hunting a Cape buffalo grew and I started my search. After several false starts I settled on Game 4 Africa Safaris.

I had a blast! I hunted Kudu, Cape Buffalo and Impala. I can’t fault my week there last year in the slightest. It has given me memories that will never fade. I only have to think about it and see that old dugga boy emerging from the bush in the early morning sun. My buddy also took a buffalo cow. This was more intense, we were up beside the herd for 38 minutes before a suitable cow presented itself.

I had noticed Bayly Sippel Safaris had an offer for 3 buffalo cows on a government reserve. This promised old school hunting, tracking buffalo in the bush and warnings that you need to be fit ! This was what I wanted, up close and personal, on first name terms with my quarry.

A few emails and WhatsApp conversations had me hooked and booked on KLM to Johannesburg. KLM is as difficult as hell to get approval to bring a firearm. Frustrating is a gross understatement. It is impossible to actually speak to a human being. It’s all done by a bot as far as I can see.

Anyhow 14 1/2 hours after boarding in Dublin I was disgorged at Oliver Tambo. Clearing my rifle with the SA police was all going smoothly until I noticed him trawling through recent imports to find someone else from Ireland who had cleared a firearm. Alas, I was one document short! The European Firearms Pass is not acceptable in South Africa as proof of export. There is a removal order issued by our police force.

The long and short was that my rifle was locked away for the week. I did however manage to snag my ammunition box containing a few life essentials, 20 rounds of .375 loaded with 300gr Woodleigh PPSN and whatever else.

The next morning Dempsey, the co-owner of Bayly Sippel Safaris, collected me at my lodgings. We had another attempt at sorting things out but it was a no go and it was the long drive ahead. So near and yet so far. Along the way we picked up Eric the tracker for the week and 480 kms later arrived at the Blouberg reserve. I settled in, unpacked my meagre possessions and we took a Brno .375 out and I popped a round out of it. Perfect! The day was drawing to a close so an early dinner was in order and off to bed for a 6 am start.

Breakfast was on the table at 6am. As the week wore on I was wondering if Tucker (aptly named) our chef was a cannibal and fattening me up for the next hog roast Barbie! In all seriousness the food was great and the portions substantial, too substantial.

After breakfast and a couple of cups of strong coffee I was contemplating the next 5 days in “the gentleman’s study”.

Was I fit enough ? Since Dempsey had advised me that you need to be fit, fit I had been pounding the trails nearly every day. 10-15kms . The first couple of days were hard. But as the days wore on it got easier rapidly. Then I realised I needed to load up with a rifle and binoculars. That left me with a fantastic blister on the ball of one foot !

Did I have the bottle to crawl up to within spitting distance (ok,you’d have been a world class spitter) of a herd of buffalo and shoot one ? I can now quite understand that it might not be for everyone.

We loaded up the bakkie, water, soft drinks, Mrs Balls Chutney crisps, I became fond of them. Of course rifles, ammunition, binoculars etc. and away to the first watering hole.

Büffel pan to give it its Afrikaans name was the first stop. 150 yards out we stopped and walked down quietly. At this point I noted the seriousness of this game. The PH was carrying his 458 with no sling. Those of us in the know will understand that hunting buffalo in the bush your rifle is always in your hands. There was also a buffalo bull wounded 3 weeks previously that had not been recovered despite getting a helicopter in to search.

Not much sign so we drove off to check and see if buffalo had crossed any tracks. We saw some likely tracks and a discussion was held between the PH’s and Eric as to whether we should track. Eventually on one set of tracks the decision was made. Off we went.

Holy Mother! Ok, you do not have to be able to walk 10-15 kms a day. If you can it will help but you do have to be capable of walking an hour or two or more bent over at the waist or crawl.Those of us distinctly pear shaped are advised to hunt somewhere else!

We got onto buffalo a few times but the wind was not in our favour. A cold front was moving in and it was all over the place. Mind you to be working our way closer to a thicket purportedly holding buffalo and then see it shake and hear the clatter of hooves heading away certainly gets the juices flowing.

We broke for lunch and repeated the form, checking waterholes looking at tracks crossing the sand. The knowledge of these people, trackers and PH’s is phenomenal. Buffalo, bulls, cows, calves, impala, hyena, zebra, giraffe, leopard, baboon, they were all there. Eventually I was able to recognise and identify some but in my honest opinion buffalo seem to walk backwards, just a personal opinion.

One the way back to camp I shot a “ community “ impala ram. Meat from the culling program on the reserve is shared with the local tribe under a complicated system I had no real interest in but was happy to contribute some meat.

Monday night the cold front moved in and a strong wind obliterated all tracks. It was virtually a full moon so the animals traveled a lot at night. Tuesday was a washout. The buffalo seemed to have departed for greener pastures. Not a sign. They may have drunk early and eaten and bedded down early as animals get more cautious in strong winds as predators can get closer.

And again ! I’m doing this a bit at a time, my literary skills need to recover !

Ok, Wednesday dawned and the PH’s had decided on an earlier start. Breakfast at 05.30 and Tucker commented I was looking very well . He was collecting a lot of firewood every day!

We cut tracks some way out and it was decided amongst the PH’s, Eric the tracker and Paul the ranger that the Buffalo were moving a lot at night owing to the full moon and grazing . We (I) could see signs of their grazing in the open.

We headed over to the ridge to see if they had gone into a canyon. We hit a buffalo trail that confirmed their movement. In the canyon we split up to search for tracks. A pack of baboons followed myself, Tyler and Eric along the skyline, thankfully not barking at us. The radio crackled and we returned to meet Dempsey and Paul. They had spotted 2 herds lower down. The hunt was on with a chance of success.

Eric led the way, Tyler next followed by myself then Dempsey and Paul. They reckoned the herds were 600 yards away bedded in the bush. So we went looking. Fresh dung was evident on the ground and the occasional branch still sticky with sap from being chewed on.

We heard some movement up to our left and paused for several minutes to identify it. An impala grunted, it was the rut for them so we moved on. Then we saw and heard the oxpeckers. Everyone smiled and pointed at their descent into some bush ahead of us. Hand signals were exchanged and we moved in. Tyler was a genius spotting the buffalo. We had crawled forward as Eric had indicated some bushes that the buff were bedded in.

Tyler was looking through his binoculars at the bush and slowly brought the sticks into position. This was a sitting shot I had not practiced. Ever so quietly he asked if I could see the two front legs. I had an irresistible urge to laugh! Man I’m looking at a bush and he’s telling me there’s a buffalo in it, get real! I glassed the bush again and suddenly clocked the two black branches were the legs ! I nodded to T. “Shoot it in the triangle “ Happy to oblige I brought the crosshairs up the leg and into the triangle and squeezed off.

All hell broke loose as buffalo burst out of cover. I have no idea how many there were. I was back on my feet rapidly and had one up the spout again. As had been explained to me previously the herd can starburst. They don’t know where you are, they’re just getting away.

My cow emerged and we all said “ good shot” when we saw it. It was hosing blood out of its chest and struggling to stay upright. It went down and the death bellow followed. After a minute to regain our composure Tyler and I advanced toward the animal and he told me to put a round in between its shoulders. I obliged and received no reaction. Dead on arrival.

Relief and big smiles all round. I was relieved that I didn’t cock up and killed it cleanly from 26 yards. The PH’s relief was that they didn’t have a wounded buffalo to try and find in the bush. I’m sure it’s always on their minds.

We took photos, I had a great sense of achievement. This was what I wanted, up close and personal. We used Google maps to find the closest track and walked out. Dempsey walked off to get the truck, we chilled and relived the stalk in.

We had to cut a track in to recover the Buffalo. Pangas and slash hooks came out. Eventually we got it loaded and returned to camp. The skinners were delighted to receive the first buffalo of the season. It nearly had a boss.

I fell asleep in the bakkie on the way back. Waking up on a particularly big bump the others laughed at me. They said it wasn’t unusual after the adrenaline left you.

A couple of decent Gin and tonics with dinner restored the status quo. Again early to bed for the next day’s adventures.

Thursday morning Dempsey had left us to our own designs as he had to prep for a client arriving at the weekend. Breakfast again at 05.30 and Tucker, the chef, again has a great breakfast provided. The stack of firewood out back is getting larger!

We checked Büffel Pan and there had been two herds drinking at different times. How they decipher this is a mystery but I’m learning quickly that DG hunting is a different ball game, far more exciting. We head off to see if we can cut off their tracks. A couple of kicks later we rounded a corner to see a youngish buffalo bull on the side of the track unaware of us. Tyler stuck the front of the Toyota in as far as possible into the bush and we bailed out. The bull gave an early morning snort and headed into the bush.

Tyler advised we would wait and see what else came across the track. 2 more bulls, each saw the back of the Toyota but didn’t notice us. The third animal to show was a shootable cow. It came out onto the track and glared at the truck. “On the shoulder” I was happy to oblige. A solid hit and I sent another one at it as it wheeled. It disappeared into the bush on the same side as ourselves. There was no death bellow but the others were confident of a good strike. It’s a bit difficult to retain the sight picture when 300 grains is heading down range. Shortly afterwards there was an explosion of buffalo in all directions. I wasn’t counting but the others reckoned up to 45 were in the vicinity.

We gave it 5 minutes and walked forward to the site of the shot. We needn’t have worried, the cow was dead on the ground in the bush, just simply out of our view. We loaded up and went back to the skinners who had an early start. We had that one on the grass before 7am.

2 down and 1 to go. After dropping the buff off at the skinners we stopped for a cup of coffee before heading out again. We called into the baobab tree of which the reserve has several. Amazing to see these trees that can be hundreds of years old.

The buffalo had departed to parts unknown. This time we had given those in the vicinity a good fright. It’s estimated there are some 200 on the reserve. All tracks showed buffalo moving at speed. So we had to go searching…

Some distance away we cut tracks again and Eric decided this was a group that was moving at a normal pace, grazing a bit here and there and the dung was reasonably fresh and not spattered. We set off. Keerist! This was hard going for an old fart. Lots of stones underfoot, uphill,downhill bending all the time under bushes of varying spiky origins.

Then we came across some very fresh poop glistening in the sunshine. Even I was aware of our proximity to the quarry. I had to take my hat off to Eric, the tracker, poop, fresh poop. Look around and decide which way they’d gone , off we go again, fantastic.

Then came that signal to halt, a hand extended backwards. We all went down on one knee. Eric sniffed the air and indicated to his nose. Shortly afterwards I caught the scent also on the slight breeze. Tyler, I think spotted the buffalo first and we crawled, sidling up closer to get a better shooting lane. Several animals were feeding as we could see the bushes moving. Then a cow appeared, I went up on the sticks and was just about to shoot when she bedded down. The head and shoulders were obscured by branches and there was no shot. Time passed, a lot, hours. I’m told it was 10 minutes. Liar! To alleviate the tension I turned to Tyler and indicated to come closer so I could whisper. He lent forward, I whispered “ I’ve got to take a crap” he looked shocked and then grinned as he knew I was winding him up.

The long and short was the wind eventually busted us. The cow was up and running with the rest in a flash. We paced it out, 18 yards ! That’s hunting but it’s marvellous getting so close to them. We headed back down, across the hill and made our way back. I took another “community “ impala on the way home.

Last day hunting and one out there with my name on it. We headed out at dawn. Damn it was chilly that morning! We cut tracks but Eric wasn’t happy with them. We moved on. Again we cut tracks, Eric’s mood improved and he went off searching for the herd.

We set off on our own voyage of discovery. We cut tracks and Tyler and Paul, the Ranger, discussed them. Eric put a stop to this by calling on the radio that he had found a herd. We drove back and set off on foot. The buffalo seemed to like to bed down at the base of a mountain range.

The bush got thicker and thicker. It was quite dense underfoot. I was wondering how Eric was able to retrace his tracks until I saw him removing sweet wrappers off the thorns ! We got closer, Eric indicated that the buffalo had moved off again while still feeding. We headed off with the breeze on our faces. Fresh, spattered dung was seen which meant they may have got alarmed. Then further on the poop occurred where animals had stood.

A kudu bull barked at us from a bush. We froze, it barked again. Their eyesight is phenomenal. If one of us moved so much as a hand we were sighted. This was too much for the buffalo who were pretty close, they bolted and we were busted, again.

We were making our way back to the bakkie when our 5 Star tracker Eric noticed that buffalo had crossed our tyre tracks . The hunt was on again.

Again Eric led the way. I have to admire these guys. Great eyesight and intuition. The bush varied from reasonably open to thick bush. The herd was meandering around not really following a definite direction which confused me as I was watching the journey on a Bushnell tracker, much good it did me !

Suddenly we were on them. Eric was down on one knee staring through his binoculars into the bush. Tyler gestured me forward to get ready on the sticks, again squatting on the ground. These guys obviously knew something I didn’t, whether a visit to SpecSavers or Hidden Hearing is needed I don’t know.

Some legs appeared in the bush and Tyler told me to shoot when they crossed a gap. “On the shoulder again please Sir.” Happy to oblige…

One cow walked straight across without stopping, a second. Then a cow just showed its head and neck in view and stopped. I watched the saliva drool from its mouth in the early morning sun. What a sight to remember, we were very close. It then crossed and the rest didn’t present a shot.

We were up on our feet and Tyler urged us on to get ahead of the herd. We did so and sat down and waited. Tyler spotted movement in the bush and indicated. A cow presented and I sent one into the shoulder. It was still standing so Tyler told me to shoot again, twice. I don’t get this opportunity every week !

Job done, 3 nicely shot animals that caused no discombobulation to our days in the bush. This last cow was gray and balding with, like the first one, nearly a boss. The skinners called her a “madala” meaning old.

A fabulous hunt and a fabulous time. Bayly Sippel gets my certified stamp of approval!