SÜDAFRIKA: Mein "Hurricane Hippo" mit BAYLY SIPPEL SAFARIS
Ich habe ein wenig Zeit, so dass ich meinen Jagdbericht von meiner jüngsten Jagd mit @BAYLY SIPPEL SAFARIS beginnen werde. Mein Wunsch, ein Nilpferd zu jagen, begann für mich im September 2022, als ich auf dem Kwando-Fluss in der Caparivi-Region jagte. Ich sah alle Arten von Flusspferden, einige aus nächster Nähe, und dachte, es wäre ein großer Spaß, zu versuchen, eines an Land zu erlegen. Als ich zurückkam, schickte ich eine ganze Reihe von PMs an verschiedene Ausstatter, um meine Jagdpläne für 2023 festzulegen. Nachdem ich die Optionen mit mehreren Betrieben besprochen und mit den Referenzen der verschiedenen PH/Outfitter gesprochen hatte, beschloss ich, eine Jagd bei Bayly/Sipple zu buchen. Bevor ich mit diesem Bericht fortfahre, möchte ich betonen, dass ich wirklich glaube, dass ich mit jedem der Ausstatter, mit denen ich gesprochen habe und die hier auf der AH-Seite Sponsoren sind, eine großartige Jagd gehabt hätte.
Da ich nicht mit allen von ihnen jagen konnte, musste ich mich entscheiden, und zwar auf der Grundlage mehrerer Faktoren, einschließlich der bereits erwähnten, des Preises, des Zeitpunkts meiner gebuchten Jagd usw. Ich hatte mehrere gute Gespräche mit Dempsey Bayly, der mein PH sein sollte, über das, was ich zu erwarten hatte, und alles, was ich sagen kann, ist, dass er bei dieser Nilpferdjagd immer mehr versprochen als gehalten hat. Ich bestand darauf, dass ich sein Nilpferd an Land jagen wollte, und er versicherte mir, dass wir genau das tun würden, und das taten wir dann auch drei harte und lange Tage lang, aber ich will nicht vorgreifen.
Einen Überblick über meine Reiseprobleme finden Sie in dem Thread "On My Way". Als ich dann an Bord des Flugzeugs war, lief alles reibungslos. Vertreter von Gracy Travel holten mich aus dem Flugzeug ab, begleiteten mich durch den Zoll und die Gepäckausgabe und übergaben mich an Bruce, der meine Gewehre durch das SAP-Büro schleuste. Alles verlief reibungslos, und Brice half mir dann, Dempsey im Ankunftsbereich zu finden. Wir schüttelten uns die Hände, begrüßten uns und machten uns auf den Weg zu seinem Toyota HiLux, der in der kommenden Woche unser Transportmittel sein würde. Ein paar kurze Stopps in der Stadt, und schon waren wir auf dem Weg zum Camp. Eine letzte Bemerkung, bevor ich diesen Abend beende, ist, dass ich schon immer der Meinung war, dass man viel über eine Person sagen kann, wenn man weiß, wie sie Tiere und Kinder behandelt. Nun, einer unserer Stopps war, Dempseys Jagdhund Ricky von seiner Frau abzuholen, und so wie er seinen vierbeinigen Jagdpartner behandelt hat, wusste ich, dass ich in guten Händen war.
Ricky, ein feiner Gentleman von einem Welpen und ein echtes Vergnügen, mit ihm zu jagen und ihn im Camp zu haben.
Weiter in der Nähe sein.....
Immer wenn ich einen Jagdführer oder PH treffe, mit dem ich zum ersten Mal auf die Jagd gehe, finde ich, dass auf beiden Seiten des Gesprächs ein "Abtastungsprozess" stattfindet. Der Jagdführer versucht herauszufinden, mit welcher Art von Person er auf die Jagd gehen wird, basierend auf früheren Erfahrungen des Jägers, der Art der Fragen, die der Jäger mir stellt, etc.... Als Kunde mache ich das Gleiche. Welche Art von Antworten erhalte ich auf meine Fragen, ist er entspannt oder eher angespannt, usw.... Auf der Fahrt zum Camp schien ich mit Dempsey wirklich viel gemeinsam zu haben, und wir tauschten Jagdgeschichten, Details über unsere Familien usw. aus. Ich war wieder einmal davon überzeugt, dass ich eine gute Wahl getroffen hatte, mit wem ich in der nächsten Woche jagen würde. Wir begannen, die Einzelheiten der bevorstehenden Jagd zu besprechen. Dempsey erzählte mir, dass er ein bestimmtes Nilpferd für unsere Jagd im Sinn hatte. Es handelte sich um einen älteren Bullen, der sich tagsüber an Land und nicht in einem der zahlreichen Dämme auf dem Grundstück aufhielt. Er meinte, wir könnten dieses Nilpferd ähnlich wie bei einer Büffeljagd aufspüren und versuchen, nah an es heranzukommen, um es zu erlegen. Das hörte sich genau nach dem an, was ich machen wollte. Das hört sich aufregend an. Nachdem Dempsey den Rahmen für die Jagd abgesteckt hat, erzählt er mir von den Schwierigkeiten, denen wir begegnen könnten. Flusspferde sind an Land schwer aufzuspüren, er schläft in einer "dichten" Deckung, es kann sein, dass andere Flusspferde dabei sind, auf die wir achten müssen. Dann vergewisserte er sich, dass ich die potenziellen Gefahren der Nilpferdjagd an Land im Allgemeinen und die Bedeutung eines guten ersten Schusses verstanden hatte, um eine ohnehin schon gefährliche Situation nicht noch weiter zu verschlimmern, indem ich ein schlecht geschossenes und verwundetes Nilpferd in der Art von Deckung, in der es sich aufhalten würde, weiterverfolgen müsste, ganz zu schweigen von der Möglichkeit, dass es ins Wasser gerät und eine potenzielle Bergung noch viel schwieriger und gefährlicher macht. Ich versicherte ihm, dass ich mir all dessen bewusst sei und ihm folgen und mein Bestes tun würde, um sicherzustellen, dass wir nicht mit einem verletzten, gefährlichen Tier konfrontiert würden, das wir "aussortieren" müssten. Ich bat ihn, nicht auf das Nilpferd zu schießen, nachdem ich den ersten Schuss abgegeben hatte, es sei denn, er sei der Meinung, dass dies aus Sicherheitsgründen unbedingt notwendig sei. Natürlich wollte ich, dass er so viel wie nötig schießt, um die Sicherheit aller zu gewährleisten, wenn auch nur die geringste Chance besteht, dass die Situation gefährlich wird, aber wenn es sich vermeiden lässt, würde ich das vorziehen. Mir war klar, dass dies davon abhängen würde, wie ich die Situation von Anfang an handhabte. Wir waren uns einig und das Thema war erledigt.
Wir kamen in einem gut ausgestatteten Camp an und wurden vom Personal mit einem erfrischenden Getränk und einem warmen Tuch zum Waschen des Gesichts begrüßt. Eine willkommene Abwechslung nach der langen Reise hierher. Meine Habseligkeiten wurden in mein Chalet gebracht. Da es schon später am Nachmittag wurde, packte ich schnell meine Ausrüstung zusammen und traf mich mit Dempsey am HiLux mit meinen Gewehren, die ich für diese Jagd mitgebracht hatte, meiner 404Jeffery und 375 H&H, und wir machten uns auf den Weg zum Schießstand. Die Nullstellung war bei beiden Waffen schnell bestätigt und wir waren zurück im Camp für einen Drink, ein gutes Essen und ein wenig Zeit am Lagerfeuer. Es ist ein gutes Gefühl, wieder in Afrika zu sein, unter guten Menschen, und das ganze Abenteuer wartet auf einen. Ich machte mich auf den Weg, um zu versuchen, etwas zu schlafen, aber vorher meldete ich mich noch bei der Familie zu Hause, und zwar per SMS, da das Camp über Wi-Fi verfügt. Mit der Familie zu Hause war alles in Ordnung. Ich überprüfte auch das Wetter zu Hause und stellte fest, dass für später in der Woche Regen angesagt war, was auch dringend nötig war. Es gab eine mögliche tropische Störung in der Nähe von Yucatán in Mexiko, die im Laufe der Woche etwas Regen bringen könnte. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt war es noch nicht einmal ein benanntes System. Ich dachte mir, wie schlimm kann es schon sein. Es würde etwas dringend benötigten Regen bringen und vielleicht würde der Wind ein wenig abflauen. Meine Frau versicherte mir, dass alles in Ordnung sein würde, aber dass sie bereits damit begonnen hatte, die notwendigen Schritte zu unternehmen, um sicherzustellen, dass sie sicher und gesund sein würden. Sie sagte mir, ich solle mich einfach auf die Jagd konzentrieren und sicher sein, und sie habe zu Hause alles im Griff. Ich ging mit dem Gedanken an Nilpferde in dichter Deckung zu Bett, aber im Hinterkopf hatte ich noch einen kleinen Gedanken an das mögliche Wetter zu Hause. Ich überzeugte mich davon, dass es keine große Sache sein sollte und schlief ein....
Fortsetzung folgt.....
I haven’t forgotten about this hunt report, just been busy with work and hurricane clean up. I finally have a few minutes so onward we go.
DAY 1 I wake up at 5:45 am, gather my gear and my thoughts and head over for breakfast. Breakfast is served at 6:30 and was quite tasty. Sausage, scrambled eggs and toast. Your choice of coffee, tea or juice. The food and staff at Bayly/Sipple Safaris is top notch. After breakfast Dempsey introduces me to the rest of the team that will be helping aid in this quest for an on land hippo. Trackers are Eric and Alfred, tracker/driver is Big John and there is an apprentice PH, Ollie, that will be part of the group. Proper introductions were made and we load up on the HiLux and we are off. It is overcast, breezy and cool. Not the type of weather I have experienced on my other safaris but to be honest, it had been so brutally hot this summer at home, it was a welcome relief.
Dempsey tells me they we are going to check the several dams on the property and see if we can find a track of a hippo and “do a bit of tracking” Apparently, there are a couple of hippos that have taken to bedding on land during the day for what ever reason. What is being described to me sounds a lot like hunting buffalo, this could get exciting. After about an hour a promising track is picked up by Eric and we, with excitement and a bit of trepidation, take up the track. It is very slow going due to the amount and type of cover this hippos was wandered into to bed down. Also, we are being cautious as visibility is limited to 40-50 yard at most. We don’t want to just stumble on and surprise a hippo at close quarters. We stay in the track for about 3 hours and then we lose the track. Dempsey makes the call to back out and head back and eat lunch and pick it up in an hour or so. I think everybody was glad for the break as it takes a lot of effort to remain that focused for such an extended period of time. If it was excitement I was looking for, I believe I may get more than my fair share on this hunt.
Back at the lodge for a quick lunch and I get the chance to check the weather back home. The tropical disturbance that was down around Mexico had now developed into a named system, Hurricane Idalia. Checking the potential tracks of this storm leaves me a bit concerned and some of them have the storm tracking directly over Valdosta, GA which is only 15 miles from my home. I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I know how destructive these storms can be and I am obviously concerned for my family and friends back home. However, there is nothing I can do from half a world away, so I say a quick prayer asking for protection of my loved ones and we are back out hunting.
The afternoon unfold very similar to the morning’s hunt. Eric picks the track back up and over the course of the next couple hours we make our way through the thickest, nastiest brush I’ve ever hunted in. Then suddenly Eric comes to a quick halt, Dempsey and Eric have a hushed exchange and Dempsey motions me forward. There, about 25 yards in front of us is a bedded down hippo, they tell me. I have to trust them as I can not make anything out of the tangle of thorns in front of me. After a few minutes and looking I am finally able to start to make out the hippo bedded down in front of me. After closer inspection by Dempsey, he tells me he is pretty sure that this is a cow and not the bull we are after. He thinks the bull must be close by but due to the cover we are unable to spot him. We carefully back out a bit so that we can have a chance to make a plan. Over the course of the next hour we make several different approaches to try and get a better view and to try and confirm the hippo we can see is a bull or a cow or to try and see if there is actually another hippo bedded in there. We are unable to accomplish either goal and as light is fading Dempsey makes the wise choice that it is best if we back out before it gets any darker, so we make our way back to the HiLux and on to camp for supper. I thank everybody for there efforts today and let them know how much I appreciate the effort we put in. I check my fitness tracker that I wear and it tells me we covered almost 4 miles on the tracks of hippo. I can feel the effects of being on such high alert for such an extended period of time so I don’t linger around the campfire too late and as I am getting ready to head to bed, I am able to get a text message through to my wife to let her know I am safe and that as for now so are the hippos. We discuss the storm and she assure me she was all the preparations made and supplies laid in that they will need, if the storm comes like some are forecasting. I tell her I love her and that I know she had things under control. Still as a husband and a father I am concerned so it is with these thoughts bouncing around in my mind that I retire for the evening and finally drift off to sleep.
Tomorrow will be a new day.
To be continued…..
Bevor ich ins Bett gehe, es waren ein paar lange Tage mit der Kettensäge, dachte ich mir, ich könnte ein paar Bilder hinzufügen.
Das Lager
Day 2 starts similar to the first day. Up at 5:45 am, after a good night’s sleep. Breakfast at 6:30. Eggs, sausage and toast and we are off to the HiLux to go in search of a hippo. The day is overcast and a bit breezy again but it doesn’t take long for the sun to burn through the clouds and it is turning out to be a beautiful day. It takes Eric about 20 minutes to sort out the track we want and it is off on the track of what we hope is the hippo bull we want to take. It is again slow going due to the seriousness of the task at hand and the type of cover we are trying to work quietly through. Over the course of the next couple of hours and a few starts and stops Eric quickly and we all freeze where we are standing. Eric is studying the ground that is entering and even thicker patch of bush. We start working out way around an about 30 yard square patch of the thickest, nastiest bush in all of Africa. We are trying to determine in the tracks that have been followed into this hell’s half acre can be found leaving it. After slowly making our way around this area, we are back where we started and there is only the tracks that enter without any sign of them leaving.
After discussing the circumstances we find ourselves in we believe that the bull is in there and there is no way to safely pursue into this cover. We would have to get on hands and knees and crawl on there and obviously that is not an option not knowing exactly where the bull is in this mess. Dempsey makes the call the just wait and not and see if the bull decides to make a move on his own. After about an hour of waiting and deliberating Dempsey comes up with a plan to try and get the bull to move out of this cover to an area that might be more conducive to a shot. The plan involves hurling a rock into cover to get the hippo rousted out of his bed. We discuss the possible pros and cons of such a move and decide to give it a go. Eric has apparently missed his calling as a MLB pitcher and he throws the rock and I swear he must have scored a direct hit on the hippo bull. There is a tremendous commotion and what sounds like a thundering stampede erupts through the brush, thankfully, away from us. We never actually see the hippo just hear and then witness the trampled brush after he beat his hasty retreat. Well, that didn’t go exactly as planned. It appears Mr. Hippo did not appreciate getting bonked with a rock and has left the area. Dempsey decides our best course of action is to back off the hippo and let him rest the last couple of hours of the day and try and take up the track in the morning. So on to plan B, I didn’t really have any specific PG on my wish list. So after a brief discussion with Dempsey we determine to just go see what the African bush is willing to share with us and take advantage of any exceptional quality trophies we might encounter.
So off to another part of the property that Bayly/Sipple has access to hunt. We are seeing all type of game, Wsterbuck, Kudu cows, Impala, Steenbok, Duiker. Some nice animals for sure but nothing old enough to draw out interest. With about 45 minutes of light left, we spot a large group of Red Heartabeast. Dempsey thinks we should go take a look so off we go. For this chore I am carrying my Winchester M70 in 375 H&H, loaded with 300 grain Swift AFrames. After a 30 minute stalk that included quite a bit of crawling and sliding around on our rear ends, we are 175 yards from 30-35 heartabeasts and they have no idea we are there. Dempsey is surveying them closely and he has identified a tremendous old bull. Tall, massive and long sweeping tips. The sticks go up, I settled in and a brief discussion ensues to make sure we are on the same animal. We agree that we are, there is no mistaking this bull, he is obviously bigger, by far, than another other animal in the herd. I settle the red dot of the Leupold VX6 on his right shoulder and Dempsey is trying to confirm that I am on the right animal and the shot breaks and I am expecting to see a reaction and a reaction is what I get, not the one I am wanting, the entire herd running away kicking up a cloud of dust. Then I hear the words nobody wants to hear, “I think you missed.” Huh? I am in a bit of disbelief. I felt very solid and comfortable with the shot. We go down with the Eric, Alfred and Big John and start to look for sign of a hit. Nothing, nada a clean miss. I am obviously disappointed in my shooting performance but I would much rather a clean miss than a poor hit. It is kind of a quite ride back to camp. But I am not going to let this get me down, tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities awaiting. Dinner and time around the fire seem to wash away the bad juju from my poor display of shooting. I am able to make contact with my wife back at home and forecast for Idalia is not liking good for our home. It is tracking to come over the top of our place and it appears to be strengthening. The concern for my family and friends back home replaces any thoughts of my missed opportunity on the heartabeast. I head off to bed to bed and ask the Good Lord to look after my family and friends and keep them safe through the upcoming storm and I am actively pursuing a storm of my own, in the form of a bull hippo, on dry land. The storm is supposed to hit home tomorrow and I fade off to sleep thinking that tomorrow might also be the day that I face my own storm.
An example of the type of cover we have been tracking in the last 2 days
Day 3.
I am up well before the alarm, anxious about the hurricane and how my loved ones will fare. I say a prayer and ask the Lord to look out for my people. I know that is all I can do from here so that had to be enough. I get my self and my gear together and head over for breakfast. Once again breakfast is delicious and we are loaded up on the HiLux and off in search of a hippo. It isn’t long and Eric finds the tracks and we begin our stalk. Several hours into this stalk and Eric freezes, which starts a chain reaction of the rest of the team stopping in place. I can see Eric squat down and start studying the dense brush in front of us. For the life of me I can only see thorns and brush but it is obvious to me that he sees something else. He motions Dempsey up the 2 yards to so that they can peer into this abyss together. After a few minutes, Eric slowly eases back past me and Dempsey motions me forward. As I start to move forward, I get a look from Dempsey that conveys the message “Be Quiet, VERY QUIET” This may just be our opportunity. I slowly and as quietly as possible ease the 12 feet to Dempsey’s left shoulder and lean my head down. Dempsey hisses into my right ear, he is “Right There.”
Now, when I say that it was thick, it is thick enough to almost completely conceal not one but two adult hippos at 15 yards, because I can’t see a thing but brush and thorns. Now the most agonizing conversation of by hunting career begins to unfold. Do you see them? No. They are right there. I can’t see them. Dempsey has set the sticks and has motioned for me to get my rifle on them. He tells me to turn the power on my scope all the way up and look. After about 30 seconds of this, I see the twitch of an ear, then my mind begins to piece together the outline of a hippo. I explain to Dempsey that I can no make out the outline of the hippo and that is when he tells me there are actually 2 hippos bedded down there. The bull is lying on his side, with his back to us and the what we think is a cow is laying right next to him, on her belly. I am back in the scope again and after about 30 more seconds I can see the the line that marks the destination between the two hippos. Now, how in the world am I going to be able to tread a 400 grain solid through this jungle. Over what seems like the next hour but was actually only about 3-4 minutes a fevered discussion unfolds between me and Dempsey. During the course of this discussion we analyze every branch, twig and blade of grass between us and the hippos. We finally agree that if I put the bullet just to the left of the gray branch and the right of the darker gray branch, just below the single stem of yellow grass we should be good. I settle into the rifle and take a couple of calming breaths. I am surprised when the 3lb trigger on my 404Jeffery breaks and sends a 400 grain Barnes Banded, Flat Nosed Solid on its way at 2,200 feet/second.
Then absolute chaos breaks out. The cow bolts like she has been hit by a lightning bolt and the bull begins trying to get up and follow her. I am already back on target after recoil and send the second round, work the bolt and send the third. I think I hear Dempsey telling me good shooting but I can be for sure as my only focus is getting 3 more rounds loaded into my rifle. I get that task accomplished and check with Dempsey, the bull hasn’t gotten up but is still struggling trying to so I shoot him 2 more times and and as the echo from the 5th shot begins to fade, all is deathly silent. Me and Dempsey look at each other with a sense of almost disbelief and the dangerous situation we seemed to have managed safely for all involved. I am not ashamed to say that at this point I get the shakes, pretty badly. This is not the first time this has happened to me but it is not a common occurrence either. After asking for and receiving a minute or two to collect my thoughts and gather myself a bit, the handshakes and hugs and congrats begin to flow like water from a broken dam. I have accomplished the goal I came half way around the world to accomplish with the help of Dempsey and his great team. I feel true gratitude to all involved and offer up a prayer of thanks for the team being able to complete this task safely.
Now when begin the push and hack our way to the downed hippo. When we get there all I can do is stare in amazement at the size of this beast. Dempsey tells me that this is by far the biggest hippo he has ever guided. We start cutting away some of the brush for pictures and wince that is done. Dempsey proceeded to instruct all of us on how we need to roll this hippo onto is stomach for pictures. Easier said than done but with 6 of us and a lot of elbow grease we are able to do just that. Then the photo shoot starts. I think Dempsey is only running Safari company and PHing until he gets his big break as a professional photographer. He does a great job with the pictures and then the real work begins. I’ll pick that part of the story up a bit later. But for now, here he is, the hippo bull of my dreams.
