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I was simply blown away by the buffalo area I would be hunting. It is in the Waterberg mountains and the hunt would take place in some of the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen. Rolling hills, lush green valleys, even a waterfall. It was an asthetic paradise and I couldn’t wait to hunt it. We met the farmer who owned this place, his name is Nico and he was as nice a fellow as anyone I’ve met here. He told us about the buffalo and took us for a drive through the mountains, pointing out where he occassionally sees them. The big bull had been kicked out of the herd and hangs in a valley of about 10 square miles. While driving around we saw plains game, giraffe, even a white rhino with her newborn calf. I asked him if I could walk up to it and take pictures and I think you could probably hear him laughing back home. In his native language I’m sure he said something like “stupid American” but I can’t be sure. I was, of course, only joking but I don’t think he knew that.
We got out of the truck and walked up one of the buffalo’s favorite valleys. The hike took a few hours and we glassed both hillsides the entire way. We got back to the truck and headed back to Nico’s home for a quick lunch, then it was back to another valley.
The other valley ran parallel to a creek. We decided to look around the trails that criss-crossed it to look for sign. We found a great big pile of buffalo dung and I decided to take a photo of it. While I did that, Linda and Simone, our tracker, moved up the trail a bit. Then all hell broke loose. They bumped the buffalo out of a cool hole next to the creek. It sounded like a freight train busting out of that bottom. Linda yelled to me and I grabbed my camera and ran up to catch a glimpse of him. He was already 300 yards by the time I saw him heading into a thicket and the only thing I could think of is; this was not going to be easy. He was cooking, and he headed right where it would be tough to hunt him, in a steep south-facing jungle.
Simone and Jauques started to track him across the road but we lost him 100 yards up the hillside. It was eerie. You couldn’t see 20 yards in any direction and even an animal as big as a buffalo could vanish in there. You could easily walk right past him at 10 yards and never know he was there, until it was too late. We thought we heard him a time or two, but couldn’t be certain. We walked for hours, until we were satisfied that he was no longer on that hill. The sun was getting low and it was time to start heading back. We hiked back to the dirt road and then walked the mile or so to the truck. Once there, Simone picked up his track. The buffalo had been on the hillside, but he was sneaky and he moved back down to the road while we were looking for him on the hill. He then moved back into the hill almost as if he was following us. We checked his tracks, which led into the thick, flat plateau. Then we moved ahead to see if we could pick up his tracks on the trails leading out of there 200 yards to the North. There was no sign. The buffalo had to be back in that thick area. It was getting dark, and we discussed the situation. But went for it anyway. It was intense. We moved inch by inch along game trails, moving downwind of the tangles, glassing with every other step. As we got to the thickest section, the brush exploded and the guns came up. “Holy Shit!” Jacque said as the sound intensified. We thought he was charging us but it was so thick you couldn’t tell whether he was coming or going. As the sound faded, our heart rates decreased – a little. He had gone the other way. Jacques put his hand to his heart and said “My heart is beating in my throat.” We decided at that moment that it was time to back off. Tomorrow we’d try for him again.
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Our Professional Hunters for this safari is: Madiakgama Safaris |
