Henry Durrheim met us at the airport gun permit in hand
Paul and I arrived in Africa on Sunday and were met at the Airport in Johannesburg by Henry Durrheim of riflepermits.com, he led us to the airport office of the South African police where we claimed my rifle. The process was quick and easy, he then walked us to the ground transport for the Protea Airport Hotel. From there it was off to the hotel where we enjoyed a great dinner in the hotel restaurant then off to bed to try and forget about the 20+ hours of flying.
Mpumalanga Airport
Following an excellent breakfast at the hotels complimentary buffet (thank you Adventure Travel Desk) it was back on the hotel airport shuttle. With the help of an airport porter I re-checked my rifle with the SA police office and we caught our 1 hour flight to Mpumalanga. Once we arrived in Mpumalanga we were greeted by our professional hunter (PH) Danie VanGraan owner of Engonyameni Safaris. He collected our gear and we were off to his base of operations which lay about an hour away near the banks of the Crocodile River.
Engonyameni Safaris base of operations and home
PH MaGeyGa and Danie VanGraan welcome us at his bar
Our host Karin Van Graan
We were greeted warmly at his spacious home by his lovely wife Karin and their staff. It was then off to the bar for welcome drinks, snacks and a tour of his operation. Our private rooms which were located next to the main house were large, comfortable and beautifully decorated. They featured indoor and outdoor showers, private baths and a fully stocked refrigerator and kitchen area. Our private sitting area had an incredible view of the valley and a water hole where we could observe animals while lounging on the comfortable furniture.
Paul's room
Capt John's Quarters
The deck infront of our room
View from our rooms of the game watering hole
After cleaning up and unpacking it was off to Danie’s rifle range to check the zero on the rifles. Danie was very happy with our selection of Federal 225 grain Barnes Triple Shock ammo for this trip and the rifles checked out OK as the sun set on day 1. After that it was back to house for the first of many gourmet meals as Karin and the house staff would prepare 3-5 course meals every night. All of our meals consisted of a combination of fresh local foods, wild game dishes as well as American favorites like steak and shrimp. Every meal was spectacular!
Paul checking his rifle zero on Danie's range
One of Karin's great dinners awaits us
After dinner Danie spent quite a bit of time asking us about our hunt expectations, our abilities and our top trophy choices. He offers a wide variety of hunts including sight and stalk, hunting from blinds overlooking water holes and game drives using his experienced trackers. With 40 years of hunting the African continent Danie is quite famous and has been featured in many books and on television. He was a personal favorite of Colonel Jeff Cooper (Gun Site) and was featured in a story about a lion hunt that was featured in Col Coopers final book Another Country.
After dinner drinks on the patio looking at the great view and spotting game
Some of Daine's trophys
One of his leopards
After a good nights sleep Danie and his crew were packed up and waiting at 6:45. Paul was paired with PH MaGeyGa while I accompanied Danie and his tracker, Googwan. We drove across a large portion of the enormous property in a 4 wheel drive truck and checked out several water holes for fresh game tracks. Danie gave me a few pointers on ID’ing the different types of animals and how to gauge the freshness of the tracks. We even ran into some impala and giraffe between water holes. You know that you’re in Africa when you jump a giraffe at 15 yards!
Pauls 4X4 awaits the hunt
Giraffe we would run into daily
Trackers scouting the water hole for fresh sign
Danie recommended that we go after a warthog first so we scouted several water holes for some active sign. After that we went back to the house for brunch and a couple of hours down time as the animals don’t tend to move much during the heat of the day. About 2 PM we loaded back up and headed out to the water hole where we set up on a hill about 300 yards above it.
Looking down on the water hole
Kudu cow
Danie has a herd a of Zebra on his concession
Several kudu cows and giraffe came in then about an hour before dark a warthog came out. Danie pointed it out to me but said it was too small. Just then he spotted a larger male in the shadows that was a shooter but by the time I found it in my scope it was in the tall brush. This marked the end of the hunting on day 2. Danie drove me back to house for another great meal and some much needed sleep.
MaGeyGa checks out an active warthog water hole
“Today we’re going to a very active pig hole” exclaimed Danie. We parked about a ½ mile from the waterhole and walked in. Again we set up on a hill where we quickly constructed a make shift blind. Several hours went by with no action when Danie announced that it was time to move on as he left to get the truck. I was instructed to hike down to the water hole and wait for him when I heard the truck coming. Moments later I heard the truck fire up and began picking my way down to the water hole to meet him. Suddenly I heard a rustle in the brush and a huge warthog ran out about 40 yards in front of me. When it spotted me it changed direction and headed right for me!
I lined up the Leupold VX-3 on the Browning 338 Win Mag and let fly with a front shoulder shot. The pig turned and ran off into the bush about 12 yards from me. That’s an experience that will surely get your pucker factor up!!!
About then Danie arrived and asked what was up, I told him the story and showed him where the pig ran into the thick bush. He told me to stay put and he would go get one of the trackers. Once they arrived we all started to follow the blood trail and found the warthog about 30 yards down the trail. Man what a hog! Great tusks and an adventure I will never forget.
My trophy warthog
What a great hunt!
After taking several photos of my prize warthog Danie began to cut it up for leopard bait. He had several leopards working the area and had seen tracks and some fresh kills. The trackers hung the warthog’s hindquarter in a large tree in the leopards area and we drove several miles around the area dragging the pig guts to create a scent trail back to the tree to draw the cat in. We would check the bait often over the next week looking for leopard sign but he didn’t take the bait during the time we were there. Later we met up with Paul who had shot a nice warthog that Karin was eyeing for dinner later in the week. That ended the day and over dinner we discussed our strategy for pursuing kudu hunt the next day.
Googwan use part of my warthog to bait for a leopard
Paul's warthog
What a tasty dinner later in the week!
My kudu hunt began early the next morning. We worked the side slopes of several mountains walking and glassing prime locations. One thing I’ll say about kudu hunting is that you must be prepared to do a lot of walking up and down heavily overgrown hills. This part of Africa has an endless supply of thorny acacia bushes which I managed to run into daily. Most of the hills are covered with tall grass that conceals large loose rocks. You need to keep your eye on your foot placement. A walking stick is a huge advantage. You also need to keep your head on a swivel for game moving in and around you. You will encounter many different types of wild life while stalking kudu.
Planning a kudu stalk up the mountian
Danie scouting for kudu
Kudu country, lots of hills!
Over the next few days we spotted several bulls and worked up on them, but none were shooters. We even encountered one along the side of the road but Danie said we could do better. There is a reason they call the kudu the gray ghost, as soon as it steps into any brush it is very nearly invisible. As I was hunting kudu Paul bagged a great impala with a 300 yard shot from high atop a hill. The Federal 225 grain Barnes Triple Shock bullet did its job. They tracked this one all day before catching up with it just as night fell.
Kudu by the road
Paul's Impala great rack!
Paul and the gang after a great day of hunting
After several days of hard hunting we took the day off and spent the day with Karin on a day tour of Kruger Park. As usual our hostess made a full day of it and we saw tons of animals. Elephant, rhinos and buffalo were everywhere. What an experience to see so many of these animals in their natural habitat, no bars and no glass. Karin took us to lunch and also stopped by some shops so that we could buy souvenirs for our friends and family. The whole experience was a welcome break from hill climbing. While we cruised the park in comfort Danie was back at Engonyameni baiting leopard and preparing for a kudu drive. We returned in the evening and were greeted with a wonderful warthog dinner.
Kruger Park Pictures
My final two hunting days involved driving kudu up and around mountains. The highly skilled African trackers would mark sign and attempt to forecast the kudu’s most likely escape route. They would then walk slowly across a hillside driving the game ahead of them and we would attempt to pick the kudu’s most likely path. Once we made a choice we’d position ourselves for the best possible shot. The trackers hit pay dirt, finding a large bull running with two cows. We set up for an ambush and I lined up for a standing 200 yard shot just as the sun caused my scope to white out preventing me from being able to see anything. The bull escaped into the heavy brush.
Setting up for a kudu drive
The last day of hunting and Danie claimed he knew where the big bull from the previous day was holding. Since it was such a nice one we elected to stay after him. Going with another drive Danie and I climbed a small mountain where we believed the bull would cross. After about an hour the bull and two cows appeared moving down the mountain at a good clip. Lining up the bull in my crosshairs I followed him looking for an opening to take my shot. He was moving downhill at a distance of about 175 yards through the heavy brush. Danie said, “That’s him John, shoot shoot!”
The bull’s shoulder was exposed for a quick second and I fired…a hit! Danie shouted, “shoot him again now, now!” I jacked a second round in the chamber of the 338 and lined up for a heart shot, squeezed the trigger and SNAP……nothing happened. The bolt didn’t pick up the round, I short stroked the bolt! Damn, I jacked in the second round and the kudu bull was running at 350 yards, BANG and a clean miss, round three was a snap shot at 375 yards as he hit the thick brush, another clean miss.
I looked at Danie who said, “The bull has a round in him, let’s take a look and see what we can do.” The trackers found blood and began the track. We moved ahead of the trackers trying to get a good ambush spot for a follow up shot. No luck, we kept it up for 5 hours. On several occasions we came close to catching up with it but the bull kudu always managed to stay at least one step ahead of us. On one occasion one of the trackers cut ahead to flag down Paul’s truck for some extra help and ran right into the bull in heavy brush. He reported to Danie that the bull was bleeding badly but still on the move.
Trying to locate the wounded kudu
Finally after the sun began to set Danie advised that it was best to give the bull a chance to lie down for the night and they would pick up the trail in the morning. My heart sank. I had wounded an animal that was still out there somewhere. Wow did I feel low. Danie assured me that he and the trackers would be on the bulls trail first thing in the AM while we were heading for the airport.
Saying goodby to the Danie, Karin and their staff
In the morning we met the entire staff in front of the house where we said our goodbyes and tipped the staff. They loaded our bags for the ride to airport and I watched Danie and the trackers set out after my kudu. This was definitely the low point in what had been a super trip. I kept wondering should I have shot, what if I had led him a few more inches, why did I short stroke the bolt? It was a long flight back for me while I waited to hear news of the kudu track.
To add more stress to our 23 hour flight the airline lost my rifle on the way home. It was stuck in Johannesburg and it was nearly a week before it caught up to me. Once it arrived I had to drive to Forward Air shipping in Kent and to the customs office in Seattle to pick it up. Apparently they don’t deliver firearms to your home like lost luggage. I doubt losing rifles is a regular occurrence with SAA as there were several World Cup Soccer teams arriving the day we left and the security was heighten in the Airport which probably affect the transport of firearms.
Trackers locate John's gold medal Kudu
Danie with John's kudu horns
I waited for the e-mail from Karin (Danie doesn’t do e-mail) who was spending a week visiting her daughter in Pretoria. Finally word came from Karin…good news and bad news. The kudu was found by Danie and the trackers but they had some unwanted help. A big male leopard found the kudu that night and fed on it. Needless to say I’m in the market for a kudu cape if I want a full shoulder mount. Apparently the cat is pretty impressive! No worries said Karin “Life Form Taxidermy will be able to provide a new cape for a shoulder mount”.
MaGeyGa John's Gold Metal Kudu Trophy
Overall I would judge this as an outstanding hunt. I picked a difficult animal to hunt on my first trip and had to work hard for him. The location of Engonyameni Safaris is quite beautiful. Danie, Karin and the staff are great hosts and work extremely hard to make each hunt the best they can. Would I hunt here again? You bet! We’re already in the planning stages for our next trip.
What would I do differently? More rifle practice from longer ranges and I would go during the June through September winter season when the vegetation had died off making it easier to spot the animals. This year we had gone a little earlier due to the World Cup Soccer Championships being held in Johannesburg. Later in June and July the animals tend to congregate near the water holes making spotting much easier.
Paul and I can’t thank Danie and Karin enough for our first taste of African hunting, it was truly the experience of a life time and one that neither of us will ever forget.
The daily rate at Engonyameni Safaris is $580 per hunter which includes lodging, food, drinks as well as one on one hunting with a professional hunter. For a 2X1 PH hunt its $540.00 per hunter. After that the price varies based on which animals you wish to hunt. Most new hunters start off with some variation of plains game. Danie has 7-10-14 day hunt packages
Danie can also arrange hunts throughout the African continent to pursue game such as cape buffalo, lions, leopards and even elephants. He has contacts in all the top locations for collecting your Big 5 trophys. He can also arrange fishing trips to the coast for blue water fishing or local rivers for tiger fish.
We were so impressed with his operation that we are now offering Safari bookings for Engonyameni. Contact John or Paul at Salt Patrol for more information on booking your dream hunt with Engonyameni Safaris.
To help you book a Safari we can be reached at:
John@saltpatrol.com
Paul@saltpatrol.com
Engonyameni Safaris
Danie & Karin Van Graan
PO Box 56
Kaapmuiden 1295
Mpumalanga
South Africa
27 (13) 726-0108
e-mail: vgraan@mweb.co.za