Semi-Live South Africa Plains Game (mostly archery) with the family
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jpc01101
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Less than two weeks from Departure to the Eastern Cape. We fly out 7.10, get to JoBurg 7.11 evening, stay at the City lodge at the airport that night and then off to Port Elizabeth on an Airlink flight the next morning. Have 5 nights in the Radisson Blu oceanfront to get over jet lag, do some sight seeing, etc. then to the Karoo for 8 hunting days! I'm taking a gun for my wife and son, but, unless something dramatically changes I won't be shooting anything with it. I'll be fine just watching if I can't make any stalks work. No blinds here, straight up spot and stalk and I'm so excited about that! Love playing the wind and the topography to get in on an animal. Will update here as I have service and time! Have a great 4th everyone!
Hunted the Eastern Cape in July last year. Very nice way to escape the summer heat in the states. Excited to hear how those BEAST's preform on an Eland. I have thought about using them for an elk but have always lived by a fixed blade, so this could sway me.
Have Fun!
Have Fun!
jpc01101
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Getting There
Worked Friday morning, then loaded up and drove to Cincinnati for the first leg out. Flight delayed multiple times, which turned my 3.4 hour layover in Atlanta into a dead sprint through the terminal for the 15+ hour flight to Johannesburg (DL0200 for anyone tracking). Gate attendant is yelling “Johannesburg” as I’m running up, my wife yells back “yes, wait” — and they actually held it. We made it. Our luggage did not.
Spent the night at City Lodge in JHB. It was fine. Nothing special, but a bed’s a bed after that day.
Here’s the part that really tested my patience — my gun ended up routed to London and back to Atlanta before it caught up with us. Had to reschedule our PE flight, hotel, and shuttle from the 12th to the 13th just trying to buy time to get our bags and the gun sorted. Everything finally made it onto a flight that left on the 11th and landed on the 12th. By that point my nerves were completely shot.
7/12 - up early, walked to check-in. Smooth process but a little intimidating having to open the gun case in a back room for final inspection before the flight to Port Elizabeth. Airlink was a nice surprise — solid aircraft, even fed us on the 2 hour hop. Picking the gun up in PE was easy, no drama at all. Shuttle to the hotel and we could finally exhale a little.
Stayed at the Radisson Blu — restaurant’s nothing special but the view of the Indian Ocean makes up for it. It’s winter down there so the water’s cold, but my son wanted in, so in he went.
That night my wife and I both got massages just to finish coming down off the travel stress. Woke up the next morning to an unreal sunrise over the ocean — worth every bit of the previous 48 hours.
Did a grocery run for road supplies — candy, water, Powerade — then booked a city tour with a licensed operator to see some of Port Elizabeth’s history before heading out to the bush.
That tour is its own post…
Worked Friday morning, then loaded up and drove to Cincinnati for the first leg out. Flight delayed multiple times, which turned my 3.4 hour layover in Atlanta into a dead sprint through the terminal for the 15+ hour flight to Johannesburg (DL0200 for anyone tracking). Gate attendant is yelling “Johannesburg” as I’m running up, my wife yells back “yes, wait” — and they actually held it. We made it. Our luggage did not.
Spent the night at City Lodge in JHB. It was fine. Nothing special, but a bed’s a bed after that day.
Here’s the part that really tested my patience — my gun ended up routed to London and back to Atlanta before it caught up with us. Had to reschedule our PE flight, hotel, and shuttle from the 12th to the 13th just trying to buy time to get our bags and the gun sorted. Everything finally made it onto a flight that left on the 11th and landed on the 12th. By that point my nerves were completely shot.
7/12 - up early, walked to check-in. Smooth process but a little intimidating having to open the gun case in a back room for final inspection before the flight to Port Elizabeth. Airlink was a nice surprise — solid aircraft, even fed us on the 2 hour hop. Picking the gun up in PE was easy, no drama at all. Shuttle to the hotel and we could finally exhale a little.
Stayed at the Radisson Blu — restaurant’s nothing special but the view of the Indian Ocean makes up for it. It’s winter down there so the water’s cold, but my son wanted in, so in he went.
That night my wife and I both got massages just to finish coming down off the travel stress. Woke up the next morning to an unreal sunrise over the ocean — worth every bit of the previous 48 hours.
Did a grocery run for road supplies — candy, water, Powerade — then booked a city tour with a licensed operator to see some of Port Elizabeth’s history before heading out to the bush.
That tour is its own post…
jpc01101
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Port Elizabeth, Round One
Woke up to that ocean view and figured the hardest part of the trip was already behind us. Should’ve known better.
A city tour with a licensed guide, because if you’re going to be in a place for two days you might as well see it instead of just staring at the hotel pool.
Walked past a stretch of colorful houses and murals on Alfred Terrace, through some of the old Victorian-era streets, and eventually to the Settlers’ Memorial Campanile — a 204-step red brick bell tower built in 1923 to mark where the 1820 British Settlers landed. Climbed the whole thing. Good view, good workout, glad I did it before the rest of the day happened.
Last stop on the tour was Donkin Reserve, a small hilltop park with an 1861 lighthouse and a pyramid monument, right across from the King Edward Hotel. We weren’t even there five minutes.
That’s where the tour — and the day — took a hard left. More on that next post.
Woke up to that ocean view and figured the hardest part of the trip was already behind us. Should’ve known better.
A city tour with a licensed guide, because if you’re going to be in a place for two days you might as well see it instead of just staring at the hotel pool.
Walked past a stretch of colorful houses and murals on Alfred Terrace, through some of the old Victorian-era streets, and eventually to the Settlers’ Memorial Campanile — a 204-step red brick bell tower built in 1923 to mark where the 1820 British Settlers landed. Climbed the whole thing. Good view, good workout, glad I did it before the rest of the day happened.
Last stop on the tour was Donkin Reserve, a small hilltop park with an 1861 lighthouse and a pyramid monument, right across from the King Edward Hotel. We weren’t even there five minutes.
That’s where the tour — and the day — took a hard left. More on that next post.
jpc01101
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Port Elizabeth, cntd
Going to shift gears here. Up to this point it’s been travel headaches and tourist stuff. This one’s different.
We were on a guided city tour with a licensed operator, hit a bunch of historic sites, climbed the Campanile. Last stop was Donkin Reserve, the hilltop park across from the King Edward Hotel — lighthouse, pyramid monument, good views of the harbor. We’d only been there maybe 5 minutes, taking pictures with my wife and son, when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye — a guy coming up behind my wife, reaching for her phone. Grabbed his hand off it and didn’t let go. He starts screaming “shoot him” to his buddy, who’s now got a gun out. Whole thing was a blur. They got nothing and took off.
Our tour guide had the gun pointed at him too, he was clearly shaken. A security guard showed up right as they were running — no one chased them. Might’ve had something to do with it, might not, no way to know. What I won’t forget is a student who came running over from wherever he’d been standing, two bricks in hand. Didn’t know him, never got his name, but he was ready to use them. That kind of thing sticks with you.
We got in the car and went straight back to the hotel. Nobody even brought up filing a police report — everyone we were with said flat out the police wouldn’t do anything, too corrupt to bother. So we didn’t.
My wife held it together the whole time. My son did not, and I don’t blame him — he’s 9. We talked about it that night, tried to help him understand these guys wanted a phone, not to hurt anyone, that it could’ve happened in a parking lot back home too. True, but it doesn’t make it easier at that age.
Cut the rest of our downtime in PE short and had the PH move pickup up a day. Armed escort from here on out for the rest of the trip.
I’ve been chewing on this since it happened. You can’t have real experiences — hunting, travel, whatever — without some level of risk. I’ve always believed that. Still do. But watching my son go through that has me rethinking where I draw that line going forward. Don’t have a clean answer yet.
Going to shift gears here. Up to this point it’s been travel headaches and tourist stuff. This one’s different.
We were on a guided city tour with a licensed operator, hit a bunch of historic sites, climbed the Campanile. Last stop was Donkin Reserve, the hilltop park across from the King Edward Hotel — lighthouse, pyramid monument, good views of the harbor. We’d only been there maybe 5 minutes, taking pictures with my wife and son, when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye — a guy coming up behind my wife, reaching for her phone. Grabbed his hand off it and didn’t let go. He starts screaming “shoot him” to his buddy, who’s now got a gun out. Whole thing was a blur. They got nothing and took off.
Our tour guide had the gun pointed at him too, he was clearly shaken. A security guard showed up right as they were running — no one chased them. Might’ve had something to do with it, might not, no way to know. What I won’t forget is a student who came running over from wherever he’d been standing, two bricks in hand. Didn’t know him, never got his name, but he was ready to use them. That kind of thing sticks with you.
We got in the car and went straight back to the hotel. Nobody even brought up filing a police report — everyone we were with said flat out the police wouldn’t do anything, too corrupt to bother. So we didn’t.
My wife held it together the whole time. My son did not, and I don’t blame him — he’s 9. We talked about it that night, tried to help him understand these guys wanted a phone, not to hurt anyone, that it could’ve happened in a parking lot back home too. True, but it doesn’t make it easier at that age.
Cut the rest of our downtime in PE short and had the PH move pickup up a day. Armed escort from here on out for the rest of the trip.
I’ve been chewing on this since it happened. You can’t have real experiences — hunting, travel, whatever — without some level of risk. I’ve always believed that. Still do. But watching my son go through that has me rethinking where I draw that line going forward. Don’t have a clean answer yet.
jpc01101
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Needed a reset after PE, and an overnight at Schotia did the trick — even if “reset” and “lions roaring 200 yards from your tent” don’t usually go together.
Tented camp, but don’t picture roughing it — beds, an outdoor bathroom with a flush toilet and a bath/shower, just had to build a fire to get hot water going. Dinner was cooked over open coals, which is a good look no matter what continent you’re on.
Game drive turned up rhino, elephant, Cape buffalo, a crocodile, and a hippo, plus lions we heard well before we saw. My son thought the whole thing was the coolest place on earth. Hard to argue.
One night, but it did exactly what it needed to — got everybody’s head back in the game before we hit the actual hunting camp.
Tented camp, but don’t picture roughing it — beds, an outdoor bathroom with a flush toilet and a bath/shower, just had to build a fire to get hot water going. Dinner was cooked over open coals, which is a good look no matter what continent you’re on.
Game drive turned up rhino, elephant, Cape buffalo, a crocodile, and a hippo, plus lions we heard well before we saw. My son thought the whole thing was the coolest place on earth. Hard to argue.
One night, but it did exactly what it needed to — got everybody’s head back in the game before we hit the actual hunting camp.
…..and now I’m feeling some sort of squeezy feeling in my stomach after reading of your assault. Situational awareness won the day for you, but at a cost to your families continuing sense of safety.
A season of Alone was filmed in the Karoo region, so I feel like I have a small taste of the type of terrain you will be hunting. Super interested in seeing the rest of your safari unfold.
A season of Alone was filmed in the Karoo region, so I feel like I have a small taste of the type of terrain you will be hunting. Super interested in seeing the rest of your safari unfold.
jpc01101
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jpc01101
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Left Schotia after one more game drive that morning — got another lion sighting to send us off — then breakfast and about a 2 hour drive to camp with Baboons and Monkeys along the way on the pass.
First impression of Karoo Legacy: the lodge and rooms are as nice as anything I’ve stayed in, hunting camp or otherwise. Dropped bags, then straight to checking gear — bow reassembled and shot and rifle zero both checked out clean, which is always a relief after that many hours in transit.
First stalk of the trip that afternoon — just me and the PH, no tracker this time — on three wildebeest bulls. Ended up covering about a mile and a half through some of the thickest stuff we’d see all trip, 8-10 foot brush with loose rock underfoot that made staying quiet a real challenge. Wind held for us almost the entire way in. Closed to 55 yards, right on the edge of a shot, and then the wind swirled behind us at exactly the wrong moment. Bulls blew out before I ever got the bow up.
No animal to show for it, but it was a good way to find out what this terrain actually demands. Came back to a fantastic dinner and the first real taste of how camp was going to run.
First impression of Karoo Legacy: the lodge and rooms are as nice as anything I’ve stayed in, hunting camp or otherwise. Dropped bags, then straight to checking gear — bow reassembled and shot and rifle zero both checked out clean, which is always a relief after that many hours in transit.
First stalk of the trip that afternoon — just me and the PH, no tracker this time — on three wildebeest bulls. Ended up covering about a mile and a half through some of the thickest stuff we’d see all trip, 8-10 foot brush with loose rock underfoot that made staying quiet a real challenge. Wind held for us almost the entire way in. Closed to 55 yards, right on the edge of a shot, and then the wind swirled behind us at exactly the wrong moment. Bulls blew out before I ever got the bow up.
No animal to show for it, but it was a good way to find out what this terrain actually demands. Came back to a fantastic dinner and the first real taste of how camp was going to run.
jpc01101
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More camp pics 
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