Vanessa's Nemesis

It's hard to believe but the very abundant springbok became Vanessa's nemesis and after a couple dozen stalks she was finally able to put a great male down yesterday. Despite a good hit, we were unable to recover him until just before dark. Our PH and tracker did an incredible job following the track.

 

 

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Finally a Nyala

After missing this beautiful bull once, I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

 

 

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Bush Lunch

Bush lunch definitely has a different meaning here than at home.

 

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My Eland!

Internet is back up and working again so here my eland.

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Waterbuck Down

Finding a big waterbuck has been a real challenge since we arrived here but with the rut just starting up, we have been keeping an eye on one area with a lot of females and young males in it and today that paid off when we spotted a great old buck. After tracking him for nearly three hours and coming close a few times, I was able to place a 165 grain GMX in his chest and put him down for good. He's a great old bull and the tracking and stalking made the experience truly incredible.

Vanessa and Yolande made up some eland ribs this afternoon that we will have for dinner tonight. We are going to head out this afternoon in search of a big springbok for Vanessa.

 

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A Miss and a Hit and a Hit and a Hit

The day started with another long morning tracking eland and we got close several times but just couldn't manage to get a shot. The big bull offered a shot once but with another bull behind him I was unable to take the shot. We decided to get off the trail and let the eland settle. At lunch time and were treated to an incredible bush lunch beside the waterhole.

After lunch we headed out to track eland again but ran into an nyala and after a masterful tracking job, I somehow managed to miss the shot. We tracked it for several more hours and got close one more time but we ended up losing the track when we ran into a herd of eland. We tracked the eland for a while and got within 60 yards once but the big bull never presented a shot. We'd pretty well given up for the day and were headed home when we spotted a big bull eland with four others. After a short tracking job we found them and finally the big bull we'd been chasing for two days stood broadside at a little over 150 yards. I placed a 250 grain GMX perfectly in his heart and I finally had my hard-earned eland. What a hunt for a great bull.

I can't say enough about the staff here at AAA Serapa Safaris. Their PHs and Trackers are the best I've ever hunted with. The adventure continues tomorrow.

 

Sorry I didn't get the above post up last night but we couldn't get on the internet. We spent the morning looking for buffalo and found a herd of three good bulls but not quite what Mark was looking for. After lunch, we headed out and took a quick drive through the area where i missed the nyala yesterday. amazingly, we found him and after a short stalk i managed to put him down with Vanessa's 30-06. We found a mark on his neck where my bullet had just grazed him yesterday. I couldn't have been happier.

We headed out in search of buffalo after that but couldn't find any but Mark shot a huge steenbuck just before dark. Waterbuck and springbok still on our list and if an opportunity for a big duiker presents itself I'll likely take the opportunity. Still four days left in our trip and we definitely aren't ready to leave yet!

The internet is very slow here tonight so I am unable to upload photos

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Eland day........Almost

We found a great old bull eland today and spent the better part of the day tracking him and a group of younger bulls. We got within range several times but he would just never present a shot so we finally gave up on them around 4:00pm and switched our attention to impala. We finally ended up finding a heavy, wide ram just before dark and put a quick stalk on him. The only shot he offered was facing us but I managed to put the 165 grain GMX right in the middle of his chest and he ran about 30 yards before expiring.

It's hard to believe we have been here a week already. AAA Serapa Safaris is everything it promises and more. I could not imagine a more luxurious camp in the wilds of Africa and the food and hospitality have been incredible. The amount and variety of game in stunning as well. Still springbok, eland, nyala and waterbuck on our wish list. Who knows what adventure tomorrow will bring.

 

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Big Lion Down

Vanessa's dream on this trip was to take a female lion and that dream came true today. We found a fresh lion kill early this morning and then tracked the lion through some fairly open country. We first encountered her at about 60 yards but she never offered a shot before taking off. Our second encounter was at 40 yards and Vanessa placed a 375 bullet in the lion's shoulder. She ran a short distance to a patch of trees to wait for us. Luckily we saw the bushes move and Vanessa got another shot in her at just 8 yards. It was incredibly intense and will make an incredible episode of Outdoor Quest TV. This afternoon we saw many really nice gemsbok and impala but still not a big enough impala that our PH was happy with. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

 

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Lions are on the Move

The past two mornings we have been awoken by the roaring of lions just outside of camp. What an incredible sound and today we saw fresh tracks from three different males but we couldn't find a female track. Mark and Cindy Zimmermann, the Canadian booking agents for AAA Serapa Safaris, are here with us and Mark took a massive 40" male gemsbok this morning. What an incredible trophy. We also tracked a herd of eland for quite a distance but once we caught up with them we couldn't find a big enough bull.

In the afternoon, we played hide and seek with a big steenbuck and Vanessa was finally able to slip a bullet through the heavy cover into him. Taking a steenbuck on foot off shooting sticks is very rare indeed. Then right at last light we saw a nice male nyala but there wasn't enough camera light left to make a stalk.

 

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Trapper's 'R Us!

Sandi and I passed our basic course and are now licensed trappers in the province of Alberta. This allows us to buy a trapline in Alberta or BC.
We had a great time over the 4 days and really learned a pile about trapping, ethics, the critters and the land. We highly recommend checking out www.trappergord.com for their next session if you are interested in getting into trapping.

Took it down to the Final minutes

Today was a bit slow compared to previous days but we still saw loads of game and had a ton of fun. We had a couple stalks on springbok and blesbok go wrong until with 15 minutes left in the day we finally got in close on a huge blesbok and Vanessa made a perfect shot dropping him on the spot. Not only did he sport some big horns but he was very uniquely coloured and will make an incredible mount. Still lots of animals to hunt and lots of days ahead. AAA Serapa Safaris is an incredible place!

 

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We Passed (The theory part!)

Today we wrote the theory test and both Sandi and I passed. One of us got 100% and the other got one wrong. I'm not saying who got 100% but she is unbearable right now! Tomorrow we have to do our practical sets and if we pass that we are licensed.
If you have ever thought of trapping I highly recomend attending one of Trapper Gords classes. You can find more information at www.trappergord.com
Below Sandi skins the world's smallest beaver.

A Double Header Today

Our morning started off really fast today. After spotting some impala, waterbuck and a great looking sable, we spotted a large herd of red lechwe with two exceptional bucks in it. After a long stalk, Vanessa was in position for a shot and despite hitting the biggest buck really hard, he still managed to go a long ways, really testing the skills of our PH, Pule and our tracker but after about an hour, they got Vanessa in position for a follow up shot which she made perfectly.

In the afternoon, we located a big sable bull and after a tough stalk with lots of crawling on hands and knees, we got in postion for a shot. I hit him perfectly with the 250 grain GMX, putting him down on the spot. He is an incredible bull stretching the tape to over 40 inches. He was everything I dreamed of in a sable.

With a few hours remaining we went for a drive and found a big herd of eland but darkness conspired against us before we could find a shooter bull. This trip has been incredible so far and we've only been in camp for three days!

 

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Trapping Course!

Sandi and I are at Trapper Gord's this weekend getting our trapping licenses. Today is day three. We are having a blast and learning so much. We can't wait to apply some of this knowledge to critters this winter!

In the Final Minutes of the Day

What an incredible day. We saw an unbelievable amount of game this morning and afternoon including Cape buffalo and and a beautiful sable. Vanessa got off to a bit of a rocky start this morning when after an hour long stalk she missed a tough shot on a zebra but she redeemed herself in quite literally the final 5 minutes of the day when she placed a perfect shot at 250 yards on a big zebra. The hunting is really tough here as the animals are very spooky but it makes for an incredible sense of satisfaction when you do manage to pull off the perfect stalk. All that practice off the shooting sticks before coming here is really paying off.

 

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Black Wildebeest Down

Well, our first day in Africa was a blast......quite literally. After our luggage arrived we went out and checked zero on the rifles. Everything was bang on so we head out for a quick drive before sundown and found a herd of black wildebeest. After a long stalk and getting busted by some white springbok and kudu, we got within 238 yards of a big bull. The wildebeest were really nervous and moving around a lot but I managed to put a bullet in the big bull that put him down on the spot. What a start!

 

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Arrived Safe and Sound

We arrived safe and sound at AAA Serapa Safaris just before noon today and this place is absolutely unbelievable. The brochures don't come close to doing it justice. The facilities are spectacular. Our luggage should be here in an hour and then we can sight our rifles in and go hunting! The adventure begins.

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Leaving on a jet plane

Our South African adventure begins today with a flight to London and then onto Joburg and finally AAA Serapa Safaris. We start hunting Friday and hopefully will have pictures to post soon after!

Pack Dogs are coming to Alberta....

Here's the letter I sent to McQueen today. Please email her and let her know how much you appreciate her moving this forward and encourage her to do it quickly...............

Dear Honourable Dianna McQueen:

It gave me great pleasure to see your reply to Ms. Blakeman in the legislature when she asked you about the future of pack dog use in Alberta. I agree whole heartedly with you that it is a "n...o-brainer" and it is very encouraging to see that you have instructed your staff to move forward to allow pack dog use in Alberta. It is my understanding that all changes to the 2013 hunting regulations must be confirmed by May 8 so I fear that even though you gave your staff this instruction in mid April, that we are not going to see this change for 2013. I also understand that there is some concern over the process for making this change within your legal department that may further delay the implementation of this change.

Perhaps you can confirm this but if this can be done through Ministerial Order and Order in Council, the earliest we could see the change would be in 2014 is it not? As 2014 falls in the middle of the two-year cycle for regulation changes, my fear is that this could be delayed yet another year until 2015. If this cannot be done through Ministerial Order and Order in Council and requires the Wildlife Act to be opened, the time frame could even be longer could it not?

As this is a matter of public safety and a matter of safety for grizzly bears (a species at risk in Alberta), in addition to all of the other benefits pack dogs provide, it would seem to be prudent to allow these canine companions in the field as soon as possible. Perhaps a Ministerial Order of Non-Enforcement would be the simplest means of dealing with this until such time that the concerns of your legal department can be satisfied. This would allow a "soft" implementation of the new regulation if you will and allow both enforcement officers and current pack dog users an opportunity to interact before the new regulation was brought into law.

Considering that everyone agrees that getting pack dogs in the field is as you said a "no-brainer" and that the life of a hunter or one of Alberta's precious grizzly bears could be saved, there seems to be no logical reason to allow this change to languish in bureaucracy for several more months or even years. I urge you to please take steps for the immediate implementation of pack dog use in Alberta.

Yours truly,

T.J. Schwanky