The African Experience -- My First Trip
by Roy K. Keefer

As I noted in my last column, I'm not an expert on Africa.  I've been there twice and am planning to return this year.  I thought I would share the experience I had on my trips and give you a feel for what it's all about.  I have not tried to make it overly dramatic, but just a realistic picture of what I saw and felt.

On my first trip I was overwhelmed with anxiety.  Everything was new to me and the thoughts of seeing Africa had me antsy to get on with it.  

The five hour flight to New York City and the 14 hour flight to Johannesburg took some of the anxiety out of me.  I was whipped after the long flights.  South Africa Air is a super airline and they made the trip as pleasant as you could hope for, but it was still grueling.

We were hunting a ranch four and a half hours north of Joburg near Botswana.  It was 25,000 acres and had most of the typical plains game animals you find in SA.  I really didn't have an agenda as we started.  I had my wish list but thought I'd see how things developed. 

On my first day I was in a hide overlooking a water hole.  Nothing much happened until late in the day and some wart hogs came in to water.  Everyone who goes to SA has to take two animals, a wart hog and an impala.  

I sized the wart hogs up and shot the biggest one.  You have to look closely to judge their tusk size, binoculars definitely help.   My shot was good and we found him 75 yards away.

The next day I was in a hide near another water hole.  A hole had been dug in the ground.  The sides were concreted and a top covered it. The top was made of rebar and mesh wire covered with concrete.  It resembled a termite mound.  

This water hole had lots of activity and soon a herd of blue wildebeests came to water.  I drew my bow, aimed behind the shoulder and released.  The arrow hit where I aimed and we later we found my trophy.  

I forgot one thing I had been told, but refused to believe.  The vitals of most African animals are farther forward than we're accustomed to in North American animals.  You have to shoot through the shoulder or get a nice quartering away shot to reach the area where the vitals are located.  My shot was literally a gut shot.  On a North American animal it would have been a nice shot.  Lesson learned, after that I shot where I was told.

Another day, another waterhole.  A herd of red hartebeests came in and took their time watering.  Hartebeests have to be one of the strangest looking animals in SA.  They can be fierce animals when wounded and they have the horns to do some serious damage.  

I shot a nice male with a quartering away shot and he ran off with the herd.  I radioed the PH to come and help me retrieve the animal and waited. Soon a herd of wildebeests came to water and walked over the tracks of the hartebeests.  

I figured this would make the tracking of my trophy very difficult but I was wrong. The trackers in SA are unbelievable.  They can see things that most of us would never pick up.  We found my book class hartebeest a hundred yards away.

My wife accompanied me to another tree stand (hide) to video the action.  We were kept busy watching a lot of wildlife especially unusual birds we had never seen on television.  

Late in the evening, two gemsbok (Oryx) came to the water hole.   Hurriedly I got in position and shot the largest one behind the shoulder quartering away.  I felt good about the shot but the gemsbok still went 400 yards before he expired.  His horns were 35 inches long and looked like formidable daggers.  The gemsbok is one of the most beautiful of the African plains animals.

By now I was again sitting some of the stands I had sat on prior days.  This time I was at the water hole where I shot the hartebeest.  As the sun began to go lower in the sky, animals filtered in from the bush.  

Off to my right I noticed a large animal coming to the water.  It was a nice kudu bull.  He came to the water and began thrashing his horns in the water.  Then he stood by the water's edge as I prepared for my shot.  The Easton ACC shaft tipped with a 100 grain Thunderhead entered in the near shoulder and passed through the other side.  The bull ran through the water and expired under a tree only 27 yards from where he was shot.  

On both of my trips I used 65# compounds, Hoyt and Mathews.  I found this was sufficient poundage to get the job done.  I used Easton ACC 3-60 arrows and 100 grain Thunderheads.  I always take a backup bow on long trips and would encourage you to do the same.

I was beginning to think I would be one of the few hunters who came home from SA without taking an impala.  After days of sitting in blinds I had yet to have my first opportunity to take one of these tiny, swift antelope.  On the next to last day of my first hunt I sat in a hide near a salt lick.  Impala were frequenting the lick and I hoped they would continue with their routine.  

Inside one of the ground blinds is a surrealistic experience.  It is pitch black.  The only light comes through one or two 9" x 15" openings in the front.  These are your shooting holes.  After a while you get your night vision and can see to move around it.

That evening 20 impala does came to the lick and gave me an opportunity to take some pictures with my video camera.  As I stared through the lens a set of horns appeared in my view.  I stowed the camera away and picked up my bow.  

The buck walked to the salt twenty yards from me and stopped.  

Impala have coil spring reflexes, they can jump a bow string especially on long shots.  One fellow in camp took video pictures of a 40 yard shot on an impala and I couldn't believe how the buck dropped, turned and then sprang away on the shot.  This was in my mind as I took aim and so I held low on the animal.  Much to my surprise, he never flinched and it was a clean heart shot.

In the next sequel I'll detail my second hunt to the Dark Continent and my encounter with a Black Momba.