By Harry Wood
It all started with me with winning a hunt for a black sable from a drawing on Facebook. The excitement had begun; this was in 2019. The hunt that I had won would accommodate two hunters, so I invited my friend Jay from New Mexico. Naturally, he said that he would go with me. We sent Louis our PH a deposit for the other animals that we wanted to hunt on this trip and set a date for August 2020. Then Covid came along and stopped us from going. Like many others, we were forced to push off our travel plans until 2021. Finally, a new plan was in place and we book our safari for the first week of August. We departed from George Bush International airport in Houston and flew to Newark, New jersey where we connected with our friend Terry who would also be accompanying us on this adventure. We boarded the plane and settled in for our long 15-hour flight to Johannesburg. When we finally touched down in South Africa, we were met by Louis Loots our PH and owner of Ka -Maoto Safaris. We loaded our gear into his truck and again settled in for the long drive to camp. Two hours later we finally reached our destination. It was nice and cozy camp and we were made to feel right at home. We knew that we were in good hands. The first order of business was sighting in our rifles. After seventeen hours of travel, we needed to be sure that our scopes were still on. With our rifles ready to roll, we began our hunt. About an hour into our hunt Louis spotted three Waterbuck. One of them was a really big one. Jay and Louis made a slow stalk up the ridge and Jay took aim and made a great shot. The Waterbuck went down like a sack of potatoes. The trackers quickly went to work, field dressing the animal and loading it into the back of the pick-up truck. Later that day we came across some warthog that just happened to be on my bucket list. Of course, I crossed that one off my list. The following day Terry spotted a Kudu which was standing on the side of a mountain. It was quite a long shot but Terry got it done. We had one hell of a time packing the Kudu off the mountain, but we managed. Later that afternoon we glassed some very nice Impala. I set up a little too quick and I missed him. I should have known better but I rushed the shot. It is something that all of us have done. The remainder of the day we saw a lot of different animals, but not the game that we were after.
The next day we traveled to a different concession where we would be looking for my grand prize for this safari, the Black Sable. It seemed like we were glassing, hiking and tracking for hours. Finally, off in the distance, we found him! We stalked up a bit for a closer shot. I took a deep breath while lining up my shot. For a moment, everything went silent. I was laser focused. Suddenly, my rifle barked and Louis yelled, Sable Down! I could not believe it. What a beauty! He was 41 1/2 inches. I was on top of the world. We took our photos to document the moment and it was back to business. There was still plenty of hunting to do. That afternoon, Jay shot a big blue wildebeest and Terry shot a blesbok. It was a great day for everyone.
The next day we were once again on the hunt for Kudu. Louis spotted a big bull on the move as it took cover in the thickets. Louis thought he knew where it was going, so we made our way back to the truck drove the around the mountain. Louis spotted the big bull again hidden in the brush. I saw him as well and Louis said “Shoot him!” I got the big Kudu in my sights and put one in his pump house. He went down and struggled to get back up as I ran down and finished him. My monster kudu was now in the salt. I was so excited! Louis was, too. We took photos and brought this great animal back to camp. 51 and 1/2 inches and super heavy horns. My hunt was complete with these two trophies. We shot several more animals including Nyala, Impala, and Eland. The hunt was all that we expected and more. Louis kept us hunting from dawn till dusk which is what we wanted to do. His staff was well organized, food was great, lodging was beautiful. The entire staff could not be more accommodating. Everyone was very kind to us. I’m putting together two hunting groups for 2022. If you are looking for an adventure of a lifetime and would like more information about this hunting experience, you can contact me at Harry Wood Guide and Outfitter 903-536-7130 or www.HarryWoodGuides.com .
If you do not wish to travel overseas just yet, I can offer some great hunts in New Mexico for mule deer, elk and Bear. You can reach me directly or you may contact Louis Loots with Ka-Maoto Safaris on Facebook . Hope to see you in camp. Good Hunting.