Sentinel Limpopo Safari Chronicle, Zimbabwe Africa August/September 2011 Day 9 and Day 10

Sentinel Limpopo Safari Chronicle, Zimbabwe Africa August/September 2011
Days 1 & 2 | Days 3 & 4 | Days 5 & 6 | Days 7 & 8 | Days 9 & 10

Day 9 - September 8th, 2011
For us it was back to the riverine after daylight in search of the heavy horned bushbuck of the nyala berry tree. And that’s right where we found him. Moffat spotted the ram first in the thicket just beyond the berry tree’s far reaching branches. A duiker moved into the clear first and fed leisurely. The old bushbuck ram that we wanted carefully scrutinized the scene from his vantage point in dense cover. There was no clear shot. Finally our ram cautiously followed the duiker’s lead and began to vacuum nyala berries from the forest floor. My .300 Winchester Short Mag 180 grain XP3 caught him broadside high in the shoulder. He collapsed. Another African milestone for me at Sentinel Limpopo. The bushbuck was the sweet icing on a terrific safari cake!

Today David Morris experienced another exciting and successful hunt. David took his second huge kudu bull of the safari. Stay tuned, you’ll see David`s action on “Bucks of Tecomate” in the not too distant future.

Day 10 - September 9th, 2011
On all of my African safaris it seems that the last day is a quiet day leisurely spent. I have been lucky, not having to go to the wire on my priority species. With my top three trophy priorities in the bag we decided to give the hyenas one last try at daylight. Nothing was on the bait when we quietly stalked in at dawn. So we took a lengthy hike into hyena country and managed to jump one big dog from a nearby rocky hillside. Our entire party got some good laughs as my best four attempts on the life of a very scared and distant running hyena failed to connect. Richard said it best, “the hills were alive with the sound of gunfire!”

During our last afternoon hunt for kudu we bumped into an enraged tuskless cow elephant that was quite perturbed that we had invaded her privacy - lots of trumpeting, a mock charge, and a lot of posturing on her part ensued - good stuff! We ran into several good kudu bulls this last warm afternoon but no shooters. I was searching for an exceptionally wide horned bull that had been seen earlier in the week. He never showed.

The realization that the safari was over began to sink in. The content feeling of accomplishment and the privilege of the experience dominated my thoughts. A little of sadness on the last is unavoidable also. We would depart Sentinel before daylight in the morning. Always sorry to leave Sentinel. What a superb safari it was for me and David Morris. Each day hunting in Africa is a day to be treasured, and a day to give thanks. Every African safari is special in its own way. Our 2011 Sentinel Limpopo adventure was indeed a dream safari come true, never to be forgotten!

Sentinel Limpopo Safari Chronicle, Zimbabwe Africa August/September 2011
Days 1 & 2 | Days 3 & 4 | Days 5 & 6 | Days 7 & 8 | Days 9 & 10

Posted by David Shashy