A billionaire’s retreat opened to commercial hunting for the first time in 2009 and the stick and string potential is outstanding.  Sixty-inch kudu, 40+ gemsbok, and giant eland abound.

By Joe Byers

                 “Look at that warthog,” I whispered to PH Richard Prinsloo, careful to constrain my verbal excitement.  The beast had tusks that curled like the handle bar mustache worn in old TV westerns… and nearly touched.  Several sows and pigs came to the water to drink, yet the old porker caught the scent from our footprints and knew danger was near.  It stood stoically facing us at 30 yards, waited for the females to drink, then quickly turned and vanished into the bush.  “What a trophy,” said Prinsloo.  “Since it didn’t drink, it will probably return.”

                We had been in the hide barely 30 minutes as much of an experiment as a hunt.  We were on the 50,000-acre tract owned by the Prince of State of Saudi Arabia, a game reserve previously reserved for heads of state, including two United States Presidents, who were his guests two weeks of the year.  With the world economy in a tail-spin, the Prince sought to recover some of his expenses by allowing limited hunting on the property and I was fortunate enough to be among them. 

                “Zebra hide” as it was known consisted of a two meter square set of cloth mesh that was concealed with brush on the outside and two small openings as shooting windows.  The hide overlooked a small pond about 20 meters in diameter and had no top so that the interior was in full sun greatly restricting hunter movement.  Glancing down, I noticed a number of cigarette butts, a sign that the hide had been used, but not carefully.  Ironically, this hide was in the rifle hunting section of the property where the season had been open for six months.  As a result, all species of antelope were very spooky and I wondered if bowhunting such a location would pay off. 

Instant Action- Almost

                In mid-August, mid day becomes warm and animals are motivated to drink, a prospect we hoped would draw that big pig to return.  Within a few minutes, I heard grunting to my left and another family of pigs came to drink.  As the moved to the right side of the water a moderate gemsbok appeared at the edge of the bush.  Given the brightness of the hide, we dared not move a muscle and it stood stoically, accessing the risk.  You heart pounds at such times and you mind mentally reaches for the remote and the fast forward button.  However, satisfied that no predators lured by the water, the animal lowered its head and moved toward the water. 

                As often happens at water holes, once this “point” animal relaxed, the flood gates open and creatures seem to pour from the bush.  Within second, three more gemsbok stepped from the bush, one a huge male that approached head on.  I focused intently on this animal and my arms tensed with the chance at a shot.  To the right, more warthogs came to drink and a kudu bull stepped into the open at 35 yards.  All of this activity happened within a minute.

                The big bull gemsbok stood at 25 yards, as relaxed as I was anxious.  Despite the close range, the shot angle had to be specific to take such a large animal.  Tension and excitement reigned as the seconds passed.  Suddenly, one gemsbok cow raised its head and stepped back awkwardly from the water.  In an instant, ever drinking animal raised its head and shifted into reverse.  In seconds, they were gone. 

                A slight breeze blew directly in our face.  Had the wind swirled?  More likely, an animal had caught some reflection from the noon sun beating down on our location.  Whatever the cause, it definitely pushed the “pause” button.

Whitetail Tricks in Africa

                The amount of game using this waterhole was astounding.  I’d seen more game in the past minutes than some hunters see in a day at other places.  Water isn’t scarce at Fahad, either, since it has 14 miles of river frontage to the Limpopo River.  Was this a fluke or an indication of the bowhunting potential this property had?  To find out, we raced back to camp and retrieved a Bushnell compact trail camera I had brought as an experiment.  We returned within an hour, set up the device and waited. 

                Ironically, a warthog soon appeared, walked past the camera, then turned and looked right at it.  How incredible that an animal with reputed poor eye sight would notice this palm-size box on a small tree.  African animals notice any change in an environment, especially at a water hole. 

                Soon, we heard a rustle in the bush to our left and two big warthogs came to drink and root around the water.  The first in line, a real bruiser, stopped at 20 yards quartering away.  “He’s not quite big enough,” whispered Prinsloo, a surprising statement since the pig looked like a keeper to me.  After a few seconds, he whispered, Oh!  That’s a big one… take the shot when you can.  Through the tiny holes in the blind, he hadn’t seen the first pig and I was glad that my judgment had been vindicated.

                The distance was a bit further, but the pig stopped broadside and I released.  The hit looked good and the arrow was a complete pass-through.  Upon impact, the pig whirled and raced away through several small trees.  Given the location of the hit, we waited a few minutes before picking up the track.  Since we saw the pig run, we went to that spot and soon found lots of tracks, but not blood.  After following that trail for 50 yards or so, I doubled back knowing full well the devastation the piston-style broadheads cause.  Sure enough, I quickly found the arrow and a highway of sign. 

                Getting the big pig back to camp was quite a challenge.  It left plenty of “spore” and driving the vehicle to the beast took some maneuvering.  This amount of human activity made the hide less than a best bet, and I was curious how our camera would record the activities.

                Next time, I’ll conclude this experimental step into what is destined to be an incredible bowhunting area.  Remember, this incredible action occurred in the rifle hunting area from a hide that had been hastily constructed.