Kudu in the evening

So, after the drive back from the Springbok hunting, we drove around and found a blind to sit in and watch for Kudu. Arthur, the proprietor of Blaauwkrantz Safaris, told us he took a walk a few days ago, and thought it would be a nice place for a blind.

It is a gorgeous little basin/valley. The hills encircle the head of the large draw and form a very nicely situated area, just the right distance from a feeding area. The area is thick with the brush we've seen elsewhere, and had some larger trees sprinkles throughout. There are two small ponds there as well.

Another draw came into the basin from the left behind us. As we quietly walked into the blind, the snorting and wheezing of rutting Impala continued to impress me. They sound more like warthogs than anything else. Really interesting critters.

As we began to glass, I quickly spotted many Impala, quietly feeding through the brush. Braun spotted some Kudu (our goal) up at the head of the basin to our left. We focussed on these ones as there was a big bill among them. We were so focussed that we didn't see this big bull come in to feed on the oranges.

This kudu would pick up oranges whole, and chimps down on them, loving the yummy juice. So Sam got into position, and the Kudu spotted our movement. He froze and stared right at us. Braun said, "don't move.". I had him in my binoculars an we had a staring contest for 6 or 7 minutes, although it seemed like forever. He would not move, and constantly licked his lips; he was trying to smell us better or maybe his lips were sticky from the oranges.

Finally, as my back and legs aching grew worse and worse, he began to relax...he slowly went back to feeding, and Braun chambered a round. The kudu didn't like that, and ran off about 90 yards. He stood looking back at us at about 200 yards. Sam made a perfect shot, and he walked about 50 yards or so, and we lost him in the brush.

We sat for a few minutes, then made our way to where he lay. The dog, Flek, made it there before us.