By Jan Wahl

I was pretty excited as I rushed home from work early Friday afternoon to pack the last of my hunting gear. We all met at the home of my friend Rean Steenkamp before departing to Johan Pont’s farm for my last hunt of the hunting season.

After a two-and-a-half hour’s drive we arrived at the farm to find Henk du Plessis and Koos Basson already shooting arrows. We joined them immediately after unloading the car and continued target shooting until sunset.

That evening we all gathered around a big campfire and lost ourselves in huge helpings of delicious chicken-potjie which Henk had prepared.

The next morning those who wanted to shoot impala left for the blinds, while the rest of us stayed behind for more target shooting and arrow tuning. At about half past eleven we filled our stomachs with bacon, eggs and flapjacks followed by a long afternoon of bird shooting and siesta until three o’clock. We then went out to the blinds for another attempt at shooting impala or blue wildebeest.

After two-and-a-half hours Johan Pont decided to move me to another blind, which was closer to the direction in which the blue wildebeest were moving and where there was less wind. A mere 15 minutes later I heard a soft pitter-patter sound outside the blind. As I looked out I saw a beautiful impala ewe. The ewe was very tense and constantly looked in the opposite direction of the blind. She suddenly jumped to one side and ran into the bush. Just then I saw the herd of blue wildebeest approaching.

I slowly reached for my bow and arrow, keeping a hawk’s eye on the movement of the herd. The first animal to come in wasn’t polite enough to offer me a shot. The second beast, however, was kind enough to stand broadside. I took aim and released. The arrow went exactly where I wanted it to go. The blue wildebeest jumped and ran away. I could hear it breaking through the bushes as it ran away.

Immediately I phoned Johan and told him about my luck, all the while jumping up and down with joy. Johan arrived 15 minutes later and we started tracking the animal. It didn’t take long to realise that we would need flashlights and extra eyes for this expedition. After picking up the others and a few flashlights we started tracking again. We followed the blood trail, which was amazingly easy to see in the dark. At some places it consisted of tiny spots, but in others there were large “puddles” of blood. All at once the blood trail disappeared and we realised we were spooking the animal. We decided to mark the spot and continue the search early the next morning.

That evening around the campfire, as I spoke to my fellow hunting friends, I learned that my shot placement was correct for impala but not wildebeest, since the blue wildebeest’s vital area is higher and more to the anterior of the animal. By this time I was stressed, thinking that we might not find the animal. The thought of spending R2000 and not getting anything in return haunted me. Fortunately, Henk’s wonderful three-course meal came to my rescue and I relaxed a little.

Early the following morning we resumed following the blood trail and found it a mere 200 metres from the spot where we had lost it the previous evening. I cannot describe how relieved I was when we found the animal. What a way to end the hunting season!

I hunted with a Johan Smit recurve that weighs in at 54 pounds at my draw length of 31 inches, using an Easton Excell 400 arrow tipped with a Simmons Tree Shark. The total weight of the arrow was 450 grains and the bow shot it at 200 feet per second.

Thanks to Henk for the delicious food he prepared and to all my friends, Johan van der Merwe, Rean, Koos, Henk and Nelius Mostert who helped me track the beast and made the hunting trip enjoyable. Lastly, thanks to Johan Pont for allowing us to hunt on his farm.