Walking along the Limpopo

[Gerhard]

I have spent November doing a Trails Guide course where we focused on the Big 5 animals around the Pafuri Area between the Limpopo and Levuvhu rivers.

Our encounters ranged from 10 yards to 100 yards with elephant and cape buffalo, rhino, lion and leopard is also found in the area but in very few numbers.

Would like to share some of the photos taken during this time period.

Fever trees mixed with Limpopo Riverine forest



With the end of the dry season temperatures went daily to a 100F and the elephant herds loved moving into the thick stuff for shade and to feed


1st Thunder Storms of the season.
Limpopo River with its riverine and fever trees in front with the rain falling over Zimbabwe.


Mopane at the end of the dry season...


Three baobab trees with the Levuvhu in the background.

[150class]

In!!!!!!

[critter69]

Watching.

[Gerhard]

Our 1st morning walk from camp we have not even left camp when this guy came strolling past feeding as he went.

This set the tone for the month...

[Gerhard]

As a Trails Guide you walk with a small group of guests in Big 5 area's.

Your rifle becomes a constant extension of your arm and the course members had to shoot an Advance Rifle Handling evaluation and pass the evaluation before being allowed to walk as Back Up (apprentice) Trails Guide.

375H&H is the minimum caliber with charge stoppers like the 458 Lott shooting a 500gr solid at 2200fps being the preferred caliber.

Some photos on the range on the banks of the Limpopo river (most northern shooting range in South Africa I am aware off and shot on)




One of the drills is the charging lion.

Target comes at 8m/s compared to the real charging speed of 21-22m/s of a lion but you get the idea...

Only a hit in the brain will count as a pass.

[Rwc]

Oh man, I see this being an epic thread.

Thanks for sharing

Rwc

[freezerfiller]

Tuned in

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[droptine8850]

Oh man, I see this being an epic thread.

Thanks for sharing

Rwc

Yes sir, in for the pics

[Slick8]

Wow, I felt like I was along for the ride.

That last picture looks intense like he's back pedaling on one leg as if he's really being charged. I bet his heart rate was a bit elevated for just a moving picture.

More please.

[BBReezen]

In for this!!! I want to do the training course!!

[ownels]

That looks like a great time!

[Gerhard]

Thank you for the kind words...

I have taken close to 8000 photos as we walked during the month and is still in process of editing but will share as I progress...

The daily routine was something like this.

Wake up at 4:00

Coffee at 4:30

Depart camp at 1st light around 5:15

We would walk for 3,5-4 hours in the morning.

Return to camp have breakfast, have lectures, siesta time during midday heat and have lunch at 15:00.

Depart for another 2.5-3 hours walk around 16:00

Return to camp have dinner, shower and sleep.

There is no fencing around the camp so animals would wonder through camp and on a few occasions had elephant right in camp.

There is also no electricity, a generator will run for 2-3 hours a day to pump water from the bore hole and charge batteries.

A paraffin fridge tried to keep drinks cool but mostly got the beer to about luke warm...

Drinking water from the bore hole was mostly luke warm...

Map of the concession

[Bigyummy77]

Very Cool pics and info!

[Gerhard]

The Pafuri area is a birding paradise with a species list of around 400 + been recorded

A Black-backed Puffback trying to impress the female of the species


Cardinal Woodpecker

[Gerhard]

Old Cape Buffalo bulls are also known as Dagha Boys...

Dagha referring to the mud used by the Zulu tribe to build huts...

The mud is made from crushing termite mounts and mixing it with water to make a wet concrete type mixture.

Boys normally do this and in the process get covered with mud all over and became known as Dagha Boys.

Cape Buffalo bulls left the breeding herds to become solitary or make small bachelor herds.

These bulls like to take mud baths covering their bodies with mud.

Dagha Boys are one of the few animals you do not want to bump in the thick stuff on short distance as most likely you will be in their attack zone where they have to either fight or flee...

So we took it slow and easy especially when moving through the lala palm thickets where visibility can be below 10 yards. Lala palm thickets are also a favorite hang out spot for Dagha Boys...

Two prime examples of Dagha Boys



Look at the snare scar around the throat are of this bull.



The Limpopo river is the boarder with Zimbabwe with no fencing.

Unfortunately Zimbabwe poachers cross the Limpopo river that now just a sand river to set wire snares in the concession.

We have found and remove quite a few wire snares during Nov but also found dead animals with wire snares.

The Kruger Park rangers that patrol the area are just to few on the ground to make an serious impact.

I honestly believe that shooting on sight of poachers is the only way to protect our wild life in Africa...