Vicky Wes RESET

What work for electronics, also work and is sometimes vital for us humans too. Yes, now and again, we all need a hard reset: unplugging completely from the daily world and it's relentless routine.

Its hunting trip time for me and close friend Ruhan !

Our rendezvous point changed a little this year, from Uniondale to Willowmore.

Ruhan and his wife stayed over in Willowmore in a guesthouse the previous night. Before departuring, we went for breakfast at a cozy coffee shop in Willowmore, called KAPOET

They serve my absolute favourite coffee. . . .condensmilk coffee !!

I also found a pair of Mohair socks in Kapoet that just might come in handy for the extreme cold weather forecasted.

The drive to Victoria West is, as always, an event on its own, with loud music and lots of treats 🤭

Special mention should be made of Ruhan's trusted 3L KZTE Toyota bakkie that was "overhauled" and "revamped", just before the trip. This trusted steed was already part of so many of our trips, and now, who knows how many more to come?

But . . . Time for an ice-coffee stop 😉

Later, a proper braai stop 🔥

The BEST braai broodjie ever !!

(Only just managed some photo evidence before it disappeared 🤣)

Because of the cold and windy weather predicted, we opted for the "stoep" of the farm house to set up camp. It's like "the best of both worlds", a bit outdoorsy, but with some indoor facilities close at hand.

Each year when we walk into the "veld" for that first time, I have the same thought: WILL we, and WHERE will we find springbuck to even have a shot at? The area consist of vast open plains, and you literally look into far-off distances filled with nothingness. 

Then we just start walking, one foot in front of the other, using the wind direction in our favour to stalk pray we can't even see . . . . yet. 

But each year we make it work and we do succeed 💪

We stalk on foot, we crawl if need be, we take our time, we make tripple sure of distance and wind before we take the shot.

It's calculated, it's patient, it's presice, it's clean, it's instant and humane.

Apart from the seriousness of the hunt, we also enjoy our time in nature with picnic-like breaks.

["Picnic-like breaks" refers to rest periods that share the characteristics of a picnic: they are generally informal, relaxing, social and often involve food and drinks enjoyed outdoors or in a casual setting away from a primary workspace]

A highlight on the meal menu this year was Stokbrood.

[Stokbrood (Afrikaans/Dutch) for "stick bread" is a popular, traditional snack or side dish made by wrapping strips of bread dough around a stick or skewer and cooking it over a braai or open campfire until golden brown and cooked through. It's a social food, often enjoyed while gathered around the fire. The inside can be filled with butter, syrup, jam or even boerewors once the stick is removed]

We filled our stokbrood with honey that tastes like candy floss!  This honey comes from Ruhan and Lucille's own bee hives they farm.

I know you can taste that right?!! 😆😆

As the sun sets peacefully over the Karoo koppies, another great adventure comes to an end.

Till next time . . . . . 

Beach, Dunes and a River Mouth

 This was just a quick one for me and Ruhan, due to work constraints.

A 10 kilometer hike on the beach to the river mouth during mostly high tide on a very hot day

Halfway there the heat was getting too hectic and we put up a temporary shelter on the beach with big driftwood and a tarp

After about an hour we broke-up camp and hike the last few kilometers to the river mouth.

Close to the river the dunes look like a desert of rolling sand dunes.

On a big dune with some bushes, we found shade from the scorching sun.

A quick powernap as we wait for the heat to pass. Light breeze started blowing .

Waking up thirsty and craving something sweet, I made some coffee.

I checked our position on Google Earth and discovee to my surprise that we were very close to the river

I left my gear and quickly went to check it out. This is the view I found on the other side of the last dune:

Magical colours with sunset:

We slept right there under the stars, boats operating up and down the river the whole night long.

The next morning a storm-like wind picked up at 06H00 and we decided to hike to the nearest village and asked Ruhan's wife to come fetch us there.

Adapt

 Adapt: "To make or become suitable. To change so as to fit a new or specific use or situation."

It's that time of year again, or rather, it's finally that time of year again! It's me and Ruhan's hunting trip to Victoria West. Last year we opted to camp in the field rather than staying in the old farm house and this year we are doing the same. Again Ruhan is taking all the camping gear and food in the bakkie.

My first stop with the bike is in Joubertina for coffee and a muffin.

We met up in Uniondale as always, where my bike stays behind at the Schulteheim Hotel.

Small gift of appreciation for the favor of keeping the bike safe for the next few days at the hotel.

Now the trip has officially kicked off!

Just outside Rietbron, stopping for a lunch- braai next to the road.

On the road again:

We quickly set up the campsite, because we knew exactly where everything should go. I added a 10m led string light, running from three AA batteries, for the kitchen tree. Nice lighting for the kitchen table area, but also adding to the Karoo starry-sky ambiance.

Ready for the hunt the next morning. New camp (1400 Ha) to explore and endend up walking 13km for the day.

Wind picked up badly, which made conditions difficult to hunt. No succes to be had on this day.

Having some tee and food out of the wind under a tree- bush.

When we returned to camp late that afternoon, everything was blown all over the place and covered with dust and dirt. Weather predictions were also that the windspeed would actually increase during that night. We took an important decision that would influence the rest of our week. We broke up camp and moved to the braai area of the farm house. Here we regrouped, sorted and cleaned our gear, still enjoying starry nights, but well sheltered from the wind.

The next day we had to adapt even more, because now the wind was properly pumping. We drove slowly through the camp with the bakkie, hoping to somehow get a decent shot on a springbuck.

Ruhan made a well calculated clean shot for our first springbuck of the trip. (360m)

Today, even the tee had to be prepared inside the bakkie.

That evening it was time for a fresh baked bread, one of my favorite things on any of our trips !

We woke up Saturday morning (the last day set out for hunting) and we were both just dailed-in for the hunt, wind or no wind. We started with our favorite way of hunting: on foot.

We returned to a familiar camp with some new plans on how to manage in the wind. (adapt)

It was not long before Ruhan made the first succesful kill of day. 

Time for tee and snacks after some grueling kilometres on foot.

Taking a "powernap" with the wind picking up again. This is how you hide from the wind behind a Karoo-bossie.

Working our way back to the bakkie, I was presented with a 260m shot with the wind at an angle from behind. This was doable with my little 6mm rifle.

Ruhan wanted another buck and with the wind blowing horribly, we opted for a drive around with the bakkie again. 

Driving into the wind, we surprised a small herd of springbuck going over a blind hill. Ruhan had to act fast, but was spot on with his shot, taken over the side-mirror of the bakkie.

That evening we found a pack of cards (actually 2 packs merged as one) and played some Rummy. The little gas lamp supplied a great atmosphere for playing cards.

We also found Super Trumps cards (Cars) that were very popular in our youth. Nice memories and a long game that just could not produce a clear winner.

Back home and the best Biltong were made by ourselves.