The Germans Lodge Warthog Hunt

[Treeman]

Got a call from a friend of mine on Monday, " would I like to come visit him on the farm. He also mentioned that he wanted some Warthog boars shot, strangest thing was happening in regard to boar sow ratio, he was seeing like 3 - 4 boars for every sow recently. I quickly let Cody know we would be away from home this week end and started sharpening knives and oiling rifles.Cleaned scopes and checked cash flow, packed enough for 3 weeks in the bush and made a A4 page note for things not packed - Cooler box, meat, fresh bread,boil eggs.
Other than that I was ready to go on Tuesday morning.

Friday night I arrived at my old friends place, the nicest farm building that I know of.
20220603_224412 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

Once upon a time there was a German man who came to Africa to hunt, he loved it, and he loved the local girls very much as well. He decided he was not going home and built himself a lodge like the ones he had seen, stayed in on his hunts, he also collected some of the girls that lived on the hills as their families had always done.
This was his hunting lodge and his pleasures lodge.
20220604_194710 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

The German contracted a terrible immune deficiency disease and died - his family in Germany just the place sold and matter closed. My friend bought it and my friend is very good to me.

To wake up at this place is a bit of getting some heavin time, the balcony at the back is a sheer drop off to a horseshoe river below and 3 other settings, a open plain, a thorn thicket and a hillside with two sheer cliffs as a backdrop.
IMG-20211221-WA0047 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr
20220604_101518 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

We went for a early morning hunt and walked a valley to its lowest point on the farm without seeing Warthog, we saw Nyala that would likely demand R15-20 K and a black Impala ram that took a liking to my wife, he just stared at here, fixated as it would seem. We had a good time playing guessing games with spoor we found and Cody found a old building to explore - the world is still so new to him, he does not recall me showing him the place when he was 7 - 8 years old, I am not going to change "his" find to "old news". We fake shot a few Impala and a huge Kudu bull and then just enjoyed watching them do their life. 

We turned back, the return walk.

I have always tried to remind myself that the hunt is not over when you walk back, its a bad thing to assume that a path you walked a hour ago is devoid of potential simply because you have already walked it.
 As we walked back, about at our starting point of the walk in the bush's to the one side about 200 m away was a hand size gap between the Acacia, in that gap something moved - just a flicker and I said 'Warthog".
I am so often astounded by this ability to see a movement, a darker color or even just a shine and know that its a animal. This time it was only that the green patch at 200 m away went brown red for a moment and that was enough - full stalk mode activated.
The bush clusters were dense and the stalk was easy to about 100 m, then it was just open 3 finger high grass with nothing between us. I put the sticks up and tried to determine which was the boar and the boar kept turning away so I could not not see its warts. I was frustrated and swore, I then heard my boy calmly state "what's the problem Dad? shoot the one with balls".
This was quiet a moment for me, here was my boy, my little boy, the one that needs help on every decision, telling me the obvious, the obvious that I had failed to take into account - my boy, he is a growing.
The pig fell, the hunt over.
20220604_120816 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr
This little dog is so over claiming a kill, she worries and fights the carcass for the rest of the day.
20220604_120839 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

We then drove across the farm to a undisturbed area and did a walk to another clearing that often held a few pigs all through the day, we had already done a walk through this area at about 09:30 and it was after 13:00, so perhaps some animals had wandered on into the area. Cody and I arrived at area and used our usual approach to give us gradual view of area without making ourselves visible. We did a full scan of the open area and there was nothing , glassed the area for hog first and second time, then glassed again for anything of interest, birds, rabbits and we saw a porcupine. We watched the porcupine for a while and then walked out in the open along clearing just to go look there and there and perhaps a while at the trees near the river, did so because its nice.
When we were walking back along same path, I did as I usually do, one last look, especially along edge of clearing, just incase something had arrived while we were further on down at far end of the field.
There, in the middle of the field walked a warthog, out in the open - how? HOW? - how do they just appear like that. I swear they just materialize from thin air, IT WAS NOT THERE 15 minutes earlier.
This is a thing that astounds me, the way warthogs just appear in front of one's eyes, we had both glassed that clearing 400 m x 800 m a few times, not just for hog, but also just because it is pleasing to study a area up close through the binno's.
We decided to take no chances, we decided on the long walk around, up the hill next to the open field through the real thick stuff using the rather well defined animal paths.
15- 20 minutes later we agreed that we must be 90 Deg across from the hog and started down the hill. The idea was to came to the forest edge and shoot from the dark out to the animal. When we got to the edge there was no hog, we stopped and looked real careful, real careful, because we knew it was there. It was not there.
To our left the forest bush stuck out a bit from the rest of the edge (look in photo), and I hoped that it was just far enough out to hide the pig from us - it was just so, a bit further out onto the field and we looked past the outcrop of bush and there the pig stood.

Cody and I last year started with the concept of "he who sees' the hog gets to hunt it" I did this to promote his participation in the hunting and not just the shooting - I spot it, he gets given the opportunity no more. This has worked well and Cody is really - really good at seeing animals. This time however I just did the "dad" thing - "you can take it my boy". He is such a grateful child this boy of mine, even then, a hug and a thank you.
I said to put the bullet under the ear a bit back, "head neck shot my boy". He said he could pull a behind shoulder shot off and I replied that we would lose one leg at the given angle.
Again the growing up thing was evident, no arguing, just a shot as my sentence ended. The pig fell and legs kicked indicating a CNS hit.
Here Cody sits covering his hog, if you zoom in you will see the little dog, she had already went down range.
20220604_155725 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr
Note how I taught him and how he has grown into the "SIT" Foot under upright leg. Arm around up leg and shoulder onto up leg. Bottom leg making a triangle -butt, length of leg as a base with upright leg as a support.
20220604_160008 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr
Note the hole under behind the ear, perfect for a animal quartering away. Look in background, how did we miss the pig first time around ?

It was now 16:30, 17:00 perhaps. Cody informed me that if we rush we can get another one,"really? You think so ?" "yes Dad - come we try"       
So the vehicle was only half a km away and we quickly got back to it and I did the Sarel van de Merve thing to the far side of the farm, the main vally. We quickly crossed the main gravel rd and went into a low point and behind a thick cluster of indigenous bush to hid the bakkie. Unfortunately the 2 legged Jackal use the main gravel road as a through fare, so in this part of the farm we prefer not to be seen.
I always save this walk for the last part of the day, because its such a rewarding walk, we always see other things. The hill catch's the setting sun and porcupine, baboons and meercat are all on the enjoyment menu.
We walked the usual area through the Mimosa, and my second learning came through to me that day. I as per usual I said to Cody, " Codes,I will look ahead and you look under the trees into the gaps, you know how many times you spotted the pig through the gaps?, I will do the far stuff, I am taller than you" - right there, it struck me, Cody was no longer shorter than I. He looked at me and I at him, about eye to eye (guess he thought he had done something wrong), took only a moment though, father to son, son to father and he laughed.
My boy is a growing!
We reached the end of the walk just as the son stated its intent to call it a day, absolutely beautiful, the dove asking to be laid and the Bou Bou Shrike saying its muslim like prayer. A porcupine came out its hole right where we stood, stretched its legs for the nights activities and turned around - there we stood. I could actually see it go "oh fok!" It started back to its hole.
 I said "all's good Mr Pine, we good, no worries' mate" The porcupine passed its hole and went on with its plans.
 We started back and cody asked "how do you do that Dad?"
I did my usual last look about and saw a dead aloe on far side of the opening, I commented on how one's eyes started seeing what you want to see when you been at it for a while. I said "always check my boy, many a tree is a Warthog and many  warthog a tree". A quick look at the dead aloe changed the moment, big boar standing straight on at us, that thing they do when stepping out the thick stuff, stop with just head in open area and just stare, study area.
Sticks went down, sun went down, moved sticks,the only shot was straight on through head into between front shoulders. Think, decide, bang, tshunk. " Daaad, dad if you keep shooting like this Rat will never learn to track" Another my boy is growing half adult statements.
From where I shot, the pig is at behind Cody's left elbow.
20220604_163237 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr
Here the pig can be seen in the triangle made by rifle barrel and Cody's shoulder.
20220604_163237 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr
This picture goes to show how good these dogs noses are, the animal is dead on the spot, 5 minutes later she is picking up sent to track it to its source. Just on the air, no trail - we have no idea how much we miss with our stunted senses. Pig is in the natural triangle ahead.
 20220604_163447 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

Prince charming and his hog.
20220604_163736 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

The wife was at the vehicle this time and drove in our direction till she met us.
The following photos' are I think the first of Cody and I realising he is now as tall as me and as always my good friend and brother. Our relationship is such, that i sometimes when we do boys stuff call him by my brothers name, it just feels like all those years ago with my brother, my brother, my son , my friend all in one person.
I, the author of his creation was amazed again today by who my boy became.
20220604_164149 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr
20220604_164300 by David Frank Allen, on Flickr

Story for Mohamed, who always tells me how he enjoys reading about me, my boy and I, our adventures.

[Mohamed]

Thanks Treeman. I as usual, love reading your stories. The scenery is spectacular, especially the balcony photo. What an awesome hunt. Looking forward to the next adventure. You are doing an excellent job raising Cody, he is fortunate to have you as a dad. Maybe one day I will be able to join the 2 of you on one of your adventures.