At noon on the fourth day, halfway up a steep boulder, we stopped to catch our breath. Sifiso and I were both tired and the sun was scorching hot, but the black wildebeest couldn’t be far now. Finally, we had them where we wanted them – trapped high up on the last ridge, bordered by a cliff on one side and a steep spur on the other. Their only escape route was past us. We summoned up what seemed to be the last bit of energy and climbed the final few metres. Then, as we peeked over the edge of the boulder, we unexpectedly met the gaze of almost a hundred curious eyes a mere 20 metres away. We were too close!
I was hunting at the pristine Kwaggashoek Game Farm in the foothills of the Klein Drakensberg near Bergville in KwaZulu-Natal. When thinking of Kwaggashoek with its rivers, savanna areas, mountain tops and different landscapes, a sense of sublimity comes to mind. Driving up to its gates, I was met by awe-inspiring scenery unfolding in front of me – savanna grassland turning into rolling hills, ultimately met by the Drakensberg escarpment. Although this beautiful game farm boasts large numbers of huntable species, I was after the black wildebeest roaming high up in the mountains that are inaccessible by 4x4. It turned out to be a truly challenging but fulfilling hunt.
EXPLORING THE AWE-INSPIRING HEIGHTS
Richard guided me on the first day. As a local who grew up on the farm, he has a reputation of not tiring easily in these mountains. I sprained my left ankle two days earlier, so I could hardly put weight on it, which added to my misjudgement of the days to come. After checking my .30-06, we headed up the mountains. The idea was to first scout around for a promising bull and explore the farm, especially parts with the most
