Patrick travelled up from Gqeberha, and I made the 1 000 km trip from Cape Town, with an overnight stop at the Camdeboo Cottages in Graaff-Reinet. This meant we both arrived on the farm of Angus McClean around 08:30. After introductions and unpacking our gear, we made a quick stop at the sight-in range to check rifles, and headed out to hunt some black wildebeest. We were both successful, and returned to fetch a truck to load the animals. By the time we had skinned and cleaned the carcases, the light was fading and we headed indoors.
That evening, after a delicious farm-style meal, we retired to the lounge to enjoy some true East Cape Scottish culture. Angus poured us a single malt whisky that turned out to be very special. Angus is somewhat of a connoisseur, and regaled us with the fascinating story of the complete whisky-making process. We enjoyed it so much that a second scotch was definitely not turned down. Before we could sample a third, Patrick called it a night.
I enjoy Patrick’s hunting ethos. We both believe that the hunter must respect the game, and only hunt on foot. It includes not being hungover in the veldt. So, after that second drink, and as we planned to hunt mountain reedbuck the next morning, and wanted to be away from the farm by 05:30, the call for an early night was the right one.
Urgent business
For some reason, overnight Angus had some sudden urgent business with his cattle that required his total attention the next morning. He would not be accompanying us, but had arranged for a friend of his who knew the mountain to join us on the hunt.
We drove about one third of the way up the mountain foothills and parked the bakkie.
As the predawn light strengthened, we headed up the south face. Within half an hour, my lungs were burning and my legs felt like lead. This was steep going! Another half hour of graft brought us to a
