A Drilling in Africa

Birds & beasts in South Africa’s soetveld

As jy n Vlakvark sien, brand hom!” (“If you see a warthog, burn him!”) With this remark, my host, Willie Smuts, dropped me off at one end of a dirt track cutting through the thorny brush of the soetveld (sweet-grass) country of the North West Province of South Africa. I popped a pair of royal-blue 16-gauge Eley shells and a single 8x57R cartridge into my vintage German Drilling and slung the gun over my shoulder. I then moved into position and awaited the signal to move in on the large flock of guinea fowl feeding in the nearby alfalfa crop circle—an emerald-green mirage through the screen of acacia thorn and golden grass of late winter.

My colleagues, unseen, were positioned around the cultivated land in an effort to outfox the hundred-strong flock of guineas. Our strategy was to move forward, constricting the circle in an unusual tactic known as the “Natal Surround” —so named for the province where it was devised. Once the birds are trapped, fast and furious shooting ensues as they flush over the ring of guns. Blue-sky rules are in effect, requiring muzzles to be pointed skyward at all times, and of course low shots bring the risk of exclusion from the rest of the hunt.

The area we were hunting is home to a variety of gamebirds, including guinea fowl, three species of francolin and three species of doves. Taking advantage of endless sunshine and good groundwater, pivot irrigation is employed to raise crops of potatoes, pumpkins and alfalfa amid the acacia thorn scrub. Local practices and soil conditions dictate that each circle be left fallow for three years following a crop, providing weedy cover for birds. In addition the varied terrain combined with the geometry of circles ensures good cover in the irregular strips and blocks of brush between the croplands.

Free-ranging kudu, impalas, bushbucks, warthogs, bushpigs, Steenbok and duiker are commonly sighted while hunting birds. Predators include African wildcats, caracals, jackals and hyenas. There are also very large high-fenced ranches in the area with a huge variety of big game, including Cape buffalo. This combination of fine wingshooting, plains game and high-fenced properties adds up to a true sportsman’s paradise. And because of the altitude, the area is malaria-free.

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