Ray's African Safari 2023!

The Ray family, Stuart, Michele, Olivia (22) and Parker (18) departed Louisville for Port Elizabeth via Johannesburg South Africa for what would turn out to be an African Safari and experience of a lifetime. We were pick up from Port Elizabeth and driven to John X Safaris about 2 hours east for our Eastern Cape hunt! Upon arrival we immediately realized this beautiful renovated 125-year-old stone facilities were stunning. We were warmly greeted by Lee Phillips, part of the Van Zyl family who owns and operates John X. After meeting the staff, PH’s, trackers, I went from being slightly nervous about my first African Safari to knowing my family was in great hands and completely comfortable, and it only got better!

On the first day we settled in, shot and confirmed the lodges guns at the range and had an incredible lunch and an evening drive seeing large herds of the plain's animals such as wildebeest of all color phases, impala, hartebeest, zebra and a variety of sable, roan, gemsbok, warthogs and species I can’t even recall. The drive was quite the tease as Thursday May 25, we actually departed John X as they had arranged a morning safari at Kwandwe Preserve. This included species we weren’t hunting such as a cheetah on a kill, male and female lions, giraffes and mother/calf rhinos in addition to hundreds of other species!

Thursday afternoon I went with my PH Greg Hayes, and Olivia, Parker and Michele went out with PH Hannes Vilgoen. The kids did a lot of glassing while I was lucky enough to take both an excellent wildebeest and bless-buck! Friday May 26, Olivia wasted no time getting on the board with an early morning wildebeest and then taking a late evening gemsbok. We were all there for Olivia’s gemsbok hunt and she placed a great 200/yard shot from prone position dropping him in his tracks! Friday morning, I went with PH Greg and tracker Bless for my first pursuit on my first Big 5 goal, a Cape Buffalo! The wind had picked up considerably and it was quite cold and I wasn’t getting great vibes from Greg that this was excellent Cape Buff conditions! But Greg and Bless were on them in short order and we began a downhill stalk dead into a stiff wind on a group of 4-5 buffalo’s from about 1000/yards out, not knowing if a good Dugga Boy was in the group or not. From a couple hundred yards out, Greg identified an old bull with great bosses, and we closed in on a stalk in very tight close quarters! We spotted them again at 50 yards and between us positioning for a shot and the herd coming towards us, we ended up 25 yards from the herd, a nervous distance to say the least! The old good bull worked back and forth and eventually gave me a shot at 30/yards! I wasn’t certain if we had a quality shot, but PH Greg assured me if I put it into a circle created by the brush slightly behind the shoulder, it would be right on! I was as confident with the shot and while our bull turned and bolted, the younger bulls took a stand and were not happy with us! They eventually retreated and we found our bull after a death rattle at only 30/yards beyond our shot! Two hours into our first day of our Cape Buffalo hunt, 30-yard shot, one shot and dead after a mere 30-yard trail and a stunning big old Dugga Boy! Now I knew for sure I was one lucky first time African hunter!

Saturday, we worked a blue wildebeest for Parker and spent most the day in pursuit, and things didn’t work out. However, at the end of the day, one of Africa’s Royal Slam, a stunning sable presented a great opportunity. I made a great friend with my PH Greg, but when we were stalking the sable and evaluating the shot, Greg said, “Yes, yes, yes, (while I didn’t have a shot) and then no, no, no,” yet I shot, and I saw a quality quartering away shot, but Greg was calling me off, and my instincts took over and placed a shot right in the boiler room. Greg and I had our first testy conversation. “I said no!” And my genuine reply was, “Greg, I know, and I apologize, but honestly I don’t know what happened, I saw the shot and knew it was right.” He was a perfect gentleman and although a coup shot was required, my dream African sable antelope was down with absolutely no ground disappointment, he actually was more beautiful the closer I got!

Sunday May 28, Olivia truck got the jump on us, and we approached their rig with Olivia on the sticks, with an incredible nyala buck in her sights! Talk about pressure, Mom, Dad and brother all watching while she has an uphill 225/yard shot at a well camouflaged nyala! One shot, and down went what her PH Hannas referred to as the best nyala he had hunted! They are a classic African antelope! Olivia went on that day to take a great zebra and I immediately realized, I didn’t need to encourage Olivia to shoot!!!! Parker and I left the family and soon approached a stunning roan first thing in the morning! I didn’t intend for us to take a roan, but knowing Parker had him in his sights and it would complete a father/son Royal Slam, I couldn’t say no, and Parker executed a stunning shot! Parker was on the board! Shortly after Parker made a great stalk on an impala playing hide and seek around a pond dam and Parker won with a very nice buck! Late that evening as the African sun was setting, we took a last pass by a pond, and a very nice impala many had tried for, appeared for me! I was able to take a awesome impala! The next day weather was approaching with high winds and heavy rains from time to time and so we pressed the hunt. Monday morning May 29, Olivia took an early morning impala and was really putting in some great stalks and shots! She later took a nice springbok, you go girl!! Parker hunting with PH Greg and the exact same hartebeest who had put a slip-on Parker two days prior, went down with a well-placed shot! It is one of my favorite animals including the roan, just a great species! Later that morning, Parker had a bead on a beast he had wanted from the start, and we chased a heard of zebras for miles. It had a big stallion in the middle and at 250/yards of the sticks Parker nailed his zebra. Most of our game went down fast, but this old stallion didn’t, and we tracked a great blood trail for 500 yards. The shot was perfect, straight in the shoulder, even bruising the heart, he was piled up, deep in the brush!

We really had completed much of our dreams, taken many of our target animals! But in spite of the inclement weather, I went out with Parker while Olivia and Michele visited a local African school where much of our meet was donated. They kids were so thrilled meet with Michele and Olivia, who is a magnet with kids! Parker and I saw a badly wounded springbok, and yet, he was very impressive in spite of a broken back leg, likely inflected by an animal or accident. Although we knew he wasn’t long for the world due to this injury, he was a stunning springbok, so at 220/yds, I made maybe my best long shot and took him. The heart of the springbok’s rack was like an exclamation point on our great week of hunting!

I have hunted with both Olivia and Parker since they were 5/6! I packed them into the woods for early youth seasons, dove, squirrel & deer, you name it, boy or girl, it has always been how I have raised the kids. Olivia and Parker really blossomed in Africa, while the old man completed a dream of my lifetime, but enjoying it with Michele, Olivia and Parker made it all the more special! My closing message is, if you’re putting off a dream trip or hunt most importantly Africa, DON’T! Do it now and do it again! Africa and John X Safaris fulfilled my dreams! I’ll be back!