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Sofala Newsletters>
Far away from the Vuvuzelas.
June 18, 2010
What an amazing time to be in Africa, right at this very moment. Where about 500 million people around the word are glued to their TV’s to watch the FIFA Soccer World Cup, hundred thousands made the trip to the African continent to witness one of the world’s greatest sporting events hosted for the very first time on African soil. According to PHASA (Professional Hunter’s Association) almost 70 000 guns will make their way through the police offices at the Johannesburg International Airport this month as well. It is obvious that some visitors have more than soccer on their minds.
Far away from the deafening noise of the vuvuzelas, hunters are getting ready every morning to realize their dreams of hunting the amazing species that roam this continent. In case you do not know what a “vuvuzela” is, simply tune in to a FIFA World Cup game and before you think a swarm of one trillion bees are attacking you, rest assured, it is the noise of a certain plastic trumpet that thousands of spectators blow during all the soccer games. One vuvuzela produces a sound at 115 decibels, so if you hear 50 000 at the same time, it is no wonder players and coaches cannot hear each other, even when standing within one yard from each other. It seems that the only place in South Africa where you will not encounter a vuvuzela is in the bushveld where the only occasional loud sound is that of a hunter’s gunshot.
Sofala Safaris is right in the middle of this year’s hunting season. I get frequent emails from hunters who are literally counting down the days before they board the plane to Africa. The excitement and anticipation can be understood as hunting with Sofala Safaris is truly a dream experience and this year has only exceeded expectations, even for us, the guides and professional hunters. So far hunters have been extremely successful with trophies that include the majestic sable antelope, kudu, gemsbok, waterbuck, wildebeest, impala, blesbok, zebra, warthog, steebuck and even giraffe. It also seems as if the “curse of the wildebeest” that several hunters experienced over the last few years was finally broken when the bullet of a .405 caliber rifle knocked over a large blue wildebeest bull on Sofala a few weeks ago. Shortly thereafter another one was shot with a .458. So far we have shot three wildebeest bulls this season of which the first one was shot with a .308 caliber rifle.
This very week we are adding bow hunting blinds at very strategic spots as we realized that we are only beginning to see the bow hunting possibilities that Sofala offers. We are soon going to launch a whole new bow hunting package that will absolutely get the adrenaline flowing when visiting hunters draw that bowstring. Only experienced bow hunters will be allowed to purchase the bow hunting package as steady nerves and precision is absolutely a must when taking on these very tough animals of Africa.
For those who have watched enough African hunting shows and are wondering where to find the right safari, look no further. Sofala Safaris is in its 6th year of operation and we now have numerous returning hunters, some even planning their third trip back to Africa to hunt with Sofala Safaris. I leave you with a quote from a hunter who said the following on the day we dropped him off at the airport: “Guys, I have hunted and traveled to many places in the world, but this is one of the very few times that is extremely hard for me to leave, I will be back next year.”
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