African Hunter Published Books Campfire Tales Volume 3 of 20 | Page 6

Sijarira Buffalo
By Karnasingh D. Ghorpade

It was fifteen minutes past six on an early September
evening, and forty plus buffalo were in the small vlei
about thirty yards from where we were crouching
behind a small tree. There was perhaps another five
minutes of shooting light left, and it was the first day of
a seven day buffalo hunt. The biggest bull around was
about fifty yards away, hidden behind a small tree. Just
when I was beginning to doubt if the PH would allow
a shot under the less than ideal conditions, he leaned
over and asked me to take him as soon as he came into
the open.

N

ine times out of ten, we would have been heading back
to camp at least half an hour earlier, as hunting buffalo
so late in the day can get tricky. But, we were hunting in
Sijarira, and those who have hunted here regularly know that this
is not the easiest of areas for buffalo. The buffalo are nervous, the
leaf cover on the ground is noisy, and the terrain can be difficult.
The fact that only one buffalo had been taken here in 1998 only
served to enhance this reputation. This had also been taken by PH
Dean Adams of Kudu Safaris in June, and that too on the last day
of the hunt. The client preceding us had returned without taking
his buffalo, because of which we had the option of shooting a
Page 6

African Hunter Magazine - Campfire Tales, Volume Three