Erickson Family Vacation/Hunt 2024

Erickson Family Vacation/Hunt 2024

by Cris Erickson

After traveling to Africa twice and experiencing so many amazing things, my husband Ray really wanted his family to experience the beauty of Africa with him. So, after many conversations, he finally talked me into booking a family trip with his friend Pieter, of Marupa Safaris. We booked our Safari for September of 2020. We bought plane tickets and made all the necessary arrangements to go but it wasn’t long after that, Covid hit and put everything on hold, and it took several years before we could go without restrictions. We were finally able to reschedule our Safari for September of 2024.

Sept 10th, 2024 “The Day had finally arrived! South Africa here we come.”

DAY ONE

Mvubu River Lodge, Pongola South Africa.

We arrived at the lodge in the middle of the night, it was dark, and we were all tired, so we got settled into our huts and got rested for the next morning adventures.

When we woke in the morning and went out onto our porches, we were all in awe. The views from the Mvubu River Lodge were spectacular. It was more beautiful than any of us could have ever imagined.

Right across the river from the lodge was the perfect view to watch all the wildlife hang out; elephants, hippos, crocs, giraffes, and rhinos, just to name a few.

After breakfast we headed out to the shooting range to make sure we were all comfortable before heading out to start hunting.

As we were headed to the shooting range we came across some giraffe, it took the kids and I by surprise, when you are just used to seeing white tail back home. Seeing these beautiful animals in the wild was such an amazing experience.

Off to hunting, day one Ray was able to harvest his Zebra.  Along the way we saw elephants, white rhino, nyala, kudu, impala, and warthogs.

DAY TWO        

Mvubu River Lodge, Pongola South Africa

      After having breakfast, we all set out in two different trucks.  Our youngest son Jeff, and Ray went out with Dolf. While our oldest son Evan, his girlfriend Grace and I went with Pieter in his truck.

     As Ray, Jeff and Dolf traveled from Mvubu to Lake Jozini they used a barge to travel across the river to the other side.  They saw all kinds of wild life, elephants, hippos, crocs, impala, zebra, blue wildebeest, warthogs, and nyala were everywhere! Jeff had impala and blue wildebeest on his list for hunting, and Dolf mentioned there were some excellent common reedbuck in that area also. Ray was very interested in hunting reedbuck so that was what he decided to hunt.  Little did he know while looking for common reedbuck they would come across, what Dolf called, “a Big F—king kudu!”  Adding, “we must go after it” as he took off running, leaving Ray behind with a his heavy ten pound rifle to catch up.

When Dolf stopped he set up the sticks, and when Ray finally caught up to him he set the rifle on top and started looking for kudu. Dolf asked “can you see him?”, and Ray had to admit to Dolf he did not.  Ray then heard a sigh from Dolf and then the kudu moved, making him materialize right before Ray’s eyes.  Ray told Dolf he could see the kudu and confirmed it was facing them. Dolf told him to aim for center of the chest and shoot. Ray took aim and made the shot.  At the shot the kudu dropped right in his tracks. As they approached the kudu bull, he could tell from Dolf’s excitement that this kudu was much different than others. This kudu had deep curls, wide at the top, and tips that rolled out. He was truly a magnificent bull!

        Jeff made an awesome shot from the sticks at a blue wildebeest at 150 yards. The bull still ran almost 200 yards before he dropped. A very tough animal, but the 6.5 Creedmoor did a terrific job in harvesting a very nice wildebeest.

        Later that day as the sun was beginning to set they noticed a very nice warthog off in the distance.  Ray was surprised they were able to get so close being out in the open, but the warthog never looked up and allowed them to get within 150 yards.

         Grace and Evan were both able to shoot a couple of nice kudu, and Evan also took a very nice impala. So that day ended with three kudu, one blue wildebeest, one impala, and one warthog. They were all smiling when we met back at the lodge. A successful day of hunting for all.

DAY THREE

Last Day at Mvubu River Lodge another Great Day with Marupa

The morning hunt was in Grace’s favor as she scored on a very nice Nyala bull, while Jeff harvested a very nice impala ram. Later in the day Ray had another great opportunity, but this time it was a common reedbuck. One of the toughest shots he would have to make. The reedbuck was 120 yards away and laying down. The wind wasn’t in his favor and kept pushing him off his target using shooting sticks. He decided to lean on Dolf and Antione, our tracker, which steadied the rifle and he was able to make the shot.

DAY FOUR

Traveled to Tosca, Reitzdale Reserve for Lioness

      Upon arrival we were met by our hosts Seun and Lelanie and they had a small table set up with shots of Amarula to toast our arrival, it was such a welcoming touch. We were amazed at how large and open the lodge was, especially the rooms. We eventually had dinner and settled in for the night. We had a few drinks and listen to the hunting stories Pieter and Seun were talking about. Seun had videos of lions charging to go along with the stories and of course we were all glued to how the lions were hunted. After watching the one video it made me very nervous and I told Ray I didn’t want the kids to go with him to observe his lioness hunt. Ray was a little nervous too, but reassured me that everything would be ok.

DAY FIVE

Hunted Reitzdale Reserve

We had breakfast and headed out to the shooting range so Ray could shoot off a couple practice rounds to make sure his gun was sighted in.

For me things were getting real now and this lioness hunt was really happening.

Ray was also able to harvest his lioness. It was definitely an exciting hunt. Evan and Grace went out on the hunt with him while Jeff and I stayed back in the truck with one of the trackers. None of us were exactly sure what to expect. Rays experience hunting the lioness was different from any of his other hunts because he was apprehensive at first but when it came time to hunt he was laser focused on what he needed to do.

Evan and Grace were able to hunt for their gemsboks. They both had exciting hunts and both were able to harvest a nice gemsbok.

DAY SIX

Traveled to Kimberly “Home to Marupa Safaris”

Today Evan, Jeff and Grace hunted with GC. Jeff and Grace had a successful day of hunting. Jeff was able to shoot a black wildebeest and black springbok and Grace was able to shoot a copper springbok.

Ray and I went with Dolf and headed over to Langberg Safaris Ranch. The views on this ranch were breath taking. Ray was able to shoot his eland and blesbok.

It was another great day of hunting and site seeing.

DAY SEVEN

We had another great day with Marupa Safaris in the Northern Cape

Last day of hunting.  Jeff hunted his common springbok and had another successful hunt and Ray finally got to hunt the Sable that had been on his bucket list for some time now.

DAY EIGHT

Last night with Marupa Safaris “Very Special Time in Africa”

We visited The Big Hole Diamond mine in Kimberly with Peiter and Dorita.

The Big Hole is considered the largest hand-excavated hole in the world.

While we were there, I was able to get my first pair of diamond earrings. I told Ray since I didn’t hunt, that would be considered my hunt.

After having lunch at The Big Hole we made our way back to Johannesburg Airport to spend the night at the City Lodge so we could catch our flight to Zimbabwe for the last leg of our adventure.

DAY NINE THROUGH DAY TWELVE

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

We flew into Zimbabwe and took a shuttle to Shear Water Hotel.

When we got there, we dropped off our luggage to our rooms and went on to book our adventures through the Hotel.

We did a walk with the elephants; this was a great experience. We were able to get up close and touch and feed them. I would recommend adding this to your list if ever in this area.

We also did the Sunset River Cruise on the Great Zambezi River. This was a cruise that served drinks and hors d’oeuvres while we were floating down the Great Zambezi River observing all the wildlife.

This cruise was extra special because our son Evan proposed to his girlfriend Grace, and she said YES!

This was exciting for all of us!

Jeff and Grace, the thrill seekers, did the tandem zip line from Zambia to Zimbabwe across the Zambezi River.

Finally, we went to see the Victoria Falls. This is the reason we made the trip to Zimbabwe. It was more spectacular than what we had imagined.

There were many different lookout spots and we were able to view the Falls from many different angles, it was absolutely breathtaking.

When our time in Zimbabwe was over, we flew back to Johannesburg and then back to the States.

This trip was by far my favorite so far. It was a very humbling experience for me. We all have the bug to go back with Marupa Safaris on another family trip together, but first we have a wedding to plan.