Scandinavian Invasion

27th April 2011

16 Happy Scandinavians + 10 Professional Hunters + 10 Trackers + 2 Cameramen + 20 Camp Staff + 7 Jack Russel’s + 75 Bags of Salt + 4 Camps + 7 Days + Unlimited Hunting Areas & The Indian Ocean = A Scandinavian Invasion on the Eastern Cape, South Africa!
We hunted, fished, hiked, and enjoyed game drives. Saw scenery like never before and set foot in places we never dreamt of. We were up at the crack of dawn each morning and stumbled home at night to enjoy great food, super wine, and a camaraderie that would rival most.
We’d like to tell you about every single minute of each hunt, but where would it all fit? There was so much done and even more experienced. In the end it was decided that the hunters should tell their own story, and what more could one ask for than having their cameras do the telling and their smiles share the adventures…..

The areas were waiting….

The guys were locked and loaded. Ready to hunt….

Samuel Wallenstam joined Professional Hunter, Juan MacDonald, on his 7 Day hunt. Samuel was after a variety of plains game species, with the emphasis on a great East Cape Kudu.

A great East Cape Kudu is what Samuel had hoped for. A super East Cape Kudu is what he got!

An opportunity on a good Blesbuck wasnt going to be passed up. Samuel made a super shot on his ram.

After having successfully hunted a common Springbuck, Samuel made the decision to pursue the 3 colour variations in the original Springbuck trio. A great Black Springbuck!

His White Springbuck was soon to follow.

The guys had been passing up a number of Impala during the early part of the hunt. When this ram stepped out they knew their wait had been worth it.

Old friend, Lennart Packendorff, was not going to be left behind once he’d heard that half of Scandinavia was descending on South Africa. He joined Professional Hunter, Gary Phillips, on a hunt of variety.

Lennart had been on several previous hunts to South Africa. A Bontebuck was a specie that he had never pursued before. To date this could be one of the biggest Bontebuck ever hunted in South Africa, it came in at 16 1/2 inches. What a monster!

One could never get tired of hunting Common Springbuck. What a beauty!

Lennart soon realized that he had never hunted a White Blesbuck before either. The guys hunted hard for an old ram and they deservedly earned a great ram.

Helge Beitland accompanied the group as the only observer. He joined professional Hunter, Gary Phillips, and Lennart on the hunt and enjoyed travelling to both our coastal and northern areas.

Helge may have arrived as an observer, but sure left as a hunter! Well done on your magnificent Zebra!

Fridthjof Einang and long time friend, Bertil Friman, joined Professional Hunter, Carl van Zijl, for their safari. Fridthjof was after Kudu, Impala and Zebra, while Bertil was on his second hunt to John X Safaris. His wish list turned out to be a dream hunt.

Blue skies and a super Impala. Fridthjof loving his first day of hunting in Africa!

The man with the hands was back! A delighted Bertil after having pulled off an extremely long shot on his Black Wildebeest.

What was it going to be? Gemsbuck or Zebra. After an entire day of failed stalk attempts on Zebra it nearly ended up being Gemsbuck. Luck turned our way the next day and Fridthjof bagged this old stallion.

During Bertils 2010 hunt with John X Safaris, he hunted a great East Cape Kudu from our Coastal Area. This year Bertil had set his mind on completing his spiral collection. What a safari it turned out to be!

We started with the biggest. Bertils Cape Eland was a monster in every sense of the hunt. We stalked his bull for 3 hours and then patiently waited out a shot at 120 yards. An epic experience was enjoyed by all on the stalk.

The Cape Bushbuck came as a luck while on the hunt for Nyala. Like they say:” Never look a gifted horse in the mouth!” We werent going to pass up on this beauty.

We left the best for last. Could there be any other plains game animal, except for the Sable antelope, that could rival the beauty of an Nyala bull feeding in the afternoon sun.Great going! Congratulations on completing your spirals.

Professional Hunter, J.K. Scheepers, was joined by the Pedersen’s for their 7 Day hunt. Torbjorn, together with his father, Toralf, were after East Cape Kudu, Impala, Warthog, Blesbuck and Cape Hartebeest.

Torbjorn got their safari off to a great start with his second day Impala.

Toralf wasnt going to be left behind and bagged this fantastic Cape Hartebeest.

If ever there was one man deserving of a Kudu, it was Toralf. He hunted hard day in and day out, never quite getting a run of luck. If it wasn’t the weather, then it was a young bull giving them away before an opportunity arose on the bull that they were after. In the end he made it. Last day. Last afternoon.

A relieved Toralf with his great East Cape Kudu. (If only Toralf knew how relieved we were too.) Well done!

David Wallenstam joined Professional Hunter, Ed Wilson, for his 7 Day hunt with John X Safaris. This was to be David’s first hunt to Africa. He came prepared to be busy, and that’s exactly what they were. Very busy hunting hard!

David got off to a great start with this super Blue Wildebeest.

An East Cape Kudu was one of Davids priorities. While on the hunt for Cape Hartebeest, the guys spotted this beauty. David made sure of his shot and bagged a super East Cape Kudu.

An Eland to remember. Ed and David had been pursuing Eland on and off for two days, when late on the second day the spotted a good bull. They took their time, at the same time not wanting to run out of light, made a great stalk to bag his trophy Eland.

Before heading back south from the north, David got lucky on a great Cape Hartebeest.

Having arrived back south in our coastal area, the guys decided to concentrate on Warthog, a certain priority on Davids safari. With a gusting wind and the Warthogs not feeding much, the guys decided on plan “B”. A monster Blesbuck Plan “B” turned out to be!

Not even poor pig hunting weather can beat patience and hard work. A great Warthog on the last day of the hunt, a great end to a fantastic safari.

Benny Fredrickson and Thomas Nyden joined their Professional Hunter, on their 7 Day hunt. The guys were after a variety of Plains Game with “fun” being the priority of their safari. Something tells me they enjoyed their stay!

Between the fun and games, the guys put in the hard hours and were rewarded with some great trophies. A clearly proud Thomas with his super Gemsbuck.

Way to go boys! A double!

On the last day of their hunt the guys got a lucky break and had a call from our local houndsmen. The houndsmen had picked up a fresh Lynx track and the dogs were in hot pursuit. If Benny or Thomas were interested, they should link up with the hounds as soon as they could. A couple of hours later and the boys had experienced a great Lynx hunt and bagged a beauty!

While hunting was the order of the day, eating and drinking was certainly the order of the night. When it comes to food, look no further than Michelin Star Chef Leif Mannerstrom and his son Sebastian. These guys do for food what Elvis Presley did for music. Imagine an African dinner menu of…

Fresh seared Tuna from the Indian Ocean for starters….

West Coast Lobster flown in from Cape Town….

Complemented by an Eland fillet as the main… and there was more.

There was however time for hunting! Leif and Sebastian joined Professional Hunter, Greg Hayes, for an action packed 7 days.

Sebastian with a fantastic Impala.

Mikael Wallenstam joined Professional Hunter, Johno Fetting, for his first African Safari. Mikael, twin brother to Samuel, was after a variety of Plains Game from our coastal and northern areas.

One of Mikaels first trophies in the north. A super Black Wildebeest!

A Gemsbuck was one of Mikaels priorities. The guys searched hard looking for that extra special bull.

When the time came, Mikael was fortunate to have Johan, one of the cameramen hired for the hunt, at hand. Johan not only captured Mikael’s long shot, but the entire experience!

Johno and Mikael had been after Warthog for several days when they finally bumped into this beauty of a Warthog boar.

Petter and Hagen Einang joined Professional Hunter, Dave de Coning, on their 7 day safari. Neither Petter nor Hagen had ever hunted Africa before. They were interested in Kudu, Impala, Springbuck and Warthog.

Petter started off the hunt by getting this great Impala!

He soon followed it up with a super Springbuck!

Hagen wasn’t going to be left behind. He joined the action and bagged a great Impala.

Petter and Hagen had been hard on the trail for Kudu and Warthog. With all their might they couldn’t get a lucky break. When their luck finally turned, it turned in a massive way …

The Warthog of the safari. A proud Petter with a beast of a hog. Well done Peter!

Heiko Poth joined Professional Hunter, Armandt Oukamp, for his 7 day hunt. Heiko was interested in a variety of Plains Game with East Cape Kudu a certain priority. Heiko went on to have tremendous success and thoroughly enjoyed his time hunting with Armandt.

Heiko got off to a super start with a monster Impala. Certainly the biggest Impala taken on the hunt

Heiko’s Kudu was a dream come true. A truly magnificent bull hunted in some of the East Cape’s most beautiful terrain.

A great Gemsbuck soon followed his Kudu.

No trip to Africa would be complete without a Zebra! Heiko made sure not to miss out on the opportunity.

A rugged old Blue Wildebeest proved to be a tough trophy and a great hunt.

Heiko saved the best for last. The Steenbuck is often a trophy overlooked by many. It’s one of South Africa’s most majestic and certainly a favourite to spot racing across the arid Karoo plains.

Hosting 16 Scandinavians was truly an experience within itself. We hunted, fished, ate, drank and played from the morning to the night. We learnt about their culture and shared ours. We met a bunch of characters and laughed from start to finish!

So without further a due, we thought it fitting that Lennart should lead us in tune while sharing the lighter side of life on safari with the Invading Scandinavians.

Love at first sight? Anything you feel you’d like to share with us Petter? You know there are laws against this kind of thing…

Mr. Wallenstam, Mr. Friman and Mr. Einang, in the bar again? I know it’s 11:00 AM, but the Boeing isn’t over yet.

Ok, so we may have bent the truth on how hard we were hunting, but Benny you assured us you were hunting from dawn to dusk. So what’s this? A leisurely afternoon picnic?!