From PE, take the road towards East London but at na'Naga (the padstal where where the road splits in 3:Grahamstown, Port Alfred, Cookhouse) take the Cookhouse road. In other words, go straight. You carry on with this road until you get to Rippon train station on your right, +-5km after the station on the crest of a hill a gravel road turns off to the right and is marked "Bedford". Where the gravel road splits take a left turn towards "Bedford" once again. You will cross a narrow single lane bridge, just after the bridge turn left. Now you carry on straight until you pass the farm house "Olive Woods" on the left at the bottom of a narrow low valley. The next road to the right is the entrance to the farm. Keep driving and you will en up at the main house. After introductions you can drive to the camp about a kilometer away.
The camp is a tented camp with 5, two man tents and one large tent. Each tent has two decent wooden beds with all bedding needed even in the cold winter. There is a small drawer case in each tent but this is only fine for knick knacks, wallets, torches and the like. We kept our clothes outside in containers as we normally do so this posed no problem.
There are two outside showers and two outside toilets. Although very private with piping hot water from a gas geyser, there can be no doubt that you are showering and sh.... (just say doing it all) in the bush. Each shower also has a wash basin. So all in all you have no reason to smell too bad.
There is both an indoor and outdoor "kuier plek". We only used the outside area though as the big fire and night sounds are just so much better outside. There was always more wood available than any sane person should burn in a week which meant we had the fires going from early till late.
There is a target butt on level terrain, where you first prove you can aim, before going to war in the veldt. This is not a broad head butt so if you insist of shooting fixed blades please bring along a broad head butt so as not to destroy the owners equipment.
The water is drinkable and quite pleasant tasting (as far as water goes) although the author preferred disinfecting it with Mr. Daniels' finest. And of course because there are 3 fridge/freezers there was always ice when needed - permitting of course yours truly remembered to fill the trays.
The kitchen/cooking area contains everything you might expect. Electricity (220vac) is not available but there are gas cookers and 12V lights. Plates, glasses, cutlery and various tools such as braai tongs are in stock. The kitchen is enclosed and weather protected with an indoor fireplace - so if worst come to worst weatherise you can always be comfortable here. Included are also some potjies (sizes 2&3 as well as flat bottom ones) for the long cooking endeavours. In fact it is an excellent place to prepare some fresh liver in for an evening snack.
At the main house are the cool rooms and slaughtering facilities. There is clean running water, enough hooks and even a pulley arrangement for the heavy lifting. The local farm hands are quite good capers if you prefer not to get your hands sticky. You may of course slaughter your own kills which is quite interesting if Mark is at hand to give pointers on how to really do it. The cold rooms are large and temperature controlled so your meat will be perfect when you leave. Mark even has a proper butchering facilities which is handy to reduce large carcasses to smaller bits.
The farm actually has a range of habitats to choose from when leaving camp, almost all of which allow great stalking opportunities. Even the grassland on the side of the reserve has a virtual aloe forest making it possible to stalk the Duikers that seem so abundant there. The reserve is a very productive area for duiker, steenbok, impala, warthog and the only place you can get a realistic walk and stalk chance on a Mountain Reedbuck.
The area around the dam and up the riverbed is an excellent area for warthog and you may even spot the occasional Kudu. The bush is dense enough to allow good stalks but do take note of how the wind is blowing as tends to turn around the this area.
Down the river bed, past the house and in the kloofies connecting to the riverbed you will find larger trees and even grass pastures. Pigs are all over this area and so are the Kudu. This is however the rifle hunting area so do not expect Kudu to hang around to find out what this new smell is before bolting. That of course goes for pigs as well - no matter where they are.
Going into a place Mark calls Olifants kloof, will bring you in an area as close to a forest as you will get in these areas. Large trees hide Kudus while pigs prowl around for hunters to scare up. Although beautiful this area is difficult to hunt because if you are not on a steep uphill, you are on a steep downhill.
Mark has also made provision for hide hunters with three well made hides overlooking dams. At times Mark also puts down oranges in the proximity which tend to lure in Kudu. The hides are comfortable, large enough for two hunters, provide good shooting windows and for the patient will deliver a kill opportunity.
Something to remember here is that the pigs tend to be late risers coming out when the sun is already warming the world. When the wind is blowing and the weather is cold you may be better off looking for Impala or Duikers.
The fees are reasonable, the accommodation comfortable and the farm a pleasure to be at. So all in all this is a farm that can be strongly recommended. Is this a bow hunt farm? As Mark says "Does an eagle tuck it's tail feathers when it goes into a power dive?"
Review by: Jacques Wessels
Hunt date: June 2007
Monthly meetings held every second Thursday of the month at the Moth Hall off Kragga Kamma road.
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Absolutely anyone with an interest in bow shooting and bow hunting can join. Whether you are 5 or fifty, single or a family. Whether you have a bow with training wheels or a broom stick you are welcome.
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