A dozen blue gray bodies hurtled toward the neatly crafted blind behind which I crouched on a folding stool. When the birds approached within 40 yards, I arose. They veered as if possessed with some sixth sense that enabled them to detect fully hidden hunters. I discharged both barrels of a 12-gauge over-and under, shot scattering harmlessly into the dusty field ahead of the blind and behind the birds as it had done on several previous encounters. My host had billed this as “some of the most challenging shooting in the world”; not a whiff of exaggeration sullied his proclamation.
Bloemfontain, located in the Free State province of South Africa, is the country’s judicial capital (its administrative and legislative capitals are located in Pretoria and Cape Town, respectively). Its metro area is home to over 700,000 inhabitants who enjoy a relatively warm climate where winter highs are typically in the 60s, and overnight lows fall a shade below freezing. The city and its surroundings receive annual precipitation of 22 inches. Roses adapt so well to its climate that the metropolis is nicknamed the “City of Roses” for the abundance of the romantic flowers adorning its streets, parks and gardens.
However, roses aren’t the only flower to flourish in the Bloemfontain area. Just outside the city lies one of the most productive areas in South Africa for sunflowers, crowned as the most important oilseed crop in the country. Peruse online listings for local vacation rentals, and you’ll encounter establishments such as the “Sunflower Place.” In 2015, a travel magazine listed the sunflower fields along the highway between Bloemfontain and Johannesburg as the second most impressive place in the nation to view flowers.
This story is from the Spring 2021 edition of The Upland Almanac.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Spring 2021 edition of The Upland Almanac.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Luigi Franchi Imperial Monte Carlo Extra: One of Italy's "Best" SxS Doubles
As on London’s gun-maker’s row, Italians had skilled craftsmen who made “Best” guns of superb quality
An Upland Bird Hunter's Equipment in Need and Equipment Indeed...
From the first year I discovered upland bird hunting in my early teens, my search for the right clothing and equipment began in earnest. All you need to see to support this reality is to look at all the upland clothing and equipment I have stored from ceiling to floor in my garage and sportsman’s closet downstairs
Day's End - Making memories
Has there ever been a bird dog man or woman with a soul so dead that he or she has not been re-energized by the first cool days of September, by the first forecast of frost, by noting the opening days marked on the calendar so many months before?
A SIMPLE PLEASURE: THE HUNT LUNCH
In William Harnden Foster’s classic book, New England Grouse Shooting (1942), for which he wrote the text and provided numerous black-and-white sketches, he includes a wide-ranging catch-all chapter called “Grouse Shooting Outfits
PACKING for Success
I spend a lot of time these days chasing game birds. But it hasn’t always been this way
Shooting FAST and SLOW
Scientists have recently discovered that human brains operate in two settings – a fast, reactionary “fight or flight” mode (System 1) and a slow, considered, contemplative mode (System 2)
Private Lands, Public Access
“Just what lies behind that fence?”
Early Season - GREATER PRAIRIE CHICKEN HUNTING
Greater prairie chickens are tailor-made for early fall gunning. Young birds hatch early enough to be nearly full-grown by September, offering lots of potential targets in good habitat
QUAIL Struggle to Survive a Multitude of KILLERS
By some estimates, the wild bobwhite population in the U.S. has declined 70 to 80% since the 1960s
Journeys Shared: A Worcester Letter
Hi Bob, Just finished the sensational roller coaster “memoir-style” essays of man and bird dog(s) that you and Dave Smith assembled and put into print