10/09/2007 - The Rovos Rail hosts another successful season. Adam Bromfield reports.

The Rovos Rail train is a superb mobile shooting lodge. The food, the wines, the comfort and the service and friendliness of the staff make it very difficult to beat. It is a once in a lifetime trip and as Adam Bromfield reports, this year's train shoots were a fantastic success.

This year Roxtons organised and ran three very successful Train Shoot Safaris in South Africa and there was a great range of quarry. The challenging Rock Pigeon were abundant and tested all of the guns who took up the challenge. This is a tough acrobatic bird which flies fast in small groups from roost to field. Guns are placed under the flight line and really do need to have their wits about them as these birds come through the line like little Spitfires. The doves which fly later in the day also provided good sport for the guns.

It was not a vintage year for our Guineafowl shoots as South Africa has struggled with a drought which significantly affected the breeding season for these wild birds. We were lucky enough to have 2 days of driven guineas on a farm which has never been shot before. There is an art to driving these canny birds as they are keen, clever and expert in evading the gun line when compared to many game birds. I cannot tell you the delight that one experiences as a large flock flies high over the line of guns. The farm produced two good days of sport with an additional number of Swainson's Francolin as well the odd common quail in the bag.

There are two sides to every coin and because of the drought there were large numbers of wildfowl in and around the Vaal River and our teams of guns had some exceptional flights of geese and duck which were thoroughly enjoyed by all. It is quite a sight to see so many varieties of duck and geese in the sky at once and these included Spur wing Geese, Egyptian Geese, Knob billed Duck, Yellow Bill Duck, Red Bill Teal, White Faced Duck and African Shell Duck.

The Tswalu Kalahari Reserve where we have done most of our sand grouse shooting this year is a wonderful lodge built subtly at the foot of some beautiful hills. It deserves its affiliation with Relais & Chateaux and is difficult to fault. The staff, ambience, game viewing, accommodation and food have all been excellent again this year.

As with all wild game there is a balance of too much or too little rain and sand grouse are especially sensitive to this. Our quarry at Tswalu was the Namaqua sand grouse and their numbers were affected by the drought. Although this didn't damage the breeding season it did affect where the birds flew to feed and drink and so concentrations in our area were not as good as we would have liked. However the days went very well on the whole, with some good flights and good shooting was had by all.

The Pride of Africa Train is an excellent way to travel to our shoot locations and this year the service and helpful nature of the staff was exemplary. It is a big factor in making our safaris so successful.

If you would like more information on wild bird shooting in Southern or Eastern Africa please contact Adam Bromfield.