CamoManJ
AH veteran
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2023
- Messages
- 164
- Reaction score
- 285
- Location
- Midland & San Antonio, Texas
- Media
- 15
- Hunted
- Mexico, Canada & Botswana
@NKWE SAFARIS Hunt Report
August 26 - September 3, 2024
Ghanzi, Botswana
PH: Gilbert Peacock
The true beginning of this great adventure started back in the early 1980’s, when a cousin gave me a copy of Peter Hathaway Capstick’s “Death in the Long Grass”. It was then, after a quick page turning adventure, I was determined to hunt Africa one day. That time had finally come…
I began the journey from Midland, Texas on August 24 @ 4:30 am, traveling on United Airlines. Check in with rifles was swift and smooth, almost too easy. I had upgraded to United First & United Polaris the day before when I checked in online, got a heck of a deal, the second to last available seat. The route was from Midland MAF to Houston IAH to Newark EWR to Johannesburg JNB, overnight @ Africa Sky resort and onto Maun MUB, Botswana the next day. Traveling through Houston & Newark, I thoroughly enjoyed the Polaris lounges with excellent food, top shelf drinks & I grabbed a refreshing shower just before boarding the overnight flight to Johannesburg. The Houston lounge was by far, much better, nicer and superior to Newark’s. I was seated in Polaris Business 5A aboard the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. A flight attendant offered me a complimentary pajama set with slippers & some good South African red wine before take off. The 15 hour flight departed on time, it was uneventful, mostly smooth with some mid-Atlantic clear air turbulence. The lie flat sleep seats really made the journey easy & enjoyable as I slept nicely, was entertained & well serviced. I watched Jason Statham kick some villain ass in “Beekeepers”, good movie. The affects of Jet Lag were so minimal that I really didn’t notice it, maybe there was excitement adrenaline mixed in.

2 check & 2 carry bags

Polaris Lounge dining Newark, EWR

My plane arriving from Tokyo

Boarding flight for JNB

My seat 5A, Polaris Business class


UA 188 interactive flight map
The Dark Continent…
Upon arrival, my contact from Africa Sky was waiting for me with a white sign & my name. We got through immigration and customs easily, then he delivered me to Gilbert at SAPS. I met Henry at Rifle Permits, nice guy and he retrieved my rifle while Gilbert, from Africa Sky, dealt with the paperwork. The SAPS (South African Police) process went smooth and easy, several minutes tops & we were headed to Africa Sky Resort. Leoni at Africa Sky had arranged the VIP meet & greet plus the rifle permits, well worth the extra money, it was exceptional service.

Africa Sky resort was very nice, quiet, clean, provided great food. I definitely would recommend them to anyone. After dinner and a massage, I enjoyed a beer at the fire pit surrounded by a boma, super cool. The next morning, I met Mark Henderson of AfricaHunting.com in the lobby while waiting for the shuttle to the airport…the camaraderie fun began. I mean, Mark is a helluva guy to chat with, we became fast friends with his aspirational hunting stories about 10 years ahead of mine. Gilbert’s golden help getting us both through the hustle and bustle when checking in with SA Airlink with our rifles really shined as he cut through the potential BS with ease, he knew everyone there and they in return gave us the royal treatment. There were other travelers looking at us, like why are they so special & have it so easy? Security was a breeze, we had breakfast and continued on with uninterrupted conversation right up to our separate flights, just awesome, as I had learned a lot from Mark.

August 25
Travel Day 2:
Upon arriving Maun, Botswana, I realized I was really in rural Africa, thick with the infamous TIA (This Is Africa) reputation. Immigration, no problem. Customs, they checked my rifle, then asked me how much was my ammunition was valued, in the end, I paid them $30 US for their “ammunition import tax”. Of course their computer was down & so was their credit card machine, cash only and 20 minutes later. In ybs Yeah, I thought it was BS, I didn’t want any problems & paid them off. Gilbert, my PH, was waiting for me right outside of customs and we began the 3 hour drive to camp. Jaco’s wife Eileen and son, Bertie, greeted me, gave me a beer, some biltong and showed me around. It was about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, hot and dry in drought conditions. Bertie had mentioned it’s been 5 months since they had any rain, typical for the area for that time of year. Godfrey, the camp chef introduced him self with his signature big smile and professional chef wear attire…I was impressed & I knew I was going to be well served.

At the beginning of each hunting day started out with high quality instant coffee at the fire pit, discussing the day’s hunt plan. Godfrey had asked me what I wanted for a typical breakfast; scrambled eggs with grilled seasoned tomatoes & 1 piece of toast with no butter.

I
I tested out the Nike shoes, comfortable but too loud & swapped them out.
August 26
Hunt Day 1:
Today, the first day hunting we decided to hunt trophy Eland. We started by checking my rifle’s zero at a 150 yard paper target. I had adjusted the scope to accommodate the camp suppressor that I had borrowed for my custom 19” threaded 300 WSM rifle. The suppressor was graciously left behind by a africahunting.com AH member previously. We then drove around looking for fresh tracks riding in the back of the bakkie with me & my PH in the front of the high rack and the two trackers in the back. The trackers & PH are so well trained that they can differentiate tracks based on species, sex and whether it was a Trophy sized animal, it was amazing to witness their skill. Finally, we came across monster Eland tracks, stopped the bakkie and pursued them for hours and many miles tracking these incredible animals. It was actually 2 herds that had us confused and tracking all over the place, so many tracks that make it easy to get tangled. Several times we caught up to one herd of about 30, only for them to bust us and keep trotting away. I already knew my work was cut out for me pursuing eland by tracking the “Botswana Way”. We tracked all day with no shot opportunity, estimating 11-12 miles, through some of the thorniest & nastiest African bush. My PH, gave me a well deserved “Windhoek” German certified & produced beer for the sunset ride back to camp, then another plus plenty of laughs. Day one was a bust, but I loved every bit of it, knowing that when I finally get this Trophy, I will have earned every bit of it! We had dinner & enjoyed a nightcap at the campfire reminiscing the day’s adventures and challenges, just me and Gilbert.

August 27
Hunt Day 2:
Awaken by my iPhone at 5:30 am…damn, I was sore, scratched up by thorns & sunburned but strangely excited to get out of bed and go hunting. Greeted with Godfrey’s signature big smile and good morning, Mr Jason. What a blessing of a way to start the day, I loved being surrounded by happy & grateful people. Gilbert and I decided to continue the previous day’s relentless pursuit for Eland. We drove around and found tracks, pursued them, tracked eland, tried this, then that, gave them a break and tried a different strategy, the wind swirled to no shot opportunity. We were meticulously careful and I’m sure we didn’t do anything wrong, just got beat fair & square. The Eland kicked our asses again, we estimated that we tracked for 10 miles or so, after several attempts at multiple herds with zebra mixed in. The animals knew safety was in numbers; more eyes, ears & noses to bust hunters, it works well. We returned to camp for lunch and to meet Jaco Visser, the owner and lead PH for the first time. (Jaco is pronounced “Ya-Koo”) We ate lunch & had taken care of business with a few laughs. We decided that afternoon to hunt a corral for warthogs on a neighboring low fence ranch. The trackers built a hide out of sticks and branches with 2 chairs. Not long, a few runts showed up, walked right past the hide & were passed up, just not mature trophies. Gilbert had wanted to try & drive around to see what opportunities presented themselves and we saw dozens of nice kudu, wildebeest, zebra and gembok, no real Trophies of interest. Eventually, we made our way back to camp. Godfrey had made some delicious butternut squash soup, I mean it was awesome & I know good soup! At fireside after dinner, we decided taking a break from the host ranch, the elusive eland & zebra. The next day we’ll go after kudu & red hartebeest on a different property about an hour away.

August 28
Hunt Day 3:
Waking up was an absolute beast; 5am, tired and sore as hell, still strangely enthusiastic. Thank you, Sir, may I have another, Sir? We laughed off our previous first 2 days of getting beat by the amazing animals. After a typical breakfast, we made the drive to another property. We checked in with the ranch headquarters and owner, discussed the days plan & rechecked my rifle’s zero. It was cold in the mornings, around 38 degrees F and slightly overcast that day. About an hour driving around looking for animals and tracks, one of the trackers spotted a group of hartebeest. We jumped off the bakkie and pursued them for a few miles and they ran off, we decided to move on due to it being early and we had a huge place to hunt. After another hour driving around, not seeing tracks or animals that were of interest, we decided to return to where we left off with the hartebeest. Shortly, we spotted a group with one ram being a nice sized trophy. The hartebeest gave us quite the run around, we used the wind in our favor, got the sun behind our backs and finally for the first time, the shooting sticks went up for a shot opportunity. Nope, they didn’t sit still more than a few seconds, off we went again, then again. The sticks went up & I had mentioned that there were lots of brush in the way. Gilbert said don’t worry about the brush, shoot though it and take the animal! Fine…Bang, bullet crashes through brush and the animal was hit. The ram ran about 20 yards and piled up for a permanent dirt nap. It was about a 150 yard shot through the shoulder, the lungs, heart, just in front of other shoulder and the bullet exited. Good shot, celebration & pictures ensued. I had my first African animal on the ground.


Upon walking back to the bakkie from taking the Hartebeest, our driver excitedly said that he saw a group of 3 big bull kudu a few hundred yards up the road where he waited for us, off we went. The bulls were still there, then moved off further into the thorny thicket and stopped at some trees on top of a ridge. Gilbert said to shoot as soon as I was comfortable with the distance and whatever position, we needed to seize the opportunity now or it would be a long day. I don’t mind shooting from the bakkie, nothing unethical about it, in fact I had a challenging shot ahead of me. Uphill @ 370 yards, semi-off hand with only my elbow on a rest and of course, brush in my damn way, just in front of the shot placement target. Shoot! Shoot, dammit! I sent the bullet, bang…long silence, then the bullet crashes through the brush & hits the bull. The 3 bulls run off, here I’m thinking, did I make a good shot, should I have waited for a better shot? I had aimed putting the red dot straight up the shoulder on top of his back to compensate for the distance and uphill incline. Too late, the pursuit was on, as we hurriedly went after the wounded bull. We spotted a heavy blood trail, followed it for a few miles, there he was standing and looking at us. I couldn’t shoot because one of the trackers was in my way, he was looking down at tracks. The bull runs again few miles, he stops at a tree & I shot him off hand through the boiler where he drops instantly, total lights out. I saw that the first shot was low, just where the front leg meets the shoulder, almost severing the leg and missing just below the body. The second shot was a typical shoulder, heart, lung, other shoulder and bullet recovered just inside of the skin. We estimated that we chased this wounded bull for about 4 miles, not to mention the walk back to the bakkie. This bull made us work for him after the shot, go figure.



By 11 am we had 2 animals in the salt, the ranch help had picked our kill while we moved on to hunt other species. Next, we were to have a packed lunch at a waterhole in an elevated hide, maybe a warthog would show up. Godfrey had made some sort of pastry meat pies, I asked Gilbert what kind of meat? He didn’t know, I was like dude, this is Africa, I need to know what I’m eating, this mystery meat could be from diseased monkeys or rabid hyenas. I dunno, he said, just eat it, you’ll like it. I ate it, kept it down, it was decent for mystery meat. I was ready for a nap, like it or not, I was gonna nap. Waterbuck showed up, I decided to pass, because I wanted track my game while I’m still physically able. The mystery meat pie interrupted my nap with a machine gun like series of burps. The trackers and driver pick us up, we collect our game from headquarters and drive back to camp early. That night for dinner, Godfrey started out with his famous tomato soup, damn good stuff…dipped it with fresh homemade bread. Then he grilled kudu fillets on the brai. Wow, it was tender and very delicious. I had second and third helpings. I decided to get into the 100% agave tequila, but managed to behave somehow, consuming in moderation. Eileen had graciously gone out of her way earlier that day to grab a bottle of quality Tequila & some batteries for the illuminated reticle on my scope, impressive out of the way service. Gilly enjoyed his local brandy and coke. Lots of laughs under the stars.
August 29
Hunt Day 4
I was surprised to get up on time and wondered where my hangover was, I had forgotten that I behaved. I was happy to not have one, but still sore from miles of walking & continued on with my morning camp routine. Today, we were to resume our pursuit of the elusive eland, one bull in particular that I really wanted. He was the Patriarch of his herd, old, wise, had thick horns and he was wide. As usual, we drove around looking for tracks to track. Not long, we stop the bakkie and pursue big eland tracks in the crisp cool morning with little to no wind. After a few miles and many new bloody scratches on our legs, we spotted the herd that had a bunch of zebras mixed in and the bull we were after. These animals worked as a team, would move then flank to one side and look back to see if they were being pursued, it was up to us to notice when they stopped to look. This went on a few times only for the herd to beat us continually at this cat and mouse game. After lunch and a nap, we went out and quickly found the herd again as they were bedded down & calm. We tracked them further into the bush for 3 hours or so, bumping them, trying to get wind advantage. In the last few minutes before sun set, the sticks went up on a Stallion zebra looking right at us at about 290 yards. All I could see was his head and the mixed herd to his left, surrounded by heavy brush, another difficult long shot through brush. I made the shot, they could hear the bullet crashing through a few sets of brush & the bullet thump into the stallion. All hell breaks loose and everything runs everywhere in every direction, total chaos with the air thick with dust. Trackers found 2 sets of blood tracks, what? PH tells me that as the bullet was on its way, the stallion turned right, guessing the bullet hit just outside of the vital zone, missing the shoulder as well, exiting and hit a wildebeest that was behind it. What? I never saw a wildebeest behind it, PH said he did, called the shot & it was on him. We tracked both sets of blood that were getting less and less, darker and darker. We decided to call it a night & pick up the trail first thing in the morning. For the record, I do not like a wounded animal suffering, prefer clean instant kills and do the best I can to respect the animals. I was pissed, Gilbert reminded me that this was hunting & we’re not perfect, we had done our best.

August 30
Hunt Day 5:
Today is the day of The Zebra, as we were determined. We started off where we left off the night before following the dwindling and faint blood trail, soon they separated into different directions. After a few hours, the blood trail totally dissipated and no wounded animals anywhere to be seen. Discouraged. Gilbert called his boss, Jaco to report the situation. After careful consideration & discussion, it was determined that both animals had non lethal wounds and should recover on their own. Believe me, I felt bad. That afternoon, we wanted redemption, eventually we drove up on a Stallion & 2 mares. We quickly stopped the bakkie and pursued as fast as we could, going from bush to bush. The sticks went up, I told Gilly that I wanted him shot off hand. 125 yards, no brush in my way, I put the red dot right between his shoulders as he looked at me. Bang, perfect shot right where I wanted it. The stallion reared straight up and fell backwards over his own ass, he was dead right there with his legs in the air. We got our redemption alright! The bullet got the heart, part of the right lung, through a rib bone & rested just inside the skin. After a prayer & pictures, celebration ensued. The cleaning crew arrived, loaded it up & hauled to the skinning shed. I had wanted to retrieve the bullet and investigate the terminal damage assessing bullet & shot performance. I couldn’t be happier, it was perfect!
That night, Jaco & 2 of his next clients had arrived for their 10 day safari. The party began, Jaco is the party himself, he is wonderfully entertaining and hilarious! Jaco made his signature zebra liver dish on the brai, none of us were too crazy about it, but gave him the benefit of the doubt. It was cooked in a skillet with olive oil sautéed with chopped onions & garlic, different spices with the finely chopped liver thrown in last. First, I hate liver, second, I have never eaten horse, much less a striped one. I actually was not too surprised, based on Jaco’s impeccable reputation, that the zebra liver on brai toast was very delicious, we ate every bit of it until it was all gone. We all stayed up late that night, camp was lively and many stories told, lots of fun.


September 1
Hunt Day 6:
After our typical morning routine plus a few minutes of fireside conversation with the new guests, we decided to resume our hunt for eland and the others went to a different location for kudu. It was chilly again that morning, started off with pants over my shorts, wearing my jacket & gloves. Not long, before we had a chance to warm up we stopped the bakkie at some large bull eland tracks. We pursued the tracks for about 2 hours and caught up with the unsuspecting herd in heavy cover. I’m preparing myself to shoot through a bunch brush again, just not used to that, but necessary here. We go around and round bushes and finally a shot opportunity presented itself with the Patriarch Bull looking right at me while the rest of the herd continued on. Up the sticks went, as always brush in my way covering my target, I’m now used to shooting through thorns and thicket, no problem. The shot was about 200 yards, right between his shoulders into his boiler room, as he was facing me. He stumbled and trotted to the left 30 yards or so, I shot him again off hand & into his neck, the old bull dropped right there, straight down. After a few minutes, I approached the bull. As he lay dying, he looked me right into my eye, he let out a large tear stream, looked again at me as his eyes rolled back as he passed. I just lost it, I mean no animal has ever gotten to me emotionally like that, I walked away and shed my own tears. Incredible, I’ll never forget the emotional connection I had with that magnificent animal. The first bullet had hit the top part of his heart, through the right lung, a rib bone and the bullet rested just below the skin, perfect bullet expansion & performance, almost identical to the previous zebra shot. The second shot to the neck, the bullet hit the spine & exited sideways on the other side. I was happy with the shot, especially through thick brush. The bull was estimated to weigh close to 2,000 pounds, he was a Big Beast. We called the skinning crew on the radio, they brought their bakkie with several guys, loaded the bull up & hauled it to the skinning shed.

After the trip to the skinning shed we had lunch in camp and I had a good nap on the couch. We headed back out with an open mind, whether Africa was going to give us an opportunity at an Impala, Gemsbok, Warthog or a Blue Wildebeest or nothing at all. Soon, we came across Impala tracks, stopping the bakkie & got out started our pursuit. Not long we got a quick glimpse of a nice ram, wary as hell, probably had been hunted hard & beaten other hunters before. The wind began to blow, then swirl, the ram gave us quite the run around, we tracked him hard & eventually we just decided to move on, impala wins. Driving around the bush, we came across a watering hole, 2 warties saw us and ran, both culls. Later, the trackers located another wartie, a bigger one, perhaps a trophy. Gilly gave the trackers a tracking collar for dog use; the plan was for the trackers to follow the warties driving them to the other side, while we drove around & wait for them in ambush, great plan. We watched the trackers on Gilly’s phone and positioned ourselves on the sticks where we thought the warties would come out. The warties came out like a bat out of hell, just 15 yards in front us, much sooner than we expected, warties beat us. We all get back into the bakkie & resume driving looking for decent tracks of animals on our list. We saw just about every possible animal in every direction, mostly running except for the Giraffe which seem to know they weren’t being hunted.
As we continued to drive around, not far from the Giraffes…I saw a nice bull blue wildebeest bedded down in a dug out hole next to a tree just 20 yards from the road. It stood up and looked at us, when we stopped, he ran. Off we went after him, probably 200 yards or so, the bull stops behind a tree looking at us, probably to see if he was being pursued. I told Gilly that I wanted him off hand. I put the red dot on his shoulder at about 150 yards & sent 165 grains of Barnes TSX on its way. The bull ran about 15 yards and piled up. Nice broadside shoulder boiler & lung shot, bullet exited just behind his opposite shoulder. This was a nice bull, he is much bigger than the female cull I shot back in Texas 15 years ago & much cheaper.
That night we celebrated at camp, as the day was very successful for everyone. Godfrey had prepared a special dinner, eland fillet medallions on the brai. The steak was tender, tasty and had virtually no gamey taste, it was delicious and paired perfectly with South African red wine.
September 2
Hunt Day 7:
Impala, warthog & gemsbok oryx still remain on the list, mostly extras as a bonus. I was completely satisfied and had fulfilled my expectations already at this point. I was prepared for anything and just wanted to have fun soaking up whatever Africa had in store for me. We went after that same elusive impala ram, hunted him hard, he just did not want to die & beat us again. Fine, we moved onto to a watering hole & sat for a few hours, nothing showed up. After lunch, we tried our luck with warthog. We tracked them and tried to drive them with the trackers & the dog collar method. This time as we waited on the other side, we never saw the warties, they gave us the slip. Perhaps the trackers got the tracks mixed up, who knows. I had enjoyed my daily exercise, it was a good day with beautiful scenery & company.
September 3
Hunt Day 8:
It was the last day of hunting for this Safari. We set out to go after gemsbok culls, there were a few with broken or abnormal horns. Not far from camp we saw the herd of oryx and a few culls within the herd. We stopped the bakkie and the pursuit was on. After miles and miles of tracking, bumping them a few times we finally get a very rough shot opportunity through thick brush, typical. No time for sticks, I get on a knee, put the red dot on his shoulder, just then he turns and runs away. A half of a second it was too late, good grief. That was a lot of work just to be beat, that’s hunting not killing. It was lunch time., we went back to camp. For the last afternoon hunt, we went after that elusive impala again…same story, the ram beat us fair and square. He earned his survival and my respect, hope he dies of old age as he probably will. Alright, we decided to drive around to see what we could find. We came across an old gemsbok bull just standing there in the middle of large open area looking at us like he knew he wasn’t a target. I scoped him from the bakkie rest at about 250 yards, decided to pass on him. I just didn’t feel like it was the right animal for me to take just because I could. The bull calmly went about his business and walked away. As a hunter, I have always believed to only shoot when the time is right and when there’s a damn good reason to, the bull just wasn’t mine to take. The sun had set for the last time on this safari, celebratory beers came out & the hunt was over. That night, we had wildebeest fillet steaks, surprisingly delicious. I left the fireside camaraderie early to pack & get ready for the journey home. Luckily, United had offered me a generous deal once again upgrading to Polaris business class, I was elated. Going home in comfort and in luxury made it all the better, I was grateful for the opportunity.

The trip home, stateside, USA, September 4-5:
Just before departing camp, I had given parting gifts to everyone; knives, flashlights, Carhartt T-shirts, 3 pairs of shoes, candy for the children, etc. As far as tips, I had thought hard and long on this, decided tip on the high side of my budget, well deserved. I hope they were happy, as I felt good about it.
Gilbert, his wife & son had taken me to the Maun airport. We had lots of discussion about the different ways of life in Botswana and USA. They don’t have Walmart or the likes of convenience that many take for granted in the states. I noticed litter was rarely present on the sides of the road, impressively clean, in town as well. Drivers didn’t drive like a bat out of hell, or die trying to get somewhere, like we do. Fuel is very expensive for them, so is speeding. I also noticed, I didn’t see a single airplane flying overhead the entire 8 days, the sky was peaceful.
Check in went smooth, except for one customs dude, a total punk, that seemed to look for an unnecessary problem that he couldn’t find, Gilbert shut him down with professionalism and with authority. Saying goodbye to my new friend was more difficult than I expected.
Upon landing in Johannesburg, customs and immigration was a breeze, it was a big airport. I had about 5 hours before my overnight flight to Newark. I get to the United desk to check in to find out that I would have to wait 2.5 hrs before it opens in a deserted lobby with nothing to do, no shops or anything to eat or drink. I went to the other side of the airport to another United desk, they said I’d have to wait. Then a nice gentleman from United came up to me as I walked away, I’ll help you, Sir. He checked me in, asked me enthusiastically about my safari & sent me on my way to the South African Airways premium lounge where I could eat, drink & relax. I got his name & ID number, sent a good employee story to United, hope he gets rewarded for exceptional service. The SAA (South African Airways) lounge was nice, the food was good & the staff were attentive, a Star Alliance partner with United Airlines. I had a few different random conversations at the bar with people from all over the world, I enjoyed it. I visited with a Russian dude, a South African lady, a Polish businessman, a couple from Spain and a lone hunter from the USA. My flight departed again on time around 8pm. I was excited to get comfortable and to enjoy the flight. I was seated next to the same lady who I sat next to on the flight over, this time in the middle right, 6F. I stayed awake for about 3 hours & after dinner, I slept probably 10hrs straight uninterrupted, being tired and comfortable. I watched, “A Quiet Place: Day One” another good movie, especially the heroic cat. I skipped breakfast, knowing it would suck as compared to the Polaris Lounge & we landed early around 5am. I was hoping Newark was going to be kind to me, no problems. My bags came out, a United representative was present & he directed me to where the rifle was to be inspected. There were 2 other families traveling with rifles and we were all processed at the same time. It was simple and easy; open case, read serial numbers on the rifle, they matched the 4457 form, close case & that was it, Next. Immigration was super easy, especially since I have Global Entry & their app, less than a minute, awesome. The worse part was having to haul the rifle case to the other side of the airport & check in at a special place, then walk back to the other side to check in our regular bags. I welcomed the exercise, but there were a few who were exhausted and not too happy. I get through TSA pre-check security & head straight for the United Polaris lounge. I hit the shower, oh hell yeah, that was a much loved luxury. Feeling like a brand new man, I had a really good breakfast with coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice with a beautiful sunrise view of the tarmac & runway.
The End.
I wanted to stop here with a nice view. The flights, the safari, the animals, the people and the entire experience was truly amazing…I’m so grateful. Life is once, it is what you make of it, do it right & Enjoy it.
Special Thanks, to all who helped make my dream happen…
My Parents
My Wife
AfricaHunting.com
Stallion Oilfield Services
NKWE Safaris
Jaco Visser & Family
Gilbert Peacock & Family
Matt Egan
Travel Express, Darren & Jennifer Ginn
Africa Sky Resort
United Airlines
Notes:
I had networked extensively for time with AfricaHunting.com and the members. Early on, I had determined to build a safari plan with thoroughly vetted partners on the site, narrowed down to my taste. This was a good decision, it was about supporting a community of like minded individuals & security for traveling to Africa for the first time, especially on your own. I will share my story, what I’ve learned, give back my experience & advice to anyone. Africa can be a wonderful place, if done correctly & responsibly.
NKWE Safaris, exceeded my expectations in every way & I absolutely recommend them to anyone. Jaco Visser is a true professional, he is very good at what he does, he has a very intense type A personality, wonderfully generous, hilariously entertaining & is a hard working perfectionist. It was an honor to share a camp with Jaco and his Team. Gilbert Peacock, my PH was a perfect fit for my personality and style of hunting. He went out of his way, hunted hard, was very knowledgeable and did a damn good job. I consider Gilbert, a friend for life.
Kudu: 148 SCI Gold, 27th overall, 59”
Eland: 96 SCI Gold
Hartebeest: 66 SCI silver
Wildebeest: 74 SCI Bronze,
(75 would've made Silver)
Rifle: Winchester Model 70 stainless, 300 WSM, New Haven mfg
Scope: Leupold VX-6 HD 2-12x42 FireDot Duplex
Rings/Rail: Seekins rings on titanium Murphy Precision rail
Trigger: Timney @ 2 #’s
Suppressor: A-Tec H2
Ammo: Federal Premium Barnes 165 TSX
Luggage: Samsonite Freeform 21” & Samsonite Spinner Underseat 16”
Gun case: Boyt
Dream on…
August 26 - September 3, 2024
Ghanzi, Botswana
PH: Gilbert Peacock
The true beginning of this great adventure started back in the early 1980’s, when a cousin gave me a copy of Peter Hathaway Capstick’s “Death in the Long Grass”. It was then, after a quick page turning adventure, I was determined to hunt Africa one day. That time had finally come…
I began the journey from Midland, Texas on August 24 @ 4:30 am, traveling on United Airlines. Check in with rifles was swift and smooth, almost too easy. I had upgraded to United First & United Polaris the day before when I checked in online, got a heck of a deal, the second to last available seat. The route was from Midland MAF to Houston IAH to Newark EWR to Johannesburg JNB, overnight @ Africa Sky resort and onto Maun MUB, Botswana the next day. Traveling through Houston & Newark, I thoroughly enjoyed the Polaris lounges with excellent food, top shelf drinks & I grabbed a refreshing shower just before boarding the overnight flight to Johannesburg. The Houston lounge was by far, much better, nicer and superior to Newark’s. I was seated in Polaris Business 5A aboard the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. A flight attendant offered me a complimentary pajama set with slippers & some good South African red wine before take off. The 15 hour flight departed on time, it was uneventful, mostly smooth with some mid-Atlantic clear air turbulence. The lie flat sleep seats really made the journey easy & enjoyable as I slept nicely, was entertained & well serviced. I watched Jason Statham kick some villain ass in “Beekeepers”, good movie. The affects of Jet Lag were so minimal that I really didn’t notice it, maybe there was excitement adrenaline mixed in.

2 check & 2 carry bags


My plane arriving from Tokyo

Boarding flight for JNB

My seat 5A, Polaris Business class

The Dark Continent…
Upon arrival, my contact from Africa Sky was waiting for me with a white sign & my name. We got through immigration and customs easily, then he delivered me to Gilbert at SAPS. I met Henry at Rifle Permits, nice guy and he retrieved my rifle while Gilbert, from Africa Sky, dealt with the paperwork. The SAPS (South African Police) process went smooth and easy, several minutes tops & we were headed to Africa Sky Resort. Leoni at Africa Sky had arranged the VIP meet & greet plus the rifle permits, well worth the extra money, it was exceptional service.

Africa Sky resort was very nice, quiet, clean, provided great food. I definitely would recommend them to anyone. After dinner and a massage, I enjoyed a beer at the fire pit surrounded by a boma, super cool. The next morning, I met Mark Henderson of AfricaHunting.com in the lobby while waiting for the shuttle to the airport…the camaraderie fun began. I mean, Mark is a helluva guy to chat with, we became fast friends with his aspirational hunting stories about 10 years ahead of mine. Gilbert’s golden help getting us both through the hustle and bustle when checking in with SA Airlink with our rifles really shined as he cut through the potential BS with ease, he knew everyone there and they in return gave us the royal treatment. There were other travelers looking at us, like why are they so special & have it so easy? Security was a breeze, we had breakfast and continued on with uninterrupted conversation right up to our separate flights, just awesome, as I had learned a lot from Mark.
August 25
Travel Day 2:
Upon arriving Maun, Botswana, I realized I was really in rural Africa, thick with the infamous TIA (This Is Africa) reputation. Immigration, no problem. Customs, they checked my rifle, then asked me how much was my ammunition was valued, in the end, I paid them $30 US for their “ammunition import tax”. Of course their computer was down & so was their credit card machine, cash only and 20 minutes later. In ybs Yeah, I thought it was BS, I didn’t want any problems & paid them off. Gilbert, my PH, was waiting for me right outside of customs and we began the 3 hour drive to camp. Jaco’s wife Eileen and son, Bertie, greeted me, gave me a beer, some biltong and showed me around. It was about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, hot and dry in drought conditions. Bertie had mentioned it’s been 5 months since they had any rain, typical for the area for that time of year. Godfrey, the camp chef introduced him self with his signature big smile and professional chef wear attire…I was impressed & I knew I was going to be well served.
At the beginning of each hunting day started out with high quality instant coffee at the fire pit, discussing the day’s hunt plan. Godfrey had asked me what I wanted for a typical breakfast; scrambled eggs with grilled seasoned tomatoes & 1 piece of toast with no butter.

I tested out the Nike shoes, comfortable but too loud & swapped them out.
August 26
Hunt Day 1:
Today, the first day hunting we decided to hunt trophy Eland. We started by checking my rifle’s zero at a 150 yard paper target. I had adjusted the scope to accommodate the camp suppressor that I had borrowed for my custom 19” threaded 300 WSM rifle. The suppressor was graciously left behind by a africahunting.com AH member previously. We then drove around looking for fresh tracks riding in the back of the bakkie with me & my PH in the front of the high rack and the two trackers in the back. The trackers & PH are so well trained that they can differentiate tracks based on species, sex and whether it was a Trophy sized animal, it was amazing to witness their skill. Finally, we came across monster Eland tracks, stopped the bakkie and pursued them for hours and many miles tracking these incredible animals. It was actually 2 herds that had us confused and tracking all over the place, so many tracks that make it easy to get tangled. Several times we caught up to one herd of about 30, only for them to bust us and keep trotting away. I already knew my work was cut out for me pursuing eland by tracking the “Botswana Way”. We tracked all day with no shot opportunity, estimating 11-12 miles, through some of the thorniest & nastiest African bush. My PH, gave me a well deserved “Windhoek” German certified & produced beer for the sunset ride back to camp, then another plus plenty of laughs. Day one was a bust, but I loved every bit of it, knowing that when I finally get this Trophy, I will have earned every bit of it! We had dinner & enjoyed a nightcap at the campfire reminiscing the day’s adventures and challenges, just me and Gilbert.

August 27
Hunt Day 2:
Awaken by my iPhone at 5:30 am…damn, I was sore, scratched up by thorns & sunburned but strangely excited to get out of bed and go hunting. Greeted with Godfrey’s signature big smile and good morning, Mr Jason. What a blessing of a way to start the day, I loved being surrounded by happy & grateful people. Gilbert and I decided to continue the previous day’s relentless pursuit for Eland. We drove around and found tracks, pursued them, tracked eland, tried this, then that, gave them a break and tried a different strategy, the wind swirled to no shot opportunity. We were meticulously careful and I’m sure we didn’t do anything wrong, just got beat fair & square. The Eland kicked our asses again, we estimated that we tracked for 10 miles or so, after several attempts at multiple herds with zebra mixed in. The animals knew safety was in numbers; more eyes, ears & noses to bust hunters, it works well. We returned to camp for lunch and to meet Jaco Visser, the owner and lead PH for the first time. (Jaco is pronounced “Ya-Koo”) We ate lunch & had taken care of business with a few laughs. We decided that afternoon to hunt a corral for warthogs on a neighboring low fence ranch. The trackers built a hide out of sticks and branches with 2 chairs. Not long, a few runts showed up, walked right past the hide & were passed up, just not mature trophies. Gilbert had wanted to try & drive around to see what opportunities presented themselves and we saw dozens of nice kudu, wildebeest, zebra and gembok, no real Trophies of interest. Eventually, we made our way back to camp. Godfrey had made some delicious butternut squash soup, I mean it was awesome & I know good soup! At fireside after dinner, we decided taking a break from the host ranch, the elusive eland & zebra. The next day we’ll go after kudu & red hartebeest on a different property about an hour away.

August 28
Hunt Day 3:
Waking up was an absolute beast; 5am, tired and sore as hell, still strangely enthusiastic. Thank you, Sir, may I have another, Sir? We laughed off our previous first 2 days of getting beat by the amazing animals. After a typical breakfast, we made the drive to another property. We checked in with the ranch headquarters and owner, discussed the days plan & rechecked my rifle’s zero. It was cold in the mornings, around 38 degrees F and slightly overcast that day. About an hour driving around looking for animals and tracks, one of the trackers spotted a group of hartebeest. We jumped off the bakkie and pursued them for a few miles and they ran off, we decided to move on due to it being early and we had a huge place to hunt. After another hour driving around, not seeing tracks or animals that were of interest, we decided to return to where we left off with the hartebeest. Shortly, we spotted a group with one ram being a nice sized trophy. The hartebeest gave us quite the run around, we used the wind in our favor, got the sun behind our backs and finally for the first time, the shooting sticks went up for a shot opportunity. Nope, they didn’t sit still more than a few seconds, off we went again, then again. The sticks went up & I had mentioned that there were lots of brush in the way. Gilbert said don’t worry about the brush, shoot though it and take the animal! Fine…Bang, bullet crashes through brush and the animal was hit. The ram ran about 20 yards and piled up for a permanent dirt nap. It was about a 150 yard shot through the shoulder, the lungs, heart, just in front of other shoulder and the bullet exited. Good shot, celebration & pictures ensued. I had my first African animal on the ground.

Upon walking back to the bakkie from taking the Hartebeest, our driver excitedly said that he saw a group of 3 big bull kudu a few hundred yards up the road where he waited for us, off we went. The bulls were still there, then moved off further into the thorny thicket and stopped at some trees on top of a ridge. Gilbert said to shoot as soon as I was comfortable with the distance and whatever position, we needed to seize the opportunity now or it would be a long day. I don’t mind shooting from the bakkie, nothing unethical about it, in fact I had a challenging shot ahead of me. Uphill @ 370 yards, semi-off hand with only my elbow on a rest and of course, brush in my damn way, just in front of the shot placement target. Shoot! Shoot, dammit! I sent the bullet, bang…long silence, then the bullet crashes through the brush & hits the bull. The 3 bulls run off, here I’m thinking, did I make a good shot, should I have waited for a better shot? I had aimed putting the red dot straight up the shoulder on top of his back to compensate for the distance and uphill incline. Too late, the pursuit was on, as we hurriedly went after the wounded bull. We spotted a heavy blood trail, followed it for a few miles, there he was standing and looking at us. I couldn’t shoot because one of the trackers was in my way, he was looking down at tracks. The bull runs again few miles, he stops at a tree & I shot him off hand through the boiler where he drops instantly, total lights out. I saw that the first shot was low, just where the front leg meets the shoulder, almost severing the leg and missing just below the body. The second shot was a typical shoulder, heart, lung, other shoulder and bullet recovered just inside of the skin. We estimated that we chased this wounded bull for about 4 miles, not to mention the walk back to the bakkie. This bull made us work for him after the shot, go figure.

By 11 am we had 2 animals in the salt, the ranch help had picked our kill while we moved on to hunt other species. Next, we were to have a packed lunch at a waterhole in an elevated hide, maybe a warthog would show up. Godfrey had made some sort of pastry meat pies, I asked Gilbert what kind of meat? He didn’t know, I was like dude, this is Africa, I need to know what I’m eating, this mystery meat could be from diseased monkeys or rabid hyenas. I dunno, he said, just eat it, you’ll like it. I ate it, kept it down, it was decent for mystery meat. I was ready for a nap, like it or not, I was gonna nap. Waterbuck showed up, I decided to pass, because I wanted track my game while I’m still physically able. The mystery meat pie interrupted my nap with a machine gun like series of burps. The trackers and driver pick us up, we collect our game from headquarters and drive back to camp early. That night for dinner, Godfrey started out with his famous tomato soup, damn good stuff…dipped it with fresh homemade bread. Then he grilled kudu fillets on the brai. Wow, it was tender and very delicious. I had second and third helpings. I decided to get into the 100% agave tequila, but managed to behave somehow, consuming in moderation. Eileen had graciously gone out of her way earlier that day to grab a bottle of quality Tequila & some batteries for the illuminated reticle on my scope, impressive out of the way service. Gilly enjoyed his local brandy and coke. Lots of laughs under the stars.
August 29
Hunt Day 4
I was surprised to get up on time and wondered where my hangover was, I had forgotten that I behaved. I was happy to not have one, but still sore from miles of walking & continued on with my morning camp routine. Today, we were to resume our pursuit of the elusive eland, one bull in particular that I really wanted. He was the Patriarch of his herd, old, wise, had thick horns and he was wide. As usual, we drove around looking for tracks to track. Not long, we stop the bakkie and pursue big eland tracks in the crisp cool morning with little to no wind. After a few miles and many new bloody scratches on our legs, we spotted the herd that had a bunch of zebras mixed in and the bull we were after. These animals worked as a team, would move then flank to one side and look back to see if they were being pursued, it was up to us to notice when they stopped to look. This went on a few times only for the herd to beat us continually at this cat and mouse game. After lunch and a nap, we went out and quickly found the herd again as they were bedded down & calm. We tracked them further into the bush for 3 hours or so, bumping them, trying to get wind advantage. In the last few minutes before sun set, the sticks went up on a Stallion zebra looking right at us at about 290 yards. All I could see was his head and the mixed herd to his left, surrounded by heavy brush, another difficult long shot through brush. I made the shot, they could hear the bullet crashing through a few sets of brush & the bullet thump into the stallion. All hell breaks loose and everything runs everywhere in every direction, total chaos with the air thick with dust. Trackers found 2 sets of blood tracks, what? PH tells me that as the bullet was on its way, the stallion turned right, guessing the bullet hit just outside of the vital zone, missing the shoulder as well, exiting and hit a wildebeest that was behind it. What? I never saw a wildebeest behind it, PH said he did, called the shot & it was on him. We tracked both sets of blood that were getting less and less, darker and darker. We decided to call it a night & pick up the trail first thing in the morning. For the record, I do not like a wounded animal suffering, prefer clean instant kills and do the best I can to respect the animals. I was pissed, Gilbert reminded me that this was hunting & we’re not perfect, we had done our best.

August 30
Hunt Day 5:
Today is the day of The Zebra, as we were determined. We started off where we left off the night before following the dwindling and faint blood trail, soon they separated into different directions. After a few hours, the blood trail totally dissipated and no wounded animals anywhere to be seen. Discouraged. Gilbert called his boss, Jaco to report the situation. After careful consideration & discussion, it was determined that both animals had non lethal wounds and should recover on their own. Believe me, I felt bad. That afternoon, we wanted redemption, eventually we drove up on a Stallion & 2 mares. We quickly stopped the bakkie and pursued as fast as we could, going from bush to bush. The sticks went up, I told Gilly that I wanted him shot off hand. 125 yards, no brush in my way, I put the red dot right between his shoulders as he looked at me. Bang, perfect shot right where I wanted it. The stallion reared straight up and fell backwards over his own ass, he was dead right there with his legs in the air. We got our redemption alright! The bullet got the heart, part of the right lung, through a rib bone & rested just inside the skin. After a prayer & pictures, celebration ensued. The cleaning crew arrived, loaded it up & hauled to the skinning shed. I had wanted to retrieve the bullet and investigate the terminal damage assessing bullet & shot performance. I couldn’t be happier, it was perfect!
That night, Jaco & 2 of his next clients had arrived for their 10 day safari. The party began, Jaco is the party himself, he is wonderfully entertaining and hilarious! Jaco made his signature zebra liver dish on the brai, none of us were too crazy about it, but gave him the benefit of the doubt. It was cooked in a skillet with olive oil sautéed with chopped onions & garlic, different spices with the finely chopped liver thrown in last. First, I hate liver, second, I have never eaten horse, much less a striped one. I actually was not too surprised, based on Jaco’s impeccable reputation, that the zebra liver on brai toast was very delicious, we ate every bit of it until it was all gone. We all stayed up late that night, camp was lively and many stories told, lots of fun.

September 1
Hunt Day 6:
After our typical morning routine plus a few minutes of fireside conversation with the new guests, we decided to resume our hunt for eland and the others went to a different location for kudu. It was chilly again that morning, started off with pants over my shorts, wearing my jacket & gloves. Not long, before we had a chance to warm up we stopped the bakkie at some large bull eland tracks. We pursued the tracks for about 2 hours and caught up with the unsuspecting herd in heavy cover. I’m preparing myself to shoot through a bunch brush again, just not used to that, but necessary here. We go around and round bushes and finally a shot opportunity presented itself with the Patriarch Bull looking right at me while the rest of the herd continued on. Up the sticks went, as always brush in my way covering my target, I’m now used to shooting through thorns and thicket, no problem. The shot was about 200 yards, right between his shoulders into his boiler room, as he was facing me. He stumbled and trotted to the left 30 yards or so, I shot him again off hand & into his neck, the old bull dropped right there, straight down. After a few minutes, I approached the bull. As he lay dying, he looked me right into my eye, he let out a large tear stream, looked again at me as his eyes rolled back as he passed. I just lost it, I mean no animal has ever gotten to me emotionally like that, I walked away and shed my own tears. Incredible, I’ll never forget the emotional connection I had with that magnificent animal. The first bullet had hit the top part of his heart, through the right lung, a rib bone and the bullet rested just below the skin, perfect bullet expansion & performance, almost identical to the previous zebra shot. The second shot to the neck, the bullet hit the spine & exited sideways on the other side. I was happy with the shot, especially through thick brush. The bull was estimated to weigh close to 2,000 pounds, he was a Big Beast. We called the skinning crew on the radio, they brought their bakkie with several guys, loaded the bull up & hauled it to the skinning shed.
After the trip to the skinning shed we had lunch in camp and I had a good nap on the couch. We headed back out with an open mind, whether Africa was going to give us an opportunity at an Impala, Gemsbok, Warthog or a Blue Wildebeest or nothing at all. Soon, we came across Impala tracks, stopping the bakkie & got out started our pursuit. Not long we got a quick glimpse of a nice ram, wary as hell, probably had been hunted hard & beaten other hunters before. The wind began to blow, then swirl, the ram gave us quite the run around, we tracked him hard & eventually we just decided to move on, impala wins. Driving around the bush, we came across a watering hole, 2 warties saw us and ran, both culls. Later, the trackers located another wartie, a bigger one, perhaps a trophy. Gilly gave the trackers a tracking collar for dog use; the plan was for the trackers to follow the warties driving them to the other side, while we drove around & wait for them in ambush, great plan. We watched the trackers on Gilly’s phone and positioned ourselves on the sticks where we thought the warties would come out. The warties came out like a bat out of hell, just 15 yards in front us, much sooner than we expected, warties beat us. We all get back into the bakkie & resume driving looking for decent tracks of animals on our list. We saw just about every possible animal in every direction, mostly running except for the Giraffe which seem to know they weren’t being hunted.
As we continued to drive around, not far from the Giraffes…I saw a nice bull blue wildebeest bedded down in a dug out hole next to a tree just 20 yards from the road. It stood up and looked at us, when we stopped, he ran. Off we went after him, probably 200 yards or so, the bull stops behind a tree looking at us, probably to see if he was being pursued. I told Gilly that I wanted him off hand. I put the red dot on his shoulder at about 150 yards & sent 165 grains of Barnes TSX on its way. The bull ran about 15 yards and piled up. Nice broadside shoulder boiler & lung shot, bullet exited just behind his opposite shoulder. This was a nice bull, he is much bigger than the female cull I shot back in Texas 15 years ago & much cheaper.
That night we celebrated at camp, as the day was very successful for everyone. Godfrey had prepared a special dinner, eland fillet medallions on the brai. The steak was tender, tasty and had virtually no gamey taste, it was delicious and paired perfectly with South African red wine.
September 2
Hunt Day 7:
Impala, warthog & gemsbok oryx still remain on the list, mostly extras as a bonus. I was completely satisfied and had fulfilled my expectations already at this point. I was prepared for anything and just wanted to have fun soaking up whatever Africa had in store for me. We went after that same elusive impala ram, hunted him hard, he just did not want to die & beat us again. Fine, we moved onto to a watering hole & sat for a few hours, nothing showed up. After lunch, we tried our luck with warthog. We tracked them and tried to drive them with the trackers & the dog collar method. This time as we waited on the other side, we never saw the warties, they gave us the slip. Perhaps the trackers got the tracks mixed up, who knows. I had enjoyed my daily exercise, it was a good day with beautiful scenery & company.
September 3
Hunt Day 8:
It was the last day of hunting for this Safari. We set out to go after gemsbok culls, there were a few with broken or abnormal horns. Not far from camp we saw the herd of oryx and a few culls within the herd. We stopped the bakkie and the pursuit was on. After miles and miles of tracking, bumping them a few times we finally get a very rough shot opportunity through thick brush, typical. No time for sticks, I get on a knee, put the red dot on his shoulder, just then he turns and runs away. A half of a second it was too late, good grief. That was a lot of work just to be beat, that’s hunting not killing. It was lunch time., we went back to camp. For the last afternoon hunt, we went after that elusive impala again…same story, the ram beat us fair and square. He earned his survival and my respect, hope he dies of old age as he probably will. Alright, we decided to drive around to see what we could find. We came across an old gemsbok bull just standing there in the middle of large open area looking at us like he knew he wasn’t a target. I scoped him from the bakkie rest at about 250 yards, decided to pass on him. I just didn’t feel like it was the right animal for me to take just because I could. The bull calmly went about his business and walked away. As a hunter, I have always believed to only shoot when the time is right and when there’s a damn good reason to, the bull just wasn’t mine to take. The sun had set for the last time on this safari, celebratory beers came out & the hunt was over. That night, we had wildebeest fillet steaks, surprisingly delicious. I left the fireside camaraderie early to pack & get ready for the journey home. Luckily, United had offered me a generous deal once again upgrading to Polaris business class, I was elated. Going home in comfort and in luxury made it all the better, I was grateful for the opportunity.
The trip home, stateside, USA, September 4-5:
Just before departing camp, I had given parting gifts to everyone; knives, flashlights, Carhartt T-shirts, 3 pairs of shoes, candy for the children, etc. As far as tips, I had thought hard and long on this, decided tip on the high side of my budget, well deserved. I hope they were happy, as I felt good about it.
Gilbert, his wife & son had taken me to the Maun airport. We had lots of discussion about the different ways of life in Botswana and USA. They don’t have Walmart or the likes of convenience that many take for granted in the states. I noticed litter was rarely present on the sides of the road, impressively clean, in town as well. Drivers didn’t drive like a bat out of hell, or die trying to get somewhere, like we do. Fuel is very expensive for them, so is speeding. I also noticed, I didn’t see a single airplane flying overhead the entire 8 days, the sky was peaceful.
Check in went smooth, except for one customs dude, a total punk, that seemed to look for an unnecessary problem that he couldn’t find, Gilbert shut him down with professionalism and with authority. Saying goodbye to my new friend was more difficult than I expected.
Upon landing in Johannesburg, customs and immigration was a breeze, it was a big airport. I had about 5 hours before my overnight flight to Newark. I get to the United desk to check in to find out that I would have to wait 2.5 hrs before it opens in a deserted lobby with nothing to do, no shops or anything to eat or drink. I went to the other side of the airport to another United desk, they said I’d have to wait. Then a nice gentleman from United came up to me as I walked away, I’ll help you, Sir. He checked me in, asked me enthusiastically about my safari & sent me on my way to the South African Airways premium lounge where I could eat, drink & relax. I got his name & ID number, sent a good employee story to United, hope he gets rewarded for exceptional service. The SAA (South African Airways) lounge was nice, the food was good & the staff were attentive, a Star Alliance partner with United Airlines. I had a few different random conversations at the bar with people from all over the world, I enjoyed it. I visited with a Russian dude, a South African lady, a Polish businessman, a couple from Spain and a lone hunter from the USA. My flight departed again on time around 8pm. I was excited to get comfortable and to enjoy the flight. I was seated next to the same lady who I sat next to on the flight over, this time in the middle right, 6F. I stayed awake for about 3 hours & after dinner, I slept probably 10hrs straight uninterrupted, being tired and comfortable. I watched, “A Quiet Place: Day One” another good movie, especially the heroic cat. I skipped breakfast, knowing it would suck as compared to the Polaris Lounge & we landed early around 5am. I was hoping Newark was going to be kind to me, no problems. My bags came out, a United representative was present & he directed me to where the rifle was to be inspected. There were 2 other families traveling with rifles and we were all processed at the same time. It was simple and easy; open case, read serial numbers on the rifle, they matched the 4457 form, close case & that was it, Next. Immigration was super easy, especially since I have Global Entry & their app, less than a minute, awesome. The worse part was having to haul the rifle case to the other side of the airport & check in at a special place, then walk back to the other side to check in our regular bags. I welcomed the exercise, but there were a few who were exhausted and not too happy. I get through TSA pre-check security & head straight for the United Polaris lounge. I hit the shower, oh hell yeah, that was a much loved luxury. Feeling like a brand new man, I had a really good breakfast with coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice with a beautiful sunrise view of the tarmac & runway.
I wanted to stop here with a nice view. The flights, the safari, the animals, the people and the entire experience was truly amazing…I’m so grateful. Life is once, it is what you make of it, do it right & Enjoy it.
Special Thanks, to all who helped make my dream happen…
My Parents
My Wife
AfricaHunting.com
Stallion Oilfield Services
NKWE Safaris
Jaco Visser & Family
Gilbert Peacock & Family
Matt Egan
Travel Express, Darren & Jennifer Ginn
Africa Sky Resort
United Airlines
Notes:
I had networked extensively for time with AfricaHunting.com and the members. Early on, I had determined to build a safari plan with thoroughly vetted partners on the site, narrowed down to my taste. This was a good decision, it was about supporting a community of like minded individuals & security for traveling to Africa for the first time, especially on your own. I will share my story, what I’ve learned, give back my experience & advice to anyone. Africa can be a wonderful place, if done correctly & responsibly.
NKWE Safaris, exceeded my expectations in every way & I absolutely recommend them to anyone. Jaco Visser is a true professional, he is very good at what he does, he has a very intense type A personality, wonderfully generous, hilariously entertaining & is a hard working perfectionist. It was an honor to share a camp with Jaco and his Team. Gilbert Peacock, my PH was a perfect fit for my personality and style of hunting. He went out of his way, hunted hard, was very knowledgeable and did a damn good job. I consider Gilbert, a friend for life.
Kudu: 148 SCI Gold, 27th overall, 59”
Eland: 96 SCI Gold
Hartebeest: 66 SCI silver
Wildebeest: 74 SCI Bronze,
(75 would've made Silver)
Rifle: Winchester Model 70 stainless, 300 WSM, New Haven mfg
Scope: Leupold VX-6 HD 2-12x42 FireDot Duplex
Rings/Rail: Seekins rings on titanium Murphy Precision rail
Trigger: Timney @ 2 #’s
Suppressor: A-Tec H2
Ammo: Federal Premium Barnes 165 TSX
Luggage: Samsonite Freeform 21” & Samsonite Spinner Underseat 16”
Gun case: Boyt
Dream on…
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