- Reviews
- 1
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2010
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- Limpopo, South Africa
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- www.spearsafaris.com
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- Life Member of SCI, DSC, PHASA
- Hunted
- RSA, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Tanzania, USA, Phillipines
We are back, I had to go see a Lodge on our Thornybush Photo area in the Greater Kruger. The bush is amazing at the moment after great rains. Lots of Elephant around eating Marula fruit.
So as things go in the African Wilderness, things do go wrong from time to time.
After a fairly long stalk on Buffalo, we got back to the Car at dark, about 15 miles from camp and started back to camp. As we rounded a bend in the road, the clutch of our Hunting car gave in..... and that was it, no going forward or back wards. I was in no mood to walk the 15 Miles to camp, in the dark, Neither was I in the mood to wait for one of the tracker to walk the 15 miles and we wait for a car to come fetch us. For these situations you have Technology. I always have a satellite Phone in my back pack. The camp has Wifi, but there is no way you can make a call to a WIFI device, nor is there cell service in Camp. So I had to call Marita, my wife, which was stil back in the USA. Then she had to send a whatsapp to someone in camp, with a message to send a car to fetch us, and hope that the message gets read not too long from then.
We had two other hunters join us by now, so the message could only be delivered once they returned to camp. My Client and I made a small fire next to the road, cut some green leaves for beds and settled in for the wait. It was Wonderfully quiet and peaceful. I used this opportunity to take some nice iPhone pics and showed my Client a few tricks with the cell phone, those are the Photos added here.
It was not 45 minutes and a rescue arrived, Lucky for an amazing wife back in Civilisation and sat phones.
The driver and crew stayed behind, when I asked why, they just said, Patron we are going to fix the clutch. One thing I do know, replacing a Clutch on a stick shift, is a massive job, when you have all the lifts and jacks. Out in the sticks with a small Bottle jack....... I had my doubts........ but off we went to have another great dinner and cold beer.
I did tell my Client that maybe we should plan for a late start to following day.
So as things go in the African Wilderness, things do go wrong from time to time.
After a fairly long stalk on Buffalo, we got back to the Car at dark, about 15 miles from camp and started back to camp. As we rounded a bend in the road, the clutch of our Hunting car gave in..... and that was it, no going forward or back wards. I was in no mood to walk the 15 Miles to camp, in the dark, Neither was I in the mood to wait for one of the tracker to walk the 15 miles and we wait for a car to come fetch us. For these situations you have Technology. I always have a satellite Phone in my back pack. The camp has Wifi, but there is no way you can make a call to a WIFI device, nor is there cell service in Camp. So I had to call Marita, my wife, which was stil back in the USA. Then she had to send a whatsapp to someone in camp, with a message to send a car to fetch us, and hope that the message gets read not too long from then.
We had two other hunters join us by now, so the message could only be delivered once they returned to camp. My Client and I made a small fire next to the road, cut some green leaves for beds and settled in for the wait. It was Wonderfully quiet and peaceful. I used this opportunity to take some nice iPhone pics and showed my Client a few tricks with the cell phone, those are the Photos added here.
It was not 45 minutes and a rescue arrived, Lucky for an amazing wife back in Civilisation and sat phones.
The driver and crew stayed behind, when I asked why, they just said, Patron we are going to fix the clutch. One thing I do know, replacing a Clutch on a stick shift, is a massive job, when you have all the lifts and jacks. Out in the sticks with a small Bottle jack....... I had my doubts........ but off we went to have another great dinner and cold beer.
I did tell my Client that maybe we should plan for a late start to following day.