What First Spurred Your Interest in Africa?

[375 Ruger Fan]

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Marty Stouffer's "Wild America" was another big influence to hunting and conservation in general.

 

[Red Leg]

I frankly never thought that I would be able to afford to go to Africa. I grew up an avid duck hunter, but with no real opportunity to hunt big game (deer) until I joined the military. That said, I was fascinated with both Africa and the Middle East. A Hemingway fan, I read "Green Hills of Africa" and "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" in high school (along with T.E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom"). In college, I did a paper on the Mau Mau rebellion, after stumbling across Ruark's "Something of Value." I should also note my father took me to see "Hatari" at the theater in '62 when I was ten, and "Zulu" in '68. My library grew exponentially over the years - lots of military history, but also the rest of Ruark, Hemingway's not so good "True at First Light," Roosevelt, and of course Capstick.

But I really didn't seriously think about actually going until I had retired from military and entered the defense industry. With the kid's college bills paid, such a hunt suddenly looked economically feasible. So, in 2008, I took my son to Namibia to get Africa out of my system .............

 

[jeanes]

As others have said, the movies, tv shows and books, but it really started for me with Jack Connor in Outdoor Life

 

[Rob404]

Watching Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies in the 60s.

To say nothing about Janes Swim Scene

 

[Rob404]

If you ever happen to be in Arusha, you might want to swing by Arusha National Park, which is the old Trapp farm where Hatari was filmed. Not sure if they are still there but there used to be signed photographs of the actors in scenes from the movie, posted around the lodge. They would also show you where certain scenes were filmed. Not sure if they do that now.

I believe Harty Krueger purchased the Farm

 

[Brent in Az]

Hardy Kruger, is the only cast member of Hatari, that is still alive.

 

[Rob404]

Hardy Kruger, is the only cast member of Hatari, that is still alive.

To Bad, Great Cast

 

[Nyati]

Hemingway, Ruark, movies....

 

[Royal27]

Two things both as a small boy:

1. My dad's best friend shot a Zebra in Tanzania while working with the Peace Corp. I was probably 5?
2. The McMillan trophy room and the stories that went with it. I'm guessing o was 6-7 the first time I saw it .

Those two events had a large impact on me and I've never forgotten them.

 

[mdwest]

Dallas safari club show got me interested!

Same..

I had hunted all of my life... and had been traveling all over Africa for almost 10 years for work by the time I attended my first DSC show... up until that point I had honestly never considered hunting Africa... I assumed (wrongfully) that it was financially something I could never do, that planning and arranging a safari would be more difficult/challenging than it would be worth, etc... so I never even bothered to look into it...

I heard in passing about the DSC show and literally just went on a whim to see what it was about..

My eyes got opened and the rest is history... I literally started planning my first safari that day...

 

[Wheels]

I believe Harty Krueger purchased the Farm

I have been to Arusha National Park and was told it was originally the Trappe Farm. Your post has caused me to question decades old information. The WWW is an incredible tool. Wish my abilities matched the Internets capabilities. It is taking more work than I realized to try and get an answer to this. This is some of what I have come across.



I believe Krueger purchased a farm just north of the Trappe farm. See the following:


http://www.hatarilodge.de/

A long cherished dream of Africa enthusiasts came true in September 2004: The former private homes of actor Hardy Krüger and his farm manager, Jim Mallory, are at the centre of an extremely comfortable new lodge located at the edge of Arusha National Park. Close to the setting of the legendary movie "HATARI!" and overlooking the world famous Mount Kilimanjaro and its neighboring dormant volcano, Mount Meru.
The Lodge is situated at the northern edge of Arusha National Park –




Arusha National Park. Note the NE lakes are called Momela Lakes. Also Momela Gate is next to the park headquarters.

It Seems that Momela was owned by the Trappe's



https://ntz.info/gen/n00409.html#id01257


See also

• Momella
• Tengeru
• Margarethe Trappe

nTZ Feedback
Extract Author: George Brzostowski
Page Number: 2004 01 16
Extract Date: 1946

Tengeru
Dear Ryszard,

Thank you for a very interesting site on Tengeru. I was came across it casually while looking for something on Momela.

Tengeru is where I was born in 1946. My parents were among the displaced Poles. My mother was a sister in the hospital.

It is with some joy that I can say that while my mother is in Canberra, Australia, I found out about a lady living in Queanbeyan, just outside Canberra, who was also working in Tengeru. The two ladies are now very close friends!

My parents and I spent a few years on Momela that was owned by Mrs Trappe at the time. It was an exceptional place where Germans and Poles got on very well - indeed one of Mrs Trappe's married a Polish girl. There are two books on Momela. One is in German - "Am Fusse des Meru" and the other in English, called simply "Momela"

I will never forget living on the slopes of the foothills of Meru, and having the privilege of watching Kilimanjaro look enormous as the sun was setting behind us to the West.

That was back in the late 40s and perhaps early 50s. We then moved to Kongwa, near Dodoma, where my father was a pasture research scientist.

Later we moved to Canberra. Unfortunately my father passed away in 1976 while he was still working for the CSIRO. For my part, I am a Barrister.

Thank you once again for your site and work in compiling this interesting up-date on what happened at Tengeru.

Regards,

George Brzostowski





Hatari was shot at Momella, Arusha National Park in 1962.

https://ntz.info/gen/n00409.html#id01257

• Hatari
• Momella
• John Wayne

Chhatbar, Sukhdev Promote tourism, actors told
Extract Date: 26 May 2007

John Wayne Celebrations
Tanzania's film producers and actors have been exhorted to portray the country's images in their productions which could serve as source of expanding the tourism industry.

''Film making and tourism go hand in hand,'' stressed the director of the Tanzania Tourist Board(TTB), Mr Peter Mwenguo, when officially launching yesterday the global centennial celebrations for the legendary American film hero, John Wayne, to climax in Arusha on May 26, next year.

The American movie star produced a world-renowned film 'Hatari' which was shot at Momella, Arusha National Park in 1962.

This rollicking action-comedy proved to be one of his most charming and exhilarating adventures — and one of the last truly great films by Wayne. The story follows a group of professional big-game hunters through a single season, as they drive high-speed across the dusty African plains capturing wild animals for zoos and circuses around the world.

Clocking in at 159 minutes, this is said to be the longest film of Wayne. He died of stomach cancer on June 11, 1979.

Mr Mwenguo said the Wayne's film brought a lot of fame to the country, where real animal shots and its location ìboosted the countryís tourism flow.

The American tourists, he explained, are now ranking second highest (around 60,000), to visit the country, out of the 612,000 visitors received last year. Tourism now accounts for 16 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he explained and offering 140,000 direct jobs.

Film producers and actors, he said, have a very crucial and influential role to play in promoting Tanzania, which expects to attract one billion tourists in the next four years.

By hosting the international centennial celebrations, ''Tanzania shall have accorded respect to John Wayne, his family and to all those who worked with him to put Tanzania on the Hollywood map of the world,'' added Mr Mwenguo.

The occasion would attract 600 visitors, including those who participated in the Hatari film, top American actors, movie makers, celebraties and tourists, according to the TTB chief.

Extract ID: 5131



More information that the Trappe's owned Momela Farm where Hatari was filmed.

https://ntz.info/gen/n00625.html#id04666


external link

See also

• Rolf Ackermann
• Margarethe Trappe

nTZ Feedback
Extract Author: Rolf Ackermann
Page Number: 2005 02 19
Extract Date: Feb 2005

Die weiße Jägerin
Thanks for your perfect Website which gave me a lot of good information about Tanzania. May I put your and your readers attention on the book

DIE WEISSE JÄGERIN

by Rolf Ackermann

Droemer-Knaur Verlag (Germany)

ISBN 3-426-19681-6

(see www.Droemer-Knaur.de)

Published in Febr. 2005

It’s the biographical Story of the legendary German Huntress Margarete Trappe, who came to Eastafrica in 1907 and built up the later well known Momella Lodge (Mount Meru), which became famous with the movie "Hatari" with John Wayne and Hardy Krüger. This book covers the history of East Africa with a lot of information about "Mama " Jeyo" Trappe", about Zanzibar and the german Colony Deutsch-Ostafrika.

Rolf Ackermann



Rob, I am pretty sure that the Trappe Farm became whole or in part Arusha NP and that Krueger bought the farm just to the north of the Park.

 

[meigsbucks]

Having started shooting when I was 11 (1967) but having nobody in the family who was a hunter, I caught the shooting and desire to hunt immediately. I never even hunted until I was 22. But the stories in Outdoor Life and Guns and Ammo during my teens ignited my desire to not only hunt but hopefully get to Africa. The Capstick books just added fuel to the fire.
When I was 15, I read an article by I believe, O’Connor, and I knew that sometime I needed to hunt “Black Death”. Since then I read and watch everything I can about hunting Africa. Two safaris later... I still do.

 

[Alistair]

For me, it all started with the rifles.

I was about 12 and just getting into shooting. I have an uncle who at that time had a house in London. I went down to visit with my mother and on the way back home, we nipped into Holland and Holland so I could drool over the pretty shotguns and rifles.

In the gun room they had a second hand 'best' grade .470NE sbs double rifle. Elephant and buffalo engraving, sleek lines, double triggers, express sights, beautiful wood. A true work of art.

Very similar to this: https://www.hollandandholland.com/a...nd-royal-deluxe-model-side-side-double-rifle/

I have never wanted a firearm so much in my life, but the £100,000+ price tag put a bit of a downer on that.

Over the last couple of years, I've got increasingly into my rifle shooting and hunting, but the thought of that rifle has never left me. To this day, I always take the time when in London to go to the H&H shop and look at their rifles, just to keep the dream alive. I've read extensively about the company, the history and practicalities of that sort of shooting as well as the calibres, and once you start playing that game, thoughts of Africa are invitable.

More recently, I've been having a chat with a few guys from the shooting club who do a bit of PG and cull hunting in SA and I think Namibia. Now I'm working and a bit better off, I'm toying with the idea of joining them in 2020 or 2021. It's not quite my dream of a classic Big 5 hunt in somewhere truly remote with Holland's finest double, but it's a good start!

Plus, I'm young and I've got time. So if all goes to plan, my dream may yet come to pass...

 

[Eventually_Africa_Again]

I was a kid and my grandfather would take me out deer hunting, turkey hunting and such. We rarely got anything but those days of woodcraft were magical to a 8 year old. He would also tell me grand stories of when he hunted across the U.S. and down into South America. He was a great storyteller and I was very happy to listen. I think he loved reliving and increasing the adventures to such an attentive audience. Eventually I think the adventure bug bit him again and he decided we should go to Africa. So we sat around planning the trip, all high fantasy stuff with an older grandfather in poor health and his young grandson who didn't understand that. Unfortunately while his heart was strong in one way it was weak in another and he passed away before we could ever take it off the drawing board. I never forgot though and when I turned 33 I decided it was time. So away I went and I plan to go back to have my own adventures.

 

[Deleted member 43267]

We were at deer camp, and my deer camp friend thought we should do a moose hunt. He got us some price quotes. My other deer camp friend, who had lived in Africa for 9 years stated "for that price, you realize that we could do a plains game safari." We guffawed, chortled, and there were epithets of disbelief. He found us an outfitter and the rest is history. I had read all the books, but never dared to even dream of it. It all fell into place, and I am now hooked for life. As far as obsessions go, this one is worth the cost. And my wife liked it too.

Jeff

 

[njc110381]

I'm not really sure what set the seed to be honest.

I've always liked hunting and guns. When I was a child I spent most of my time outside. If it wasn't dark or school time, I was out. I started off snaring small game, hunting with a catapult and fishing, then got my first air rifle. I slowly moved on from that and eventually got firearms, started deer stalking etc.

At the beginning, big game hunting was frowned upon. My parents weren't hunters, none of my living family were. England isn't a shooting country unless you are one of the rare few. I spent most of my life wondering why anyone would want to hunt big game and I didn't agree with it either. In time though my opinions became based more upon facts I'd found for myself than from my upbringing. I began to see that African game has to have a value. Without a value a lot of the animals are pests to the local people and if something isn't done to change the views of the general public we could lose our big animals. I quite quickly realised that if it wasn't for hunting, these animals could be in real trouble.

It kind of sat on the back burner for a while, not really being a priority. I've travelled to Canada to hunt and slowly I'm broadening my experiences. Travelling around in Britain to experience new deer species, and reading more about Africa. Then just before Christmas my father died and my mind just went crazy. Life is short. I've stumbled through life working enough to sustain myself but no more, having hobbies that I love but I haven't put enough effort into. I've become a bit lazy and I need to snap out of it.

My dad told me that I need to do the things I dream of rather than just dreaming about them. So this year is going to be about learning and earning. Taking to you guys has been a massive help to me. It's taken my mind off of the troubles I've been dealing with for the last month or so, and I'm putting together what I need to to actually get out and shoot myself a buffalo. That's the only one of the DG animals I've ever thought I could want to hunt, it's a natural start. Some trips with and without a rifle are in order. I've had an open invitation to New Zealand for a couple of years but haven't been bothered - I need to make the most of that opportunity too whilst I have it. Things need to change. There's no point in dreaming, it gets us nowhere and you only get one life. You have to live it. Work hard, play hard. Or die wishing you'd done it.

 

[tarbe]

There's no point in dreaming, it gets us nowhere and you only get one life.

Oh please...don't stop dreaming!

That is the genesis of much of what we do.

Just don't stop there. Dream, plan, do.

 

[BigSteve57]

For me it was a bucket list thing which started when we were going to the outdoor shows where we first met the African outfitters. These were at the shows which were the pre-NRA Great American Outdoor Shows. At one of those shows we stumbled on to an outfitter who just really clicked with us. They were there as a husband & wife team and my wife and I felt comfortable with them. So we booked a hunt!

It was a FABULOUS experience due in no small part to our hosts. We'd like to go back but it's a big world. So many places to hunt. So little time. Sigh.

 

[Ridgewalker]

My grandmother took The Saturday Evening Post and I read Ruark’s stories religiously in it. I never thought I could get financially well enough off to go.
I didn’t make it until I was 69. To late now, but I do wish I had started going sooner. I’m envious of all you younger guys who are going all over the world! I really enjoy reading your reports.