On a one to ten scale, I give Mof Venter and his establishment (Adansonia Safaris) an eleven! You could not have asked for a better hunt or for a more perfect host! He dealt with our eight hunters (4 bow and 4 rifle hunters) like we were old friends coming back for the umpteenth time. I would highly recommend Mof to anyone!

Here are my field journal notes. I think it might be the best way to tell the stories:

The arrival at Adansonia Safaris:

We've made it! We're a little saddle sore from the long airplane ride, but we're eager and ready for tomorrow's hunt. Reveille will come around 6:00 am in the morning. I'm not sure my biological clock is ready for all the pending adjustments. I suspect a few naps will be had in the blind tomorrow. We have been told to expect a small continental breakfast in the morning. From there, we'll sight in bows and rifles. I pray the air baggage handlers were gentle! I was also told each of us would be paired with our very own PH. Wow! I never expected a 1x1 hunt! On the drive from Johannesburg, It was neat to watch Leo in the Captain's chair (South Africans drive on the opposite side of the road). For 3 hours and thirty minutes, the man was taking it all in. You could see that super computer mind of his absorbing everything! And yet, two years of anticipation/preparation for this moment seemed to have turned this novice into an old pro. The Africans were shocked when he started conversing in their language. They were even more shock when they found out he had survived an automobile accident as severe as his (he was in a coma for two weeks and suffered a major brain injury).

Upon settling in, we all agreed the accommodations were more than adequate. There were five different chalets which quartered two people per structure. We had a quick bite to eat and everyone retired for the evening (again, exhausted from the long plane ride). Gene Hays, a judge from Arizona, was a little disturbed by the shed snake skin found in his room. Man, I pray there are no run ins with snakes. It comforts me to see house cats on the premises. They usually tend to keep the snakes at bay. Heck, it's all part of the romance of being in Africa!

Day one of the hunt:

Morning was very slow to come. I never caught a wink of sleep! My bunk mate Victor (sleepless as well), from Arizona, is experiencing Africa for the very first time. We were both ready to fling arrows! We spent most of the night chatting about today’s undiscovered adventures. At dawn, I was paired up with Carl. He’s a young 19 year old PH. This lad has his do-do together! He acts more like a 30 year old PH. I was ready to kill everything that came into the waterhole today. Carl did a very good job of restraining me!

At the waterhole, we staged ourselves in what they call the "high blind". It's a nice comfortable, elevated, blind with a commanding view. The first animal to come to water was a small duiker (although, we spooked an eland upon arrival). Carl, would not allow me to shoot it, he claimed there were better (I sure hoped so. This was one of the species on my hit list; a list I presented to Carl for review). We passed on several warthogs. Man, I have never seen so many warthogs come to water!

In the late afternoon, four blesbok came to drink. They were directly under the blind and less than 20 yards away. I was told to ready my bow…an easy chip shot.  I hit the biggest ram square on the shoulder. I was confident the arrow blow through his vitals! We chased it many hours later. Night settled in and we never recovered him. I sure thought the arrow placement was good. Maybe a touch forward, but not enough to caused the problem we had today. I pray we find it tomorrow (will need to watch the sky for buzzards)! All in all, a very wonderful day spent in African (in the blind from dawn to dusk).

Day two of the hunt:

No luck finding the blesbok...no buzzards sighted. I guess he may still be alive. However, nine more blesbok came to water this morning. One was limping on his right front shoulder (the same shoulder on which I had placed my arrow yesterday). I thought it was my blesbok for sure. I told Carl I was going to kill him despite the lack of an open, viewable, wound. This ram was a dandy and there was no way to verify if it was the ram from yesterday unless I killed him.  Turns out it was a completely different ram. His right front leg had been broken!  The shot on the blesbok was a "thread the needle" type. I zinged him from 30 yards. He expired within sight of the blind. The whole thing was captured on video!

We also had three nice impala rams come to water today. Again, I was told to ready my bow. The rams never presented me with a shot while drinking and I was forced to take a long exiting shot. I picked a ram (they all looked the same size, or at least very close to the same size, to my untrained eye) and shot him as he quartered away. I watched the arrow strike home. I am convinced I killed him, however, Carl and I never found him. I pray we locate him in the morning!

I also killed a hog of an Eland today. I scored him at 94 4/8 inches (SCI measurement method). This will be perhaps my most memorable archery harvest. I shot the bull from 40 yards while he was quartering away. He must have engulfed a large breath of air prior to the arrow strike. When the arrow hit, the sky turned red like a can of spray paint, under enormous pressure, had just been penetrated. Atomized blood droplets filled the sky! You could only see a red cloud as the bull high-tailed it for the bush. It was too cool!  Unfortunately, we did not g et the shot on video! The bull expired within 150 yards of the blind. 

Day three of the hunt:

What a wonderful day...a bit scary, but none the less wonderful!  Carl and I hunted a different blind today while on an entirely different concession (not sure where we were). We set out this morning to harvest a waterbuck, and that we did!

Just after lunch, an enormous warthog came into water. The words "Will, you must get your bow" will be forever itched into my memory. Carl, who had wrested with me on several previous warthogs, unleashed me on a beauty! The bruiser pig presented me with a perfect broadside shot from only 20 yards. The arrow blew right through him and he expired within 10 yards. The shot and the quick recovery lifted my spirits. I am still feeling a little depressed about losing the blesbok and impala. I really feel the shot on the impala was right on the money (the blacks never found it today).

With two hours of daylight left, a dandy waterbuck bull and three cows made their way in for a drink. Again, Carl gave me advance notice to ready my bow.  Like the warthog before, the waterbuck gave me a perfect 20 yard, broadside, shot. The arrow smoked both lungs (we reviewed the video while in the blind. We were both confident the bull could not have made it far). Now the scary part...we could not find the bull! At that point in the hunt, my stomach was tying itself into knots! The thought of losing three animals was just unbearable!

Luckily, right at dusk and some 400 yards away from the blind, I found the bull!  We collected two fine species and both shots were captured on video! 

Day Four of the hunt:

Not much happened today. Carl and I searched for the lost blesbok and impala. We found neither.  We made our way with Mof Venter, Mark Perry and Cecil Baldwin to the North West Province of South Africa today. We start hunting lions tomorrow. We are on the concession of Kobus and Rina Jacobs; a placed called Shingalana Game Lodge. It's a very beautiful place. Maybe someday Mary and I will return.

They say there are rhinos here (haven't seen one yet...we arrived well after dark). I look forward to seeing the lay of the land in the morning. Right now, the lions outside are roaring. What a magnificent sound! It will be another sleepless night!

Day five of the hunt:

Good news came first thing this morning. My impala was found some 150 yards from the high blind. My arrow was apparently still in the carcass (found still through the rib cage). I lost the cape to buzzards and jackals, but the horns are apparently still fine. Cool!

I killed a lion and white blesbok today. What an eventfull day!  At first light and after a quick bowl of cereal, I was shown a lion bait and blind (which later proved to be ineffective). Cecil was shown his bait.  No lion were present when we arrived at either bait sites. The plan of the day was to check the baits hourly until lions were on them (we still had to wait for a wildlife officer to be present before we could hunt). In the mean time, Mark, Cecil and I were going to do a little plains game hunting. Mark killed a nice white blesbok ram right off the bat.

Around 11:00 am our group met up with a South African wildlife conservation official by the name of Bert. He was there to certify our lion hunt. It came time to check for lions. Cecil was first up. Carl and I waited patiently while Mof, Mark, Cecil, Bert and another PH by the name of Frickie checked Cecil's bait. They returned empty handed...no lion. I was up next. 

Mof, Carl, Frickie, Bert and I set out for my bait Site. Within 100 yards, we noticed the carcass of an impala, which had been wired to a tree, was missing.  We immediately began scanning for lions. Mof caught movement inside my grass and thornbush blind. The lioness had drug the bait inside the blind!  The very spot I was supposed to be!  We move down wind and were forced to dislodge two rhino bulls (Frickie tossed rocks to relocate these massive animals…he should have been a pitcher). It became a waiting game for the lioness to break cover. There was absolutely no way an arrow would have penetrated the thick cover of this structure.

Finally, the lioness stood up and walked slowly away from the blind. She headed straight into the wind. We moved slowly behind her (down wind) looking for a shot opportunity. Five big guys are a lot to cover while moving through the bush. We eased forward undetected. Mof ranged the lioness at 39 yards. My first shot struck her above the elbow...had the arrow been one more inch to the left...lights out! The arrow sweep the front legs right out from under the lioness. I ready myself quickly for a second shot. The lioness came back to her feet. She stared straight in our direction. She stomped the ground and let out a robust roar. I ran past the guns (a part of the hunt I lost points for) and delivered my second shot through both heart and lungs. I was a mere 28 yards from the queen of beasts. She never took another step.

When it was over and I approached, my emotions got the best of me. I cried like a baby. Tears still come to my eyes when I think about the event. I faced danger and survived. I did it with a bow on her turf. I was overjoyed to know that Dani and Cory still had a father. We had success and no one was injured! The lioness was past her breeding prime. I picked a good one to battle.

We continued with the plains game hunting. Mark and Cecil both shot black springbuck. Their .375s were the wrong gun choice for these fleet footed long range animals. They made do. I decided to try my luck on one of the white blesbok.  Word came that a lion was heading for Cecil's bait. We abandoned our pursuit of plains game and made haste for the bait site. Upon arrival, the bait was missing. All eyes were watching shadows for any sign of lion. Finally, we spotted a female lion lying 70 yards from the bait site. She sought the comfort of the shade. Cecil settled his crosshairs on the lion's neck. She never knew what hit her. It was awesome being part of this hunt!

With a few hours of daylight left, I set out after a white blesbok. The Good Lord smiled on me. The first ram I saw was a nice 44 inch monster. I placed an arrow into him from 57 yards out. My hunt that afternoon was over in less than 35 minutes. I'm happy!  It took us six hours to drive back to Mof's concession. It's 2:00 am.

Day six of the hunt:

An uneventfully early part of the day...Carl and I were both exhausted from yesterday's hunt and drive. We watched each other's six. I napped and then he napped...so on and vise versa.  We hunted near the Limpopo River in the evening with Mof, Mark, Cecil and Jon.  I made good on four animals while there. I shot an African Wild Cat from 20 yards, a Limpopo Bushbuck from 34 yards, and a southern bush duiker from 30 yards. I borrowed Cecil's rifle to collect an even larger bushbuck. There was just no way of getting him with the bow. The cover was just too thick.  It's been a long day!

Day seven of the hunt:

I arrowed a nice nyala bull earlier today. Another picture perfect 40 yard shot caught on video.  Carl and I sat in the high blind this afternoon. Two impala rams came to drink.  I told Carl to let me know if he thought they were bigger than I one I'd shot and lost (and now found). He replied yes. I ready myself for another impala. I focused hard. I did not want to loss this critter.  The ram I selected to shoot was drinking. He  raised his head and looked back in the direction he came from. By doing so, he exposed a solid vital area.  I picked a dark spot on his shoulder and delivered a killing blow from 30 yards.  The ram dropped in his tracks. He never moved from the spot! VINDICATION!

Spirits in the camp are high. The eight of us are gathering animals like crazy.  I not sure what the total count is, but it is well over 40 animals. It appears the gemsbuck trophies will not make the record book. The remaining animals are definitely record book quality! Everyone is happy! Leo's knocking em dead!  I need to figure out a way to help him with his gold metal duiker. I do not want him to leave it here as he has planned. 

Day eight of the hunt:

Carl was taken to the hospital earlier this morning. I pray he's ok.  Nobody's sure what has happened to him. They're guessing it has something to do with his diabetes. He's on his way to Petoria for a cat scan. We'll know more in the morning. Fingers crossed!

Mof and I hunted together today. We did an early morning spot and stalk hunt. I made a high hit on a wildebeest (he jumped string on my 40 yard effort). Sadly, it became necessary to finish him off with a borrowed rifle. The hunt lasted 2/3 of the day.

I spent the afternoon in a new ground blind. I had a nice duiker come in, but he stayed just outside bow range. I'm looking for a steenbok still. I'll try again at first light...

Day nine of the hunt:

By the grace of God, I'm still alive!  After sitting for several hours alone in the previous night's ground blind (nothing came in), I decided to do some spot and stalk hunting. Mof put me into an area where I could not get lost and left me with a radio. I felt very comfortable being out there by myself. I had Gemsbuck, Hartebeest, Zebra and Steenbok still left to collect. The plan was to hunt from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. After that, I needed to be back into a ground blind.  I covered several miles of terrain; I was kicking up critters left and right. I spotted several gemsbok working their way towards my position. I loaded my bow and maneuvered in for a closer shot, if possible (these animals have incredible eye sight and a very good sense of survival). I range found a nice bull at sixty yards. The shot was either going to hit him or miss completely...well worth the risk. I let the arrow fly and it deflected off a tree limb and sailed well over the bull's back. The gemsbok herd split into two groups. One ran away from me and the other ran towards me. I nocked another arrow and made myself ready. The group coming towards me moved too quickly for me to get a second shot. However, the second group decided to rejoin the first. They changed their direction of flight and ran right at me. I moved forward and came to full draw. My focus was totally on the gemsbok. They were less than 15 Yards away! At ten yards, I let an arrow fly...missed! THE MERCY OF GOD! I looked between my feet (I had assumed my natural bow stance) and there, coiled up in an 8 foot ball, laid a black mamba snake! I jumped to the moon. Why the snake did not strike me...God only knows! Maybe he was still lethargic from the cool morning.  I moved back in total disbelief. Why didn't he strike? Where was my camera when I needed it (left it with Mof)? I thought about killing him with a broadhead...I only had two left in my quiver. I thought about using a stick to pin his head.  I'd sever his head with my knife. I finally decided to just leave him alone and get the heck away from him...I showed him the same mercy he had shown me! Thank you Lord! The event shook me up for the rest of the day!  Later in the afternoon, I arrowed the big duiker I had seen the night before.  I saw two squirrels having sex... I'm getting home sick!

Day ten of the hunt:

I finally shot a steenbok. It was an eleventh hour thing. I made a nice 30 yard shot on the small moving target. Boy those suckers are hard to hit. We leave tomorrow. I have a bunch of scoring to do in the morning. Looks like the eight of us collected 65 animals. Not bad for 10 days of hunting! 

The day we departed:

Carl arrived back into camp this morning. His cat scan revealed nothing.  We were all happy to see him up and moving. He received plenty of lectures pertaining to his diet...he's going be ok! 

As we were about to depart, news came that my blesbok (shot on the first day) was found. I actually got to see the horns from the passenger van window as we were pulling out. What a relief.  I hit seventeen animals and recovered all seventeen. The various expandables preformed beautifully. The Engima camo seemed to work well also. I look forward to trying the Enigma on elk back home. I really think it has potential! 

Here's a link to the photos. I'll work on getting more...watch for them!

Enjoy!