Note: The * behind the listed animal indicates that it qualified for the record book.

BRANDON FEWINS – Michigan

Animals taken – Blue Wildebeest*, Impala*, Gemsbok*, 2 Warthogs*, Kudu, Blesbok*

ALEX HOUGHTON – Michigan

Animals taken – Blue Wildebeest*, Impala, Blesbok*, Zebra, Kudu*, Gemsbok, Warthog

PAUL JOAQUIN – Michigan

Animals taken – Blesbok, 2 Blue Wildebeest*, Kudu* (52 1/8), Zebra, Warthog*, 2 Impala*, Steenbok*

JUSTIN REVNELL – Michigan

Animals taken – Blue Wildebeest*, Blesbok*, Impala, 2 Warthog*, Zebra

Highlights Brandon Fewins:

The Gemsbok was a day of stalks.  In the morning we came close to nice mature bulls and females but nothing that offered a shot.  In the afternoon Pieter went with us and around three o'clock it began to rain.  To me it was a break from the heat.  As with the morning hunt, it was stalk after stalk.  One time during the lighting, thunder and rain, Hans had me in mid stride hunch over holding perfectly still.  The sweat was pouring off me and my left leg started to shake.  Right then it occurred to me that I was truly living life.  I truly believe that hunters like to make themselves a little miserable in order to make themselves truly happy.  As we were trying to get a good shot at the one big bull in the herd, the wind was swirling and it was truly a game of cat and mouse.  One that Hans and I lost!  But as daylight faded we spotted a single bull and the last stalk of the day was on.  We crept within about 40 yards and we set up the sticks while I was on my knees.  The problem was that I didn't have a shot without brush in the way.  We decided that Hans and I would stand up together.  He took the shooting sticks and guided them up while I went up with my gun.  I knew that I would only have a split second to shoot and I pulled the trigger only to hear a click.  With all of the stalking the bolt of my gun had worked its way up and the gun didn't fire.  I slammed it back down put the scope back on the animal and squeezed off a shot.  I could see its legs kick out and I knew I hit it hard.  Hans thought I missed but when we went up to where it was shot it was a clear lung shot.  60 yards later I'm smiling like a little school girl!  I have to make a quick mention of my Kudu.  After 3 1/2 days of hard hunting, Hans and I were walking up a river with a good wind in our face.  We had one of those feelings that this was going to be it.  We were able to walk up on a lot of close animals and were hoping to catch a Kudu either watering itself or bedding down by the river.  After about an hour and a half we spotted one bedded down across the river.  The Kudu was located on a little notch in a bend of the river that was a little elevated above it.  I swear it picked it because of the beautiful location.  More likely because it could look up the river and down river for long stretches.  We set up in position with me on my knees and the gun on the shooting sticks.  I only had a neck shot so Hans decided to start whistling.  After about 5 minutes it stood up and bam...I blasted it!  I could see his body buckle in so I knew I hit him hard with the .338 250 grain bullet.  Hans and I took off our boots and rolled up our pant legs and crossed the river.  Once on the other side we quickly saw the Kudu about 35 yards from where I shot him and put the final shot into him.  Shooting across the river like that was right out of a story book!

Highlights Paul Joaquin:

Paul’s reply when asked to pick just one animal or hunt that was his favorite:  “This is a hard one. I had such a unique experience on each animal. However I dedicated my hunt for the Impala to my father-in-law who passed away during the planning of the trip”.

    Day 7 Craig, my PH, and I had 3 full days to hunt a record Impala. I had not mentioned to him that I was hunting this particular animal in memory of my father-in-law. Craig and I were able to make SCI record book on all other animals so I told him I would like to see if we could set up on a record Impala. I think Craig was just as motivated as I was, since he had never guided a client that made record book on all animals. Since he was excited to start his season with a "Grand Slam" I could tell that he was extra picky about which one to take. We stalked up on 3-4 different herds of Impala and backed off on all of them. I knew we had glassed Impala in the 21+" range that morning. We headed back to the lodge to exchange my gun, I was hunting in the AM with a 7X57 and we were concerned it was a little too light for brush hunting in the afternoon. We returned to the field with my .300Win Mag and my brother-in-law (who had completed his package) and another friend. We set out to the "Big Property" as a group. We were on the property for about 15 min when Joseph (our driver) spotted a lone impala about 40 yards in the bush. Craig quickly handed me my gun and told me to shoot. I knew he thought this was the one. Overly excited I raised the gun and took an off handed shot at him. I pulled the shot a little and bagged the nicest tree on the property! We all had a good laugh as I posed with my trophy tree, then off we went in search of another chance. Not but 10 min later Craig had me off the truck and quietly stalking through the bush. Craig and I must have been on foot for about 15 min in 90+ degree sun when he froze in place. We sloooowly snuck up to a large bush. Craig opened the sticks, pulled back the branches to give me just enough opening to see & shoot through. Then Craig asked "See him?" before I could answer Craig ordered "shoot him!" just 30 yards away was a lone impala broadside. As I took aim he turned to a 1/4ing away pose. I could tell Craig was getting anxious but I had no choice I needed to re-adjust my aim. After the shot we walked up to him. Immediately I could tell this was the animal we were in search of, Craig had a smile 10ft wide. He estimated the size to be 22 inches. As my brother-in-law Brandon arrived he was sure it was just under 22" which would have made it smaller than his. The tape measure quickly was produced and confirmed an unarguable 23.5 inches! Thank you Craig!

In Memory of Bill Moore (We miss you)

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to see photos of this group's hunt.

TOM & LINDA AISENBREY – North Dakota

Animals taken – Gemsbok, Blesbok*, Impala*, Blue wildebeest*, Kudu, Warthog

VERDEAN ROLOFF – North Dakota

Animals taken – Red Hartebeest*, Blesbok*, Blue Wildebeest*, Gemsbok, Warthog*, Impala*, Kudu* (51 ½)

Highlights TOM AISENBREY:

The Blue Wildebeest was my favorite hunt.  We made many unsuccessful stalks (wind changes, busted by other animals, etc.) before Hans got me in very close to take a very large bull right before dark.

Highlights VERDEAN ROLOFF:

My PH Craig spotted a nice Blesbok so we started to put a stalk on it.  We were soon surrounded by a whole herd and some were even bedding down within 10 yards of us and to make matters worse a small herd of impala also moved in to surround us.  It was amazing that Craig could sneak around (much less have a fat flat lander stumbling around) with at least 35 or 40 pairs of eyes all around us.  After about 2 hours we got close and I mean close to our targeted Blesbok.  Craig had me take my shot (we guessed it to be between 20 and 30 FEET) and I had my trophy Blesbok.

Sorry, there are no photos of Tom and Verdean's hunt available.

MATT BOSOWSKI & his wife DEBRA – New Hampshire

Animals taken – Warthog, Blue Wildebeest*, Klipspringer

BEN BOSOWSKI – New Hampshire

Animals taken – Warthog*, Gemsbok, Eland*, Ostrich, Steenbok*, Duiker*

KEN BERRY – New Hampshire

Animals taken – Gemsbok*, Blue Wildebeest*, Nyala

DAVE JENNINGS – New Hampshire

Animals taken – Kudu* (53), Red Hartebeest, Blue Wildebeest*, Waterbuck*, Impala, Warthog*, Gemsbok

Highlights DAVE JENNINGS:

I'm very excited with all the animals that I took. But I must say I enjoyed the WATERBUCK the most.  Johan and I worked very hard to stalk that animal and waited very patiently for him to make his move, as it turned out we didn't get a chance at him until just after sunset. Then we where a long way into the woods so off to find the truck trying to get back to the animal.  We made it back to the road to find Richard and the truck and headed back in to collect our trophy but it went black before we where able to get close losing all landmarks, we had to rely on flash lights and the trackers to get back to the animal.  I have to say these trackers and Johan know their stuff. I wasn't so sure we where there until first light, but these guys went right in and located the Waterbuck.  We drove the truck to it, loaded him up and were out of the woods and on our way back to camp by 10:00 pm. I for one was very pleased that they took this as serious as they did and we recovered this Waterbuck that night.  I can't thank Johan, Hans, Richard and the others enough.

Sorry, there are no photos of this group's hunt available.

MIKE DANIELS – Ohio

Animals taken – Warthog*, Impala*, Blue Wildebeest*, Gemsbok, Zebra, Kudu* (51 ½), Red Hartebeest, Blesbok

Highlights:

Sorry, there are no photos of Mike's hunt available.

MIKE LUCERO – Oregon

Animals taken – Impala*, Blue Wildebeest*, Gemsbok, Warthog*, Kudu, Steenbok*, Red Hartebeest*, Caracal, Blesbok*

JOHN LUCERO – Oregon

Animals taken – 2 - Impala*, Blue Wildebeest*, Gemsbok, Warthog*, Blesbok*, Kudu* (55 ¾), Red Hartebeest, Black Backed Jackal

Highlights:

Sorry, there are no photos of Mike and John's hunt available.

BRANDON EMMONS- Texas

Animals taken – Waterbuck*, Blue Wildebeest*, 2 – Warthogs*, Zebra, Bushbuck*, White Blesbok*

Highlights:

The main animal that I went for was the bushbuck.  Since I took a really nice kudu on my first trip, I thought that I would continue my "spiral quest" with the bushbuck.  When I arrived, I was told that the hunting conditions would be hard.  The grass was tall and water was everywhere, so I would have to be lucky to get a chance at the bushbuck.  On the first day of the hunt we saw a small bushbuck for about 2 seconds and then saw some females later in the day.  I ended up shooting a Red Hartebeest and I guess I was a little anxious.  I made a bad shot and ended up spending too much time tracking a wounded animal.  We tracked the rest of the day and the second day was spent tracking, with no luck. I was a little down, but things turned around when I took a really nice waterbuck, and luckily it only ran about 10 yards before crashing.  The day ended with a stalk on a wildebeest that was dropped in its tracks.  So the next day was back to the bushbuck.  No luck.  I took a decent warthog in the rain and then it was back to bushbuck.  We spotted one late that afternoon but my scope was fogged up and I couldn't get a shot.  I was getting pretty depressed about the bushbuck.  On day four we concentrated on zebra.  We had seen a lot of zebra on the long property, but couldn't shoot there.  It seemed that zebra were everywhere, until we started hunting them.  Day four ended with a 13 inch warthog...a real monster.  Day five we took a break from zebra hunting when Pieter called Craig on the radio. He said that the workers building fence had a bushbuck in a fenced area at the camp.  We rushed back to camp as quickly as possible.  Craig should have been a rally driver instead of a ph.....he can really drive.  On the drive back, I joked with Craig that I hoped Pieter had "planted" a good bushbuck in the fenced area.  When we got back, the workers attempted to flush the animal into a shooting lane.  I was set up and the bushbuck ran thru the fence like it wasn't even there and disappeared without me getting a shot.  Day six I finally took a nice zebra stallion and it was back to bushbuck.  Day seven, no luck.  And then on the next to last day of my hunt, we spotted a bushbuck in a field.  It ran for cover, disappeared and then reappeared.  I rushed my shot and missed completely.  I was really depressed at this point.  I had a perfect opportunity to take the animal that I wanted and I blew it.  As a consolation, Pieter told me that he had a few White Blesboks, if I wanted to try.  I told him absolutely.  On the last day of the hunt we went back to where I missed the bushbuck the day before.  As luck would have it, we spotted the same bushbuck in the field near some cover.  I took a 120+ yard shot at the animal in the long grass. When I recovered from the recoil of the 375, Craig said that he heard a thump.  We ran to where the animal was running and found it in the grass not far from where it was last seen.  I had my bushbuck. All before 7:00 a.m.  It was a hard hunt and I guess I got really lucky.  We took it back to camp and then went to Rose Valley to finish my safari with a White blesbok. I ended with seven new heads for the walls of my trophy room.

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to see photos of Brandon's hunt.

LARRY RENON – California

Animals taken – Blue Wildebeest*, Gemsbok*, Warthog, 2 – Impala*, Waterbuck, Kudu* (51 ½) Blesbok*

JAN RENON – California

Animals taken – Gemsbok*, Blue Wildebeest, Blesbok*

Highlights:

This was our very first trip to Africa.  Larry had dreamed of coming to Africa since he was 9 years old.  This was also our Honeymoon.  We were engaged 47 years ago, but events took place in both our lives which separated us completely from each other for 42 years.  We were reunited in 2005 and got married several months later.  We never had a chance for a honeymoon until this trip and I was fortunate to also share my husband's life-long dream.

From the moment we were met at the airport, we were made to feel like family.  Cruiser Safaris was the best decision we could have possibly made.  Our Professional Hunter was Johan, and we just can't say enough good about this man.  Larry and I had chosen to do our hunting 2 on 1.

Jan's Gemsbok

Our first day of hunting we woke up to rain.  It was about 6:30 a.m. when we got out to the parcel where we would be hunting.  We had to sit there in the truck for almost an hour waiting for the gully-washer to let up.  Once it did, Johan spotted a Gemsbok for me and we were off on the stalk.  The Gemsbok started coming toward us, so Johan had us retreat and set me up where I could get a shot when the animal went by.  All during the stalking, my heart was really pounding and my adrenaline level was absolutely off the scale.  This was my very first African animal, and the Gemsbok was at the top of my priority list.  This was a fabulous trophy with really long, beautiful horns.  The Gemsbok in the meantime decided to turn around, so we were off again.  When it then turned again and started back toward us, Johan found a place for me to sit down and wait till I could take the shot.  I was so excited that my hands were actually shaking.  It got about 135 yards away from us and kindly turned broadside to me so I could take the shot.  In my excitement, pumping adrenaline, and shaking hands, my shot placement was just an inch too far back from the shoulder to bring it down immediately and we spent the next hour tracking it through the brush.  The Gemsbok finally went down and stayed down.  We got our pictures of her.  What a beauty!  According to Johan, it was the best Gemsbok of the year so far.  I was one happy hunter!

Jan's Wildebeest

My Wildebeest hunt was sort of "spur of the moment"!  In my hunting package I had initially opted to substitute a Red Hartebeest for a Blue Wildebeest.  The day I got my Wildebeest, we had set up a blind at a waterhole.  First to arrive after we had settled in were 2 young Kudu males - - my but they are beautiful and impressive animals!  Next we had 4 Gemsbok show up.  Two of them had horns as big as the one I shot.  When they got to our side of the waterhole, the 2 males butted heads almost right next to our blind!  Next we watched 2 young Warthogs enjoying the heck out of scratching themselves on a tree.  About 4 p.m., an old Brindled Wildebeest made his way very slowly around the waterhole.  I grabbed my cam-corder and recorded his progress.  He had big heavy bosses on his horns and a scarred face from many fights....a real scrapper!  He left our view for awhile and then turned around and came back.  When he walked across in front of the blind, Johan asked, "You sure you want that Red Hartebeest instead of a Wildebeest?  That's a really nice old one!"  Well, I thought about it for about three strides and lined him up in my sites.  Larry is behind me whispering, "Make up your mind in a hurry!" and I let him take one more step and then took the shot.  The way he bolted out of there, I thought for sure I'd missed the vital entry point again, but he went off into the heavy brush about 75 yards and went down.  Finally!   My confidence had been shaken, but this old boy made up for it.  He wasn't a really huge animal, but Johan estimated him to be about 500 pounds and because of his heavy bosses, he will put me in the SCI record book with a measurement of 73.  I sure can't complain about that!

Jan's Blesbok

The day we hunted Blesbok we went back to the same hunting area where we were on days one and two.  Larry, Johan and I were in the back of the truck.  It was bitterly cold and the wind was really blowing hard.  Johan spotted a group of Blesbok, so we got off the truck and began our stalk.  We crept up to about 100 yards from them.  They were all bedded down so we had to wait for awhile until they started getting up.  Johan had the shooting stick set up and put me onto a big, beautiful buck that was perfectly framed between 2 trees.  I took aim and fired.  He didn't go very far at all before he went down.  A one shot kill!  Johan later measured his horns and said this one would make the record book.  What a morning!

Unfortunately for me, I suffered a major knee injury on my very first day of hunting.  I found it very frustrating that I was unable to do any long stalks.  I requested that Larry take my remaining animals if the opportunity presented itself on his stalks with Johan.

Larry's Blue Wildebeest

The first day of our hunt it rained for the entire day.  Jan got her Gemsbok in the morning and I now had an opportunity after lunch for a really nice Blue Wildebeest.  Johan and I discussed going on stalk in the rain.  I told him I would melt, but he insisted!  The Wildebeest had been lying near the road, so we made the stalk.  I was about 200-350 yards away from him.  He got scent of us when we were about 40 yards away.  We moved to get into position and the bull trotted away and then turned and faced us.  I fired and he went down.  Unfortunately, as we had been forewarned, he jumped up and headed into the scrub.  We followed for about 400 yards before I put a final bullet into him.  My shot to the neck was just one inch to the left of the spot that would have stopped him.  I am very frustrated about that!

But my Blue Wildebeest scored an 86, putting it into the SCI record book by a good margin.  What a first day!  I was finally living my life-long dream.

In hunting my Gemsbok on day 2, I was mortified when I had a clear miss at 100 yards.  Johan saved the day.  He asked to see my rifle and discovered that the scope mountings had vibrated loose during the long plane ride to Africa.  He also checked Jan's scope and found the same problem.  We had no more misses after Johan fixed our scopes.

Larry's Warthog

After sighting in our rifles again the next morning, we went hunting.  Johan and I went on several unsuccessful stalks in the morning.  We set up a blind on a watering hole and then we had lunch.  When we got to the lunch area, we spotted a Kudu bull, so another stalk was made.  Finally we got close enough to find out that it wasn't a shooter.  After lunch, we went into the blind.  One half hour of extreme heat in the blind and a shooter Warthog came in for a drink.  One shot kill!  The Warthog didn't travel more than 30 feet after being hit.

Larry's Impala

It seemed like several days we would stalk animals right around sunset.  The day I got my Impala it was 5:00 p.m. when Johan spotted 2 of them.  We started a stalk.  We saw about 20 Blesbok and finally Johan got a good look at the Impala and said they were not big enough.  So we walked out to the road to meet our truck.  Just as we came out on the road, an Impala came out of the bush and stopped by the road.  We had another scramble to get the shooting sticks up for the shot.  One shot and down he went.  What a day!  Fantastic!  A truly successful spot and stalk.  An added bonus was that my Impala made the record book.

Larry's Kudu

The day for me to hunt my Kudu finally arrived.  This was the number one animal on my priority list.  Johan and I started out in a box blind at a waterhole where several Kudu had been spotted.  We stayed in the blind until about 2:00 p.m. without ever seeing the Grey Ghost appear so we started driving around.  We spotted a shooter Kudu in a field.  The wind was really blowing and the Kudu didn't hear us on our stalk.  When Johan set up the shooting sticks, the Kudu was eating.  One shot and he dropped!  My shot broke his spine.  Johan and I hugged like 2 little kids we were so happy!  The green measurement on my Kudu was 51+ inches, so happily it should make the record book too!

Larry's Blesbok

After Jan's successful hunt on her Blesbok, we started driving around to find one for me and after seeing one, I decided maybe I should try for a White Blesbok.  We finally put a stalk on one and Johan had me sit down on the ground to shoot.  The shot was 230 yards and I missed.  They all ran into the brush and we drove around until 12:30 and then went back to the lodge and had a good lunch.  We relaxed for about an hour and went back at 2:30.  We drove and drove and drove and didn't see the White Blesbok again.  Finally we saw a regular Blesbok that looked good, so I took a shot at him.  Missed again (or so I thought).  He took off and we did another stalk on him.  We walked over 1200 paces and finally saw him again and we followed him and then he disappeared.  After walking around for about another hour, getting near dark, Johan called for Richard to bring the truck.  Just as he was talking to Richard, the same Blesbok came into view again.  He saw the truck so he started to come straight at us, then he caught wind of us and started to move away from the truck and us.  He stopped, and I shot and hit him.  He went about 30 yards and dropped.  When we got a close look at his back, my first shot had cut the skin on his back but didn't even draw blood.  We had to take flash pictures in the dark.  WHAT A DAY!

Summary:

This has been absolutely the trip of a lifetime for us!  We wound up with 11 animals:  2 Gemsbok, 2 Wildebeest, 2 Impala, 2 Blesbok, 1 Waterbuck, 1 Kudu, and 1 Warthog.  We experienced the thrill of being really close to some amazing animals.  We agonized over missed opportunities, misplaced shots, and thought about a lot of "if only I had done this or that".  But we were also able to share in the shear joy of a well-placed shot, or experience adrenaline rushes with major intensity that invariably happen when stalking a superb animal.  Johan was wonderful!  The quality of the game he found for us was unbelievable!  We had some real "highs" and some real "lows".  Johan saw us through both extremes and never gave up on us.  Would we do it all again?  In a heartbeat!!  Cruiser Safaris, you rock!!

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to see photos of Jan and Larry's hunt.

RICK LIBKE & his 2 daughters (Kara & Kelsey) – Saskatoon, Canada

Animals taken – White Blesbok*, Warthog*, Gemsbok, Impala, 2 - Blue Wildebeest*, Kudu* (51 1/8”)

SHAWN & DARLA WALSH – British Columbia, Canada

Animals taken – Blesbok*, 2 – Warthogs, Gemsbok, Kudu* (56”), Impala*, 2 – Blue Wildebeest*

Highlights:

Sorry, there are no photos of this group's hunt available.

JAMES DAVIS & his son KRIS – Louisiana

Animals taken – James – Warthog*, Impala*, Zebra, Red Hartebeest*, Kudu* (54 3/8”), 2 – blue Wildebeest*, White Blesbok*, Gemsbok*, Eland*

Animals taken – Kris – Warthog*, 2 – Blesbok*, Impala*, Gemsbok

MARC DEROUEN – Louisiana

Animals taken – 2 – Impala*, Blue Wildebeest*, Nyala, Red Hartebeest*, Kudu* (57”)

Highlights JAMES DAVIS:

“I always dreamed of going to Africa and never believed it would come true.  It did.  Thanks to the confidence I had with Bob it had my expectations really up and I had hoped I didn't expect too much.  As I told Peter and my trusty guide, I could have never written the script more perfectly.  I had the time of my life and to experience it with my son was unbelievable.  I already want to try and come back year or the year after next for a few other animals.  Thanks again for all you did and you have the best staff that anybody could put together.”

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to see photos of this group's hunt.

MAHANA FISHER – Utah

Animals taken – Waterbuck*, Red Hartebeest*, Nyala*, Blesbok*, Blue Wildebeest*, Bushbuck*

JEFF NIELSON – Utah

Animals taken – Impala*, Kudu* (57 ¼”), Gemsbok, Warthog, Blesbok*

Highlights:

Sorry, there are no photos of Mahana & Jeff's hunt available.

DOUG DAVIS – British Columbia, Canada

Animals taken – White Blesbok*, Waterbuck*, Red Hartebeest, Bushbuck*, 2 – Warthogs*, Kudu* (51 ¾”), Impala, Eland*, Gemsbok, Nyala

GAYLENE HEGGE (Doug’s daughter) – British Columbia, Canada

Animals taken – Blesbok*, Gemsbok, Impala, Waterbuck*, Warthog*, Kudu

Highlights GAYLENE:

Gaylene’s favorite hunt was for her Kudu and this is her story:  “Craig and I went to the mountains.  Seen a big Kudu slinking up the mountain.  I grabbed my gun, binoculars and camera fanny pack and we started hiking.  The Kudu slipped away as ghosts do and Craig and I walked six km. up and down in about 30 deg. heat.  Joseph our driver came to pick us up and we were going to go and sit in a blind near a water hole but when we got there a pump was running.  Craig thought it was right to go and ask the caretaker if we could shut it off and then turn it on when we were finished.  So we drove a couple miles, they exchanged words and then Craig said he told him every night just before dark he then sees a big Kudu walking down the fence line.  It was only 2pm but I agreed we should drive down and then switch over to the water hole on route.  There were some natives doing fencing for the neighbor and we waived as we drove on by.  We drove about a mile and Craig tapped on the jeep.  I had seen something a way down so we got out where we could put my gun up and  I looked through the scope.  I could see it was a Kudu.  Craig said he's a nice one and I put the cross hairs about a foot below his back in line with the shoulder and fired.  The Kudu spun around into the brush and we headed towards that spot.  Craig and Joseph took my gun and started down and then headed into the bush to see if they could find blood.  After a few minutes they came out and walked towards me.  Craig said no blood...where did you aim?  I told him.  He never said anything and got into the back of the jeep and we drove ahead.  When we got to where the Kudu went into the bush Craig said to stop and that maybe we should go in deeper and make sure there is no blood.  I agreed.  So we started in and I went to go behind Joseph so he could track.  Craig said come this way as this is where they had seen the best tracks.  I went under the limb and when I stood up, Craig turns to me with that awesome smile of his and says, "Congratulations, there he is dead".  At that point I started to shake.  I told Craig that was a "10".  One shot again......

    Since we got home there hasn’t been more than a couple hours that go by that Dad wasn't wondering what Craig might be up to.  ‘Well Craig will be getting up now.  Well Craig is sawing logs as we speak”.  He sure liked him.  Also watching the excitement on my fathers face when he saw and then bagged his animals.  Him getting the South Africa Spiral Horned Grand Slam was his highlight at 83 years of age.  Craig was so patient with Dad and for that we say thanks again”.

Sorry, there are no photos of Doug & Gaylene's hunt available.

MARSHAL AMBROSE and his wife MARGARET – British Columbia, Canada

Animals taken – Kudu* (52”), Gemsbok, Zebra, Warthog, 2 – Impala*, Waterbuck*, Blue Wildebeest*, 2 – Blesbok*

Highlights:

On my last day of the hunt I wanted my last shot to be a little more challenging. Passing up on several shots during the day we walked up on a very nice Blesbok bedded in a field.  Hans lasered him at 200 yards and with a smirk he suggested that's too close.  So after checking the wind we doubled back and circled the clearing till we came up with a 300 yard shot.  Off the shooting sticks, that's not bad. My first shot went high.  The Blesbok had no idea we were there and my second shot was on the money, a perfect heart shot.  An excellent way to end a most memorable hunt.

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to see photos of Marshal's hunt.

MIKE HAWORTH – Nevada

Animals taken – 2- Impala (1*), 2 – Warthogs (1*), Gemsbok*, Kudu, Blesbok*, Blue Wildebeest* (plus a female) Bushbuck*, Steenbok*, Duiker*

Highlights:

12 animals in 7 days.  “I have dreamed about Africa since i was a small boy. Reading and watching any thing I could get my hands on.  I had no idea it would be so good. You truly made my dreams come true. Thank you.”

Click HERE
to see photos of Mike's hunt.

JIM & SUE ROBINSON – Oregon

Animals taken – Waterbuck*, White Blesbok*, Impala*, 2 – Warthogs*, Blue Wildebeest*, Gemsbok, Kudu

Highlights:

Once upon a time in land far, far away my wife and I visited a magical kingdom filled with amazing animals and beautiful scenery. The king and queen (Pieter & Lizelle) showed us to our quarters upon arrival and later that evening met us in the dining hall with the rest of their court for a wonderful feast. It didn’t take long to figure out that the king was also the court jester, as he was always looking to play a prank on some unsuspecting soul. Each morning our gallant knight Craig (PH) would join us for breakfast before he would whisk us away for a new adventure on his trusty stead (Toyota Land Cruiser).  Joseph (driver/tracker), the fourth valuable member of our troop, would join us along the way as we headed to the bush to slay mighty dragons.

Each trek outside of the castle walls was a unique and wonderful experience regardless of the size or type of dragon we pursued - from stumbling across a trophy ringed-rear dragon (Waterbuck) in the light of early dawn, to the amazing ability of our knight to find the same white dragon (White Blesbok) five different times in the same day. After numerous attempts, Craig was able to get me close enough to the HUGE white dragon so that I could slay the beast.  One morning our brave knight led us into the bush where we experienced something awesome that I will never forget. A herd of speedy dragons (Impalas) surrounded us on all sides, and the rutting rams barked, snorted and grunted. We rarely saw more than one or two of these beasts at a time, but their sounds constantly filled the air until a trophy book ram made the fatal mistake of walking toward the strange creatures he spotted crouched in the brush. At the firing of my weapon, the barking and snorting ceased and even with the beautiful trophy that lay at our feet I was disappointed that the sounds were gone.

The quest for the curly-horned dragon (Kudu) was a long one that took us to many neighboring lands over the course of six days before we were able to slay the beast.  A big blue dragon (Blue Wildebeest) led us on an extended chase before he was finally vanquished.  An afternoon spent at a watering hole revealed to us that tuskers (Warthogs) DO know how to swim, even after being wounded.  However, my most memorable experience was the quest for the long-horned dragon (Gemsbok)…

It was our fifth morning in the wonderful kingdom when the gallant knight spotted some of the long-horned dragons and we started the chase, only to have a hundred Guinea fowl flush, warning the dragons. After a very short ride on Craig’s stead, he climbed a tree and spotted a lone long-horn, so off we went in pursuit. We spotted the beast a couple of times during the stalk and everything was working just perfect, when a tusker decided he needed to investigate the two intruders. The few minutes that we spent waiting for the tusker to move off was just enough time for the long-horned dragon to disappear, so once again it was back to our ride. We circled around to the other side of the area where we’d last seen the dragon, and set out on foot to find the elusive long-horned beast. A while into our trek we had a standoff with six or eight big blue dragons. Not long into the standoff, one of the beasts started to snort and moved off to our left while some of the others trotted off to our right, only to turn around and come back. After what seemed like an eternity, the band of big blue dragons moved out of our way so we continued on and ran across a small group of speedy dragons, which made a hasty exit. Now the gallant knight was getting frustrated and stomped the ground, causing three long-horned dragons to run. Craig and I worked our way to a small clearing where he spotted the largest of the long-horned dragons standing in the brush. After my shot, I found I had harvested one more record book trophy.

My fair wife accompanied me on all my adventures and alas, we did not have time to venture to any of the nearby parks to observe the flora and fauna.  So as we bid farewell to the king and queen, it was with a hint that we would return some day, to experience more amazing sights and sounds and slay a few more South African dragons.

Click HERE
to see photos of Jim's hunt.

JAKE & ANNA ROSENBERRY – Montana

Animals taken - Jake – Gemsbok, Zebra, Warthog*, Impala, Blesbok*, Kudu*(57 ½”)

Animals taken - Anna – Impala

Highlights:

My favorite hunt was for my Kudu.  We looked for quite a few days on a number of properties.  We stalked and sat at water holes looking for kudu.  One day we headed to the mountains.  Right off the bat that morning, we came across a kudu skull that measured 58 inches... I ended up shooting a large kudu that afternoon.  The only shot I had was with the Kudu walking straight away from us - I tried to shoot him through the butt.  My shot was off to the right about two inches and the bullet just broke the hind leg instead of hitting any vitals. With the light running out, we weren't able to recover the animal that night (he was wounded, but not down.)  Pieter and another tracker came out with Johan and I the next morning.  We found the blood trail where we left off the previous evening, and were able to trail the animal.  Pieter jumped him in the bush and I shot him and put him down.  I knew it was a good Kudu when I shot him but had no idea that it was over 57 inches. I was so happy just to recover him the size didn’t matter. I can’t say enough about the PH`s and the trackers abilities. It was a great ending after a long sleepless night.

Sorry, there are no photos of Jake's hunt available.