Imagine this,
The African savanna at night, a billion stars, a full moon, ghostly shadows of trees and tall grass all around you, the sounds of lion and hyena in the air. And there you are, right in the middle of it, crouched low in a ground blind, peering out from between the hastily woven strands of bush grass. Hanging 50 yards in front of you are two skinned and hanging impala carcasses wafting the scent of fresh meat downwind to the waiting noses of who knows what? Hopefully the hyena’s come first since they are the target of your quest. If lions come, who knows from what direction, behind you, from the side, will they come for you or the bait? Only time will tell how this next adventure reveals itself.
Rarely does anyone specifically go to Africa to pursue the animal kingdoms most powerful jaws. Hyena are smart, fast, powerful and numerous. Hunting at night in packs, these carnivores seek any opportunity for food. The area I’ve selected allows us to bait and hunt at night. This area also contains lion and leopard. Who knows what we will encounter out in the bush at night? This could get real exciting. I am currently in the planning stages on this one. More to come as this progresses.
July 2008. The UN has voted down sanctions against Zimbabwe. (That was close) The US State Department has not as yet implemented any travel restrictions to Zimbabwe either. (So far so good.) I am still on track to leave at the end of June 2009.
August 2008. Can’t believe I’m now less than 12 months before leaving. Trip insurance is next to arrange then Airfare needs to be ordered. Preliminary numbers indicate that the airlines have doubled their tickets since 2001 when I last went to Africa. Over $2,000 for a round trip to Johannesburg, and I still need to by a local flight to Victoria Falls which is my final air destination. It’s all safari truck from there to camp.
Sometime in January 2009 I will need to start lining up my medical review and series of shots. Who said vacations are suppose to be fun?
I’ve started checking my gear to ensure I’m ready for this rather broad spectrum of African hunting. A few new items I will be adding to the list are:
1) a recently acquired Remington 700 African Big Game Rifle in 375 H&H from the Custom Shop.
2) added to the rifle is a 3x9 Trijicon red post illuminated reticle scope. I expect this will help locate my aim point in the dark background of the African bush at night.
3) new hearing protection will be the new Sport-Ear Clear Shot, in the ear canal unit. The advertising claims, "The Clear-Shot allows you to hear the outdoors come to life with 36db of power on a two-channel/10-band digital system. Premium sound quality and programmability to fine-tune your hearing to your needs." I'll let you know how this works out. I've used electronic muffs in the field before, except they get HOT in warm weather and you cant wear anything but a ball cap in cold weather. These should be an all around better choice.
Stay tuned..
