LARRY FLYNN from Washington visited us the first part of May.  Larry is one of WASHINGTON'S FINEST and his "dream of a lifetime" provided him with a much needed and deserving break in his stressful job.  His wife said upon his return that just seeing the gleam in his eyes as he tells her his stories over and over again is simply wonderful.  Larry dropped his "charging" Kudu at 15 yards!  From what I understand, Larry was hiding in the bush that the Kudu was trying to run into.  He was so good at crawling up on animal that he was almost stepped on by a Blesbok and a Kudu! From the pictures that I have seen, that

would have been a "big" step.  His favorite story is of Pieter PH on a drive back to camp one night when all of a sudden he jumped out of the bakkie and chased an aardvark into the darkness of the bush!  Larry said he got Pieter to give "Junior" a day off to go see his girlfriend after that.  Junior also told me a story about Larry when wearing shorts, got stuck on the back of his leg by a thorn which he thought was a snake.  I'm sure you can picture his reaction to that!  Larry took a Kudu, Eland, Waterbuck, Gemsbok, Impala and Warthog.

Click HERE to see photos of Larry's hunt.

NEIL & TERY TERRY, BOBBY & GAIL LONG and GUY JONES  from New Mexico joined us the latter part of May.  While in camp, Chef Pieter taught them all a new way to cook an egg!  Someone in their group also learned when they go out on a hunt, to be sure to bring along the right ammo for their gun.  Tery's high point of her safari came on her hunt for her Bushbuck.  Normally these elusive animals are encountered at short range, however Tery made an excellent shot on hers at 140 yards!  These animals are extremely dangerous when they are wounded and even though her trophy went right down with a perfect shot, she saw first hand the determination and dangerous aspect prior to it expiring.  Her trophy Bushbuck measured 15½" and was a perfect start to a perfect day.  She said that later she was laughing about

things so hard that her sides hurt.  Neil's highlight was his Eland that was only taken due to the skill and persistence of Jan and Junior.  Bobby said that he had waited 18 years to kill an Oryx and got to finally hunt and kill a huge trophy in South Africa.  The group met another hunter on the way home that had a bad safari with the outfitter he had booked with.  Everyone was even more thankful of the great time had by all with Cruiser Safaris.  Neil took a Kudu, Eland, Impala, Gemsbok, Red Hartebeest, Zebra, Blesbok and a Warthog.  Tery took a Nyala, Kudu, Blue Wildebeest, Bushbuck, Zebra, Impala, Waterbuck and Warthog.  Bobby took an Impala, Kudu, Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Gemsbok and a Warthog.  Guy took a Blesbok, Waterbuck, Kudu, Zebra, Red Hartebeest and an Impala

Click HERE to see photos of their hunt.

Craig York from North Carolina and his father Charles York from Ohio, hunted with us the first part of June.  This was fulfillment of a lifelong dream of a father/son hunt in Africa.  Because of the fences everywhere in South Africa, Craig had some reservations about it being a fair chase hunt.  These notions were quickly expelled when he ended up in a ½ mile sprint to cut off his Gemsbok.  Just being able to hunt with his father was a high point, but watching his dad's stealth ambush of a record book Kudu and his stalk of an Impala will be memories that Craig will always be able to cherish  Craig made an incredible shot on a Zebra at 350 yards and I'm sure he can tell you of the rigors involved in hunting a Zebra.  Among the trophies that Craig and Charles took were Kudu, Gemsbok, Blue Wildebeest, Zebra, 2 Blesbok, 2 Warthogs and 3 Impala.

Click HERE to see photos of Craig and his Dad, Charles.

Peter Ryan from Australia visited us the middle of June.  Memories of Peter's trip include watching so many of the smaller animals, stalking to within 30 yards of a big old worn down Gemsbok bull and whistling at him, a baby Gemsbok running by at arms reach and fooling around with the camps pet Warthog, "Ottoman".  The "politically incorrect" quote of the trip was "Lean into my shoulder, Old Lucky, while he kisses his a-- goodbye!".  One day while waiting for the skinners to bring the meat down the mountain from his Kudu, the conversation got around to shaving.  As the conversation took on more of a humorous vain, Pieter and Peter developed a marketing idea for "Bwana Piet's Complete Safari Makeover Lotion For Men".  Knowing what the intended ingredients were, don't expect to see it at your favorite sporting goods store anytime soon!  Peter took a Kudu, Gemsbok, Impala, Blesbok and a couple of Warthogs.

Click HERE to see photos of Peter's hunt.

Daniel Coosemans from Florida and his longtime friend Henri Creces from New York got together for a much anticipated hunt in Africa with us the end of June. A great safari was had by both of them and it seemed like there was always good natured fun happening all of the time during their stay.  Pieter nicknamed Daniel "John Wayne" for his constant readiness to shoot.  It seems that if anything at all moved in the bush, Daniel would have his gun up and ready to shoot.  Like the character in one of John Wayne's movies, Henri

made Daniel an eye patch to wear.  If Daniel didn't have his gun in his hand, he was constantly picking up something to occupy them.  Though I don't know the entire story, I too want to ask them about the hunting "No-No's".  They both took Gemsboks, Red Hartebeests, Blue Wildebeests, Zebras, Giraffes, Blesbok, Waterbuck and Warthogs.  Daniel also took a Steenbok and a Duiker and Henri took a Bushbuck.

Click HERE to see photos of Daniel & Henri's hunt.

Mike Wodjenski and his wife Li from Connecticut arrived the end of June.  Mike was our Leopard hunter this year and since the story of that successful hunt can be found on our Leopard Package page, I will just add our congratulations here.  While driving to the camp on their arrival, Pieter yelled out that there was a Genet cat crossing the road ahead.  He remarked how unusual it was that they were able to see one in the open like that.  As they were asking Pieter to repeat what kind of animal it was, the Genet made a bad mistake and reversed it's course right under the bakkie!  Pieter was shocked and all that he could respond with was that is was a "flat cat".  Mike, after his success with the Leopard, had extra time for other hunting and his wife Li went along with him.  She had tagged along with Mike a couple times while he was back home deer hunting, but she had never actually

hunted herself.  However this was Africa and something special always seems to happen there.  Pieter PH (Junior) took Li to the shooting range and after only 5 minutes of instruction Li was grouping her shots like an expert.  The next thing you know Li was out hunting and she took her first trophy, a Warthog.  Now she was completely hooked and her next hunt was a successful stalk to within 80 yards that resulted in a Rowland Ward record book Blesbok.  Needless to say, she now has a new rifle and is booked with us for next year.  She did mention though that if Mike is good he can come along.  Please note the first photo are their page.  It shows that Mike is now the "barefoot" member of the family.  Beside Li's obvious success, Mike also took a Gemsbok, 2 Waterbucks, an Impala, Warthog and a Civet on top of his Leopard.

Click HERE to see Mike & Li's photos.

Dusko Naumov from Ohio joined us the first of July for his long awaited African safari.  Although I don't have many stories to relate of his hunt, I do know that considerable time was spent crawling up on his trophy's.  His hunting style was extremely successful as Dusko ended up taking more trophy's this year than anyone else!  I believe this

total was 17 which is very remarkable on a 10 day hunt!  Among his trophies were Giraffe, Kudu, Impala, Steenbok, Waterbuck, Red Hartebeest, Zebra, Blesbok, Blue Wildebeest, Gemsbok and Warthog.

Click HERE to view photos of Dusko's hunt.

Anthony Mauro from New Jersey brought his whole family, including his mother-in-law, along on his safari.  Included was his wife Carol, son Anthony Jr., daughter Victoria and Carol's mother Marion.  Many activities were enjoyed by all to make this a family vacation that will never be forgotten.  Among the activities were the boat trip and a day spent at Sun City.  Although Anthony's wife Carol didn't hunt, both his son and daughter made the most of their African safari and brought back trophies of their own.  Anthony Jr. took a beautiful Blesbok and Victoria was nothing but smiles with her trophy Impala.  I can't think of a better way to promote our conservation goals and our hopes for the future than by bringing your own children hunting with you.  My congratulations and respect goes out to Anthony.  During his safari, Anthony was able to bag a Nyala, Gemsbok, Red Hartebeest, Zebra and a Blue Wildebeest.

Click HERE to see photos of this family hunt.

Anthony has written a BOOK on their family safari.  Click HERE for information on this new book!

Dennis Metz from Texas and his buddy Daryl Smith joined us the end of July
after stopping off in Cape Town for some scuba diving with the Great White sharks.  Now that's
an exciting vacation, Great White sharks and hunting African animals!  Even though
Daryl planned on just observing, Africa again played it's magic and before you knew it he was also
out hunting.  This was Dennis's first safari but he said it definitely wouldn't be his last and plans
to return and hunt with us again as soon as possible.  We look forward to his return, but

there are some in camp who hope that he tones down the color of his sleepwear a little though.
I won't say what color it was, but they say he resembled a certain bird on "Sesame Street".
Dennis took 2 Kudus, 2 Warthogs ,a Bushbuck, Blue Wildebeest, Zebra, Impala and a Blesbok.

Click HERE to view photos of Dennis' hunt.

Jack Sissoyev and his hunting buddy Bob Pyrah, both from California, arrived the first part of August.  With Nyala on the top of their trophy list, they took off first for Natal.  Although they were over a mile from each other, they both found outstanding Nyala and ended up taking them within 2 minutes of each other and they were within ½" in size of each other!  Now that's good hunting luck!  Jack said that he took his Waterbuck just after Bob blew the 5th stalk on his.  I guess that was all the incentive that Bob needed as he got his ½ hour later!  Bob took the largest Impala of the year.  It was an incredible 26½", which is huge for South Africa.  Bob also earned the nickname "Croconoster" and hopefully it was derived from crocodile.  I'm not sure exactly what Jack said out the bakkie window to some Rhinos one day, however

I do know that he slid all the way to the other side of the seat as they came right up to his window!  I wonder if it was a female Rhino?  We want to thank Jack for his generous donation of some clothing and candy to the local school children.  The gesture was most appreciated.  When Jack came he was very interested in trying to obtain huge trophies.  Well, we delivered as I believe all of them made the record book and even 5 of them were good enough to make the prestigious Rowland Ward record book!  Jack took a Nyala, Kudu, Blue Wildebeest, Zebra, Gemsbok, Impala, Blesbok, Red Hartebeest, Bushbuck, Waterbuck and a Warthog.  Bob took a Nyala, Kudu, Blesbok, Steenbok, Gemsbok, Waterbuck, Bushbuck, Zebra and that great Impala.

Click HERE to view photos of Jack and Bob's hunt.

Montana and Utah is where our next group of hunters calls home.  John Downard, his father Lynn Downard, Reah Allred and Wayne & Becky Fallis arrived the last part of August.  Being used to shooting long distances out west was to their advantage when they started their hunt out in the Free State.  Everyone had great hunts and John was even able to celebrate his birthday African style.  I never did find out if he joined in with the native dancers that night or not.  Even though the stalk was quiet, Lynn did make the comment that he has never had to take off his boots while hunting out west!  Wayne said that he wished he had a picture of Jan PH's face when he turned around to see why they weren't following him.  It seems that Jan had left the shooting stick in the bakkie.  Becky accompanied Wayne on his hunts and will always have those priceless memories of the look on Wayne's face when he made a good clean shot.  I understand that Becky was trying to get Chef Pieter to come home with them when they left.  Although they don't occur too often, ticks can be pests in Africa.  Please don't ask Becky where she found one though!  Their combined trophies included 3 Kudus, 3 Zebras, 3 Warthogs, 3 Blesbok, 2 Black Wildebeests, 2 Gemsboks, 2 Impalas and 2 Steenboks.

Click HERE to see photos of this groups hunt.

Roy Allen from Texas, who has hunted with us before, brought his friend Bill Bowden with him this year. They planned a trip all over South Africa to get some of the animals that aren't as available in the Northern Province.  They started out in Natal where they each
took beautiful Nyala's and outstanding Common Reedbuck.  Bill learned first hand about fair chase in South Africa as he spent the whole day walking in pursuit of his Reedbuck.  he was so tired when he finally got it that he was ready to fall asleep before the pictures were taken.  From Natal they headed for the Free State after Black Wildebeest and some of their Blesbok.  They still had a long list to hunt when they finally got back in our neck of the woods.  Somewhere along the line Roy was asked "Just how many bullets did you bring?!".  Along with his other trophies, Bill also took an Impala, Kudu, Gemsbok, Eland and a Black Backed Jackal.  Roy took a huge Kudu, an Eland, Impala, Bushbuck and a Warthog.

Click HERE to see photos of Roy and Bill's hunt.

Dan Russell and his wife Jeanne from Hawaii joined us the end of September for a very pleasant safari.  I'm sorry to say that he is the only one that I don't have any pictures of this year.  If anyone out there has any, please send them along and I'll get them posted.  I've put a couple of pictures

from our area on his page until we get something from him.  After a successful hunt with us that included Impala, Steenbok, Blesbok and Blue Wildebeest, they finished up their trip to South Africa with a visit to Kruger National Park.

Click HERE to view a few of our photos.

 Visiting us from Michigan the end of September and the first part of October were Mark Smith and Tim Wynsma.  Mark has been an avid deer hunter in Michigan his whole life and loves to learn as much as he can about the animals that he hunts.  I know for a fact that he even checks out the stomach contents to see what the deer have been eating!  In Africa he was just overwhelmed with all of the animals and I heard that he was often seen in the skinning room making a "mess".  Mark earned the nickname "Puffy" while he was there.  He blamed it on the sun and wind but I believe that maybe Chef Pieter's cooking was more of a factor.  Tim learned how nasty a Brown Hyena can be if you don't recover your trophy right away!  Sorry about that Tim, but the horns do look great though!  To say that Mark and Pieter had a great time together would be an understatement and Mark learned that sometimes Pieter likes to have some fun too.  One day while they were stalking, Pieter climbed a tree for a better view of the surrounding area.  Without saying a word to Mark, from the tree, Pieter pointed off in a certain direction.  Thinking that he should go and investigate what Pieter was pointing at, Mark headed out in that direction.  Mark hadn't got very far when it appeared that he was walking right into a gray wall!  The gray wall turned out to be some Rhinos much to Marks astonishment.  Knowing that he needed to make a very quiet and

hasty retreat Mark started backing out of their range.  He later stated that he was looking for a tree that didn't have too many thorns on it in case he needed to climb one real fast!  Mark didn't think it was quite as funny as Pieter did at the time, but he did learn a valuable about always letting your PH lead.  Another day Pieter just took off running after a herd of wildebeest.  Mark wasn't sure what was going on but he took off after him.  Although they got close they never quite caught them and they both ended up laughing about their close encounter.  Mark asked Pieter if he had every done that before and I would have loved to see the expression on his face when Pieter simply said, "No!".  Mark finally got a good comeback on Pieter though, when he stated that it was "...just amazing that Pieter had the uncanny ability to walk long distances to find just the right spot to take a leak"!  With their hunting going so well, Mark and Tim took a day off to go to Sun City and do a little gambling.  Even though Tim won a little that day he ended up having to work until the last hour of his last day to get his Warthog.  Besides his last minute Warthog, Tim took a Kudu, Impala, Gemsbok and a Zebra.  Mark took a Kudu, Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Blesbok, a Genet and 2 Impalas.

Click HERE to view photos of Mark and Tim's hunt.

 My wife and I brought our 21 year old daughter Cassandra to Africa with us the second week of October.  Although Cassie was an excellent shot at target practice and has sat with her mother in a deer blind before, other than a raccoon, this was going to be her first real hunt.  Leesa and I are quite used to seeing all of the different animals there, however it was with great pleasure that we saw the gleam in Cassie's eyes when she exclaimed, "What was that?!".  Her goal was to hunt a Zebra, and knowing how difficult that hunt could be, we asked Pieter to take her out with him by themselves so she could get the feel of the stalk.  We told Pieter that maybe a Blesbok or an Impala trophy would be a good way to hone her African hunting skills.  We met the truck when they came back and knew by the huge smile on Cassie's face that she had been successful.  Upon walking around to the back of the bakkie however, we were shocked!  Instead of an Impala there lie a record book Blue Wildebeest.  The tears of joy in our eyes soon turned into tears of laughter when she said, "Isn't that an Impala, Papa?".  Her story of the long stalk told with an almost breathless excitement and her perfect shot made her parents extremely proud of their little girl.  I had wanted to video her complete Zebra hunt but because of the dryness of the bush and the limited amount of cover that was available I didn't go with her on the final portion of her stalk for her Zebra.  However, I think that made her happy as she was getting a little tired of my video taping anyway!  After making an incredible 180-yard shot, Cassandra had the huge stallion that she came to

Africa for.  The joy in her eyes and her permanent smile is something that every parent hopes to see on their child's face.

I don't usually include stories of our hunts but thought that you might enjoy this one.  I have always hunted Klipspringer while we are there but for one reason or another I had never been successful.  This year the wife and I made a good-natured bet on who would get one first and which one would be better.  We set just one day aside for this hunt.  She went to the mountain camp with Pieter and I set off to another property with Junior.  After about 4 or 5 hours of tough hunting I was finally able to get my Klipspringer.  Knowing that my trophy would be extremely high in the record book, I didn't want that information passed back on the radio but wanted to wait until we were both back in camp.  When we radioed them they said they were already back in camp and would only say that they had a surprise.  I knew because of the size of mine that there was no way she could have gotten one bigger!  I was extremely confident when I walked to the skinning room with her and there lay not a Klipspringer but a Bush Pig!  I have always wanted to shoot one but have only seen a fleeting glimpse of one once.  They are extremely difficult to hunt and rarely seen in the daytime.  This was the first one that she had ever seen and it was a huge old male that will have no problem making the record book!  With a little envy, I called the bet a draw.

Click HERE to view photos of Cassandra's hunt.

 Gordon & Lisha Marsh from Alabama arrived the end of October.  Gordon earned the nickname "Mr. Lucky" early for his uncanny ability to not only get his trophies in short amount of time but that they were also exceptional record book animals.  Even if he was having a problem with his rifle (2 trips to the gunsmith) he would just pick up his pistol and bag another exceptional trophy with it!  Gordon shot the largest Blue Wildebeest that anybody had ever seen!!  It had a 32" spread and measured 60" from one tip to the other.  When the final measurements are in it will be in the top 25 of all time.  A record book Duiker, Impala and a 54" Kudu gives him the title of "Mr. Lucky" for sure!

We will be forever in Gordon's debt, as while he was there he took some outstanding digital videos and has placed them on his web site for everyone to enjoy.  One of the videos is an awesome stalk to within 8 yards of 4 Rhinos.  The first one on his site, entitled WILDEBEEST.MPG, is actual video taken by Pieter of him shooting his first Blue Wildebeest.  Thanks to him, everyone will be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of Africa.  Be aware the these videos are very large downloads so if you have a dial up connection you may have to wait

a while for them but they are well worth it.  The link to his videos is:
http://www.marsh-net.com/africa.htm

THANKS GORDON!!!!!

Now back to a little more about his stay.  A good time was had by all and there was always laughter about something going on.  One day in particular, Gordon was attempting to get "Ottoman's (our camp Warthog) picture.  As he bent further and further down to get just the right shot, it seems that he went a little too low and inadvertently squatted down on the sharp horn of the wooden Rhino in the Lappa!  I must admit that it probably was hilarious seeing a man of his size jumping that far into the air.  And apparently, every time the word "hurricane" was shouted, everyone would break into laughter.  But I'll leave the story behind that for Gordon to tell.  Gordon's trophies included 2 Blue Wildebeest, 2 Warthogs, 2 Impalas, Kudu, Blesbok, Duiker, Gemsbok and a Red Hartebeest.

Click HERE to view photos of Gordon's hunt.

In the camp the same time as Gordon and his wife Lisha, was Roberto de Hoyos from Texas.  While Gordon was having all the luck in the world it seems that Roberto would have to work a lot harder for his trophies.  I will say though that Roberto is the only one this year to shoot a python!  With all of the hard work though, Roberto ended up shooting the 2nd largest Kudu that we have ever taken!  At 59" his Kudu is a trophy of a lifetime. 

Roberto had plenty of opportunities to shoot a Warthog though, but he kept passing them up.  His explanation was, "They are just too ugly!".  Thanks Roberto, now there will be more for me next year!  Roberto, besides his huge Kudu, took a Blesbok, Impala and a Zebra.

Click HERE to view a Roberto's hunt photos.