I received a e-mail this morning from HHK Safaris that PH Wayne Edwards was tragically killed in a car accident on Friday in Victoria Falls.

I am very sorry to hear this. My condolences to Mr. Edwards' family.

Sorry to hear this. I was scheduled to go hunting with Wayne in 2006. Sad I did not have the chance to get to know him - he came highly recommended.
- mike

I knew Wayne and I'm saddened to hear of his death. Condolences to his family and friends.

I am still stunned by the news!

I recieved word via a sat phone call from a close mutual friend of Waynes late Sat nite.

Wayne will truly be missed!

I was looking forward to my 2nd hunt with him in July. I'm so thankful I had the priviledge of knowing him and hunting with him.

He was truly one of a kind!

I plan to ad a page to our 06 catalog for a dedicated picture memorial in honor of Wayne.

My prayers are with the family in this time of grief!

Tim

I am deeply saddened to hear of Waynes death.
I hunted with him for 21 days on my first Safari in June of 2004.
We had a great hunt and a lot of fun. He made not only the hunt successful, but very enjoyable. He was a fun guy to be around.
Just this weekend at the DRSS pig hunt I showed the other 9 hunters my video. A few times durring the video I remarked, "Look at Wayne, I think he is having more fun than me!"
Which is "almost" true.
I will miss him.
He was my Friend.

A senseless death, my condolences to his family and friends.

I had the oppurtunity to meet and Hunt with wayne last may with tim_wegner in zim, after the hunt we went to bulawayo for 3 days and took in the local night life. Wayne was a great hunter and it was a pleasure to have known him. My deepest condolences to his family and friends

Troy Williamson Killed today. Car crash- survived that but the medics gave him too much pethedine and stopped his heart.

Not a good week

It can be a dangerous life can't it? Buffs taking hunters and PH's last season and now elephants and car crashes this year and we have only just begun. Valhalla has 3 more warriors.

Driving in Africa has been the second scariest experience while on safari.(John would certainly agree if I am driving) The first was a boat ride at Cabora Bassa in a 14 foot slowly sinking banana boat while hunting hippo.

Perry

quote:

Driving in Africa has been the second scariest experience while on safari.

Ironically, the closest I have ever come to dying while on safari was during a nightime trip in the lowveld with Wayne Edwards. We were driving from Triangle to Lemco. I was supposed to fly from Harare to Lemco, but because of low ceiling at the Lemco airstrip, the pilot diverted to Buffalo Range. In the meantime, Wayne came to pick me up. By the time he got there, it was dark. As we started off, he told me that his alternator was shot and his headlights weren't working well - which turned out to be an understatement! Even in darkness, the two lane blacktop was still cluttered with cattle, donkeys, goats and people going about their business. At approximately 50 MPH we were badly outrunning the headlights and Wayne was cruising down the road, drinking a beer and talking to me about hunting like everything was great. Suddenly, there was a great whoosh and noise of wind and clattering diesel engine. An 18-wheeler, running without lights, had been in our lane, coming head-on, while passing another truck. We never saw it until it was too late. Fortunately, the driver was able to move back into his lane before he flattened us. We'd have never known what hit us. I'll never forget Wayne's grin, like "That was a close one!", followed by another gulp from the beer bottle. I was right there with him on both counts.

This post is not a jab at Wayne. It is an acknowledgement of the risks PH's take every day and the risks that we as clients assume when we go hunting. These guys are busy running around the country, shuffling clients and moving from camp to camp. Things are bound to break and need attention and sometimes problems are ignored until it's too late.

The past couple of season show that these guys are in a risky business. I hope we can get through the rest of this year without any more bad news.

The most dangerous mile is the one in front of you.

Thought I would quickly mention update with regards Troy Williamson - he wasnt given overdose of pethadine - he had internal bleeding and the hospital couldnt source any of his blood type in time. A donor came forward 3 minutes prior to Troys death!!! Tragic.

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
I received a e-mail this morning from HHK Safaris that PH Wayne Edwards was tragically killed in a car accident on Friday in Victoria Falls.

Another loss for us all.
My condolences.

I grew up with Wayne in Victoria Falls, he was a special guy and it's great that you're all paying him tribute - it means a lot to all his friends and family. The people of the Falls held a wake for him last night, and there will be a memorial service for him at the Dabula Jetty on Saturday.

Lynn Pacella - London

I wondered if you guys had heard about the two tragedies in Zim? I must tell a story about Wayne for those of you that knew him - and even for those of you that dont, but are interested.

I met wayne in 1993 - I was a 21 yr old tenderfoot and by some twist of fate found myself on the practical test for the Zim PH license. I was a long way from ready and it showed - in my whole career, which hadn't really been that long at that time - I had been present on one elephant hunt, shot at one buffalo(and missed) and been present on two other buff hunts. Obviously it was bluntly obvious to those in the know...that I was too green and had a long way to go. Now what you most likely understand...is that associated with an exam like the Zim PH exam is a certain amount of macho attitude and a certain level of bragging that goes in together with all the war stories of who shot what, when, how many times and how close you have been to death and how you have survived. Youngsters that are still inexperienced and green receive little sympathy nor understanding from other trainee PH's and examiners on the course - not that I am complaining about that because in a sense it is quite right that we/they shouldn't. In any case...Wayne - the broad shouldered, blond haired macho-picture that most people see when they imagine an African Pro Hunter recognised this. There I was, a skinny, pimply and totally unimpressive example of a learner PH - sitting in my campsite and feeling like I wished the world would open up and swallow me, when Wayne walked by. I dont really remember the whole conversation - it probably wasn't much, but it ended with him inviting me over to their camp for a beer. From that point on things improved - he basically explained that shit happens - you get yourself into situations that maybe are not quite what you expected them to be...and you deal with them - perhaps it doesn't sound like much to some of you...but it meant a great deal to me at the time and turned that nightmare exam into one of the most beneficial learning experiences of my career up to that point. Wayne pretty much put me back on my feet there and our friendship from there stayed solid. We were never close mates, but whenever we crossed paths we would always take a beer or three together - and survived many Vic Falls parties after that. In the time that I knew Wayne - he was one of the few examples of a genuine all round good guy. He didn't care if you were one of the heavies, or just some inexperienced pimply appy - if you were down he would recognise it and would often go out of his way to set you right or make an effort to include you in whatever was going on at the time - regardless of who you knew or didn't know, where you came from or what you did. He was - in my opinion, one of the few examples of a man with no pre decided ideas about who was "cool" and who was "uncool" A fine man with a genuine interest in people, a good heart(and plenty of it!) and somebody who would always go the extra mile for anybody. I will miss Wayne when I am next in the Falls - I miss Wayne now and I am a long long way from the Falls - but the sad reality is that you only ever miss people that count when it is already too late.

Thanks for sharing that story Tigerfish.
You're discription of Wayne was spot on!