On my June trip to South Africa, we traveled with PH Eduard Katzke from Pilanesberg National Park to his Good Hope Ranch near Kimberley. Upon Katte’s suggestion we paid a wonderful visit to Fred and Sue Everett in Pretoria. Fred is one of the last living commercial hunters at 89 years. He and his lovely wife Sue hosted us for tea and conversation.


Fred and Sue spent most of their lives living and hunting from bush camps. While Sue and my wife Sally had conversations about family life in a tent camp and ox wagon, Fred talked hunting, guns and bullets as he tamped the ashes of his pipe with a spent 404 Jeffery case. Sue is in the process of writing a book for Safari Press on her experiences, including her recipes for African cooking. She has an article in the current Magnum describing how to prepare Hippo for the table, when the table is out in the bush with no refrigeration.

My favorite story from Fred was his first meeting John ‘Pondoro’ Taylor in a bar in Mozambique. Pondoro was wearing a turban and was roaring drunk. When he learned that Fred was using a Mauser 9.3 x 62, Pondoro nearly picked a fight with Fred as he trashed German rifles and proclaimed that Jeffery made the only bolt guns worth using. Fred winked as he indicated that of course Jeffery’s rifles were built on Mausers.



Fred was high on the 7x57 and 9.3 x 62, but said his favorite of all time was the 404. When he worked on tetse control, he used a 30-06 extensively with solids with buffalo and elephant, but had to do so unofficially as it was not approved by his bosses. He had poor experiences with the old Winchester 375 solids, which would deform and fish-tail. He used hard cast solids more effectively, he said.

Fred is the author of Heat, Thirst, and Ivory, concerning his earliest life, and Tuskers in the Dust, about his later hunting years. Heat is out of print, but Safari Press plans another run. I bought an autographed copy of Tuskers, which I will cherish.

This is one of many experiences on this hunt that will remain with me forever. Thanks Katte! Bob

Too cool.

I take my hat off...

quote:

Originally posted by bobc:
Fred was high on the 7x57 and 9.3 x 62, but said his favorite of all time was the 404.

...and then again - classy...

Rusty or other photos wizards: How do I size the photos to larger size? I'm using Flickr. Bob

Bob, that visit alone, would be worth the trip over.

Keith

Very good.

What great fortune! You lucky person you.

wonderful opportunity

Books are essential, but no book can can substitute for a meeting like that one. Just a great story, Bob. Thanks.

Bob: Thanks for sharing your thoughtful and considerate experience with these good folks. Kinda makes my day.

Thats the kind of post that makes AR so great. What an awesome experience. Thanks

Scott Hayman

Thanks for sharing! What a special moment!!

Bob

Awesome! What a wonderful chance to visit a living legend!

Wouldn't it be wonderful to get to share a campfire with him and others like Harry and Mark Selby? Some of my favorite hunting times has been in the company of PHs and fellow hunters.

Bob,
check your hosting site. On mine I just right click on a large photograph on screen. Left click on "properties". Then I copy and past the url:

If you have problems send them to me and I'll put them up for you.

I am sure that was one time in your life you wished you had something to record the stories!

this is why i feel accurate reloading forums are so great.real people sharing real life experiences for all to enjoy.a chance of a lifetime fulfilled.

With stories like this, no wonder AR is where I go first when I'm on the net.

Congratulations Bob! Walking amoung the GODs of the African game fields is a rare privilege that is not offered often. I too have had opertunities to sit and talk with some of the pioneers of the African safari sceen, and those are memories I treasure, as you certainly will as well!

Resized. That's better. Bob

Wow! I'm jealous. I was proud of myself for getting to spend the night in Harry Selby's tent in Botswana, but that hardly seems to compare - not that this is a contest. What a great story.
Dave

This is the inscription from Fred:

"When time was judged by the pace of the ox and the world was unfenced a hunter could follow wherever the herds roamed, his home a hat and a campfire wherever the sun set."

Bob

Priceless.

Here's a short note on "Tuskers":

quote:

We learned in Heat, Thirst, and Ivory that Fred Everett had left his home in Bechuanaland (Botswana) when he was only a teenager to make his living off the bush, mainly by poaching elephant. In this second volume, we pick up his story in 1937, just as he starts out from Bulawayo on a series of elephant-hunting adventures that are nothing short of extraordinary. Taking his favorite .404, Everett finds a remote corner along the Zambezi River near Binga and starts shooting elephants to earn a living. With a single elephant license in his pocket, he shoots dozens of elephants, which means he frequently had to move to avoid the district commissioner. Acquiring a massive cache of ivory and rhino horn, he manages to return to Bulawayo where he hides his loot—only to be betrayed! After this scrape with the authorities, he returns to the bush, this time to guide a visiting Frenchman to lion and leopard. Next he moves to the Okavango with his two loyal trackers before going to Zambia, where he finds elephant hunting is good but runs into some bad characters. When he finally returns with his ivory, WWII has started and the bottom has dropped out of the ivory market in the British territories. He tries his luck in Mozambique where he acquires a 10.75 Mauser and has some hair-raising adventures there because the bullets of his Mauser fail to penetrate the skulls of the elephant reliably. He meets all the famous elephant hunters of his time: Harry Manners, the famous South African elephant poacher Bvekenya Barnard, and Fletcher Jamieson. His story of elephant hunting is easily as compelling and just as full of adventure as are the stories of Bell and Sutherland.

Bob,

Very neat. Thanks for sharing, particularly the inscription in the book.

We had a similar experience on our recent trip to Zim. We had the opportunity to have dinner with a real hunting legend. I prefer not to go into the details other than to say it was a special evening and a marvelous way to cap off our hunt. It is those "bonus" opportunities that really make the memories of the trip special.

That's a real treat. Fred is legendary.