12 November 2004, 22:22
LV Eric
Mom is stable and I'm comfortable to leave for 2 weeks, just waiting for one test result then I need to book the air, which I still have no plan for. 
I have 4 elephants(2 bulls & 2 cows) on quota so I dont expect a great trophy bull but who cares I just need to take a break, I havent had one in a year.
I'm looking foward to hunting in Dec. I have before and Its tough to see lots of leaves but its fun cause you can get real close. Hopefully I wont get steped on.
Four elephants in 10-14 days of hunting, wow that aint going to be easy but we'll get the job done, I hope there is a pig or impala to warm up my gun on, i awalys like to shoot something small to break the ice.
My goal is to track my own elephant this year from start to finish, I should be able too my PH said that he is confident in my abilities. If the wind gets funny or its a large heard which can get complicated then I'll follow his lead. But I'm confident given my experience that I can do it on my own if its an easy one. In a few more years its my goal to be able to handle the show period, perhaps in 3-5 years he said depending on how much hunting we do(it will be lots next year). I like the idea of devloping that skill as opposed to being the trigger man following the PH, that gets boaring and is silly to me after a while(not at first of course, its neccessary to learn).
I hope I can make it, I dont want to lose the momentum/practice/skills I have gained im the bush during the past 3 years of hunting by skipping a year. I have noticed that the second hunt of the year my skills are sharper than if I skip a whole year. so going for this reason is important. It aint like riding a bike, you need to do it often to stay sharp.
eric