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Will post a pic of mine in a bit but was curious to see what trinkets, trophies etc you consider to be your most cherished piece of Africana. I know memories are usually the top but here am looking for things you've brought back or been given that have a special significance. ***UPDATE** OK, here's mine. The book is a First Edition Horn of the Hunter signed to me from Harry Selby. The cup was a gift from Gail Selby some years back and means a great deal to me as it was part of a set given to her and Brian when they were married. The only thing to top these, Africa-wise, is the friendship I have had with the Selbys, especially Gail, over the past many years; they are really good people and it has been such a pleasure to get to know them. _BAxter  | ||
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Good thread....but a hard thread. As I read your post I'm sitting in my 'man cave' surrounded by all manner of things from Africa. I asked myself what one thing would be the most cherished, the one item I'd grab if the last train was pulling out. The only thing I could narrow it down to was the photo album. I know that isn't exactly the answer you were looking for but it's all I could come up with. When I am long gone I suspect 99%+ of my stuff will be long gone as well but I hope a great-grandkid will maintain my photo album. | |||
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My warthog, taken during the first hour of the first day of my first African hunt. He's an old guy, grizzled and gray, who had led a full life fathering a bunch of piglets and rooting happily around Tienie Bamberger's ranch in South Africa. He resides on the wall behind me, my favorite mount.  Hurricane Andrew destroyed many of my photos taken over five years of working in Africa, up to that time. The rest of the photos are all on disc. But old wartie brings back memories when I was a green hunter, thinking that would be my only hunting trip to Africa. Happily, I was wrong. | |||
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Elephant tail hair bracelet, for obvious reasons... Rich fifty-seven days until I am doing that Judge G chilling out thingie... | |||
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My memmories!!! Brett DRSS Life Member SCI Life Member NRA Life Member WSF Rhyme of the Sheep Hunter May fordings never be too deep, And alders not too thick; May rock slides never be too steep And ridges not too slick. And may your bullets shoot as swell As Fred Bear's arrow's flew; And may your nose work just as well As Jack O'Connor's too. May winds be never at your tail When stalking down the steep; May bears be never on your trail When packing out your sheep. May the hundred pounds upon you Not make you break or trip; And may the plane in which you flew Await you at the strip. -Seth Peterson | |||
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Yeah Brett, The red sunsets over the acacia trees, the smell of a wood fire and the roar of lions. And maybe a G&T to wash down the dust. Have gun- Will travel The value of a trophy is computed directly in terms of personal investment in its acquisition. Robert Ruark | |||
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Lots of things all have meaning and I wouldnt part with any of it. I assume we were talking about tangible objects and not memories. The one item I value the most was given to me from one of the guys from Zim. It was one of the small hand axes they make ususally out of leaf springs but often other soureces of steel as well. It was totally covered in blood from one end to the other from him butchering a giraffe. He said he could make another one and it would only take a couple days. Makes you really appreciate the tool not only when you see them use it but how they make it. Happiness is a warm gun | |||
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Meeting some of the hunting legends of yesteryear, the likes of which they don't make anymore, the molds have been broken. | |||
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My wife  | |||
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I recently put 'Stavros' my red lechwe mount from Botswana up on the wall. He reminds me of the first time I went to Africa and all that entailed. However, what Africa has really given me is a change of mind-set and a whole new world of adventures to plan, a reason to get stronger and fitter rather than accept middle age spread, new friends and new areas of interest to research and explore. Like many, I thought 18 days in Botswana 'would do'. Now I get the feeling that 'before Africa' and 'post Africa' will become a distinct milestone when I look back on my life. Without that trip in 2007, I think my future would look very different for many reasons. So, for me, the objects are nice but the real value of my visits to Africa so far have been less tangible. I also like to pick up the old guns I have taken to Africa and remember the trips we made together. My old 1878 Thompson 12-bore hammer gun has shot pheasants in Wales, snipe in England, doves in South Africa, Guinea fowl in the Okavango Delta and been loaded up with buckshot to go after a wounded warthog and to guard against inquisitive lions while I slept in my tent. I love the fact that we go all over together and the old wood and metal prove themselves again and again. I have decided that in future, I do want to hunt more in Africa but, on my limited funds, I am not goung to be packing big wedges of cash into trophy mounts; photos and memories will do for the most part - the money is better spent on the hunts and the guns to do them with. (For me). | |||
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Ah marriage, the three ring circus. First comes the engagement ring, then the wedding ring and finally the suffering.  | |||
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My Birthright ! Not withstanding that, being Africa, it is constantly being threatened, disputed and challenged..... http://www.bigbore.org/ http://www.chasa.co.za Addicted to Recoil ! I hunt because I am human. Hunting is the expression of my humanity... | |||
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Marriage...It's not just a word it's a SENTENCE... God I crack myself up... Jeff | |||
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Putting the trophies & memories aside, I guess my favorite momento is my ax made for me when I hunted in Binga for Hippo and Elephant. Mark ask me if had ever gotten an ax and I said no but wanted one. He had the skinners make me one early in the hunt and the trackers used it to butcher my Hippo and Elephant. Thus this momento has special meaning for me. | |||
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I have to agree with the memories. Good Hunting,  | |||
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sapphire I that I got while working with Campbell Bridges in Tsavo. | |||
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The memories I have of spending two safaris with our oldest son. Photos may fade, trophies collect dust, but those will be with me till I die. | |||
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Good thread! As other have explicitly or implicitly pointed out though, things can be destroyed. A Hurricane was mentioned. House fires happen, but life goes on. Having been a victim of a house fire I remember realizing afterwards: "But it was only stuff". We all know that our "stuff" as valuable as it is to us, may have little value to others. It is the memories and friendships that cannot be taken away by natural or man made disasters. A life well lived is what matters IMHO. Peter. Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright, that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong; | |||
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The memories! I have photos of my first safari, and each time I look at them, I remember the exact time, day and situation we were in when the phto was taken. No trophy can come close to this. | |||
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First, My daughter... she was born while living there. Second, My Kudu... and the memories of the hunt with my dad and two sons. The kudu was shot the last night at dusk 55.5" length 42" spread and 11.5" bases. A spectacular end to a awsome hunt. Third, A knife and bow that I bought. Not tourist versions but what people were using. None to be undone by the relationships i have with people there. | |||
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Ditto on the wife. My second daughter Audrey was delivered in the French Army hospital in Djibouti. She turned out OK. Audrey is on the far right in this photo.  _________________________________ AR, where the hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history become the nattering nabobs of negativisim. | |||
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_________________________________ AR, where the hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history become the nattering nabobs of negativisim. | |||
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I would not like it, but I could lay all of the photos, curios, and trophies aside. My most treasured bit of Africana is my hunter's heart, changed forever and for the better, because I was able to hunt the world's greatest game fields with some of the finest men I've ever met. May we all be fortunate enough to answer Africa's call again, again, and again. Will J. Parks, III | |||
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Well said Will. "There are worse memorials to a life well-lived than a pair of elephant tusks." Robert Ruark | |||
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I'm not sure what my favorite thing is, but I have a little Zulu basket with a cover sitting on my desk in my office. In it are a small piece of stone with a splash of springbok blood, a few big bullets recovered from an eland, a smaller one from a kudu, little things like that. On the wall I face when I'm on the phone talking to whiny criminal defense attorneys are photographs from several different hunting trips. I keep those things near me to remind me of why I keep coming to work! | |||
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Actually I have two, but they are basically the same!! They are crude clay pots that I found in the bush in Mozambique. Found the first one while chasing Buffalo. We had been hunting Buff for 10+ days when I found this pot, and after checking with our Tracker, determined it was not a burial pot so brought it back to camp. The very next day I shot a really nice Buff. Five years later, last year, I was checking Leopard baits on about day 8 and came across another pot off the trail a bit. Again checking with the Tracker, was assured it was not a burial item so back to camp it went. You guessed it, the very next day I shot my Leopard. Managed to get both of these pots back home in one piece and they now occupy a special place in my collection of goodies. Each has a momento inside to attest to their "magic" producing qualities. I am now on the lookout for others of their kind while hunting in Africa with increased intensity. Larry Sellers SCI Life Member | |||
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Memories aside, if my house was on fire and I had a chance to grab something Africana, I'd grab my photo album (handmade by a bestfriend in TX who is a world class saddle maker with giraffe and LDE hides inlayed) and my elephant hair bracelets from the each of my 3 bulls. Those mean ALOT to me. | |||
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My Masai tracker Twigga, gave me a Hippo braclet the day I left the Selous after a successful Buffalo and plains game hunt, it is my most cherished African artifact. It is now worn and not wearable any longer, that does not reduce its meaning to me. Good shooting. phurley | |||
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The slug I pulled out of my first buffalo!  JW | |||
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The float bones from my husband's lion and two leopards, but as others have said the memories. Hearing lions roaring at night, sharing the campfire in the evening with good friends. In 2005 we watched the harvest moon from a cliff in Lemco drinking sundowners. KB1 (Mike and Linda) were with us, images like that stay with you forever. Excellent thread. Kathi kathi@wildtravel.net 708-425-3552 "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." | |||
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I think the most treasured memory was when back in camp one night and we all joined hands and danced around the campfire singing cum-bay-ah. You guys need something to do! ------------------------------- Will Stewart / Once you've been amongst them, there is no such thing as too much gun. --------------------------------------- and, God Bless John Wayne. NRA Benefactor Member, GOA, N.A.G.R. _________________________ "Elephant and Elephant Guns" $99 shipped “Hunting Africa's Dangerous Game" $20 shipped. red.dirt.elephant@gmail.com _________________________ Hoping to wind up where elephant hunters go. | |||
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I love hearing that Kathi!! I gave my wife a necklace made from the floating bones of one of my leapards one year for Christmas. Then two years ago I had Aventura in Houston make up a really nice (or I thought so) necklace of gold and included the floating bones of my lion and another leopard. I gave it to her that Christmas at the Cliff resturant in Barbados, while overlooking the ocean. Hope she enjoyed it as much as you did yours! My own personal favorite piece of "Africana" is a book--one of the African Countries Hunting series by Safari Press. While having dinner and drinks (well, a few drinks) with my own personal hero, Peter Hathaway Capstick, we were going over one of his stories in the book I had just bought, and he offered to sign it for me. Not just a signature, but a long personal note, about a half a page. I would not trade that for any of my other African collectables! (Especially since he is no longer with us.) I know some here do not care for PHC, but it is still my favorite piece of "Africana". | |||
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Bill, you are still the man! | |||
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Kumbaya? I remember one time driving from Lemco to Harare singing "The Lion Sleeps tonight" with Graham Hingston, followed by a rousing rendition of "Achy Breaky Heart". Majaru and the trackers thought we were crazy!!  Bill, you still the man!!! | |||
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It would be my medicine bag. It is a small leather pouch made from a piece of the nut sack of a buff I shot. I wear it around my neck whenever I am awake - a good luck pouch. (correction - I think he ended up using a piece of leather from my gaiters. He is a shoemaker in the off season) It was made of hide by Dominique in camp and contains various good luck seeds that Twiga gathered in the Selous. Also in there is a claw from my leopard, a tooth from my lion, a hair from my elephant, a bit of hide from my hippo and a couple grains of sand from a dry river. There is some type of powder put in when the whole deal was somehow blessed by the camp witch doctor Hamilton. It works and I would not leave the house without it. ALLEN W. JOHNSON - DRSS Into my heart on air that kills From yon far country blows: What are those blue remembered hills, What spires, what farms are those? That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, The happy highways where I went And cannot come again. A. E. Housman | |||
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The memories of seven days and nights spent in the Selous with my Dad, and the laughs we had trying to figure out (using my limited Swahili) how our tracker had two sons, three months apart in age. Hapana mama moja, bwana! All the besti! Those will stay with me forever. Phil Massaro President, Massaro Ballistic Laboratories, LLC NRA Life Member B&C Member www.mblammo.com Hunt Reports- Zambia 2011 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/1481089261 "Two kinds of people in this world, those of us with loaded guns, and those of us who dig. You dig." | |||
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As I recall, one of the trackers I spoke with had three wives, living in different towns. I think this may take place in some countries. | |||
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The scars. | |||
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I try to forget those, and on most of my hunts, the PH collected more than I did! Or should I say - added to his vast collection? | |||
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A shirt in a plastic bag that smells like mopane smoke! I wish somebody would make a smell recorder. Bfly Work hard and be nice, you never have enough time or friends. | |||
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