I thought the AR members might enjoy seeing some photos from a safari my father and grandfather went on in 1965 in Botswana. Harry Selby was their PH.

I'd be glad to post additional pictures if there is any interest.

***Here is some commentary from my father regarding this trip:

We knew it was going to be a good hunt when we had to buzz 3 kudu bulls off the air strip at high noon in order land. The license covered all species and multiple numbers of some. I don't remember if there were trophy fees,but if there were they were very modest.I believe the total for the hunt was around $12,000 for the 2 of us for 21 days. We hunted mostly along the Kwaii river near what is now I believe the Moremi Game Reserve. The country was in the midst of a severe drought and tons of game of all species was hanging very close to the river. We saw hundreds of head every day. Dad had a 30-06 and I had a 300 Weatherby . The 300 proved to be so effective that Dad started using it as well. I shot my buff with a 375 that Harry had. We made a trip up to the Savuti Channel to take pictures,it was pretty exciting as it was the only water within 30 miles and everything was watering there. We almost got charged by a buff that didn't like our presence. While there lions walked through our campsite one night. The tracks the next morning showed that they were about 3 feet outside our tent at one point. We went to the the Kalahari on the second leg of the trip and got the desert species. We had some great Guinea fowl and waterfowl hunting. Far from what I had imagined, the desert had lots of game,very interesting country. Harry Selby is a really great guy, we really enjoyed being with him. He ran a flawless camp with excellent staff and equipment, the trackers Jason and Lucas were unbelieveble . He knowledge was encyclopedic on the natural history of the region and his ability to judge game on the hoof was like nothing I have ever seen. He is a legend and sets the standard for any aspiring PH. ***

I've added a bunch of pictures to the original post:

Pics not visible

First time posting pics, I think it is fixed now.

Give us more !!!!!!!!

Tell us more of the story also.

Harry Selby WOW

Great pictures. What I would give to have been there then.

Give us all you've got! If you want to make us cry, post the daily rate and trophy fees!

Thanks for sharing. Those are some precious family memories.

I'll speak with my father about the trip. I've heard stories about it all my life, but would rather ask him about the specifics. I believe it was 21 days, split between the Okavango and Kalahari.

...Safari feeling pure !

Seloushunter

I absolutely love your pictures. Thank you for sharing!

That is some fantastic pictures... And memories.. Wow! Thanks a lot for sharing this with us..

Some impressive sable, eh?

Thanks for sharing.

Tremendous sable bulls! Great photos.

Thanks for sharing.

Bull1

Thanks very much and, of course, we'd love to see more photos and hear the stories behind them.

What a treasure trove!! I will look forward to seeing and hearing more.

Thanks!!!!!

Bob

Very cool. This is one of the best posts I've seen on here in a while. Let's see more!

Thanks. Did they ever go back?

great pictures - thanks for sharing them - looking back at some makes truth to the old saying, the more things change the more they stay the same

What a great set of pictures! I love looking at older photos of African safaris. They remind of a time when everything was a little bit different, and some might say better. Any additional details to share?

Outstanding, thanks!

Wow! What a hunt! Just the chance to share a campfire with Harry is worth the price of admission! Looks like that Weatherby did a good job, as well!

Thanks for sharing this!

FANTASTIC!!! Thanks for posting.

Great photos. Many thanks.

Looks like those newfangled Weatherbys worked pretty well, huh?

Coincidentally, 1965 was the year Ruark died.

Thanks very much for the additional photos. Very, very nice.

Great stuff, I love the little bush buck not to mention those sable.

Stu

Brant, speaking for myself you could show us pics everyday for a year and I would not get tired of it... What rifles were they shooting for buf??

Mike

Very nice pics and story.

do you still have the rifle your dad used?

Very nice. What an awesome trip and you have the photos...really fantastic.

Great pictures, what a wonderful experience, We can only dream about a hunt like that.

TerryR

Awesome pictures!! Looking forward to seeing more and hopefully with a good story or 2.

Lovely!!!!

I was born way too late!!!

Thanks so much! The pictures are great!

Great pictures, great hunt.
I have a Weatherby catalog from 1968 and it's interesting to see how often those rifles/cartridges were used back then compared to today.

Keep them coming mate. Got any more with Harry in them? What calibre is the Weatherby?
Most enjoyable, thanks.

***Here is some commentary from my father regarding this trip (added to the original post as well):

We knew it was going to be a good hunt when we had to buzz 3 kudu bulls off the air strip at high noon in order land. The license covered all species and multiple numbers of some. I don't remember if there were trophy fees,but if there were they were very modest.I believe the total for the hunt was around $12,000 for the 2 of us for 21 days. We hunted mostly along the Kwaii river near what is now I believe the Moremi Game Reserve. The country was in the midst of a severe drought and tons of game of all species was hanging very close to the river. We saw hundreds of head every day. Dad had a 30-06 and I had a 300 Weatherby . The 300 proved to be so effective that Dad started using it as well. I shot my buff with a 375 that Harry had. We made a trip up to the Savuti Channel to take pictures,it was pretty exciting as it was the only water within 30 miles and everything was watering there. We almost got charged by a buff that didn't like our presence. While there lions walked through our campsite one night. The tracks the next morning showed that they were about 3 feet outside our tent at one point. We went to the the Kalahari on the second leg of the trip and got the desert species. We had some great Guinea fowl and waterfowl hunting. Far from what I had imagined, the desert had lots of game,very interesting country. Harry Selby is a really great guy, we really enjoyed being with him. He ran a flawless camp with excellent staff and equipment, the trackers Jason and Lucas were unbelieveble . He knowledge was encyclopedic on the natural history of the region and his ability to judge game on the hoof was like nothing I have ever seen. He is a legend and sets the standard for any aspiring PH. ***

I was just thinking that didn't sound so cheap to me, although I wasn't born yet, so I did some research and discovered that you could have bought TWO Cadillac Fleetwoods and had money left over...clearly the safari with Selby was the buy of a lifetime.

12,000 1968 dollars were roughly equivalent in buying power to 75,000 2008 dollars.

Very enjoyable.

Nice wood on the Weatherby. Do you still have it?

FYI:
1965 = $12,000
2008= $81,184

Nearly a years salary for alot of people.

Could you get a similar safari today for 80,000?

Incredible post and pics, thank you!