DIARY OF A MADAM

Location: Mukuyu Camp on the banks of the Kafue River, Zambia

Outfitter: Royal Kafue Safaris

Booking Agent: Mark Young

PH: Andrew Baldry

Trackers: Green, Redson

Game Scout: Victor

Dates: June 20th - July 10th, 2012 give or take a day.

Rifles: Ruger Model 77 Tang Safety in 7 X 57
CZ 452 in 22LR

Ammo: 7 x 57 Sellier & Bellot 173 grain soft nose conical flat shoulder
Federal .22LR supplied by Andrew

Animals hunted: Impala, Puku, Reedbuck, Bushpig, Warthog, Doves, Francolin, Guinea Fowl

Animals taken: Impala, Puku, Reedbuck, Doves, Francolin

Animals seen: Buffalo, Crocodile, Impala, Puku, Bushbuck, Hippo, Lion, Elephant, Lichtenstein's Hartebeest, Zebra, Oribi, Baboon, Kudu, Crawshy's Defassa Waterbuck, Roan, Sable, Bushpig, Warthog, Common Duiker, White tailed Mongoose, Warthog, Reedbuck, Sitatunga, more colorful birds than you could imagine.


Every journey starts with a single step. In this case the journey started 24 months ago, just about the time we got back from our first safari. How many people plan for the next safari while still on or just back from the last? I would wager quite a few. We were no different. Africa either just grabs you and doesn’t let go or it doesn’t. If it has a hold of you all you can do is give in and let it flow around you. In my case I have my wonderful husband who does all the planning, and he is meticulous in his research, can you say “anal retentive?”, and I just go along for the ride of a lifetime. He will ask me what about this or that. My answer is usually, “Whatever you decide will be good with me.” I am in it for the adventure, and adventure is what we had from the very beginning.

Now understand that although I shot handguns and rifles for years it wasn’t till we went to Africa in 2010 that I shot at anything but a stationary target at the range. That all changed with the visit to Johnny du Plooy’s camp in the Luangwa, Zambia. After Jim bagged out on day three of a seven day hunt (why do they call hunting difficult?) Johnny very kindly took me under his wing and showed me how to shoot off sticks and stalk animals. Yes we were only hunting birds with his CZ 22 but I was hooked. I will always be grateful to him for his patience and kindness.

When we returned to the states Jim bought me my very first rifle a CZ 22. Hint for the guys out there, this is a definite step up from the toaster or vacuum you were thinking of getting her for Christmas. However, if you were thinking of jewelry may I recommend the floating bones in gold after she shoots her lion?

But back to my CZ. Now all I had to do was figure out why I couldn’t see through the scope. OK, second hint. Men - bigger, longer arms, more muscle mass at the chest. Women - smaller, shorter arms, smaller deltoids, bigger tata's. After having three big guys tell me to stop rubber necking and just look through the scope which when I did all I could see was black we finally figured it out. The stock was too long. A visit with the gunsmith took care of that and some trigger issues and I was in business.

The next Christmas brought me my Tang Safety Ruger 7 X 57. Didn’t I tell you he was a wonderful husband? Same issues with the stock but we fixed that up right quick and I bonded with this tack driver. I’m still a little concerned about the weight (nine pounds with scope) but will think more about this now that I am back. Hint number three guys, it may not seem like nine pounds is much to you but remember the lighter is better maxim when we women have to trek around the bush and hold it up for a shot. You want her to enjoy the day, right? Ladies, I recommend you practice mounting the gun to your shoulder and carrying it on hikes before you go.


My beautiful Ruger.


Christmas 2011 also brought me the best gift ever. A trip to Gunsite in Arizona for a three day tutorial called Hunter Prep with nationally known instructor Il Ling. I went with an acquaintance Darin Nelson and came back with my new BFF. To say we had a good time is soooo understating the time together. Il Ling is a fantastic teacher. She took me, someone who had never shot at four legged critters, and made me comfortable that I could do so accurately. My personal belief is that I want to put the animal down as quickly as possible so they don’t suffer needlessly. I realize that this doesn’t always happen but I wanted to make the odds as much in my favor as I could.

Il Ling also taught me how to shoot from a kneeling and sitting position which came in handy as you will find out later. She also introduced me to the cheek pad. My face is narrow so this also affected how I was looking through the scope. In order to see clearly I had to hold my cheek slightly off the stock. Several times I got smacked in the jaw by the recoil. The cheek pad sorted this out, gave me a better weld point, and I haven’t had a problem with it since.



Entrance to Gunsite


Darrin (my new BFF) and Il Ling

Gunsite has different areas set up for targets or walking, stalking, shooting practice. The African Walk had life size animal targets at different distances that you would come upon as you walked along. You had to decide what shooting position you would use. If you hit the target in the kill zone you hear the “ding” of the gong. The advantage for a beginner like me is the game doesn’t run off while I’m setting up my shot. It was great practice and we have photos of the two lions I “bagged”. Let me tell you, that had Jim really worried. Il Ling also emphasized gun handling and safety which will make any PH happier. I would recommend Gunsite and Il Ling for both the novice and the experienced hunter who just wants a tune up before the trip.

Note to self. If I ever travel again with Darrin be sure to increase the money in my Champagne allowance. She likes Champagne as much as I do and that’s a lot!

Life marches on and the weeds in the flower bed call. More to come later.

Joyce;

You really did yourself proud with your attitude, hunting and shooting!

Your sat phone calls let me be "on safari" with you guys "vicariously"! I can't wait to read/see th rest of your report.

PS--It so much fun to drink champagne with you! And, I'm glad Andrew is such a great host as to have plenty on hand in camp!

Best regards, D. Nelson

quote:

Originally posted by D. Nelson:
Joyce;

PS--It so much fun to drink champagne with you! And, I'm glad Andrew is such a great host as to have plenty on hand in camp!

Best regards, D. Nelson

The champagne stocks were one of the first things I checked! Not to worry there was plenty of that and the port beer. I'll explain about port beer later on.

Cheers, Joyce

Welcome Joyce! You already have a reputation of being a crack shot around here.

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
Welcome Joyce! You already have a reputation of being a crack shot around here.

Thanks Ann.

Joyce

quote:

Originally posted by Aspen Hill Adventures:
Welcome Joyce! You already have a reputation of being a crack shot around here.

One of the things that keeps me in line.

The bad news, it’s raining. No not in Zambia, here at home. Now for the good news, this means the weeds came out easier and I can get back to the important things in life like writing this hunt report.

To get back to the story Jim and I saved up our airline miles till we had enough for a first class ticket. This is an advantage when traveling such long distances. It took 36 hours to get there and three days to get home due to layovers in London and Dallas. But I get ahead of myself.

Well we were packed for a month before leaving and repacked the Sunday before we left. If you pack ahead of time you may want to repack a few days before you leave in case you removed anything in the interim. This happened to a friend of mine and she arrived in Africa without some essential underwear. We also spread our clothes and ammunition among the bags in case some didn’t arrive. Note, the new British Air regulations say that the ammunition in your bag must match your rifle caliber.

Final tally:
Jim tuffpak 49 pounds Joyce tuffpak 49 pounds
Jim duffel 49 pounds Joyce duffel 49 pounds

Then the morning we were leaving Jim weighs his suitcase again (did I mention anal retentive) and now it weighs 51 pounds. So he grabs a shirt out and puts it in his carry on. As he goes through security at the airport he realizes, after TSA pulls his carry on off the conveyor belt, that his shirt weighed two pounds because it was wrapped around his leatherman. Oh well, there’s still mine...

As I enjoyed a cup of tea and a bagel before departure it really started to sink in, we’re going back to Africa. Hooray! We made sure the flight would go smoothly by hijacking some of the booze and snacks from the lounge. Just kidding.





There is just no getting around it. For most of us this is a looooong trip. Thirty six hours after departing from Alaska we landed in Lusaka, Zambia. Andrew met us at the airport and assisted with getting our bags thru customs.

The last leg of the trip was by charter in to a grass runway in Kafue National Park. Then a two hour drive to Mukuyu (Fig Tree) Camp. I would definitely recommend the charter over a five hour drive at the end of a long flight.





Home Sweet Home for the next 21 days.

I couldn’t have been more pleased with the accommodations. Andrew honored me by naming it “Joyce’s Chalet”. He thought of everything including a bench area under the window to make it easy to put on your boots, a chest of drawers and clothing pegs. Add to that the most important item a power strip so I could plug in my hairdryer and I could move in permanently. I did notice that the hairdryer made the lights dim so Andrew may want to consider a bigger generator before I come back.

Jim and I find mosquito nets to be very romantic. Every afternoon we took a “nap”. I love the pattern they make around the bed. It feels like you are enclosed in a safe cocoon.



Isn’t it romantic? We are thinking of purchasing one for our house!



The shower is larger than the one at home.



And it has hot and cold running water courtesy of Iran who fills the drums.




Boy, I really needed to clean up.

Our first full day in camp we got up early. Actually due to jet lag we were up at 0230 but lay in bed talking about all the work Andrew and Ben had done to make the camp as comfortable and aesthetically beautiful as it was. By 0500 we couldn’t stand it any longer and got up to wait by the fire for Bwana Andrew.

After a delicious cup of tea the first order of business was to sight in our rifles. After I shot two rounds into the piece of duct tape taped to the cardboard box while leaning on the hood of the truck I told Andrew I wanted to shoot off his sticks. The first shot went just to the left of the duct tape the second one we couldn’t see till we got closer.

Andrew, “You missed the cardboard all together”

Me, “No, here it is touching the hole from the bench shot.”

Andrew, “We are done here, let’s go hunting.”

You can read Jim’s hunt report to find out how the hunt for the waterbuck went, I’ll just add that walking on the reeds down by the river was like walking on a very thick goose down mattress. Stair stepper routine to the max. Jim said he thought we would never find the waterbuck and I agree. After a lot of work, crossed fingers and heart stopping moments Redson and Victor finally found him. What a relief...

The next day found us checking baits, boring, boring, boring (not) and driving around the southern part of the concession. This included a drive through the village of Kaindu.





I got to drive the truck!! OK so it was only for 400 meters and it was to distract the hartebeest while the guys did a stalk but hey! I got to drive the truck! Several blown stalks later Jim did get his hartebeest as he will tell you in his report. He is a great shot and was always able to drop his animals quickly. I hope when it is my turn I will be able to shoot as well. I’m feeling a bit nervous about shooting a four legged animal.

I do feel comfortable with shooting birds.



Saw this Francolin and couldn’t resist taking it.


Checking baits again the next morning and doing some drags. Have I mentioned how pleasant (NOT) it is to drive around with a bunch of decomposing guts in the back of the truck??? P.U. However as I explained to Andrew it is not as bad as some of the smells I come across at work (I’m a nurse in an ER), so I will tolerate it in order to be along on the adventure. And since I don’t have to help hang the baits or pull the guts out I consider it a bonus! Whatever they pay the trackers and game scouts who do this stuff, it’s not enough.

Andrew keeps warning us that lion hunting is monotonous and boring but we are finding each day to be different and exciting. After all we’re in Africa.

Well Sunday saw me fulfilling my role as bait babe. Andrew and I did a stalk on a herd of Impala. They knew we were approaching and seemed nervous so I took the shot off of sticks when we were quite far away. As we crouched behind a scrub bush he made sure I knew which animal and how he was standing. Andrew later told me it was a 200 yard shot. The shot went through the lungs and maybe the heart as the blood was bright red. The impala went down within 20 yards of being hit but was still sitting upright so Andrew had me take a follow up shot. The second shot went in behind the shoulder and exited the chest. Andrew told me they were both perfect shots.

I am so happy and relieved. It’s different when you’re looking through the scope at a living animal then it is when you’re shooting at a paper target. The whole idea of stalking up on an animal, especially one that knows you are there, getting up on sticks, taking the deep breath and trying to quiet your nerves before you slowly pull the trigger. There is no recoil and you barely hear the sound. You’re time is more limited. After all the animal isn’t going to stand there for long. Then the animal was down and I felt like I could breathe again.

Jim's only regret is that the bullet went straight through so he wasn't able to recover it. He wanted to know what the bullet would look like and whether it would retain it's weight since it was factory ammunition.

I felt like a "Mama Bear who just taught her cub to hunt" when you called and said you shot your first 4 legged critter!!!! Well Done!!!!!

A huntress (albeit already a bird hunter) is born!!!!

Best regards, D. Nelson

Joyce,

You guys are in SUCH deep doo-doo now. You have caught the worst possible case of the dreaded Africa bug.

Nice write up and excellent shooting.

Mark

Mark is right. I feel so bad for you.

quote:

Originally posted by twoseventy:
Mark is right. I feel so bad for you.

Both of you are sooooo kind. I think Jim will have to work a few more years to feed our habit.

Joyce's Annie Oakley School of Bird Hunting

Don't miss the surprise ending.

Big Ass Safari's. One evening we were sitting around the fire after another long “boring and monotonous” day and looking over photos on the computer. It was such a boring day because Jim had only shot a hartebeest and a roan that day. During the photo shoots a few shots of the asses were taken. This may be a “you had to be there” moment but we were in stitches over the whole idea. Was there alcohol involved. You betcha! Come to Royal Kafue Safari, home of the Big Ass Animals. So here it is, a quiz. Can you identify the animal by it’s big ass???? Take the test and see.























Hope you identified them all!

Dang, you're right! There are some big assed animals out there.

Buffalo in the long grass. Do you remember the movie Hatari! with John Wayne? One day we were riding along when we stumbled upon a herd of about 70 - 80 buffalo near the edge of the concession. Andrew decided to try and “herd” them back into the concession using the Cruiser. Apparently this involves racing along through the elephant holes which are hidden by the long grass at teeth rattling speeds. But it was successful and after 30 minutes or so the buffalo moved in the right direction.




There were some monsters in that herd.





We were returning to camp and hadn’t left the buffalo herd far behind when Victor and I heard a large animal moving in the tall grass. We could also see movement in the cover provided by the grass. Upon further inspection this turned out to be an injured buffalo. While Madam remained with the Cruiser, Jim, Andrew and Ben stood on an anthill (with Jim holding his trusty double), and Green climbed a tree to try and get a better look. With Green up in the tree the buffalo broke cover, luckily in the opposite direction from where we were all positioned, and took off limping across the dambo. The guys raced back to the vehicle and Green and Victor tracked it for over an hour. You would think that an injured animal couldn’t go that far that fast. No wonder they have a reputation as being hard to kill. In the end we never found it again and just had to notify the authorities so they could take care of it before it hurt someone. Even with all the patrols and game scouts there is still some poaching that takes place.

The next morning after a night filled with Malarone dreams, does anyone else experience them? All I can say about them is “WOW”. Like a full length movie that goes on all night. But I digress. The next morning brought with it another boring and monotonous day. It started out with porridge with wild honey. For those of you who have never tasted wild honey, well I feel sorry for you. It is truly nectar of the gods.

Then we were off to check baits. This was the morning Andrew spent under the cruiser after the tie rod broke. Could it have anything to do with the previous days herding of buffalo??? I’ll let you be the judge of that. It was all good with me though since I got to catch up on my journal and read more of a very good mystery I had loaded on my Kindle. All together a relaxing, restful morning, OK maybe Andrew feels differently...



I know Jim has mentioned the sacred cow in his report and I am here to tell you that he wasn’t exaggerating. Every time the word “cow” came up in a sentence something died.

The Reedbuck was no exception although I will tell you the truth. My first shot was high and totally missed the animal. It wasn’t that the distance was that great, just over 100 yds, in fact I can’t tell you why I missed. Andrew said the barrel of the rifle was doing figure eights. I don’t remember feeling particularly nervous and I didn’t feel pressured to take a quick shot. I do remember thinking, “Dang, I’ll never see this animal again.” But I was wrong.

A second stalk brought me about 130 yds away and this time I thought about what Jim had mentioned. “The sight pattern isn’t going to change. Once you are on the target take the shot.” Again time seemed to expand while I was on the sticks. It felt like I was looking through the scope for minutes but in reality it was only seconds. Your world becomes the view through the scope. A squeeze of the trigger and the Reedbuck jumped, ran about 10 yds and fell over. What a feeling. And what a beautiful animal.

Keep it coming Madam, were enjoying it greatly.

Eveyone misses its just part of it. I find when i am all racked up with adrenaline i dont concentrate enough. I am prone to shoot over the target when this happens.

Love the report... great looking Reedbuck!

One of the most entertaining reports I've read. Keep it coming. I will forward to Mrs Blacktailer.

Thank you for the kind words. I am pleased you are enjoying the stories. We sure enjoyed living them.

The elusive Puku. “Would you like to hunt a crocodile” asked Andrew. “NO” we responded in unison. This may have been due to the fact that a few weeks before we returned to Africa the full body mount of the Crocodile Jim had taken on our previous trip had arrived in our home. Note to self, full body mounts of African game are VERY big and VERY heavy, keep this in mind for future taxidermy requests. Luckily, at least for us, that same weekend we had friends visiting. Little did they know that the price of a visit was helping to hang the crocodile. Seven adults, four ladders, five tries and a lot of sweat later the dang thing was finally on the wall. Having made the happy decision that when we sell the house the crocodile is going with it we are firm in the belief that there will never be another one.




So I guess we are just left with doing the boring and monotonous things like driving around and looking at the amazing variety of game and bird life. The air here is so crisp it almost bubbles and having the sun shinning every day is amazing. Each day brings species we haven’t seen before on this trip and today was no different.







Four bull elephants were munching in the tree line as we drove past. None of them carrying large ivory which made me happy to tell the truth. I don’t care if Jim hunts an elephant, I just don’t want to be along when he does. Since I can’t explain this feeling I won’t try, but I know there are a lot of people out there, hunters among them, who feel the same way.





Why is it that PH’s across the board seem to respect and fear elephants more than other dangerous game? The answer seems to be that elephants are unpredictable but maybe there are other reasons out there.





That same day we saw a herd of puku but after a short stalk it was determined that the only male with the group was young. As always though I enjoyed the stalk. And it is good practice for the real thing.





The next drive we saw sable, zebra, hartebeest, waterbuck,and oribi. The Oribi look like they belong in a garden right beside the garden gnomes.






One of my all time favorites. Who doesn't love the warthog. They are so ugly they are cute.




The longer we are here the more game that we are seeing. I think it is due to how Andrew has managed his burns and of course because of the anti-poaching patrols.





In the early evening Andrew, Jim, Ben and I took a walk looking for some doves. As we strolled along with the leaves crunching underfoot I was amazed again at the variety of birds we were seeing including these two fish eagles.





Four shots from my .22 and we had enough birds for dove breast appetizers. Yummy.







The next day we decided to move one of the lion baits. When we were rehanging the bait (yes, that is the royal “we” as you couldn’t get me to touch that thing for a million bucks. Again I say that whatever they are paying these guys it isn’t enough). Anyway in same tree is a big bee hive completely covered on the outside with bees. Andrew told us it’s too cold for them and that’s why they aren’t flying around and stinging us. Too cold? I’m down to my last layer and sweating and it’s not noon yet.





This brings up the fact that Andrew teased me the whole safari because of the number of jackets I wore. “You already took off three jackets and you still have more on,” he was fond of saying. OK so I usually had five layers of shirts and jackets on with hats and gloves, at least I never complained I was cold or had to go back to sit by the fire. So there!

But that day I was down to my shirt and the bees were too cold. I wonder how warm it has to get before they start moving around?

We did have a wonderful stalk on a fine puku. The herd knew we were there and the females were nervous. They would race off with the male seemingly reluctantly trailing behind and we would start another stalk. Finally I got a chance for a clear shot and got up on the sticks. The crosshairs were jumping all over the place. I couldn’t get them to settle and I kept thinking, “they are going to take off any second.” Well I took the shot and missed.


On one hand I would rather miss completely than hit the animal poorly but on the other I am pissed at myself for missing. I later realized that for some unknown reason I had the power on my scope turned up to seven instead of the usual four I keep it at. At least I know why it was so hard to get the crosshairs to settle down.

For the next five days we never saw hide or hair of this group of pukus. In fact it became the joke around camp that Jim had already gotten his roan, sitatunga, buffalo and sable but we couldn’t find the elusive and rare puku.

But finally on day five as we drove about a half mile out of camp we ran into a herd of three females with the young male. They ran to the left into a little grove of trees. We leapt from the truck to stalk after them. Suddenly, four females ran back out of the grove and off to the right. They were followed by the big male puku I missed earlier. Andrew got me up on the sticks immediately and I took the shot. This time there was no jumping of the crosshairs, the shot felt good and so did the placement. One shot and the puku took off at a flat run with us in close pursuit.

We walked up to where he had been standing and within a few feet we saw blood on the grass. Within another few feet we saw more and more bright red blood. The puku was lying on it’s side within 20 yds of where I hit it with a through and through shot that got both lungs. Jim however keeps saying the same thing, “we aren’t ever going to retrieve a bullet.”




One of Andrew's best photos. I love the whole composition!!

Joyce,

Nice puku! They are not the sharpest pencil in the box but they make a very pretty mount.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Joyce,

Nice puku! They are not the sharpest pencil in the box but they make a very pretty mount.

Mark

That Puku was a genius compared to the Sable I shot.

Sable always just stand there, not to brite. Maybe I'll try and fill the next croc with Helium. Only took two of us to hang it in my shop! LOL!

This is a fun read Madam keep it coming please, and very nice reedbuck by the way.

Soo, I have a 20 km walk back to my house in the rain after being out drinking here in Sweden.. Still have dumb smile on my face after watching the lion kabuki video on my iPhone. Hope to meet y'all in a near future.

Keep well

Anton

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:
Soo, I have a 20 km walk back to my house in the rain after being out drinking here in Sweden.. Still have dumb smile on my face after watching the lion kabuki video on my iPhone. Hope to meet y'all in a near future.

Keep well

Anton

Anton,

Anytime you are in Alaska our home is your home. It might cost you an autographed picture of your choice though and if you drink too much here we might make a video of you and post it on youtube.

Cheers
Jim

Joyce, excellent pictures! Keep em coming! Congratulations on what appears to be the hunt of a lifetime

Drummond

quote:

Originally posted by drummondlindsey:
Joyce, excellent pictures! Keep em coming! Congratulations on what appears to be the hunt of a lifetime

Drummond

What he said,

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Joyce,

Nice puku! They are not the sharpest pencil in the box but they make a very pretty mount.

Mark

Mark,

It certainly seems like the males are a little bit slower on the uptake than the females.

Joyce

quote:

Originally posted by little miss:

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Joyce,

Nice puku! They are not the sharpest pencil in the box but they make a very pretty mount.

Mark

Mark,

It certainly seems like the males are a little bit slower on the uptake than the females.

Joyce

Good thing it's not that way with humans.

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:
Soo, I have a 20 km walk back to my house in the rain after being out drinking here in Sweden.. Still have dumb smile on my face after watching the lion kabuki video on my iPhone. Hope to meet y'all in a near future.

Keep well

Anton

Anton,

Would love to meet you too. 20 km walk in the rain? Dang don't you have taxi's in Sweden?

Joyce

quote:

Originally posted by drummondlindsey:
Joyce, excellent pictures! Keep em coming! Congratulations on what appears to be the hunt of a lifetime

Drummond

Drummond,

Thanks. Hopefully not the only hunt of a lifetime but definately a winner. "Dream like you are going to live forever, live like you are going to die tomorrow"

Cheers,

Joyce

My next career. Driving back to camp we spotted a warthog kneeling and eating on the edge of a burn. Now this hog was about 300 yards away and between us and it were exactly two scrubby thin trees and I use the word “tree” very loosely here, a more appropriate term might be two scrubby thin twigs. Andrew and I started a stalk with me walking directly behind him. Every time the warthog looked our way we froze. When Andrew took a step I was right behind him in the same footprint. In this manner we crept closer and closer, step, freeze, step, freeze. Then we got near enough and it became apparent, “he” was a “she”, a big, old she but none the less a girl. Still it was fun sneaking up that close.




Jim took this shot from the cruiser right before we started the stalk. The small grey center dot in front of the far trees is the warthog. The near tree is the size of one we were “hiding” behind.


So I’m sure you are asking yourself what my new career path will be. Well I have it narrowed down to two. My first choice (and at this time I have to ask any fire fighters reading this to skip the next few paragraphs) is as a pyromaniac.

The lion is down and Andrew wanted to clear out some of the long grass. Since he had to send out camp staff every day to gather more wood for the fire pit, by now Andrew had figured out that Jim and I love a good fire.

So one morning we drove off from camp, he handed us each a lighter and said walk in and light it up on your way back. I’m sure in his mind he meant walk in a few yards, buttttt since we had plausible deniability we walked and walked and walked. Once the truck was out of sight we started to light up the grass. Whee ha. A pyromaniac is born. I’m talking flames shooting 20 feet into the air, fire erupting everywhere and a noise like a jet engine. It was to our advantage that there was a good breeze blowing as this made the fire race on and on. It would race through the tall grass so fast that the leaves on the trees and the trees themselves never caught fire.

That evening as we sat around the fire pit we could still see the fire burning in the distance. That particular fire, yes there were more, lasted eight hours.

Who doesn’t love a good fire.





As we left the area we shot this video. It will give you an idea of the explosion of the flames. Burn baby burn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZsLs_HX0SQ

My second choice for career change is as the local weatherman.

Anchor: So Joyce what is the forecast for tomorrow?

Me: Tomorrow morning expect it to be misty and cool in the morning in the high 40’s with clearing by 7:30 a.m. Then we will have blue skies and sunshine for the rest of the day with temps in the high 70’s to low 80’s.

I could record that once and they could just replay it for three months. What a cushiony job. Of course it wouldn’t be as exciting as the pyro job but I would have lots of free time. Hummmm.


Every day here is different and every day is busy and amazing. I don’t have any idea why anyone would say that lion hunting is boring.

Besides all the wonderful wildlife we were seeing more and more of there was an amazing plethora of flowers.














Tonight we heard the lions in camp again. This is the first time since Jim shot his lion two days ago. Before this we had heard the lions off and on sometimes loud and close to camp and sometimes far away for days. Since we had an infestation of lions we weren’t surprised to hear them so often.

The three lions, two male and one female traveling with the male Jim shot took off through the long grass just as he shot the Kafue brute. Now we could hear one of them “omph” again right behind camp. It seemed to come from the area where the lion died. Suddenly we heard a scream. Jim thought it sounded human it was so loud and close but I think it was a cry of anguish and grief from one of the lions. “NOOOOOO”. All the puku in the field in front of camp started whistling then everything went silent. You will probably think I am personifying but I will never forget that sound.

Since we got back it's been difficult to focus on my life here. There are just too many memories and experiences to absorb them all quickly. I wish I could relive every minute in Africa (at least the ones when I wasn't asleep) and re-wind, re-watch, and re-experience them.

Joyce, there is only one cure for what you're going through....

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
Joyce, there is only one cure for what you're going through....

And that would be? To feed the addiction??

Joyce

quote:

Originally posted by little miss:

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
Joyce, there is only one cure for what you're going through....

And that would be? To feed the addiction??

Joyce

Fortunately yes! A simple cure...unlike a drug addiction, here you can go to a "clinic" you actually enjoy going to...

quote:

Originally posted by Esskay:

quote:

Originally posted by little miss:

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
Joyce, there is only one cure for what you're going through....

And that would be? To feed the addiction??

Joyce

Fortunately yes! A simple cure...unlike a drug addiction, here you can go to a "clinic" you actually enjoy going to...

Love it. My only problem is that getting my "fix" is too far apart. I'm just going to have to get my fix from reading this forum.

Joyce

quote:

Originally posted by little miss:

quote:

Originally posted by Esskay:

quote:

Originally posted by little miss:

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
Joyce, there is only one cure for what you're going through....

And that would be? To feed the addiction??

Joyce

Fortunately yes! A simple cure...unlike a drug addiction, here you can go to a "clinic" you actually enjoy going to...

Love it. My only problem is that getting my "fix" is too far apart.

Joyce

Work overtime!!

quote:

Originally posted by Esskay:

A simple cure...unlike a drug addiction, here you can go to a "clinic" you actually enjoy going to...

Now that was funny!! I may have to steal that.