One Heck Of A Ride

83 Greater kudu bull with 52-inch horns was taken while hunting from Hippo Valley Lodge. Zimbabwe, 1981 From left: Tracker “Gappi,” author and professional hunter Chris Hallamore with author’s sable antelope at Antionette Ranch in western Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 1981 I shot a black-backed jackal before brunch the next day, and a big bull kudu with 52-inch horns late in the afternoon. The next day was my last at Hippo Valley, and I spent the morning shooting francolin, a large African partridge. For a celebratory dinner that evening, Giovanni prepared the klipspringer I’d shot earlier in the week. It was delicious! There had been some trouble finding enough aviation fuel, but it was resolved before Chris and I boarded a charter flight to Hwange National Park on the far western side of the country the next morning. We were greeted by one of Peter Johnstone’s friends when we landed and he drove us to Hwange Safari Lodge for lunch. A skirmish with guerillas in Hwange a couple of days before we arrived had caused fires that still were burning as we drove to “Antoniette,” Peter’s 44,000-acre property. A half hour after passing a Zimbabwe Army convoy, we turned off the main road and came upon a herd of sable antelope near Antoniette’s gate. I took it as a good omen. We said goodbye to Peter’s friend and carried our gear into an old house that had been headquarters for a failed cattle operation. Chris said there were buffalo and elephant in the area, so I unpacked both of my rifles and joined him and the camp’s head tracker, a man named “Gappi,” outside at a vintage Land Rover that obviously was Chris’s pride and joy. It had detachable doors and a canvas top, and had been used by the Red Cross early in its life, he said. The first order of business was to check the sights of my .458 Winchester Magnum and confirm it still was on target after traveling to the other side of the world. (I had found this .458 Winchester Magnum safari grade Model 70 Winchester rifle in a Shotgun News ad. When I called the seller in the Midwest, he said he didn’t know how much to ask and suggested I shoot it and make him an offer. I was surprised to see the rifle and its scope were like new. When I called him to say I wanted to buy it, he said to send him $100.00. I wasted no time getting a check in the mail.) There was no generator or lanterns at the house, so we showered and ate by candlelight. It was winter and there was no heat except for a fireplace in the main room, so I piled on wool blankets that night. A giraffe and a young sable bull greeted us as Chris, head tracker Gappi, another tracker and I were driving to a blind at the edge of a large “pan” (meadow) just after first light the next morning. Our vehicle’s starter had been giving him problems, so Chris parked on a slight grade where we could push the truck to get its engine started and walked a quarter of mile to a blind where we sat for four hours without seeing the big