Note: The * behind the listed animal indicates that it qualified for the record book.

Our first hunters of 2007 were 2 sets of brothers and they were all childhood friends.

LOUIS & FRANK ARANDA – California

Animals taken

Louis – Zebra, Blesbok*, Impala, Blue Wildebeest*, Warthog*, Kudu (54”)

Frank – 2 – Gemsbok, Blue Wildebeest*, Blesbok*, Warthog*, Impala*, Kudu

Highlights:

Luis discovered that sometimes real patience is a virtue in safari hunting and this was proven with his Blesbok hunt.  His PH was able to pick out an extremely nice Blesbok; however he was in the middle of a herd of 30 – 40 animals.  They couldn’t get any closer than 230 yards without spooking the herd so they just settled down and waited until a shot presented itself.  It seemed like forever before the Blesbok walked to the edge of the herd, but when he did Luis made a perfect shot and had his record book trophy.

Another extreme case of patience came for his brother Frank.  Frank had hunted hard for 9 days and was not able to get a shot on a mature Kudu.  The last day Pieter joined them in their pursuit to help spot the elusive animal as Frank didn’t relish the thought of being the first client that didn’t have the opportunity to take this grand animal.  They hunted hard and it was getting late in the day when Frank saw a kudu bull looking at him from under a tree.  Neither his PH or Pieter had seen the bull and Frank pointed out its location to them.  Thinking that it again was too small he was surprised when they told him to shoot.  He hesitated at first but with renewed emphasis by his PH, he remembered that it is best to take his advice.  The only shot that he had was at the base of its neck as the rest of the animal was hidden by bushes.  That one shot was perfect and not only did Frank’s patience pay off, he was rewarded with an exceptional animal.

Frank’s Gemsbok hunt was unusual and I’m going to include his story here.  “We saw this Gemsbok early in the morning on the 1st day of our hunt.  He was on the trail eating so my PH and I decided to make a stalk on it.  Our plan was to walk along the inside of the trail.  When we thought we were inside of 100 yards of him our plans were to step out and take the shot.  Well, it didn’t work out that way.  While we were walking toward him, the Gemsbok ended up walking toward us.  While we were still in the bush, the Gemsbok trotted right by us at 10 yards.  There was no way to get a shot because we didn’t see him till he trotted right by us.  Later that morning as we were departing the same area with my brother’s Zebra in the back of the bakkie, we spotted the same Gemsbok again.  This time we kept him in sight during our stalk and at 100 yards I took my shot.  Even though I hit him hard with my .375, he did not go down.  It merely walked to the other side of the trail and stood there.  My second shot put him on the ground.”

Luis was also amazed that some of these animals didn’t go right down with a well placed shot from a high power rifle.  His Warthog took a hard shot right behind the shoulder from his .338 with a 210 grain bullet.  At the shot the Warthog just took off.  They found him about 40 yards into the bush though.

ANTHONY & DAN ABERNETHY – California

Animals taken

Anthony – Blue Wildebeest*, Blesbok*, Warthog, Impala*, Zebra, Kudu (56”)

Dan – Impala, Blesbok*, Blue Wildebeest*, Black Backed Jackal, Gemsbok*, Warthog*, Kudu

Highlights:

Making a video of your safari is becoming more and more popular with everyone.  Naturally you can’t get everything on film but Dan did a great job of filming Anthony’s safari and I was fortunate to receive a copy of this from them.  There were a couple of great shots filmed of Anthony taking a couple of his trophies.  There was an excellent sequence of him taking his Warthog and even though it was a perfect shot, you are amazed that the animal can take off and run like it did.  There was one scene of animals coming into a water hole and I have never seen so many animals in one spot at one time.  It started out with a bunch of Impala and I believe there were close to 100 Impala at the water hole at the same time.  Others that they filmed there were Blue Wildebeest, Waterbuck, Eland, Zebra and of course Warthog’s.

They both took some excellent trophies and Anthony’s Blue Wildebeest was one of the largest that we have ever taken.  This was a very frustrating hunt for Anthony as it involved an extended tracking period, however it was more than worth it in the end.  Although Dan’s Kudu is not listed above as a record book animal, it may also qualify depending on the thickness of the bases.  Dan also had a very frustrating hunt with his Gemsbok on the 4th day of his safari.  I know personally how sometimes they seem to be invisible.  He ended up shooting an outstanding one on the final day of his safari which was also one of the largest taken in quite a while.  Dan said that Beatrix’s cooking was fantastic and even with a lot of walking every day he still put on 5 pounds.

Click HERE
to see photos of this group's hunt.

MATT BOSOWSKI & his wife DEBRA – New Hampshire

Animals taken – Impala*, Kudu (51”), Blue Wildebeest*, Black Backed Jackal

Highlights:

The Bosowski’s visited us last year at about the same time with a group of their friends and couldn’t wait for their return visit.  I think they have found their perfect vacation spot as they are booked again for another visit in 2008.  Being used to some of the pranks that Pieter has pulled on them, this year when he returned he told me to pass on to Pieter that his cell phone was on top of the Elk mount in the Lappa.  It’s heartwarming to hear of a good prank pulled on Pieter.  Matt is a man of few words when it comes to his hunting adventures.  He did say that his favorite hunt was for his Kudu.  His complete story was “Climbed hill, shot Kudu.”  I will try to get some more of his stories from our PH’s and I will put them on here when I get them.

BEN BOSOWSKI (Matt & Debra’s son) – New Hampshire

Animals taken – Gemsbok, Kudu (53 1/8”) Eland*, Black Backed Jackal

 Highlights:

ROBERT GALLANT – New Hampshire

& his daughter CAROL – Texas

Animals taken – Eland*, Warthog, Kudu, Black Backed Jackal

Highlights:

Robert was with the group from last year and was excited to be able to bring his daughter along with him this year.  Carol stated that the housekeeping staff was really great and wished that she could do as well herself.  I think she may be back with the group again next year as she said it was the best vacation of her life.

KEN BERRY – New Hampshire

Animals taken – KUDU***(64 ¾”, the largest ever taken at Cruiser’s and the pending #6 of all time in the SCI record book), Waterbuck*, Impala*, Warthog, Red Hartebeest*

Highlights:

Ken joined this group for the first time this year and as was the saying on a favorite sports show on TV, he experienced both “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”.  As with any other hunting that takes place the world around, you just never know what is going to happen during a safari hunt, but Ken has experienced what other hunters have spent their whole life trying to accomplish and he did this on his first African Safari.

Ken’s safari started on a high note with him taking a Waterbuck that was tied with the largest one ever taken at Cruiser’s.  The next day he was able to take a record book Impala and everything looked good for him.  Then it was time for the “agony of defeat”.  His next opportunity came on a Kudu.  An obstruction prevented the shot that he wanted to take, however he found what he thought was a good spot and pulled the trigger.  At the shot the Kudu gave a jump and then took off.  It was a hit but there was little blood and the tracking continued until dark.  He stated that it was a very somber ride back to camp.  The next day they returned with the tracking dog but the whole day was spent in doing that, just tracking.  While the tracking continued Ken went to another property to continue his hunting.  On this property they found another Kudu and he decided to try for this one.  Again Lady Luck was not with him and the tracking started all over again.  I’m sure you can imagine what Ken was feeling at this time, but in his depression Lady Luck decided it was time to smile on him.  The staff had located his first Kudu and they rushed to the spot to claim his trophy.  Arriving at the scene Craig his PH took a quick look and thought that his trophy would measure at least 56’ – 57”,  but with a quick hand measurement he was sure that it was larger than that.  Getting excited about the size, Craig rushed back to the bakkie to retrieve a tape measure.  Everyone was shocked when the tape revealed that the Kudu actually measured 64 6/8”.  A Kudu of this size was beyond the proverbial “Holy Grail” in size.  After double checking and triple checking the measurements they just had to radio Pieter to let him know about this monster.  You can imagine the excitement when they arrived back at camp with not only the largest Kudu ever taken but the new (pending) #6 of all time in the SCI record book.  Congratulations to Ken on this remarkable trophy and I’m sure that he will always be remembered as the one who took the largest Kudu ever at Cruiser’s.

On a sad note, they never recovered Ken’s 2nd Kudu during his stay, however Lady Luck continued to smile on him as he went on to take the largest Red Hartebeest at Cruiser’s (although unlike his record on his Kudu, this new record is bound to be broken by another hunter in the not too distant future).  On the last day of his safari Ken finished up his hunting by taking a very respectable Warthog.

Click HERE
to see photos of this group's hunt.

SCOTT HESS – Pennsylvania

Animals taken – Impala*, Gemsbok, Kudu*

Highlights:

(Safari details not available at this time)

Sorry, there are no photos of Scott's hunt available.

DAN NEWHOUSE & TAMMY OLIVER – Maryland

Animals taken – Blue Wildebeest*, Waterbuck*, Impala*, Red Hartebeest, Gemsbok*, Kudu (55 ¼”), Warthog, Blesbok*

Highlights:

(Safari details not available at this time)

Sorry, there are no photos of Dan's hunt available.

RANDY ORZALLI – California

Animals taken – Kudu (53”), Gemsbok, Impala*, Warthog

BRUCE THOMAS – California

Animals taken – Impala*, Warthog*, Gemsbok, Kudu (52”)

Highlights:

(Safari details not available at this time)

Sorry, there are no photos of Randy & Bruce's hunt available.

GARY EATON & KATHI NOONAN – Rhode Island

Animals taken

Gary – Eland*, Blue Wildebeest*, Bushbuck*, Nyala*, Black Backed Jackal

Kathi – 2 – Impala ewes, Kudu (51 ¼”), Impala*, Red Hartebeest, Warthog*

Highlights:

Gary & Kathi had hunted with Cruiser’s in 2005 and were excited about their return visit.  As a “seasoned” African traveler, Kathi anticipated their wait in the terminal for their departure to Africa and had packed a homemade lunch for both of them.  She had carefully triple bagged her pickle slices as not to contaminate Gary’s sandwich.  After opening the bag at the airport and removing one of the pickles for her sandwich she placed the bag on the seat without sealing them again.  The bag leaked and soaked her backside making her smell like a pickle for the whole trip to Africa.  This must have been an omen of the future concerning her pants as on one of her hunts she tore her pants on some thorns.  Fortunately our staff not only was able to get rid of the pickle smell, but mended the torn ones for her also.

Gary’s first day on safari started out perfect for him.  An Eland was top priority for him and while they were having lunch in the bush, Jacques took a little walk to see what was nearby.  A call to Pieter (who was also along) on the 2-way radio sent both him and Gary heading in Jacques direction.  Pieter had taken the video camera from Kathi (who decided to stay behind as to not interfere with the stalk) and was able to film the entire hunt, much to everyone’s enjoyment later.  When Gary initially shot the Eland took off with everyone in hot pursuit.   Gary was not watching where he was going and only spotted a thorn bush in front of him at the last minute.  He tried to go around the bush but the thorns grabbed his shirt.  He then tried to spin out of its clutches only to have his foot sink into the soft sand, which in turn caused Gary to make what everyone agreed, a perfect swan dive and ended up landing in the thorn bush on his backside with the barrel of his rifle sticking in the sand.  Luckily Pieter was able to catch the whole event on film and later everyone at the camp agreed that the dive rated a 9.5.

I must add another humorous story here concerning one of the trackers for Gary’s Nyala hunt.  The tracker had asked his wife to make him some lunch and she replied that they didn’t have any food available at the time.  I’m sure that he was just a little irritated at the time and left telling his wife just to butcher one of the chickens.  When they returned at lunch time he discovered that his wife had dispatched his favorite chicken.  He was extremely upset at discovering his favorite was no longer with him but the ribbing that he took from the rest of the crew turned the whole episode into a very funny story to be told again and again.  Gary felt bad about this particular chicken and during the rest of his safari he kept his eyes open for a replacement for him.

Kathi’s Kudu was the first male animal that she had ever taken and they celebrated this special occasion with the traditional smearing of the animals blood on the face of the successful hunter.  Although this was a great hunt she said that her most memorable hunt was the one for her Warthog.  They had spent the better part of the day looking for a good trophy and were about to give up when Jacques spotted a Warthog that had just stood up in the bush.  Jacques yelled “It’s a Monster Pig!” and immediately Kathi got her gun up for the shot, making a perfect shot on one of the largest Warthogs taken at Cruiser’s.

Gary’s most memorable hunt was for his Bushbuck.  This story is in Gary’s words.  “Jacques and I set out to a property directly across the river from where we had hunted Bushbuck on 2 previous days.  This property was a classic river bottom with open meadow interspersed with tree lines.  The meadows were grass and low brush to about waist high.  We had been still hunting for 2 hours and things were looking bleak.  We stopped to take a break but kept scanning the meadows.  All of a sudden Jacques said ‘There he is’.  When I looked all I saw was the Bushbuck horns above the grass at 90 yards.  Jacques set up the shooting sticks and I got ready for the shot.  As I looked thru the scope the Bushbuck stretched his neck so I could see the white patch on his throat.  I did not want to ruin the cape so I lowered my hold by about 6 inches into the grass.  The sight picture was perfect when the trigger broke.  I chambered another round and shouldered the rifle.  Jacques was shaking me and laughing, all the while saying ‘He’s down for it’.  We ran to the Bushbuck which had spun from the impact of the shot but had dropped to the spot it had been standing.”

Gary had completed the goal of his safari by obtaining the 4 spiral horned animals of the region and couldn’t have been happier and Kathi topped off her safari with an Elephant Back Safari ride.  A perfect ending to a perfect safari for the both of them.  They plan on a return visit in 2009.

Click HERE
to see photos of Gary & Kathi's hunt.

DEAN & MARY SHOUP – Ohio

Animals taken

Dean – Blue Wildebeest*, Zebra, Warthog*, Kudu, Gemsbok*, Blesbok*, Baboon, Vervet Monkey

Mary – Steenbok*, Warthog*, Kudu, Gemsbok, Blesbok*

Highlights:

(Safari details not available at this time)

Click HERE
to see photos of Dean & Mary's hunt.

KEVIN & TERESA MCGOWAN – Georgia

Animals taken – Impala*, Gemsbok*, Kudu*

Highlights:

Kevin really enjoyed the meals with wild game as his favorite.  One night he asked Beatrix what was planned for dinner that night and she replied that they were having chicken.  Kevin told her that he was hoping for something wild to which Beatrix replied, “It was a Wild Chicken!”  One of Pieter’s favorite jokes to play on people is to put a brick in their backpack before they go out hunting.  He did this to Kevin but he found it before they had walked anywhere.  However Teresa saw one of these bricks at a water hole one day and wondered how long the hunter had walked with it in his backpack.

Relating hunting stories are sometimes best told by the hunter themselves.  This is Kevin’s Kudu hunt.  “While walking to a water hole, we came to a road and looked up to glance a herd of Impala followed by something very big and dark.  We got behind some cover and had a better look.  The something big and dark turned out to be a shooter Kudu bull.  While Teresa stayed behind a tree, Craig and I took off towards the herd and the Kudu.  After a couple hundred yards we stuck our noses and binoculars back down the road only to see the Kudu bull walk into the bush about a hundred yards away to the right.  After a few choice words, Craig and I proceeded up the road to pick up the track when suddenly Impala started crossing the road in a hurry back to the left.  We ducked back behind cover and watched the Kudu cross as well.  We proceeded toward the herd, stopping and looking, seeing a few Impala, when they all started running back across the road to the right.  Craig and I got into position with the shooting sticks and sure enough the Kudu followed the Impala back across the road.  Craig whistled to stop the bull and he did.  I found the Kudu in the scope and after rounding his shoulder a couple of times with the cross hairs, I found the center and touched off the shot.  The Kudu took off running but we found him down and out only 40 yards away.  This was my last day and the best shot of the trip”.

Click HERE
to see photos of Kevin & Teresa's hunt.

CURTIS WORLAND – Alaska

Animals taken – Impala*, Gemsbok, Steenbok*, Blue Wildebeest, Duiker*

Highlights:

Curtis said that Pieter must play darts all of the time but he should let his clients win once in a while.  With pranks being pulled all of the time, Curtis got his revenge one day at lunch when Pieter PH fell asleep.  When he felt that he was in a very deep sleep he took the opportunity to pour some water on him.  Pieter was wide awake after that but had a tough time climbing into the bakkie as Curtis had moved the seat all of the way forward also.

His favorite hunt was for his Blue Wildebeest.  They were in the mountain property when they spotted a nice herd of them and they began their stalk.  As it seems always happens, the herd spotted them and took off.  They caught back up to them and Pieter said to shoot one.  But in their haste and confusion, Curtis didn’t know which one he was talking about.  He asked which one and was told to take the one that was looking at them.  Naturally while this was all being sorted out the herd took off again.  Finally he had a nice clear shot of @ 80 yards and shot it in the shoulder.  The Blue Wildebeest looked like it was falling down but instead took off again.  They spent the next 30 minutes tracking the animal only to find that it had gone into a thick thorn patch.  Because it was so thick where the animal was they thought it was a better idea for the PH and the hunter to stay outside the thorn patch for a clean shot and sent their tracker Isaac in to chase it out.  That plan backfired as rather than chasing the Wildebeest out of the thorn patch, the Blue Wildebeest ended up chasing Isaac out of the patch.  Finally a finishing shot was made on the Wildebeest and both Curtis and especially Isaac were greatly relieved.

One of the highlights of his safari was having lunch right next to where some Giraffes were eating and to watch 5 young Impala’s playing within 20 yards of them at the same time.  Now that’s a lunch with a view!!

Click HERE
to see photos of Curtis's hunt.

DAN CAMILLERI – Washington

Animals taken – Kudu (52”), Gemsbok*, Blesbok*, Impala*, Black Backed Jackal, Steenbok*, Blue Wildebeest*

Highlights:

A story by Dan Camilleri:

 My Hunt for a big wildebeest

 After three and a half days of hunting I had taken five mature trophy animals, each one only took one well placed shot to bring down.  Keeping my bank account in mind, I told Hans, my PH, that we would hunt for a wildebeest, but that we would go for a monster (gold metal).

That afternoon we started our quest to find that special wildebeest, we had probably glassed 400 animals by day three (my last hunting day).  That last morning we spotted a herd of about 10 animals some 400 yards away.  The wind was in our face so we began a stalk that would take us through thick brush and culminate with an 80 yard shot on a huge (gold medal) wildebeest.  This is when Hans showed his tracking expertise.

When we initially saw this bull he was looking at us from about 80 yards through what seemed like a tunnel, framed by acacia and other thorny brush.  Hans quickly confirmed it was the one we had been looking for.  I had rehearsed in my mind, time and time again where I would place the shot to provide a quick kill just as I had done many times before.  But as I steadied the gun against a small tree all I saw was a huge wildebeests' midsection as he was walking out of my shooting window.  With his vitals no longer in view, my emotions took charge and although I had told myself I wouldn't do it, I squeezed the trigger.  I immediately turned to Hans in disgust letting him know that I was sure I hit him high in the gut area.

We made our way to the spot were he had stood and could not find any blood.  We only found the tracks of about 10 wildebeest running like heck.  Hans questioned if he was even hit.  We went back to the tree I shot from and carefully walking forward looked at all potential branches that may have altered the bullet’s course - nothing.  Hans called Frakkie (sp) on the radio and asked for his help.  Within a few minutes Frakkie found a single drop of blood about 10 yards from the impact site.  We tracked the herd for about a mile finding one other spot of blood about 50 yards from the first.  At this point I was feeling like a real chump for taking the shot.  I felt the likelihood of finding this animal was about zero.  It was at about this point when Hans asked Frakkie to go back to the truck and check the adjacent road in the area looking for a lone wildebeest track.  Hans thought was that the wounded animal may have been unable to keep up with the herd and took a different route.

About a half hour later Frakkie calls on the radio that he has found a lone track crossing the road.  Hans and I made our way to that spot, the track showed a big wildebeest moving in the opposite direction from the rest of the herd.  Hans began to follow the track with me following closely behind him.  We had not gone more than 75 yards into the brush when we came upon a pool of splattered blood on the ground about four inches in diameter.  The frustration and disappointment I had been feeling for the poor shot immediately gave way to excitement and anticipation in finding the big wildebeest.  Hans had told me just a few minutes earlier that if we can find the individual animal’s track to follow and confirm it is the right one with blood, we would find him.  With that, Hans continued to follow the track with me close behind looking ahead in an effort to either spot the animal laying down or stop a charge if it decided that was its best option.  We had gone about 600 yards without seeing any more blood.  Hans continued forward with his head down looking at the tracks and visualizing the animal as it wound its way around the acacia and other brush.  I found myself questioning whether it was even possible to track an animal this far in sandy soil, with a multitude of other animal tracks indiscriminately crossing those that he was so intently following.  It was at about this point as we wound around another acacia, I noticed blood on a small leaf, thus validating much to my amazement that Hans was still on the right track.  It was at about that point he told me the animal wanted to bed down given the route it was taking and the way it was moving.  We continued on another twenty yards or so and as we made our way around another thorny bush Hans stopped, then slowly crouched down and pointed forward.

There in a maze of brush was the outline of our wildebeest, lying down facing away from us.  He looked huge, more like a buffalo than a wildebeest.  Moving very slowly and deliberately I tried several different vantage points looking for a clear shooting window that would allow me to hit the vitals, to no avail.  He then turned his head our direction as he must have heard or winded us.  I froze, he finally turned back and I took the only shot I had, quartering through his left side and out high in the opposite shoulder.  He wobbled to his feet and disappeared.  I was amazed and awed at the pounding it could take from the 300 magnum.  We walked to where he had been bedded, and again couldn't find any blood.  The big guy was no where to be seen.  Hans picked up the track again and after another couple hundred yards we saw him about 200 yards ahead slowly walking directly away from us in a relatively open area.  We worked our way beside him and from about 30 yards I was finally able to see the heart lung region and used two quick shots to finally put and end to the chase.

Hans and I stared at the big beast, we then looked at each other in awe of the magnificent animal we had taken.  We took a quick measurement; he was 29 1/4 wide with big bosses.  He was bigger than I ever could have imagined.  Hans exclaimed - Gold medal!  A few minutes passed as we just stared at the big guy and let the events of the day sink in.

Hans then left to get the truck.  I stood there alone looking at the wildebeest, coming to grips with the emotional roller coaster we had just been through, my excitement dampened by the suffering I had put the big guy through.  At the end all I could do was thank the Lord for such a beautiful animal.

Click HERE
to see photos of Dan's hunt.

HANS-JURGEN RUD – Germany

Animals taken – Kudu (51 ½”), Blue Wildebeest*, Warthog*, Impala*, Steenbok, 2 – Female Impalas

ELFRIEDE (ELFI) RUD (Hans’ wife) – Germany

Animals taken – Impala

MATTHIAS RUD (Hans brother) – Germany

Animals taken – Kudu*, Blue Wildebeest*, 2 - Impala*, Warthog*, Gemsbok, Blesbok*, Steenbok*, 2 – Female Impalas

Highlights:

I’m going to start their story a little different and tell you about a video that they sent me when they returned.  I know it’s not fair to just describe the video to you without being able to show it to you but I think its mention will help others that are also planning on doing this while they are there.  Naturally since they all hunted together it made it a little easier to film but their video captures what I consider the total essence and feeling of not only their safari but any safari in general.  The videos composition was perfect in that it started out introducing the hunters and their hunting staff.  They then included still pictures of some of their trophies.  The next portion of the video included some of their earlier hunts and included 3 excellent kill shots which were followed by a slow motion sequence of those shots.  As you know by watching some of the hunting shows that this portion may get monotonous and so they took a break in the middle and added a portion which contained filming of the camp, relaxing there, some live animal footage and then some excellent footage of the fauna of the area.  (And yes Matthias, the cactus needles are sharp when you touch them).  Then it was back to more of the actual hunting scenes which also included some more of the actual kill shots.  The video ended with a blazing fire which was interwoven with a spectacular sunset.  All during the video African music played which only made the whole project weave together in a most pleasant and interesting story.  I only wish that I could make a video of the quality that they did but by seeing this I hope to improve my film making in the future.

The first day of their safari started out on a very high note with Matthias taking a record book Kudu.  Their video shows the whole stalk and the actual shot with the viewer being able to see the bullet hit.  They ended up tracking it only 100 yards and the excitement of this tracking and the finding of the trophy was captured in full on video.  This was uncut and showed everyone’s excitement throughout the entire process.  Day 2 was just as exciting as day one.  It started out with Hans shooting a very nice Blue Wildebeest.  As they were positioning the animal for photographs, Craig, their PH, spotted another excellent Blue Wildebeest in the distance.  They quickly stopped what they were doing and Craig and Matthias started out on a stalk of their own.  Unfortunately Matthias’s shot was not quite as good as the one that Hans made and a long tracking job, with the aid of the dog was necessary to recover this trophy.  But the day ended well with both brothers having obtained record book Blue Wildebeests.  Elfi was a non hunter but it wasn’t long before she was also bit by the hunting fever and after some practice at the rifle range they all set out on a quest for her Impala.  Again everything was captured on film and she made a perfect shot on a great looking Impala.  Hans remarked later that it seemed like forever before Elfi shot but this Impala was destined to be Elfi’s trophy and it stayed in perfect shooting position until Elfi was comfortable with her shot.  Congratulations to another first time hunter and we are looking forward to their return in 2009.

Click HERE
to see photos of this group's hunt.

HECTOR SIDANEZ – Argentina

Animals taken – Kudu (54 ½”), Waterbuck*, 3 – Impala*, Gemsbok*, Blesbok*, Blue Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest*

ROBERTO GRAU – Argentina

Animals taken – Kudu*, Blesbok*, Gemsbok, Blue Wildebeest*, 2 – Warthogs*, 2 – Impalas*, Red Hartebeest

Highlights:

The camp was truly an international one with the arrival of Hector & Roberto.  With Hans, Elfi & Matthias speaking German, Hector & Roberto speaking Spanish and Pieter and the staff speaking Afrikaans it must have been really entertaining to hear everyone communicating.  But even with all of the language differences, when it come to hunting everyone is able to communicate their goals and triumphs with little regard to the differences.  Hans was Roberto’s PH and he did note that the differences in languages was difficult the first day but that everything ended on a great note with Roberto taking a record book Blesbok.  After overcoming the language barrier the rest of the safari went extremely well for both of them.  The second day Roberto took a nice Gemsbok and they decided to sit at a water hole for a while.  And they were immediately rewarded with watching 5 Rhinos come in.  There were 2 males that came in but they didn’t drink.  They were more interested in the females that were already there.  After they departed Roberto and Hans could hear the 2 males fighting each other.

Hectors first day on safari was perfect in every way.  Early in the morning they encountered fresh Kudu tracks and started following them.  Jacques (his PH) felt he knew where the tracks were leading and they attempted to intercept them.  Some Gemsbok also joined up with the Kudus and spotted the hunters first.  Reaching an area on the dirt road where they should have all crossed they discovered that the Gemsbok were already gone but the Kudu had stopped for a second to check their backtrack.  This was all of the time that Hector needed to take his huge Kudu.  They decided to go back to the same area on the next day and this time the wind was blowing fairly strong directly into them.  As Waterbuck have a distinctive odor it wasn’t long before Jacques smelled one.  They tracked their quarry until they came to a little ridge that was formed by ancient volcanic activity and it is there where they spotted the Waterbuck and Hector had his 2nd record book trophy.  Hector continued to have excellent luck in his hunting until it came to the Red Hartebeest.  Hector ended up wounding this animal and considerable amount of time was spent in tracking it.  As with any animal that is wounded the hunter feels terrible and they hadn’t been able to locate it when the safari period was over.  The great news for everybody came after Hectors safari when word came that they had finally recovered his trophy.

Sorry, there are no photos of Hector & Roberto's hunt available.

RICK KLEIN & his wife HEIDI BRONGERS –
     British Columbia, Canada

Animals taken – Impala*, Kudu (54”), Warthog*, Gemsbok*, Waterbuck*

MARK YANKO – British Columbia, Canada

Animals taken – Impala, Kudu, Gemsbok, Blesbok*, Warthog*

Highlights:

The rut for the Impala’s was in high gear on the first day of Rick’s safari.  They could hear the males making all kinds of sounds in the distance and decided to get closer to them.  And close they did get with Rich taking an excellent trophy at only 35 yards.  On his second day he made a marginal shot on a nice Kudu and then they spent the next 2 hours tracking it over many miles.  Rick said he was amazed watching his PH Pieter and his tracker Isaac working together to find his Kudu.  They finally found it and with a very long shot Rick had his 2nd record book animal.  On his hunt for a Waterbuck it was his PH that got even more excited than he was when he spotted a big bull.  Rick told his PH that he must calm down and then made a great shot on his trophy.  One day Rick & Heidi ended up getting chased down a game trail by a Rhino.  Heidi remarked later that honestly she wasn’t afraid at all, she just felt it was a good time to get some exercise by hurrying back to the bakki.

Mark also started his safari with an Impala.  He was able to stalk it to within 50 yards.  I know exactly how Mark felt when it comes to hunting Gemsbok.  He spent two days in pursuit of one without any luck.  On the 3rd day they went after Kudu and early in the morning Mark took a nice one.  Then feeling good about this trophy they decided to try for Gemsbok again.  They spent the rest of the day in pursuit of Gemsbok and again ended up skunked.  After this both Mark and his PH Craig were considering trading in his Gemsbok for a Blue Wildebeest but they thought that they would give it just one more try.  After lunch that day they finally were able to put a stalk on a nice bull and Mark finally had his much deserved Gemsbok trophy.  They then took to rest of the day off to celebrate.  His hunting got more successful after the Gemsbok as on the next 2 days he took a record book Blesbok and a record book Warthog.

Click HERE
to see photos of Rick & Mark's hunt.

CHRIS COLLOPY – Arizona

Animals taken – Blue Wildebeest*, Warthog*, Kudu, Blesbok*, Bushbuck*, Steenbok*, Gemsbok, Impala, Duiker*

DAVE JOHNSON – Arizona

Animals taken – 2 – Impala, Blue Wildebeest*, Waterbuck*, Blesbok*, Warthog, Kudu (55 1/8”), Zebra

Highlights:

Chris’s first day involved an extremely long walk.  It seems that his shot on his Blue Wildebeest wasn’t perfect and the tracking job was on.  The Wildebeest joined up with some Eland which made the tracking even harder.  Their tracker, Joseph, was able to sort it all out and they found the Wildebeest.  Chris said that if it wasn’t for Joseph’s amazing tracking skill, they would have never recovered his trophy.  He said that his hunt for his Blesbok was the hunt of a lifetime for him and I will let him tell it here in his own words.  "It started off with a stalk on one group that required crawling on our stomachs but Craig (his PH) said he could find a bigger buck so we backed off.  Then Craig finds another large group with a very large male out in the open but we were unable to get within shooting range before they made it to the brush line.  After lunch we went back looking for the big buck and Joseph the driver spots them so we make a stalk only to be busted by some Red Hartebeest.  We start stalking again but this time they are in much thicker brush.  We were never further then 60 yards from the Blesbok but couldn't get the shot.  After following the group for miles and some very exciting moments the big buck presented a 60 yard shot and he dropped in his tracks."

Chris said that at night he would relax around camp in some short pants.  These shorts had the large cargo pockets and everyone had a good time putting different things in his pockets without his knowledge.  Pieter put an overripe banana in them that he found after sitting down, salt after a trip to the skinning shed, rocks after a trip to the rifle range and a glass of water while playing darts. He said that he never did learn to check his pockets after being around Pieter.

Dave’s safari started out with a bang on the first day with him bagging an Impala and a Blue Wildebeest.  On day 2 they were looking for Gemsbok but instead saw a great Red Hartebeest, however they couldn’t get a shot.  After checking out the property they came back to the area where they had seen the Red Hartebeest and saw a huge Waterbuck.  They made a great stalk on it then had to wait for it to take one more step for a clear shot.  After what seemed like a very long time, the Waterbuck moved and Dave made a perfect shot on what turns out at that time to be the largest Waterbuck every taken at Cruiser’s.  Dave’s most memorable hunt had to be his Kudu.  They saw the Kudu earlier in the day with some females but were unable to judge the horn length for sure as they couldn’t see the tips before they all ran off.  They located them again later and this time it was determined to be a shooter for sure and Dave dropped his 55”+ trophy.  Congratulations on 2 outstanding animals.  As hunting luck always seems to run in cycles, it took Dave 3 days before he was able to take another trophy.

Click HERE
to see photos of Chris & Dave's hunt.

ALEXANDER SHARIF – Alberta, Canada

Animals taken – Blue Wildebeest*, Impala*, Kudu (581/2”), Gemsbok*, Red Hartebeest*, Blesbok*, Steenbok*, Warthog*, Black Backed Jackal

JOHN GOODE – California

Observer/photographer

Highlights:

Alexander asked his longtime friend John Goode to accompany him on his safari for companionship and to be his photographer.  This was John’s 5th trip to Africa.  He had previously lived in South Africa for 2 years for the company he worked for.  He had also been to Botswana, Zimbabwe and Kenya and was looking forward to his return.  And photography is exactly what John did, taking over 2500 pictures and 4 hours of video.  When they returned from Africa, John put together one of the finest PowerPoint safari presentations that I have ever seen.  This presentation not only showed the complete chronicle of Alexander’s 11 days of hunting but also includes valuable information on the animals hunted, Cruiser’s camp, the staff, safari facts, techniques, and their own tips to help you get the most out of your own safari.  With superb photography and sounds you will be transposed to Africa yourself.  I highly recommend anyone that is planning on going to Africa for the first time to watch this presentation.  We have put this presentation on our web site and a link below will take you to that site.  Thanks Alexander & John!!

All of Alexander’s trophies qualified for the record book and a special congratulations goes out to him for this exceptional feat.  There are many factors that are involved in a successful hunt.  Among these are a competent guide, your stalking and shooting ability, bullet placement, and luck, which includes being in the right place at the right time.  And this last portion of the previous sentence brings me to Alexander’s Kudu hunt.  After an unsuccessful Kudu hunt the previous day they were leaving the camp at 5:40 the following morning.  After getting in the bakkie, Alexander asks Jacques (his PH) to wait for a couple of minutes while he goes back and cleans his contact lenses.  Just as they were leaving the camp and talking about the plans for that day, Alexander saw a faint shadow of an animal jumping a low fence.  He told Jacques that he just saw a Kudu but Jacques told him that he was day dreaming.  He did slow down and they now saw 4 Kudu cows crossing the road and jumping a low fence.  In Alexander’s words, “He slammed on the brakes and we all came off the truck, hunched over and started walking to see what is going on.  We then go around and walk another 200 yards.  Jacques & I then start glassing and it’s still pretty dark.  Jacques then starts shaking and tells me I can see him, get ready, this can not be for real!  We put the shooting sticks up and I keep my head down on the scope.  First a cow, second a cow, third and finally a dream Kudu bull walks between two trees.  I put the cross hairs just above the shoulder, follow through for a while and slowly squeeze.  The bull drops in his tracks at just over 150 paces away and Jacques screams and jumps up.  He tells me that I have no idea what has happened!  I have shot a 58 ½” free ranging Kudu bull, the largest free ranging Kudu ever taken at Cruiser’s”.  Everyone at camp started calling him “Lucky” after that experience and the nickname stuck.  (NOTE: I’m sure that almost everyone have seen Kudu along side the road on the way to your hunting area in the morning or upon return in the evening, but it is extremely lucky to have one of them jump onto our property where they can be hunted!)

“Lucky” says that his hunt for his Gemsbok was his favorite.  (Note: He says that his Kudu hunt was more like a dream than reality)  As usual with hunting a Gemsbok, many days are spent in the field trying to acquire this beautiful trophy.  He had hunted hard but up until his 4th day he had been unsuccessful.  On that day they finally spotted a shooter at around 4:30 in the afternoon.  They stalked it but they could never get a shot.  They decided to do a large circle and see if they could intercept it and he said it must have been divine intervention but that’s exactly what happened.  His first shot at 250 yards only slowed his trophy down and he finished it with an excellent shot at 150 yards.

Lucky said that he will be back to Africa as soon as he can but the next time he returns it will be with his wife and his 2 sons.  We hope that they all earn the nickname “Lucky”.

Click HERE to view their PowerPoint Presentation.

If you do not have PowerPoint, click HERE to download PowerPoint Viewer.

Click HERE
to see photos of Alexander & John's hunt.

DON CONNELLY – Alaska

Animals taken – Kudu*, Warthog, Impala, Gemsbok*, Blesbok

Highlights:

Everyone hopes that their first day on safari will be perfect and Don’s day fit that bill.  They started out his hunt in the mountains for Kudu.  They spotted a good one early in the day and his PH (Pieter F.) put up the shooting sticks and told him to shoot.  When there was no shot his PH again said “Shoot, Shoot” but nothing and the Kudu ran off.  What happens sometimes is that where the PH is standing and where the shooter is, the PH may not have the same sight picture as the hunter.  In this case there was a broken off tree between Don and the Kudu that his PH did not see.  They tried to get closer but couldn’t so they went down to a lower elevation and walked the road for about a ½ mile when his PH again spotted the bull.  This time they were able to get unusually close and at 22 yards Don had his first African trophy and a record book Kudu to boot.  They decided to take it a little easy in the afternoon from climbing the mountains and set up at a water hole for a chance at a Warthog.  Don successfully bagged his Warthog there and on his first day he was able to take 2 of the trophies that he had set off to Africa for.

Sometimes ‘Lady Luck’ smiles on you one day and wakes up the next morning on the wrong side of the bed and that’s exactly what happened to Don the next day.  They were after Impala and they ended up walking for 6 hours.  Every time they got close to their quest another animal would put the spoil into the stalk.  They were really getting depressed about their luck that day.  But right at the last light of the day everything came together for him and Don took a very nice male Impala.  The next day ‘Lady Luck’ was still grumpy and they got skunked and it took until the afternoon of the next day before Don was able to take his Gemsbok.  But he says it was worth it as he took a very nice record book animal.  Since his luck needed to change he took the next day off from hunting to visit a national park and to do some curio shopping.  This must have done the trick as the next day he took his record book Blesbok.

Click HERE
to see photos of Don's hunt.

GREG ACCORD – Arkansas

Animals taken – Nyala, Zebra, Impala, Bushbuck*, Eland*, 2 – Warthogs* (I think there are a couple more but I don’t have any additional info at this time)

GARY ACCORD – Arkansas

Animals taken – Black Wildebeest*, Springbok*, Warthog*, Red Hartebeest*, Eland*

Highlights:

The Accord brothers had previously hunted with Cruiser’s in 2004 and came back this year in pursuit of some of the different animals that they didn’t take on their last visit.  They started out their safari with a visit to the Free State Province for Black Wildebeest and Springbok and then finished up the rest of their safari ‘up north’.  Even though Greg’s favorite hunt was for his Zebra, he said that every day was awesome and, “That is what makes Africa the best place to hunt”.  On his first day he was able to see a Porcupine, an Aardvark and an Aardwolf, all which are usually nocturnal and very rarely seen.  His Zebra hunt was exciting as the stalking and the ability to get so close to such a magnificent animal was what it was all about.

Gary earned a new nickname on this visit and that was “Inch”.  As he had hunted several animals on his last safari he had not planned on taking any of the same animals unless they were quite a bit larger.  He was very selective on his trophies and stated, “If it was an inch longer, I would have shot”, thus the nickname “Inch”.  As he had hunted a Waterbuck on his last safari he wasn’t interested in hunting another one although he saw a very good one on several occasions.  It turns out that another hunter in camp at the same time was looking for a Waterbuck and when they encountered this Waterbuck again, they contacted the other hunter with its location and the other hunter was able to take that trophy.  Gary said the hunter was very proud of it which to him was better than having taken it himself.  He said it was a very good feeling knowing that he had passed on it to let someone else get that great satisfaction.  Thanks Gary!

The animal that Gary was most interested in was an Eland.  He had hunted unsuccessfully for 3 days on his last safari for one and on this trip he spent 5 days to get the one that he wanted.  He hunted hard and passed up lesser bulls in his quest.  They thought that it might not happen but on his 8th Eland hunting day they were lucky to see a group of 5 bulls early in the morning.  Here is his story, “We started on the tracking and was able to catch up with them on 2 occasions but were unable to get more than a glimpse.  They crossed an open field at one time and we saw them enter the other side which was over 400 yards away without a good shot.  I am a big man and a little out of shape and we had already ran after them so much that Jacques (his PH) was concerned that I was going to have a heart attack.  I also thought that I might but the good and satisfying news was that I didn’t.  We thought the only way to get a shot was to put their tracker on the trail and hopefully we might get another chance at them crossing.  They did make the fatal mistake of passing that way again and this time I had a shot at 300 yards and was lucky enough to make a good shot on the fast walking Eland.  It was truly satisfying to hold on to my high standards that I had set out for and was rewarded greatly”.  And rewarded he was by taking one of the largest Eland ever at Cruiser’s, a beautiful 38” trophy.

Click HERE to see photos of Greg & Gary's hunt.

PETER & VANESSA RYAN – New Zealand

Animals taken – Eland*, 2 – Warthog*, Bushbuck*, Impala*, Kudu (52 ½”)

Highlights:

This was Peter’s 3rd safari with Cruiser’s.  After his safari in 2003 Vanessa and he were married in Cape Town.  Naturally this year when they came back they enjoyed our “Honeymoon Suite”.  Vanessa and Peter both love photography and Vanessa spent quite a bit of time sitting at water holes taking pictures while Peter was out hunting.  On day while Peter and his PH were sitting at a water hole looking for a big Warthog an Impala snuck in behind them.  It must have snorted when it realized they were there and his PH stated, “It scared us silly!”  And speaking of Impala’s, I must mention that Peter’s Impala this year measured 25 ½”.  This is the second Impala that he has taken of 25 inches or more.  I must find out what his secret is.  Vanessa and him took one day off from hunting and took the Elephant Back safari which they both said was a blast!

Peter’s best hunt was for his Bushbuck.  He said that with most of the leaves still on the trees, stalking on foot was a real challenge.  His hunt for Bushbuck in his own words, “We spent several days quietly stalking and working out where the territories of the various Bushbucks were along the river.  They have terrific senses and ghosting up on them quietly in heavy cover is hard.  After a lot of effort and a few exciting false starts, we eventually found a nice buck one morning in a more open area.  I had to take the shot by guessing where he was, all we could see were his horn tips about 75 yards out in some tall grass.  He turned out to be a really old battle scarred veteran with very heavy horns - a lovely trophy.”  And to top it all off, Vanessa was able to get the entire hunt on video.  One of Peter’s goals this year was to take a Kudu of 55” or more.  He hunted hard but his magical number of 55 was again missed but in 3 safaris he has taken 3 different Kudu’s and all of them have been above 50”.  But now he has a perfect excuse to come back again.

Click HERE
to see photos of Ryan's hunt.

GEORGE & SANDI WALKER – British Columbia, Canada

Animals taken – 2 - Zebra, 2 – Impala*, Warthog*, Kudu, Blue Wildebeest*,Waterbuck*, Blesbok*, female Kudu & Blue Wildebeest

BRAD CHUDIAK & his wife PATRICIA – British Columbia, Canada

Animals taken – Impala*, Blesbok*, Blue Wildebeest*, Red Hartebeest*, Kudu, Gemsbok*, Warthog*

Highlights:

It was fall in South Africa while they were there.  As is anywhere, you just never know for sure what the weather will be like in the fall, however we had some of the coldest days ever for that time of the year during their stay.  We have a fountain outside in our Braai area and the water in the fountain was frozen on 3 mornings with about ¼” of ice.

  Naturally with this cold snap their first day of hunting was very cold, although sunny.  There was not much movement of the game that day.  Just when they were heading back to camp George and his PH spotted a herd of Zebra.  They made a nice stalk and they picked out a beautiful stallion in the herd and George made a great shot.  At this point George’s emotions became overwhelming for him.  His PH, Craig, wasn’t sure why he was so emotional and Sandi explained the situation to him.  George’s father had passed away in January.  He had hunted all of his life and passed his love of the outdoors onto him.  George decided before he left for Africa that he would take a Zebra and have a pedestal mount made of it in his memory.  How fitting it was that the first animal that he took was the one that he had dedicated to his dad.

George hunted hard for his Kudu.  On his 5th day of hunting (his 3rd day hunting for Kudu) before they headed out George happened to pick up Dr. Kevin Robertson’s book “The Perfect Shot” to look up and confirm where the shot placement should be for a Kudu.  They then headed out to the mountains and they were barely 10 minutes into the hunt when he shot a nice Kudu.  Finally he had his Kudu and it was only about 7:00 in the morning.  The next morning he looked at the book again before heading out and by 7:00 he had taken his Blue Wildebeest.  The same situation happened again the next day and Sandi, who had stayed in the bakkie, looked at her watch when she heard his shot go off and sure enough it was 7:00 again.  The next morning they headed out again.  It turned out to be a very tough day of hunting.  Later in the day, Craig asked him if he had looked at the book this morning.  He replied that he had not.  They returned unsuccessful to the camp that evening.  The next morning he made sure that he took a look at the book that had now become his bible before they left.  This again worked for him as at first light he had taken the largest Waterbuck ever taken at Cruiser’s (just over 31”).  This record had been in place since 2000 when Cruiser Bob’s wife Leesa had taken a beautiful 30 ½” trophy.  The book had given him double luck that day as by 9:00 he had also taken a record book Blesbok.  George says, “You can bet that I will use my new “Bible” every morning the next time we come to hunt!”

Brad almost fell for what would have be the best practical joke ever played on anyone.  After Brad had taken his Gemsbok they met up with George to pick up his Zebra and take them both back to camp.  Brad had been having some trouble with his contacts always drying out and Pieter used this to his advantage.  During the transfer Pieter suddenly is yelling there’s a huge Warthog way down the road.  He opens the door of the Bakkie and grabs Brad’s rifle and sets him up to shoot.  Because of his dry contacts Brad was having a difficult time in trying to see the tusks on the approaching animal and all of the time while he was trying Pieter kept yelling, “Shoot! Shoot!”  Brad looked up at Pieter puzzled but he is still telling him to shoot.  But because he couldn’t see the tusks clearly Brad did not want to shoot.  Finally they all couldn’t contain their laughter any longer and that Donkey lived for another day.  Brad’s thought afterwards was he wondered what the trophy fee for a donkey was.

While sitting in the back of the truck while looking for animals as they drove, Brad was constantly forgetting to duck for some of the branches and would lose his hat.  Pieter usually did not go back for it until they were returning and thus came the solution for his hat problem (see their photos for this solution).

Brads favorite hunt was for his Kudu.  George had taken his Kudu earlier in the morning and they set out for one for Brad.  They saw a very nice Kudu with some Kudu cows along side one hillside and climbed to the opposite hillside for a better vantage point.  Pieter had Brad set up on a boulder there and they sighted in on a clearing that they were sure the Kudu was going to come through.  All of a sudden while they were waiting for the Kudu to show, Pieter shouts out rather loudly, “Kudu”.  It seems that a Kudu had come their way from behind them at about 15 paces.  Naturally after the yell there wasn’t a Kudu in sight.  Brad told Pieter that it might be better the next time to just tap him on the shoulder to let him know of another Kudu.  Even a seasoned outfitter gets excited sometimes when he sees a nice animal.  Later they did find another shooter.  Pieter again shouts, “Shoot, Shoot.”  Brad asked if it was bigger than George’s without receiving a response and asked him the question again.  The only response from Pieter was again, “Shoot, Shoot” and Brad did.  It turned out later that the Kudu was 1 inch larger than George’s and that’s all that Brad had hoped for.

Sandi says that she took over 2000 photographs while she was there and she was especially fascinated with the different variety of trees.  They sent me quite a few of these pictures and the quality of her photography was outstanding and I will be using some of her photos on our web site.  After their safari they all finished up their time in Africa with an exciting trip to Kruger National Park.

Click HERE
to see photos of George & Brad's hunt.

MARTHY & CLAUDIA ANTHONY – Mississippi

Animals taken – Waterbuck*, Blesbok*, Red Hartebeest, Duiker, Steenbok*

GARRY ANTHONY – Florida

Animals taken – Gemsbok*, Warthog, Impala*, Kudu

DALE HEASLEY – Mississippi

Animals taken – Duiker*, Blue Wildebeest*, Warthog*, Gemsbok*, Bushbuck*, Impala, Kudu

Highlights:

Marty & Claudia had hunted with Cruiser’s in 2005 and this year they returned with Marty’s father and a friend.  During this years trip they planned on making a Video of their safari for TV.  Although Marty had gall bladder surgery in early May and it may have slowed him down a little, he was still determined to be successful on his safari.  The last time he was with us he said that he had only seen 1 good male Waterbuck and he was determined to take one on this hunt.  He accomplished that goal on the very first day, taking a record book Waterbuck.  On that same day he missed a chance on a Blesbok but he made up for that the next day by taking a beautiful 15 3/8” trophy.  Another high note of his safari was his taking one of the largest Steenbok’s.  Another excellent trophy that measured 5”.  We are looking forward to seeing his adventure on TV.

Marty’s dad Garry also started out his safari with an excellent animal, taking a huge 39 5/8” Gemsbok with 1 shot on his first day.  Garry then started hunting Kudu and that proved to be a very difficult hunt that ended up taking the better part of 4 days, although he said that it was his favorite hunt.  He said that tracking through the hills and rocky areas were taxing especially for someone that was 63 years old but extremely rewarding.  He wants to especially thank his PH, Hans, who worked hard to make sure things came together for him.  With all of his PH’s encouragement he was finally able to take his trophy.

Dale’s safari also started out great on the first day with him taking a Duiker and a Blue Wildebeest, both of them being record book animals.  But like Garry, when it came to his Kudu, that’s when the hard work started.  Dale’s Kudu story in this own words.  “We had hunted Kudu off and on for 6 days with no luck.  It seems that I couldn’t see them or was having trouble hearing my PH Jacques when he told me something.  We never could get in the right place for a good shot.  Time was running out and the pressure was on.  On my last day we went to a water hole and set up a blind.  We were in the blind at about 11 AM and ready.  We ate lunch making noise with metal plates and cooler.  Jacques wasn’t too concerned as he felt the Kudu would be in about 2 PM.  I leaned back in my chair and was about asleep when he hit me in the leg.  I looked up and here they came.  Several cows came in followed by the bull.  Of course the bull went behind some bushes.  Jacques told me it was an old bull and the tips of his horns were broken.  We had it planned that I could pick up the netting with the barrel of the gun, rest the gun on the brace and look thru the mesh with the scope and shoot.  Have you ever seen a plan work?  Another cow came in and spotted the blind.  She was very nervous and after what seemed like 5 minutes she spooked.  The other cows spooked also.  The bull jumped from behind the bush and gave me a perfect broad side shot.  Well so much for the plans of picking up the mesh, I shot right thru it.  The Kudu hit the ground and the pressure was off.  My .300 did a pretty good job on the mesh also.  I told Jacques (joking) that was payback for the hard time that he had given me the day before about not being able to hear or see.  Then he had the nerve to tell me that he was going to tell me to let this bull go and wait for a bigger one.  I told him that as much trouble as we had, I would have shot him even if he only had one horn.  At 48” with thick bases I was well satisfied with him.  At noon we were headed back to camp with a full package and then some.”

Click HERE
to see photos of this group's hunt.

SHAWN DAILY – Louisiana

Animals taken – Kudu*, Sable*, Cape Buffalo*, Waterbuck*, Red Hartebeest*, Blesbok*, Impala*, 2 – Warthogs*, Eland*, Zebra, Black Backed Jackal

DAVE DAILY – Louisiana

Animals taken – Sable, Kudu (53”), 3 – Warthogs*, Impala*, Red Hartebeest*, Zebra, Waterbuck*, Eland*

Highlights:

Shawn and his son Dave had hunted in the southern portion of South Africa last year and wanted to return to hunt some of the animals that we had available in the Limpopo Province.  Shawn’s top 2 priority animals were the Sable and the Cape Buffalo and he was looking for very nice animals.  We don’t have either of these animals available for hunting at this time on our properties but we were able to locate 2 game ranchers that had excellent animals that they had for their breeding herds that needed to be taken out due to fighting with the other bulls on the properties and these animals sounded like they were exactly what Shawn was looking for.  Although the Sable was an outstanding trophy the actual hunt was very easy as the animal was located out in an open field and a long stalk was not necessary.

The Cape Buffalo hunt was what Shawn was dreaming about before he left for Africa.  He was extremely excited about this hunt and even bought a new .470 rifle just for it.  He told me before he left that he had read every story and book that he could find about buffalo hunting and he even had a picture of a buffalo as the screen saver on his computer.  On the day of his hunt they actually located his buffalo lying with some others in the brush.  They got close to where they were and waited for 1 hour for them to get up.  When they finally did they couldn’t get a shot at the bull.  They tracked them again and then stalked them again but still couldn’t get a shot.  They did this several times.  Rather than being a relatively easy stalk this hunt turned into a hunt that books are written about.  Finally later in the day Shawn was able to get a good shot off but rather than going down for the count, he was off again.  Now things got a little tense as they had a wounded bull to contend with.  Pieter and Craig were both along on this hunt and they both had .375’s along with Shawn’s .470.  Even though the buffalo was wounded they weren’t sure how badly but they felt that they had enough fire power for any scenario.  They finally located the bull lying down and Shawn was able to set up and put another bullet in it.  Everyone was surprised when this old bull got back up.  This is where the excitement really began.  As the buffalo was about to take off he saw the hunters.  Rather than departing the area he chose to charge.  I understand that Craig yelled that he was coming and that is when everyone opened fire.  I really don’t know how many shots were fired but it was only a very few yards from the hunters before this Dugga Boy finally fell for good.  Everyone’s mouth was open but words eluded them for some time as none of them had expected this bull to turn and charge them.  Shawn’s dream of a lifetime had finally come true and his dream also turned out to be one of the most exciting hunts of his life.  Shawn holds the distinction of being Cruiser’s first buffalo hunter and this distinction will last for some time as we do not plan to have buffalo available for hunting in the near future.  It may take 4 or 5 years before we actually hunt any of our buffalo and that might just be enough time for Pieter and Craig to unwind from this remarkable hunt.  Every animal that Shawn took during his safari qualified for the record books and were remarkable and enjoyable in them selves, but I know that a charging buffalo makes the other hunts seem somewhat tame.

Dave knew that his father was going to hunt a Sable, however before he left for Africa he wasn’t sure whether he also wanted to hunt one or not.  After Dave saw his dads Sable his decision was made.  His Sable hunt was quite a bit more difficult than the one his dad had.  His Sable was in the thickets and they had a hard stalk on it.  Just when everything looked good it took off.  When they finally got a clear shot Dave made the most of it and he also had a beautiful trophy.

Of the animals that Dave was interested in hunting there were 3 that he wanted to try to get a certain size.  He hoped for a Kudu larger than 50”, an Impala 23” or more and an old “Blue Bull” Eland.  Now this can be an extremely difficult ‘shopping list’ but after he took his Sable it was off to the mountains to try for his big Kudu.  They spent the rest of the day looking for the trophy that he was interested in.  Late in the day they spotted his quest and he was able to hit it.  Although it took 2 additional follow up shots Dave ended up his first day not only with a Sable but a 53” Kudu.  Now that’s being at the right place at the right time.  The next day they started their search for a “Blue Bull” Eland.  A “Blue Bull” Eland is an older bull.  These older bulls have a large impressive neck and chest which turns grayish blue with age and they sport a loose dewlap or wattle.  There horns may get worn down some with age but are thicker with wide bases and they also have a characteristic dark tuft of matted hair on the forehead.  They spent the entire day in pursuit of this trophy but they were unsuccessful.  But Lady Luck had not completely given up on Dave as during their search for his Eland they came across an extremely nice Impala and Dave was able to fulfill his goal of a 23 ½” Impala.  And although he took some excellent trophies in the days to follow it looked like his goal of a “Blue Bull” was not going to happen.  On his last hunting day they went to a new property for one more try for his Eland.  They finally located what turned out to be the heaviest Eland ever taken at Cruiser’s.  The hunting gods had smiled on Dave at last and he was able to accomplish what had been a very tough goal.  Congratulations to both Shawn and Dave on your remarkable trophies.

Click HERE
to see photos of Shawn & Dave's hunt.

JERRY & TINA NICHOLS – West Virginia

Animals taken – Kudu, Impala*, Bushbuck*, Blesbok*, Gemsbok, Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Warthog

GARY & TERRY NICHOLS – West Virginia

Animals taken – Kudu, 2 – Impala*, Warthog*, Blesbok*, Blue Wildebeest*, Waterbuck*, Gemsbok

BUTCH & SUSIE FORD – West Virginia

Animals taken – Blue Wildebeest*, Gemsbok*, Warthog*, Steenbok, Kudu, Impala, Red Hartebeest, Zebra, female Kudu

Highlights:

This was truly a family safari.  Jerry & Tina Nichols came with their 2 year old daughter, Abigail, as well as Jerry’s mother & father, Gary & Terry Nichols and Tina’s mother & father, Butch & Susie Ford.  Even though Jerry didn’t get a chance for a shot on anything his first day he returned to camp knowing that he would be able to get all of the animals that he was interested in as they saw “plenty”.  The very next day he took his first African animal, a Kudu.  Jerry did take all of the animals that he was interested in plus a Bushbuck.  He said later that the Bushbuck hunt was his favorite and his story as told by him follows: “My favorite hunt with Hans has to be the Bushbuck.  While driving early in the day, we saw a female and a male bushbuck.  I had a shot opportunity and Hans said he was a very nice one, but I had not planned on shooting anything extra so I let him go.  We drove some more and I began to kick myself for not shooting the bushbuck.  Later in the day, Hans and Frankie constructed a blind at a waterhole to wait for warthog.  They actually chopped out a hole that we could sit in inside a thorn bush (yes the long ones!).  It was a little hairy getting in without thorns catching my clothing, but once inside it was very comfortable and effective.  Hans informed me then that we were not far from where we saw the nice bushbuck.  After some deliberation and knowing how tough it is to hunt bushbuck, I told him that if he came to water before a big warthog I would take him, even though seeing a bushbuck twice in the same day is very rare.  A short time later Hans spotted movement and thought it was a bushbuck, although he couldn’t determine the sex of it, because he just got a glimpse of hide.  We soon realized that there was a hole in the brush around the waterhole that permitted access to water without me being able to see anything.  Hans wanted to exit the blind to check the brush.  Upon his exit, he turned to me and asked if I wanted to shoot if it was the big one.  I told him yes and he began creeping forward.  I watched him pick up his binoculars and I started to get a little excited.  He quickly turned to me and said with enthusiasm, “It’s the big one.”  I immediately began my hurried exit from the blind.  Of course this was complicated because of the thorns, but I managed it without too much noise and was soon at Hans’ side.  He began to have me put the rifle on his shoulder, but then quickly said, “Just shoot!!! Shoot!!”  I then turned and pointed the rifle in the direction I thought was correct and quickly found the bushbuck in the scope only to see it was already looking at us!  I quickly settled the crosshairs high on the shoulder and when the trigger broke I saw the bushbuck dropped in his tracks about 50-60 yards away.  I quickly reloaded and, shaking almost uncontrollably with excitement, Hans and I congratulated each other.  Hans called Frankie on the radio to bring the truck.  After 15 minutes Frankie called back and said that the truck was stuck in the sand.  Hans went to help him and I was left to spend some time alone with my SCI and RW record book bushbuck!!  Of course I couldn’t sit still, so I got everything out of the blind and over to the animal, to include our chairs that I used for shade on the hide so it would not spoil prematurely.  Finally, after about 45 minutes, the two guys showed back up.  We then took some pictures and got on our way.  I have to admit that it was pure torture to sit there as excited as I was and have to just wait until I could show it off!!”

Butch’s safari started off great with him taking a record book Blue Wildebeest on his first day that had incredible bosses that measured 15 ¼”.  His second day was just as exciting with him taking a record book Gemsbok with a very difficult shot through some very dense brush, and they were able to record the entire hunt on video.  And speaking of videos, on the very same day that Jerry took his Bushbuck, while they were walking in the dry river bed, they were able to take some video of a beautiful Bushbuck ram.  Butch’s PH, Jacques, relates a story that I would like to include here.  “We arrived at one of the hunting properties and soon discovered from one of the representatives of it that 2 Kudu bulls had been fighting the past 2 weeks for breeding rights and that one of the bulls leg was broken from trying to get away by attempting to jump the game fence.  Butch helped out by deciding to take the animal for a trophy and to put the poor animal out of its misery.  This was the most respectful decision that I have witnessed in my 7 years as a PH.”  A very special thanks goes out to Butch from all of us on his humane treatment of his trophy.

Gary’s first day started out with trying to get his rifles sighted in correctly.  It seems that his first shots at the range with them the grouping was all over the place.  They got this problem corrected and started out on his safari, which started out great with Gary taking both a Kudu and an Impala on that very first morning.  Gary was given the nickname Grandpa while he was there and one day, June 23rd became “Grandpa’s Day” as on that day Gary took 3 animals, a record book Blue Wildebeest, a double record book Waterbuck and a Gemsbok.  Congratulations on your special day.  The last day of the safari ended up with an absolutely beautiful sunset in which a Zebra and a Waterbuck’s silhouette made up the foreground.

Even though the hunting portion of everyone’s safari was set up for the men in the group, the women also participated with Tina taking a Blue Wildebeest and a Zebra and Terry taking an Impala.  Terry’s Impala was her first animal ever and that story deserves to be included here.  The Impala story in Terry’s own words:  “One day Gary asked me if I’d like to hunt a Warthog.  That was the furthest thought from my mind for this trip because Gary is the hunter.  Later Gary came by & said I could get a warthog or an impala.  By then I thought: I'll never be here again & I'll never have this opportunity again so why not?  PH Pieter & Gary took me to the sighting in hut with Gary's 30-06.  PH Pieter explained how I should hold the gun etc & I practiced what he said without a bullet in the chamber.  The second time that I aimed to fire at the target I pulled the trigger but it didn't go off.  Ph Pieter said he was watching me to see if I was flinching - I didn't.  So the next 3 times I did have real ammo in the 30-06.  My husband was impressed with my grouping.  Day 6 we went to a cemented water hole & set up our chairs & the shooting sticks behind a blind.  PH Pieter started a "patty" on fire to cover our scent.  Pieter made sure that I could see through my scope & that I could find both sides of the water hole.  I could.  After a half of an hour the birds got louder & then we heard snorting.  Earlier I told God that whatever animal presented itself, I would try to take it.  Pieter said we were hearing an older impala & younger impala answering him.  The snort was a lower pitch & deeper than the younger ones.  I could see the impalas moving back & forth among the bushes.  Their red brown fur was visible.  I must have turned my head to find the bird that was calling because the next thing I knew Pieter said "Take it!" & low and behold there was one impala stopped broadside to me for a good shot.  I aimed, took the safety off - took a breath & let it out as I squeezed the trigger.  I shot by its shoulder.  Pieter said to shoot again as it turned around to leave.  I'm not sure where the impala was when I made this second shot but it hit the shoulder of the other side as it was moving away from us.  I did find it in my scope correctly.  The impala slowed but kept moving so Pieter said shoot it again but I was having trouble getting the casing out & the new bullet in so Pieter told "Grandpa" to shoot it so Gary shot at the impala as it was going down.  After the impala died we retraced Gary's shot & found that he had actually shot the small stick that held up the barbed wire & he had broken it into 2 pieces.  Gary was glad that the impala was my kill only.  We moved the Impala to a better location for pictures & as is tradition, Pieter put the Impala’s blood on my forehead since this was my first kill.  Yuch!  As soon as I got to camp, I took an antibacterial wipe & removed the blood.  Overall this was a once in a lifetime experience for me and it was overall a positive experience.”

Click HERE
to see photos of this group's hunt.

ELLIS & MARTHA MARKHAM – Virginia

Animals taken – Red Hartebeest*, Gemsbok, Impala*, 2 – Warthogs*, Kudu, Zebra, Blesbok*

Highlights:

Ellis & Martha were in camp the same time as the Nichols family, which made for a very congenial time for everyone.  They were also celebrating their anniversary during their stay and enjoyed the “Honeymoon Suite”.  Champagne and a specially decorated room made the day very memorable for both of them.  Their first day on safari was also memorable for the both of them as Martha was able to watch Ellis take his first African animal, a record book Red Hartebeest, which dropped where it stood with one perfectly placed shot.  The Kudu was Ellis’s favorite trophy but he worked very hard for it.  They had previously spent the good part of 3 days trying to obtain this trophy.  When the opportunity finally came for a shot, it was a very difficult one as he only had a neck shot available.  Taking his time with a steady rest, he again made a perfect shot and it also went down in its tracks.  To top off that day, later in the afternoon he was also able to take a Zebra after an excellent stalk that brought them within 50 yards his quest.  Ellis ended up getting a cold at the end of his safari but that didn’t stop him from making a nice 200 yard shot on a record book Blesbok on his last day of hunting.  Both Ellis and Martha will be coming back to Cruiser’s in 2009 and this time Martha will also be hunting.  We are looking forward to their return.

Click HERE
to see photos of Ellis's hunt.

JOHN & ROSEMARY SORRELL – Indiana

Animals taken – Eland*, Warthog*, Blue Wildebeest, Zebra, Impala*, Gemsbok*, Blesbok,*, Kudu, Red Hartebeest*

ANDREW & BRITTNEY RAMSEY – Indiana/Colorado

Animals taken – Impala, Blue Wildebeest*, Zebra, Blesbok*, Warthog*, Kudu

Highlights:

This was Andrew and Brittney’s honeymoon and Andrew’s Grandparents, John & Rosemary brought them to South Africa for this special occasion.  Andrew also celebrated his birthday while he was there and Beatrix surprised him with a great chocolate cake for the occasion.  Andrew’s hunting actually got off to a slow start but I’m sure that was from being tired after the wedding, the long flight and the birthday cake.  He finally got up to speed by taking a nice Impala that was just shy of the record book.  Andrew also found out that Blue Wildebeest can be a very tough animal and after putting 3 shots into it and tracking it for the rest of the day, it took until the next morning before they were finally able to recover it.  On the last day of the safari he was finally able to hunt with his Grandfather and he took a very nice Kudu and his Grandfather was able to take an exceptional Red Hartebeest on that final day.

John had previously hunted in Tanzania in 1997 and on his first day of hunting they spotted some Eland.  This was an animal that John had wanted for a trophy since his last safari and when he saw them he knew this was the animal that he must hunt.  This turned out to be a very lengthy stalk but they were finally able to get within 125 yards.  With one perfectly placed shot and a short run, the Eland went down and was even nice enough to go down by the road after his run.  When they brought the bakkie up they realized that the Eland was too big to fit in it and so they had to call for another bakkie that it would fit into.  A perfect way to start off your safari.  On the second day of his safari he pulled out all stops and took a Warthog, Blue Wildebeest and a Zebra in one day.  His PH, Craig, had enough confidence in his abilities after that to have him do a belly crawl of over 150 yards in pursuit of a Blesbok only to get busted by the entire herd at the last moment.  They did get even a couple of days later.  After a few days of hunting they all took a break and visited Pilanesburg National Park.  Naturally his last day was a high point for him as he was able to successfully hunt with his Grandson.

After I had finished their story I received an excellent letter from John.  I am including it here in its entirety.

June 28th, 2007 and the long anticipated safari adventure begins.  This trip, a combination graduation, wedding, and birthday present for my grandson and his new bride, commences.  After the long 18 hour plane flight, my wife and myself, along with Andrew and Brittany looked forward to a good nights sleep at the Afton Guest House.  Pieter Fourie, one of Cruiser's great PH's met us that evening and took us to Boma, an all you can eat African food experience.  The safari was off to a great start.  Pieter's engaging personality set the tone for the fun to come.  Early next morning we took the 3 hour drive to camp.  On arrival Beatrix greeted us with a refreshing juice drink.  After settling into our rooms, Andrew and I sighted in the rifles.  Then a good lunch, which was the start of 11 wonderful days of meals, and camaraderie, shared at the huge dining table.

Aware of Pieter the owners' penchant for practical jokes, I had vigorously studied Afrikaans for 6 months.  At the first evening meal, as the staff conversed in their native language, I looked at Pieter sitting next to me.  Speaking in fluent Afrikaans I said, "I'm sorry, I don't eat meat".  Pieter's' expression was priceless!  Needless to say he did get me back later putting a large brick under my seat in the bakkie.

Next the PH's were assigned, me getting Craig, and Andrew with Hans.  Both the PH's were excellent, and the hunting properties all had abundant game.  The photo's show our many trophies.  My best being a large Eland, which was an animal I had pursued 10 years earlier in Tanzania with no success.  Andrew was stymied in his attempts to bag a Kudu, with a couple of misses on different days.  Finally on the last day of the hunt, after putting on the "lucky" hat I had purchased for Brittany (Camo on the outside, Pink on the inside" his luck turned, and he took a fine ivory tipped Kudu.  He also learned the experience of "scope bite", drawing blood twice.  Apparently the rifles at the Air Force Academy don't have scopes, but he is now very aware of eye relief!

Another highlight of this trip was seeing pictures of my proper British bride Rosie, chasing Warthogs down the dry river bed at full speed on the ATV!  I am sure Brittany put her up to this, as I could never have talked her in to it!

In conclusion, this was a wonderful experience for the entire family.  The staff and accommodations were first class, and many thanks to all for making this a special chapter in our lives.

Best Regards,

John, Rosie, Andrew, Brittany

Click HERE
to see photos of John & Andrew's hunt.

DAVE & VALANE RAHN – Michigan

Animals taken – Kudu*, Bushbuck*, Warthog*, Impala*, Steenbok*, Duiker, Black Backed Jackal, Waterbuck*

MATT RAHN & TAMMY FULSHER – Michigan

Animals taken – Zebra, Impala, Kudu*, Steenbok*, Gemsbok*, Blue Wildebeest*, Waterbuck*, Warthog*

Highlights:

This was Dave & Valane’s second safari with Cruiser’s.  They were here in 2005 and this year they brought their son Matt with them to enjoy the experience.  Naturally Dave was interested in hunting other animals that he did not hunt on his last safari and also to try for some bigger trophies from the ones that he did have.  On his first day they came across some fresh Kudu droppings and tracks and he knew right then and there that he must hunt for this majestic animal again.  They found that the vegetation was just too thick for a successful stalk and decided to set up the double bow blind at a water hole in the area.  Just at dusk a good bull with a beautiful cape came in and Dave took it cleanly with one shot.  Dave’s next quest was for the elusive Bushbuck.  For this hunt they traveled up to the Limpopo River.  They were astounded when they got there for the extreme lack of vegetation.  The draught had been hard this year for this area and the situation looked very bleak.  As long as they were there they figured that they might just as well give it a try.  They did manage to see numerous Bushbuck ewes though.  Just when they were about to surrender to the conditions they spotted a good trophy and Dave was able to take his record book animal.  Luck was with him that day.  In most cases I would never recommend a 342 yard shot with a .375 in Africa.  The one exception that I would make would be for a Black Backed Jackal and that is exactly what Dave did.  Thanks for the help with the predator control and anytime you want to make long shots on these animals, we would be happy if you did.

Matt’s first safari day started out great with him taking a Zebra and a very nice looking Impala.  The following morning they went to the mountains in pursuit of Kudu.  They walked for almost 3 hours but only saw young bulls.  They then worked up to higher ground.  As they came down they spotted a great bull at @ 60 yards.  The only shot that he had was a neck shot and his PH told him to shoot it in the middle of the neck.  The Kudu dropped in its tracks with a perfectly placed shot.  Hunting for his Gemsbok proved to be difficult.  Pieter (outfitter) took him personally one day and he has always had great luck by climbing trees to spot the prey.  This day was no different and Pieter spotted a good one.  The actual stalk on it was much more involved that the spotting of the Gemsbok.  It seems that every time they got close it would either hear them or wind them.  Finally after over an hour of this cat and mouse game, Pieter was able to get Matt within 85 yards and Matt had another record book trophy.  That day turned out to be a great one for Matt as he also took a Blue Wildebeest and a Waterbuck.  Everyone had a great safari and we are looking forward to them joining us again in 2009.

Click HERE
to see photos of Dave & Matt's hunt.

BUD & GALE STRAUSS – Arizona

Animals taken – Kudu (53”), Impala*, Blue Wildebeest*, Warthog*, Blesbok*

Highlights:

Bud was our first hunter at Cruiser’s who did his entire hunt with a handgun.  And what a great safari it was with all of his animals qualifying for the record book.  Jacques was his PH and he quickly modified his rifle hunting techniques into a successful handgun hunting mode.  Bud said that all of his trophies were special because he took them with his revolver.  He said that if he had to pick just one it would be his first African trophy, a 53” Kudu.  Here is that story in Bud’s own words: “We had only been hunting for 4 hours my first day of hunting.  I saw an ostrich, lots of female kudu, some young kudu bulls, and a few impala.  Jacques, my PH, warned me that big kudu bulls were very smart and we would be unlikely to see a big bull until late in the day.  About 5 minutes later in walked the biggest kudu I had ever seen.  My PH said "shoot that kudu now!"  Here I was after only 4 hours of hunting in Africa and here was a SCI trophy Kudu 100 yards away.  As I cocked the revolver the Kudu moved his big ears and looked straight at me.  I thought oh no, busted.  Always when hearing your PH say "shoot now" with no hesitation, that  is an excellent indication that it is a very good animal and I hurried to comply.  At least I thought I was rapidly aiming and firing, but time takes on a different dimension when in a situation that you have dreamed about since a young boy.  I was "quickly" shooting the animal, my PH was next to me saying "shoot, shoot" and then I shot the kudu at 100 yards.  The animal went 50 yards and dropped.  My first African trophy!  Jacques said my quick shot took over a full minute, but to me it seemed like brief seconds.  I stood over this massive kudu, an old bull with white tipped horns, as Jacques measured the animal.  He kept saying "what an animal, you better mount this animal, not many people even see an animal this size and you took it with a revolver."  The picture taking, the loading, the trip to the skinning shed and then the gloating couldn't have been more exciting, a dream come true.”

With Bud’s lead in handgun hunting, we are looking forward to many others who enjoy this type of hunting to join us in the future.

Click HERE
to see photos of Bud's hunt.

GARY & LINDA DICKENS – Missouri

Animals taken – Warthog*, Gemsbok, Impala, Kudu, Red Hartebeest, Steenbok*, Blesbok*, Zebra

Highlights:

Linda purchased this safari for Gary as his 60th birthday present.  She said that she was going along as an observer and would be taking pictures, although she said that there was a chance that she might like to hunt one animal herself.  On their very first day, the first animal that was taken was a record book Warthog.  I guess that Linda was really into the safari hunting after all as she was the one who took this first African trophy.  But the birthday boy came back later that day and took a very nice looking Gemsbok.  The next day they went to the mountains in pursuit of Kudu.  They saw quite a few but nothing of the caliber that they were looking for.  On their way out a nice Impala was actually in their way on their planned departure route and Gary took that as a perfect opportunity to take his second trophy.  The next day they were back in the mountains after Kudu again.  They tried hard all day and finally on their last stalk of the day Gary was able to get a good shot on one.  Normally Kudu that are hit hard go down the mountain but this one had other ideas and took off for the top.  With a little more climbing Gary was able to put the Kudu down with a good shot but they then had to carry their trophy all the way down the mountain.  Gary took 2 more trophies the next day and then Linda decided that it was her turn again.  Very late in the day Linda took a record book Blesbok.  She finished up their safari by also taking a Zebra.  To end their African trip they spent their last couple of days in Cape Town enjoying all of the sights in that part of the country.

Click HERE
to see photos of Gary & Linda's hunt.

MARK, MAUREEN & HANNAH GROUDAS – Massachusetts

Animals taken

Mark – Blue Wildebeest*, Waterbuck*, Red Hartebeest*, Black Backed Jackal

Maureen – Blue Wildebeest*, (Hannah) – Zebra

Highlights:

This was Mark & Maureen’s 2nd visit to Cruiser’s and Mark said they enjoyed this visit even more than their first as they felt extremely comfortable bringing their 14 year old daughter to enjoy the experience with them.  On Mark’s first day he was able to take a record book Blue Wildebeest and the whole family was excited about not only this but being able to see a female Rhino and its baby along with seeing a Brown Hyena crossing the road.  Included here are a couple of Marks stories that he sent.

“On my first visit to Cruiser’s in 2004 I very much wanted to take a Waterbuck but as luck would have it, I went home without one, not for lack of trying or the availability of good animals.  So upon my return I was anxious to right this wrong and on our second day of the hunt, we saw several trophy class Waterbuck but one in particular stood out.  With my wife and daughter crawling behind myself and Hans, we put a stalk on the buck.  Unfortunately the wind shifted after our 20 minute crawl, and Hans devised an alteration to our plan as we made a wide circle around the animals trying to cut in front of them and attempting to approach them from down wind.  I didn't give this plan much hope as I couldn't imagine we would find these animals again after 45 minutes and the shifty wind.  As we came into an opening crawling on our hands and knees, the Waterbuck appeared with a female 50 yards in front of us, Hans put us in the perfect position once again.  We had one small problem though, the bucks head was hidden in the grass, but at least he was standing broadside.  Hans put up the sticks and told me to stand and get the crosshairs on the buck but to not shoot until he could tell if he was a shooter.  After what seemed like an eternity, the buck picked up his head and I could see he was huge, heavy, with big knobby bases, I wanted Hans to tell me to "take him".  Sure enough Hans whispered "take hi...." and before he could finish "him" I shot the .375.  The Waterbuck lurched and ran into the brush.  I looked at Hans and he said, "You shoot fast.  I didn't even have time to put my fingers in my ears!"  We all tracked good sign for 40 yards to the Waterbuck that brought me back to Cruiser’s my second time.  It was certainly a special experience having the opportunity to share the hunt with my wife and daughter”.

“On my last night in camp with family, Hans and Frikkie took us out for a drive for Warthog.  We were out driving and saw two Jackals running about 300 yards out.  Hans pleaded with me to shoot one.  Since they do a pretty efficient job of taking young animals, I felt I should oblige him.  I put the rifle up and aimed a bit too high not trusting the flat trajectory of the .375, and shot right over the back of one of them.  Hans then said take another shot but they disappeared, and for what felt like the first time all trip I spotted an animal Hans hadn't seen yet.  I shoved the rifle into Hans' hands and told him he should show me how good of a shot he was.  He asked me "really?" and I said "please".  I grabbed the shooting sticks and we ran off through the bush, until I saw the jackals again, and it was my turn to spot the animals for Hans, point them out, put up the sticks and yell "take him" just like Hans had done for me several times on this trip.  He put the rifle up and I'll be darned, if he didn't nail the jackal at over 300 yards!  Neither one of us could believe it and there we were jumping up and down, "high fiving" each other and hugging his PH.  For two mild mannered guys we were sure acting like two little kids.  I am sure Hans does not get a chance to shoot much and thoroughly enjoyed showing off his shooting prowess to us.  I ran out to the jackal with everyone behind me and collected Hans' trophy for him, like any good PH would.  Hans couldn't wait to tell Pieter and gang of his accomplishment.  Hans' smile and the Jackal pelt will stay with me a long time”.

Hannah, their daughter, took a beautiful Zebra stallion on the 4th day of their safari and Maureen took a record book Blue Wildebeest early in the morning of their 6th day.  Congratulations to all and we hope to see all of you again real soon.

Click HERE
to see photos of the Groudas family hunt.

JEFF & MARCIA WILSON – Texas

Animals taken

Jeff – 2 – Springbok, Fallow Deer, 2 – Zebra, Red Hartebeest*, Klipspringer*

Marcia – Impala*, Blesbok*

Highlights:

Having spoken to Jeff & Marcia many times on the phone and with their great sense of humor, excellent story telling ability and real love for Africa, I wished that I could have also been there at the same time as they were this year.  This was also their 2nd safari with Cruiser’s as they hunted with us in 2006.  Rather than my writing the details of this year’s safari I am going to include some of their stories that they sent to me.  This first story is from Marcia and it is encouragement for all wives to join their husbands on their safaris.

“The one thing missing is to encourage the hunters to bring their wives!  Let them know if they want to do this as a true experience, an experience that the two of them can share for a very long time, bring her along!!  I have found there is so much more to hunting trips than the actual "hunting!"  What I mean is, not every woman wants to go out there and shoot, see something be killed, or what ever.  She just doesn't know what she is missing in the beauty of it all.  She will see things you can only see in South Africa.  The wonderful cool mornings, sun rise, colorful birds, beautiful animals of all sorts and sizes, natural habitat of the animals, the way the animals camouflage works, watering holes, the moon rising, the ride on the back of the truck enjoying the scenery, the evenings at camp, the magnificent accommodations, the FOOD, the shopping, and of course....the people; listening, laughing and loving the people!  Tell them to bring their camera to take pictures and give it a try.  If she doesn't want to hunt, bring a book relax, enjoy.  I believe there is no place on earth as relaxing as Africa.  When my husband Jeff first mentioned going to Africa I was like "What for?"  I had watched "Tarzan" saw all the jungle, the wild animals and "people" attacking and this did not look like something I was planning on doing.  Then the offer came, "Come on honey give it a shot!  Let's go to Africa this year, and next year I will take you any where you want to go.  I said "Paris?"  OK...Paris, was Jeff's response.  Now Jeff and I do almost everything together, and most always have the same ideas, taste, and interest, but Africa...that threw me.  Well now you know, off we went in 2006, this is 2007 and I haven't thought about Paris again!  I am not saying that we will be in Africa every year, but I am saying that I am so glad I said Yes!  I Love This Place!  Of course this year I picked up the gun, had to prove to those two, Jeff and Grassy (Pieter PH), that I could hunt.  There is no feeling like taking your first animal in Africa.  Everyone there makes you feel like this is the best one ever taken.  There is no pressure on you, take it when you can see it, and feel comfortable”.

Her PH (Pieter PH) gave her the nickname “Double Trouble”.  There is another story about how this name came about but suffice it to say is that I can probably understand him giving her this nickname.  Jeff & Marcia had gone to the Free State Province for the first couple of days of their African safari to hunt some of the animals that we do not have in the Limpopo Province.  On day 3 at Cruiser’s Marcia stated that she wanted to hunt an Impala and she indicated to Pieter that being bigger than the one that Jeff had previously shot was her preference.  Now that the challenge was set for her PH they set out in pursuit of her trophy.  I don’t have the size of Jeff’s Impala but I think the one that Marcia took that day was as big or bigger than his.  The next day she went after Blesbok and for sure she ended up taking a record book trophy that was bigger than Jeff’s.  She has told me that they will be back in 2009 and for that year she will be the primary hunter.

Jeff’s favorite hunt was for his Klipspringer and I am including that story here in his words.  “By far, hunting Klipspringer is the most challenging hunt Cruiser Safaris offers; they are very small and they live in the mountains.  We went out looking for just Klipspringers, I was informed that it would be very difficult and now I understand why.  At the end of the first day we “thought” we saw the back sides of two but they disappeared so fast we were not really sure.  I knew one thing, our feet were on uneven ground all day and I was tired.  The next day out we went again; we were working the sunny side of one of the many “koopies’” when we saw our first Klipspringer, 400 yards away at the top on a rock.  We closed the distance and we spent the next 15 minutes laying on one of the many large rocks trying to figure out which of the two were the male.  Most dogs I have owned are larger then a Klipspringer and at 300 yards it was very difficult to see those small horns.  We finally figured out which was the male and I told Grassy (Pieter PH) I had a shot.  After the shot I saw stars and it felt like someone hit me in the head with a baseball bat.  I laid my head on my pack and groaned.  Grassy asked me what was wrong.  I raised my head up and Grassy started to throw-up his breakfast.  Because we were lying down and shooting up a mountain, my head was too close to the scope and gave me a wicked “scope bite”.  I asked why Grassy was getting sick, was my cut that bad?  His reply was it was all of the adrenaline.  We made it to where the Klipspringer laid, took pictures and back to the camp for stitches for me.  I am hooked on Klipspringer hunting!!! “

As you can imagine from reading this newsletter over the years from time to time some pranks are played on both our clients and our staff.  I think that the following story from Marcia describes how one of these pranks was played out.  “One evening we were all sitting around talking and laughing, before dinner, and I was drinking a cup of coffee.  Someone, whom I thought was Jeff, poured beer in my coffee.  I took a big drink!  Grouse!!  Jeff started laughing, I said OK buddy that is it, you are in trouble now so watch out!  Jeff still laughing said, "I didn't do it, really it was not me!"  You know I didn't believe him and everyone was laughing.  Jeff still holding a beer in his hand, pleading his case.  Well the dinner drum rang time to eat.  After we all had our plates and sat down and started to eat, Jeff took a drink of his beer.  WOW....He made a terrible face, and said what the HECK did you put in my beer, looking at me!  That is a cardinal sin to do that to beer!  They will shoot you in Texas for ruining a man's beer!  If you know Jeff you know he will keep going on and on with his little statements, and he might add 4, 5, heck however many letters he needs, words.  Well we are all laughing at him, and I am saying very calmly, I didn't do it honey!  OH...yeah I know you did, he says, but I didn't do that to your coffee, why did you ruin my *** **** **** beer, I can't believe you put that *** in my beer....what was that *** you put in my beer?  See he keeps on going!  Well again, very calmly, I said I didn't do it!  Finally the light went off and he looked at Big Pieter!  The whole table just exploded in laughter, Pieter the loudest!  All he kept saying is about how you can be shot in Texas for messing with a man's beer.  Well I guess you know the next night Pieter did it again.  We were all about to choke trying not to laugh, because Jeff took a couple of drinks, got up to get more food, Pieter added more hot sauce, and he came back to the table with all of us watching him before he even tasted what was in it.  Pieter loves to pull those pranks, and I think the guys love it when he pulls them on Jeff!  OH....the one that poured beer in my coffee....can you guess....NO...it was not Big Pieter, but Grassy (Pieter PH)!!!

After their safari at Cruiser’s, Jeff & Marcia flew to Cape Town for a visit in that area of the country.  Before I include their story here I must add that if you look at his pictures you will see that he has a stunning resemblance to a famous wrestler.  Both Jeff & Marcia sent me this story but I am including Marcia’s version here.

“Seems like every were we go around here people are always confusing Jeff with Steve Austin....or Stone Cold, the WW something or other, wrestler.  We get into restaurants ahead of people, get waited on by the managers, go shopping in the mall and people in Macy's will ask for his autograph.  Well this time it was at the food court in Cape Town.  Of course Jeff had the steri strips over his right eye from his "hunting" trip, which was even better.  When we stopped to get a sandwich, the young girl behind the counter kept smiling at us I thought, but turned out to be Jeff.  When she brought our “chips" (fries) to us she started asking him if he was, and to please say yes.  I knew who she was talking about so here I went!  I said "Oh honey, just go along with it, make the little girls day, you will never see her again, and she will be happy!"  BIG Mistake....I will never do that again.  Holy Cow, we were bombarded with the work staff.  I was trying to melt into the wall and cover my face, praying to disappear, and praying that no more people would show up!  All I wanted to do was get out by now!  But my "Stone Cold" was a real trouper, he let them take his picture with them all, then he said, "Let's get the HECK out of here!"  I threw away my sandwich, and off we went.  The guy behind the counter said, "Don't worry you will get him in the next round!"  Well I wanted a frozen yogurt.  The guy behind this counter kept smiling as he was taking my order, then the guy down the way started whistling and telling this guy that it was him.  Here we go again!!!  Jeff was getting nervous and said, "get that darn thing and lets go!!"  Needless to say, I didn't get to go back in there shopping!  Any way, we will never forget that trip!

There is one hunting story that I didn’t include here and if you are ever in South Africa you can ask Pieter about it or even better, if you are in Texas and see what you believe is Stone Cold Steve Austin, be sure to ask him about the trophy that he didn’t get mounted.  We are anxiously awaiting their return in 2009.

Click HERE
to see photos of Jeff & Marcia's hunt.

JOSEPH KOZA and his son JONATHON – Texas

Animals taken – 2 – Springbok*, 2 – Blesbok*, Blue Wildebeest*, female Blue Wildebeest, 3 – Impala, Warthog*, Gemsbok*, Zebra, Steenbok*

OZIEL GONZALEZ and his son FABIAN – Texas

Animals taken – Impala*, Gemsbok, Blue Wildebeest*, Zebra, 2 - Warthog*, Blesbok*, Kudu

Highlights:

Joseph & Oziel are brother-in-laws and for their safari they each brought their 11 year old sons with them.  Joseph & Jonathon arrived in South Africa 2 days before Oziel and Fabian and took advantage of this extra time to travel to the Free State Province with Jeff & Marcia Wilson.  There they were both able to take record book Springboks and a record book Blesbok before they returned to Cruiser’s base camp.  Joseph’s first day hunting in the Limpopo Province was an exciting hunt for Blue Wildebeest with all of the possible elements involved, shifting wind, walking & tracking, running and finally crawling to with in 50 yards of where the trophy was standing underneath a tree.  Joseph made the best of the situation and made a great snap shot and was rewarded with a record book animal.  Joseph had no luck the next day but Jonathon was able to take a record book Blesbok, followed by a successful stalk on a Blue Wildebeest female the next day.  Joseph’s Zebra hunt was a very tough stalk and had they felt that this stalk was more in line with a notorious death march.  Zebra’s can be very difficult and this hunt proved this point although at the end of the day Joseph took his well earned trophy.

Ozile’s first day on safari was also very successful as he was able to take a huge record book Impala.  His second day was a lot tougher and both animals that he took that day, a Gemsbok & a Blue Wildebeest, both required a long tracking job and a follow up shot but they both ended up in the salt.  Fabian also learned that Warthog’s can take quite a bit and keep on going but in the end he had his first African trophy.  On the day that Ozile took his Kudu they also saw a Cheetah and a Leopard on the same property.  Just being able to see these animals was quite an experience for everyone involved as normally they are never spotted and if spotted I can’t ever remember anyone seeing both cats on the same day.  A great safari was had by all and it is great that both of their young sons were able to participate and take home trophies of their own.

Sorry, there are no photos of this group's hunt available.

RICHARD & PEGGY DUBOIS – New Mexico

Animals taken – Blue Wildebeest*, Blesbok*, Impala*, Red Hartebeest*, Waterbuck*, Kudu*, 2 – Warthogs*, Eland*, Zebra

Highlights:

When they returned Richard sent me a very nice story and I could not write anything better about their safari, so I am including it here in its entirety.  One note: all of Richards trophies made the record book and his Red Hartebeest was the largest ever taken at Cruiser’s.

WHAT A MAGNIFICENT TRIP!

By Richard Dubois

Cruiser Safari’s attention to detail is second to none.  My original list of animals was six, but I couldn’t control myself.  I wound up taking 10 animals.  The selection of trophy quality animals is just amazing.

My most interesting hunt was for the Kudu.  After taking my Impala early that morning, I forgot to reload my rifle and when the Kudu presented himself, my rifle CLICKED on an empty chamber.  Pieter L. was with us (Craig, Craig’s dad Ralph, my wife and myself), and we tried following the bull, only to have giraffes spook the Kudu.  That didn’t make Pieter very happy.  He noticed by the tracks that the bulls front hooves were deformed.  We went back to the truck and continued hunting.  Later in the afternoon we sat in a blind close to where we saw the Kudu that morning.  We sat there for about two hours and saw lots of animals, but no big Kudu bull.  Craig finally spotted the bull sneaking through the bush across a clearing behind us (at sunset) and signaled me to get up and get in position.  The bull was about to go behind a tree, so Craig whistled and the bull stopped and I shot and he went down.  It was a good hit and lo and behold it was the same bull I had encountered earlier that morning.  What great scouting and watching by our PH Craig.  It was awesome.  His hooves were so unique that we decided to keep them and are having a lamp made to remind me of this great hunt.

As they say…All things happen for a reason on safari.

Had I shot the Kudu that morning, I would have missed the opportunity for the big hartebeest.  My hartebeest was a fast action packed hunt.  We saw the hartebeest and Pieter had me shoot off of his left shoulder.  The shot hit true and this GOLD MEDAL hartebeest turned out to be the largest ever taken at Cruiser Safaris.  Pieter, Craig, Ralph, Peg and I were ecstatic.  It sure made up for the disappointment we all had when I bobbled the shot on the Kudu that morning.

The whole hunting experience was terrific!  After getting the animals I wanted, Craig kept talking about the Eland.  I had to keep wiping the drool off his face every time he mentioned it.  He told us how Beatrix could take the back strap and butterfly it and fill it with spinach and feta cheese and grilled it on the bar-b-que.  We had pasted up a good size bull on my first day of hunting.  In the beginning, I just wanted to concentrate on the original animals I wanted.  I finally gave in and decided to add one to my hunt.  We hunted hard all day and just before sunset, the old blue bull gave me a clear shot.  He was massive and had great coloring on his head and dewlap.  What a magnificent animal and of course, Beatrix did her magic and grilled that back strap with the spinach and feta cheese.  It was probably the best piece of meat I’ve ever eaten.

Speaking of food, we would like to thank Beatrix for all of the wonderful meals she prepared for us.  She truly is a great chef.  Having game meat almost every night was such a treat and really good.  Everything she made was delicious, especially the pumpkin and squash dishes.  But as I mentioned before, the Eland back strap was the “piece de resistance”.

My wife had a wonderful time going out on safari and photographing (the giraffes & sunsets were her favorite), shopping (3 day’s worth) and just having an amazing time with all the hunters, PH’s, Lizelle, Pieter and Beatrix.  Our PH Craig was great!  We really enjoyed him as our PH and he really helped me hunt and stalk all the wonderful animals I was able to shoot.  His humor was great and tried many times, unsuccessfully, to scare my wife.  She jumped a couple of times, but after that she was on to him.  We’ve made good friends, especially with Craig’s dad Ralph.  He is an amazing man and story teller.  He was great to have along with us during our hunts.  Sometimes I think he was more excited than we were whenever we got an animal.  The camaraderie, jokes, laughter, food, and just plain nice polite people were the best part of our trip.  We will most definitely be back.

Click HERE
to see photos of Richard's hunt.

KIM KIMMEL – Texas

Animals taken – 2 – Blesbok (1*), Steenbok*, 2 – Warthogs*, Impala*, Blue Wildebeest*, Duiker*, Waterbuck*, Zebra

CARY CHAPMAN – Texas

Animals taken – Blue Wildebeest*, Warthog*, Impala*, Kudu*, Gemsbok, Blesbok*, Steenbok*, Zebra

Highlights:

Kim & Cary are friends from Texas and both had always dreamed of an African safari and this year they were able to fulfill that dream together.  Kim got off to a slow start on his first day as they were hunting in some dense thickets and shot opportunities were limited.  Although Cary’s morning was slow he was able to take one of the largest Blue Wildebeest ever taken in the afternoon.  The next day Kim missed a shot on a Waterbuck but made up for it by taking 2 Blesbok and a Steenbok to get his safari going great.  Cary took a nice Warthog that day but things really slowed down for him the next couple of days as they spent a lot of time in search of a Kudu which he ended up taking finally on the 6th day.  After spending the better part of 4 whole days in pursuit of “The Grey Ghost”, Cary was very excited when he took his record book trophy.  Kim seemed to get really hot on certain days and on his 5th day he again took 3 trophies.  Not to be out done, Cary also took 3 animals on his 7th day.  Kim hunted extremely hard for his Waterbuck and after 3 different times where he missed, he finally took an excellent record book trophy on his 7th day.  Their long anticipated safari was a total success and almost all of their animals qualified for the record book.  Congratulations Guys!

Sorry, there are no photos of Kim & Cary's hunt available.

BRIAN BOLIN – He is currently working in Ethiopia

ANDREW BOLIN – California

Animals taken – Kudu (51”), Gemsbok, Warthog*, Impala*

REBECCA BOLIN – California

Animals taken – Warthog*

Highlights:

This was the third visit to Cruiser’s for Brian.  This time he brought along his son and daughter and they were the hunters on this safari.  Brian said that they now have a new hunter in the Bolin family as Rebecca shot a record book Warthog.  Brian said that he thinks he was more excited about her shooting it than Rebecca was.  Congratulation to Rebecca and welcome to the exciting world of hunting.

Andrew was amazed at all of the animals he saw every day, stating, “I did not go one day without seeing hundreds of animals.”  One of his goals was to take a record book Impala but even with seeing so many of them, taking his goal turned out to be difficult and took quite a bit of time.  It seems that one day they decided to sit at a water hole in their quest for this Impala.  Frustration was the theme of the day as it seems that everyone that came into drink completely circled their blind before they came in and they got to see quite a few of them running away from their hide.  Finally on day 6 they saw the Impala that they wanted but on his first attempt Andrew couldn’t find him in the scope before he ran off.  They saw this same Impala later in the afternoon but there was no chance for a shot.  Finally they felt that since this Impala was spotted twice in the same day and in the same general area, they felt that sooner or later he would come into the nearby water hole.  And that’s exactly what happen and Andrew made a great shot on his trophy.

Andrew loved looking for and hunting Kudu.  This also turned into a full day of adventure.  They had spent the entire morning looking for a nice bull and finally they spotted their prey but Andrew was unable to get a shot off before the Kudu disappeared into the bush.  They took off in the direction of the Kudu and spotted him again not too much later but was unable to make a shot.  Then after what Andrew thought was a tracking job in the wrong direction, they came to the edge of a ridge and saw the bull across on another hill.  The Kudu was maybe a hundred yards away but he had stopped behind a tree.  When he finally stepped out there was not a shot opportunity as he was walking away from them.  Finally he stopped and turned broadside long enough for Andrew to get the crosshairs on his shoulder.  Andrew made a perfect shot and the Kudu dropped in its tracks.  Congratulations to the Bolin’s and we are looking forward to you all joining us again.

Click HERE
to see photos of Andrew & Rebecca's hunt.

GREG BROWNE – Idaho

Animals taken – Blesbok*, 2 – Warthogs*, Gemsbok, Duiker*, Waterbuck*, Kudu, Steenbok, Impala, Nyala, Blue Wildebeest*

Highlights:

The following was written by Greg:

“Choosing to hunt with a muzzleloader can sure add excitement to a hunt…especially in Africa.
 With a self imposed shooting limit of a 100 yards along with finding that my scope had been knocked out of zero during my airline flight, I knew I was in for a real challenge.  However, from the time I met my PH Pieter and our tracker Isaac I knew I was in good hands.  These guys worked very hard to get me close to some great trophies.  We really worked well as a team while we stalked, trailed and still hunted game during our days of hunting together.  Although I had a rough start to my trip with my first warthog.  I quickly earned the camp nickname of Mr. Lucky, thanks to some quick thinking and even quicker shooting from Pieter.  One thing is for sure, a charging warthog is no laughing matter, as things can get serious very quickly.

Ultimately, I was able to take 11 great trophies in 8 days of hunting.

If you get the chance to hunt any of Cruisers distant properties you’ll have a great time.  Traveling through some of the small towns is always interesting and some of the local landowners are real characters.

One thing I can assure you is, that Cruiser Safaris will send you home with some fine memories, and Pieter might even give you a little piece of Africa that you can call your own…thanks Pieter!”

Greg did all of his hunting with a muzzleloader and the number and quality of animals that he took proved his skill in using this primitive weapon.  He proved his skills the first day with a running Blesbok that he brought down with one shot.  In his story above Greg mentioned a rough start to his trip concerning a Warthog.  What had happened is later in the day on his first day Greg shot a Warthog.  Unfortunately the shot was a little far back and resulted in a long tracking job.  As darkness started to fall they called it quits for the day.  Early the next morning they were back tracking his Warthog.  As normally happens when tracking they are all in single file.  Isaac their tracker was leading, followed by Pieter Ph and Greg was in the rear.  They picked up the tracks where they had left off the night before and about a half hour later they spotted a Warthog in a hole that appeared to be dead.  All of a sudden the Warthog woke up and when he saw the group approaching he charged.  Isaac jumped out of the way but Greg could not shoot as Pieter Ph was ahead of him.  Pieter had brought a gun with him that day and quickly dispatched the charging Warthog to avoid any injury.  Examination of the animal revealed that it was indeed the same one that Greg had shot the day before.

As with all hunting, Greg’s good luck seemed to go away until the 4th day when the tides turned again and he was able to take a Duiker, Waterbuck and a Kudu on the same day.  That day they named Greg’s rifle “Ol Sweet Pea”.  Above Greg also mentioned that Pieter might even give you a little piece of Africa that you can call your own.  Rather than saying exactly what Pieter likes to do, I will just say that you might like to check your backpack or luggage for additional items that may find there way into them.  Congratulations Greg on an outstanding primitive weapon hunt and we are looking forward to your return in 2010.

Click HERE
to see photos of Greg's hunt.

EUGENE GRENIER – Connecticut

Animals taken – Gemsbok, 2 - Impala*, 2 – Steenbok*, Blesbok, Warthog, Kudu*, Red Hartebeest*, Blue Wildebeest

FRANK GRENIER – Connecticut

Animals taken – Impala*, Blue Wildebeest*, Steenbok, Gemsbok, Kudu (54 ½), Blesbok*

PATRICE NADEAU – Connecticut

Animals taken – Impala*, Waterbuck*, Gemsbok, Kudu (51 ¼) Steenbok*, Warthog*, Blue Wildebeest*, Blesbok

GILLES JACQUES – Quebec, Canada

Animals taken – Impala, Red Hartebeest, Kudu (53 ½) Gemsbok, Warthog*, Blesbok*

Highlights:

I must relate a story that was told to me personally by our PH, Hans.  On Gilles first day they hunted Gemsbok with no success.  Later they decided to sit in a blind for Kudu.  As happens often with the relaxing time spent in a blind, Gilles fell fast asleep.  While he was asleep he was having fond dreams of hunting Kudu’s.  While he was dreaming of Kudu’s in the real world one actually came in.  Hans kept telling him to shoot but in his dream land he just couldn’t move.  When fully awake the actual shot opportunity was gone.  Although Gilles didn’t have a chance for the Kudu he salvaged the first day by taking a record book Impala later in the day.  Frank also took a nice Impala during the first 1 ½ hour of his safari dropping the trophy in its tracks with one well placed shot.  On his first day Patrice was also able to take a record book Impala with such a great stalk that the Impala’s didn’t even know they were there.  He also took a record book Waterbuck on his first day.  Then it seemed that his luck had run out on him as the next 3 days saw him missing on his shots.  But bad luck doesn’t seem to stay for a long time and before his safari was over Patrice was able to take 6 more trophies with the majority of them qualifying for the record book.

Eugene’s safari started out looking like every other day would be a successful one as he took nothing on the first day, a Gemsbok on the second and then no luck again on the 3rd day.  After the 4th day his good luck changed and was able to take at least one good trophy daily after that.  On his last day of his safari he took what I believe is one of the largest Impala ever taken at Cruiser’s, a 25 3/8” monster.  Eugene’s brother Frank hunted hard for his Kudu on a property that was very thick but known to have some really nice bulls.  At the last minute of light they finally spotted what they were looking for and Frank made an excellent shot on a very nice record book trophy.

Sorry, there are no photos of this group's hunt available.

ROBERT JENSEN – Florida

Animals taken – Blue Wildebeest*, Red Hartebeest*, Impala*, Kudu*, Eland*, Waterbuck*, 2 – Warthogs*, female Blue Wildebeest

Highlights:

Bob had a great safari and every one of his trophies qualified for the record book.  His first hunting day was very windy and the Blue Wildebeest that they were hunting were extremely nervous if they were moving around or they were lying in the brush for concealment from the wind.  They hunted hard all day without any luck until Hans, his PH, said they should just do some walking.  They finally came across a herd that was laying down but they couldn’t get a good look at all of the animals.  Hans finally whistled and the herd stood up.  There was an excellent bull in the group and Bob made a great shot on his first trophy.  The wind was a problem the next couple of days but when it let up his success rate also went up.  Bob’s favorite hunt was for his Kudu and he really worked for it.  They were hunting in the mountains and it was up one mountain to glass the next one and then down again to climb the next one doing the same.  They saw some females and some young bulls but there weren’t any shooters to be found.  Later they spotted some but the sun was in their faces and they just couldn’t get a shot.  Much later after doing a lot of walking they finally spotted a couple of good bulls but they were over 600 yards away.  The stalk on those bulls lasted about an hour and a half but it was successful when Bob made a great shot from about 200 yards.  This great day was topped off with his also taking a record book Eland.  After taking a couple of great Warthog’s, Bob wanted to take a female Blue Wildebeest for a rug.  He finished his safari with an animal that had a beautiful skin that will make an outstanding area rug.  Congratulation goes to Bob on all of his fine trophies.

Click HERE
to see photos of Bob's hunt.

GARY FENNER – Louisiana

Animals taken – Blue Wildebeest*, Impala*, Waterbuck, Gemsbok, Nyala*, Black Wildebeest*, Red Hartebeest, Eland*, 2 – Zebra, Blesbok*, Kudu (51”), 2 – Warthogs*, Black Backed Jackal

BRIAN BRISTOW – Louisiana

Animals taken – 2 – Zebra, Blue Wildebeest*, Red Hartebeest*, Impala*, 2 -Waterbuck*, Gemsbok*, Genet, Blesbok*, 3 – Warthogs*, Kudu, Caracal, Black Wildebeest*, Bushbuck*

Highlights:

The weather was windy and the hunting was hard the first part of their safari but Gary was able to take a nice Blue Wildebeest on his first day.  On the 4th day of their safari there was an opportunity to travel to a farm that had to take some of their excess Black Wildebeest off.  Naturally everyone jumped at this chance and both Gary and Brian took really nice Black Wildebeest and also Red Hartebeest at the same time.  The next day was a great day for Gary as he was able to take not only the Eland that he was after but also 2 Zebra on the same day.  After shooting his Kudu (which only ran a short distance before piling up) a nice Warthog appeared at the same spot the Kudu was standing and Gary’s PH, Pieter, said shoot the Warthog.  Thus he ended up shooting 2 animals in about 5 seconds of each other.  Both Gary and Brian ended up taking several excellent animals each on their safari and Brian took one of the largest ever Gemsboks, a 40 1/8” monster.

Sorry, there are no photos of Gary & Brian's hunt available.

DON & MARY THOMPSON – Arkansas

Animals taken – Blesbok*, Red Hartebeest, Black Wildebeest*, Eland*, Nyala, Waterbuck*, Warthog, Duiker*, Bushbuck*

ROBERT HARTWELL – Montana

Animals taken – Kudu, Warthog*, female Blue Wildebeest, Blesbok*, Black Wildebeest*, Impala, Eland*

Highlights:

Roberts goal was a very wide Kudu and on his first day he took exactly what he was looking for followed by a Warthog later in the day.  On day 2 they made a great stalk of about 1 mile and came upon an open field that contained a herd of Blesbok.  Don dropped a nice old Blesbok with a great 110 yard shot and they were able to get the whole thing on video.  They were fortunate to be there when we took our only trip of the year to help with game management on a property with Black Wildebeest.  Both of them were able to take nice Black Wildebeests and Don also took a Red Hartebeest that day.  Robert took a very nice Eland on a walk and stalk.  The animals were feeding away from them and as they stalked up there was some Gemsbok between the hunters and the Elands.  When the Gemsboks spooked it set the Elands into flight mode but Robert made a great shot on a record book animal.

Sorry, there are no photos of Don & Robert's hunt available.

SCOTT LEITNER – North Carolina

Animals taken – Gemsbok*, Blesbok, 2 - Impala*, Blue Wildebeest*, Waterbuck*, Kudu, female Blue Wildebeest

Highlights:

Scott started out his safari on the first day learning just how resilient Gemsbok can be.  They spotted some Gemsbok and tracked them for a while and when they spotted them they began a great stalk.  They were able to stalk within 75 yards when Scott took his shot.  The bull went down and they started to run up to it’s location when it tried to get up.  Scott shot again and the Gemsbok again went down but got up again.  Scott’s 3rd shot rolled him completely over but when his feet hit he was off again and ran 50 yards before he stopped.  Scott’s 4 shot put him down for good.  He took a Blesbok later that day and was glad that this trophy went down for the count with just one shot.  The 4th day of his safari turned out to be a very hot day and his PH thought the best plan of action for that day would be to stalk into the different water holes.  This turned out to be a great plan as Scott made a perfect 200 yard shot on a record book Waterbuck.  His Kudu hunt was also a very difficult hunt with the Kudu’s always managing to give them the slip before a shot could be made.  They walked and stalked all day and their luck changed when the Kudu made the mistake of crossing an open field.  That was all of the opportunity that they needed.  Wanting a Blue Wildebeest hide for the rug was the reason that he hunted a female Blue Wildebeest.  Again they did some work for this trophy but Scott’s PH, Craig, was able to video the whole hunt for him.

Sorry, there are no photos of Scott's hunt available.

BILL HENDRICKS – Arkansas

Animals taken – Gemsbok*, Blue Wildebeest*, Waterbuck*, Warthog*

Highlights:

Bill’s first trophy was a great record book Blue Wildebeest that he took with just one shot.  Its bosses were exceptionally thick measuring 14 ¾” around which only added to the joy of this excellent trophy.  His second trophy, a Waterbuck, was one of the largest taken and it qualified for not only the SCI record book but Rowland Ward as well.  His quest for a Gemsbok took much more work and they spent the better part of 3 days in looking for a particularly great trophy that they had seen.  It wasn’t until his 7th day that he was finally able to be successful on this trophy, again another record book animal.  Rain is very uncommon this time of the year but twice on their hunt for an Impala, rain spoiled the hunt.  Bill’s goal was to take another record book animal of this species but because they were foiled by mother nature, this last trophy was not to be.  On one of the days they were fortunate to see a very large Cheetah and actually came across a recent kill that it had made.

Click HERE
to see photos of Bill's hunt.

BEN LINER – Florida

Animals taken – Impala*, Gemsbok, Zebra, Blue Wildebeest

JIM LINER – Oklahoma

Animals taken – Kudu*, Impala*, Zebra

Highlights:

Ben and Jim are brothers.  When Ben decided to go on a safari to Africa he thought it would be a great idea to have his brother join him.  Although Jim hadn’t hunted in 44 years and then only birds, rabbits and squirrels he was looking forward to his first adventure hunting bigger game.  On Jim’s first day he proved that he was still a good shot.  They spotted 3 nice Impala’s early in the morning that included an exceptional trophy and the stalk was on.  They were just about ready to set up the shooting sticks for a shot when Jim’s pants got caught on a thorn.  The noise from this sent them running.  They later managed to stalk up to about 70 yards from them but again they took off.  Finally about 3 hours later for some reason the Impala was curious about them and stopped for a look.  That was all Jim needed to be able to take his first African trophy and a record book one at that.  Ben also scored on a record book Impala on his first morning but was able to accomplish his feat in only 20 minutes.  Jim completed his perfect first day by making a terrific shot on a great looking, wide Kudu bull.

On the next day it was Ben’s turn to excel.  His Gemsbok hunt that morning was his favorite hunt of the safari.  They were stalking the Gemsbok when they spotted some that were running directly toward them.  Ben’s PH told him to wait until they stopped or bumped directly into them.  At 65 yards the Gemsbok stopped and Ben dropped his trophy right in its tracks.  Both Ben and Jim later took very nice Zebras.  They finished up their safari with a trip to Pilanesburg National Park where they were able to get up close and personal with a 5 year old Elephant.

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to see photos of Ben & Jim's hunt.

GERALD & SHARON CANTRELL – Texas

Animals taken – Warthog*, Blue Wildebeest*, Blesbok*, Impala*, Red Hartebeest*, Gemsbok, Zebra

DWIGHT & KAREN RICE – Texas

Animals taken – Waterbuck*, Red Hartebeest*, Blue Wildebeest*, Gemsbok, Blesbok*, Warthog*, Eland*, Kudu (54 5/8”), Zebra, Impala*, Nyala, Bushbuck*

Highlights:

I don’t think the first couple of days could have been better for anyone.  On those 2 days Gerald took a total of 5 record book animals.  Of those 5 trophies he said that his Red Hartebeest hunt was the most special.  Here are the details of that hunt in his own words:

“We had been hunting all day on Mr. Theart's ranch (a huge, beautiful property).  We spotted a few hartebeest during the day, but never got closer than 500 yards.  They were very spooky.   I took an excellent impala around noon.  A great long distance shot with a 375, across a fantastic field that reminded me of the Plum Creek area near my home.  Just when I thought the day was over, we spotted several Red Hartebeest between ourselves and a line of trees.  Pieter PH excitedly whispered that the lead hartebeest, 3rd from right of the reference tree was a good trophy.  I had to move quickly because I knew they would not be there in a moment.  I shot with the 375 H&H at approx. 180 yards.  It was a perfect shot, yet the Hartebeest ran another 200 yards.  When we found it, we were all hopping with excitement.  I was surprised at Mr. Theart's reaction.  He was genuinely excited and happy for me.  He shouted and slapped me on the back, his subdued manners giving way to hearty laughter.  Pieter was so pumped by the quality of the animal, he repeated "That's your hunt, right there!"  Isaac (our tracker) had the biggest smile on his face.  We all celebrated for a few moments and enjoyed taking multiple photos.  Something about that hunt hit us all just the same - total exhilaration.  I've never felt quite like that after a successful hunt.  I can't even put my finger exactly on why it was so exciting.  I think it was the culmination of so many factors that ended perfectly at just the right moment in a clean kill and a record book trophy”.

Although Dwight didn’t take as many trophies as Gerald did the first 2 days, he was extremely successful by taking 2 record book trophies during that time, a Waterbuck and a Red Hartebeest.  On day 3 Gerald started to get sick but still was able to take a Gemsbok and a Zebra.  It was a good thing that Gerald had such good luck early in his safari because he was down with his sickness for most of his remaining time in Africa.  Although he was able to continue with some hunting towards the end, due to getting ill his good fortune had run out.  It is strange how sometimes good fortune gets passed on to others as happened in this case.  As Gerald was getting sick his good luck seemed to pass directly to his friend Dwight and on Dwight’s 3rd and 4th day he took 4 excellent trophies.  Had Gerald not gotten sick I’m sure that his trophy list would be as long as Dwight’s.  I must mention just one more instance in which Dwight’s luck was really in his favor.  A Bushbuck is an extremely hard hunt and on the last morning of his hunting they saw a very nice Bushbuck but he ran off before they had a shot opportunity.  When Lady Luck smiles on you everything seems to go your way.  It seems that later in that day they went back to the same spot where they had seen the Bushbuck previously and couldn’t believe their eyes when they found him in almost the same exact spot.  This time Dwight didn’t waste any time and collected another record book trophy.  I really wish that Lady Luck would smile on me as much as it did for him but I think that Gerald had some thing to do with passing on his luck to his friend.

Sorry, there are no photos of Gerald & Dwight's hunt available.

RALPH CHAPPA, wife NANCY & Nancy’s friend TONI – Minnesota

Animals taken – Impala, Gemsbok*, Warthog, Kudu* (531/4”), and 2 additional Warthogs taken with a bow

TERRY SMUDER & his friend VERNA – Minnesota

Animals taken – Gemsbok, Kudu* (51 ½”), Impala*, Warthog*, Genet

Highlights:

Both of the guys started out their safari by taking nice animals the first day, however I don’t think the girls were quite as excited about this great start as the guys were as they took a trip to Pilanesburg National Park on the 2nd day.  Terry’s Kudu hunt was picture perfect.  They hunted in the mountains and started climbing the hill with the sun just breaking on the horizon casting a pinkish, orange glow.  As they reached the top they spotted a Kudu bull feeding below them.  They glassed the area for a few minutes and 3 Kudu bulls seemed to appear out of nowhere.  The Kudu on the far left was the one they were looking for and Terry sat down among the rocks and made a perfect shot of 264 yards dropping his record book trophy with one shot.  It seems that Terry and Ralph had the same hunting luck as that same day Ralph took a record book Gemsbok.  The next day Terry and his PH sat in a blind where they had seen a very nice Warthog 2 days prior.  Even though they ended up sitting there for ½ of the day their efforts paid off as sure enough, the same Warthog came in and Terry had another record book trophy.  As you can probably guess by now Ralph also took a Warthog that same day.  Since Terry already had his Kudu he took a trip to Marakele National Park the next day while Ralph hunted for a Kudu for which he was rewarded with an exceptional trophy.  Ralph ended up his safari on a high note for him by taking a Warthog with his bow.  Toni picked up her new puppy the day after they returned from their trip, and named her Safari.

Click HERE to see photos of Ralph & Terry's hunt available.

EDDIE PEREZ – Texas

Animals taken – Gemsbok*, Blue Wildebeest*, Impala*, Warthog*, Zebra, Blesbok*, Kudu*

Highlights:

What more can you say about Eddie’s safari.  Every animal taken qualified for the record book and he did his hunting at the end of our hunting year.  They spent the first day looking for Impala and Blue Wildebeest and as it goes so often while hunting, they bumped into a big Gemsbok.  After a great stalk Eddie has his first African trophy and as all of his animals, it was a record book entry.  He worked hard for his Impala though which he didn’t get until his 3rd day.  But also on that day he got a great Warthog.  His Kudu hunt was his favorite although it turned out to be the hardest of them all, as it took the better part of 4 hard hunting days to obtain his goal.  All of his hard work climbing mountains, tracking different bulls, daylight running out, the wind working against them finally paid off when late in the day they spotted the bull they were looking for and with little time for a shot, Eddie finally had the trophy that was worth all of the effort.  Congratulations on some great hunting and your success on some great animals.  We are looking forward to his return in a couple of years.

Click HERE
to see photos of Eddie's hunt.

JOE & EILEEN CIACCIO – New York

Animals taken – Blue Wildebeest*, Warthog*, Kudu*, Blesbok*, Gemsbok, Impala*

Highlights:

Joe did something that I had never seen before.  He had an online book made of his entire safari containing stories of all of his hunts and photographs of all the different aspects.  I couldn’t write a better story for him and to enjoy his complete safari, just click on the area to the right and join him in Africa.

Click HERE
to see Joe's photos & stories.