Monday, July 8, 2013

Botswana Safari...

And, to one of our favorite parts! You all know that we are pretty big hunters in this family. We jump at the chance to go hunting, especially African game in the Kalahari Desert... does it get any better than that... at least as far as hunting goes? :)

This year, I got two kills. I have to say I was pretty excited about them both, BUT I am super pumped about my Kudu! He is not record-breaking big, but according to my PH (professional hunter) the 'eyes' of his horns were really big and he was pretty wide. My second kill was the Wildebeest. He was not really planned. We patiently waited for it to come close enough for a good shot, because the plan all along was that this was Micah's Wildebeest. However, as he got ready to pull back his bow, he realized he had left his release back at camp. And just like that, a gun was put in my hand that Wildebeest was mine!

Since over in Africa, it is winter, the weather gave us no choice but to layer. In the mornings, it was so cold, that I would sometimes have on as many as four layers! However, by the afternoon, I was shedding clothes and wishing I was in shorts and a tank top! Of course, it cooled down in the evenings, but the mornings were by far the coldest!


My Kudu... isn't he beautiful! He will look great in Micah's man cave :)


I was just a little excited!


The eyes of his horns. Apparently these are pretty big!


And here is my Wildebeest... I was pumped up on adrenaline! Not only did I not expect to get to shoot anything this particular afternoon, but it was right before sundown and it all happened rather quickly!

And here are all of Micah's trophies. He killed all them with his bow!


Gemsbok


Impala


Springbok


Kudu


Warthog

We did a mixture of blind hunting and stalk hunting. I personally like to stalk an animal because it is almost more than I can bear to sit in a blind for 5 hours straight without being loud. However, because Micah was bow hunting this was sometimes the most practical way to hunt. This is what the blinds look like... faux termite mounds! Pretty creative, huh? I thought it was pretty clever compared to our spray painted camo versions!





The African sunsets are beautiful.... they definitely give our Texas sunsets a run for their money!


Day 13:
Saying farewell to Tholo Safari Camp. We said our goodbyes, took last minute pictures and traveled for 34 hours straight until we were back to the Lone Star State! It took four flights to get home, one of which we spent the night on (our 15 hour flight).




On board fixing to leave Johannessburg. Two flights down and almost home!

Day 14:
And after what felt like an eternity, I was finally in the final stretch back to Texas to cover my babies in a million kisses! My mom was sweet enough to drive them all the way back to our house to have them waiting for us when we got home. As we got out of the car, those little boogers stood on the porch just checking us out... when I started hooping and hollering, running after them , they started running towards us! That was when I knew I was finally home.

4 comments:

Heather said...

Lauri- I have loved experiencing your vacation through your blogs and pictures! So fun!

The Holik's said...

What a amazing vacation!! I'm sure your boys were so excited to see you!!

Cindy Rector said...

Great pictures of the animals! I don't think you would ever be able to convince people that you are a "big game" huntress....but you have the pictures to prove it! Way to go girlie...and congrats to Micah too. His warthog is a little scary. Thanks again for sharing all the pictures from the trip!

Chobe Safari Lodge said...

Hi Cindy,
You were saying true that capturing wildlife in Botswana is amazing one. If you want to take the various facilities at Kasane lodge then make your turn on that.