African Safari - 03/25, PT. 7
I awoke to my alarm at 7am, but nobody had gotten up yet, so I laid in bed dozing off and on until I could hear the sounds of coffee being made. The morning from that point consisted of sitting outside and drinking coffee while hanging out and talking, while birds twittered in the background. I paid Christo the remainder of what I owed for the hunt, and began planning my next hunt. On the next trip, I will be going for sable, kudu, zebra, warthog, and another ostrich, and potentially another buffalo if the opportunity arises. As I write this I must mention that while the next hunt was originally planned for March of 2026, at this point it must be pushed off due to unforeseen circumstances, but come hell or high water I WILL return to Africa someday for another hunt.
Today is my last full day in South Africa, and by late morning we had switched from sipping coffee to whiskey. It’s a very relaxed and easy-going day today, but I can feel the melancholy creeping in as the realization hits that I will be leaving this place tomorrow morning for the airport, but I am excited to get home and see my girlfriend after almost two weeks of being in a different country, and having plans for the next hunt makes it easier. It’s possible that next time she may even come with me, but that remains to be seen.
Some time later, Christo had me try a sauce he had made, with a peach chutney base. This stuff was absolutely amazing (and I would later cook it at home for my parents and my girlfriend) and I couldn’t get enough of it. It was like the very best of any fry or burger sauce I’d ever tried, and it went on the springbok and blesbok. Tonight, it would be part of dinner, with some on the braai and some done in the oven to bake. That afternoon, we tried the springbok and blesbok on the braai, and they were phenomenal. Both meats were so tender that we could cut them with our forks.
Around 9pm, I decided to call it an early night. I got too much sun, and I was really feeling it. We had gone down to the beach for a few hours after sitting in the sun for most of the day, and of course I had forgotten to apply any sort of sunscreen. Rosaline, Christo’s friend, had come by and brought pizza, brownies, beer, and more ice. We need to leave early tomorrow, and I had already packed up most of my gear and clothes. I’m absolutely exhausted and stuffed full from all the food, and Christo teased that he had more pepperoni for me as he waved the pizza box at me. I mimicked his words back at him, and everyone laughed, and Christo asked where his twin was.
Good ol Flying Fish. There was an attempt at a sand castle.
Christo and his fishing pole.
Roman’s Pizza
Koeksisters.
