Odd souvenirs and keep sakes from your trip....

Does anyone else here keep some odd keepsakes or souvenirs from a successful or meaningful safari?

For instance, I have the two spent .375 casings from my Zim buffalo along with a small cup of dirt from the location that he died. I keep it on my desk at home and can "touch Zim soil" whenever I want.

I have also kept soil from where my giraffe fell (with bow) and a little sample from a particularly fun hunt. I've kept a little rock from my first western hunt years ago (where the antelope fell).

I have some others but will wait and see if i'm the only weirdo that does this stuff....anyone have little mementos or souvenirs from great hunting trips?

Of course you are weird but others do it too.

Casing of new calibers, bullets recovered, a branch that was presented to me at my first hunt.
Pretty standard stuff I keep too.

I know its barbaric, but I get really carried away and have them cut the heads off the animals I shoot so I can keep them.

But yes, the memories of the hunt mean a lot to me as well. I don't do dirt and stones but I have a panga from the Orango mountains and an ax from the Caprivi. And now that I think about it, maybe I do stones as well. My spouse accompanied me in June and came home with about a 5 car tourmaline.

Well gents then i am the only "cave-man" re hunt-mementos.
I do not hunt trophies, just meat for the home, so my collections is somewhat different.
Since i was a young boy i collect the 'sack where the family jewels were' ...

Barbaric...???...not to me - just another memento to add to my collection.

Originally Posted by fhm3006

Well gents then i am the only "cave-man" re hunt-mementos.
I do not hunt trophies, just meat for the home, so my collections is somewhat different.
Since i was a young boy i collect the 'sack where the family jewels were' ...

Barbaric...???...not to me - just another memento to add to my collection.

FHM, In June, my spouse and I spent a delightful three days in Swakopmund before heading on to Etosha and then our hunting destination near Omaruru. Even spent a morning quad biking out in the dunes. We had a ball.

And yes, that collection might fall into the fetish catagory!

I usually collect knick knacks from the souvenir shops. I got a really nice leather belt last time in Africa...wish I had bought 2 more! They were only $5 and they work nice! I really like wood carvings on a small level...so I can put it on a self or something. There is a awesome shop on the coast in Port Elizabeth...that I wish was a few steps away right now! I picked up some elephants holding trunks. SS Pro Safari sells carvings made from bones from animals...and I wish I could have filled my suitcase full....Oh well...maybe next time. I have a fly swatter that is made from a oryx tail and one from a black wildebeest too.

Originally Posted by fhm3006

'sack where the family jewels were'

..that's a fetish,skattie.You definitely need to spend some time with Dr.Phil..!

Originally Posted by fhm3006

Since i was a young boy i collect the 'sack where the family jewels were' ...

Barbaric...???...not to me - just another memento to add to my collection.

I do keep the scrotum from my buffalo right on my desk, which is made into a pencil holder.

I bring home rocks to add to my great grandfathers rock collection.
Africa, 5 European countries, artic circle and all over the U.S.

Originally Posted by Red Leg

FHM, In June, my spouse and I spent a delightful three days in Swakopmund before heading on to Etosha and then our hunting destination near Omaruru. Even spent a morning quad biking out in the dunes. We had a ball.

And yes, that collection might fall into the fetish catagory!

Wow man RL you were on the doorstep of my village!!!
I do not know which quad-bike operators you used, but the one just before Longbeach (between Swakop and Walvis Bay) is 500 meters from my domicile! Next time let me know in advance so we can exchange contact numbers and me and you and 'Docman' (live in Walvis Bay) can have a get together quickly over a few oysters and couple of Jaggermeisters

Regarding the 'fettish' matter...nhaaaaaa!

Originally Posted by DOCMAN

..that's a fetish,skattie.You definitely need to spend some time with Dr.Phil..!

Gaan ..k.a.k.. Doc!

Originally Posted by Nyati

I do keep the scrotum from my buffalo right on my desk, which is made into a pencil holder.

Respect !
Dunno what is this 'fettish thing' some okes are on about....

I've got my cape buff scrotum tanned and used as a "peanut" dish.

Tom,
I brought home some thorns under my skin, a couple blisters on top of one foot, and a toenail fungus from having wet feet for ten days. Do these count? LOL!

I have a really nice kangaroo sack. I keep it in my car. The taxidermist tag is still attached with the words 'kangaroo scrotum' written on it. Always good for laughs with the friends!

Originally Posted by fhm3006

Wow man RL you were on the doorstep of my village!!!
I do not know which quad-bike operators you used, but the one just before Longbeach (between Swakop and Walvis Bay) is 500 meters from my domicile! Next time let me know in advance so we can exchange contact numbers and me and you and 'Docman' (live in Walvis Bay) can have a get together quickly over a few oysters and couple of Jaggermeisters

Regarding the 'fettish' matter...nhaaaaaa!

That's the one. No one else there that day, so we had the dunes to ourselves. Drove over to Walvis Bay to see the bloody flamingos, but they had vanished. We stayed in a bed and breakfast owned by our PH's family (Nick Nolte) and really enjoyed ourselves. The seafood was fantastic, and having grown up on the Gulf coast, I can be very critical. Nancy did her best to personally support the Namibian economy by making significant investments in baskets and bracelets. She got a real kick out of bartering with the Ovahimba women for bangels - tough looking gals.

Tom,
now that is inventive - you gave me an idea for peanut holders on my bar-counter

Red Leg,
I know Nick, not personally though. Yeah - those Ovahimba women are scary, some say they still eat their meat raw in the Kaoko region....

TOM

You the man I now have an idea to add to my thoughts when I remember my hunts.
Great idea!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by fhm3006

Tom,
now that is inventive - you gave me an idea for peanut holders on my bar-counter

Red Leg,
I know Nick, not personally though. Yeah - those Ovahimba women are scary, some say they still eat their meat raw in the Kaoko region....

Whats strange about eating raw meat?!....biltong is just raw spiced meat! Our favourite southern African delicacy!

As a PH spending a lot of time away from home annually, I used to bring back a memento from each hunt, be it a stone arrow point, an old Martini Henry case found next to a new 30/378 one or an Elephant tooth shed. I used to hide them in my hunting box along with the biltong for my daughter to find! She couldn't wait to see the hidden treasures and would frantically unpack the box at the end of each hunt when I got home! Over the years she has accumulated a collection of odds and ends that still mean something to her...there's always a story that goes with each one and they're great memories! These things are only fun if you share them!