Nicaburns
AH veteran
“OIAL”= Once In A Lifetime… suddenly became “Our first trip to Africa” shortly after arriving!
My wife and I had the privilege of spending 10 days in Africa this June. The trip unfolded as we attempted to help some friends plan their OIAL trip to Africa. As former missionaries, we had some contacts there and made a few calls to help them. As we spoke with the missionary in Pretoria and got some recommendations, we quickly realized we wanted to go as well. You see, since I was a boy reading magazines in the barbershop, I have dreamed of hunting Africa but knew it would be out of reach financially. However, due to the connections we established, we were able to get some amazing opportunities on pricing and and some help to make it happen.
Once all the plans were in place, we boarded DL0200 as many of you have but were delayed due to a man on drugs attempting to interfere with another family. The plane had to turn back to the gate from taxiing out to have him removed and then the girl next to me began to vomit all over my items that were under the seat. So… not an ideal exit, but we finally made it to Johannesburg about three hours late but Mr. X and Elize from Afton Safari Lodge took INCREDIBLE care of us! Too many details to note but I wouldn’t dream of going back without availing ourselves to their service and hospitality again!
We then flew to Kimberley where we were picked up by our PH’s and driven to Hopetown where we stayed at Gkhui Gkhui River lodge. Here, we had the best experience imaginable! The family here share our love for Jesus and do amazing ministry through their business and mission endeavors. We not only got to do incredible hunting but were able to donate nearly 2,000 lbs of processed meat to a children’s ministry and to the missionary from Pretoria who came down for two days to assist with meat processing.
On day one, we checked rifles and went for a game drive. That quickly turned to a stalk on a herd of blue wildebeest and resulted in my first African animal. Though I did not have blue wildebeest on my “list”… Africa provided and I took a 270yd shot to start the trip. Each day yielded amazing hunts and game, including the animal I had dreamt of since my youth on day two… a kudu!
My wife and I had the privilege of spending 10 days in Africa this June. The trip unfolded as we attempted to help some friends plan their OIAL trip to Africa. As former missionaries, we had some contacts there and made a few calls to help them. As we spoke with the missionary in Pretoria and got some recommendations, we quickly realized we wanted to go as well. You see, since I was a boy reading magazines in the barbershop, I have dreamed of hunting Africa but knew it would be out of reach financially. However, due to the connections we established, we were able to get some amazing opportunities on pricing and and some help to make it happen.
Once all the plans were in place, we boarded DL0200 as many of you have but were delayed due to a man on drugs attempting to interfere with another family. The plane had to turn back to the gate from taxiing out to have him removed and then the girl next to me began to vomit all over my items that were under the seat. So… not an ideal exit, but we finally made it to Johannesburg about three hours late but Mr. X and Elize from Afton Safari Lodge took INCREDIBLE care of us! Too many details to note but I wouldn’t dream of going back without availing ourselves to their service and hospitality again!
We then flew to Kimberley where we were picked up by our PH’s and driven to Hopetown where we stayed at Gkhui Gkhui River lodge. Here, we had the best experience imaginable! The family here share our love for Jesus and do amazing ministry through their business and mission endeavors. We not only got to do incredible hunting but were able to donate nearly 2,000 lbs of processed meat to a children’s ministry and to the missionary from Pretoria who came down for two days to assist with meat processing.
On day one, we checked rifles and went for a game drive. That quickly turned to a stalk on a herd of blue wildebeest and resulted in my first African animal. Though I did not have blue wildebeest on my “list”… Africa provided and I took a 270yd shot to start the trip. Each day yielded amazing hunts and game, including the animal I had dreamt of since my youth on day two… a kudu!
