In mid-January, Pete Odland had sent me a note telling me that Hannes Els was on his way to America and that he would be spending a few months in the country working various hunting shows in the Michigan area.  Although we had hoped to work it out that Hannes and I would get to meet personally, we were unable to schedule a scenario where we could make this happen.  I thought about flying to Michigan, or even to Texas where Hannes would be later in the month, but my work schedule would not permit even a short break at the time.

Since we couldn't meet in person, on a late January afternoon Hannes called me to talk about the safari.  After taking a few minutes to get to know each other, we talked about the animals I was hoping to take.  By this time, my list was pretty solidly set at a kudu, a gemsbok, a zebra, an impala, and a warthog.  Hannes seemed to be pretty confident that he could put me in a position to collect each of these animals, and he was reasonably sure that I would be able to take a trophy of each species. 

With many of my questions having already been answered by Pete, most of my time on the phone with Hannes was a formality more than anything else.  I knew I would be booking with him, and the conversation we were having confirmed in my mind that I was making the right choice.  We talked a bit about the accommodations at Limcroma, and about what time of year I should come over.  While we were talking, I couldn't help but quiver in excitement as I realized that I was talking to an actual African professional hunter, and even more exciting was the fact that we were discussing my safari.

I told Hannes that I was more interested in hunting with a rifle than with a bow.  In Africa, most of the bow hunting is done by sitting in a blind overlooking a waterhole.  While I certainly don't condemn this kind of hunting, this was not what I wanted for my first safari.  If, I thought, I'm going to be hunting 8,000 miles from home, I want to see the country.  And this is what I told Hannes.  Show me Africa, I said.  Take me out into the bush and let's spend some time going to the animals rather than waiting for them to come to us.  Hannes understood my point of view completely, and promised me that I would not be disappointed.

As the conversation wore on, I decided to ask Hannes about his faith in God.  One reason I had chosen him was the fact that he, like me, is a Christian, fully committed to his faith.  "God is the most important thing in my life," Hannes told me.  "He created me.  I am His."  This was good.  One thing that was important to me was being at a camp where I could be sure that there wasn't a lot of foul language or crude behavior, especially if Micki was going to be coming along with me.  I'm not suggesting that Christians are more well mannered or better behaved than anyone else, but I do feel that being in a camp run by a Christian would make it more likely that I would end up with something more in line with my own lifestyle than anything else.

With that being settled, Hannes asked if my wife would be coming with me or not.  Micki and I had gone back and forth on this decision a good bit.  While she fully and completely supports and even embraces my hunting way of life, she has no interest in hunting herself.  I asked Hannes what there would be for her to do while I was out hunting.  "She could ride along in the truck and watch or film your hunt, or one of the guides could take her into town to do some shopping.  Also, we could put her in a bow blind and let her take pictures of the wildlife that comes to drink.  She could stay at camp, which is comfortable, and just relax," he told me.

I told Hannes that we would need a bit of time to make our decision, and he said that this was no problem.  As long as he knew whether or not she was coming by around January of 2007, all would be well.

We then talked a little bit more about the hunting itself.  Hannes told me that on a typical hunting day we would leave camp early and stay out until about lunchtime.  For lunch we would frequently return to the camp, rest a bit, then go back out for an afternoon hunting session.  This is pretty much what I do on my usual deer hunting days, so I was glad that to see that African hunting wouldn't be much different from what I was already used to. 

I asked Hannes how much walking I would need to be prepared to do.  "We'll usually walk for 30 minutes or an hour," he said, "then rest a bit before moving on.  We can walk as much as 10 miles in one day, but usually do not go more than two or three miles before resting.  We'll take plenty of water and will move at a pace that suits you."  I told him about my back problems at this point, and informed him that I'd be doing my best to prepare for all of this walking by spending a lot of time hiking in the forests near my house prior to the trip.

The last thing we talked about was the pricing.  Hannes gave me quotes for the daily rates as well as the trophy fees for the animals I wanted.  He told me that the deposit needed to be right at 50% of the total cost of the hunt.  I asked if it would be ok for me to pay a larger deposit up front, and he assured me that this was fine and that many people chose to go that route.

With the conversation drawing to a close, I thanked Hannes for his time and confirmed that I would be booking with him.