Several years ago, Combat in the Wild was formed simply as a group of Southern boys with a deep passion for hunting and some know-how when it came to catching the action on video. Sure, we’d love to all get rich from doing what we love, but at the moment we just enjoy the opportunities it provides us… opportunities we might not otherwise have.
As Combat in the Wild grows, our prostaff gets more and more opportunities to experience things that we never thought would be possible. One of those experiences for Jamie Wolfe and me was traveling to South Africa for a safari with Likhulu Safaris.
Naturally we were a little nervous to start with. Two redneck boys hopping a 16-hour plane flight to South Africa! Heck, Jamie and I had hardly ever been anywhere we couldn’t drive home from. After much reassurance from Matt, owner of Likhulu, we were on the biggest airplane we had ever seen on our way across the Atlantic.
Approximately nine movies, 13 restless naps and three meals later, we landed in Johannesburg, South Africa. After checking Matt’s straight-forward airport directions one more time, we naturally went to the wrong meeting point, which I’m sure had Matt questioning, from the get-go, the intelligence of the folks he had invited over. Once Matt found the two lost rednecks wandering the airport (I’m sure we weren’t hard to spot), we were off to camp.
We left the city and drove through some of the most beautiful country we had ever seen at sunset that day. It’s a good thing the scenery was that gorgeous. It kept our minds off the fact that we were driving on the wrong side of the road.
It was dark when we arrived at the Dipka Game Lodge, but even in the dark you could tell the view was breathtaking. We were met at the door with warm towels, wine and snacks… something we definitely were not used to. After settling into our rooms and getting a much-needed hot shower (imagine two big boys cooped up on a plane for 16 hours), dinner was served. If I remember correctly, it was wildebeest steak with various side dishes. Having never tasted wildebeest before, Jamie and I approached with caution. To our surprise, this steak rivaled any ribeye we had ever tasted, and we have had our share of ribeyes. We never had a meal while we were in South Africa that wasn’t as good as any five-star restaurant. Almost all of the meals were prepared my Jacklyn, Matt’s wife.
After filling our bellies and getting a good night’s sleep, I was up like a kid at Christmas. One look out the window confirmed the butterflies in my stomach. There were animals as far as the eye could see. I woke Jamie and got out the binoculars. Even though we had no idea what half of the animals we were looking at were, we couldn’t wait to get a closer look.
Everything turned from light-hearted jokes to seriousness when we took to the field. Although there was an abundance of animals around, it is not easy to get into rifle range. Matt and his brother Chris are the PHs (Professional Hunters) with Likhulu Safaris. It is simply amazing to watch them make the wind, sun, terrain and any other natural element work to the hunter’s advantage to get into position for a shot. It took us a full day for Jamie to get his animal, a white blesbuck. The next morning I was lucky enough to get a shot at a red hartebeest. After we bagged our animals, we filmed for a four-person safari for the remainder of our trip.
We would like to send out a big thanks to Matt, Jacklyn, Chris and the rest of the staff at Likhulu Safaris for providing us with the trip of a lifetime. We would also like to thank the Caudell family for allowing two crazy rednecks to tag along on their safari with a video camera. We can’t wait to share another campfire with you in the bush of South Africa.
Corey New is a member of Combat in the Wild. To see their Africa shows, find them on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or go to their website www.combatinthewild.com
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