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The last day always sucks. Not so much because I didn't have my zebra yet, but because I would be saying goodbye to some really special people.

But rather than getting sappy let me tell you about my last hunt.

Dries and I decided to go back to the blind where I shot my gemsbok and ostrich, and where the zebra came in. As we approached the blind we pushed out a female ostrich - probably the girlfriend of the male I killed earlier in the week. After the truck left she got her revenge. She came into the waterhole and parked herself there for 6 hours! I chased her off but she'd come right back. Not only did she park herself there, but she also chased out everything else, including kudu, impala and God knows what else. It was all I could do to keep from having his and her Ostriches shipped back home - but this time I mustered up some restraint.

By 2:00 PM I called Dries and had him move me to another blind. But an hour after I got situated there the wind shifted at the wrong time - just when a bull wildebeest was coming to water. For the next 2 hours he alerted every animal for hundreds of yards. As Dries came to pick me up, the zebra were less than a hundred yards from the blind but they were watching the wildebeest. That one errant wind spoiled my last chance for a zebra. Considering the way this hunt has gone, that was little more than trivial.

This time the barbecue was in my honor. As the party died down, Dries asked me if I wanted to come along for one last minute adventure? Without hesitation I jumped in the Toyota and we, along with Dries Sr., Heinke and some trackers headed to a tent where they had a bunch of sub adult steenbok. These steenbok had been herded up so they could be immunized from a tick-bourne disease. My job was to hold the light as they ran into the tent, and captured 2 steenbok at a time until all 17 were immunized. As I entered the tent and flipped on the light - all hell broke lose. The steenbok would use anything they could to jump out of that tent - on one occasions that "thing" was me as a steenbok jumped on top of me then leapt over the wall. Ah hour later, all the gemsbok had been immunized. It was a great ending to a heck of a hunt.

With the exception of seeing my wife and kids again, it was going to be tough to head back home.

I hope you enjoyed this latest hunt. - Pat.