Hello, Bonjour and Salibonani from Cawston Wildlife Estate, Northern Matabeleland where I help for about 2,5 months with the horses. My very last horse Safari on this game reserve has just finished with an epic sundowner and an even more spectacular full moon rising above the horizon! Just such a special sighting here in the African bush.
My last sundowner at Cawston
The rising of the full moon
My last day at Cawston was lots of fun, I got to shoot a 0.375 rifle. First shot on the shooting range was just for a practice round with a smaller ammo and somehow I missed the target completely. Probably I was just too scared of the noise and the pushback. The next shot was with the big ammo and I was very nervous as I knew this pushback is going to be even stronger – but I had no idea what really is going to happen. When I pulled the trigger I just had automatically to take a step back due to the forces on my body. Unfortunately, I missed the bullseye but at least I hit the bigger target this time. Lots of fun but still plenty of practice ahead of me to become a professional hunter…
Trying not to shake
A 0.22 versus a 0.375 ammo
It’s time to say goodbye to my lovely home in Cawston Wildlife Estate as my Zimbabwean journey takes me to Matopos National Park for my very last Zimbabwean horse safari.
Saying goodbye to the kudus at Cawston
Hello safari fun in Matopos
Last time I was here, I saw a rhino (see this blogpost) on a game drive from a vehicle. This time I got even more blessed! It’s been about 3 weeks since I last sat on a horse, due to my foot injury from the spiderbite. So, I was very happy when I jumped on my horse, Engine, to go on a bushride in this colorful winter scenery. Engine showed me that he really deserves his name, it was a dancing party for the whole 5 hours while we were bundu bashing. This made it hard for me to look for wildlife as I had to concentrate on my horse.
Lovely bush scenery
We were tracking and tracking and suddenly we stood just right in front of this majestic looking grey, big cow. First I thought she was standing next to a stone until I realized she had a little calf with her that was sleeping on the ground. How gorgeous was that?! Fabulous sighting.
Engine spotting the big grey cow
The afternoon ride had some wonderful sceneries for us, we got even a few rain drops creating a beautiful rainbow. Winter has fully arrived and shows off with great colors and fantastic sunsets. We found one spot from where we had an awesome view on the valley in front of us, enjoying the sun setting behind the hills.
Rainbow colors
Nugget enjoying the wonderful view
Sunset time in Matopos
My new lessons learned while helping at Cawston Wildlife Estate:
- Enjoy the full moon rising just above the horizon – it’s such a spectacular moment to see the moon crawling up behind the trees.
- Don’t forget your earplugs when shooting a 0.375 – lots of noise but lots of fun!
- Always have your jacket with you – June can show you some very cold winter days.
Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives, hope to see you soon for my last fun days in Matopos – bye bye, salut and lisale kuhle ∞