Where to start with the year that was 2020. All was looking good for the hunting industry until the news came of a deadly, new, unheard of virus. To follow was news of an international travel ban and even restrictions on provincial travel, causing a ripple effect on hunting trip cancellations, postponements and much suffering for many outfitters and hunters. Not only hunters, but every individual on the planet was exposed to some form of suffering whether it be financial struggle or in the form of the loss of a loved one or a friend.

Many of us are still suffering the effects of this virus almost a year after it was first discovered with no definite answer on when the end will be. The saying “the survival of the fittest” definitely comes to mind, even though we are still going and holding on, I would not put myself in the survival of the fittest category! It has been a rough time for us as a business and the industry in general.

But in the midst of the storm there have been some positives to reflect on and some magnificent trophies harvested with great people met and relationships built along the way.

Johnny Forbes contacted us about a hunt near the end of June 2020. A special travelling permit had to be arranged for him to be able to travel to the Eastern Cape from the Western Cape. This was our first “lockdown” hunt, and to say I wasn’t nervous would be a lie.

After almost 3 months of not hunting and all the new regulations put in place I was worried that the hunt would not turn out the way I wanted it to (especially with not having judged any trophies for that period of time), or that it would happen at all. Man, was I wrong. It couldn’t have gone better. Johnny arrived on the 25 June and left on the 28 June. The first evening saw us take a great female caracal followed by the blue duiker the next morning and the oribi that afternoon.

After great success on the other animals Johnny asked if we could try for a decent common duiker. I had my doubts and thought my luck had run out, but we managed to bump into a great duiker measuring well above Rowland Ward! What a way to end the hunt. Well done to Johnny on these amazing animals.