Hunting in the Bush & Taking people into the bush.
behind and faced us in a semi-circle, which was annoying because we wanted to cross the river and they wanted a drink. So we had to sit, light a cigarette and let them get on with their drink before we finally were able to move onwards. Once I had a lone buffalo charge the land rover over open flat land. Quite why I do not know, but possibly to show his independence and strength. I would never ever shoot a beast in these circumstances, unless it was in a really dangerous situation in which one was stuck in a break down as you can not afford to have say a horn charged through the radiator in the middle of nowhere which maybe 3 – 4 land-rover days away and far far longer if one has to walk. With a land-rover with someone on the roof to signal the way ahead with a compass at the ready one can maintain a steady 3 – 4 miles an hour through grass 10 – 12 ft high without too much difficulty. On foot every inch would have to be hacked with sheer exhaustion and one would be lucky to traverse more than 4 miles a day! One day we were chasing a herd and we shot one. Some of the herd turned and came for us. Mike tried to shin up a tree without a branch on it, his rifle over his back. The rifle slipped off his arms somehow and fell down. In trying to retrieve it, he slipped although he still had his legs around the tree and was upside down clinging on for dear life about 10 ft up as the herd thundered past underneath him. I was by another tree and watched, laughing at the spectacle and did not fire a shot as we already had the beast we wanted. It was quite the funniest sight that you could imagine and it still makes me laugh.
Once I had a buffalo stray into my camp by the side of a river in the middle of the night. I heard Peter my dog barking violently and I jumped up and switched on my big searchlight in time to see Peter biting his heels frantically as he ran away. This is most unusual, although often they will come quite near.
Once I had a close shave with a buffalo by a water hole or large pond. I had been on my stomach for some time trying to get close to it to shoot a large hob-nosed drake which is very good for eating and I fired. I did not realise that about 10 yards to my side were three buffalo that paniced and charged and rushed straight for me. I only just avoided them and got out of the way as they crashed though the thick grass.