Round The Fire Podcast Archives -

Round The Fire Podcast, Episode 68

I was a guest on Jono McHugh’s Round the Fire with Kingsview Safaris podcast talking about my trip in June to the Eastern Cape of South Africa. I had been listening to Jono’s podcast for a few years and when I got serious about setting up a hunt in Africa I contacted him. Unbeknownst to me, he and his family had migrated to west Texas after winning a H1B visa lottery based upon his expertise in wildlife and rangeland management. He talks about this adventure in Episode 38.

To make a long story short, Jono introduced me to Juan and Lauren Stander of LJ Hunting Safaris. Jono and Juan had been partnered up in PH (professional hunter) school. It was a fortuitous introduction as my brother-in-law Larry and I had a great time and a great experience. As I say in the podcast, Juan and Lauren made us feel like family.

You can find the episode on Apple Podcasts here and on Spotify here.

If you are thinking about taking a trip to Africa to hunt or just want to learn more about it, I would urge you to listen to Jono’s podcast. He discusses how to find a good outfitter, working with a PH, and the aftermath of the hunt including taxidermy and shipping plus everything in between.

If You Haven’t Guessed Where I Went, Here’s A Hint

As I said in my last post, I was planning to be heading out of town. In case you haven’t figured out where I went, here is a hint.

While it isn’t the original by Toto, something about all those fresh faced Irish kids singing in Gaelige just warms my heart. And yes, as I can attest, it does rain in Africa. It also snows.

So yes, I went to Africa. Specifically, I went to the Eastern Cape province of South Africa to hunt with my brother-in-law Larry. I plan to have a number of posts about our experiences hunting, the people we met, our wonderful hosts Juan (pronouced Ju-On) and Lauren Stander of LJ Hunting Safaris, and the things we saw.

Lauren has put up a series of posts about our time in the Eastern Cape on their Facebook page. Here is a link to the first one.

Finally, in what I consider a closing of the circle, Jono McHugh of Round The Fire With Kingsview Safaris podcast relates how he happened to move to America and how he is now referring client inquiries to Juan and Lauren. I had reached out to Jono a year ago when I finally made up my mind to go on safari and he was the one who put me in touch with Juan. It was fitting that I listened to this podcast on my last leg of the journey home from Africa.