The dogs were led off so they didn't disturb the feeding raptor and the trial continued. Two braces later, the dogs down cleared a ridge and ran into a herd of 70 blesbok. The buck could sense that the
dogs weren’t interested in them, so they cantered off slowly, stopping at the top of a hill to watch the action down below. 4 • DO IT NOW Magazine | July 2013
Lunch miraculously appeared before us, as had the morning tea, and both main course and dessert were devoured sitting around an old concrete dam, out of the wind but in the sun, with the dogs sprawled next to us. Thereafter, it was another two hours of walking before afternoon tea, and then another two before the sun started to disappear and we climbed tiredly into the waiting bakkies. We headed down the mountain for a drink around a roaring fire, a warm shower, and a delicious supper of venison stew. Finally, under the duvet for a dreamless sleep and a 5 a.m. wake-up call to do it all over again.