Happyhunters,DarrellandStevenTam.South Africa: 2016
and it wasn’tpitted,sothefiringpinnever
released.Theonlyexplanationwecouldcome
upwith wastheboltofthedartgunmust
liftedduringourlowdashtothethornbush.
I wasdemoralized. We needed tohave the
dartingdoneasthevethadbeenscheduled,
andthesunwasgettinglow.Steven,MrCool,
wasneverrattledanddidn'thesitate.
“It was a mechanical problem. Let’s get
backonthem,theyaren'tspookedtoobad.
Let'sgo.”
I trailed Steven as usual, but my head
wasdown andI wasdragging. I wasworn
outfrom twovery closeencounters, excess
adrenaline, and milesof chuggingalong in
thehotAfricansunturningmytannedskin
intoa brilliantlobster-redcolor.Thesunwas
beginning to set. Steven thoughtwe could
getonemoretryif wecouldhustlebackto
thetruck,circlearoundandheadbacktothe
ravine.Hethoughtwiththegroupbrokenup,
a coupleof therhinosmightcrossthroughthe
littleravinegivingusourshotopportunity.
I thoughtit wasa wasteoftime.All day
theyhadoutmaneuveredus,andattheone
cleanlookwe got,therounddidn'tgooff,
whichworriedme.I alsodidn’t wanttogo
through into a pile of bones left by lions
that might have decided to return. I kept
remindingmyselfofmypolicytostayclose
toSteven,whichI did.Wehadjuststarted
workingourwayaroundintheravinewhena
bigrhinobullranintoview.Stevenmotioned
togetdownandwhispered,“Whenhecrosses
infrontofus,hithimintheshoulderashe
goesuptheravine.”
The massivebull wasonly twenty yards
away. I pulled the trigger, and mercifully
theroundwentoff.Thesmellofgunpowder
filledmynostrils andweheardthe smack
ofthedartasit penetratedtherhino’sthick
skin.
Whiterhinos rarelycharge,sowhenthe
massivebullranupthebankandturnedto
look at wherethe troublesome stingcame
fromI figuredhewouldjustrunawayfrom
the problem. Instead, he wheeled around,
sawusstandingthere,andcharged.Hecame
at us like a freight train. A 2,000 pound
monsterwitha spearonhishead,barrelling
towardusatabout 35 milesanhour.Partof
thechargewascaughtonvideo,thesecond
halfofthevideobeinga blurryimageofthe
groundasour tracker/cameramansprinted
outofthearea!
I wasfrozen,waitingtoseewhatdirection
the bull was going to go. Steven stepped
http://www.imagesofafrica.co.za
in front of me, screaming at the enraged
chargingrhino,wavinghis.416Rigbyover
his head. The rhino slowed a little, but
keepcoming.Stevenyelledatmetomove.
I brokeout ofmytranceside-steppingoff
totheleft.Stevenscreamedevenlouderand
wavedhisgunhigherandwider.Therhino,
agileasanyathlete,turnedona dimeaway
fromthe loudnoiseandbolted offto the
right.Thankfully!
Andthat'showI surviveda chargefrom
a whiterhinoatcloserange.If it weren’tfor
Steven I surelywouldn'tbe writingabout
our adventure.Theman hasicedwaterin
hisveins.Hecalmlywalkedovertome,and
reachedouthishand.
“Welldone,congratulations,”hesaid.
I believetobooka greenrhinohuntwith
anyoneotherthanTamSafariswouldbea bad
decision- thesetwobrothersareincredibly
braveamazinghunters.I fulfilledmydream
huntandflewhomewithmemories that will
lastmefortherestofmydays.Darrellis a successfulbig-gamehunterwholoves
Africaandhehastakena varietyofdifferent
species of big-game animals on multiple
continents.Heis alsoa free-lancewriterwho
has been published many times by numerous
outdoor magazines.