Our recent hunting trip to Pongola was meant to be a memorable family getaway, with plans for me to hunt a giraffe and our children to bag some warthogs. But as is often the case with the best-laid plans, things didn’t go quite as expected. A permit issue meant my giraffe hunt had to be postponed, and my husband Pierre suffered a back injury after an unfortunate fall from the bakkie. Additionally, our son Slade, recovering from a rugby injury, was unable to join in on the hunt.

Despite these setbacks, our other two children had an unforgettable experience. Logan, in particular, made up for Slade’s absence by taking down seven warthogs – each with impressive tusks – and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.

Our daughter, Zaskia, had been on many hunting trips with us, but had never hunted herself. On this trip, however, she decided it was time to start. With the help of our PH, Pieter Hendrico of Hezekial Safaris, Zaskia practiced with a .243 rifle at the shooting range. After showing impressive accuracy, we set off in search of warthogs, though luck wasn’t on our side that day.

In addition to hunting, we also had the opportunity to do some tiger fishing on the scenic Jozini Dam. Slade, despite his shoulder injury, managed to land a nice tigerfish, and Zaskia caught one too, with some assistance from Pieter.