Todd Rathner from Tucson, Arizona also visited us for a few days in September and here are some of the animals he took.

George & Mary Beth Lloyd of Galveston, Texas, hunted with us for the second time in September. It is always nice to have friends back and George says next time he is ready for buffalo!

Great PH, tracker, camera man. Wonderful food and hospitality. Seeing elephant, rhino and giraffe was a highlight. Beans, our PH, was again excellent as he was the first time on our visit two and a half years ago."

George & Mary Beth - Zebra

Stephen Smith, son Jordan and friend Charles Nicols from Tulsa, OK spent 10 days of hunting with us in August. Stephen said tracking the game, the fellowship of all and the Christ like example shown by everyone was his highlights.

"Heaven - a home away from home. Danie, my guide was great, excellent. Jordan said it far exceeded our expectations. Numerous details to enhance our experience. The animals can be hunted all over SA, but Tollie and his staff made the difference. They were all first class! Beans, my guide, was very knowledgeable, professional and skilled. He truly guided me to trophy animals."

Charlie said his guide, Stefan, was great, professional, caring, knowledgeable, a fine man.

Stephan - Blesbuck with Danie

Jordan - Kudu

Charles - Kudu

Charles - Zebra

Charles & Jordan - Springbuck

John & April Jones together with friends Greg & Tara Wenner all from Minnesota hunted with us in August.  John says his PH, Beans, was extremely professional and a pleasure to be around, also very knowledgeable. Not only a great PH, but a great person as well. First class people and accommodations. Animals were abundant. Memories that will last a lifetime.

Greg says his PH, Johan, was a true professional, clean, neat, on time and a very good hunter.

"Tollie & Karen are as hospitable and friendly as anyone could want. All our needs were met. We were treated like royalty. Best experience in my life!"

John - Nyala

John - Bushbuck

Greg & Tara

Tara - Zebra

Greg - Gemsbuck

Greg - Impala

Scott Olmsted, family, Haden, Anthony, Steve Zinn and friends, Marc Lenzen, Darren la Sorte, Mark Weaver hunted with us in July.

"All of us in the Olmsted group had a long but safe trip back to Virginia. I would personally like to take this time to thank you Tollie, Karen, all the PHs, and the rest of your staff for the excellent hospitality, food and accommodations. I found all of your pre-trip co-ordination and information very helpful in making the trip to South Africa as painless as possible. All of the hunting locations were excellent with lots of game and a wide variety of species. I had a great time hunting with my PH, John, who did everything in his power to make each of my hunts a successful and rewarding experience.

All of the PHs were extremely friendly and they went out of their way to make sure that all of the guests needs were attended to. All in all, I had an excellent time with everyone at Tollie's African Safaris and I can't wait to come back. And this one from Darren: Some comments from me regarding my experience... I literally had the time of my life hunting with Tollie's African Safaris. This is saying something when I am able to boast of many fantastic hunting adventures during the last many years. Even in light of the fact that I went into the trip with wildly outlandish expectations, they were exceeded in every way imaginable. All of the PHs who work for Tollie are fantastic and remarkably skilled outdoorsman but he chose the best one for me (I have a feeling the other people on my trip would say the same about theirs).

The 24 year-old South African was the most skilled and intuitive hunter I've ever seen in action. While size of the trophy was not a priority for me, he was able to field judge virtually every animal within a half-inch of its actual size once measured. He found animals with his naked eyes that I couldn't see with my 10 power binoculars. It was truly a sight to behold. He also happily accommodated my preferred style of hunting -- lots of walking and good, hard-fought stalks. I learned a great deal about the art of hunting from him. While the hunting was superb and more successful than planned, the accommodations, food, and hospitality may have been even better. Each night we ate meals that would make the chefs in the finest U.S. restaurants envious. Virtually all of them were dominated by the tender, flavorful venison of the plains animals we hunted.

After those meals, I regretted the laws that prohibited us from importing the meat from the animals we harvested. Each night, before, during and after dinner, we enjoyed the company and friendship of everyone at Tollie's, including all of the other PHs. It was nice to exchange the day's hunting adventures over a few cold beers or brandies with Coke, the official drink of South Africa as far as I can tell. I suspect life-long friendships have been formed. This may sound like an artificially glowing report but it's the simple, plain truth. Tollie and Karen Jordaan, and the PHs they hire to hunt with their clients, are the finest people to be found anywhere. As one of my hunting companions remarked during one of the evening get-to-gathers, "We now know where the cowboys all went. They didn't die." This summed it up for me. Borrowing from the esteemed Colonel Jeff Cooper, they "ride, shoot straight and speak the truth." It's the kind of thing I can't get enough of. There is no doubt that I will return to see Tollie and Karen many more times if I have anything to say about it."

Haden & Scott - Springbuck

Anthony - Kudu

Steve - Kudu

Steve - Zebra

Marc - Impala

Marc - Springbuck

Darren - Impala

Darren - Mountain Reedbuck

Darren & Group - Bushbuck

Mark - Fallow Deer

Jim Moritz and family from Austin, Texas, spent 9 days of hunting with us. Son, James did most of the hunting, while Madelein and Brittney also each bagged an animal. Jim shot a magnificent waterbuck of which he can be very proud of.

"The wine, food and accommodations were excellent and they went out of their way to cater to my wife and two girls."

James - Red Hartebeest

Madelein - Springbuck

Brittney - Mountain Reedbuck

Jackson Wood attended our hunting academy in July. 

"My grandson, Jackson Wood, attended Tollie’s Hunting Academy during July 2005. I accompanied him as an observer. We were both very impressed with the quality of the instruction he received. The Academy is very well organized with excellent written material and practical training. After training in firearm safety, rifle sighting, and marksmanship, Jackson bagged his first animals, a springbuck, impala, and kudu. He learned how to care for and skin his animals. The PH was outstanding, teaching Jackson how to stalk and select an animal for the kill. We can highly recommend the Hunting Academy for other kids based on our experience."

Jackson & the boys

Lew & Jacson

Mel, Melinda, Kelly & Logan Mercer from Tulsa, OK visited us for the second time in June and brought their friends Dean, Debbie, Sarah & Katie Luthey along. We had such a lot of fun!

Dean, Debbie, Sarah & Katie Luthey:

"The trip exceeded all our expectations. The accommodations were first rate. The food, especially the game, was great. The professional hunters Beans, Jaco, Johan and Pieter, not only were very competent, always getting us in the right position for the best shot, but were fun companions. They helped us get all the animals we hunted. The best part of the trip was being guests in Tollie and Karen's home and the friendship that grew. Our time with them was our family's best trip ever."

Mel, Melinda, Kelly & Logan Mercer"

"What makes a trip into one of the finest experiences of a lifetime? Could it be working with my friend’s college coed daughters at the gun range for six months, teaching them how to shoot for the first time, and then sharing the stories and sheer joy of their first successful African hunt? Could it be elephants within reach of our truck at Kruger Park or monkeys stealing an apple from Sarah’s lunch, much to her frustration? Could it be stalking a zebra for eight hours before taking the “perfect shot”? Could it be my wife beaming as she tells me about the hunt of her beautiful white springbuck? Or could it be my son, Kelly, walking into our guesthouse exclaiming, “Hey Mom, look what I got”, while holding up a fabulous lynx which walked into the field as he was glassing for that “Nyala of a lifetime”? It might be the experience of crawling on hands and knees for a hundred yards, then waiting for thirty minutes in order to have an opportunity to take a shot at a Klipspringer 260 meters away…and making the shot! Any of the above could have contributed to one of the best vacations our family has ever had. But in addition, our “African Safari” with Tollie’s African Safaris introduced us to a new set of friends, some of the finest people which I have even been privileged to know. From Pieter, my personal hunter, to Beans, Johan, Jaco, (the other personal hunters) Tollie and Karen (our hosts and now close friends), and all of the other support staff who helped to make our vacation special, all are the type of people whose values, attitudes and work ethic are superb. My personal favorite experience was watching from afar as my 17 year-old son, Logan, produced the “perfect shot” to harvest a grey duiker 300 meters away, right at the end of our last day of hunting. But what will make us come back again are the thoughts of what’s left to hunt (many species), what’s left to talk about with great friends, and what “African Magic” was left behind, un-experienced, as we ran out of time. Africa, and Tollies African Safaris, get under your skin and into your soul."

Kelly - Nyala

Logan - Bushbuck

Dean - Gemsbuck

Katie - Kudu

Sarah - Zebra

Debbie - Zebra

Scott Ahlschwede from Kentucky hunted with us in June as well as Rick & Susan Luginbuhl from Conneticut. Scott says his guide, Johan, has awesome hunting skills, is very patient and very determined. The service and attention to detail was excellent. Rick and Susan says their highlight was hunting zebra on the high plains and teaching Susan to hunt and getting her first springbuck.

"Beans, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable and helpful in every way. His aim was to make sure we had an unforgettable time. Tollie & Karen couldn’t be more hospitable, always anticipating every need. The food was superb and the family atmosphere was wonderful. Tollie also outdid himself making Susan’s birthday VERY special! We hope to be back with our sons in future."

Rick - Kudu

Rick & Susan - Zebra

Susan - Springbuck

Ron & Linda Rohrback from Florida also visited us in June as well as David & Adrienne Williams from Wyoming.

Ron & Linda Rohrback:

"Johan, our guide, was excellent. He has a wonderful personality and is very professional. We cannot say enough good things about him. The horseback ride up to the oxwagon camp was a perfect finish to our visit. The hospitality was beyond anything we could have expected. This was definitely the greatest trip we have ever had and hopefully we will be returning again someday."

David & Adrienne Williams:

"This has been the trip of a lifetime! I can honestly say we have enjoyed every single moment. Tollie & Karen, you went out of your way to take care of every detail. Our tour and accommodations in Cape Town were outstanding and a wonderful way to begin our first trip to South Africa. Our room was beautiful and the service excellent. Some of the most delicious meals we have ever had. We also loved the days we spent hunting. This is such a beautiful area and the animals were magnificent. Our PH, Beans, was an outstanding guide. He was professional patient and helped us get all the animals we had wanted (plus a few extra’s!) He was also lots of fun to be with, and we are happy to have him as a friend. The only problem we had is that the time here has gone too fast! Thank you again Tollie & Karen. We had high expectations for this trip and you greatly exceeded them. We will be back!"

David - Kudu

Linda - Zebra

Adrienne - Impala

Jim & Cynthia Gray from Texas visited us in June.

"With this being Jim’s 4th time and Cynthia’s 2nd time coming here, that should indicate how much we love it here and enjoy ourselves immensely. We think of Tollie, Karen and Niel, our PH, as our own family. A highlight was the giraffe hunt, it was awesome. Niel, Tollie & Karen outdid themselves, as usual."

Jim - Giraffe

Jim - Sable

Jim - waterbuck

Bill Wrye from New Mexico brought his two sons, Dusty and Brad to come and hunt after he had been here in 2004. Steve Warriner from New Jersey joined them.

Steve's wife, Donna's, comments:

"He had a fantastic time with all of you. Of course, you spoiled him tremendously. He has been telling me stories for the last 3 days about the tracker, Pieter & your fantastic cooking Karen. I am sure it won't be long before you see him again."

Dusty - black wildebeest

Dusty - blesbuck

Brad - steenbuck

Steve - black wildebeest

Steve - kudu

Steve - springbuck

Our 2005 hunting season started with Larry, Samia & Tony Elia from Buffalo area, New York. Tony hunted impala, blesbuck and springbuck and then they did a Garden Route tour to Cape Town.

"Cape town was fantastic and Francois was a great guide. He was very knowledgeable about history and geography and made the trip very interesting. Tony loved the trip and was very happy to spend time with your great children. They are fine young men (even Willem) and you and Karen should be very proud. We especially enjoyed our time at your place at Jeffreys Bay. Special thanks to Johan and Bea, they made our trip even better than expected. Your cooking was wonderful and we wish we had such fine food here. Thanks again for a great trip."

Tony - blesbuck