Untamed Pursuits

Episode 28: Adventures in Hunting, Angling, and Wildlife Encounters

• Outdoor Journal Radio Podcast Network • Episode 28

Share episode

Kendall-Ray Kaschula shares her thrilling experiences of nighttime hunting adventures in the African bush, sparking curiosity and excitement for outdoor enthusiasts. From unexpected wildlife encounters to the challenges of tracking with hounds, this episode highlights the deep connection between nature and responsible hunting practices. 
• Kendall’s journey into night hunting 
• Fascinating wildlife encounters in the African bush 
• The importance of tracking dogs in her profession 
• Safety precautions taken during night hunts 
• The evolution of her skills and confidence as a hunter 
• The role of ethical hunting in conservation efforts 
• Unique insights into animal behaviour during nighttime 
• How to follow Kendall’s adventures on social media

Speaker 1:

Hi everybody. I'm Angelo Viola and I'm Pete Bowman. Now you might know us as the hosts of Canada's Favorite Fishing Show, but now we're hosting a podcast. That's right Every Thursday Ang and.

Speaker 2:

I will be right here in your ears, bringing you a brand new episode of Outdoor Journal Radio.

Speaker 1:

Now, what are we going to talk about for two hours every week?

Speaker 2:

Well, you know there's going to be a lot of fishing.

Speaker 3:

I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and how to catch them, and they were easy to catch.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show. We're going to be talking to people from all facets of the outdoors, from athletes All the other guys would go golfing Me, and Garth and Turk and all the Russians would go fishing.

Speaker 2:

To scientists. But now that we're reforesting- and laying things free.

Speaker 3:

It's the perfect transition environment for life.

Speaker 4:

To chefs If any game isn't cooked properly, marinated, you will taste it.

Speaker 1:

And whoever else will pick up the phone Wherever you are. Outdoor Journal Radio seeks to answer the questions and tell the stories of all those who enjoy being outside Find us on Spotify, apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, welcome to the Untamed Pursuits podcast. I'm Jamie Pistilli, here with my sidekick, ryder Knowlton, and we are joined for our last part with hyena hunter, kendall Ray. Hope you enjoy.

Speaker 5:

So when you're in the blind, you're spending that much time in the blind. As you said, one of the fascinating things is what else can come in. So if you're staying up one night trying to outsmart these hyenas, what are some of the other animals that might come in? Have you had elephants come through? I mean, what are some of the other things that can come through as you're sitting quietly in a blind and not making any noise?

Speaker 6:

So on our section of the property we don't really have elephants. You know they come through every now and again, but not too often. But other than them, pretty much anything. It's actually second to actually getting to see that. You know, hopefully shooting it. It's like the best part about sitting there at night. I've had honey badgers come in, jackals come in your genital cats, your civets, leopards so many times. It's absolutely unbelievable. And you know a leopard, honestly they'll find a kill and they can be in and out of there most of the night. So it's like, which is also nice, it helps you stay awake because it's like watching a TV show for your scope. You know they come in, they feed for an hour, they pull them up around, then they're out. Then they're looking around, then they're out. They come in a few hours later again, in and out most of the night. More than once I've had them walk up the lane. Once one came up to my blind. Actually, me and my tracker actually chased it away because I was about to walk into us and I was like, well, it's going to walk into this, thinking it's going to give, like a bush, and it's not going to give. So we made a noise and chased it.

Speaker 6:

Um, leopards are definitely the most interesting. You know, I absolutely love leopards, hunting, seeing everything. They're my favorite animal, um, just on an interactive level as well. I just find them so interesting, so cool, so exciting. So to have them come in is my favorite. But I've seen some interesting things. I saw a jackal and a honey badger have a fight once over the meat. That was so cool. They were in and out and the screaming and the noise and, in case anyone is wondering, the honey badger won. So that was very, very cool.

Speaker 6:

I've had bush pigs come in feeding on the carcass. They're always interesting to watch. We call the bush pig the poor man's leopard because they're so prudent and you'll that whole sound to come in, but it'll just be sows and piglets. And then, like 45 minutes in out of the side, you see this massive ball come, stepping out and come, come up to the bait and like, so nervous, so cautious, like you can just see that he's on high alert and at the slightest sound he's the first one to head out. And yeah, you've, we've gotten some very, some very, very cool things, even birds actually, like sometimes in the lanes you just have night jars. Come in and they'll be playing almost like in the shooting lane. I don't know if because they found it open or obviously we've cleared a lot of bush and stuff to open it out and maybe there's insects in that, in everything that we've cut now the photos that we've cut. But you'll even sit there and watch birds and other than seeing, even just to listen, like you'll hear the leopards grunting um, I had a leopard once.

Speaker 6:

It came in and fed. But before it came in and fed it it noticed the blind and walked around the back. But I use a pop-up line so it helps contain the scent really really well. So obviously it was behind us but didn't smell us but could see us and it sat like 30 yards behind the blind, making like almost like a coughing, wheezing noise but like I don't know if you've noticed, like an impala, when it sees a predator it barks. You know they do that snorting sound. This was like the leopard equivalent and it was sitting behind us like 30 yards and it was just there watching the blind sort of doing its snort, bark, sort of cough at the blind for a long time. Then it went quiet. Then eventually it came in and fed and yeah, even night sounds are amazing.

Speaker 6:

We don't really have lions on our end of the ranch but the other end has, so a few times I've sat and I've heard the lions roaring. That is not my most fun moment, like when you're in a ground, blind with a rifle. That's like a bit small because it's 4.18 up. You don't really want lions coming in. But yeah, we've sat there and we've listened to them and it's like a whole experience. You know we underestimate because we obviously we are diurnal, so you're awake all day and you live the day out and you're like this is what's happening and I think we forget that at night there's like all these other things living their life now and they're only doing it at nighttime and it's very, very fascinating.

Speaker 2:

Do you ever see tracks of an animal and you're like, oh yeah, I'm not. No, no, not going out today Any big tracks that? You're like, eh, I'm not sure, I'm waiting for dark this is not good.

Speaker 6:

The first when I first started hyena hunting. So the funny thing is, considering I hunt at night so much it took me like three years to get used to it. I did not like the dark at all, so you must like imagine a hyena hunter who doesn't like the dark. It was very interesting and so for the first couple of years when I was learning and I was getting into it I was learning and I was getting into it I was very, very nervous Before I would go there like I had learned tracks. I was still learning tracks but I would make sure someone who really knew what they were doing would check, because I'd be like my luck.

Speaker 6:

I'll sit one of these nights and have a lion come in. But you know, on our side it's mostly animals that I've been exposed to, like your hyenas, your leopard. So I've never seen a track and not sat, seen a track and not sat. But in the early years when I was learning I would sit and the one night I had this massive, massive male leopard come and feed and, like now, having had experience with it like a male leopard, even in the dark, and the lioness look nothing alike, even just body shape.

Speaker 6:

But I was, I don't know. I was very young and very new and I didn't have a pop-up blind yet. So what we used to do was just put one sheet of green shade cloth in front, cover that with leaves, the sides with leaves, the back is open, so it's like not an auto shelter. And I sat there watching this thing and I'm like it's so big it must be a lion, and oh, I nearly had half been. So I was sitting there in my blind now on the floor with my tracker, trying not to panic because I'm like you have the gun, you are the hunter, don't panic, it's going to be fine.

Speaker 6:

People sit with lions all the time and like as much as I'm telling myself that everything I've heard about lions is coming into mind now, how they notice a blind and then they're curious, so they walk up to look at it and then you know a lion in the daytime and a lion in the nighttime, this completely different attitude and and so I was sort of playing out this whole terrible story in my mind and I was like no, we need to go, we need to get out of this blind. So it fed and it was kind of in and out feeding and then it fed and it walked out and I said to my truck I'm like okay, right, let's go. Well, I think we pretty much flew to the car and the worst part is, like it is so embarrassing. I said to him like don't put on your spotlight, because it's going to see where we are, even though it's nocturnal and they can only see in the dark. Like it was so, so, so, so bad.

Speaker 6:

I still get teased about that story to this day. But, like you know, it's such a thing. All of these hunters, phds, guides, ph's, guys, everyone you know I know so many great pages and guides, but all of us before we learned anything, and like before you become good and known, and all of that like your funny stories are when you're learning, because when you're learning, mountains are like more holes and grains of sand or mountains and you just get mixed up and you do stupid things. And sometimes you know I hear stories from other appies as well, and other people in the industry, and even for myself. Every now and again I'll wake up and I'll be like I'm so surprised I made it to this age. But we did make it. We survived those first days. But all the comedy is when you start and then after that obviously it gets a bit more serious, but it's never the same as it is when you first start doing it.

Speaker 5:

You know, jamie and I talk about how lucky we are we've made it to this age. But we're talking about, you know, growing up at a time where there weren't seatbelts and parents smoked in the car, and so we're a little different than having lions come in on a on a ground, blind, at night. I remember I remember Rob telling me about one time he was sitting in a blind and of course you know, you know the animal that if, if, if, if an elephant, that if elephants come through you know what I've heard from Chap and Rob is you just get up and run. You know that's the last thing you want is a curious elephant as you're sitting and you're blind. But Rob was, you know, telling me that one of the recently, in the last year or two, he was in a blind and he had rhinos come through and of course they're making that little high pitch for such a big, impressive animal. They've got this almost like a squeak pitch that they make their sound and Rob's sitting in the blind. He knew it was an elephant and he could tell when he heard the sound, he knew what it was and they just sat there and sat there and this rhino just keeps coming right up to the ground, blind, getting closer and closer and closer, and um, and he said, eventually the rhino put its head right to the front of the blind, um, not where the opening was, but like to the zipped up side, and the and and pushed in and Rob's in the blind and he could see the horn being pushed in, like you know where the rhino was, just kind of leaning into the blind and there in the side of the tent is coming in on Rob from the horn, on the rhino, and he said all you can do is just you cannot move, you just don't move, don't make a sound.

Speaker 5:

And he said, sure enough, the rhino lost interest and eventually meandered off. But I just can't imagine you know some of these things that, just like you said, what else? You know? You're sitting quietly in a blind, you're not making any sound, hunting the way you like to where you're not even you know you're not making any noise at all. So who knows what might come in? This is incredible to think about.

Speaker 6:

Yeah, it's very. There's never a down moment. And like that story from Rob, I've heard so many other stories from other PhDs, my own things. Animals are so like. We often just think, oh, they're just a wild animal, but they're so curious and if they can't smell you and they can't really see you, they're like, well, what are you? And then they all want to know, up right to the back of the blinds, the leopards. So many guys who hunt with the lines have come up to the blinds, not with any bad intentions but just wanting to sniff kind of almost into the blind. Like you said, that rhino coming past, I've had um, kudos and stuff like walk up to my pop-up and kind of check it out and you know what's this and yeah, they're so, so curious. So it's like if you can make yourself surprised, you're not gonna have quite a cool experience.

Speaker 5:

But you know, I don't think anyone wants to be having that like a lion or an elephant hey, kendall, as we um, we're going to talk about your, your, your, your hounds and your leopard tracking with the hounds, and so forth. But just for our listeners, tell us again, you know, for those that may want to, you know to follow your day-to-day life on the farm and I know you've got such cool, fascinating Instagram accounts Tell us about how people, how listeners, if they want to follow you and see what life is like on a day-to-day basis, where can they do that and how can they do that?

Speaker 6:

So I have an Instagram account which is thebushgirl__99. Now that I know it's called an underscore. And then I also have a YouTube channel called the Bush Girl, and then if someone wants to see just like the dogs and working with the hounds, then that's Instagram at African Hound Safari.

Speaker 5:

So tell us about the dogs. I mean, you mentioned how it was a slow process. You wanted to back. When you were young, you know, you had to be thoughtful with your parents because you knew they weren't going to just let you bring a giant pack of dogs onto the ranch. So you kind of you grew your pack slowly over time. But tell us you know about the hounds and and and and and. One of the new projects you're working on is you, you know you and your hounds are now one of the groups to get called. If there is a PH, let's say, that has a wounded lion or, you know, or pardon me, a wounded leopard, and they, you know you're now one. You and your team of hounds is now one of the groups to get called in that part of Zimbabwe. And tell us about what got you into that, like, what was it that got you interested in raising, tracking dogs and then becoming a professional tracker?

Speaker 6:

So my dad used to do it when I was very young, so it was definitely, you know, actually it just started with me finding a bunch of pictures of him when he had been hunting and when he had had dogs. And then it started after that and I decided this is what I wanted to do. I got one blue tick hound and then I sort of got her teammate and originally she was actually trained for blood work, so that's just wounded animals, because I was hunting a lot at that time and you know, obviously no one wants to wound anything, but if you're hunting a lot it's gonna happen. So I got her to help with with wounded game, and then the problem we were having is she would track it, catch up to it and if it wasn't dead she couldn't hold it because she was by herself and she was very young. You know she's and I'm not saying this because she's my dog she's just one of those like dogs in a million. She's remarkable and at six months she was already working amazingly. But she just needed a partner obviously to share some confidence, because a young dog is not as confident as an older dog. So I got another dog like um adobo, an argentiniano. They're similar to Dogoman but they're white and she was a year and a half, so both young dogs. I got her and for about a year and a half I just had the two of them two years, let's say and they were brilliant. They used to do everything they would do wounded plains game. I did a wounded lion with them, I did a leopard with them, like they were absolutely fantastic.

Speaker 6:

And then I was kind of trying to figure out how I was going to get more dogs, because obviously I wanted to grow the pack, and then my blue tick accidentally got in a pup with one of our dogs that we have at home with my mom's pet. Actually it's almost like a bulldog cross. So she had a litter of puppies that were um half breeds and I kept two of those. I got another booted puppy from somewhere else, and so what I like the most is I bred the bulk of my pack. So I have bought a few dogs. Over time I've been given a few dogs, but they're not the original sort of core of the pack. If you took those dogs out, my original dogs would still catch and hunt and they put the same and I really love that because they were all homebred and I knew them from puppies and that's kind of why I stuck to that, that way of doing it. So for me, hunting with the dogs it's it's not even just a job or anything like. I'm so passionate about it. I love it, and you know, knowing the hounds for me is such a big thing. If I hear a dog bark I want to be able to tell you, well, out of all 30 of them, who's making that noise? What does it mean? Why they're making it, what are their personalities? And so I try to keep to kind of home breeding. I'm not a big fan of getting dogs from other places because you know you don't learn them the same as a dog that you have from the day it's born and obviously it's harder to teach old dogs new tricks, as the same goes. So most of my pack is homebred.

Speaker 6:

They did, like I said originally, the first wounded lion with me. Then we did a leopard and then we were sort of getting to the point where we could rely on wounded leopards and a pH that I knew his client. We did a leopard and they caught me and the dogs I think there were only about seven of them at that time but we went and we caught that and then, yeah, that was kind of how it all started. I think that must have been three or four years ago now. And then the year following that I put them out as available for wounded work and we also managed to book a few safaris that first season. I think I must have been around 19. And then really, we've just gone up from there. We've been called up for wounded cats a number of times. We've been booked on safaris to trail the liquid from the beginning and bay it for the client to shoot, and yeah, it's been quite a long process but it's been very rewarding. We've been very blessed.

Speaker 5:

Well, that's incredible when you hear about the level of PHs that call you now and bring you on if there's a wounded animal and one of the new PHs that's getting a lot of coverage rightfully so is Tanya Blake, and Tanya, for our listeners, is the first. I think she was the first woman to get her PH license in Zimbabwe, Is that right? Yeah, I think Tanya was the first one.

Speaker 6:

And I think there were a few other ladies who didn't really stick it up, but she's definitely one of the first.

Speaker 5:

One of the first. Yeah, and you know, obviously a very, very highly respected PH, and I know you've worked with Tanya a little bit and so you're doing it now at the highest level. And how does it work when you get a call? You know, when you get a call, I guess the first question is how far are you going? So for our listeners, if you think about Zimbabwe, it's big, this is big, big country. You know, you've got, as you said, your neighbors are the Save Valley on one side and the Bubi Valley on the other, and you know these are massive, massive areas West Nicholson, the Motobo Hills, you know, to the northwest I guess, and just massive, massive, remote areas. How far is your service range? How far are you driving? If somebody calls, how far will you go, I guess, for an assignment?

Speaker 6:

I would say, unless it's happened on Unity, because obviously they do hunting as well. If it's off of Unity, I would say I never have less than a three hour drive and that's a combination of distance roads. Obviously in zimbabwe there's so much livestock on the roads and the roads are very potholed and some of the road is just gravel because, yeah, that's the way it is down. Yeah, so with all of those factors I never drive less than three hours to go anywhere. So it is quite far.

Speaker 6:

But where I'm lucky is being on Unix between Savi and Ruby Valley and like near these private land areas, because dog hunting, even for a wounded cat, you can only have it on private land, you're not allowed it in national, sorry safari areas. So I'm very lucky that I'm still closer than everybody else to these places, which has been very good for getting us out there, because we're a lot nearer to the pool, it takes us less time to get there. But basically, you know, the biggest thing with a call-up is your timeline, because the longer it takes to get the dogs down, the older that scent is becoming, and so, like on average I would say if there's a wounded leopard, I get the call by 10 or 11 most of the time. There's been a few exceptions, but often, you know, cat comes into the blind by 10. So by 10 or 11, I get told, and then I'll leave home around two or three in the morning, sometimes 1.30, depending because you want to aim to get to the area where the wounded cat is at sunup.

Speaker 5:

So as soon as it's light the dogs can go down and we work it from there. Okay, so you're not tracking at night. That's interesting you get there and then you wait for first light.

Speaker 6:

Yeah, you know it's not. There's no laws about doing it at night, but for me personally I don't like it. Obviously I'm running with the dogs. If you have clients, your clients are with you and in a lot of areas you know Africa, zimbabwe it's kind of like hostile topography. You don't really want to be running in the dark in the mountains. You know a lot of areas.

Speaker 6:

It's not just this catch. You could run into elephants, you could run into lions. A lot of places you're climbing those like small rocky mountains, we call them gormors, and so to fall in there and get herds, the dogs can fall as well if they can't see. So for me it's really just about visual. But I have, you know, I've run in the dark before, not on wounded cats, but like leopards that were trailing to catch for a client. Before, if it's a late season hunt, when it's quite hot, I've started the dogs in the dark and then by the time we catch up it's light. So you kind of just have to play by ear, because conditions obviously also a big thing with the hounds. When it's hot they can't work, they just overheat. But if I can, if I can have it, I only really want to work them when I can see what's going on do you, um, do as you're managing your, your pack right and you're you're trailing let's say it's dangerous game like a leopard.

Speaker 5:

You know, I know, I know back home I've spent time with guys that have dogs that also track animals. Of course, what we have back here is nothing like what you have in Africa, but I have been with folks that have had hounds that have been just torn up by wild boars. You know wild hogs and they're actually doing first aid in the field trying to. You know, help the dog, save the dog. Do you with a leopard? How often I got to think, on a regular basis you're dealing with dogs that can get injured and are you taking care of those? Are you the vet in the field? Right, that's stitching up those dogs in the field? I got to think that's the case.

Speaker 6:

Yeah, so basically when we do a run, my one tracker wears a backpack which has a dish for the dogs. We carry water for them and then it has the hounds have their own first aid kit, and then I have a first aid kit for people and so we run with that. So if we have injured dogs, one of us gets hurt, we can do basic stuff in the field, and then in my vehicle I have more first aid kits that are a lot more extensive. So then once we get back to the car we can do it some more. Because you know, obviously with first aid a lot of that is also just timing. The sooner you can give it, the better for you receiving it.

Speaker 5:

A couple episodes ago we talked about upland bird hunting and one of the things I've always mentioned is that bird hunting is about the dogs way more than about the hunter and way more about shooting birds. It's about being with these dogs in our case, pointers, retrievers, things like that out in the field and just seeing the joy and excitement. I mean the dogs that are just bred to do this and they just can't get enough of it. They're so excited. I mean, is that the hounds that I've seen here in the US? You know, I think about? You know the big game hounds out west? You know there's ranches where folks have hounds that track mountain lions.

Speaker 5:

Out west In the southeastern you have hounds that, believe it or not, track you know, maybe, raccoons and other you know smaller predators nothing nearly as dynamic or as exciting as what you're talking about, but you know those are folks that are super passionate about their dogs. They are just. They live and breathe their dogs and do your. Are your dogs as excited about getting out in the field as the ones I've seen here in the States? They just, they just can't get enough of this stuff.

Speaker 6:

Absolutely. You know they love it. I've got footage of the hounds when they've quarter capped and like through all the chaos, tails wagging the whole time, and they're so clever when we're in a hunt now they'll obviously stay near my trackers. I don't really want them next to the plants because they can be a bit noisy, and so I go up early in the morning to take them out and as soon as they see my torch coming, no one will sleep if they were still sleeping. The noise, the chaos. As soon as they see their tracking collars like they 100% know what's coming their way. And you know even someone who doesn't work with dogs and you take them out and you put them down and just the way they engage in what they're doing. The keenness is unbelievable. And you'll do a 15K run. You'll catch a leopard, the dogs will be banged up, the dogs will be tired and if you ask them to do it the next day, if you ask them to do it on the way home.

Speaker 6:

They will do it all over again. They cannot get enough of it. They absolutely adore it.

Speaker 5:

It's amazing and it's such a big part of the outdoor life. And whether you're duck hunting and you've got retrievers in the blind with you, if you're quail hunting and you've got pointers, if you're tracking and you know, and whether it's out in the American West or in Southern Africa, I mean, there's nothing like seeing the passion and interest and excitement of the dogs and it's a huge part of what we do as outdoors people. And you know, unless you've really been around, it's hard to explain just how fun it is watching the dogs and knowing just how much they absolutely love. You know they, they love it and they just can't get enough of it. It's what's hunting all about.

Speaker 5:

Like I said, you know hunting the shooting part. Shooting hunting is not shooting. Hunting is all these other things you do and and there's so much more than just shooting Totally oh no, absolutely it's. You know it's about all these other things. Well, listen, kendall, we can't thank you enough. My gosh, what a, what a so thankful for you know you coming on our show and spending all this time with us, and what a fascinating life you have on New Inetsi and I'm sure you're going to have listeners that want to follow you and learn more about your day-to-day life and once again, tell folks people that may want to follow your day-to-day life on the ranch, or learn more about what it is you're doing with your tracking hounds. Tell us about your Instagram accounts and how people can follow you.

Speaker 6:

So on Instagram, all of my hunting and pretty much my day-to-day life is. You can find it at thebushgirl, underscore 99. And then I also have a YouTube channel called the Bush Girl, and then if people just want to see the dogs and my work with them, then that's Instagram at African Hound Safaris. And those same accounts are all on Facebook with the same name. So either or whatever you have, you can find them there.

Speaker 5:

Well, listen, I'm sure you're going to have folks that are so interested in this and you know we'll have to have you on again at some time, because we didn't even talk about your writing. I know you're an aspiring author and a very talented poet and you've got so many different parts of your life that you're doing. Are you working on any writing projects now?

Speaker 6:

I actually haven't written in a few weeks, which I'm a bit disappointed about. But the goal for this year definitely is to try to finish off some manuscripts that I started last year and try to get them published Really just, you know stories from my life growing up on the ranch, some, maybe one just of poems that I've life growing up on the ranch, um, some maybe one just of poems that I've done from being on the property. But yeah, mainly I'm just trying to put together like a collection of short stories from growing up out here all the funny things that you don't always get to talk about, because there was, there was a lot of humor before, there was a lot of success at actually at anything.

Speaker 2:

You know, kendall, I got to say one of the reasons why we do this podcast is for, you know, the conservation and the understanding of different cultures and different resources. I'm a little embarrassed that I'm from the Lion King, thinking of the way the world actually is. I didn't realize the population of different animals, don't realize it's just us, with, you know, like a squirrel, we look at a squirrel, like probably like you do, some of the invasive animals, right? So I think it's so amazing A how none of the meat goes, goes to waste, and just the whole way that you guys protect your resource and the way that you guys respect everything. I think it's, it's so great. I've never been across the big pond and uh, like we say, ryder and I always keep a suitcase packed and I might need a little. I need to borrow some of his air miles and get over there and finally get over to Africa.

Speaker 5:

I think yeah, she'll catch up in a night line, Jamie, Go ahead Kendall.

Speaker 6:

Yeah, no, I think you must definitely try to get out there, try to get to see them, try to come see it. It's very, very memorable. It's very different and I think, for anyone who loves outdoors, it's definitely something to put on your map, because we are, you know, african countries. It can be quite different to the rest of the world.

Speaker 2:

Now for a tourist in your area. Last question where would be the place to go and what would be a one-week itinerary for somebody who likes?

Speaker 6:

the outdoors. I think it would depend on what they want more. If you're wanting to see wildlife, wanky National Park is an excellent choice. The game there is fantastic. If you'll go and like in a weekend, you can see pretty much everything there is to see. If you're very into scenic, matopas National Park is absolutely brilliant. It's beautiful there. They have all of the scenery of boulders and these giant mountains that are just rock. It's beautiful. Garnier-jor National Park is not far from where I live. It's a bit more rustic than everywhere else but it's got a lot of liberty. You know everywhere else you know there's rules. You can't get out your car, yeah, you can't do this. But at Garnier-Jor you can get out. You can go for a walk. When my family goes, they swim in the river, swims in the river where it's very, very shallow and you can see the bottom for a long distance. Don't just jump in the river because of crocodiles. I should have started with that, but in a safe space.

Speaker 2:

I'm not sure I'm getting out of the van at this point.

Speaker 5:

There you go, Jamie. I think we've got your next vacation plan.

Speaker 2:

You had me at being quiet in the river with a few crocodiles.

Speaker 5:

And then she's going to set you up in a ground blind and then they're just going to leave you and see how you do with a little. They'll put a little camera on you and just watch and see how long you last in the ground blind.

Speaker 2:

It's that whole. How long can you be quiet game you play with the kids Not too good at that game myself.

Speaker 5:

But Well, you know one of the cool things, about one of the really accessible, you know, just as we talk about travel right, adventure travel and the practicality of doing some of this A big part of the show isn't just to meet people like Kendall who live these amazing, exciting lives, but it's to put some context to it as to how people can go get a taste of this stuff. You're not gonna necessarily be fighting hyenas every night, but you could surely go and get a taste and go see a baobab tree and go see what it's like to be in Africa. And a really good you know a really good spot for that, for the listeners, is Victoria Falls. You know Johannesburg is, of course, the main as you're coming in from the States. Johannesburg is the main route folks come into. They come into South Africa and Johannesburg is the main airport. You would come in to Africa and then from there you can then work your way up into the continent.

Speaker 5:

And a super, super easy flight with a surprisingly easy access. Then is the flight from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls and you could take that flight. You could spend two or three days in Vic Falls at one of many beautiful hotels. Look at the falls. Go see some of the famous giant baobab trees that are right around Vic Falls. Last time I was in Vic Falls there was a lion kill on a Cape Buffalo in the village in the town, on one of the side streets. We were in Vic Falls for three days and one of those days a lion killed a Cape Buffalo on a city street. It's just incredible.

Speaker 6:

But it is beautiful.

Speaker 5:

Oh, it's just beautiful. And you can spend a couple of days in Vic Falls and then, and then, of course, as as Kendall, as you were saying, you've got Wonky National Park. That's right there, so easy, so accessible to the Vic Falls airport, and you know, and you really could, if you wanted to spend a day or two and see what real, you know, rural, wild Africa is like, you could. You know that's a very doable, you know that's a very doable trip. And then, of course, out of Joburg, you could also, if you wanted to tie that into a, you know, a few days over at Kruger National Park right, which is the national park down in South Africa, you can all tie it together into really a very doable and cool, cool adventure.

Speaker 6:

Yeah, you know from Vic Falls as well. If you go talk to the guys that they set up your tours, there's so many companies who will do a tour to Natchitoke, wanky or even across the border into Botswana, and that's also amazing if you're going to Chobe National Park. So you know, from Big Falls you could do, like Zambia, botswana, like you said, your way back to Cougar. So it's definitely a good round trip to see all the different places and to kind of, like you said, a condensed amount of time get to see sort of everything that there is.

Speaker 5:

Absolutely, and expand that trip beyond South Africa. A lot of folks go in South Africa. It's such an amazing country, so much to see, but these other countries, like Zimbabwe, are so accessible and they just have so much to offer. So, kendall, thank you very much for joining us. Yeah, go ahead.

Speaker 6:

No, I was just going to say I think the nice thing about Zimbabwe and Zambia especially is like it's still quite, we're still quite rustic compared to other places. So you know, for people wanting to see it like, from a historical point of view, how Africa was 40 years ago, we're still, in a lot of ways we're still quite close to how it was 40 years ago, so it's a good chance yeah, no, I think that's an important, that's an important message.

Speaker 5:

And, uh, and with Vic Falls, you know, with Victoria Falls as an airport and as a place with very modern, nice hotels, you can use up and down the Zambezi River right out of Vic Falls. That's where you're getting on the boats and you're going up and down the river and you're seeing the hippos and the crocs. You've got Zambia on one side of the river, you've got Zimbabwe on the other side of the river and for our listeners that you know want to have those, you know, maybe more of a comfortable place to stay to have those, you know maybe more of a comfortable place to stay. Vic Falls has got just some gorgeous, you know famous, old, classic hotels and beautiful, very nice hotels. And, as you said, if you really then get out into the south from Vic Falls, you get down into places like Wonky and others. You're seeing Africa, you're seeing wild. You know real wild, remote Africa like it was, you know, 100 years ago. You know that it's just so special.

Speaker 6:

Yeah, it is.

Speaker 5:

Well, listen, thank you so much for joining us. You know it was very nice of you you gave us a lot of time today and just fascinating to hear you know about a very unique and special and very unique lifestyle. A very unique and special and very unique lifestyle, definitely one that a lot of our listeners and Jamie and I, you know, are fascinated with, because it's so different than anything we can imagine. Kendall, we just can't thank you enough for joining us today.

Speaker 6:

No, thank you so much for having me on. I've enjoyed it so much and, you know, always happy to talk about home and hunting and everything, and it's just been wonderful. So, thank you, I'm going to to talk about home and hunting and everything, and it's just, it's been wonderful.

Speaker 2:

So, thank you, I'm going to spend the rest of the day Googling and watching videos. I think you go on your YouTube channel as well but I've never met anybody who's tracked.

Speaker 6:

I think I'm going to stop that.

Speaker 2:

Yo, absolutely Tracking a wounded lion. She doesn't sleep, like I said.

Speaker 5:

Yeah, Like we said, number one on the badass ranking so far for Untamed Pursuits definitely.

Speaker 2:

Yeah Well, thank you so much. I look forward to checking it out online and thanks so much for your time and teaching us all about a part of the world that I really was not educated on and now it's really moved up my bucket list on and and now it's really moved up my bucket list. So, on behalf of Ryder and I, thank you so much Kendall Ray for for joining us on Untamed Pursuits on the Outdoor Journal Radio Podcast Network.

Speaker 3:

Back in 2016,. Frank and I had a vision to amass the single largest database of muskie angling education material anywhere in the world.

Speaker 4:

Our dream was to harness the knowledge of this amazing community and share it with passionate anglers just like you.

Speaker 3:

Thus the Ugly Pike podcast was born and quickly grew to become one of the top fishing podcasts in North America and quickly grew to become one of the top fishing podcasts in North America.

Speaker 4:

Step into the world of angling adventures and embrace the thrill of the catch with the Ugly Pike Podcast. Join us on our quest to understand what makes us different as anglers and to uncover what it takes to go after the infamous fish of 10,000 casts.

Speaker 3:

The Ugly Pike Podcast isn't just about fishing. It's about creating a tight-knit community of passionate anglers who share the same love for the sport. Through laughter, through camaraderie and an unwavering spirit of adventure. This podcast will bring people together.

Speaker 4:

Subscribe now and never miss a moment of our angling adventures. Tight lines everyone.

Speaker 3:

Find Ugly Pike now on Spotify, apple Podcasts or wherever else you get your podcasts, apple Podcasts or wherever else you get your podcasts.

Speaker 7:

As the world gets louder and louder, the lessons of our natural world become harder and harder to hear, but they are still available to those who know where to listen. I'm Jerry Ouellette and I was honoured to serve as Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources. However, my journey into the woods didn't come from politics. Rather, it came from my time in the bush and a mushroom. In 2015, I was introduced to the birch-hungry fungus known as chaga, a tree conch with centuries of medicinal use by Indigenous peoples all over the globe.

Speaker 7:

After nearly a decade of harvest use, testimonials and research, my skepticism has faded to obsession and I now spend my life dedicated to improving the lives of others through natural means. But that's not what the show is about. My pursuit of the strange mushroom and my passion for the outdoors has brought me to the places and around the people that are shaped by our natural world. On Outdoor Journal Radio's, under the Canopy podcast, I'm going to take you along with me to see the places, meet the people. That will help you find your outdoor passion and help you live a life close to nature. And under the canopy Find Under the Canopy now on Spotify, apple Podcasts or wherever else you get your podcasts.