Leopard Attack!

This mail was sent from a friend of ours who is a professional hunter. The damage has healed quite well!

Hi Odette & Adrian

Thought I'd let you know before it gets to you by other means, I inadvertently got on the wrong side of a Leopard Monday 13 October and was torn up a little.

We were hunting an Elephant Cow and tracks took us past a Leopard burrow, which we saw two cubs sitting by. We watched them for a bit and as the tracks took us past the burrow, which had two entrances / exits, we all continued past. As I was by one of the entrances, the Mother boiled out at me jumping up on me, clawing my face, my arm and my shoulder. She also got my ankle. There are all sorts of cuts and tears on me from her, but it happened in just a blink and she was off me and by the time I opened my eyes again, she was some 20 yards away. My client cased her but I recalled him in case she gave him a working over too.

As she leapt at me I put my rifle and right hand in her path, which she clawed, getting my right wrist and scratching my brand new rifle that my client bought me.
Her left Paw caught my face and raked my face, leaving me with a torn piece of flesh just 2mm below my left eye, exposing some bone and opening up a tear some 2 inches long and claws pierced three places in my left cheek and neck.
She swatted me a second time before leaving and tore up my left arm and leg, but luckily my rifle was in the way and blocked her hind leg from disembowelling me.

I was taken to Sengwa clinic, holding the piece of flesh up on my face, they had no supplies save an antiTet jab which they gave me and referred me to Gokwe clinic. I was taken to Gokwe some 110 klms away, again hoding my cheek in place. There I saw a well spoken, courteous and efficient black woman Doctor who disinfected the wounds and stitched my eye and arm. My eye has been stitched both inside the wound and externally with 9 stitches.
I was not bitten, so am not in danger of septicaemia or the like, neither am I in pain, in fact there is no pain at all, but my eye looks like a purple balloon which is uncomfortable.
I returned to Hre the following day and went to my Dr, who complimented the work of the lady Dr at Gokwe, and gave me some strong antibiotics, which have helped.
I was ready to return to the hunt in the afternoon but my client refused to let me continue, he already had one Elephant but if possible said he would take a second and as it was the last day and he had all he wanted there was no loss, so I relaxed for the rest of the day.

I was extremely lucky not to have her attack me properly, she was merely wanting to get away and climbed over me to escape. I am litterally fine and have not been hurt severely at all. The blood vessels to my eye are all still intact and I still have 100% eye use and sight. That was the luckiest part, as just 1.5 mm higher and my eye would have popped.

I don't blame the Leopard at all, in fact I fully realise we should have detoured once we discovered cubs there. She was protecting her burrow and cubs. She cannot be blamed at all for anything.

I am hunting again tomorrow in Binga for 10 days, just doing a Buffalo / plains game hunt and returning on the 27th.

I will write again on my return.

Love to you all, hope you're all well.

Jim.

100 billion dollars!

So now we have a hundred billion dollar note - looks like we have more than ten zeros back on our currency as this will buy - just three eggs!!!!!!! And this would only be possible if the shops would take local currency.

A friend of mine tried to buy some vegetables yesterday - no one would take a cheque, the cash card machines in all the shops were out of order and of course she did not have enough cash to cover the amount. She tried to yet some forex - legally - and was told sorry there is none. She tried to get some petrol coupons but her supplier did not have any - they had no forex to buy them with!

We are coming to a standstill.

We manage to socialise quite often. Usually over lunch as people don't like to drive at night. Our lunches are varied and often taken outdoors - especially now when it is hot and dry. We still manage to put together a variety of meals and drink a selection of wines - sometimes having been stored away for some time!

The bread in this picture was home made. I make our bread, yogurt, cakes, pasta and cream cheese and we try and grow all our own vegetables and fruit.

6 packs of Vodka!

Spirits are in short supply but vodka is being produced locally. We were buying it in 5 litre plastic containers - now we buy it by the six pack. Cheaper than the supermarket offering of one bottle at a time!

Note the gas cylender and thermos flask. When we have no power - almost every day now - we use a gas ring for cooking - I am am now an expert on one dish meals! We boil a kettle before retiring at night - before the power goes out - and fill the flask so we can have tea or coffee in the morning!

Wonder what our money looks like?

Well it changes so quickly we have difficulty keep in up with it

Here is a photograph of how we were given the 20,000 dollars we were allowed out for one day!

All one dollar notes!

On top of it all it doesn't buy anything.

Sometime ago 10 zeros were taken off our currency - now they have almost all returned!

Never got to the Clarins Presentation!

The day before the presentation I was picking mulberries in the garden and was bitten by, what we think, was a sack spider! The bite was on on my left cheek - it left a horrible suppurating sore - there was no way l could go out! I would have frightened everyone!

I understand the event was a great success and hope I get invited to the next one!

My cheek is now almost healed but I stay away from the mulberry tree!