It was a surprisingly cold six days of hunting for Powell residents Jonathon Robbins and Curtis Rohrer, who were two-and-a-half hours outside Johannesburg, South Africa earlier this month.

Rorher had packed for a warmer weather hunt but, “when we were waking up the temperature was between 32 and 40 degrees every morning,” he said.

Luckily he had packed extra layers, and a beanie and gloves — it was winter in Africa.

Midday temperatures would increase, coming up to the mid 70s, but the mornings and evenings were comparable to late September archery hunts in Wyoming, he said. 

The South African adventure was two years in the making following the purchase of the hunt by Robbins during a Mule Deer Foundation auction — hunting the continent’s unique wildlife had been something he’d always wanted to do. Robbins booked the trip through 3 Brothers African Hunting Safaris in Utah, and then about six months out verified all the i’s were dotted and t’s crossed before shipping off. 

Upon arrival the hunting package included three to four animals per hunter for up to four people. Robbin’s hunting party consisted of only three, his father Curt out of Montana and Rohrer, his friend and neighbor. The three hunters split the remaining animals amongst themselves and purchased more as needed. 

Jonathon ended up harvesting 10 animals, and pulled off a “spiral slam,” by nabbing a kudu, eland, nyala and a bushbuck. All four animals have distinct spiral horns.

The nyala was not planned but he decided to add it to the hunt upon seeing it, “they’re just amazing animals, they’re beautiful, so it ended up on my list.” Finishing the slam was a big deal for him, he said, he wasn’t sure if they could find a bushbuck and ended up getting lucky.

Jonathon also took down a crocodile at the request of his son. Rohrer took five animals, a baboon being one of the highlights, and Curt took seven.

Jonathon arrived at the hunt wanting to nab a kudu (something he’s wanted since he was young). The large spiral horned creatures are also known as gray ghost, “you see them one second and they disappear the next, it’s amazing an animal the size of an elk can disappear that quick … the brush is that thick,” Jonathon said. 

They were on that species for two days and got lucky. While driving they happened to find one bedded down. 

The crocodile was also quite the hunt, as Jonathon could only see its eyes and the tip of its head — the rest was underwater. After taking the shot, the guides had to confirm the primeval creature’s death. It was approximately 40 years old, 11 feet 4 inches long and missing the end of its tail.

While Rohrer had thought about hunting Africa before, going so far as to purchase a trip (canceled during the Covid pandemic) in his mind he had thought of venturing first into Canada or Alaska. 

“I’ve always had a caribou on my bucket list … Africa was always kind of an afterthought,” he said.

Prior to the five animals he harvested in South Africa, an impala, blesbok, springbok, baboon and zebra, the most coveted game Rorher had gone after were a moose and bighorn sheep — the latter harvested on a 2012 hunt, is his favorite.

“Bighorn sheep hunting is by far my favorite. I love bighorn sheep,” he said. “You’re in the most remote country that you can get, and when you’re up in the sheepy rocks. It’s yeah, by far my favorite.” 

The South Africa trip was a bit different. With the exception of the baboon, Rohrer and the rest of the party hunted the expansive for-profit hunting land from the roofs of Jeeps using .308’s provided for them.

“It’s so thick and the country is so dense that you’re really just driving the roads in the back of the Jeep, just like what you see on all the hunting shows or magazines,” Rohrer said.

He did venture out after an impala into a dense canyon where some kudu and baboons made noises much different from what’s common in the U.S.

“It was a lot of racket,” Rohrer said.

Shooting also required some adjustment, “I shake really bad by nature,” Rohrer said, due to a medical condition, so he usually takes his shots prone, using a bipod.

Upon arrival the guides have a range set up and hunters take shots off the Jeep towards targets set at 100 meters to get used to the difference.

“You do get a couple of shots off the top of that to just kind of get more used to it. But you’re taking shots at odd angles. You’re not always facing an animal off the Jeep,” Rohrer explained. “So sometimes you’re in the back, and you’re having to shoot way to the left … just super awkward compared to what I’m used to.”

The strangest shot Rohrer took was at his zebra. They had hunted it for three days and the animal had given the party “the slip.” When they finally saw it again they were hunting impalas and the elusive target was at a weird angle. 

“It was a complete stand on the right side so that you could shoot to the left side, just a super awkward angle, as the zebra was moving through,” Rohrer said.

The animal was about as slippery as he’d ever seen, he said. 

The baboon hunt was the most fun, Rohrer said, as it was different from other hunts and had him shooting from a blind, similar to some types of hunting in the U.S., and provided the opportunity to enjoy seeing other wildlife.

The hunting party was in the blind for about four hours, Rohrer said, and they missed the first troop of baboons — the shots didn’t line up. The “insanely observant” animals would stare at the blinds as they came in. 

“So you can’t move, even within the blind, it’s not forgiving at all. You can’t move,” Rohrer said. “And that’s how kind of the first troop blew out because one was walking through. And I think what happened is he actually peeked in, and we made eye contact, and he sounded the alarm, and they were gone in five seconds.”

That baboon walked by the blind at about 10 yards. The second troop, the one containing the baboon Rohrer would eventually harvest, was taken at 30 yards.

While the blind was a solid structure and the baboon is not an animal Rohrer would want to be in the open with, “they’re big, big animals, bigger than I ever envisioned,” he said. 

Throughout the hunt, meat didn’t go to waste. Some was used at camp in dishes like impala spaghetti, wildebeest lasagna and elan sausage, among others, Jonathon said. The rest was given to butchers and area tribes.

The three are bringing back some items to remember the trip by. The Robbins and Rohrer are waiting for the hides of their harvested animals to arrive in the states — they’re using a dip and ship method which means the hides are arriving at their preferred taxidermists through a broker in California. The crocodile suggested by Jonathon’s son will be either a half or full mount coming out at one of the springboks Jonathon also harvested.

The trip was something he had always wanted to do, Jonathon said, “now I’m hoping I can take my son when he graduates in about five years.”