It is hard to explain the excitement and anticipation of a first trip to Africa. Months of planning and preparation converged as my wife Mary and I arrived in Johannesburg ,South Africa, and finished a five-hour drive to our hunting area.

The exciting thing about a mixed-bag hunt is that you never know what hunting opportunities will arise throughout the day.

I had planned to hunt greater kudu, gemsbok, nyala, warthog, bushbuck, impala, wildebeest, eland and leopard.

My main objective was a trophy greater kudu, but there were at least 10 other animals I was interested in pursuing. My first trophy was a gemsbok. This majestic animal was high on my list because of its beautiful black and white facial markings and long dagger-like horns.

The warthog was not at the top of my list because they’re plentiful because Africa is known for its population of warthogs, but a really good warthog is a scare animal.

Each day we had numerous encounters with these ugly creatures. The most common sight was a mother with identical miniatures trotting away from us, their tails straight up.

Then one afternoon the unexpected happened as we spotted a band of baboons moving through the thorn bush. Carl Erasmus, owner of Mbabala Safaris, advised me to be on the lookout for game as baboons will intimidate other animals, causing them to leave the area.

Suddenly a huge male warthog burst from cover. Erasmus’ instructions to shoot were all the encouragement I needed. Swinging the Sak Mark V 375 H&H Magnum into position, I waited for the warthog to move into a clearing.

One shot was all I needed as the 265-grain bullet did its job. The male warthog was large, sporting 12-inch upper tusks, a gold-medal trophy. He was equally as large as the full-bodied warthog that was on display in the hunting lodge.

Several days later, Mary and I were surprised to see an African porcupine. With beaver-like teeth and quills nearly two feet long, it appeared to be two- or three-times larger than our Oregon porcupines. Mary immediately decided she wanted an African porcupine.

While searching for her trophy we spooked a band of warthogs.

That’s when I spotted a lone warthog about 200 yards away. We agreed it was the grand daddy of all warthogs: a once in a lifetime trophy.

Erasmus suggested we construct a blind in an effort to collect both trophies that evening.

Warthogs simply must have water. Under drought conditions, warthogs are among the first to die. It takes 20 or 30 years for a male warthog to grow trophy tusks. The biggest difficulty in hunting warthogs lies in the fact that there is no predicating where or when you might find a trophy.

Trophy warthogs like the one we had just seen are hard to find, and if you do see one you’re unlikely to see him again.

Warthogs are most active in late afternoons, so we spent the middle of the day erecting a blind and camouflaged it with thorn bushes. The plan was to watch the waterhole through the late afternoon and evening hoping the warthog and the porcupine would show up. Erasmus warned us that you never know what other animals might turn up.

Mary would use a .30-06 Model 70 Winchester and 180-grain hand loads, with plenty of knock down power for either the warthog or the porcupine.

We entered the blind during the late afternoon when the African winter sun had warmed the area to more than 80 degrees. It must have been at least 100 degrees inside the blind. During the first hour we watched cape buffalo, impala and even a nice 40-inch sable bull use the waterhole. Game was everywhere and the cape buffalo made Mary nervous.

Then warthogs of all sizes began to approach the waterhole. They watered, wallowed and moved around our blind.

Later, movement caught caught my eye as I could see the back and ears of a large warthog as it made its way into the clearing. I was stunned at the first sight of the male’s massive head and enormous curved tusks. I had never seen such a warthog, even in pictures, and there he was about 100 yards from our blind.

Mary raised the rifle and slowly eased it into position for a shot. I about panicked when she squeezed the trigger, and I heard the click as the firing pin struck an empty chamber. Erasmus was checking to see if Mary could shoot or if she would flinch.

Mary kept her composure, loaded a shell, and waited for another chance to shoot this monster. This time there was no mistake as the bullet struck the warthog. She had made a perfect heart shot. Mary had just taken her first African trophy.

Erasmus estimated the warthog at being more than 30 years old, maybe 40. It weighed more than 300 pounds.

Its tusks were enormous, measuring nearly 14 inches in length and scoring 352/8 Safari Club International points. The SCI office was contacted, and we were informed that it would rank No. 70 all time and would be listed as the new world record for women.