This morning I’m to be demonstrating how to butcher a carcass. Gus, Pat and I head up to Sonstraal where we meet up with Claas.

When we get the Kudu out of the chiller and hanging up again I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the enormity of the beast and the task. We start skinning and it soon becomes apparent that Claas has done this before. Lots. Like the lads at Benfontein, he’s not doing as neat a job as is expected of me in Scotland, but it doesn’t half get the job done. When we start jointing the carcass, I decide to watch and see how it’s done here.

It turns out to be a Claas Act and it transpires that he worked at Gosa for a long time while it was a hunting lodge. Claas has done this more times than I’ve had hot venison dinners. However, even with 4 of us in the larder joining, trimming, bagging and labelling, it takes until mid-afternoon to finish. By comparison, the Springbok is chicken feed and our whole job is finished not long after that. Thereafter, it’s just a case of delivering all the meat to Motse and the cold store. It’s strange that a piece of sirloin should be overlooked and stay in the vehicle….....

Pat leaves Gus and I at the kraal and goes off on errands, under instruction to be back for us at 6pm at the latest. At 6.30pm he appears back, having been wrestling single-handed with a large gate that fell off its rail. We hurry to Gus’s house.

The reason for our hurry (and the sirloin) is that I’m throwing a braai tonight and kick-off is 7pm! It’s my last day at Tswalu and I want to do something to thank everyone for all their kindness and support over our two visits. Gus has offered his house as a venue and I’ve accepted- with some trepidation.

As it happens, the first guests arrive while I’m still peeling the potatoes for the potato salad and….er…..I don’t remember much after that. Through the mists I can recollect Gus making a jibe about it being impossible to have a ‘cultural exchange’ with a Scot and I prove him wrong by introducing the throng to my favourite drinking game. ( It’s now my ex-favourite drinking game.) Fortunately for all, Providence took a hand in the proceedings and we ran out of the hard stuff before we ran out of enthusiasm. Even so, after that I reckon Gus is going to be invited onto the Board at the Bottle Bank.

For most, the night finished well after midnight. I, for one, had a wonderful time although it was tempered by the awareness that.  Mind you, after some of the stuff that was making an appearance out of the back of Gus’s drinks cupboard, we all may never see again…...