Van Zwoll is a well-traveled shooting competitor and big-game hunter, as well as a journalist and the organizer of High Country Adventures (HCA). HCA is a skills camp for women, part vacation part school with a goal of giving women of all ages and experience a taste of traditional outdoor sports.

As part of HCA Van Zwoll started the women’s only African safari three years ago. Logosz was invited on the safari last year but wasn’t able to go due to a previous commitment. So when she was invited again this past February she jumped at the chance to fulfill a dream of going on safari in Africa.

"I started hunting with my husband, Dave 30 years ago," says Logosz. "This was a dream come true for me. I had never hunted outside of North Dakota."

Logosz, who mainly hunts deer in North Dakota, harvested a North Dakota moose three years ago in a once-in-a-lifetime hunt.

"Opportunities like this don’t come along every day," says Logosz. "I was very excited to go on the safari, but I was also a little nervous to be traveling outside of the United States by myself."

Logosz traveled alone to Frankfurt, Germany where she met up with the four other women going on the African safari with her and Van Zwoll.

"It was a lot of traveling, especially the seven-hour drive from Namibia to our hunting camp," says Logosz. "So even though the other women were strangers in Germany we were all friends by the time we got to camp."

The group stayed at Camp Eden, a luxurious tented camp located on the banks of the dry river bed, Omuramba Omatako.

The camp consists of five large guest tents featuring luxuries such as individual bathrooms with hot and cold showers, electricity, king-size beds and a stone patio.

"I’m not sure how, but I ended up with the best tent," says Logosz. "It overlooked a waterhole frequented by game. I could look out of my tent at any time and see African wildlife."

Camp Eden is made up of 70,000 acres of private open range land that is abundant with wildlife. Logosz compares hunting in Africa to the plains of North Dakota, mostly flat with small hills and brush patches.

According to Logosz, the group of five women and Van Zwoll were accompanied by two professional hunters who acted as guides throughout the hunt. The guide would take the group out looking for game in a Land Rover. When they thought they saw something in the brush the guide and one hunter would venture into the brush to see if they could get a shot.

"The guides were really good at their job," says Logosz. "They have to be certified so they know which animal to take from the herd and how to make sure the hunter gets a good shot at the animal. The rules in Africa are really stringent."

According to Logosz, the animals they harvested were part of a management hunt so the guides determined which animals were the older males and needed to be removed.

"They were really careful to make sure we got a good clean shot," says Logosz. "The guides never let anyone take a shot over 150-160 yards . They were really good with us."

The five women and Van Zwoll took a total of 19 animals. Logosz harvested a gemsbok, kudu and wildebeest. Others in the group also harvested zebra.

Although hunting and harvesting the game was exciting it wasn’t the highlight of the trip, according to Logosz.

"My favorite part of the trip was tracking some elephants," says Logosz. "You can’t hunt them but Wayne wanted us to see them so he took us on a tracking adventure."

The group, according to Logosz, traveled to several watering holes before they spotted fresh elephant tracks, then they slipped through extremely dense brush only seeing a few feet ahead of them to find the elephants.

"The guide stopped us and pointed up," says Logosz. "It looked like 20 periscopes coming out of the brush."

What the group was seeing was the trunks of about 20 elephants trying to figure out where they were.

"We had to be extremely quiet when we looked for the elephants because if they hear anything they will charge it," says Logosz. "I had my camera but didn’t get a picture because I couldn’t chance turning it on."

The group turned so they were up-wind of the elephants and crept closer hoping for a better view.

"We could hear them moving around, but the brush was so thick we couldn’t see them," adds Logosz. "Suddenly they were there. We could see their heads about 20 yards from us. We watched for a minute and snuck back out. It was a really awesome experience."

Along with the elephants the group also saw lots of giraffe, zebras, rhinos and birds.

"Although the wildlife was abundant it was still a challenge to hunt," says Logosz. "You had to be extremely quiet and patient because the animals would spook easily and then they were gone."

When Logosz harvested her kudu she had actually been stalking a herd of gemsbok that was scared away.

"The gemsbok ran away and my guide decided to go a little further to see if we could find some more," says Logosz. "We didn’t see any gemsbok but came upon a beautiful kudu only 150 yards away. Everything worked out and when I took the shot he dropped right there."

Logosz’s kudu has two and a half curls and is estimated to have been 13 years old.

The group was involved with a management hunt so nothing from the harvested animals went to waste. Camp chefs prepared meals using the harvested game. Then the game was taken to a processing plant where the hunters chose what they wanted to have shipped home and the rest went to children’s shelters around Africa.

"I enjoyed hunting all three animals, but the kudu was my favorite," adds Logosz. "The entire experience was awesome. It was truly beautiful there and I would go back in a heart-beat."