buffalo hunt in Zimbawe

[lil 2 sleepy]

Looks like a great trip. I just got back from SA, and am writing up my trip, but while I was there I was told that Zimbabwe was pretty tumultuous right now and most won't go there. My PH said no way in today's climate.

How was the "environment"? Id love to hunt the zambizi area in my lifetime.

[Rubberhead*]

I'm too jealous to comment but I agree with lil 2 sleepy - there are fewer and fewer places in Africa to go for a westerner.

[JABIII]

I'm too jealous to comment but I agree with lil 2 sleepy - there are fewer and fewer places in Africa to go for a westerner.

One day, South Carolina will face the same fate as SA. Let's hope we are not around to see it. Those I have spoken to who have, tell tales so grim that they do not bear repeating...

[Stripa Swipa]

Great write up. Thanks for taking the time. It's hard for folks to comprehend Africa, including me as I've never been. I've never quite settled on whether it's on my to do list or not. Much of it isn't my style but I'd love to believe when I'm too old to climb mountains, I could put together an African hunt that would meet my criteria. Sadly, things seem to be changing at a pace that might squeeze that dream shut if I don't act sooner rather than later.

Fine animals. Congrats.

[Jay]

I have relatives who were murdered on their farm in SA and their land was taken. The relatives who survived fled overnight and came back to the US leaving all of their belongings in SA.

[JABIII]

Sorry to hear it Jay. It is real, it is happening right now, and it will happen here...

[Rubberhead*]

Sorry to hear it Jay. It is real, it is happening right now, and it will happen here...

...and goes completely unreported by a completely uninterested main stream media.

[beanhunter]

Enjoyed that. Thanks for sharing and congrats on a great trip.

[Zephyr]

Enjoyed your stories.

How about some pictures and story of your dad's hunt?

[JBK]

Sorry to hear it Jay. It is real, it is happening right now, and it will happen here...

Can you elaborate JAB?

[Two Barrels]

I enjoyed your write up on your trip. Those are some fantastic animals. Were you and your dad hunting separate areas in the concession each day?

[JABIII]

Can you elaborate JAB?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/12/u...tionalist.html

[Carolina Counsel]

It was certainly a great trip. I will elaborate on a number of things.

First, my dad and I were the only ones on the entire 190,000 acre concession, so we never ran into each other. He had a bunch of baits in a particular area, so we just avoided that 10,000-20,000 acres. I can tell you that after experiencing the leopard hunt through my father, I wouldn’t do that hunt. I don’t think he knew what he was getting into (although that’s no excuse, as I knew full well what a Zim leopard hunt is all about). Essentially, you spend the first day or two killing a dozen or so impala. Due to the unique set up at Sango, the only animals that can be used for bait are impala and zebra. Everything else that is shot is either eaten in camp, given as rations to employees, or sold to the community (very cheaply). You cannot use other game animals that you take as bait (which is kind of a pain). Once you have a handful of baits shot, you start setting up bait sights. They build a lean pole against a tree in a particular area where a blind can be set up with the right wind direction at a certain distance (usually 50-80 yards). They then go to hacking on the bait tree to get everything right so that the leopard can be seen properly in low or no light for a shot. With leopards, they don’t shoot anything younger than 4 and it HAS to be a male. Getting a good look at a nutsack in the dark is challenging, so the set up needs to be right. This takes time – A LOT OF IT. After two days, you have 10-12 bait sights. For the next few days, you make bait rounds to check to see if there are hits. Once you have a hit for two nights, and you confirm it’s a shootable cat, you sit the bait. After the baits have sat for 3-4 nights, they have to be replaced. Thus, the process starts again- shooting baits, hanging baits, and checking baits. While you can hunt for other animals along the way, it significantly cuts into your other hunting.

The sitting starts mid-afternoon. It lasts until early morning. Cats can, and usually are, shot at night with artificial light. (Let’s not get into an ethics debate here. It’s not my cup of tea, but it is what it is, and it still isn’t easy). You cannot talk. You cannot stand. You cannot read. You cannot pee. You sit in the dark and wait until you catch movement or hear the crunch of teeth on bones.

Dad sat three nights. On the third night, he shot his leopard the 4th time a leopard got in the tree that night. The first three times, the leopard spooked before a shot could be taken. The 4th time, dad shot immediately. He ended up shooting an average leopard- not the one that he had set out to kill. Here he is. He is pretty, but no stud. (Interestingly, I got an emailed pic this afternoon of one of the cats- Captain Hook- that dad was hunting. He died last night after a hunter was in the blind for 2 hours. Ah, to be lucky.)

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The leopard hunting was very hard on my dad. It was stressful, boring at times, and painful for a 70 year old man. Sitting still for 8-12 hours in the dark is just hard. I will stick to buffalo.

Dad had a good hunt overall, taking very nice trophies (as always- he is extremely fortunate when it comes to hunting and always takes better animals than I). I frankly don’t know all of the details of his various stalks, but I know that he shot fairly well and took some nice animals along the way. Unfortunately, he, too, make a bad shot and lost an eland. They tracked it for three days and never could catch up. These are tough animals.
Now for the politics. I could literally go on for hours. I don’t think Zimbabwe is any less stable now than it has been for a decade. Inflation is insane. In fact, they just rolled out a new monetary system since the last one essentially failed. By failed, I mean that a loaf of bread would cost millions of dollars. I suspect this new system will be an equal failure. Black/white relations are not great, but they’re also probably not as bad as most would expect. The native Africans still rely heavily upon whites for employment, which makes whites still valuable. I was never nervous or concerned for my safety while in Zimbabwe.

As I mentioned earlier, in the 1960s and 1970s, there was a communist-backed movement to retake Rhodesia for the natives. Colonial Britain had lost some of its interest in its African colonies. Almost all fighting-aged white Rhodesians were involved in the bush wars. The fighting between ZANU and ZAPU was brutal. In the late 1970s, after decades of fighting, the Rhodesians believed that they had the support of the US and Britain to institute a democratic government as part of the independent movement. The idea was that there would be bi-racial government, but it would be primarily native-led. A democratic election was held; however, Thatcher (British PM) refused to recognize the democratically- elected government because ZAPU and ZANU had voluntarily not participated in the election. The fighting continued, and ultimately, Robert Mugabe took control of the country in another “democratic” election.

To this day, “Uncle Bob” Mugabe continues to lead Zimbabwe. He is a dictator. He is corrupt. He is a brilliant tactician and politician.

As I mentioned earlier, Mugabe knew all along what he planned to do. He got control and then he waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, when he knew that his power was no longer subject to challenge, he rolled out his plan. He started repatriating land from the colonial whites. Farms and businesses which had been built from nothing and passed through generations were confiscated. As mentioned, Mugabe’s thugs would show up on a farm and tell the owner that he had 24, 48, 72 hours (whatever length they wanted) to leave. Interestingly, the land-owners have legal title to this day. They just can’t use the land or farm it. Many have held on to the dream that some day there will be recourse. I doubt it.

Interestingly, if you want to be a social pariah as a white man in Zimbabwe, lease farmland (titled to another white man) from the natives and farm it yourself. You will split the profits with the natives occupying the property. The natives will do nothing but count the money. The titled-owner of the land will see not the first dime. And he may kill you for farming his land. Land-owners regard a white man farming their land as a thief.

Another interesting part of this whole dynamic is the short-sightedness of Mugabe. Unemployment runs above 90% (so I am told). One of the main reasons for this is that once the white-owned farms and businesses were taken over, the employed natives had no where to work. The farms went to shambles. They tore down the ranch homes, tore down the fencing, let the animals go, let the field go to weeds. The farms for the most part of in ruins.

In speaking with the folks that I enjoyed meeting, the problem is that the Zimbabweans still believe in traditional African tribalism. The chief gets everything. The people get nothing.

The one saving grace is that non-Zimbabwean whites (for now) can still own and operate property in Zimbabwe. A Zimbabwean can then partner with the non-Zimbabwean and have some hope of operating business. The property I hunted is owned by a high-level German who is tight with Merkel. While three of the nine properties in the Save Valley Conservancy have been taken over and given back to the natives (and since gone to shit), Sango is somewhat protected due to its ownership by a non-Zimbabwean (although I don’t recommend you invest!).

Thus ends my impression of the current situation and recent history.

Just a few tidbits. Our camp was on a dry river. There is a hot wire that runs around the camp that is turned on at night. It wouldn’t stop a large animal, but it could be a deterrent. There was a waterhole built last year just on the other side of the 100-foot wide riverbed, just across from camp. I didn’t know this. On the third or fourth night, I was standing in the middle of the riverbed talking to my wife on the sat phone (the only place I could get reception). I heard the most primal, loudest, wildest animal scream I have ever heard, and I summarily crossed the river like Usain Bolt. It was an angry cow elephant. She was probably 15 yards away from me Fortunately, she was just warning me. If she had wanted to, I would be dead. The following day, we watched a herd of elephants come into the water hole while eating lunch.

We saw elephants every day, as well as numerous lion, cheetah, and leopard kills. There are a lot of rhinos there, and a year-round rhino anti-poaching unit, but we unfortunately never saw one. We also saw a pack of wild dogs and my dad got to watch the dogs feed on a fresh calf kill while the cow looked on while her calf was torn apart.

Several folks alluded to the cost of the hunt. Yes, it’s very expensive. Making this kind of hunt takes financial sacrifice unless you have a lot more money than I. I saved for 10 years to make it happen. It comes down to priorities. I drive a 2006 Tacoma. I could buy a new truck. I opt for experiences instead. I was at a dear friend’s father’s visitation last week. Once I got to the front of the visitation line, my buddy, mourning his father’s untimely death, said that he had been thinking about me the last few days. I asked why. He said that he was so thankful that I had taken the time to do something like this with my father while I still could. I encourage you guys who have the desire to do this while you can. I understand that the situation in RSA is also turning south quickly. It may just be a matter of time until RSA is like Zimbabwe, with the lands being reclaimed for the natives.

Few random pics, including of camp and the areas we hunted. The areas varied from open savannah, to dense riverine, to rocky and thick areas with numerous kopjes (rock outcroppings).

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[Duck cutter]

That's flat out awesome

[Elcid_Fowler]

I read it all...thanks for sharing!

[bbhntr48]

Trip of a lifetime!

[marsh chicken]

A fantastic write up and an amazing trip!! Thanks for sharing.


I suggest we send Duck Tape over to help heal the racial divide. Maybe even start a power plant project to get people back to work as well.

[FEETDOWN]

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like an awesome experience.

[PharmHunter]

Awesome for sure, thanks for sharing!

[Glenn]

I want to go just to be able to wear the clothes and say "dugger boy" without looking weird.

Great trip and great write up!