Looks like quite an adventure. The experience is of more value than the body count. Thanks for sharing.

quote:

Originally posted by camshaft:

The King was not actually in residence when you were there, but the head of the "Dogaries" a subset of slaves that over time have become the most important group of people in the north.

Cam I would be interested in hearing more about life of the people there like the king and his people and his slaves please.

I do not wish to hijack Jerry's thread. So I will start a new thread on Cameroun Kingdom.
cam

Posted new thread.
Cam

Wow! This is my dream hunt. Some day!

Except for the stuff getting stolen part. That kinda sucks.

This was the hunt report I wanted to read. I've beeninterested in Cams Cameron hunts. Looks interesting, but tough.

Fantastic report, thanks for sharing

Part 3 -final installment
Day 15 continued. the drive from King Cith to NG is normally about 5 hours. it took us almost 7 as we stopped once to do a roadside rebuild of the Hilux diesel fuel pump and once to refill the radiator after the truck overheated on a REALLY long steep, uphill climb.


on arrival in NG about 1PM we went direct to the only motel in town with air conditioning. it was about 1 1/2 stars but at least it was cool. my shower didn't work but the manager thoughtfully sent over a big bucket that i filled with water to clean up. amazingly we had sat TV. all the channels were in French except 1. Channel 2 was from Riyahd(sp??) Saudia Arabia with fairly old American movies( such as Speed) with arabic subtitles! mid afternoon we were invited to lunch with friends of Cam who run the Lutheran medical mission and outreach for Cameroon and CAR. Phillip Nelson and his lovely wife June are 2 of the nicest people i have ever met and their dedication to a very daunting task is remarkable. they are from North Dakota but have spent most of their lives in Cameroon.
Day 16. Eureka- my shower started working. as an aside both the water and power in NG came and went on an irregular basis. i had mentioned to Phillip the previous day that i would like to see the hospital/clinic he manages( the Lutheran mission there is jointedly operated by the American Lutheran church and a Lutheran church from Norway). Being an anesthesiologist for 35 years, i was really curious what the OR was like. well, have seeing the massive amount of work they do under somewhat conditions, i am completely in awe. the next time a surgeon complains about the OR being to hot( at 65F), I AM GOING TO SHOW HIM ON MY IPAD WHAT REAL HEAT IS LIKE! the OR's were 82-87F, dark and open to the outside air. abdominal surg was going on in this room and the door to the corridor was open



an OR in between cases.



the recovery room


we boarded the train at 6 PM for the long haul to NSI.
Day 17. arrived about 10 AM, victim of an attempted mugging at the train stain while sitting in a taxi in the train station gridlock. no harm, no fouls( very lucky)- back to the hotel were we stayed on the way in. Daniel went to the airport late tonight to pick up 2 Danes( on of whom is an AR poster). we met them the next morning at breakfast and spent a good part of the day BS's over beer in the hotel bar. they headed to the train at 5PM and we headed to the airport at the same time. the long schlep home began but since i had no luggage it was easy transiting. i hope Jan and his buddy are successful- they are headed direct to the river camp and were really nice guys.
Conclusions: lessons learned the hard way
1. NEVER, EVER leave a baggage check in area without checking your claim check and seeing your name, flight number and final destination is correct
2. NEVER, EVER believe an Aw Fu--ed head cabin steward when he tells you "Oui, monsieur, it is no problem. we have radioed ahead and your luggage will be taken care of"( unless of, course, he means stolen in a war zone, third world airport)
3. when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. roll with the punches
4. either wear your hunting boots or carry them on the plane.
would i do this hunt again? ABSOLUTELY! BUT REALIZE THIS IS NOT YOUR AVERAGE Land Cruiser safari. you will get out of it what you are capable of putting into it. i wanted an adventure- and i got it in spades.

Well done jdollar
Excellent report, thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Very unique and interesting report. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

So we can assume another trip down Dealy Plaza the wrong way, with Mrs Retreever shrieking loudly is not going to excite you again?


Keith

An incredible adventure Jerry! Congrats and thanks for sharing. I wish I had the cojones to try something like this, but maybe the sound of yours clanging scared off that big bull eh?

quote:

Originally posted by Dulcinea:
So we can assume another trip down Dealy Plaza the wrong way, with Mrs Retreever shrieking loudly is not going to excite you again?


Keith

Keith, after what this trip put me through, Nothing is going to bother me- even Mike's driving in downtown Dallas the wrong way on a one way street in the middle of the night!

JD,

Thanks for taking the time to post this, really enjoyed your report. Glad you made it back safely,
and glad you had such a great experience! The animals are awesome, and really well earned, I know that means a lot.. What an adventure!

Butch

Jerry,

Way to go sir, certainly the road less traveled. Glad your adventure was so rewarding.

Would you do it again? Any advise for those who are considering this trip?

Thanks for sharing,

i would definitely do it again but because of timing issues, it would probably not be for 1 1/2 years- and i am a bit uncertain if i could pull it off at age 67. having said that, the guys will adjust the pace to whatever you can tolerate, so it would be doable. the main thing is you just have to realize this is NOT an easy hunt and you get out of it what you can put into it...no more, no less.

Oh, my ... reading of your most excellent adventure ... (Bravo !) it just hit me ... my book must not have made it to Daniel .. ????

Some lady in Bangui is enjoying it though, along with 4 cameras, 1 nice watch, 1 GPS, and numerous sunglasses and presents Jerry was kind enough to carry over for me to give to the staff!
Cam

quote:

Originally posted by scruffy:
Oh, my ... reading of your most excellent adventure ... (Bravo !) it just hit me ... my book must not have made it to Daniel .. ????

you are right, Scruffy. i read the book( excellent BTW) then put it in my check in luggage, never to be seen again.

Some ahole is also walking around with alot of meds that could have made my life easier while I was there.
So Jdollar, we go back 2016.

follow up
Cam emailed me last night that Daniel( his in-country ramrod) had notified him that AF had found 1 of my bags( after 4 weeks) and was sending it to me. i called the AF baggage office in Atlanta early this AM to inquire. they knew nothing about it at first but a check while i waited showed the bag had been sent to SLC, UT. they wanted to know when i could pick it up. i informed the moron that i lived in CA, not UT. oops... they then said they would forward it from SLC to Fresno. 15 minutes later i got a phone call from Delta baggage in SLC and was told the bag would be in Fresno this afternoon. i drove 25 miles to the airport and picked it up. the contents were all there but every name tag on the bag had been removed( and the 3 of them were laminated plastic with heavy zip ties to attach them). who knows where the other bag is but if they can find 1 bag after 4 weeks, i guess there is still hope. the bottom line is that the buffoons/idiots at Aw Fu--ed are beyond stupid and i hope to never have any dealings with them again. with the general level of incompetence AF has repeatedly exhibited, i am SURPRISED THEY CAN STAY IN BUSINESS.

What an amazing, amazing adventure/hunt!!!!! Your are definitely my new hero!!!!!

Best regards, D. Nelson

I have rumors your second bag may be in Yaounde. Get a hold of me. No promises, it is Africa!
cam

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
follow up
Cam emailed me last night that Daniel( his in-country ramrod) had notified him that AF had found 1 of my bags( after 4 weeks) and was sending it to me. i called the AF baggage office in Atlanta early this AM to inquire. they knew nothing about it at first but a check while i waited showed the bag had been sent to SLC, UT. they wanted to know when i could pick it up. i informed the moron that i lived in CA, not UT. oops... they then said they would forward it from SLC to Fresno. 15 minutes later i got a phone call from Delta baggage in SLC and was told the bag would be in Fresno this afternoon. i drove 25 miles to the airport and picked it up. the contents were all there but every name tag on the bag had been removed( and the 3 of them were laminated plastic with heavy zip ties to attach them). who knows where the other bag is but if they can find 1 bag after 4 weeks, i guess there is still hope. the bottom line is that the buffoons/idiots at Aw Fu--ed are beyond stupid and i hope to never have any dealings with them again. with the general level of incompetence AF has repeatedly exhibited, i am SURPRISED THEY CAN STAY IN BUSINESS.

Jerry,

I should have never talked with you on the phone.....Brett and I are giving this hunt some serious thought.

Cheers
Jim

you won't regret it, Jim. it is an adventure par excellence!

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
follow up
Cam emailed me last night that Daniel( his in-country ramrod) had notified him that AF had found 1 of my bags( after 4 weeks) and was sending it to me. i called the AF baggage office in Atlanta early this AM to inquire. they knew nothing about it at first but a check while i waited showed the bag had been sent to SLC, UT. they wanted to know when i could pick it up. i informed the moron that i lived in CA, not UT. oops... they then said they would forward it from SLC to Fresno. 15 minutes later i got a phone call from Delta baggage in SLC and was told the bag would be in Fresno this afternoon. i drove 25 miles to the airport and picked it up. the contents were all there but every name tag on the bag had been removed( and the 3 of them were laminated plastic with heavy zip ties to attach them). who knows where the other bag is but if they can find 1 bag after 4 weeks, i guess there is still hope. the bottom line is that the buffoons/idiots at Aw Fu--ed are beyond stupid and i hope to never have any dealings with them again. with the general level of incompetence AF has repeatedly exhibited, i am SURPRISED THEY CAN STAY IN BUSINESS.

Jerry,

I should have never talked with you on the phone.....Brett and I are giving this hunt some serious thought.

Cheers
Jim

Yep.........moving to final round of consideration. Prospects good.

Brett

Congratulations on your hunt Jerry! This is one I've been looking at for several years now. I admire you for taking a hard hunt, giving it your best, and having the adventure of a lifetime regardless of the body count!!!

Brett