Masaailand (Simanjiro Naberera) Double Buffalo with Kububi Safaris

OPPORTUNITY- I never thought I would hunt Tanzania as it can be extremely expensive. I gave up on it about ten years ago when the Government suddenly raised its prices just as the season was to start. All those extra community fees and air charter costs were just too much for my budget, especially when compared to the free-range dangerous game hunts available in Zimbabwe and Mozambique and to some extent Namibia’s Caprivi strip. I turned sixty this past year and wanted to do something special. Buzz was putting together a killer deal for me and he even offered to jump out of cake wearing his Mankini for my birthday. Obviously, that killed the deal. Fortunately, I was keeping a close watch on the hunt offers here on AR when this popped up:

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COST – Wow, this was a deal! It would work out cheaper that a ten-day double buffalo hunt in Zimbabwe and since it was in Maasialand there was no need for an expensive air charter. The camp would only be a four-hour drive from my arrival at Kilimanjaro airport. Arjun explained to me that it was a new outfit completely Black owned with a concession that hadn’t been hunted for several years. The prices were so reasonable because………. well it was a new outfit without an established reputation and they needed to get bookings so that’s what you do when you are new and need bookings………. you offer great prices to entice people.

TRAVEL / FIREARM – I used Travel With Guns to book my flight and they were great. I flew from LAX to Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro and back without any issues other than having to wait an insane amount of time upon my return in Los Angeles to get my rifle cleared. I did spend the money and get my VISA before I arrived and it was a huge timesaver. Arjun helped with my paperwork so I already had my rifle permit when I arrived. I only brought my 375 Ruger with Leupold VX6 IR 1-6 scope using 270 Gr TSX ammo.

CURSES / PHOTOGRAPHY – I took a small digital Canon camera for photos but couldn’t find the damn thing upon my return. I can only speculate that it fell out of my ammo case when I had to show my remaining ammo when leaving Kilimanjaro. I took a few photos/videos with my iPhone and Hasheem sent me a bunch of his using WhatsApp (a truly useful and fantastic app by the way). Therefore, the photos I am posting here are minimal which is why I make reference to Arjun’s post for more information.

JOY – Hasheem and his gang are full of joy and optimism about the future of their Safari company. Hasheem is one of the few Black Africans to be a fully licensed PH with his own company. His excitement is evident as sometimes I thought he was going to jump out of his skin to get me my buffalo. He is friendly, likable and easy to get along with. His English skills are quite good and we had no problem communicating. We found plenty to chat about and enjoyed some good laughs. He is a Muslim and doesn’t drink alcohol so he doesn’t know much about it. I had to inform him and his staff not to put the red wine in the fridge. Hasheem and his crew also loved taking photos. I have never been on a hunt where so many of the team jump in taking lots of pictures. You can also expect Hasheem to take a video of you while you explain what this hunt means to you. It reminded me of those Mark Sullivan videos where Mark asks the hunter how he feels after blasting a hippo or buffalo…………so be prepared to say something deep and profound and try not to cry.

WEATHER- I am use to going to the Zambezi Valley the second half of October when all the late season deals are available. The prices can be great but the heat is murder. I just assumed it would be similar in Tanzania but I was pleasantly surprised by the mildness of the climate. It was late season and it was dry with the hottest day about 85 F with the nights getting down to about 60 F which made for comfortable conditions. There were no tsetse flies and mosquitos were minimal.

FACILITIES / MEALS– The main camp was built and is owned by the Tanzania government. The safari operator leases it. It is a modern facility with all the comforts of home. You can look at Arjun’s post below to get a better idea. The meals were all first rate although they could have used a bit more variety when it came to dessert. We camped out a couple nights in the field with meals being prepared over a campfire. There were even better than the lodge and you can’t beat the atmosphere of sleeping under the stars with a hyena calling in the distance. They brought a cot with a pad, blanket and pillow and I slept like a baby.

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ANIMALS – They got lots of them. This trip was the first time I have seen a honey badger and only the second time for an Aardwolf and this was my 24th trip to Africa. For the more serious collector they have an abundance of lesser kudu and East African dik-dik. Hasheem also assured me they have lots of Gerenuk and that all these species are quite easy to come by. I have never seen so many Zebra in my life and they could be virtually shot at will making easy baits for the cats. There were lots of buffalo but this time of year they were spread out over the roughly 800,000-acre concession. We came across fresh sign for leopard and lion but didn’t actually see any. This is a dry area so there are no hippo or croc hunting opportunities and not much in the way of elephant. This is the place to come for buffalo, leopard, lion and the specialized East African plains game.

THE MASAAI - Colorful, friendly and helpful. Most of them have flip up cell phones and Hasheem was in frequent contact with them for info on buffalo. The only negative is that they have large herds of cattle and goats that compete with the wildlife. I was there at the end of the dry season when the water supply has diminished. What happens is that it forces the buffalo to come in the middle of the night to drink thus making finding fresh tracks and following them more difficult. The buffalo hunting would be easier earlier in the season or after the rains start in early November (just as I was leaving) when there are more pans to drink from. I got my two buffalo but they didn’t come easy. Hasheem was also blunt about the Masaai and lions in that lions that roam into their cattle area are quickly poisoned. They just aren’t tolerated. The lions therefore have learned to stay away and hang out on the other side of the concession.

POACHING – We ran into meat poachers the first two days. The first day was two guys on one motorcycle carrying plastic bags filled with meat. We gave chase but a big loaded up Toyota trying to chase down a motorcycle through the bush isn’t much of a contest. We had more luck the second day as we ran into two guys on a bicycle with spears and plastic bags of meat. The two boys took off so we didn’t catch them but we did recover their bike, cell phone and keys along with the Hartebeest meat. I kind of admired the poachers since they stalked the Hartebeest on foot and used spears to kill it the old-fashioned way. Apparently, there is a good market for game meat in the towns. Mary, our Game Scout was confident they would be arrested since we had recovered their cell phone. I had good photos but they are a casualty of my lost camera.

PLAINS GAME HUNTING – It was pretty easy. I was after both Gazelles (Thompson and Grants), a white bearded wildebeest and a Topi or Cokes Hartebeest. I got all four of them in the first four days. The animals get use to the Maasai so the standard procedure is once you spot an animal or herd off in the distance you get out of the vehicle, put a colorful Masaai robe on and nonchalantly walk towards your prey until your close enough to get a good shot in. I think I got some nice trophies, especially the Grants Gazelle. As I stated earlier it would have been easy to also take a lesser kudu (I saw some nice ones) and a dik-dik.

BUFFALO - These things were more difficult. Arjun told me to expect to hunt them in the mountains so I was prepared to huff and puff my way up some hillsides. I have some good hills at home I regularly hike but I go up them using switchbacks, not straight up the sides. Also take note: just because you hike up a mountain where buffalo are known to reside doesn’t mean they are waiting around for you in lounge chairs when you get there. We went up a good mountain one day and there was fresh buffalo sign but there was also lots of thick bush they could hide in and they did. At least I got some good exercise in.

There is one criticism I have and I did discuss it with Arjun. When I booked this hunt, I was to spend one night in an Arusha hotel upon arrival as I would be arriving late at night. Then after a good night sleep I would spend the next day travelling to the concession and then the following the day the hunt would begin. Hasheem was too excitable to let me rest. I believe he knew it was going to be more difficult to get my buffalo this time of year so he really pushed me to speed things up. Upon clearing my rifle, he told me that it was a one-hour drive to the hotel so we wouldn’t arrive before 11PM and then we had to leave at 3AM the next morning as he wanted to start hunting right away. The camp was only a 4-5-hour drive away from the airport so I just opted to go straight to the camp skipping the hotel. The camp was comfortable but I was up early the next morning and off we went. I had paid for a ten-day hunt but I was getting a free bonus day to make it an eleven-day affair. That first day we ended up at the base of a good-sized mountain during the hottest time of the day ready to go straight up the side as there were buffalo at the top. I refused. I was too tired and jet lagged. I told Hasheem we could come back in a couple days if unsuccessful in the flatlands and after I had a chance to rest, I would race him to the top. He said, “okay Mr. Mike”.

We tried and tried in the flatlands and on another mountain climb but were unsuccessful. We even camped out by waterholes for a couple of nights and the buffalo did come in around 2AM……. we could make them out in the dark but just barely and then they were long gone by next morning. We did pursue but that bush is thick and thorny.

So, we decided to head back to the original mountain I refused to climb the first day. I turned in early to get a good night’s rest when Hasheem woke me at 11PM telling me he had arranged for us to go to the concession next door and we would be leaving at 5AM. Whatever you say cowboy, I’m in.

The camp we took over was run down as it hadn’t been used in three years. However, Hasheem and his team took over and had my tent fixed up in a jiffy. It was quite comfortable when they finished. This concession next door was called Irkiushibor and it shared a common boundary with the Tarangire National Park known for their huge herds of buffalo and elephant. These elephants are known for their long slender ivory.

The first day hunting we didn’t see any buffalo but the second day (day 8 of the 10-11-day hunt) we hit pay dirt catching a large herd out in the open. I saw a nice wide and deep buffalo at the tail end of the herd and took about a hundred-yard shot hitting him solid but he did not drop. It was then I wished I was using something heavier than a 375 with 270 grain bullets. I expected them to all run off but no……they actually stomped their feet, shook their heads, raised their snouts and crept closer. The buffalo I hit interspersed with the herd so all we could do is to wait. They were in no hurry to go anywhere and since this was a double buffalo hunt and I saw a nice wide bull right at the front of the herd I asked Hasheem what about that one? Boom, he jumped up like a typical heart shot but didn’t go down either. I am switching to my 458 in the future. Now I had two hit buffalo interspersed in the same herd and we waited. Eventually the herd moved off leaving two slowly moving buffalo lagging behind. It took an additional two shots into each buffalo before they finally hit the ground. What a relief and did I mention I am switching to my 458 in the future.

BACK IN ARUSHA – I had a couple of free days left over so Hasheem arranged for me to check in to the very comfortable 3 Degrees lodge located in the heart of Arusha. It is partially owned by our own Tim Vining who is a member here. I got to have an enjoyable breakfast with Tim one morning at the Lodge’s restaurant. I was also able to take an all-day trip to the same Tarangire National Park that had the shared boundary where I shot my buffalo. It was overcast with intermittent rain but that didn’t bother the wildlife. I saw an incredible array of animals in a very compact area. Unfortunately, it was quite rainy while I was in Arusha so I wasn’t able to venture out much to see the local sights.

RECOMMENDATION – Go and hunt with Kabubi Safaris as soon as possible. They are a happy bunch and will take good care of you. These great prices won’t last forever so grab them while you can. Eventually they will get more established and popular so you can expect the prices to jump. I am thinking of going back for a 16-day leopard hunt. If I buy a 21-day license I can hunt three buffalo and all the plains game they have. Except this time, I am taking my 458 and 308 for better firepower.

STAY IN THE FIGHT!

Posts: 1848 | Location: Southern California | Registered: 25 July 2006

Bwana338

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