In keeping with the election year spirit.... <BR><BR>It would seem that the good areas in Zim are 90%+ booked this year. I am curious what impact the elections, and potential outcome, will have on the hunting industry there. <BR><BR>These questions are not mutually exclusive (you can answer them all independent of one another)I am booked into Zim this year and I am going regardless of the elections as long as my PH says it is safe and there are no laws preventing me from traveling to Zim.YesNoCurrently UndecidedNot ApplicableI am NOT booked to hunt Zim this year, but will consider Zim for the future regardless of the election outcome and manner in which the President is selected.YesNoCurrently UndecidedNot ApplicableI will never hunt Zim as long as Mugabe is in power.AgreeDisagreeI don't care about the politics in Zimbabwe, I am after good deals and/or good hunting.Totally Agree (I care most about the deals)Mostly AgreeMostly DisagreeTotally Disagree (I care most about the politics)

Can't vote twice.

I think we all want to see the voice of the electorate heard. There is a tension between supporting, indirectly or otherwise, a government that does not allow that voice to be heard, and the belief that I think many of us have that the future for Zimbabwe, its people, and its wildlife, requires that we support those who are trying so hard to make a go of it there.

Over and above the poll .....

Now or soon after Robber Bob becomes (burnt toast) is the time to SERIOUSLY consider an Investment in Zimbabwe ... Dont wait till the prices rise ..

MOST ALL the so called INVESTMENT EXPERTS of world business ALWAYS tell you .... BUY when the price is LOW and sell when HIGH >> Look at JP Morgan, when they got Bear Stearns for a song and a dance

REMEMBER when HOBO BOB goes on the (freight train heading south) the Western World in particular, will PUMP BIG TIME money into the NEW ZIMBABWE to get it back off the ground onto it's knees and then hopefully it's feet.

Been following Rhodesia/Zimbabwe from the times of 50/60/70's when I lived there, and up to the present, it goes in cycles, the graph will now slowly start to go up again, believe me .....

Also they will NEED to REPRINT a whole set of new currency notes as that CRAP PAPER they are using now is ONLY good to start a barbecue with

Good health and (happy investment)

Cheers, Peter

I must say that I am disappointed in the 48% of my fellows here who elected to hunt in Zim regardless of elections. Mugabe is an abomination and should have been turned out years ago.

Our continued support thru hunting has assisted his staying in office. Some of those who have had hunts there are experiencing difficulties in getting their trophies out of country. I cannot divorce my choices in selecting hunts from the political and moral impact they have. Kudude

quote:

Originally posted by kudude:
I must say that I am disappointed in the 48% of my fellows here who elected to hunt in Zim regardless of elections. Mugabe is an abomination and should have been turned out years ago.

Our continued support thru hunting has assisted his staying in office. Some of those who have had hunts there are experiencing difficulties in getting their trophies out of country. I cannot divorce my choices in selecting hunts from the political and moral impact they have. Kudude

There is another side to this coin I am afraid.

I have been hunting in Zimbabwe since 1982, with the same family. And if they did not loose their concession, I would still be hunting with them - regardless of who is in power.

Supporting them is a lot more important to me than to worry about what part of that money might end in Mugabe's pockets.

Kudude,

I must echo Saeed's opinion wholeheartedly.

Bob's a demon of the first order, no argument. But thru hunting I'm able to help support, with my paltry infusion of foreign exchange, a dear friend. By association, I'm helping members of his staff and their families as well. I'm not prepared as yet to throw the baby out with the bathwater...

Chinja!

Mark

I think Saeed put into words better than I did what I tried to express in my post.

Kudude,

I am not sorry to have dissapointed you in my choosing to hunt Zimbabwe this past June. I know the majority of my money went directly to supporting and helping some very good folks in Zim. To take away our support and cause worse suffering for these people in hopes of putting the squeeze to Bob is simply wrong. Political correctness sucks.

Scott

Oh, my feelings! I just don't know what my feelings are on this subject. I had to run and make a pot of herbal tea when I saw this post, and make a conference call with some friends to explore their feelings.

After a lot of symbolic hand-holding over the phone, we just couldn't arrive at a consensus feeling about all this. It is just too overwhelming.

So then I called my mother and she suggested that everyone boycott Zimbabwe. I was shocked. Why, mother, why?

"Because, you puss, if everyone stays home, you, my son, can hunt Zimbabwe for a song. I'll give you the money for the airline tickets just to get your sorry ass out of my life for a couple weeks."

I love my Mum.

I have a friend and neighbor who grew up in (now) Zimbabwe on a 15,000 hectre tabacco farm. He is a (wounded-in-action) Rhodesian Army vet, now board certified in pathology and internal medicine and the most amazing medical scholor that I've ever seen. He's a family man with a great wife (from RSA) and an amazingly bright and polite child. His father and mother left Zimbabwe in 2002 at the point of a gun. I lose "friendship" points everytime I go to Zimbabwe hunting.

I have another university-trained friend who thinks that it is all important to his country (he never uses the name Rhodesia, btw) that a "core" of educated professionals/farmers/businessmen/patriots (howerver small, but he and his family is among them) stay and stick it out to be a base for rebuilding post-Mugagbe-Zim into what, hopefully, will be again "the breadbasket of Africa", albeit, now black and white participating in the financial largess of success. On my last visit to Harare, he (too, having folks who lost a huge farm that had been in the family a hundred years) sat me down and he (and his wife) told me about the struggles and uncertainties and asked me for my continued business and moral support while they fight, what they believe to be, "the good fight" so their children can love the country as he does.

If these two great men can't agree or what is best, both having lived and lost as fourth generation white folks in a hell that continues to burn...

What the heck do I know?

I suggest that we get Will/Bill to call the red telephone at 3:00 a.m. and see what Ms. Clinton or Obama or McCain would do about hunting in Zimbabwe. They all claim that they will have the right answers.

In the meantime, I've taken my latter friends' advice (and request) and continue to plan trips, regardless of who is in power (as long as safety is realitively certain). So to me, maybe the whore that I am, I enjoy the very reasonable rates, the still abundant game, the friendship of the remaining patriots and sleep at night.

Boy, wouldn't it be nice if Mugagbe became a senior statesman and somehow decided that he could maintain his dignity, stolen money and ego and just leave. I guess he wants more than loose shoes, a tight ----- and a warm place to shit? (BTW, I can say that because I'm not Sec. of Agriculture and don't want much more in my geriatric life.... except that the middle desire begins to pale before the other two )

Leave it to the bush - old Dagga Bob was already shot at and blood has been found. If it is a lung or a gut shot remains to be seen - somebody must go in the bush and finish the job – he might decide how he is going to die but I guess it is better to leave the fancy job to a pro – our 2% won’t have an impact on final outcome of that one – but the rest 98% sure will play a decisive role on destiny of other folks there.

Your pic supports my theory of having at least one more kid than you can feed.

Will you are such a dork sometimes. There is nothing "warm and fuzzy" about polls and data (in fact just the opposite) and putting into some perspective what impact all of this might have on the hunting industry, and our friends in Zim. As a former researcher/engineer dude, I would have thought you would appreciate data. Oh, wait, you are a fiction author now.

I hope you at least voted.

After hunting several African countries, I am a major Zim fan! I am set for a July hunt with 16 friend/clients depending on me to make the right decision to go or not. I have swung 180 degrees since the election Saturday on what to do. After hearing the news today about Bob obviously stealing the election, I'm about as low as a person can get. No, not for myself,my son or those going to Zim on their first hunt but for the people of Zim. Those are the greatest, toughest bunch of people I have ever met but I just don't see how they can last another year with Bob running the show. My heart goes out to them and all Zim. folks spread out across the world.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill C:
Will you are such a dork sometimes. There is nothing "warm and fuzzy" about polls and data (in fact just the opposite) and putting into some perspective what impact all of this might have on the hunting industry, and our friends in Zim. As a former researcher/engineer dude, I would have thought you would appreciate data. Oh, wait, you are a fiction author now.

I hope you at least voted.

Now I'm a dork too! You too Brutus?

I'm just having fun. No I didn't vote or look at the results. But I can guess your survey results without even looking. I suspect that every PH in Zim is damn near booked up this year, if Reno was an indication.

There will always be a few desenters regardless of the question. If you ask if the sky is blue, 15% of the responders are going to say its's red. But from the bookings this year, there is hardly any lack of interest in Zim, regardless of the politics, economics, AIDs, lack of beer, airline hassles, or anything else you want to throw out there.

How did I do?

And dorks? Don't get me tempted on that. I could write a whole (non-fictional) treatise on that.

Folks,

Saeed has very succinctly expressed what I consider to be the most inportant factor in choosing to hunt Zimbabwe. If we were concerned about every foriegn despot that fills his pockets with graft we would never travel to any exotic destination. I think by supporting the one industry that still seems to be viable in Zim we are insuring a base for rebuilding if Zim turns around.

Mark

quote:

Now I'm a dork too!

Hey Surestrike took all the good ones!

If you were having fun you'd play along and vote.

I just saw on AP that Zimbabwe has just begun issuing $50 million dollar bills. One of these will buy you a US one dollar bill on the black market or three loaves of bread. What a tragedy!

So far, with 107 votes, I find the feedback reassuring that the majority of hunters at this point will not bail on Zim this year, or in the future (by about 2:1). Interesting that people are split on the 4th question, but the majority (3:1) will still hunt Zim if Mugabe "retains" power.

MDC was physically barred from appearing in court today... by zanu-pf sec-chiefs ...
not a chance while robber-bob is in office