Darn, my carefully laid safari plans are rapidly unravelling. A year ago I booked a hunt with HHK in Matetsi I for Aug 2006, with big sable as main and good buffalo as secondary objective.

First my selected PH tragically died in a car accident in Vic Falls. A replacement PH was found, so it looked like we were good to go again (a bit sad in the light of the tragic accident, but I guess the show must go on).

Now it looks as though the Matetsi I unit is not going to be available... I got the following mail from Graham Hingeston:

quote:

We have had a development in our Matetsi Unit 1 area whereby Charles Davy my
partner has been forced to return the concession to his original partner for
next year. Consequently HHK Safaris will not be hunting in Unit 1 next year.
This is a new development for me and totally out of the blue. We are
however hunting in the Deka/Riverside area in Matetsi next year and I can
offer you the buffalo/sable hunt there, this area is some 20 miles to the
south east of Unit 1.

I am really sorry about this and as you can imagine this has caused me quite
a few problems. I am told the area will go to EK Safaris for 2006 after
which it will be auctioned off, our lease was to expire at the end of 2006.

Of course if you would prefer to cancel the hunt I will of course refund you
in full your deposit.

Best regards

Graham

I have no qualms with Graham Hingeston, I should hasten to say. As far as I'm concerned he has been upfront with me, and let me know of the unfortunate development as soon as he knew.

But this is still sad. I have been dreaming of going to Matetsi ever since I first started hunting in Africa. And I have been dreaming of a big sable for as long as that. (I should say, I don't have the $$$ to hunt the really big ones in Zambia, sad but there it is).

So the question now, is the Deka/Riverside area going to be an adequate substitute??? How large is the area?? How is it for big sable and buff?? Any problems with water or feed in August?? Squatters?? Poaching, overhunting?? Terrain?? Plains game?? Any other information would be greatly appreciated.

HELP, I need all the information I can possibly get on the Deka/Riverside area!! Ganyana, anybody??

- mike

I do not know about that area, but we took sable at Dande North and saw sable at Lemco. We were very pleased with HHK. The hunting for sable in Dande was very tough, taking 4 days on one and 6 days on the other sable. We saw plenty of buff and took 3 nice ones.

1st don't be to sad about matetsi - lots of poaching in that area. If you want HHK then go to lemco. otherwise try jumbo moore, roger whithall, barry duckworth etc. & get into the save conservatory. You'll find lots of good stuff there.(and save $$)

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
....The hunting for sable in Dande was very tough, taking 4 days on one and 6 days on the other sable. We saw plenty of buff and took 3 nice ones.

I hope you don't mean that the hunting for sable was "tough" because it took 4 and 6 days to be successful but rather because of the terrain, conditions, etc and the alertness of your prey

Guys, thanks for your input. Could you help me keep this post focussed on my specific questions though, please?? AR threads have a way of wandering off track, and sometimes develop into mega-discussions about something else. I would appreciate if we could keep this focussed, because I really need the help.

Thanks a ton - mike

P.S. Sorry to sound uptight. It is just I'm feeling a bit panicky about my hunt at the moment. I really do appreciate that you want to contribute.

I have heard that the Deka has big elephant during certain periods of the year. As to sable I don't know. I would ask Graham straight out about sable. My experience with him is that he will be straight with you. You might have to move to Lemco for sable if the quota isn't already alloted there.

BTW I think Graham handled this the correct way. Had others done this there probably wouldn't have been the acrimonious debate that recently occured here.

465H&H

quote:

Originally posted by Bwanamich:

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
....The hunting for sable in Dande was very tough, taking 4 days on one and 6 days on the other sable. We saw plenty of buff and took 3 nice ones.

I hope you don't mean that the hunting for sable was "tough" because it took 4 and 6 days to be successful but rather because of the terrain, conditions, etc and the alertness of your prey

Bwanamich -
No, not at all. The hunting was absolutely spectacular. We tracked them for the days mentioned before getting up on them. The best hunt I have had for big game. My son spent 6 days climbing, crawling, tracking to get a shot. He had spent only one day on buff and was unimpressed with buff hunting (eventhough he was very lucky), but came away with a healthy respect for trackers and sable.

My situation was similar, we hunted hard for 3 days- tracking all day and getting skunked. Finally caught up with them and took a good shot.

I had, for some unknown reason, thought that sable were less wary and much easier to hunt that other game. No one told me this, I just made it up in mind. I came out of that experience wanting to go back for sable again.

MHO- sorry to get sidetracked on your thread.

I have hunted the Deka area twice. In 1982 and again in 1993.

It is a long strip that borders the Matetsi hunting areas, and those years there was plenty of water. We saw one of the biggest sable bulls I have ever seen in Deka. We did not have any quota then.

Plenty of elephant and buffalo as well as many other plains game.

I suggest you trust your outfitter and go ahead. As always with hunting, it is the luck of being at teh right place at the right time that gets the trophies.

Thanks Saeed, I was hoping you might pitch in. After I posted, I did a search for Deka, and I saw your name pop up.

Now I just need Ganyana, Ann, N E 450 No2, and anybody else who has experience in that area to spot the thread
- mike

mho
I hunted with HHK in the OMAY, June of 2004. It was my first hunt in Africa. Graham, Lou Hallamore, and Ivan Carter helped me make the decisions as to when and where to hunt.
Everything they told me was spot on. Ivan was to be my PH. Family circumstances prevented him from doing my hunt. My PH was Wayne Edwards, as you know was killed in a car wreck about 2 months after my Safari.
By the way we saw 4 sables that would go over 44 inches, alas I did not have one on quota.
In all my dealings with Graham I have been well satisified.

On my next Safari in March 2006 I will start out in the Deka Tail for 2 trohpy elephants, and 4 or so crop raiding bulls if avaiable.
So I have not hunted the Deka yet, but wwill post upon my return. I will be hunting with Brooklands.

I would contact Graham H and trust his judgement.

NE, thanks a bunch. I had seen your name pop up in my Deka search, but I had obviously not looked closely enough to determine you were scheduled to go as opposed to having been already.

I'm waiting for Graham to come back to me, we shall see what he says. In the meantime, I try to use the resources available to me (read: AR ), to see what I can find out on my own.

Do you (or anybody else) know what is behind the designations: "Deka Tail" vs. "Deka Riverside"?? Are they different subareas of Deka??

Also, does anybody know if Deka is an area where you hunt the border to Hwange - i.e. the game moves in from Hwange to drink, and then moves back again?? This would be in August. Or is the area large enough to have resident game populations??

- mike

Deka safari area is the piece of land that lies North of the Hwange National Park Boundary, and East of the Deka river if you look at the map- Matetsi safari area lies west of the Deka river.

It is a long, thin safari area, about 20 miles wide. The main portion lies between the deka river (to the west) and the road to Hwange main camp as the eastern boundry. Deka tail is an ever thinning wedge that runs from along the hwange Boundrary with the to Hwange main camp as the western end and tapering to nothing about 40 miles further down (South East) the Hwange boundry.

Haven't been stationed there since 1989, but has good sable, buff and ele populations. Bill Bedford (ingwe safaris) still owns and remains in control of Riverside ranch itself but Graham may have done a deal

Thanks Ganyana. I was hoping you might spot the post and pitch in. As a first-hand source of information, you are invaluable!!

- mike