Thought i would get some of your mouths watering.I leave in a weeks time on a 21 day safari in C.A.R.Booked the hunt 3 years ago and i cant wait for it.Iam worse than a kid counting down sleeps till D-day.But i promise you all when i get back i will post all the pics i take

Good luck. May the tracks get fresher for you1

465H&H

If you have an overnight in Paris please let me know. I may be able to break free for a drink or even a meal if the timing allows it.

I came back to edit once I saw you live in Joberg. My guess is, in that case, you won't be going via Paris.

Wink i actually do fly via Paris i have a 14 hour wait before i fly back into africa.Talk about going the long way round

Well 14 hours in the airport doesn't sound like fun, unless it's at night in a hotel. If you've got daylight in those 14 hours then let me know.

You're going for a BONGO? Seriously, jealous of that.

Good luck!!!

I just spent 8 mind-numbing hrs in the Paris airport (missed the first flight home, but got to watch the bomb squad blow up a suitcase of clothing), some nice facilities but get out and do some touring...and take Wink up on his offer, he's a good man.

Tell us more about your trip to CAR - what area/concession, bongo/LDE or both, what outfitter?

Bill iam hunting with Andre Roux.Cant quiet remember the name of the area but its the same area that Marc Watts shot that giant with Andre last year.Iam going for both lord Derby and Bongo and with an bit of luck and if time alows it forrest sititunga.There is also quiet a few smaller antelope available like Western Roan,Western Hartebeast,sing sing Waterbuck, Western Kob, Yellow Back and red Flanked Duiker, buff ,Bush Buck plus a few other smaller duiker and other stuff.Andre has kept one of everything for me on permit.Not that i will get them all but its nice to know that if something does pop up you can take it.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill C:
I just spent 8 mind-numbing hrs in the Paris airport (missed the first flight home, but got to watch the bomb squad blow up a suitcase of clothing),"

So I understand that You have had performed a blow job????????????

as I was waiting news from You and Arnaud Mermet was ready to tour You in gay Paris?

Jimmara
Nice. You'll dive into deep wild Africa. I wish You are fit and resolute. I suppose You'll be in bush country for LDE and antelopes interspersed by "bakos", riverines forest, where the bongo is hiding...........along with mean wounded buffalos and elephants
That's really an experience. Good luck

quote:

Originally posted by Bill C:
(missed the first flight home, but got to watch the bomb squad blow up a suitcase of clothing)

Don't leave your luggage unattended in a Paris airport! They don't waste a lot of time here on that stuff.

Bill, I think with 8 hours I would have taken the RER train into Paris and walked around, if only to stretch my legs, drink some good wine, ogle beautiful women... Wait a minute, that's what I do already.

Jimmara



I was puzzled about Your not knowing where You’ll hunt. You’ll hunt on Oubangui Chari Safaris territory run by the PH Daniel Koudoume. This area is rented by Rudi Lubin and Brooke Chilvers Campfire book and also used by Seladang hunting if my memory serves.

The Zone is between the towns Bria, Ndele & Ouadda. It’s a 15 minutes flight from the zone where I hunted, south of it.


Here is a picture of the landing strip of this outfit. We were waiting for Daniel K. Can be seen PH Houdebine, PH Surun (Seladang) and the infamous “terminator†(the bald headed guy), commandant Gregoire whose job is slaying poachers with his death squad.



Daniel Koudoume is the tall guy on the left of Herve Houdebine



You'll have high time. good luck

I love it when JB makes a post. It's "death squad", not dead squad. Unless of course they're worthless.

I lived for six months in N'dele way back in 1977. Drank a lot of honey beer.

Hi Wink

I was just correcting it when You posted. The squad could be dead as well as they lose about 3 men every year.
How was the life in N'Dele?
Population turnover is dramatic in small towns, You guess why?
I hope that You didn't be in charge of roads, for they are almost non existing North of Bria.

Just got to the office.iam hunting out of the bohou hunting camp

Wink - yea this is true, but I had already been traveling for ~26hrs and the thought of getting lost in Paris was not that appealing. I tried calling JB to get your office number, but my Thuraya would not locate a network in front of the airport, although it did so when I arrived…odd. Tell your wife that one of my sons would be happy to be your house guest for a few weeks/months! All the best, Bill

Jim - I looked hard at an LDE hunt w/Andre thru Thierry Labat and spoke at length to Marc, but there were no licenses for this year available and I was hesitant to wait until 09 (at this point they are likely booked way out). Should be a GREAT hunt, and it sounds like you will be in the central concession which is what I was looking at. Please take lots of pictures and keep a journal so you can do a huge report upon your return! I just got back from a LDE in Cameroon, and it was awesome. Best of luck to you!

The combo bongo/LDE in the CAR really has my attention. It is not inexpensive but when you consider the costs of two separate trips for bongo and LDE then it starts to make some sense. Good luck on the hunt and I too am very interested in a detailed hunt report when you return. Was lion an option for you? Or was the quota taken?

Welcome back, Bill... 26 hours of travel before you got to Paris??? Man you were in the bush!

I am confused. I lived in the CAR for two years and have hunted that same area. That was not Bongo country and it is the dry season, not when you would normally hunt Bongo. May not be impossible but as a resident alien that hunted pretty much when and where I wanted without a ph it does not look right to me

quote:

Originally posted by Preacher:
I am confused. I lived in the CAR for two years and have hunted that same area. That was not Bongo country and it is the dry season, not when you would normally hunt Bongo. May not be impossible but as a resident alien that hunted pretty much when and where I wanted without a ph it does not look right to me

Preacher
Wellcome on board.
You are a lucky guy, hunting without PH any day and just in Your yard.
Are You suggesting that the best time for bongo hunting is in december, when wheater is still wet and no hunter has yet trampled all over the hunting area?
Or You suggest it's far better to look for bongo in primeval rain forest south of the country, and not in "bakos" (riverine forest).?
An insider opinion is a boon. Thanks

Bwanamrm.I have got lion on quota and ive got a leopard aswell.The lion ive been told have no big mains in fact some have none but on the other hand there are some monster leopard up there.As i and Andre discussed our main focus is on LDE and Bongo if there is time after that to hang up a bait then we will or if luck is on our side and we bump into something like that we will take the oppertunity.Iam really not counting on that

chassons.com

Jimmara, three years ago there were more bookings for CAR I suspect. I was there last year, so I can tell you a little of my experience. You know that the political, economic and military situation is complicated. No doubt you have your visa and vaccinations. Looking back on my experience there, I was so happy to be leaving and coming back. I hope your experience was better than mine.

You probably have the latest information on the political situation. You already know that the government in Bangui is unstable (CAR is a failed state) and the conditions everywhere are about like a continuous sauna. Bongo is available in the extreme southwest. LDE is available in the north.

During your hunting be prepared for encouters with poachers, bush refugees, herds of cattle attended by illegals and bush nomads. Be prepared for encounters with people carrying AK-47s. Over there they call this gun a "KLA." These were some of the occurances in my hunt up north.

The problems in the area flow from the instability and suffering in surrounding countries as well, especially Chad, Sudan and DRC. South Africa and the African police force are trying to impose some stability, but the factions continue. There are a lot of people competing for space, for grass, for trees they can chop down to feed cattle etc.

Please don't rely just on my experience though. I'm sure you will get reports from others who go there. I look forward to your reflection on your return. Yours, Bill

Preacher
Wellcome on board.
You are a lucky guy, hunting without PH any day and just in Your yard.
Are You suggesting that the best time for bongo hunting is in december, when wheater is still wet and no hunter has yet trampled all over the hunting area?
Or You suggest it's far better to look for bongo in primeval rain forest south of the country, and not in "bakos" (riverine forest).?
An insider opinion is a boon. Thanks[/QUOTE]

Every year is different to some degree but the rainy season is generally from April to maybe October. As spooky as Bongo are everyone I knew that hunted them would do it in that time period. If you got one during the dry period it was generally more luck than anything. I never hunted the SW rain forest area, that may be wet enough almost year around to hunt this time of year. The only Bongo hunting I am familiar with (and I never got one)was in the east and SE around Yalinga. I knew an African pastor there that hunted. I could stay with him and get all the help I needed. What we would generally do is go to a village that had a pastor that we were familiar with, either hire him or a couple of his men for about $5 a day and most of the meat, tell them what we wanted and off we would go. When done we would report to the closest game warden, tell them what we shot and he would collect the fee. Small antilope were about $15-25, a Buffalo cost $125, If I remember right a lion was $400. Never shot one though as I only hunted meat game. I am surprised as someone above stated that there were no large mained Lion in the central Ndele area. When I was there I saw many, some as close as 25 feet, that will get your heart going

Preacher,

Back when I was a young man in the CAR I knew the son of a missionary, Rick Golicke I think his name was. Do you know him?

No but I know his brother Doug. If I remember right Rick a pilot with either the Marines or Navy