In 2015 an international agricultural company sent me across the Kafue river into a remote region known as Chalala this being the furthest reaches of Cheif Kaindu’s lands. Satellite imagery had picked up a significant reflection, a water feature and they needed me to survey and report back this detail. It was a two day walk which I was to be surrounded by some of the most interesting and beautiful countryside that I have come across. Towering hills and colourful woodlands, spooky valleys and expansive swamps. The ‘reflection’ was little more than a very pretty drainage pond which I was advised by my communal guides to be the watery home of Dona Fish a carnivorous mermaid that dwelled in underlying caves. It was interesting to note that the poachers paths avoided this place and its clear and inviting waters. It was pristine country but the game was scant and elusive. Sitatunga hid away in the deep recesses of the swamps along with the odd wary buffalo. Here and there and there the odd track of Roan and Sable. By all accounts the Chalala hills held a population of yellow back Duiker and other bits and pieces. Back then I doubted that I would ever return to this place. At this point I am going to rewind a few years.















Eight years ago Green Kabinda a Kaounde warrior and once one of Zambia’s most wanted men (poacher) invited me to look at a piece of Africa belonging to his people of Kaindu village that by all accounts had much potential as a wildlife estate. I remember that my early forays into these lands were fairly grim and here I encountered syndicates of poachers and a thriving illegal trade in natural resources not to mention the rape of a river. Kaindu in those days was infamous for its poaching activities and a hub for criminals and other undesirables. I was not impressed. However it was the want of the communal landlords - important members of the Royal family including his Royal Highness Cheif Kaindu to resuscitate this landscape to attract Tourism. Their initial pledge to me was to remove the squatters and those alien to the community and to lay the foundations of a wildlife estate. Green Kabinda would volunteer to help protect this land if I would commit a year of my life to help reinforce their vision.

The Cheif had kept his promise and the lands were almost too quiet almost eerie as nothing lived here anymore. There was no bird song and nature was dormant. It was a stagnant environment but nevertheless quite beautiful and could boast impressive landscapes and habitat that typifies the Kafue system. I remember vividly the first sight of an animal and bird and the sudden rejuvenation of this land from the rich feeder areas of the Kafue National Park and large private wildlife estates to the west. At that time I felt like Noah inviting the animals two by two as they entered the Ark.

I remember the day a large herd of buffalo tentatively grazed these new grasslands and the same night filled with the booming roar of Lion. It was fascinating to see Africa recover so quickly and each day another and new important specie was recorded.

By this time the community had organised themselves into committees that would safeguard the allotted lands and a Trust was formed representing important Kaindu figureheads. A lease was forged and Zambia’s first communal conservancy was registered. Green became the Natural Resources Manager and he and his anti poaching team now received a salary, uniforms and equipment.

Fast forward. Today Kaindu can boast its own flourishing wildlife estate and the project has attracted international attention. The community is now attached to an NGO and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife assist with the training and deployment of scouts. Royal Kafue manages the safari hunting and as a developer I feel we have concluded our task here and set the table for further investment opportunities.

It was a tough journey and we had to fight for the wildlife. Even today we are in the dying throws of what was to be an aggressive takeover and bore the brunt of all things ugly attached to greed. We are scarred but we prove beyond doubt that wild Africa can be rejuvenated and that nature can be resuscitated.

Today I will return to the Chalala hills and it is the wish of the Kaindu authorities that I take on their vast and secretive lands across the river. A new company has been formed Royal Chalala that can boast a investment party from Accurate Reloading - like minded individuals that are keen to address the loss of Africa’s precious environments and to retard the demise of habitat and its associated fauna and flora.

Cheif Kaindu has granted us in a Memorandum of Understanding the sole hunting rights here and to me personally the sole hunting rights to his entire Chiefdom. The USA based NGO The Nature Conservancy is committed to funding wildlife enforcement and the implementation of communal structures that will enhance social elements within Kaindu.

This is a daunting project as there is no incomes to be derived during the initial stages and the venture is supported by risky investments and limited budgets. It is hoped that some specialised hunting will subsidise the project and as the animal populations recover that these lands will be returned as a valuable asset to the attached community. A community who against all odds have recovered and manipulated their natural resources into tangible projects that now protect their land and water.

As wild Africa diminishes and the once distant horizons recede just maybe models such as these will become valuable in their own right. Maybe international communities will recognise the efforts of these land lords and encourage those who have proven to succeed. The Kaounde people have always been hunters and we involved are hunters and there are few who claim such passion for the game and fewer still who can declare a direct and continued contribution towards the well being of all things wild.

There is a movement afoot that proves the resilience of us hunters, a trend that claws away at our oppressors. Individuals who are prepared to stand in the forefront of conservation and who are prepared to challenge the odds. Look around you and name a few - The Dande Anti Poaching Unit, the expansive private concessions of the Luangwa such as Nyakolwe, Nyamvu and Munyamadzi, The Duckworths, Ivan Carter, The Cuturi family, Dereck Littleton, Zaeed Patel, our own Saeed, the likes of Green Kabinda and host of other individuals too many to mention that will prove beyond reasonable doubt that Africa as we know it is worth fighting for. Whatever the odds.

Absolutely brilliant. Well done.

Damn, it’s great to get some good news about Africa for a change. Well done, Andrew, and all the others who contributed to make this happen.

Great stuff, thanks for sharing

Thanks for sharing your incredible wildlife conservation success story. Congratulations and well done to all involved including your team, investors, and Kaindu community. Good luck my friend!

Brilliant and well written Andrew.

Could you post a map of the new area? It would be good to see where it lies in relation to: KNP, the GMA’s, Musingashi and your current area.

Exciting project!

Great news Andrew! I remember talking to you and Green about the area back on 2015. I was SO excited to think of hunting there. Perhaps this will still come to fruition some day yet.

I know I speak for almost everyone on this forum, when I say THANK YOU for your tireless dedication to conservation and your dream of reviving Africa to its former glory concerning the abundance of animals. It's great to have persons like you, and all the others you mentioned, caring and preserving the wildlife of Africa.

Once that area is rejuvenated, and the animals start coming back from the Kafue National Park as you mentioned seeing, the safari hunting there will bring the money in from hunters that is so needed to fund the scouts, antipoaching, etc., to insure the incubation of future wildlife there.

Well done Andrew! I admire your efforts tremendously. Good luck on the Royal Chalala project.

That’s great Andrew

Very cool to read that, best wishes on the future !

Andrew, this is very encouraging. Twenty years ago, I thought that large private land holdings in Zim were going to be the model for what would save large swaths of wild Africa. But others were looking at those lands with greed in their hearts. Maybe YOU are onto what will be the future. I sure hope so!

Further: This is remarkably well written. I suggest you consider doing more writing if you're not already.

Andrew

My hat is off to you.

All the best in your new endeavor.

quote:

Originally posted by Baker458:

Further: This is remarkably well written. I suggest you consider doing more writing if you're not already.

+1

Andrew kindly wrote up the AR post of my first safari with him when I asked him to do so.

I was astounded at his skill in prose when I read it. I was really happy he wrote it instead of me!

After I read it, I was quite impressed with myself and my hunting & shooting skills...


Seriously, he is correct Andrew. I know you majored in art in college, but I suspect you minored in writing??

Most excellent Mr. Baldry!

When I dream of Africa, it looks like those pictures. I have to get to Zambia!

Outstanding. Especially in the face of all the talk of doom and gloom in Tanzania. It takes dedicated people who have a vision and the commitment to make hunting sustainable. But Andrew has proven, it can be done.

It sounds like a wonderful place that has exceptional potential. Congrats on what has been done. I hope that the area continues to thrive and improve. Well done and well written.
Bruce

Fantastic work mate.

I've got goose bumps!

Wish you all the very best. God Bless.

The pool that I surveyed.



A sink hole that I have yet to visit. Again reported to be full of nasty mermaids.



Expansive swamps riddle the area. This one is some 20 kilometres in length. The burning is poacher activity and it was here that we found Buffalo.

well put as usual
would love to get over there some day

quote:

Originally posted by ozhunter:
well put as usual
would love to get over there some day

Fantastic country to walk in. Then again we do not have any roads.

Good job Andrew. Your new venture looks like a paradise. Slowly you are being rewarded for your hard efforts. Hope it takes off proper and maybe you will invite me to go hunting with you there.

Andrew, thank you for the well written essay about your fascinating project. You've certainly sparked the interest of many on here who'll be watching with interest, cheering you on and hoping to hunt there with you not too far into the future. Best of luck!

Congratulations to you, Andrew on this exciting new venture. We had conversations regarding this project when Diane and I hunted with you in 2014. We are so excited for you and Green that this has finally come to fruition.

Outstanding work, Andrew!

Well done Andrew, may your hard work pay off for you, the Chiefdom, Africa's wildlife and Zambia in the future

Exciting stuff, there.

I want to hunt for Mermaids. This is exciting news. Things like this gives us hope for the future. Are you planning any exploratory hunts in the next couple of years?

Big league!

quote:

Originally posted by Bama15:
I want to hunt for Mermaids. This is exciting news. Things like this gives us hope for the future. Are you planning any exploratory hunts in the next couple of years?

Absolutely and Green has been conducting anti poaching here and reports some good sightings of important species. Although the game is scant we will start with a small quota that will include Sitatunga and hopefully Yellow Back Duiker if we can find them in sustainable numbers. Unlike Royal Kafue we will concentrating on hinterlands that are distant from the Kafue River and will initially consider packages that hunt both areas. The hunting will probably be a mobile affair working out of a spike camp. Much of the hunting will be exploratory.

Congratulations Andrew.
This is exciting and challenging stuff.
If Yellow Backed Duiker do exist in sustainable numbers you will have a unique drawcard available to help you develop this areas potential.
Does the SW boundary abut Richards concession?
Perhaps you’ll need to get your pilots ticket next ?

quote:

Originally posted by Ridgeman:
Congratulations Andrew.
This is exciting and challenging stuff.
If Yellow Backed Duiker do exist in sustainable numbers you will have a unique drawcard available to help you develop this areas potential.
Does the SW boundary abut Richards concession?
Perhaps you’ll need to get your pilots ticket next ?

It has been suggested that this Yellow Back should be recognised as a sub specie to the equatorial population? Obviously SCI should be immediately notified and I will auction the Governor's tag for it.

Great story! Thank you.

Truly Splendid Andrew!

Thank you so much for sharing this story and the work you and others have put into this. It is so great to hear of success stories coming out of Africa.

The world is a little bit better today!

Thanks for sharing such a great story, Andrew. Between your posts on AR and Instagram...I need to make a plan to visit!!

This is outstanding and I hope your plans work out extremely well Andrew.

I love it when people do what can't be done.

Refreshing news and AR is back to its old self with hunting tales on the horizon!

Andrew,
The Sitatunga sitings from camp on the opposite bank of the Kafue river peaked my interest. Having now seen the swamps in Chalala first hand I can confirm that this area holds great potential.
With your stewardship I expect it to produce some serious Sitatunga and hopefully the first savannah Yellow back Duiker!
Wishing all involved the greatest success in this new venture into uncharted Africa!

quote:

Originally posted by faisal:
Andrew,
The Sitatunga sitings from camp on the opposite bank of the Kafue river peaked my interest. Having now seen the swamps in Chalala first hand I can confirm that this area holds great potential.
With your stewardship I expect it to produce some serious Sitatunga and hopefully the first savannah Yellow back Duiker!
Wishing all involved the greatest success in this new venture into uncharted Africa!

+1
Bring it on.

Brother Andrew

What about Big 4 animals?

Is there good buffalo populations close enough to expand into
the area?

Will you have to reintroduce any species?

quote:

Originally posted by Safari2:
Brother Andrew

What about Big 4 animals?

Is there good buffalo populations close enough to expand into
the area?

Will you have to reintroduce any species?

Brother most of the big game avoids this area due to historic poaching pressure and it is envisaged that the wildlife will respond to management and a presence here. Note it has yet to be surveyed.

It is an exploratory investment and will again prove that us hunters are in the forefront of conservation.

I will give it a couple of years and only then will we be able to comment on its recovery.

The specie I would like to see be reintroduced would be the Red Lechwe that used habit the floodplains between the Lukanga swamp and Busanga Plains. However that is beyond our scope of investment at the moment.