quote:

Originally posted by 470Evans:
I originally planned to hunt Nyakasanga in May of 2009.

I don't know if it is still an auction only area on the other side of Mana Pools from Sapi but it was when I went in May of 2010.

After preparing to bid on the auction Barry Duckworth of Mokore Safaris advised I go after Sapi instead.

Below is my hunt report from Sapi in May of 2010.

http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/5921027231

quote:

Originally posted by ozhunter:
The hills up the back of Sapi would make for a classic Safari destination for Buff and Tuskless.

quote:

Originally posted by Buzz Charlton:
Cow trader- some valid points but have to say lions and buff are still in very good numbers there! If I was clever enough I would post a video of two lions that literally walked up to our cruiser and we saw lions 5 out of 7 days and some good males.

Yes, Nyakasanga has always sported brilliant males. Does not negate the fact that Parks has used these lion as Credit Cards since about 2009. Lion fortunately bounce back quickly - not the case for ele as you know my friend.

The buff are still excellent. We shot a great hard bossed bull on day one and saw about 1000 buff in the 7 days.

Numbers are still there for sure and Nyakasanga has not yet experienced the pressure the rest of the valley has over the last decade - absolutely. But make no mistake, the lower Zambezi buff as a whole have been over pressured and I am sure you would agree. Mature bulls with trophy quality horns are not easy to come by there today.

The eles are a different story and Parks really need to lay off Nyakasanga for a while!! They also issued a SA guy Called Martinus Grobblear a huge concession with in Nyakasanga as a Photo area but he abuses the ration hunting also.

Exactly my friend.

Sapi is gone unfortunately to the Jouberts who were instrumentally in closing down hunting in Botswana. They plan to turn it into a photo safari area. The few flood plains are beautiful but 90% of the SAPI is jesse blocks which are great for hunting but useless for photo safaris!!!

With the Jouberts lurking about - all the more reason for Parks to get its act together and all the more incentive for ethical companies such as yourself to pressure them to do so.

Here are some interesting thoughts on the future of hunting and buff hunting in particular in the Zambezi valley

1/RIFA- has a very conservative quota and Louis Muller has done a great job with anti poaching so game number and buff in particular are increasing-he does not allow ration hunting. Future of Rifa is very good!.

Excellent!

2/Nyakasanga-good but getting abused. Future looking bleak unless change of operator and Parks policies

Spot on

3/Chewore North owned by Billy Rautenbch is closed to hunting for 2 years. Future of CN is good as there are no communities in the area and buff etc will bounce back nicely

Agreed

4/Chewore South shot a very small percentage of their quota last year. I expect that that will be the same this year and as a result in the long run it will look good except for ele as the poaching is bad.

Execellent and agreed. Chewore was abused too long.

5/SAPI- CLOSED -So good for all game. ( my thoughts though is that with a responsible operator-it could have remained open for hunting with respectable quotas and we will still have seen the benefits in time)

We must realy keep a keen eye on the politics here between the government and the Jouberts.

6/DANDE SOUTH- shot a tiny percentage of their quota this year. If there is a concerted effort at anti poaching then Dande South will hold its own.

Brilliant

Dande North- we shot 30 of our 50 buffalo only. We have a very effective anti poaching team DAPU ( www.dapuzim.com) who have really made a big difference. Our hunting and buff hunting in particular is going from strength to strength.

Well done mate!

In conclusion- I do believe that the Valley will make a great resurgence in the next few years!! There are a number of areas coming up for auction in the next year or two and I think that PARKS need to insist that in the budget there needs to be an anti poaching team run and owned by the operators as in reality Parks are unable to do this themselves ! This needs to be compulsory and Ration hunting needs to stop! All in all I believe its looking great for the Zambezi Valley!!

Brilliant - And I too see maybe the tide starting to turn for this Treasure piece of geography. Lets hope Parks listens to your grand advice.

quote:

Originally posted by Rastaman:
I wanted to add that I have driven through dande north and makouti on two different hunts to get to where and the areas just look and feel like they are being managed well. There is a notable difference in these valley areas when a conscientious concession holder is in place.