Does anyone have any updates on the status of hunting/game numbers/safari opereators in this area?

Thanks

Contact Ian Rutledge

Thanks Peter

I was also hoping to get some feedback from someone who has hunted there recently.

quote:

Originally posted by Safari2:
Thanks Peter

I was also hoping to get some feedback from someone who has hunted there recently.

I've NOT been there. I understand from Ian that leopard and sable are the main hunting attractions along with other common game. No buffalo on the property. Elephant and rhino are there.

Thanks Will

Pretty good size property if I have read correctly- 250,000 acres?

quote:

Originally posted by Safari2:
Thanks Will

Pretty good size property if I have read correctly- 250,000 acres?

My understanding as well.

I hunted there in June if this is the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy It's a collection of 5 large farms and quota is split among the farms. Squatters have settled along one side and there is some poaching. arrangements had to be made to hunt more than one farm and there are some black vs white owner issues.

At least one of the farms has a herd of buffalo but I'm not sure that they are hunted. The leopards are very educated and difficult with only 1 very young tom and one female on bait in 14 days. Zebra and impala were available for bait. Bushbuck, bush pig, warthog, reedbuck, kudu, and eland were seen. I took a superb old Chobe bushbuck in winter rye fields.

Met nice people, had a wonderful braai, and enjoyed the trip but the area is not wild like conservancies in the Zambezi Valley. We saw cattle, cars, trucks, herd boys and hitch hikers almost every day.

Just curious...sounds like it has a good ways to go be on par with BVC, Save and even Nuanetsi.

Oday, did the hunt happen to be with Kipraal Travel & Safaris (Gary Hopkins)?

Yes. Gary and crew were good to work with. Probably the hardest working crew I've seen.

Glad to hear you had a great time with a good ph, but sorry you didn't connect on leopard. Some big cats come out of that area, but they are pretty smart!

quote:

Originally posted by txsouthpaw:
Glad to hear you had a great time with a good ph, but sorry you didn't connect on leopard. Some big cats come out of that area, but they are pretty smart!

Very good trip & Gary wants to try again this year in another location. There was a huge old Tom that we patterned but he was just too educated to come to bait. We had 7 baits on his route but with No luck.

Oday..did you see "good" numbers of plains game?

What about sable?

Nothing like South Africa but enough for a representative take of those species mentioned. One of the farms had sable and I saw a herd at a distance. Not close enough to judge quality or size. I was offered a sable but was focused on leopard until taken.

When I mentioned splitting quota across the farms and issues between owners i was pointing at this issue. Say, for example, the Conservancy has 3 sable on quota. All three may be given to one farm owner who then refuses to share or sell if requested by another farmer. So, even though quota may be "available" it is not usable and the animal cannot be hunted.

I hunted 2 American clients on Ian Rutledges property, twin springs, last year and we took some great trophys including sable and croc!
Contact Ian

Ken King, Elanor Lowe, Ian Rultedge, Carl Van de Reit are the original folks that are left there. Many other farms were involved but i dont who 'owns' them now?

Elanor is the widow of the old time PH Alan Lowe killed by ele in Chewore South.

Those folks really need hunter support.

I hunted here with Ian, back in August. Ian's wife "Lou", runs a great camp, right at their ranch house. I shot a 14' croc, and saw about 20 big crocs while there.. We saw a faience bit of plains game, including some nice Sable..there were HUGE fires all around us, while we were there, and Ian was super busy, trying to coordinate firefighting efforts..
I understand there were some political issues between the permit holders and outfitters, and it was kind of a pain in the Ass for Ian to have to "beg" for an additional animal quota, here and there..
Pete, you had a decent safari with those two fellows we met, didn't you? I had heard you had got a really nice sable from Theirry?
We had a blast while we were there, that is a fact!!
Theirry Labat, Ian Rutledge, myself, and my buddy Phil...I think there might be a couple of photos around of "the lighter side of PH'ing"..... maybe Theirry or Ian will post them....lol

Lane,

We spent most of our time on Eleanore Lowe's farm and stayed in her guest quarters. She's a wonderful person and we heard marvelous stories of the old hunters every night at dinner. It's fascinating to learn these types of things about those who are in or wrote the Africana enjoyed so much. A great lady for sure,

My wife, I hunted on the Lowe's property and a friend of ours hunted Kenny King's for 14 days back in 1988. Alan and Eleanore could not have been nicer host. All three of us shot and we all took very nice trophies. At that time there were a lot of Sable on The Lowe's property most of the mature bulls were 37" to 39" in length. I took a 39" bull and did see one better bull on the neighbors property that had really heavy mass and was likely 40" to 41". As he was eyeing a herd of sable cows on Alan's we hunted that bull for days hoping he would come off the ridge and onto Alan's property. We also took 4 Kudu and 1 Eland. We went in October and most of the Eland had left these ranches. We did see a lot of translocated Black Rhino on the property and were sent scrambling for tree limbs more that once to get out of the way. Over the years I have had a number of friends book a hunt with either Kenny or Eleanore, usually a first time Safari and all came back very satisfied. At that time there was no high fence and I think it is the same today. I received a 2013 price list from Eleanore about a month ago. As to who the PH would be now I cannot comment. Her son use to do some of the hunts and I think Gordon Cormack did some for a couple years as well. I know she had a hard time booking hunts after Alan passed away and I sure it hasn't gotten much easier. Don Headings use to book hunts for her as well.

We had a great time

You might try this e-mail to contact Mazuri Safaris for information.

mazurisafaris@gmail.com

Good on y'all!

One of my best friends, Nigel Theisen, was Alan's appy back in the early 1980's. Eleanor has struggled since Alan's death but is a true testament to how tough a 'Proper Rhodesian Woman' can be. Good to hear some reports on AR about the Midlands.