Per the story and thread about Don Causey, I thought I'd post a few pict's and remembrances of the "machans", or tree blinds, used my lion hunt in Zambia this past Sept. Some of my fondest memories from the hunt are thanks to spending time in these blinds.


This one was quite high off the ground, maybe 30-40 feet (?). Peter, Sarge and I "slept" in it two consecutive nights, which was a fantastic experience with lion, hyena, elephant, warthog, baboon and giraffe feeding underneath. Right at sunset, and again at sunrise, the purple flowers in the tree would open and the bees would come swarming, filling the air with a loud "buzz". During the night, the flowers would drip water, and fall off and smack us on the head, scaring the heck out of me. It is amazing how lightly one sleeps, with the haunting quiet of the night broken by the sounds of rustling bush and the calls and cries of baboon, hyena, elephant and lion. The view of the Milky Way Galaxy is breathtaking and humbling, and on the first night I passed the time scanning the millions of bright lights searching for shooting stars. During the second evening, the winds blew strong from about 11pm until 2am, to the point that the entire blind was moving with the tree until I almost felt seasick. The blind held steady, but by 7am, we were quite ready for solid ground.



This is the second blind, which I actually shot the lion out of. It was not quite as high as the first, but built in a tree that I would not have thought could have accommodated such a blind.

Very informative! I've sat in some of my deer stands in very windy conditions. Not much fun!

Bill,

Been there and done that. I think I even recognize the trees. I agree spending the night in those trees is really a unigue experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. Gives you an opportunity to experience the bush in a completely different way. I can imagine getting hurt quite badly as I guess Causey did if you fell or the blind collapsed. Although we felt perfectly safe in our machans. Our PH Arthur Taylor was quite meticulous about the construction and comfort.

Regards,

Mark

sounds like an interesting experience, have you got any photos of the lion you took??

Heard from Don's office that it was his back

"His back....I don't have all the details..He's in hospital in Nairobi - Able to speak with his wife and in good spirits.
More as news arrives.
We will probably be sending out another bulletin in the next day or two when we have more information."

Interesting! Machans were used extensively (in the old days) in India for hunting Tigers (with a live goat tied up underneath) but I did not realise that they were used in Africa.
Peter.

I have been there and done that, too. But I would be hesitant to use any tree blind that was not newly built just for me.

The tree blinds I have seen and used were made exclusively of tree branches and hemp rope--not a nail to be found in any of them. Here are a couple of pictures.

Up close:



From a distance:




The new ones are very solid, in my experience, but not the older ones. The rope will rot and be eaten away by insects.

I wonder if Causey's blind was a newly built one or a hold-over from a previous year?

quote:

Originally posted by Nevster:
...have you got any photos of the lion you took??

Nevster - There's also a report w/other pict's on the Hunting Reports - Africa forum: https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6321043/m/6731068

You guys are right, these blinds were very sturdy and well constructed. Peter likes a tree blind versus a ground blind for a better view, and if/when he needs to sleep there in the hopes of catching the lion at first/last light. And I think more of an issue for him...there are a lot of ele in the area.

Bill,

Great pictures, and it sounds like a very worthwhile experiance.

Erik

Everything Bill said about hunting from the machan is true in spades. We actually spent 7 nights in those blind over 2 safaris.

A pitch black moonless night with lions mating directly under the machan is an experience not to be forgotten soon.

Regards,

Mark

thanks Bill, great photos