hi people, just back after my second trip of the year ...took a couple of nice ele bulls amid a few tuskless and buffalo ...

Zim economy worse than ever but we are all hoping that for the sake of the wildlife that people continue to keep hunting there ...hunting as we all know gives the wildlife value and in an economy like that thats all thats giving it a future ....enough politics ...

after a lot of late rains in the zambezi valley the tracking has been tough to say the least with all the "grass matting"...it has also meant lots of unknowns as far as pans that usually are dry by now ,i doubled up on my tracking team and many many hours with 5 trackers were spent , not really tracking in the traditional manner but finding a sign , then fanning out looking for the next sign ... very challenging ... add to that the cows that cross and mix the tracks and you have some real hunting on your hands ... the elephant in both chewore and sapi safari areas were still on the riverlines and not at all in the jesse so thick undergrowth was the order of the day and several times we ended up being ousted by irate cow elephant herds , the zambezi ladies as ian nyschens calls them were as irritable as ever !!! the biggest and most promising track we found was a 22 inch track with great wear , leading to a warm pile of dung ....after three very frustrating hours we had made only a few hundred yards ...very very frustrating to say the least ....

even my hunts in botswana were a lot different this year , extra rain meant lots and lots of water and very thick mopane , so the usual spot and stalk wasnt working all that well and we ended up "patterning" pans and doing lots of tree climbing to observe valleys ,as usual though botswana being what it is , we saw a lot of bulls and as soon as we settled into a routine of where and when the movement was happening we saw a lot of animals ...

all excellent hunting and basically the lesson i have gotten in full force this season is expect to try new things and do things different when the conditions dictate ...

anyway good to be home for the next couple of months ...give the cover time to die back a bit so i can get back to my usual tracking team of two or three !!!

good hunting

I don't want to hear about it.

Ivan,
the photo galleries on your web-page are true Eye-Candy for nature lovers. Wonderful!!

On the hunting galleries, How big was that croc?

thanks steve , the croc was 15'4"...also had a boot in its stomach as well as a few other remains .... took it in omay communal land on the edge of lake kariba ...

"also had a boot in its stomach as well as a few other remains..."

Those crocs on Kariba and Cahorra Bassa are always looking for an easy meal!

Here's a "little" 13 footer from '04. Lots of difference between 13 and 15+ feet!!

Ivan:

Welcome home, glad the hunting went well, even if it was difficult. Sounds like some satisfied clients, tho. Hard earned trophies, for sure.

Paul and I are still watching conditions over there closely, and dreaming of a hunt next year. Hope it works out, as the 450-400 is really dialed in!

Welcome back Ivan, We will be going to tribal area next to Chizarra NP in the end of August. Do you think the grass will be burnt by then?

Hey Ivan... sounded like tough hunting at the first of the season with the water and greenery. Hope the second half dries out abit for all those hunting in Zim then.

Seems like the Zim political scene is still "tense"... how are all of our buddies holding out? Usual shortages in supplies or worse this year? From the reports here and elsewhere, the returning hunters have had few issues but logistics still have to be trying! Here's hoping you have a great break and a super second half of the season.
Cheers,
Russell

You live here now Ivan? Good! Does Wisconsin hold a special allure for Zim expatriots? Frank Lloyd Wright maybe? Bought a beautiful piece of jewelry, a Tuareg bangle, for my wife at DSC from a wonderful gal from Zim who now too resides in the land of the Cheese Head. Ashleigh George it was. What a beauty! Hope you guys migrate back to Zim before winter sets in.

Hi Ivan. Glad to hear you are well. Tell us about that Big 5, 30 day hunt you did early in the season?

How is that Boddington ele DVD coming along? On schedule for release this winter?

blank ...as usual we all think its as bad as the economy can get and it worsens , keep watching and asking people who have just gotten back.

gunny ,
i am sure that it will be burnt by then , the late rains meant more grass than normal and while the fires have started late they are in full swing now ...chewore and the hills all starting to burn so you should be fine ...

russell ,
thanks , yes the hunting was hard early but excellent , hunted with brent leesmay then and also now , he sends his best , yup looking forward to a break and have been very lucky up to now ....

showbart ,
yup i got lucky there , someone has to make the money ...!! done two years here now , winbter a bit different to northern bots in july ...i used to think THAT was cold !!!

bryan ,
the big 5 30 day hunt was excellent , got a good elephant , 7 buff , a rhino with a 31 inch front horn, nice big zambezi valley leopard and a giant of a lion ...the lion leop , ele and 6 of the buff were in chewore south , the rhino and one buffalo in the eastern cape ...will email you pics if you can post them for me ....you know me , the techno freak !!!

Sure Ivan. You should still have my email. I would be happy to post them for you. Glad to hear you got the lion. We discussed it as you recall.