I am off to Mozambique for Buffalo and Nyala this fall. I did a lot of checking on Moz. hunts before deciding where to go. Had to stay away from the swamps! If you are interested I can let you know what info I found out. We went to South Africa 2 years ago, had a great trip. This time we are looking for a more old Africa type of hunt.

Did the Coutada 10 area of the Zambezi Delta in '00. Game all over the place! I got a 40" buff and a pair of warthogs. Jim shot the twin of my buff, reedbuck, bushbuck and red duiker. As the man said, not country for those who think safaris should include silver and Irish linen on the table, though. Skeeters are bad and the tsetse flies are worse. There's a hibiscus relative that grows on a vine the size of a pencil that has thorns all over it like living barbed wire. A French hunter was lucky that he was wearing a neck scarf one evening when the huntint car went down a road that hadn't been used for some weeks and ran his throat into the vine. Coulda cut his head clean off!

Fred,

Are you hunting with Jos� at Inhaminga?

jim

Been there several times and I can book hunts for you there with Johan Calitz...Some great elephant in Mozambique, lots of Buffalo..I suppose given my choice I would still choose Tanzania hands down..I don't care much for Southern Mozambique, too swampy for this kid, a cloud of skeeters in my face 24, 7 makes not for a happy me....

Jim,
I will be hunting with Jose' at Inhaminga Safaris. Have you been there?

Yes Jim, I'm over there for 8 days w/ Jose' & hopefully 4-5 days w/ my friend Willem Koch in RSA.

CAC, when are you going? I am leaving AUg. 30 arriving in camp Sept. 2. Jose' is a great guy, never hunted w/ him but others I know have. He has a huge concession in Moz. from swamp to mountains. Maybe I'll see you there.

My good friends operate Coutada 10 and like Oldsarge said, game everywhere. They have been 100% on buffalo for several years. Excellent sable, too. They are usually booked a couple of years in advance, but they happen to have a cancellation for one or two buffalo hunters!
Joe's area joins Coutada 10 and is also excellent, but not as good for buffalo ,but better for nyala and suni. Coutada 10 has taken a few really big bodied nyala in the 30' + range lately.
Send me a private email and I will give you the details.
Jim

I will be there the first 2 weeks of October. I met Jose' at the SCI convention in Reno last year, where our booth's were not far apart. Everyone I know who has hunted there speaks very highly of him. I can't wait to get there.

He's a good friend of m'outfitter, Peet du Preez. Jose' had dinner with us one night in Beira at a little place called the Pik-Nik after a day of frustration with the dear sweet soul at the airport who wouldn't let us fly out because of a minor glitch in the written flight plan. Personable chap, Jose', and I heartily recommend the Prawn Dinner at Pik-Nik.

Oldsarge, so you atten the San Diego SCI annual? We'll have to meet @ the next convention.

Spent some time the last 2 SCI shows with Peet and Sue DePreez. Wonderful people and seem to run a real quality operation. The success rate and repeat business speak for themselves. My friends have hunted with them at their concession and had good success on quality animals. Definitely not a hunt for the novice, and better like swamp land hunting. That's what the Argo's are for tho.

Take a look at their website www.bahati.co.za for info.

Fred,
I used to go to the OC meetings but then started grad school and classes were always on meeting nights. Now, as I age, because I'm up at 5:30 I just can't bring myself to stay out until 10:00 then drive home and get ready for bed with enough sleep to work the next day. So, the short answer is that about the only SCI thing I do is read the paper, write to Congressbodies and attend the annual convention in Reno. Peet's place is one of the very first stops we always make. Wonderful people, great hunting area, I could go on and on . . . I'm even carrying Marius' new boots to him in August. Some happy client bought him a pair of custom built Russell PH's as his tip.

Look for a balding, slightly paunchy middle-aged guy with a AR polo shirt on that says Oldsarge over the patch. And if you don't see me, just stay still and listen. Regrettably I can usually be heard a block away. Something about 29 years of parade grounds . . .

CAC,

I haven't hunted with him yet, but he is on the list. We have a lot of satisfied hunters in San Diego who have hunted with Inhaminga. I also book for them.

Fred,

Please say "hello" to Willem from Renae and I. He and Selwyn stayed with us the last time they were over this way.

jim

How much a problem are old landmines in Mozambique?

Are they in the hunting areas, spread out, or more localised mainly in some places?

Niro, my understanding is there used to be "Red zones" where no one hunted because of petential land mines, maybe someone else who has been can confirm, but it's been wuite sometime since the hostilities. I suppose one could find one & ruin a good safari, but then again one could find a snake & have it happen too (a freind of mine was hit by a rattlesanke last week while mending a fence).

The area we hunt in is basically swamp and landmines have a tendency to sink 'cause they're steel and heavy. Land mines would be more likely a problem in Moz's agricultural areas than in the hunting concessions. Even so, as Fred pointed out, that was rather a while ago.

Fred

A snake bite is quite different from having one's legs blown off at the knees. It would ruin more than just a safari.

The reason I mentioned it was I was once warned about Moz by a South African PH and that landmines can be an issue. Don't know where it is an issue in particular but I would want to know before putting down a deposit for Moz.

OlSarge

Aussie sappers were still deactivating mines in Cambodia only a few years ago as part of OS aid projects. These would have been similar vintage.

Sarge,

I will be overnighting in and out from Jose's camp and I will be sure to try the Prawns at the Pik-Nik when I am in Beira. Any recommendation on where to stay?

Jim,
Being from San Diego you must know David Bowers? He has been to Jose's several times, most recently last month I believe.

Chris

Chris,
Jose' will know. There's only one liveable hotel in Beira and it has a truly decent dining room, as well. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name (pre-mature Alzheimer's setting in, perhaps) and have erased the story that I once had with its name. Again, check with Jose'.

Mention Mozambique and two things come to mind. Swamps and landmines.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, there are plenty of swamps there, but there is a hell of a lot more dry ground than swampy ground.

Yes there are landmines there, but anyone ever heard of a hunter stepping on one? I have not. Does not mean it hasn't happened. I have just never heard of it a recent hunt (within the last 10 years).

They did recently find an old landmine field, but it was close to a town. Surprises me that it took them so long to find it!

Consider that an Elephant, Buffalo and everything short of a duiker weighs more than a man.

Consider that there is not one single square inch of hunting territory that has not already been stepped on by one of these aniamls and you will see that landmines are not going to be even a minor concern.

The only real concern migth be if a mine needed a huge amount of pressure to go off and you drove the truck over it.

Still a distant possibility even on your worst day.

If you want something to be scared of, worry about other more realistic threats. I wouldn't worry about landmines.

Did anyone else know that Zimbabwe also has landmines?

There is some food for thought.

And Zim. has Mugabe.

Chris,

Yes I know David well. He and Susan are just back from a hunt with Jose', and a stop to hunt in Namibia on the way back.

jim

Wendell

Thanks for the answer. I was warned about parts of Moz once and so was looking for some sort of confirmation or not.

Like I said I have never heard of a problem that doesn't mean that it has never been a problem.

My question, "Has anyone ever heard of a landmine accident in Mozambique?" was not a rhetorical question. It was a serious inquiry.

Has anyone any valid story of this ever happening?

The area that I hunted in 2002 never saw any fighting, so there were no landmines anywhere near that concession, but I am sure there were hunting areas where there was fighting and where there may still be landmines.

Some body who knows?

Sarge,
I believe he mentioned the Tivoli or something like that; Does that sound familiar?
I will recheck with him.
Chris

NitroX,

During the 5 weeks we spent in Mozambique, we talked to quite a few locals about the mine problems. Generally, we got the impression that it was/is mainly only a big problem near strategic points of interest such as bridges, buildings etc. But they did say that one could never be too carefull, and should always ask around before leaving well trodded local paths... This was of course of value to us since we normally would just drive off a track into the bush in most countrys to set up camp for the night. We didn't do so in Mozambique... Especially when crossing from Mandimba - Nampula along small bush tracks in the far north. Paranoid perhaps, but better safe than sorry.

I'd presume that when with a PH, this wouldn't be a problem as he's know the local situation.

Just as a suggestion John, If you want to go to Mozambique to hunt but are uncomfortable about the mines, I'll gladly walk infront of you while hunting if you pay the bills, and let me take the first buff! I'd naturally have to be armed with my little Mauser, and might even let you try it.

Erik D.