Great news

Mike you better take it slowly, no use hunting everything in 5 days, you got a whole 21 days

Enjoy, may all your dreams come true

Mike, way to go! Sounds like you, Cherie and Pierre make a good team.

This is neat...reading about the hunt as it unfolds!
Bwana Mike ...

This may just be the first live blogging of an African Safari (or almost live anyway).

Keep the updates coming. This is great!

Very Good! Keep em coming Mike!

This is great! Great luck getting the leopard so soon as they can be a pain. Good shooting and continue the updates.

This is so cool!!! Keep shooting straight!!

Dulcinea

Hmmm. No report for a couple of days.

After taking such a tremendous bag 2 days into the hunt, the party may still be going on.

Either that or Saeed's warning didn't make it in time.

Mike and Cherie, have a great time, make the most of it and tell us all!

Those of us sitting in offices the same as those we have occupied for 25+ years are eating this up, and waiting for the day our dreams may be reality. And even if that day does not come, we have your experiences to dream about.

Jim

I think??? that the original plan was to try to take the lion in the other block (R-4... Ru-4?) where Pierr'es son has been hunting some as an apprentice. Don't hold me to the block, my old mind is weak.

If there are two blocks available, maybe they have to move over to the second one for the lion (about a three hour drive?). I may be wrong, but I believe that such was mentioned once.

Perhaps he just doesn't want to bore us with another buffalo or an mundane elephant or a sable or a kudu or a ......

Taking a hippo from the camp would consist of climbing down the bluff in front of the dining area and picking one out. There are usually about 100 in sight at any time.

Just a quick report. There is a lion taking the bait, however they won't know how big it is until tomorrow. My dad can barely contain his excitement! They have seen many large and beautiful elephants, however still waiting for that 'Monster.' My dad wanted to know your reactions to his impala. I forgot to tell you...he shot two, one was 24 inches, the other was 26!! That is impressive, right?? My brother's from 2 years ago was only in the teens! I don't have any concept of the sizes of many of these animals. You all will be the first to know when the lion is taken!!!

Victoria

Victoria,

26" is a beaut as far as impala go.

Glad to hear your Pa is having such a great time! I hope he gets lucky and scores on lion soon.

Cheers,
Canuck

Good Luck!

7 ft 8 inch leopard! For the Selous that is one h**l of a cat! Sure it wasn't 6 ft 8 inch?

26 inch impala of the Southern variety is indeed very good.

quote:

26" is a beaut as far as impala go.

How about the 24 inch Impala, that's not so bad too!

A monster Leopard to boot!

You go Mike!!!!

24 and 26 are good, very good but do not confuse with Southern Impala which are a shorter horned animial.

DOJ, - I hope you don't mind me correcting you. The impala in the Selous are the Southern variety. It's the northernmost area they occur.

East African impala are found in Masailand etc, but not in the Selous.

Bwanamich. I spoke to Pierre last night and 7'8" is correct...... nice pussy cat huh.

Great going Mike!

In 2004, N'gagi and I met Mike in the Harare Airport. He had just finished his first elephant hunt and was grinning ear to ear. He was like a happy little kid that could not stop smiling.

After this hunt, we will have to call him "The Joker" because he is going to have a permanent smile on his face.

The AR Buffalo raffle could not have gone to a better guy (well maybe N'gagi or me). It is really great to see how much preparation Mike has put in to this and it seems to really be paying off.

It was also pretty cool that Mike took advantage of the opportunity and upgraded the hunt as well.

SAEED, thanks again for doing this. I think we are all getting to enjoy this safari in some way. Can't wait for Mike to get back and share some photos with the stories.

Tim

I agree wholeheartedly ...... Mike is a great guy, and I'm excited for him. Can't wait to see him again in Dallas this coming January !!!

What a great experience, and only a few days on! We look forward to more!
Jeff

Shakari, thanks - never to thick headed to learn something new.

Saeed's generosity has benefited all of us. We're all pulling for Mike and his success on the hunt.

August 1 Update:

Hi all, this is Matt, Mike's son. Just got off the phone with my dad, and he got his biggest animal yet...a bull hippo. His teeth were about 22 inches.

Still no lion, but they went off hanging more baits. My mom especially enjoyed driving around in the truck with rotting hippo in the back while they were hanging baits!

They are still seeing absolutely tons of game, including a big bull sable which they couldn't get a shot at.

They were within 25 yards of another bull ele today, but alas, he was too small to shoot. Despite that, they managed to get some great video.

As you can imagine, they are having a fantastic time. Saeed, thank you again for your generosity. Everyone else, thanks for the support, my dad knows everyone is living vicariously through these updates and wishes everyone well.


-Matt

Great update. That's one big bull hippo!

Bet Mike has to pinch himself every now and then to make sure it isn't a dream.

What pound test line did he use to reel in that hippo?

Mike,

Way to go!!!!

We're all hoping your great luck continues throughout the hunt! Go, Man, Go!

Man, can't wait to see them in Dallas,year! Gonna have some great stories!

Mike,
Can't wait for your return, to fill in the details!

I for one am eagerly awaiting the next update! How exciting!

Are we ever going to get him to come back after this?!

quote:

Are we ever going to get him to come back after this?!

Physicaly, yes, but I fear his mind will never return nor ever be the same.

What a horrible thing to have, eh?

Get that Lion, Mike!

I hope I'm not stealing Matt & Victoria's thunder by adding that the Selous is green as hell this year, the bush is ultra thick and the grass very high...... 7 or 8 feet in some places. A lot of their hunting is gonna be real in your face stuff.

They've had rain the last few lunchtimes and heavy rain last night....... the downside of that is that it might make the Lion hunting harder........ The upside is that Pierre is one of the very best and if anyone can find a shootable Lion, he can.........

Shakari, definitely not stealing our thunder...this stuff is as exciting to me and my sister as it is to you guys. Thanks for the extra info.


-Matt

I'm enjoying reading this. I have spoken at length to Mike on the phone in the last 6 months, as he previously hunted with the same outfitter and PH I used this year in Zim.

I wish Mike the best on this hunt. We're all in for a load of stories when gets back!

Thatsthe way to be. If the hunting gets tuff I am sure Mike will be up to the challenge. Anyone who has the resolve to go through his regime of training is bound to succeed. Even if he has to drag that cat from outa the bush and into the open to shoot it!
Thanks for the update Matt.
Frank

quote:

Originally posted by Frank Martinez:
Even if he has to drag that cat from outa the bush and into the open to shoot it!

I don't nkow whay but a little sketch popped into my head when I read your post....

PVT Saeed and Walther are lion hunting. They all stop and PVT says, "he's in the bush and he's huuuuuuuge!!" Saeed can't see it from his angle and askes Walter to go in and pull him out of the bush....

I think we've all read and enjoyed enough stories about these two gents to be able to imagine how it unfolds!!

Oh well,Thanks for humoring me. I'll go back to my own little dream world about how I might one day get to Tanz for 21days....

Best Rgds,
FB

Well, no lion yet, but a great bit of hunting and lots of fun being had!

My dad and Pierre have been chasing buffalo every day. They saw a heard of about 10 the other day, nothing worthy. However, as they were putting up the rifles onto the truck, a beautiful buff trotted right in front of them. My mom said the 'F' work flew about freely and abundantly and off they went running. Dad is enjoying the buff hunting more than anything else.

Yesterday, all hung around camp in the morning. The men were eyeing up an 11 ft croc across the river, but too far for a good shot.

Today they chased buff again, within 20 yards, but that darned grass-too high and too thick.

The elephant hunt continues as well. Dad was within 20 feet of a nice 45, but wants to wait for one at least 50. My mom was amazed at his self control. They also saw a herd of sable...first time ever.

My mom has taken over 500 pics already, and told me about the grasshopper that she saw...the size and color of our North American Cardinal!! My kids oohed and ahhed at that.

As I mentioned above, I'm waiting to hear the excitement in my dad's voice when he has that lion, or monster ele!!

He gets a kick out of the posts already...he is thinking of you all, and appreciates all the excitement.

Victoria

Sounds like a great time, even if the buff, lion and ele are being uncooperative. I'm sure Mike has a grin Ajax couldn't wash off.

Thank you for the update. Please let him know that it is HE who is filling us all with excitement. He will remember I am sure- Tell him this is better than the Saturday afternoon movies we went to see as kids. Each night we are treated to another installment of the
ADVENTURES OF RETREEVER- ELEPHANT HUNTER!
Thanks for the nightly boost.
Frank

If Mike takes a 50# plus elephant, since Selous bulls are not short and thick like at some other venues, he will need a pretty good hearth to frame for those long sweeping tusks! A dollar to a dime against anybody that he gets one!

Victoria,

Ask your mom if she has had any problems with the toilet pygmies yet. She'll understand.