Has anyone hunted in the Chirisa area or PH Phillip Smythe?

He hunts in the same area as HHK and wanted to get some feedback of the area in question and what to expect there.
Thanks

I know Phillip. I believe he won the Zimbabwe Best Buffalo of the Year for 2010.

I should add that I am looking mainly for Leopard, buff, bushbuck, kudu and waterbuck.

Thanks ZZZ for the info. I never knew that. i believe he is fairly new as a PH and I imagine is very enthusiastic which would be nice to hunt with. The Save might be a better place to hunt for the species i want but the prices that the quality camps want is really high I find. I would love to take my wife with me but most camps want $275 a day observers rate. Adds up to a lot of $$ for a 15 day hunt.

Forest,
I hunted Chirisa for 14 days in September 09. Had a great hunt, saw lots of animals and would highly recommend it.

Rob

I know Smythe and I know Chirisa. Both AOK. Smythe makes up in energy and enthusiasm what he lacks in seasoning. Only thing I would caution you is don't expect to see a ton of PG in Chirisa, or anywhere else on Govt land in Zim for that matter. Chirisa is probably one of the better spots in terms of game density, the later in the season you go the easier it is to find game. You will get your Bushbuck, you will get your Waterbuck, Kudu you will work for, you will get your Buff, Leopard is a coin toss.

The only thing I don't know is how he went from being an HHK PH to being his own guy with quota in one of HHK's areas, so fast.

I agree with Russ. Lots of ele and buff - PG is sparse. I think you can kill a bushbuck and waterbuck without problem. I killed a good kudu, but we saw one group of 3 bulls in 9 days. Leopard can be tough there. We saw sign and actually one male crossing the river, but we baited for 6 days without a hit. Nice camps, but again...not a lot of game viewing.

It seems many discount the quantity of PG in Chirisa and I have to disagree. While it is not a SA game farm, I saw tons of PG there in September. We hunted hard and as many of you know, that adds a certain sweetness to your hunt. I was told there were few Eland there, but we got into Eland alot.... while we hunted them.I will say I did not see a ton of Kudu, but was told they are there. Perhaps we saw alot of animals due to the PH's intimate knowledge of the area. We actually had a conversation that Chirisa would be a great PG safari if one was willing to get out and hunt, track and was in good shape. For me it was a woderful place and I will go back. Just my two cents. Of course I may have just been lucky and the norm is to see fewer animals....

quote:

The only thing I don't know is how he went from being an HHK PH to being his own guy with quota in one of HHK's areas, so fast.

I believe some time ago, Phillip was a HHK apprentice in Chirisa for at least a year. He now has an agreement with them for part of the Chirisa quota and the Swainson camp. He is in the US and will be in Reno.

I hunted buffalo there in late august/early september 2009. I did see some plains game but it was not "abundant" in my experience. One nice kudu we bumped into, a few bushbuck and waterbuck.

The buff hunting was very slow. We drove all over the area for days on end. I did get a nice buff on day 5 (it was only the second group of buff we saw). To be honest, i felt lucky to get him and i think the only reason i did is that my PH Rodon Tourle wouldn't give up! Several hunters with other PH's before me left without a buff at all.

My bull was the only truly hard bossed bull in the whole skinning shed. Lots of soft bosses and immature looking bulls...but that's for another time.

Long story short, my experience was a difficult hunt without a whole lot of buffalo or other game seen. One elephant, some lion tracks, one hyena in front of truck lights on way back and a few plains game animals. I could have just hit it at an "off time".

No matter what, have your PH take you up to the old park dept. camp on the cliff. It is truly an amazing lookout point. Enjoy your trip!

Hi Guys, let me give you some back ground information.

I trained under HHK safaris in the Chirisa Area for 2 years and have been working as a Professional Hunter for HHK for the 2009/2010 seasons. My relationship with HHK stands on good ground and I am running one of the three camps there - Swainsons camp.

Chirisa is known for its diversity as a big game area. It covers the dangerous 4 (no rhino) AND has great plains game, with ample populations, except sable. There are sable in the area but not many. We have taken some great bushbuck, impala, reedbuck, kudu, waterbuck, leopards and many more over the years.

Forest Walker - I will be in Reno at the Global Hunting Resources booth. If you will be there, it would be good to sit down and talk. Alternatively you can contact me on - phillipsmythe@gmail.com

ZZZ - hope to see you in Reno!

I hunted Chirisa in 2009, hardly any plainsgame was seen.A few small waterbuck and a few Bushbuck. We hunted hard for 10 days.

I would not go back.

Thank you guys for your opinions. It is nice to hear of the different areas and to talk to people who have experienced it.

JTEX - sorry to hear your Chirisa experience was so bad.
I have yet to have an experience like this in my 4 years there.

Thanks for your concern Phillip. I stayed at Swainsons on my trip. Is Edwell still the cook? How about Lazarus? He was a fine young man. Brighton was also on staff there. The camp staff was great.

It was a pretty disapointing trip hunting wise, and we had other hunters and PH's run into our "exclusive" camp, a real lovely Father and Son that made it quite uncomfortable for my wife, and a couple of rough encounters.

.

Dear Phil
I hunted with Steve Smythe do you know him or have any contact details for him.

thanks Mark

JTEX - Lazarus is still around, and Edwell is now working across at Ingwe Camp. Brighton is still there as well!
I agree with you....when exclusive is offered, exclusive it should be. And as I now have control over this all the better!

Cameronaussie - I'm afraid I am not familiar with Steve Smythe. No relation to me! Do yo have any more details and I could try find out. What outfitter, was it in Chirisa?