Off I go at the behest of Mark Young.

My new bride Tina, her daughter Miranda and I are leaving on Tuesday the 28th for a leopard/ buffalo/ sable/ everything else hunt with Mokore Safari. Mark has assured me the leopards are well fed, dumb and answer the noon dinner bell, the buffalo respond well to the sound of an alfalfa bale being opened and the 50" sable are easy to pick out from the 30"'ers in the pen.

I offered to shop and bring things as the Duckworths saw fit and ended up with an interesting list: "Finding Nemo", "The Lion King", (now I don't get that one, they live with them,) "The Little Mermaid" every size and as many Ziploc bags as we can stuff in our luggage, 22lr ammo so Garry can, "give me a lesson in shooting,", and Mel Duckworth suggested "sweets,".

We'll be doing the Dillingham/ Anchorage/ Seattle/ London/ Johannesburg/ Harare/ charter to Mokore route. I assume the return in reverse.

Last time I used a .375 H&H and thought it worked quite well. So rather than stick with a proven formula this time I'm bringing a 30-06 also, except for Tina is the one that got the 4457 filled out in Anchorage so now she has to act like she knows what rifle she is registered to possess. Mark insisted I bring and use my 45-70 for the buffalo but I thought I'd play it safe and use the -06 instead.

I'll be back on the 18th of next month and will be sure to post a full report. Until then best wishes to all!

Best of luck on the hunt and best of luck with that flight schedule!! My God, that has to be a record for getting into the bush, one way!

Looking forward to the report..

quote:

Originally posted by Scottyboy:
Best of luck on the hunt and best of luck with that flight schedule!! My God, that has to be a record for getting into the bush, one way!

Looking forward to the report..

Two hour wait in Anchorage. 24 hour wait in Seattle. 8 hour wait in London. 3 hour wait in Johannesburg, who knows in Harare. Waddya wanna bet Garry makes us wait an hour at the Mokore strip before coming to get us?

quote:

Mark has assured me the leopards are well fed, dumb and answer the noon dinner bell, the buffalo respond well to the sound of an alfalfa bale being opened and the 50" sable are easy to pick out from the 30"'ers in the pen.

mark , sounds like you havent lost your touch

I returned from Mokore a little over a week ago. You are in for the time of your life. Have fun!

Scott,

I sent you a PM. The 22 ammo could be a big problem as you are not traveling with a matching caliber rifle. Two people that I know have spent time in a Zim jail when one was found to have a box of undeclared ammo and another's box of X bullets only was thought to be loaded ammo.

Mark

Best of luck, enjoy.

Scott,
Best of luck to you and your family.
I'm sure you'll have a typically great time over there.
Stay safe.

I spent 16 days just north of Mokore in June. Great country. Lots of big leopards. Enjoy.

Have the time of your life! Yes, I too was concerned about the .22LR ammo. Glad that Mark addressed it.

Good luck with both your hunt,and your flight schedule.

Good hunting!

Scott, wishing you a great Mokore safari--please give the Duckworth clan my best. I was Barrie Duckworth's first client when he left Rhodesian Parks and Wildlife (we were both a bit younger). They're a great family, operating a great outfit. But here's an interesting thing: Barrie is now one of Zimbabwe's best-known and most experienced operators, but he is one of the few PHs on the entire continent that you will never, ever hear a negative word about. That says a lot. Good hunting, Craig

Thanks much for the "Fair thee well's,".

Mark helped me get set in a nice downtown Seattle hotel this morning. We'll eat and drink and tour at our leisure Tuesday evening/ Wednesday morning and then make an effort to get back to the airport. After that it'll be an exercise in patience.

I suspect Garry Duckworth was trying to get out of the hunt by getting me arrested for the contraband ammunition.

Seriously, given my experience last time and the opinions of others posted above in part, I have no doubt this safari will be riveting.

To be sure the three of us will return home photo and trinket heavy and will be more than happy to share.

Scott,

I've had the folks at the Monaco set up the "Special" room out back by the dumpsters for you guys. I told then that a bunch of Alaskan bush rats would not know the difference. They also assured me that your gold fish will be ready but you can't fillet, glaze, vacuum pack and freeze it to take home for the winter cache.

Bon Voyage!!!

Mark

Good luck with your hunt!

The cover is pretty thick, but there are some animals around!

Harare is now X-raying everything, and the gal at customs/security repeatedly asked about the difference between my .416 and .375 ammo, and that's with the permit sitting in front of her!

I would not haul any non-registered stuff with, as although you may be able to talk your way out of it, why take the chance!

Chuck

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:

quote:

Mark has assured me the leopards are well fed, dumb and answer the noon dinner bell, the buffalo respond well to the sound of an alfalfa bale being opened and the 50" sable are easy to pick out from the 30"'ers in the pen.

mark , sounds like you havent lost your touch

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Now that is funny I don't care who you are!

scott just for clairifacation
the buffalo is a big black thing
the sable is a big black thing and
the leopard is the big spotted thing
good luck and safe travels