[QUOTE]Originally posted by safari12:
Well, Well, Well I see that since I have been gone for 8 weeks in Tanzania and in the bush, all sorts of stories and fiction tellers are busy on this forum. It must be nice for some of you to be able to sit behind your computer screens and say what you wish even though you have not heard both sides to a storyQUOTE]

Hi Adam

Firstly I must complement you on your wonderful written skills and secondly on your endevours to operate in Africa as a bona fide respected operator /// the challenge to please all will never be achieved as human nature dictates that when we think we have all our ducks lined up one SOB flys away ...

Good luck with your operation and being from Africa I understand the challenges you face, it is not easy and I just wish some would give a little slack at times.

Personally for whats its worth, the only times we ever seems to run into some bother occasionally is when I book a hunter through/via a (Third Party) agent or Outfitter or PH etc.

All the best and good luck for the future


Peter

Adam,

Thanks for your detailed response. It is only fair to have both sides of the story before passing any judgement.

Cheers,
Canuck

ps: FWIW, I'd probably have a personality conflict with a client that didn't want to track buffalo too. Especially in a place where that was your only real chance at one!

Just posting this for the record. Adams initial post.

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
Well, Well, Well I see that since I have been gone for 8 weeks in Tanzania and in the bush, all sorts of stories and fiction tellers are busy on this forum. It must be nice for some of you to be able to sit behind your computer screens and say what you wish even though you have not heard both sides to a story. Jump on the band wagon and tally hoooooo is the motto for most of you I see.

I just returned from Tanzania 3 days ago, and have been trying to catch up in the office and have not had time to post earlier. I want to get to the bottom of what I see are some complaints towards Tanzania Bundu Safaris from JJ Miller and Mr. Steve Dean. I do not take any complaint lightly and will go over board finding out what the problem is, and will not jump to any conclusions until I have investigated the whole matter.

I have been very busy looking into the complaint for Mr. Miller for over a week now and have been to the Lolkisale camp and have talked to everyone there who was present including the client who was there at the same time who was also booked by Wendell.

I will discuss each person and their complaint one at a time and give you the facts and what I have found out during the last week. It is one thing for someone to not like a PH, and try to work things out, but to make up stories and try to make the situation sound worse is also not acceptable.

You have already heard all of the stories from Mr. Miller and Wendell, so now I ask that you listen to what I found out during the last week when trying to sort everythig out.

Mr. Miller was booked by Wendell originally with Licky who at that time was handling the bookings for Tanzania Bundu Safaris. Tanzania Bundu Safaris was then bought and taken over by myself and my US partner the first of this year. In the contract that we agreed to at that time was to honor all bookings for 2005 that deposits had been taken for which included a couple of clients from Wendell that he had booked with Licky. This right here is one of the first problems, as all I knew of Mr. Miller was his name on a piece of paper, so is very hard to know what people are like with out talking with them. One of the best things about talking with clients when they book a hunt is getting to know the client and thus being able to match them up correctly with a PH that best fits their personality. PH's and clients are all the same as far as personalities go, and is very important to try and match people up accordingly. I would have thought that Wendell would have informed his clients that the company had new owners and new management, and would have suggested that his clients call me to touch base and get to know the new management. But I never did hear from any of the clients who had been booked that we would be honoring for this year. So, PH's were assigned to hunts and clients not knowing anything about them.

I have read all of the complaints that Mr. Miller has stated on this forum, but also find it funny, that neither he nor Wendell have talked to me about any problem at all to see what had happened or to see how we would handle the complaint. I have heard that Mr. Miller has been offered a return FREE 10-day buffalo hunt by Licky and Wendell, BUT neither Licky, Krystyna, nor Wendell have the authority or power to make any such decisions. The decision on any company matter lies right here with me along with my partner, and neither of us has authorized any such decision as we are still investigating the complaint. We will also not make any decision until I personally talk to Mr. Miller myself and he and I talk everything over. So, I hope that Mr. Miller decides to finally give me a call, and explain his complaint to me in person rather than talking to a public forum first.

Now, lets get down with the facts and what I have found out in the past week for all to know. I got a call from Mr. Miller's PH Paul Horsly on the 3rd day of his safari as I was in the Lobo camp with a 21-day hunter. There was also another 21-day hunter at the same time in Lolkisale with Mr. Miller who was also another one of the clients we honored for this year.

The below statements are what were given to me by the people I talked to, and should be just as credible as Mr. Millers stories. Who is right and who is wrong is what we are trying to find out, but here is at least the other side of the story.

Paul informed me that his client was getting upset that he was not seeing herds of 300-400 buffalo as he was told he would see by Wendell his booking agent. I asked Paul if he had explained to the client that there were no herds of 300-400 buffalo in Lolkisale at this time of the year, and that although it is possible to see some herds at this time, they had to track the buffalo from waterholes, or follow fresh tracks coming in from the park? Paul told me that he had gone to the few waterholes that still had water and had seen some fresh buffalo tracks, but that Mr. Miller did not want to track any buffalo as he was told he would see some big herds. Paul then told him that it would be very hard to get him 1 buffalo, let alone 2 if they did not track the buffalo. I then told Paul that it was only the 3rd day and that they should continue hunting and if they had not taken a buffalo by the 5th day, that I would allow them to come down to Lobo for a buffalo, but they would also have to track buffalo in Lobo if they were going to take a buffalo. I had already shot 2 buffalo with my client a 45" and 42" and we were not looking for anymore buffalo. I also told Paul that if the client continued to be upset, that I wanted to talk to Mr. Miller. By the way, I had plenty of buffalo activity in Lobo and it is not correct that I had said I had only seen 3 tracks in 18-days. Paul said that he would talk to his client and plan on going down to Lobo. Next thing I hear is from my manager in Arusha that he had gone to pick up Mr. Miller who had demanded that he leave camp and fly back home. I asked Peter what the story was, and he said that from what he understood that Miller was mad at everything and did not want to discuss anything with anyone that he just wanted to go home.

A couple of days later Paul and Angiledes went into Lolkisale camp with two more of Wendell's clients for a 2x2 7-day hunt. So, now that Paul was back in camp, I made a trip from Lobo up to Lolkisale with my client and had lunch with everyone there, so I could get to the bottom of everything. I talked with Paul first and asked him why he did not call me when the client asked to leave. Paul told me that Miller refused to talk to me and stated that he would "kick my ass" if he talked to me or saw me. I then asked if he had called Licky as it was Licky's client, and Paul again told me that Miller refused to talk with Licky and stated that he would "put Licky in the hospital and end up in jail". So, it appearred that Miller did not want to talk with anyone to solve his problem try and solve his problem right then and there. I had also heard that Miller was saying that he was called a lier by Paul. So, I asked Paul what the story was on this and simply stated that Mr. Miller had been drinking that night and started arguing and complaing about not seeing big herds of buffalo. Miller then jumped up from the dinner table and starting yelling at Paul saying "are you calling me a liar" several times. Paul stated that he never called Miller a liar at all.

I then talked to the other PH in camp who pretty much told me the same story. I then talked to the waiters in camp, and they told me the same story. I talked to the manager and he pretty much told me the same story.

I then asked the client who was in camp if wanted to mention anything, and he said that all he would say is that the "the hunter who left was not a real hunter".

I then talked with Licky about the situation and we agreed that there was certainly a personal conflict between Miller and his PH, but that we had never seen anyone leave a camp without trying to solve the problem. I would think that if someone did have a problem with their PH, that they would want to talk with the person in charge to try and fix the problem and finish hunt, instead of throwing in the towel and then talking bad about the company.

The name of this thread is called Fubar with Bundu, which is actually not correct and do not see it being appropriate at all. The problem all started when Mr. Miller booked his hunt and was told he would see big herds of buffalo and the hunt was mis-represented. Anyone who knows anything about Lolkisale area knows that there is always different movement with the buffalo there and one never knows if the herds will be in Lolkisale, or if one will have to work harder and track buffalo. There are very big herds in Lolkisale, but one can not predict when they will be there and when they will not.

Also, when a hunter is booked into these Masailand blocks they should know that they are booking these areas, because they want to hunt for BIG buffalo as these are the best blocks for big buffalo. If a hunter wants to be guaranteed to see herds of buffalo, then they should be booked into the Selous where they will see herds of buffalo. One books to hunt in Lolkisale or Lobo as they know there are big buffalo there with a great track record and success for big buffalo. Apparently, Mr. Miller was not informed or told about the different options, as he should have been booked in the Selous if he wanted to be guaranteed big herds of buffalo.

I will state, that if Mr. Miller had stayed the rest of his safari, Yes, he would have taken at least one of his buffalo without a doubt. The next two hunters who arrived after Miller left shot two buffalo within 3 days! I personally talked to both of these clients in person and they were very happy with their safari and could not say enough about the quality and service of everything. One of the clients took a nice 44†buffalo. They even finished the 7-day hunt early as they had shot everything they wanted. Now explain to me, how everyone else who hunted in Lolkisale, who by the way were all the clients we honored from past bookings, managed to take all their trophies?

Ganyana, you are such a gossip queen! I would have thought you were a little more mature than to try to mention stupid rumors. If there was such a conspiracy on Mr. Miller not being allowed to take buffalo, why has everyone else managed to take everything? Maybe, because everyone else has gotten along with their PH and stayed for their safaris?

Anyway, here are the facts to the other side of the story, so that all of you who jumped on the band wagon early have something else to contemplate, before you decide what the final chapter holds. I have not yet decided the outcome myself, and if we will agree to offer a repeat 10-day hunt for Mr. Miller or not. I would like to talk to Miller myself and will then decide at that time. So, I hope that Mr. Miller will call me and talk to me in person so that I can sort out this problem, without others who have no control and try to feed Mr. Miller different stories.

As a company policy we will not accept any bad behavior or wrong doing from any of our PH's. We are also very strict on the trophy quality that we expect our PH's to deliver, and if they do not abide our policy, they are given very harsh fines. First complaint we will evaluate and decide if the complaint holds water, and if it does, the PH will be put on probation for a year. Any additional complaint while the PH is on probabtion that holds water, the PH will then be fired. I do not know of any business or company that automatically fires any employee just because one person has a complaint about them. Everything has to be treated fairly and looked into, then decisions can be made. Of course if there is gross negligence by a PH, then possible for them to be fired right away, but that is not the case here, and is more of a he said she said type thing. Some of you like to point fingers and jump to conclusions, but I hope that most of you do understand there was no hidden agenda or conspiracy here for Miller not to get a buffalo. That is just a bunch of BS that some on here are trying to push just to make a better story. All the other clients have taken their buffalo, lions and leopards etc. which answers the question for you.

I am very much willing to talk with Mr. Miller and try and be fair and work something out, so that we can try and resolve the issue between us. I have never been given any details for Mr. Miller by his booking agent or by Licky this whole time, so would hope that Mr. Miller would be willing to talk with me instead of through others. He did not want to talk to me when he was in camp, but hope that he changes his mind. This is all about a personality conflict between Miller and his PH and has nothing to do with the quality of the areas, the company and what we produce.

I think it is poor form for two booking agents to "have it out" on a forum, which is why I didn't post my side. People e-mailed me and asked my opinion, and I gave it to them in a private e-mail or message. I didn’t post it, I didn’t ask for this …

Let's start by saying, I didn't want to do this on AR. I didn't want JJ to post anything about his hunt, I was embarrassed about the way it turned out. I take pride in the outcome of my hunts, I was not proud of this one. I would like to apologize to everyone for having to do this in public.

Adam, you have said things that are not true, you seem to want to drag me into this by trying to place blame directly on me ... so, let's go.

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
Tanzania Bundu Safaris was then bought and taken over by myself and my US partner the first of this year.

You don’t own any of this company. Your client, Dale H. bought 60% of the company and put you at the head of booking. Krystyna holds 40% of this company. You work for them.

quote:

Originally posted by safari12: I would have thought that Wendell would have informed his clients that the company had new owners and new management.

I did, he knew about it. It shouldn’t have had any effect on his hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
In the contract that we agreed to at that time was to honor all bookings for 2005 that deposits had been taken for which included a couple of clients from Wendell that he had booked with Licky. This right here is one of the first problems, as all I knew of Mr. Miller was his name on a piece of paper, so is very hard to know what people are like with out talking with them.

That “piece of paper†was a contract. With phone numbers, e-mail addresses etc. If you were so concerned, maybe you should have called him?

quote:

Originally posted by safari12: So, PH's were assigned to hunts and clients not knowing anything about them.

Not true, as much as you do not like it, Licky is still a part of this company. He and I spoke many times about ph’s for all my clients.

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
I have read all of the complaints that Mr. Miller has stated on this forum, but also find it funny, that neither he nor Wendell have talked to me about any problem at all to see what had happened or to see how we would handle the complaint.

I guess you were not concerned enough to contact either of us?

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
I have heard that Mr. Miller has been offered a return FREE 10-day buffalo hunt by Licky and Wendell, BUT neither Licky, Krystyna, nor Wendell have the authority or power to make any such decisions. The decision on any company matter lies right here with me along with my partner, and neither of us has authorized any such decision as we are still investigating the complaint.

Not true. Krystyna (who still owns 40% of the company), called me and told me to personally apologize to JJ for the outcome of his hunt. She and I talked about dates for his return. She is very much on board with making this right. I wish you were too Adam.

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
Paul informed me that his client was getting upset that he was not seeing herds of 300-400 buffalo as he was told he would see by Wendell his booking agent.

Not true. Not even close. JJ was prepared. Matter of fact, I even told him he would have to work hard for his Buffalo. I will let him address this statement.

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
Paul told me that he had gone to the few waterholes that still had water and had seen some fresh buffalo tracks, but that Mr. Miller did not want to track any buffalo as he was told he would see some big herds. Paul then told him that it would be very hard to get him 1 buffalo, let alone 2 if they did not track the buffalo.

Oh my, I will let JJ address this one …

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
I then told Paul that it was only the 3rd day and that they should continue hunting and if they had not taken a buffalo by the 5th day, that I would allow them to come down to Lobo for a buffalo … I had already shot 2 buffalo with my client a 45" and 42" and we were not looking for anymore buffalo.

Here is the main problem. This is not true. Adam prevented JJ from coming to Lobo. He told Paul on the radio, “I have only seen 3 Buffalo tracks in 20 days, do not come to Lobo.â€

More on this later as this is at the heart of the complaint.

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
I then asked if he had called Licky as it was Licky's client, and Paul again told me that Miller refused to talk with Licky and stated that he would "put Licky in the hospital and end up in jail". So, it appearred that Miller did not want to talk with anyone to solve his problem try and solve his problem right then and there.

Really? JJ’s satellite phone bill would prove otherwise. There were multiple calls between me, Licky, and JJ that night. At one point, I was talking to Licky on his landline when JJ called him on his cell phone. I was able to hear all of what Licky said to JJ. After JJ hung up, he called me very satisfied that Licky had handled the situation to his satisfaction.

Licky even offered to (at Lick’s expense) fly JJ to Kigosi to complete his hunt! JJ declined, wanting to be a gentleman about the situation and not take advantage of Licky’s generosity. He simply said he was ready to go home. He would try this again later.

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
I would think that if someone did have a problem with their PH, that they would want to talk with the person in charge to try and fix the problem and finish hunt, instead of throwing in the towel and then talking bad about the company.

He did talk to someone with authority. Licky made a very decisive moven that helped convince JJ that he was dealing with a good company. JJ has no problem with Bundu. Bundu has treated him well when things went bad.

It might interest people to know that Licky still helps out with Bundu. He and I worked together to schedule all my hunters for this year, even after the sale of Bundu.

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
The problem all started when Mr. Miller booked his hunt and was told he would see big herds of buffalo and the hunt was mis-represented.

That is a lie. The hunt was accurately represented. It was not carried out in a professional manner.

quote:

Originally posted by safari12: Also, when a hunter is booked into these Masailand blocks they should know that they are booking these areas, because they want to hunt for BIG buffalo as these are the best blocks for big buffalo. If a hunter wants to be guaranteed to see herds of buffalo, then they should be booked into the Selous where they will see herds of buffalo. One books to hunt in Lolkisale or Lobo as they know there are big buffalo there with a great track record and success for big buffalo. Apparently, Mr. Miller was not informed or told about the different options, as he should have been booked in the Selous if he wanted to be guaranteed big herds of buffalo.

You seem to think JJ wanted to shoot a herd of Buffalo. Not true at all. Paul told him when he arrived that there were “Herds of Buffaloâ€. That is fine and dandy, but JJ did not care one way or the other. What JJ did care about was when they cut a fresh track on day 5, Paul abandoned the track after 100 yards saying “It is too difficult to track in the grass. We will come back this evening and try to catch him coming out of this area.â€

Why would you do that Adam?

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
The next two hunters who arrived after Miller left shot two buffalo within 3 days! I personally talked to both of these clients in person and they were very happy with their safari and could not say enough about the quality and service of everything. One of the clients took a nice 44†buffalo. They even finished the 7-day hunt early as they had shot everything they wanted. Now explain to me, how everyone else who hunted in Lolkisale, who by the way were all the clients we honored from past bookings, managed to take all their trophies?

Ok, since you asked … The first client in Lolkisali was able to shoot his Buffalo because his ph did not listen to your orders to stay away from certain areas of Lolkisali. He called Krystyna and asked “Why is Adam telling me I can’t hunt in these areas of Lolkisali?†Luckily for that client, the ph did not listen to your orders.

Unfortunately, JJ’s ph did listen to your orders and his hunt was a disaster because of it.

The clients after JJ were able to take their Buffalo because of the “JJ incident†Angiledes is not going to steer his clients away from Buffalo and Paul had learned his lesson.

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
I have not yet decided the outcome myself, and if we will agree to offer a repeat 10-day hunt for Mr. Miller or not.

At least the owners of Bundu are willing to IMMEDIATELY make it right with JJ.

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
I have never been given any details for Mr. Miller by his booking agent or by Licky this whole time, so would hope that Mr. Miller would be willing to talk with me instead of through others.

You had the contract, with JJ’s contact info. You had my number, e-mail, fax, and address. Have you PM’d JJ? Have you called me? E-mailed me? Tried to contact me? When I called you office, Jamie answered the phone and told you I was holding, she came back and said you were on the phone to Tanzania.

It needs to be said that the owners of Bundu Safaris, Krystyna and Dale are good honest people. I have dealt with Krystyna for almost two years and, while I have never met or spoken to Dale, I understand from Licky that he is a very good man.

Adam had his turn. There are two sides to any story. here is my report as it was reported to me.

The following will detail the problems my client, JJ Miller had on a hunt he booked with me to hunt in the Lolkisali block of Tanzania’s Masailand with Tanzania Bundu Safaris. The booking was made in October of 2004 for July of 2005. The dates JJ hunted were July 17-July 26, 2005.

Bundu Safaris holds two concessions in Masailand, Lolkisali and Lobo. Lobo is an enormous concession that is known for producing excellent Buffalo throughout the season due to its permanent water source. Lolkisali is a very good concession from July 1 through about mid-August for huge Buffalo. After about the 20th of August, the water will dry up in Lolkisali and the Buffalo will move into Tarangiri Park until the “short rains†come again in October and November. Then the concession is full of big Buffalo again..

At the time of JJ’s hunt, Adam Clements was hunting with a client of his in Lobo, South of Lolkisali.

At the time of JJ’s hunt, there was plenty of water in Lolkisali.

On July 21, 2005 I received a call from JJ Miller who was calling from his satellite phone. He was on the fifth day of his hunt in Lolkisali. He had not seen a Buffalo yet. He was quite upset.

He told me that all the Buffalo were gone, and accused me of booking him into this area at a time that was bad. His ph, Paul Horsely, had told him that after the first week of July, there are usually no Buffalo here and this was a bad time to hunt this area. Which directly contradicted what Paul had told him a few days earlier, that there were herds of Buffalo here at this time.

I told JJ that this was not a problem. If he could not find Buffalo in Lolkisali, he was allowed to hunt the Lobo block as well. There are always Buffalo in the Lobo block as it has a permanent water source. There is not a time, anytime of the year, that you can not successfully hunt Buffalo in Lobo. At the peak of the dry season, there are good Buffalo to be found there.

I told him to have Paul call Adam on the radio and tell him that they were having difficulty and that they needed to come to Lobo to hunt Buffalo tomorrow.

JJ then told me, “Paul tells me that there are no Buffalo in Lobo either. He called Adam on the radio and Adam said that he had only seen three Buffalo tracks in 20 daysâ€

I confirmed with Krystyna that Adam had told Paul on the radio "Do not come into Lobo because there are no Buffalo here. I have only seen three Buffalo tracks in 20 days." This story is true. The camp staff heard the radio transmission and told Krystyna exactly what Adam had said on the radio.

Adam had two Buffalo hunters in Lobo from July 1 to July 7. One was a bow-hunter who had opportunities to shoot Buffalo, but since it is very difficult to shoot a Buffalo with a bow, he was unsuccessful. According to Mark Young, who works for Adam Clements, this client had three opportunities at 45†Buffalo. The other client during this time frame shot his Buffalo with a rifle. This was a 7-day hunt, so they only were allowed 1 Buffalo each.

The next client who came into Lobo to hunt with Adam, shot Buffalo as well.

On the morning of the fifth day of JJ’s hunt, they came across a fresh Buffalo track. Paul got out of the truck and confirmed it was an old, lone Bull. He and the tracker walked out about 50 yards and spoke briefly. He returned to the truck and they proceeded on, not following the track.

JJ asked him, “Why are we not following this track?â€

Paul’s response was that it was very difficult to track through this grass and that they should just return in the evening and see if they can catch this Bull coming back through this area.

That evening they went to a completely different area.

The ph, AJ Van Heerden, that guided the hunter who was hunting in Lolkisali from 1-14 July, immediately before JJ, was told by Adam Clements not to hunt in specific areas of the concession. These were the areas that held the majority of the Buffalo in the area. He found it difficult to believe, so he called Krystyna, one of the owners of Bundu Safaris, and asked her if this was correct. She said, "No, you will hunt the entire concession, there is no place you can not go."

Luckily, he asked the safari owner why he was not allowed to hunt these areas. Had he followed Adams orders, his hunt would have been a disaster.

The two hunters who hunted in Lolkisali immediately after JJ were my clients. They both shot good Buffalo, 42†and 44â€. They were on a 7-day hunt.

Paul, JJ’s ph, was born in this concession. Paul and his brothers are building a house in this area. It is safe to say, he knows the area quite well.

As with any investigation, there are two distinct sets of information, facts and speculation. I have presented the facts. These are confirmed by JJ Miller, Krystyna or Licky. I have been careful to not interject any speculation into the description.

The Facts:

1. Adam told AJ Van Heerden not to hunt in specific areas of Lolkisali with his client from July 1-14.
2. Paul turned down a fresh Buffalo track and promising to return in the evening, and then going elsewhere that evening.
3. Adams comment to Paul on the radio “Do not come to Lobo, there are no Buffalo here, I have only seen 3 tracks in 20 days.â€
4. Adams clients between July 1 and July 21 had plenty of opportunities at Buffalo. With the exception of the bow-hunter, all were successful in killing Buffalo.

The Speculation. This is my interpretation of what happened. This is my opinion, you can draw your own conclusion from the facts.

1. AJ Van Heerden, reporting to Krystyna that Adam had instructed him to stay away from specific areas of Lolkisali makes it very easy to believe, and likely, that he could tell another ph, not hunting with Adam’s clients, to stay away from the good Buffalo hunting areas. This is a guess, I have not confirmed with Paul that Adam instructed him to stay away from certain areas of Lolkisali.
2. Paul’s refusal to follow a fresh track because “It is difficult to track in the grass.†Leads me to believe the Buffalo was headed to the area that he was instructed not to hunt. If you can not track in the grass, where would you track Buffalo? Only on the road? Anyone who has hunted Buffalo knows this is a huge red flag!
3. Adam’s comment to Paul that “There are no Buffalo here, I have only seen 3 tracks in 20 days.†Obviously not true, since he had been successfully hunting Buffalo from July 1- 21. This statement was meant to keep JJ out of Lobo, where there are always Buffalo.

There are a few factors that lead me to believe without a shadow of a doubt that Adam Clements intentionally sabotaged this hunt.

Adam knew JJ was having a difficult time. He knew they had not seen a single Buffalo in 5 days of hunting. Paul told him they were having difficulty on the radio, he was asking for help.

This was Adam’s chance to help my client, yet he still refused to lend a helping hand, even though he knew JJ was very unhappy and was prepared to leave.

He could have allowed Paul to hunt the areas that I assume he had previously instructed him not to hunt. He could have allowed them to come into Lobo where there were plenty of Buffalo, instead, he instructed them not to come into Lobo. He did nothing to assist JJ. In fact he actively discouraged the ph from allowing JJ into areas that held Buffalo.

With the exception of the first hunter into Lobo, all the rest of the hunters booked during the "good dates" in Lolkisali were my clients. I am convinced that Adam instructed the ph to stay away from the areas that held Buffalo, I assume it was to “save†these Buffalo for his clients who were booked later in the year.

The owners and managers of Bundu Safaris deserve a mention for the way they handled the situation.

After receiving JJ’s first (of many) satellite calls, I contacted Licky who I have worked with to coordinate the bookings with Bundu Safaris. Licky got JJ on the phone and immediately offered him a free return 10-day hunt, this year or next year, his choice. JJ would only be responsible for airfare and his trophy fees. In addition to this, he offered, at his expense, to have a car pick up JJ in the morning, drive him to Arusha and catch a charter into the Kigosi reserve to finish his hunt.

Licky was so upset by the behavior of the ph and Adam that he did everything he could to make the situation right immediately. This decisive action by Licky did a great deal to sooth JJ’s nerves and convince him that he had, after all booked his hunt with a quality outfit.

The situation certainly sounds deplorable but at least all sides but one so far seem to be working for a solution.

Last year I contacted Wendell about booking into this area and had things tentatively worked out but then read Adam's posts about him being the new exclusive booking agent for this area. Wendell was gone for the week so I contacted Adam about the situation and Adam stated it was true, that no one else could book into the area. This was absolutely not true and Wendell successfully booked me for July this year, however, I had to cancel due to health reasons. I feel this could very well have been me in this situation.

Wendell,

I will say the same to you...Thanks for your detailed response. It is necessary to have both sides of the story before passing any judgement. I had falsely assumed you had said your piece, since you have been here since the issue came up. The information you have presented is materially different than what JJ Miller presented initially...not contradictory in any way, just different.

I for one am very interested in seeing how this issue is resolved and appreciate the candor from both sides.

Cheers,
Canuck

ps: and FWIW, I'd also have a personality conflict with a PH that didn't want to track buffalo too.

There are way too many direct contradictions in the facts as reported by JJ and Wendell, on the one hand, and Adam, on the other, for this to be a mere misunderstanding.

There is some serious lying going on here and right now, based on a careful reading of this thread, it sure as hell looks to me as though Adam is the one doing it. I could be wrong, and if so, I'll apologize.

In any case, we'll sure as hell find out soon enough. Because the world is way too small a place these days and, sooner or later, these kinds of lies are always exposed.

I don't know any of the parties to this dispute personally, but someone is lying through his teeth. Who has anything to gain out of this? Certainly not Mr. Reich. I strongly suspect I know who the liar is and he don't live North of Waco.

Oh Boy, I love a good bitch fight between Outfitters!
What's this, about 3 or 4 of our fine esteemed outfitters who where caught lying thru their teeth?
Makes me cautious about using one in the future. I know another old esteemed outfitter who posts here who lies on his site. Just waiting for an the proper time to bring it up.
Words mean something!

Com'on TJ don't soft soap this. Pretty broad statement.
No better time than the present!

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
Com'on TJ don't soft soap this. Pretty broad statement.
No better time than the present!

Come omn TJ you owe it to us extinguished guests, you cant cock the gun and then leave the safety catch on

quote:

I know another old esteemed outfitter who posts here who lies on his site. Just waiting for an the proper time to bring it up.
Words mean something!

____________

TJ,

What fubar hunt did you have, with who, by who and did you post it in the Hunt Reports thread, date and title? Thanks.

I know Wendell Reich. I know him to be a good and honorable man.

That pretty much covers what I think about this event!

Most of what has been said here by Wendell and Adam are he said - she said statements and that makes it difficult to interpret right or wrong. The one statement that can be verified is Adams statement that "He" is one of two owners of the safari company in question. Wendell says there are two owners and Adam isn't one of them. Can one of the true owners step forward and confirm true ownership. That will help clarify who is exagerating or lying here.

465H&H

I am very sorry to hear that JJ had such a disastrous experience, and that Kudude found conditions less than optimal. Personally I would not mind bucket baths, no tents or cots, and macaroni & cheese every day if the safari were represented as 'roughing it' at the outset. But if the safari is represented as a luxury affair, then bucket baths and menu problems would be a bit bothersome. Concerning what happened to JJ, I hope that the owners of BUNDU will make it right.

But at least one good thing has come of all this. The Van Heerden name has suffered from unflattering criticism in the past, so it is good to hear that clients are pleased with the work A.J. does for them, and are eager to hunt with him again.

I second Rusty's last post!

Trash talking about someone is not a real mans way of handling problems, and will not roll my pants up and get into the gutter with Wendell. This is poor taste, and only shows signs of defense when one gets cornered. I never attacked anyone and only stated what I had been told when looking into the problem

From my post and the beginning of what I posted, I simply mentioned that I had investigated the complaints of JJ with the people at the Lolkisale camp who were there during this whole ting. I stated that I was going to list the other side of the story and what I was told from the other people. What I posted is what I was told and never said anything about who was right and who was wrong.

This whole thing has been hearsay from day one, and JJ listed his side of the story on this public forum, and it is only right that the other side of the story from the people over there be posted as well.

Now, as far as this conspiracy theory that I have been accused of is abosolutley rubbish and Wendell should be ashamed of himself. I never told any PH in Lolkisale not to hunt the entire area at all, and actually quite the opposite. I told every PH to make sure they went out of their way to get big buffalo, as this is what we specialize in. I never once EVER told AJ at anytime he could not hunt in any part of the area! I do not know where this came from and again total rubbish. The oly thing I told AJ was that I might go to the waterhole at Oldonyo Sambo one day with my bow hunter to see what was coming in there. I never once told AJ he could not hunt in any part of the area. The only time they ever saw me in Lolkisale was when I made the trip there to have lunch. So, again fiction stories coming from hearsay.

I do know though what I said when I was there, and no one can make up any stories about what I personally said. First of all, I have been accussed of telling Paul on the radio that there were no buffalo in Lobo and not to go down there and all the staff heard me on the radio? Well that is not true, becuase #1 I did not have a radio in the Lobo camp at the time and talked to Paul via satellite phone, and would be impossible for anyone else to hear what I said. I never told Paul any such story, and did tell Paul that I had buffalo in Lobo and if they had not taken a buffalo in the next day, to call me again, and they could go down to Lobo. Funny how someone else can tell me what I said, and change what I said, when I know exactly what I said. How it got turned around is only proof that I was the scapegoat in all of this. But I guess that is what happens when you are too much competition for someone else, and they will go out of their way to make you look bad.

I have been around in this business a lot longer than Wendell and know more about Tanzania and doing business there than Wendell could even dream of knowing. Tanzania is my home and backyard, and I do know first hand how to operate there and do know the areas. Wendell is booking his clients to areas he has never been to and then tries to make himself look like a hero when somethig goes wrong. There are some things I could say to retaliate and embarrass Wendell with those of you who are loyal to him, and think he is this hero who saves the day, but will not go that far as it is not my style.

As far as the "facts" that Wendell posted that he thinks he knows so much about, just shows that he has lowered himself and will say anything to pass everything off on me. If he is a real man though, he will post again and correct his facts if he is an honest person and once he learns the facts himself.

Most of you have posted are all loyal to Wendell and I appreciate the fact that you are. But I can assure you that my only concern when running a business is that every single client gets the best safari that is possible. It does not matter to me who they were booked by, as they are hunting with Tanzania Bundu Safaris which I am responsible for. Their success is our success and that is all that I care about. We do run a first class operation and can provide other clients who will tell a totally different side to us than what has been posted here. So, for anyone to think for one second that I intentially made sure a client did not get a buffalo or had a bad safari is the furthest thing from the truth.

Why is it that I work with other booking agents for Tanzania Bundu Safaris and work with their clients and have no problems? I think that someone is mad that they lost their big money making deal with the old Bundu and now is trying to smear my name with all kinds of false accusations and conspiracy theory's.

For those of you who believe in this conspiracy theory and believe it then just keep on booking with Wendell. Its funny though how he promotes Masailand with other outfitters, but uses pictures from our areas.

With all due respect, I think that the three of you should take this off line and see if you can come to some sort of agreement/reconciliation. This should have been done first thing before posting here.

If then, after all avenues have been exhaused, there are still issues, it's time to have a 'hunt report' and rebuttal.

To start a public urination distance and accuracy contest without trying to resolve it privatly first is unseemly.

I'll now step off my "Holier Than Thou Brand" soap box.

-Steve

Steve, I agree. I have sent JJ an e-mail and await to hear back from him and will handle the matter directly with him. This he said she said stuff should have never started here in the first place.

.....and as to the question of "ownership"?? That seems to have been left out of your latest reply?

quote:

Originally posted by Steve:
With all due respect, I think that the three of you should take this off line and see if you can come to some sort of agreement/reconciliation. This should have been done first thing before posting here.
-Steve

My original post:

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:
I think it is poor form for two booking agents to "have it out" on a forum, which is why I didn't post my side. People e-mailed me and asked my opinion, and I gave it to them in a private e-mail or message. I didn’t post it, I didn’t ask for this …

Let's start by saying, I didn't want to do this on AR. I didn't want JJ to post anything about his hunt, I was embarrassed about the way it turned out. I take pride in the outcome of my hunts, I was not proud of this one. I would like to apologize to everyone for having to do this in public.

I didn't want to do this from the start, and I still do not want to do this. But I will not tolerate you publicly blaming me for this problem, which is what prompted my rebuttal toward you.

If you really wanted to settle this, you should have called, taken my call when I called you, or at least called me back. You should have made the effort in a week’s time to contact me or JJ by e-mail, phone, fax, PM … whatever. You avoided and ignored us, and you chose to take it to the mat.

It was never my intent to “smear†your name, but when I am forced to tell my side, the details will come out. If you step up and accuse me of being the bad man, you should expect that I am going to reply. Don’t expect me to pull any punches either. There were many ways to solve this. You chose AR. What was I supposed to do?

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
Trash talking about someone is not a real mans way of handling problems, and will not roll my pants up and get into the gutter with Wendell. This is poor taste, and only shows signs of defense when one gets cornered.

That is at the beginning of a post that was littered with totally unrelated accusation toward me. I will not list them.

Keep in mind, I only spoke of issues directly relating to the situation with JJ. Never anything that was outside of this specific incident.

JJ has not read this, JJ can defend himself when he comes home, he is out of town right now. I posted nothing about the things you said about him. That is up to him.

Bob, That is a very easy question which I have already stated above. As of right now the US owners are Dale (who would rather not have his name mentioned). and myself. Krystna as of today still holds the minority, but as I speak that is changing as we are in the process of taking over the entire 100%.

Hope that will answer your question, and shows how the facts stated above by Wendell are not correct.

By the way to answer the next question. When I stated above that Krystyna had no control even though the paper showed her with still a minority, that is because when we signed the cotract with her, it was agreed on and signed on that he minority would be silent and would not have any say or control over the areas or company. Hope this clarifies that.

Adam and Wendell,

Thank you both for trying to provide us with well thought out facts and timelines. I appreciate reading a dispute without the usual crying and whining. Both of you are clear in your posts with the same basic goal. I believe you both want to make it right with the client. That's important. I would book with either of you.

Bad things can happen to good people. The hunter will be taken care of and life will go on.

I'm off to make another batch of popcorn before round 3!


Ski+3

quote:

quote:
I know another old esteemed outfitter who posts here who lies on his site. Just waiting for an the proper time to bring it up.
Words mean something!

____________

TJ,

What fubar hunt did you have, with who, by who and did you post it in the Hunt Reports thread, date and title? Thanks.

_________________

How about it, TJ? You said "words mean something !".

Give me a break Wendell with you always trying to act the hero and expert. This topic was taken to the mat well before I returned from Tanzania and your conspiracy theory already estableshed and spread long ago. I simply replied to what was already out of control.

I have already e-mailed JJ myself and will handle everything with him myself. I do not need to contact you, as you can not solve any of the problem especially with your false facts and accussations.

I think you have already talked with your source again, and would like to see you step up to the plate and admit you were wrong on your facts and theories. You are quick to accuse, so lets see how quick you are to admit you were wrong.

Anyway, I am done with this topic and you can say what you want, but will handle the situation with JJ as soon as he gets back, just him and me. This time I want to talk to him in person and no third party.

All the best to all of you, and hope you enjoyed the show. If you have any further questions, feel free to e-mail me direct.

Adam
If Dale owns 60% and Krystna owns 40 %,
What percentage of the company do you own?

quote:

Originally posted by safari12:
I think you have already talked with your source again, and would like to see you step up to the plate and admit you were wrong on your facts and theories. You are quick to accuse, so lets see how quick you are to admit you were wrong.

I was wrong. I did just call Licky. He told me that he was just informed that Dale gave you a share in the company.

It was a secret to everyone, even Licky and Krystyna did not know this before today.

Now we all know.

To be fair, Adam has said all along that he was a part owner of the company. He said he was part of the ownership of Bundu well before the season started. I guess the only people (on this forum anyway) that didn't know that are the one's that didn't believe him.

FWIW, and I only say this as an "unbiased observer" (in other words, I will not take sides), I don't think it is really public business to know what Adam's exact business arrangement with the other owners is. Bundu is not a publicly traded company, is it?

I will also second Ski+3's comment. I appreciate that since this can of worms was opened here, that you guys have done what you can to explain your sides of the issue. As a generic "customer", the issue has raised some concerns (as I am sure it has for a lot of others here) and I will use it as a learning experience (things to watch out for, etc).

Thanks,
Canuck

OK, I hate to jump into something as messy as this but there are a lot of people taking sides here and espousing anecdotal evidence of their dealing with the 2 people in question as if this will somehow shed light on this specific incident. If that is true let me put my 2 cents in and tell the group that I have booked my last 2 hunts with Adam and I intend to continue to do so. I have found Adam honorable and well intentioned with an organization focused on attention to his clients. I have no reason whatsoever to question his credibility.

Mike

I disagree with the comments to take this all off-line.

A client posted the thread as a Hunt Report of an unsatisfactory safari. That is what they exist for. To work out who, which outfitter, agent, PHs etc are worth spending hard earned dollars with and who not too.

We have had at least two outfitters / agents come and go on AR because of negative hunt reports. Hunt reports provide a valuable information source. People can work out for themselves the pros and cons of the arguments here.

Even more importantly and easiest to judge is what remedial action or not is being proposed ie who is fixing the problem from the client's point of view.

I agree with Nitro on this issue. I read hunting reports for this very reason, so see if a client had a wonderful time on a safari or if the safari was not upto the standard that was advertised or expected from a certain outfitter.

Just like any other business, Safari operators get thousands of dollars worth of exposure on this site with 15,000 members. A small post card advertising your services mailed to 15,000 potential hunters will cost you thousands of dollars. When hunters say good things about a certain outfit it helps that outfit generate future business and a chance to have lifetime clients. It is only fair that a negative report be published and potential future customers get to know the dark side of the business too. I would want to know good and bad things about an outfitter before I drop thousands of dollars on a dream hunt and I am sure other would too.

All I want to see on this specific thread is how JJ's complaint will be taken care of. Who owns the company and who misrepresented the hunt is merely blame game which can go on for ages, but the bottom line is that a hunter came back home after a bad experience when he could have hunted the way he wanted and might have taken the trophy buffalo that I am sure he dreamed about for months before the trip.

Sometimes you have to let things go that should never have gotten into the feeding frenzy of a "potential" bad hunting report. As many of you have said the details of this incident should be handled by the parties that were involved. I have had dealings with Adam where he has gone beyond the call to help another booking agents client to be successful. He understands the customer/client relationship and the importance of pleasing customers. I have a hard time believing (my opinion) that Adam would be vindictive and handicap a hunter in the fashion he has been portrayed in some of the commentary.
We need to give the process that Adam has initiated with the hunter some time to work versus becoming judge and jury. I also think Wendell was right initially that his client should not have used this forum for working out his issues unless he had first gotten to Adam.
Some of us have the need for a Hunting Soap Opera to focus our hunting juices into. We could probably use these refined energies in a more productive manner. Too many people have been dragged into this investigation before the parties that really should be handling this worked on the actual FACTS which as Adam said are still being gathered. Wendell in the first update did say that "weather, animals, and human nature" all influence the success of any humt. I think we should let the feeding frenzy stop and let the professionals work this out. The African hunting industry is too small and quick to look for conspiracy theories for REAL issues to be swept under the carpet.
Sometimes all of our expectations cannot be met/ that is unfortunately one of the byproducts of hunting.
Good Hunting and may the Hunting gods give you more successes than misses.
Robert

I agree that this discussion should be taken off line. I have never used a booking agent, and don't really see the need to, in that I have developed a relationship what the PH's personally. However, Don Causey referred me to Wendell when I was having some problems with a hunt in Zim, and that Wendell knew that he would not make one dime from helping me out, he was more than willing to go the extra mile to help, I will be forever grateful. He is truely a man of honor, and after meeting him personally at DSC, I am only more aware of that fact. Just my humble opinion.

As stated previously, I love a good bitch fight!
Unless I'm badly mistaken, I remember more than one of the outfitters/agents who shill their hunts here, who have been "Busted", for different false advertisement claims. Is this incorrect?
I could do a search, but I won't.
My position is, if an Agent/outfitter advertises a hunt on this site or anywhere else, he should make SURE the info on the hunt is correct.
If the info he has on his site or anything he post here is incorrect, he is engaging in false advertising. Period.
I've only hunted in Africa once, I did not use an Agent/Outfitter. I dealt directly with the PH.
Africa, Alaska or Montana, it makes no different, if you advertise a hunt, the information on the advertisement better be true!

TJ,

I'm sure most all would agree with what you've said here regarding Agents/Outfitters. As Nitrox well stated, some have fubar'd things, lied, were called on it and have moved on. Call it part of the purpose of this and the Hunt Reports Forum.

Your earlier post stated someone - here - was stretching things on their website, dishonest, misleading. That indicates you had a bad experience or a fubar hunt/trip. If so, who, where and when were you fubar'd and did you put it on the Hunts Report Thread (possibly before the AR forum format was changed over this year)?

beetle:
As I stated above, I've only been to Africa once. Namibia and RSA. I hunted with three different Companies. I did post a report here. I'm not sure its still there. The hunts were not with the Outfitter in question. If the hunt had been with them, I would mention names.
I can prove the info on the site in question is incorrect. Its not a big deal to me. I just put them in my category of "people NOT to book/hunt with".

TJ,

If you won't tell us what and who you are refering to, how about addressing the questions directly to the offender and getting them to clean up their act?

Les

TJ

If you are not going to follow through than why did you shoot your mouth off in the first place and throw a handful of mud at the booking agents that post here?

This thread should have been (could have been) titled "How Not to Handle A Problem On Safari"
I have witnessed my first "lynching" and, I'll admit, it was ugly. A version of this thread was shown on HBO's "Deadwood" in its first season. A white man rides into town claiming Indians had slaughtered a family of Swedes on the road out of town. The next thing you know, there's a bounty on Indian heads and people start claiming the bounty. Turns out, the white man was one of the perpetrators. I'm not saying JJ is at fault. I don't know what happened out there. I wasn't there and neither was anyone else on AR. JJ is the only one here who really knows what happened. I don't know him from Adam, but even if my own child came to me with that story, I'd try to find out the other side before coming to a conclusion. Apparently, many of you more interested in collecting the bounty than in finding out the truth ("we want names" [kill the dirty redskins]) . I'm glad to have learned that about so many of you ahead of time. I do know this entire situation was handled poorly, at best. I also know that the rock that started the avalanche was JJ going public with his complaint without the situation being fully investigated and before any attempt at resolution could be made. I also know that the organizational goings-on of Bundu are none of my business - who owns how much, etc. In a former life I dealt with the public as a retail manager in many different business for over 12 years and admit my sympathy leans towards the operator. However, this situation never should have come to public light until it had been fully investigated and resolved, or had reached an impasse.
disappointed,
Dave

TV programmes are fiction.