Have any of you here hunted/fished out of Carel Maartens Chawalo Safaris Camp recently?

I stayed there in 2005 while filming for Buzz Charlton and i belive that the camp has had a mojor upgrade since then.

Me and a friend of mine are hoping to do a Hippo/Croc hunt there in 2012. We would of liked to have gone next year but money is a bit tight at the moment so 2012 it is.

Any information would be great.
Thanks
Mike

I hunted with Carel in 2007 for hippo and croc (took 2) and also took a fantastic Bushbuck. Carel's camp is nice, permanant concrete fares with thached roof and shower and toilet in each unit. He caters to lots of fly fisherman and they tend to be quite a bit more fussy than hunters! The food is great and his wife was also there to manage the camp. That said, they have just had a new baby in Nov/Dec so I don't know if she will be in there this season??
I met two fellows beofre I left, one that has hunted for many years with Carel, and the other now has hunted also 08 and 09...taken the Big 4 and then Carel arranged the Rhino in SA for him. I can give you his contact info if you PM me.
I would go back with him to accompany other hunters for hippo and croc, or if he develops his upper camp for Roan. Very good hunter and very personable!!
Be ware, however, getting trophies out of there is a VERY expensive proposition. See my post to another party concerning Trophies our of Mozi!!
Cheers!

Mike, I have hunted there too. Let me mention some negatives so that you will be able to weigh the advantages and disadvantages. First of all you will be located close to a population center (Zumbo Village and across the Luangua in Zambia). Because of that we found very few plainsgame like kudu. I did get a bushbuck and duiker, but both deteriorated as they sat for over a year in a warehouse in Mozambique. Finally when they were shipped the tanning house in the U.S. rejected the hides due to fur slipping. I did get a croc and 3 hippo. I got the croc hide and no hippo hide and and 2 sets of hippo teeth. I paid for the third set, but Carel felt I had not paid enough, so he kept the third. I'm sure you are aware that the temperatures can be stiffling and the tse-tses are merciless. Mozzies too are menacing.

I wrote a book with a chapter on Carel's camp. If you would like a copyof the book "Through the Hunter's Prism," it is a 240 page book with color photos about hunting around the world in 14 chapters, one and a half pounds, hard back, dust cover, 6"X9". If interested, please make out a check for $20.00 to "Mena Hospital Foundation" and be sure to give me your mailing address. Shipping to the lower 48 states is complimentary. Yours, Bill Meaney, P.O. Box 45, Mena, AR 71953.

Bill;
I didn't have any probelms with Teetsee or Mozzis, hunted in Sept.He really had problems with trophy shipments earlier, now better but HELL for expensive!!
Where did you have your book published?? I have a friend here in Seattle area with his personal chronicals finished (flying, hunting, fishing and womanizing) and can't seem to find a decent and reasonable publisher for a personal book...this will be a barnburner when it hits the streets...but not the type a circulating publisher would pick up...
Thanks

Hi Bill

Thank you for the information. When i was there in 2005 there was not much plainsgame which Carel mentioned to us when we arrived. When we were not hunting for Croc and Hippo we were having to go quite far inland to find any plainsgame.

I must say though the Hippo and croc hunting is second to none. The populations of both are high.

470EDDY thank you for the information on the camp.

Mike