quote:

Originally posted by Charlie64:
.

Guys and Gals (Darin!), Thank you all for the feedback and comments. It was indeed a lifetime adventure that had it all! Be hard to top this one I think.

Working on sorting out the trophies now, which will cost a few extra Dollars than we had planned, but hopefully we will get them this year and have them hanging on the wall soon enough!

Time now to start thinking about another adventure .....

.

Charlie,

DHL should be fine..

New adventures ... Marco Polo ???


Morten

.

Morton hi.

Thinking Aserbaijan and SI NZ as the next destinations .....

A ways from booking yet. Thought stage


.

quote:

Originally posted by Charlie64:
.

Morton hi.

Thinking Aserbaijan and SI NZ as the next destinations .....

A ways from booking yet. Thought stage


.

Azerbajan for Tur ... though hunts that too.. but beeing in the mountains always a joy..

Marco Polo harder in a different way due to the wind, cold and altitude..

Morten

Nice report. Problem with a majority of the pics not showing up, but maybe there's a limit!

An awesome epic adventure,well written too.

.

A sad end to the trip - trophies have been destroyed!

.


We hunted late last year in the Tian Shan for ibex, booked through WTO and AMO. Due to various admin and miscommunication issues we could not take the skulls / horns with us at the end of the hunt as planned and agreed, as the PH / outfitter could not get the paperwork sorted. At additional expense to us (shared by AMO at USD 500/- each) Ruslan, the outfitter, sent the trophies 6 weeks later, to us in Duesseldorf using Turkish Airlines. Seemed pricy at USD 1.000/- for a 20 kg shipment but there we go.

We lost a 4 week battle with the German State Vets Office to have the trophies cleared in Duesseldorf and in the end the office inspected the trophies and declared them unfit for importation and 'to be destroyed' (at a cost to us of EUR 875,-). They stated in their report that the trophies were not properly packed, were fly and maggot infested and damp / wet.

WTO and AMO cited that they were booking agents, have contracts and waivers and are not responsible. Fair enough. The PH, Ruslan, is reported to have said that he can replace the trophies. He's gone very quiet about the whole thing. We don't want someone else's horns on our wall, you will understand that. It would be a total waste of time, energy and cost to challenge the German State Vet's office and the trophies and crate have been incinerated in the meantime.

We will frame a couple of the better trophy photographs that we took and hang them on the wall.

Great shame, as it was an amazing adventure despite the admin and trophy screw ups.

You live and learn.



.

Charlie
So sorry this was the final outcome after you guys weathered so much hassle to enjoy your hunt.
Sadly in just such scenarios you find out who is willing to put their hand up and take some responsibility, and frequently that's nobody.
I've been through a sort of similar situation with non delivery of a trophy. I got involved and managed to track it down to a particular point but needed a couple of companies to complete the process, which never happened, simply because nobody cared, even though I had already paid for everything. It sure left a bitter taste.
Again, very sorry for you.

I am gutted for you. A mate of mine just brought a group back from Kyrgistan. They all live in Australia.

They got lucky going through customs and the customs agents shit themselves over the re-import of rifles, and totally forgot all about the ibex in their duffel bags.

Very sorry to hear about this. I had a strange situation happen in Namibia in 2005 where I lost the entire package of trophies. I lived in Spain at the time, and for some reason they sent them to Germany. Cost me another $2800 to never see them again. Trail went cold and that was the end of it.

Sometimes it happens, I am afraid.

Absolute shit situation. My take is that (for what its worth) if you are in the business of being a outfitter/guide then its you that must take all steps to make sure trophies get back to your client. That's your job. Pretty shit effort I think.

Great report Charlie. No one can take away your memories.

.

Andrew, Very true! Thanks.

Cheers and here's wishing you a great 2020 season!

.

I really enjoyed the report. What an adventure! It was really well written, too. I hate that your trophies were lost.

Your report ranks at the top shelf of all reports Charlie. Outstanding in all levels. What a great pair of Ibex to boot! Well done!

Thank you so much for a magnificent report on your great hunt, really appreciate the efforts !

I'm also incredibly sorry to hear of your trophies being lost, my condolences to you both, on the bright side you save on Taxidermy maybe ?

Thank you again .