Hunt: Bongo hunt with MBAM and KIM Safaris, in Cameroon. This hunt is not for the faint of heart. Be prepared for exertion.

Arrival: lost 2-3 days due to absence of luggage due to an Air France mistake. Had to wait in the capital city in a hotel until the bags arrived. Air France assured me that they would take care to locate the luggage and get it to me and make up for the inconvenience, so long as I could prove that I am a citizen of Cameroon. I couldn't prove that. I was out of luck. Air France would do nothing to help. I waited in my hotel, stopped in my tracks until the problem resolved itself and I went to the airport to retrieve the missing bags.

The capital city is Yaounde. There they speak French. Luckily I was able to make myself understood fairly well in French. It is hot and humid. You will have a phone in your hotel room, but I was told by the hotel that I could not make outside calls. Actually I don't think they were correct. In spite of that I did use the cell phone of an associate there. I found that cell phone calls allow you to speak for about 45 seconds before you are bumped off and have to call your number back. I tried to get information to my insurance company (Sportsman's) but I just wound up talking to agent after agent for 45 seconds each, with no one able to address the issue. I found that the insurance company has no concept of what it is like in a foreign country which can't even allow effective communications.

The drive to camp was approximately 12 hours long. For a couple of hours we were on pavement, then we bounced our way along the pitted dirt back-roads for the next several hours. Monster double-trailer logging trucks and motorcycles and animals and people flew by in the dust. My kidneys and spine got a work out. One unfortunate accident happened while I was in camp. The camp truck was in an accident. It and its occupants rolled over several times before the truck came to rest. The truck was largely demolished, but the people survived with few injuries.

The camp was composed of open-air mud brick huts with whitewashed interior and dome tent on the floor (for insect control at night). The camp is not in the forest. The forest requires quite a bit of exertion just to get to. It is some hours hike from camp.

Once in the forested areas you must trudge up and down hills and through tall, dense riverine marsh grass. There are swamps and insects to contend with. Footing is slippery and hazardous, requiring strength and good boots. I was on the trail for anywhere from 8-12 hours per day. It is exhausting. Every step of the way you must focus your attention on where you are putting every footstep. You must be alert to avoid rocks, tree roots, stumps, spear-like sapling spikes caused by machete cuts. All these obsturctions will conspire to deviate your foot placement and cause you to fall. One day I stepped on a thorn. The 4 inch spike went straight through my boot and into my foot. I'm still on antibiotics for that. I carried a staff cut from a tree to support me while on the trail and to help me avoid a turned ankle or a fall.

Conditions are hot and humid, even though your are at 3100 feet above sea level. Plan to perspire until you are soaking wet all day long. My thoughts recalled the experience of the Brittish troops in "Bridge on the River Quai." The porters bring along a chair and plenty of water to allow you to sit and recover for a few minutes when you tire out on the trail.

Animals seen: a duiker and a bush buck.
Animals not seen: bongo, giant hog, red hog, buffalo, sitatunga.
Animals shot: none.
Bongo are truely the jewel of the rain forest. Those lucky enough to find one will have a magnificent trophy.

Damn... so do you recommend the outfitter or not? At this point I think if bongo were my primary quarry I might mark these guys off my list! Thanks for the report and sorry the trip and hunt were so difficult.

Damn brother, that sounds perfectly awful.

Welcome home and better luck next time.

quote:

The camp is not in the forest. The forest requires quite a bit of exertion just to get to. It is some hours hike from camp.

Yep, I'd cross that outfit off my list. At least you made it back in one piece. Thanks for the report.

Wow, tough way to hunt for sure.

I am grateful for the inquiries. It is flattering to see that people pay attention to these posts. Actually, it is just because there is so little written about this country that I wanted to write down a few thouthts for those who have not been there. Now that you have asked me to comment further, let me say two things.

First, this experience is what some Australians might call a taste of the "back of beyond." In other words, this is quite remote. This is the real Africa, the Africa of the explorers, unvarnished, raw, not taylored for western hunters. On those rare nights when there was no thunderstorm I could look up at the sky with binoculars and see incredible constellations which would be impossible for us to see in the U.S. For example, right above us was Omega Centauri, a globular cluster of 1.5 million stars hovering above the Milky Way, a glowing mini-galaxy, clearly visible, a true wonder of the world. This safari took place May 13-31, 2011. I could have been lucky, but I was not.

But there is another point of view. Looking at this from a practical point of view, it is easy to see that we all have choices. I need to tell you the truth about Cameroon in order to let you be the judge. For instance, the price of a bongo hunt is easily the same price (or more) as compared to the value of a new pick-up truck. You have to ask yourself which you might want more, which would be more useful to you. I must say that the new pick-up sure looks good to me now that I think about it.

quote:

This is the real Africa, the Africa of the explorers, unvarnished, raw, not taylored for western hunters.

An offensive statement, particularly from someone who's only two post that I have read suggest that he may be a little soft. Please forgive me if I am mistaken.

quote:

Originally posted by 505 gibbs:

An offensive statement, particularly from someone who's only two post that I have read suggest that he may be a little soft. Please forgive me if I am mistaken.

An offensive statement ..

I liked your opening so much I thought I should repeat it about yours.

Bill,

Bravo for stepping off the beaten path. Extraordinary effort, so sorry your jewel eluded you.

Brad, the only reason to be offended is if you too are in with the cupcake crowd - fat wallet, fatter belly, and looking like you rolled right out of African Hunt Co. advertisement. Say it ain't so.

quote:

Brad, the only reason to be offended is if you too are in with the cupcake crowd - fat wallet (definetely not), fatter belly (more than I like), and looking like you rolled right out of African Hunt Co. advertisement (you obviously have not seen what I wear when hunting). Say it ain't so.

And all of this coming from the guy that stares down his nose at others who are so lowly to still participate in deer camp with the unwashed masses. Don't be an ass.

quote:

Originally posted by 505 gibbs:

quote:

This is the real Africa, the Africa of the explorers, unvarnished, raw, not taylored for western hunters.

An offensive statement, particularly from someone who's only two post that I have read suggest that he may be a little soft. Please forgive me if I am mistaken.

Hey 505
For the life of me I can't see how that would have offended you....

You are a real hunter and you have done a bunch of real hunts(as shown by your hunt reports). I just can't understand why you would not understand what the original poster meant by, "not taylored for western hunters".

There are a whole bunch of "Western hunters" who would not be interested in hunting Africa is there weren't outfits that catered to their "needs": easy hunting, soft beds, good food and free flowing drink.

I hope you don't take this post the wrong way, you would always be welcomed in my camp as I know what kind of hunter you are. I'm guessing others have not read many of your posts. I was surprised to see them take personal shots at you.

As much as I can't understand why you were offended by the "Western hunter" statement, I really can't see why others thought it was OK to take personal shots at you...

quote:

Hey 505
For the life of me I can't see how that would have offended you....

You are a real hunter and you have done a bunch of real hunts(as shown by your hunt reports). I just can't understand why you would not understand what the original poster meant by, "not taylored for western hunters".

There are a whole bunch of "Western hunters" who would not be interested in hunting Africa is there weren't outfits that catered to their "needs": easy hunting, soft beds, good food and free flowing drink.

I hope you don't take this post the wrong way, you would always be welcomed in my camp as I know what kind of hunter you are. I'm guessing others have not read many of your posts. I was surprised to see them take personal shots at you.

As much as I can't understand why you were offended by the "Western hunter" statement, I really can't see why others thought it was OK to take personal shots at you...

Jason

Jason,
No offense taken, and I hope that Bill5248 did not take offense. It would appear (I may be mistaken) that he was less than satisfied with his experience, yet he managed to keep his comments to the point and factual, except for one. That was the comment on "Western hunters". In my experience, there is a misconception pushed by many in the hunting industry (both outfitters and clients), that "Western hunters" are fat, lazy and interested in nothing that requires blood, sweat and tears. I feel that one comment from Bill fed that misconception, and I took offense to it. I voiced that offense as carefully as I knew how, but there are those here who look for an opportunity to dogpile. I am not saying that there is not a percentage of "Western Hunters" that are exactly as Bill describes, I am saying that there are a lot of us that would slog through the nastiest of nasty just so we could sleep under a tree root so we could get up the next morning and crap in a hole we dug before we went and did what we love most, HUNT!

Interesting thread. Thank you for posting.

I think a lot depends on what you were lead to expect on the front end. If what you got was what you were told to expect, no probelem, no matter how distasteful the experience. If on the other hand you were lead to expect something else...

Put it this way. I would not pay anything for the experience that you described. I can see constellations quite well from some awfully nice places.

Other will see this differently. At 62, if I have not already proven everything that I have to prove, I'm too late to the party.

Good hunting.

Wonder if all the jewels have not been plundered?

Do your homework and I nearly warranty you will get your bongo. Try nsok safaris. They aré great and have great success rates. Hunt hard in a prime área

Bill, would you go back?

Will you asked if I would go back. Like Mauser 93, I am 62 yrs. old. This bongo hunt took me to that part of the world that bongo inhabit. Now I can definitely say that I've been there, done that. The prize eluded me, and I think I'll just accept that and leave it there. Now that I have had the experience I feel no need to return. My hope is that others who follow in my footsteps will be more prepared for the experience than I was. I suspect they will probably be luckier too. Thanks.

Bill, although your report was on the compact side, it did a lot of good. Learning is a lifelong experience for most of us and anytime someone posts the bad or rough side of things, I think we gather much more intell than a "look, I shot a big buck" scenario. I love reading about successful hunts, but I learn more from reports such as yours. Sorry to hear it was a wash, but thank you for telling us. Many times a hunter returns home and sulks without so much as a word. We learn nothing from that. Good hunting to you, I hope your next trip is the best ever.
Regards,
David

quote:

Originally posted by Bill 5248:
This is the real Africa, the Africa of the explorers, unvarnished, raw, not taylored for western hunters.

I really like your attitude......................but.........that Africa you describe above would have offered you the jewel you sought!