Hi everyone, safely returned from a 21 day safari in Kilwa Block Tanzania with Federico Gellini Safaris.
This was a 50th Birthday present from my wife (advice: go early & go often!)
It was my 6th African Safari, & like every other safari I've been on, it was awesome!

Dates: Sept 22 - Oct 12, 2010

Outfitter: Federico Gellini Safaris

PH: Patrick Mnahela ( a real gentleman & very experienced hunter!)

Arsenal: Dakota 375H&H Traveler, Schmidt&Bender 1.5-6x Illum. Reticle 42mm Scope.
Holland&Holland Royal 500/465 NE Double Rifle

Trophy Game Taken: elephant, leopard, eland & zebra

My focus was elephant & leopard. I had a full 21 day license which allows elephant,
leopard, lion, 3 buff & all the plains game. We baited lion for about 7 days & had 4 or more
lionesses & 1 small male eating, but never had a legal/6 yr old male hit the baits.
I took a very nice, large East African Eland early in the hunt which fed the lions, us & the camp
staff nicely for many days.


I used the 375 H&H with Barnes TSX bullets & they performed quite well. It's
truly amazing how large a big eland is. They are much bigger than a cape buffalo
(and a lot harder to load into the Land Cruiser!)

I had been on 3 previous safaris (probably 20+ days in a blind) after leopard so was
really hoping to get a nice cat. You can only shoot during daylight hours in Tanzania so
that added a little more difficulty. The Kilwa area is loaded with leopards & luckily our
first 4 baits all got hit by nice males! Patrick, my PH, really studied the tracks & baits before
deciding which one to sit. We built a blind & I shot him around 6:20 pm with about
15 minutes of shooting light left. He was a very nice mature tom leopard with a big head & chest.
He bottomed the scale in the skinning shed which only went to 110# (50 kg), but we estimated him to
be around 130#.
IMG]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/rolling-f-ranch/DSC00131.jpg[/IMG]

I will mention that my Schmidt & Bender scope made it look like the middle of the day
when it was really twilight. I believe good quality optics are mandatory when going after leopards.

We did chase Buffalo on a few occasions. We got really close a few times, but unfortunately
all the bulls we saw were soft bossed, one was about 42" wide & will be a keeper in 3-4 yrs!
I had shot 3 buff previously so didn't put alot of effort or time in really hunting them.

We quit baiting lions & concentrated on elephant for the last 10-11 days of the safari. It was
very hot (90's F) & very dry in Oct. There were only a handful of areas for elephant to
drink, so we checked them twice a day for tracks/activity. Took some great long treks following
herds, but it seemed everytime they were all cows/calves or small (non-legal) bulls. We got chased
a few times by cows when the wind changed on us or we got too close, pretty exciting hunting!

I had shot an elephant in 2006 in Zim with a Charles Lancaster 450/400 NE Double.
However, after reading too many discussions on AR, I decided to go up in power &
picked up a nice 1908 Holland&Holland Royal 500/465 NE Double from Champlin's. I
shot it over the summer developing a good load & got it regulated nicely. On day 20
I finally got a chance to put it to use. We spotted my bull with 3-4 cows shading
themselves under a tree. We worked the wind & got in to around 60 yards. They moved
a couple of times to other shade & we just dogged them. Finally I was able to take a shot
around 50 yards. He spun to take off & my second shot broke his hip. Two more to
the chest & he dropped. The cows came thundering back & chased us off for 20 minutes
before departing. He was a nice bull, just under 50# with nice long matching ivory.



Overall it was a great safari, luckily I was able to take some nice trophies but had to hunt
pretty hard. We left camp before light & got back after dark.
One other great memory will
be the Kaboobi (celebration) they have for you when you kill a leopard, lion or elephant. The
entire camp goes crazy with dancing/drumming/singing, they carry you around in a chair.
I was fortunate enough to experienced two of these.

Already dreaming about my next safari!

P.S. It's been a great October, about a week after getting home I shot a 200 class Mule Deer
in Montana
http://forums.accuratereloadin...3411043/m/8371072341

Congratulations!!! That eland is unbelievable! Let's see a picture of that Holland!

Brett

I agree with Barringer, that Eland is a great old blue bull! Where's the leopard picture? Thanks for posting.

Thanks for sharing your story and pictures.

I, too, love the old eland.

Congratulations and great report. I took the liberty of fixing the immage code for the link to your leopard photo below. Nice cat.

quote:

Congrats on an excellent safari!

quote:

Originally posted by Brett Adam Barringer:
Congratulations!!! That eland is unbelievable! Let's see a picture of that Holland!

Brett

yes, I am with Brett. Let's see a picture of the Holland.

Tom

Well done!! Congratulations on finally getting your leopard! Your ele was your surprise birthday gift. And, your eland is huge.

Best regards, D. Nelson (I'm headed to Montana after mule deer in 3 days, hope I get one as good as yours)

Great Report and hunt!--Congrats on some true trophies!!

That Eland is my favorite of the photos. What a great animal.

Thanks for the nice comments everyone. Jorge thanks so much for retrieving the photo of my
cat. I will post a photo (I hope!, Jorge get ready) of the Holland below. It was made in 1908, is
in perfect condition & shoots quite well. It was really a treat to take an elephant with it.
I'll put another pic of my leopard as well ( with my good friend Albert). I love hunting in Africa!

Very nice cat, superb eland and a great elephant.


Kaboobe Kabooke.....KABOOBIE

Mike

I still smile remembering those parties. From one Wyoming boy to another, outstanding.

Nice ele. Sounds like you had a great time

Beautiful Animals!!! I touched a couple up.

That eland is fantastic. Thanks for sharing.

Wow, what a month you've had! A very successful African Safari and a monster mulie to boot!

Congratulations on one hell of a birthday celebration! Excellent animals, especially that eland.

Where are pictures of that muley?

Well Done! Great animals and effort in the hunt. I have already promised myself an elephamt hunt for my 50th! BTW, happy Birthday to you sir!

Thanks again for all the great comments.

Slider, Thanks so much for cleaning up my photos, they look much more presentable now.
I've replaced the originals with these on my iPhoto page. I am embarrassed by my poor
photo skills, but do try hard to clean up the blood & represent the animals in a respectful
manner. If any of you haven't looked at the post by A.Dahlgren, then you should,
what stunning African photography. I will try to post the link below:

http://forums.accuratereloadin...361023341#4361023341

Eventhough the Eland was an unexpected trophy, I agree it is probably the most impressive.

DLS, I put the link to my Mulie at the end of my original post or you can look it up
on AR under "American Big Game Hunting"

UEG, Yes, I can only hope Nov/Dec are as productive!

Thanks again everyone

JungleBoy,

You're welcome. I also wanted to see the cat. I too am particularly impressed with the eland and am somewhat envious. Contratuations again.

George

Congrads on a great safari! Nice to see a report come out of Tanzania.

Congratulations on a great adventure. That Eland is a brute, well done.

quote:

Originally posted by Jungleboy:
Eventhough the Eland was an unexpected trophy, I agree it is probably the most impressive.

I just had to say it again.......that Eland is unbelievable!!! No offense to any of your other trophies as they are all wonderful, but that eland......my God!!! Extraordinary!!! I really believe they are the finest plains game animal there is! I can't imagine a more regal animal!

Brett

PS. Your Holland is beautiful!!!

beautiful animals...congrats!

Congrats on the beautiful trophies.

I cannot wait for my chance to take a huge eland such as yours.

quote:

Originally posted by Jungleboy:
Thanks again for all the great comments.

Slider, Thanks so much for cleaning up my photos, they look much more presentable now.
I've replaced the originals with these on my iPhoto page. I am embarrassed by my poor
photo skills, but do try hard to clean up the blood & represent the animals in a respectful
manner. If any of you haven't looked at the post by A.Dahlgren, then you should,
what stunning African photography. I will try to post the link below:

http://forums.accuratereloadin...361023341#4361023341

Eventhough the Eland was an unexpected trophy, I agree it is probably the most impressive.


Thanks again everyone

Thank you and a big congrats on your successful safari, I have searched on 3 trips for a eland with a face like that, no luck yet.

I can only hope to do a trip like that on my 50th birthday !

AD

Congrats! Nice trophies!
Is this Kilwa block former JML's safaris block?

Thanks again everyone for the positive comments. This is my first hunt report & really it is
kinda strange to open yourself up like this on a public forum. However, I have been reading
everyone else's exploits & hunt reports over the last 5 years so thought I could could at least
contribute a little.

GDF, Not sure if this was JML's area or not, I believe there are a few Kilwa area & was told
that Federico Gellini has had this block for some time?

AD, Once again, thanks for your thread with the stunning African photos. You've given
me the incentive to upgrade my camera gear & I am currently looking at some SLR Digital
cameras. Feel free to PM with any suggestions or tips.

Speaking of photos, my hunting buddy sent me a nice photo he took of me & my elephant
that I will share. Thanks again everyone & good hunting!

Great report and trophies. Thank you for sharing them with us.

quote:

GDF, Not sure if this was JML's area or not, I believe there are a few Kilwa area & was told
that Federico Gellini has had this block for some time?

I successfully hunted Kilwa Open area(notice hunting permit) twice several yars ago with JML.
It was big block,4 camps, but nowdays I thinck it shared bitween several operators.