First off, my sincerest thanks and apologies to Dogcat. Thanks to Dogcat for his valuable insights in helping me book this hunt. Also, I must apologise to him for copying his style of Hunt Report. Sorry Dogcat! In my defense, his format is the best!

Dates – January 15th – January 25th

Hunting Concession - 6 days Ngaserai and 4 days Lake Natron

Safari Operator – Kilombero North Safaris

PH – Quintin Whitehead & Zidane Janbeck

Travel Agent – Ethiopian Airlines – JHB to Kili via Addis

Weapon & Gear- Dakota 76 .375 H&H shooting 270gr Barnes TSX topped with a Swarovski Z5i 2.5-12x50BT. Binoculars – Leica Geovid 10x42. Shooting sticks – Viper Flex. The shooting sticks were the most important part of my gear. I have come to realise there is no better sticks out there than these. I never missed a single shot thanks to them. My Dakota with the Barnes TSX proved deadly as usual.

Animals Sought – Lesser Kudu , Gerenuk , Fringe Eared Oryx, Grant’s Gazelle , Thomson’s Gazelle, Kirks Dik Dik, Chandlers Mountain Reedbuck, Masai Bushbuck, Buffalo

Animals Taken - Patterson’s Eland, Lesser Kudu, White-bearded Wildebeest, Kirks’ Dik Dik, Grant’s Gazelle, Thompson’s Gazelle x2, Gerenuk,


Executive Summary

This hunt was booked as a last minute special with KN Safaris. They offered a deeply discounted hunt for any of the major masailand species ( Lesser Kudu, Oryx, Gerenuk). I booked this hunt directly through the marketing team and they were kind enough to offer me the gerenuk.
Quintin Whitehead along with Zidane Janbeck were the local PHs. I had an absolute blast with them. Great guys to hunt with and lots of fun to be around them. I don’t think I ever laughed so much on a safari!
Accomodations were excellent. Ngaserai had a traditional East African Style tented camp which was clean and comfortable. Lake Natron was much more luxurious.
Meals were very good. Amongst the better I have had on safari. In fact the chef was demoted on our first night in Ngaserai as he had failed to make a decent bread! A new chef was brought in and all was well thereafter! (Bear in mind, this hunt was a deeply discounted hunt, the guys at KNS really make you feel at home whether you are a major client or just someone who picked up a discount safari)
Game numbers were plentiful. It feels like a zoo at sometimes as you are just surrounded by animals. Hunting starts as soon as you leave camp. Within 200m from camp we must have seen about 30 lesser kudu. This concession has seriously high numbers!
I wont do a day by day report rather just the animals I had taken.

Gerenuk

The Gerenuk we pursued at the end of our trip when we moved to Lake Natron. I did not expect to see this many gerenuk. In total we must have seen about 200 gerenuk including many big rams. I held out till the last day and managed to get a lovely old ram that scored quite high.
This is definitely the place to hunt a big Gerenuk.
We spotted our ram late in the afternoon browsing away with some females and a few other rams, I quick stalk to within 120m and a single shot. He ran about 40m before collapsing. They are extremely beautiful and weird at the same time.

Kirk’s Dik Dik

The Kirk’s Dik Dik were plentiful in Ngaserai. On our first day, we had seen about 25 pairs. We ended up taking a really old heavy ram at last light. I was very surprised as the Dik Dik were not skittish at all and often gave us a few minutes to judge quality.
In the picture of the Dik Dik, we managed to get Mt Meru in the background

Thompson’s Gazelle
These are beautiful little critters. Smaller than a springbok but with lovely colours. We had seen 1000’s of them scattered on the plains. On the first day we took a nice old heavy ram that stood at around 120m.
Whilst driving around on the 4th day, we stopped to look at a group of Grant’s Gazelles and in the group was a brute of a Tommy! We quickly got out and managed to get a shot at him at around 150m. this was the furthest of all the shots.
There was no ground shrinkage on this one!

Grant’s Gazelle

Like the Thomson’s Gazelle, we saw thousands upon thousands of Grants. We were highly selective and passed on many. On the 6th day, whilst driving out to the airstrip to check a group of buffalo, we spotted a really good one. We had to play a bit of cat and mouse with him and his females but eventually got a shot. He was truly spectactular. He was heavy,wide and had great length.

White Bearded Wildebeest

I was not particularly interested in one of these. However, the owner of KNS was in camp with us and asked us to please shoot him one so that he may donate the meat to the locals. The wildebeest would come off my license and he would pay for it. That was extremely generous of him and I thanked him as much as I could. We left camp and immediately shot a nice heavy bull.

Fringe-eared Oryx, Reedbuck, Bushbuck and Buffalo

These were the animals that I had not taken for various reasons:
Buffalo – I was in pursuit of something in the 45”+ category. I have taken many buff and now am rather selective. The PHs indicated that during these months the buff come into the concession but it will be difficult to juggle all the species and just take it as it comes. We did see many buff with a few in the 42” range but I passed. We also saw the mountain buff up on Kitumbeine Mountain but nothing special.
Reedbuck was difficult due to the rains. The grass was long. We only spotted a few females and immature rams
Bushbuck – we only had 1 day on Kitumbeine Mountain and unfortunately did not see any shooter males. If you spend 2 days you should get one easily!
Oryx- I was offered an oryx on the last day, we saw a few oryx but nothing we could get into range. They are quite clever and I wish I could have pursued them. My main goal was a lesser kudu and I used 6 days hunting them so in the end it was my fault.

Lesser Kudu

This was my main goal. It has been a dream of mine for over 20 years to take a really special bull on foot in Masailand. I could’ve only hunted lesser kudu and called the hunt successful.
It was everything it lived up to be. Outsmarting a big bull is no easy task. This was the only species I set a minimum size as I did not want the hunt to be over in a short space of time!
We saw numerous bulls and cows. It took us 6 days hunting before we got a really special bull. He had everything I imagined.
We hunted kudu by setting up on rocky outcrops at dawn and dusk and glassing till we spotted a suitable bull. Once spotted we would head down and try to make a stalk. We got blown several times.
All in all, it was a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed this type of hunting.

Patterson’s Eland
Whilst driving down a road one morning, we came across an eland bull standing just off the road. However, when he trotted off, he was dragging both back legs. We could see he was hurting bad and the scout encouraged us to put him down. We quickly sped off to the scouts camp to pick up a few scouts and we went back. We made some videos and took a few pictures before a headshot put him down.
Turned out his tendons were hacked! I’m glad we managed to find him and ease him of his suffering.
Observations

1. Travel was easy but time consuming. SAPS at JHB airport were their usual efficient selves. Normally I hear a lot of complaints but flying out atleast twice a year with firearms I think max that I have spent is maybe 15mins with them. I guess being a local helps!
Ethiopian airlines was decent, all we had to do was show negative covid tests prior to boarding and all was well. We were never forced to wear masks or social distance etc. Police in Addis were friendly and helpful. The airline staff were clued up on how to deal with a firearm and all in all it was pleasant and not time consuming at all/

2. Hunting is not always open in January in TZ. This month had its pros and cons. We were lucky that due to early rains, it really concentrated the Masai people and we did not see much livestock around. However, game was not too bothered by them and we saw most animals including lesser kudu amongst the Masai.

3. Kitumbeine Mountain is quite high, I come from the coast so I really battled. This was a major reason I was not successful on Bushbuck.

4. The camp staff were outstanding. They catered to every need and want. They operated like ghosts, pop in your tent and pop out, a staff member would quietly go behind you to clean up!

5. KNS was a very good company to deal with, they run a tight ship. They have been plagued in the past with bad managers. In fact, I received a quote from the ex manager that was significantly higher than what I paid for the exact safari! I am glad he is gone!

If anyone could help post photos, please send me a pm and I will mail them to you.
Thank you for your time and if Masailand is in your cards, I will gladly pass on the contact details of the correct people to deal with.

Not quite a dogcat post. Where's the bird list?

quote:

Originally posted by R. Gunn:
Not quite a dogcat post. Where's the bird list?

Was not meant to be a dogcat post, no one can come close to one of his excellent posts. Just tried to copy some of the format he uses!

Not much of a birder, saw many interesting birds.

Wonderful post.

If there are photos, I do not see them.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
Wonderful post.

If there are photos, I do not see them.

Thank you Sir!

I am struggling with photos, I’ll gladly email them to someone to post?

Great report. Looking forward to pics when you get some help with them. Sounds like a great hunt. Congrats on a great hunt.
Bruce

I sent you a PM about the photos.

Well done and thanks for the report. Masailand is an incredible destination with some unique plains game species. Also it is beautiful and classic safari country! Glad you found the success you sought.

First Thomson's Gazelle along with my 375





Dik Dik with Mt Meru



White Bearded Wildebeest with my two PHs



2nd Thomson's



Grant's Gazelle





Lesser Kudu





Gerenuk



Kitumbeine Mountain







Kilimanjaro





Camp











Random Pics

Thanks to everyone for the kind words.

I did win with the pictures!

Hope you all enjoy!

Excellent! Thanks for posting the photos.

That's a great report and the photos are wonderful as well. It looks as if there is a good amount of snow on Kili- also nice to see.

Please tell me which of the viper sticks did you use? I noticed several different types on their website.

Thanks again for the report and congrats on all your trophies!

Fantastic, boy those Tommies are outstanding, beautiful pictures and great report!

I really enjoyed your post. Norther Masailand is my favorite area to hunt in Tanzania. The scenery alone is worth the price of admission.

Thank you for sharing.

The story is yours and a good one at that. Whether you used someone style or not it is still your safari and story. Trying to find a good book on birds, so that you are able to put names to match with the birds that you were able to take in is difficult at best.

The pictures backup your story and those are some fine trophy's.

quote:

Originally posted by Dahav:
That's a great report and the photos are wonderful as well. It looks as if there is a good amount of snow on Kili- also nice to see.

Please tell me which of the viper sticks did you use? I noticed several different types on their website.

Thanks again for the report and congrats on all your trophies!

Thank you!

I use the journey model with the 3rd leg attachment.

Since Kili was always covered by clouds, it was always a treat to catch glimpses of the peak every now and then.

I live at almost 6000 feet and 9000 feet is tough on me.

If I lived on the bloody coast it would be a train wreck.

Nice photos, thank you for sharing that.

Very nice!

Some really nice animals there. Congrats on a hunt when most were unable to go!

Looks like you did well!

Thanks for the nice report and congratulations on an excellent hunt. I was particularly glad to read about these areas as I’m in planning stages to hunt Masailand in the next couple years.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
I live at almost 6000 feet and 9000 feet is tough on me.

If I lived on the bloody coast it would be a train wreck.

Nice photos, thank you for sharing that.

I definitely did not manage and on top of that with the COVID restrictions at home, getting into proper shape was almost impossible.

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
Thanks for the nice report and congratulations on an excellent hunt. I was particularly glad to read about these areas as I’m in planning stages to hunt Masailand in the next couple years.

Consider January if it is still open, the game numbers were ridiculous! More than a South African game farm!

quote:

Originally posted by MD375:

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
Thanks for the nice report and congratulations on an excellent hunt. I was particularly glad to read about these areas as I’m in planning stages to hunt Masailand in the next couple years.

Consider January if it is still open, the game numbers were ridiculous! More than a South African game farm!

How difficult was getting around? Was it very muddy? We hunted Maswa North on December 1-10 in 2019 and the entire area was one big mud hole. Got stuck more than 100 times. Not doing that again.

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:

quote:

Originally posted by MD375:

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
Thanks for the nice report and congratulations on an excellent hunt. I was particularly glad to read about these areas as I’m in planning stages to hunt Masailand in the next couple years.

Consider January if it is still open, the game numbers were ridiculous! More than a South African game farm!

How difficult was getting around? Was it very muddy? We hunted Maswa North on December 1-10 in 2019 and the entire area was one big mud hole. Got stuck more than 100 times. Not doing that again.

We did not get stuck at any point except for a puncture.

Roads and terrain was pretty dry. Natron was green but also roads were dry.

Congratulations. Nice trophies. Enjoyed the report.
Brought back fond memories as I hunted Ngaserai with Mike Angelides / Danny McCallum Safaris.

Love the east African plains game...especially the lesser kudu and gerenuk! Well done!!!

I enjoyed reading your hunt report.Congratulations on a fine hunt.

Well done! Great trophies all around & you were really fortunate to be able

to go at all in this time of Covid.

Once again, congrats & great report/photos!

Thank you for the report & photos, some fantastic animals there, with a few of my favorites, the Lesser Kudu being one of them, would have been great to see a pic of a Fringe Ear !

Did you see any huge Impala, I love those East African monsters I saw in Kenya & from the Mirolight over the Serengeti ?

quote:

Originally posted by Sarg:
Thank you for the report & photos, some fantastic animals there, with a few of my favorites, the Lesser Kudu being one of them, would have been great to see a pic of a Fringe Ear !

Did you see any huge Impala, I love those East African monsters I saw in Kenya & from the Mirolight over the Serengeti ?

Thank you for taking the time to read it. I appreciate it very much!

Also would have loved to get an oryx, we saw two. Beautiful creatures!

They had spotted a really big impala before I got there but unfortunately we could not find him, though impala were plentiful, nothing we saw was really worth shooting.

If I had to do this hunt again, I would try and spend 14 days. I used up too much time to pursue lesser kudu.

quote:

Oryx- I was offered an oryx on the last day, we saw a few oryx but nothing we could get into range.

MD375:

If you get a second opportunity to hunt these wily antelope and if your PH doesn't come up with the idea first, ask him to borrow and dress up with some Masai garb/shawls then walk straight towards them.

It works wonders.

Fantastic trophies and photos.

Fulvio,

I've used that technique on the open plains with Robert's, but never thought of it for Oryx. But it should work just as good with some cover, maybe better. Thanks for the tip. Next time.

Wow! What a great safari. Beautiful photos of some really amazing trophies.

Very nice trophies but those Tommie's are insane! Thanks for adding the pics and details of your hunt, well done!

Don't know how I missed this report before, but just read it today.

What a great trip, excellent report. Those all look like really excellent trophies. A Grant's is near the top of my desired PG list.

But those Thompson's look absolutely gigantic!

Great writeup and what a wonderful safari. Congrats

Thank you all kindly for the comments.

I was very lucky to hunt a great area with some great PHs who went out of their way to show me as much of the concessions as possible as well as select some great record book trophies!

Outstanding! not sure how I missed this earlier.

I just got back from doing this hunt as a result of this report. Had a wonderful time and took some super trophies! KNS is a great outfit. Very enjoyable hunt.
Bruce

Just the last update on this topic for those interested, my trophies are ready to be shipped out of Tanz.

The total cost right to my taxidermists door ended up around 1400$.