22 September 2011, 11:37
Aaron NeilsonZimbabwe 2011 Hunt Report - PART II: Malapati and the Big Tusker
Outfitter: SSG SafarisPH: Nixon Dzingai
Area: Malapati Safari Area - Zimbabwe
Dates: TOO SHORT! Sept. 16 - 21, 2011
Weapons: All of em! I've never borrowed so many guns on a hunting trip in my life.
Species: Elephant/Buffalo/Bushbuck (Limpopo)
As a continuation to my Zim hunt report, below is a re-cap of the 2nd half. Right now I am at Sally Brown's (SOAZ) SUNBIRD GUEST HOUSE in Harare. Guys, stay here if you can. Very, very nice, good staff and half the price of anywhere else. Its about $75.00 per night!
First let me say, I can't say enough good things about my first week in Zim with Phillip Smythe - Ivory Trail Safaris, and our hunt in Charisa. I stand corrected on the description of the buffalo charge, as Phillip did in deed shoot 3 times, hitting the bull first in the center of the chest, then in the right leg and thirdly I am not sure where. I did not mean it to sound as though Phillip was not handling the situation well, he was, but it all happened so fast that was memory was a bit off. Anyway, on to the 2nd half.
On the 16th of September, Simon Dzingai, Nixon's oldest son met Phil and I in Harare and drove us all the way to Malapati (8 hrs). Trust me, fly if you can, its a long drive. Besides, the air-strip is literally a 10 minute drive from SSG's main camp, what a pleasure. We actually met Nixon at his home in Cheredzi (spelling), he and I drove together the last 2.5 hrs into camp. I just can't say enough good things about Mr. Nixon Dzingai, and his staff at SSG Safaris. What a pleasure to hunt with, and frankly, a very experienced/knowledgable guy, and so are his trackers! Once we were on the game, Nixon was accommodating in letting me be right in front with just Peter & Samuel, his trackers, but ever watchful as to ensure we didn't get ourselves into trouble. Phil was along as my cameraman, as he's actually a very accomplished videographer/photographer and no BS, he's a world-class wildlife artist!
Camp is accommodating, the scenery is great, and the area is loaded with game. I saw plenty of buffalo, lots of Impala, Kudu, he's got some AWESOME waterbuck, and most interesting to me were the wild Nyala! Nixon gets 5-6 bulls per year on quota, and I saw at least 6-8 good Nyala bulls in only a few days. It really is a game rich environment.
Day 1-2: We started out looking for a good ole Dagga Boy, and Nixon and his guys were keen to show me the area was littered with buffalo. SSG Safaris has the Malapati Safari Area, Malapati Community area and Sengwe 2, all combined his area is massive in size. We began the hunt in Malapati Safari area, and the search for a good buffalo bull. Day 1 had us on some good bulls, but no shots fired. Day 2, was a different story. With my .375 RUM out of commission, and my .577 double expertise at a minimum, I decided I should use a scoped rifle for the next buffalo. Luckily Nixon had a wonderful Remington Model 700 in .375 H&H, topped with a Leupold 3x9, so I was right at home with this one.
By 10am on day two we had been on the tracks of a lone Dagga Boy for about 2 hrs. Late September in the Lowveld, and by mid-morning its getting HOT, so we were starting to debate what to do. Nixon decided we should carry on, and we did so for another hour. At 11am straight up, we jumped the ole boy from his slumber, but unfortunately got only a fleeting look and he was gone. Nixon wisely decided we should leave him alone and return late in the evening to continue the chase. So, around 5pm, with only and hour of light left, we were back on his track. By 5:45 it was getting late, and time was running out. When instantly, he exploded from the bush in front of us, no doubt every bit as startled by us, as we were by him. We were all spread out a bit, as the tracks had began to wander in different directions, and the guys were trying to sort it out. The big bull jumped out right in front of Samuel, Peter and Phil, but I was about 15 yards to their right, so I couldn't immediately see him, although I could obviously hear him. By the time he was in an opening that I could see him clearly, he had already turned tail and was getting out of dodge. I had a 30 yard, hard quartering away shot on a running buffalo, but now with a scoped rifle I felt confident in the shot, and took it. He of course continued on, crashing through the bush, but stopped briefly on a small ridge about 125 yards away, and I managed to quickly get another one into him. With darkness quickly approaching, we were running after him with Samuel, Peter and I running ahead to keep an eye on him, and Phil right behind us with the camera. We caught him just before he was headed into some really thick stuff, gave him a couple finishing shots, and a beautiful 39", old, Malapati dagga boy was on the ground.
We returned the next morning for photos. A huge bodied old bull, sporting 39" horns!
Day 3: Early on the 3rd morning we returned to the buffalo we had shot late on the evening of day 2. Took pictures, filmed a bit, and took care of the buffalo. By this time it was mid-morning so we returned to camp for lunch and a much needed nap. Only a couple of miles from camp we can along a beautiful Limpopo Bushbuck resting in the shade, trying to get out of the mid-day heat. Having never taken a Limpopo Bushbuck I was keen to get him when Nixon told me, I should try for him. Quickly Peter and I scrambled out of the vehicle, but not wanting to waste the few .375 H&H bullets we had left, I was now using Phillip's .416 Rem (PH gun) with open sights. Hardly a great Bushbuck weapon, but all I had none-the-less. So Peter and I made a quick stalk to get a clear shot, and after a couple of shots with .416 solids, I had another great Malapati trophy.
Limpopo Bushbuck
That afternoon Nixon wanted to show me more of the area, so we headed to the eastern boundary of Sengwe 2 and a tour of the area that was much appreciated. He explained how this part of Sengwe 2 was great for elephant early in the year, and that the western part of the area, along the Limpopo river was good at the current time. So the plan was to head to Sengwe 2 in the morning, and have a look around for buff/ele. Just as it was getting dark, and we were within a few miles of camp, man did we see a beautiful elephant. Easily 60lbs per side, but it was getting so dark that doing anything with him at that late in the day, simply was not an option. But man, what an awesome looking bull.
Day 4: Sometimes I truly believe things are just meant to happen. Our day started as planned, leaving camp early in the morning as the drive to the western part of Sengwe 2 and the Limpopo river is about 70 kilometers. (Nixon is currently building a new Sengwe 2 camp which will be operational by 2012. We saw the camp, its coming along and in a nice location) After visiting the new camp location, we were headed into the heart of the hunting area when bam, we get a flat tire. Ok nothing new, it happens. So the guys changed the flat and we were on our way. We hadn't gone 15 minutes when bam, another flat! Holy cow, what's going on here? We only had 1 spare tire so now we were really out of commission. Sameul, Peter and Gift (Nixon's 3rd son), began the long walk back to the village for a tire pump. Thankfully it was the one day when the weather was very unusual for this time of year. Cloudy all day, with a very pleasant temperature, so hanging out on the side of the road for 3 hrs was not a problem. Sometimes you gotta remember, S**t Happens, so just role with the punches. By 11am we were back on the road, but without a good spare Nixon thought we should return to camp for some more rubber, I agreed! For now, the Sengwe 2 hunt would have to wait for tomorrow.
We decided to leave camp around 4pm and just take a leisurely drive along the river, SSG Safaris had recently taken a 58" Kudu and I told Nixon I would happily take a big one, if we got the chance. So, thinking we were just out for an evening drive looking for plains game, I left the .577 double in camp (HUGE MISTAKE). After only 10 minutes of driving we camp across a very good Kudu bull. Peter, Phil and I took off after him, but he was on to us, and got out of there without us firing a shot, thank the lord!
Another 10 minutes down the road and Peter tapped on the roof, telling Nixon he had just seen an elephant. Ok great, another elephant in the (Place of Elephants), no surprise there. I could tell Peter's voice was excited, but I didn't think much of it until I got out of the truck and Phillip was having a heart attack over the size of the bull's ivory. He said "man, that thing's got some long ivory"! So of course, Nixon and I were now getting pretty excited too. The bull had moved off, so all of us hurried after him so Nixon and I could have a look too. I did grab the .375 H&H just out of habit, but it had only 2 solids so I wasn't really planning on doing much with it. After only a few minutes we found the bull moving slowly toward the river, and the area boundary!!! Let me tell you right now, I'm no elephant expert, but it didn't take a genius to see this bull was something special. Instantly I thought he was 70lbs, Nixon said he's at least 70lbs. "Aaron, is you're trigger finger itching?" "Yes sir Nixon, it is", was my response.
Instantly Peter, Samuel, Phil and I were running back to the truck to gather more guns. I knew I needed to get Phil's .416 Remington as he had plenty of ammo for it, rather than using the .375 with only 2 solids. Man, the whole reason I had brought the .577 double, and it's sitting in camp, crap! Phil grabbed me all of the solids he had for the .416, a total of 9, and we were off. As we had over an hour of daylight left, that wasn't really the issue, but the big bull knew we were there and the park boundary was not far (1 kilometer), and he was moving in that direction for water, plus to get away from us. Peter set the pace, with Samuel right behind him, then me, then Phil with the video camera, and Nixon and the scouts right behind us. I was half walking, half running to keep up with Peter, and the anxiety was over-whelming as I was really afraid he was gonna get to the river (boundary) before we could catch him. The area was actually quite open, so I knew we would likely not get really close without him knowing we were there, plus with the way he was moving, none of it looked good for a really close shot. Because of that, I had already told myself that it was going to be a heart/lung shot if we caught him, I wasn't taking any chances with this guy.
The bull had actually gone a considerable distance, when Samuel's excited pointing showed me exactly what he could see. There he was, just standing there, almost as if he was checking his back trail to see if we were still coming. He was about 100 yards away, but luckily he was partly behind a big thorn bush, giving us the additional cover we needed to quickly close the distance. Just as we got to within 40 yards, he knew we were there. He turned broadside, came out from behind the bush, and started to move in the direction of the river. Peter already had the sticks up, I confirmed with Phil that he was filming, and the shooting began. The 1st shot was heart/lung, the bull instantly flipped around 180 degrees, I hit him heart/lung again from the opposite side, and then he turned directly away and was off like a shot. I had two more rounds in the gun, and I focused solely on the spine, but just didn't hit it. He ran about 100 yards, and stopped, with us quickly running after him, while I was busy reloading. Of course, you like to have confidence in your shooting, but with an animal the size of an elephant, one's never totally sure. Just as we got to about 35 yards, he again started to head for the river. I continued flanking him as I couldn't get a clear shot through the trees. At 40 yards he again came into the open, running at a very, very slight quartering angle away from me, so I decided it was time to shoot for the brain. Putting the little red bead just barely in front of the ear hole and swinging with his stride, I touched it off. His momentum instantly sent his crashing face first, and directly onto his tusks. Holy cow, all I could see were those beautiful tusks splintering! Thankfully that didn't happen, and as he layed on his left side, I put one more right between the legs into the heart/lung area, and quickly ran around behind him and put one right between the ears.
5pm, on the 4th day, and my dream elephant bull was laying at my feet. Instantly the singing started, and Samuel was telling me he's over 80, he's over 80! I didn't know for sure, and frankly at that moment, I didn't really care. I simply knew we had taken a great trophy, and Diana had shined upon us this beautiful afternoon. Had any of the events that led to us being there at that moment, not have happened, likely we would have never seen this bull. I've never been more thankful for 2 flat tires in one day, in my life. For certain, had that not happened, we would have spent all day in Sengwe 2, never knowing all the while this big boy was only a mile from camp.
I went to SSG Safaris on a recommendation from my friend and fellow AR member, Jack Syssoyev. He had hunted with Nixon before, and encouraged me to give SSG a try, and form a business relationship with Nixon Dzingai. As is my general practice, before getting too involved with any outfitter, I like to hunt/experience it for myself. That way I can give first-hand, on the ground experience, to any inquiring hunter. Folks, let me just tell you this. I've hunted all across Africa, with many different outfitters/PH's. Nixon Dzingai and SSG Safaris are the real deal! His areas are plentiful with game (I've never seen a place with so many Dagga Boys, and Grysbok, I saw 50 of em), his staff is professional, his trophy quality is exceptional, and Nixon himself is the most accommodating/caring and friendly PH I have ever been with. His sole purpose is to provide his client with a great hunt and a wonderful experience. Obviously we were lucky to get such a magnificent elephant, but regardless of our luck. An area must have trophies like that in the first place, if one is to ever be so lucky. Fact is, the very next morning, as we drove back to the elephant for more pictures, we came across another big/very old bull track, with deep cracks, and a worn down back pad. The dung was right in the road, it was big, and it was STILL warm!! Peter wanted us to follow him immediately, but my check book said, "no can do!"
I will upload more pics soon!
If you are interested in a hunt with SSG Safaris, see the SSG Safaris website or contact me at globalhunts@aol.com I will be returning for another big tusker, do you care to join me??
Aaron, you dirty dog 
Good luck in Ohio.