Ladies and Gentlemen,

DATE: June 10-19, 2003.

LOCATION: Zimbabwe. Binga Communal Lands in the Zambezi Valley (just east of Chete Safari Area). Sengwa Camp (on the shores of Lake Kariba). Broom has 3 camps in the Binga hunting area. They are in the process of upgrading all three camps (new sleeping accomodations in the other two camps, new furniture in all three camps, new swimming pool and covered outdoor bar in the Sengwa camp).

The hunting area has the feel of old Africa. Rocky hills, thick jesse (in places) and mopane woodlands. This area is primarily for dangerous game and you won't see much plains game. The local Tonga people are a poor and ancient tribe who have a well deserved reputation for enjoying their mbanje (marijuana). You will see several villages in the hunting area, but you won't see any people while hunting. This concession is huge and thinly populated.



OUTFITTER: Russ Broom Safaris.
This is a first class operation. The staff is well trained. The food is excellent. We had two cooks, two waiters and a full compliment of camp staff. No detail was overlooked and any small problem was immediately corrected. [I can think of only one problem (if you even want to call it that) - the tank to the toilet was filling very slowly. I mentioned this to the PH one morning and when we returned that evening the problem had been fixed]. The camp was clean and the laundry was done perfectly.

The food deserves a special mention. Neither Carol nor I eat breakfast, so we had hot tea delivered to our cabin. We usually stopped aroung 9:00 or 10:00 AM for peanut butter and jelly sanwiches. Lunch was sandwiches and fruit (and twice during our hunt we had "bush pies" - a baked pastry with a meat and vegetable filling - outstanding) . Our evening meal started with sundowners and snacks (the sweet corn or potato fritters with a spicey dipping sauce were excellent). Other snacks included cheese and crackers and popcorn. Dinner started with an appetizer (bacon, mushroom crepes were outstanding) followed by a meat course, potatoes or rice, two vegetables and dessert. All the food was some of the best we have had on safari (no small feat given the current state of affairs in ZIM).

This was our best safari experience to date.

PH: Rory Muil
Rory Muil (pronounced "mule". It's Scottish, if he were an Afrikaner it would be pronounced "male".) Rory is a 43 year old PH, third generation Zimbabwean and veteran of 2 years of combat in the Rhodesian bush war. Rory is an intelligent and well read person which lead to much stimulating conversation at the dinner table. Rory is an excellent shot, host and judge of game. Rory reminds one of the "old school" PH's we have all read about in our African hunting books.

WEATHER: The night time was 70 degrees (the lake moderates the temperature so it is pretty constant). We had a nice breeze off the lake, but on several nights we had winds of 20-30 mph blowing in from Zambia. I understand it is fairly common for this to occur (I don't know what causes this, but it doesn't start until well after midnight). Day time temps in the high 70's to mid 80's. Low humidity, cool breeze and varying from clear, to partly cloudy to overcast. A few miles inland, morning temps got as low as the high 50's (jacket needed for first two hours in the morning). At the other two Broom camps, I understand that the night and morning temperatures are generally colder (40's-50's) than at the camp next to the lake.

BOOKING AGENT: Keith Atcheson

A special thanks to Keith for all his help and the great information provided.

TRAVEL AGENT: Linda Carroll at Falcon Travel. lacarroll@earthlink.net 210-479-9895 An enjoyable and fun person to work with.

AIRLINE: South African Air. No problems with lost baggage. Food - well it's airline food. We had a bit of an adventure with the flight from Atlanta to Jo'burg. About 10 minutes after take off, we lost one of the engines of the 747. We returned to Atlanta and stayed on the plane for 1.5 hours and they served us dinner. After dinner they announced that the engine could not be repaired and that 80 passengers would be selected at random and flown to New York to catch SAA's evening flight to Jo'burg. Our name was the second one they called. We flew to New York and on to Jo'burg (arriving only 4 hours after our scheduled arrival from Atlanta. The New York flight is nonstop, while our Atlanta flight had two stops). I called the travel agent from the airport in Atlanta and she contacted Afton House in Jo'burg and they were there to meet us on arrival. Our baggage arrived with us (I met another guy who was on our flight in Atlanta who also got on the New York flight and his bags did not arrive. Fortunately, Louie at Afton House is a former SAA employee and we learned Louie was able to retrieve the bags the next day and forward them to the guy in camp in Zimbabwe).

We had bought 3 seats together in coach class in the upper deck. On our flight from New York we ended up with 3 seats downstairs in the rear of the plane. Upper deck is the only way to go. There is slightly more room between the seats in the upper deck, it isn't crowded, you get your food faster, no wait for the bathroom and it's much quieter. The only disadvantage in the upper deck is the limited size of the overhead storage, so your carry-on luggage is limited.

We have decided that on all future safaris we are going to take our cell phone with us (it won't work in Africa), so we can make immediate contact should we have any problems in the future. We borrowed a fellow passengers cell phone to call the travel agent to advise her of our changed plans. I know you can find a phone in the airport, but having your cell phone means you can talk while running through the airport to catch the flight to New York.


HOTELS: We overnighted in Atlanta at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel (weekend rate of $69.00 plus tax). Nice but nothing special.

We stayed at the Afton Guest House upon our arrival in Jo'burg and after returning from ZIM. We were treated as old friends by Louie and Annelise (having stayed with them last year). We met several other hunters while there. Afton is the best choice for traveling hunters. Louie can locate your lost bags and forward them to you in camp, he took us to the airport and we went straight to check in (without waiting in line).

PHOTOS:

Elephant Photos

Camp and Hunting Area Photos

Regards,

Terry

P.S.
Here's a link to my description of the elephant hunt on the African Big Game Forum.

Elephant Hunt

Terry,
Thanks for sharing! For to get an experience like you had, some day, I shall dream on.
Aloha

Terry,
What happened with the actual shooting of the elephant? You mentioned that it was 200 yds downhill - was it in thick brush - how close to it were you - what happened when you shot?

Allen,

I will file a full account of the actual hunt on the African Hunting forum. I was about 25 yards from the elephant when I shot it and it ran up hill about 200 yards before falling over.

[I have now filed a report about the hunt particulars and added a link in my first post above].

Regards,

Terry

[ 06-25-2003, 19:09: Message edited by: T.Carr ]

Terry,

Great to hear you had such a great trip. I am anxious to hear about the hunt!!!

Hawkeye47

Terry,
Outstanding experience and great pictures. Hope some day life allows me to follow your trail
Thanks
LG

Terry,
Congratulations, it looks like a great hunt.
We hunted with Rory out of the Kabuba camp last summer. Russ has hunted with me here before. They run a class operation.

Kyler

Terry, thanks for the info. I saw your name on the Afton guest book ledger when I checked in on the Eleventh. Like you I had a great hunt in Zimbabwe, I was at Matetsi 6 with PH Barry Style of Buffalo Range Safaris. It was my first stay at the Afton and it certainly won't be my last. Louie certainly has lots of influrence at the airport-he got me through the obnoxious gun check routine and then parted the sea of porters like Moses. More Later
Nech

T.Carr

It seems like you had a nice hunt, congratulations.

It seems like the link to Broom's site is not working. Is there annother one?

Cheers

/ JOHAN

Johan,

They are in the process of starting the website. Check back in a couple of weeks, it may be up and running by then.

Regards,

Terry

Great report, Terry. What are your plans for taxidermy with your elephant?

Terry -- Thanks for sharing your trip from the get go, that gives me more insight into what it will be like if I get to make the adventure. ----- I am planning a future hunt and preparing a rifle in anticipation of my son accompanying me, which brings up a question about rifles. We both want a Buffalo and maybe a Kudu or Eland. The Buffalo being the focus now, with more plains game focus in the future. I shoot a .416 Rem, which my son could shoot. I plan to take a .358 STA also. We plan a 2 on 1 hunt, two hunters one guide. Do we both need a .416, plus plains game rifle, or could we make do with one .416 and one .358 STA. I have another .358 and two .340's so the plains game rifles are not a problem, but I have only one .416. If we need two, I plan a second .416 and need to get started, but not unless it is necessary. Just packing the extra rifles doesn't appeal to me. ---------Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Good shooting

spring,

We'll mount the tusks on low pedestals. We are having the ears tanned for future use. Also going to have a couple of rifle cases made.

Regards,

Terry

[ 07-03-2003, 05:58: Message edited by: T.Carr ]

phurley,

I've never hunted 2X1, so I can't speak from experience. But I can't see why one .416 and one plains game rifle shouldn't be enough for the two of you. I would think it would be pretty hard for you to both be in a position to shoot buffalo at the same time. Plus, airlines limit you to two guns per case, so you will have less luggage to deal with.

Regards,

Terry

Wow what a great hunt report. Ive hunted with Russ three times and their operation runs as smoothly as can be expected for africa. We are supposed to hunt with Rory next summer and as we dont know him its good to hear that you think he is old school and a proper professional.

mamba,

You will enjoy Rory as your PH. I can guarantee it.

Regards,

Terry

Nice bull! Congratulations. Also, thanks for the report--as always with your posts, it's a model of clarity. Your descriptions and pictures are so good, I almost feel like I was there.