07 January 2021, 21:43
Bama15My African fix
ZambiaOutfitter: Muchinga Safaris, Johnny and Laura du Plooy
Booking agent : Mark Young
Month : Nov.
PH Darren Chowles
Game : Buffalo, Puku, Hippo
I originally booked a buffalo hippo hunt with Johnny du Plooy for Sept.2020, when the world turned upside down I rolled it over to June of '21. However, when things opened up some, Mark Young posted a deeply discounted buffalo hunt with Johnny which I just could not pass up. I will say this, the travel during these crazy times was the most aggravating and frustrating I have ever experienced. BUT, when you get in the bush, all the cares of the world, even a lost election, just fade away.
If a sunrise like that doesn't sooth your soul, then something is wrong with your soul.
I wanted to hunt for a real old, white faced, worn down horn bull, so we tracked small groups of bulls. The rains had just started causing the game to scatter out, in spite of this, we were still into bulls everyday. My usual response would be, "To young" and Darren would say, "Let's go find some more" and off we'd go. On day 5 of a 7 day hunt, and having looked at 18 bulls, my trigger finger couldn't take it any longer.
We found this bull close to camp and decided to check another area, if we didn't find something else, we would come back and try to get on him. Returning late that afternoon, the trackers spread out to straighten out the tracks, while they were doing their thing, up jumps a leopard and runs off. Talk about being surprised ! Not long after, we heard the bull run a short distance and stop. He had been bedded in some brush, I could see him but Daren couldn't. With a little bit of maneuvering , up went the sticks and I made a good shot in the chest then one more in his shoulder and down he went.
I was able to take a Puku, very common here but I understand Zambia and Tanz are the only places you can hunt them.
On the last day in camp, some villagers said they wanted some meat, so I got to do some free hunting.
Shot this hippo for them, imagine butchering a hippo at the waters edge while it's getting dark. We counted 6 crocs within 200 yards.
One of the neatest things I had happen was having a hippo out side of my hut every night. They would come in to eat the grass and be close enough I could hear them munching away. Nothing like Africa.
The meals that were prepared on this wood burning stove were unbelievable. The cook called this a ,"Two for one", stove and oven together. To cook a cake , he would put coals in the right side for about 1 hour, take them out and place them on top, take 2 shovels of sand and place them in on the floor, making sure the sand was level. That kept the cake from burning.
Close the door, 45 minutes later out comes a moth watering cake.
I had a great time and looking forward to returning for a land hippo and buf hunt in June.
