*I apologize for not taking the time to write out a complete hunt report. If anyone would like to talk in greater depth about my experiences in Niassa or hunting with Cabassa Safaris, please private message me and I will supply my phone number/email details.


Location: Marangira Block, Niassa Province, Mozambique


Outfitter: Cabassa Safaris



PH: Hardus van Zyl


Trackers: Madinda, Helino, Assane, Alvaro, Lauteno

Camp Manager: Alex



Dates: October 19- November 1, 2018

Rifle: Weatherby Mark V chambered in .375 H&H, Leupold VX-5, and Barnes Triple Shock 270g.


Animals taken: Cape Buffalo and Livingstone Eland

Animals seen: Lion, Roosevelt Sable, Livingstone Eland, Boehm's Zebra, Johnson Impala, Lichtenstein's Hartebeest, Common Duiker, Chobe Bushbuck, Elephant, Common Waterbuck, Crocodile, Nyassa Wildebeest, Warthog, Sharpe's Grysbok, Cape Buffalo


Brief Synopsis: This was an incredible hunt in a game rich area. By Day 3, I could have harvested trophy caliber males of all the endemics. Leopard tracks were plentiful, and after three days of baiting we had two solitary male lions feeding on two baits hung for an incoming hunter. Buffalo numbers, both herds and dugga boys, were high; this allowed us to be selective during the hunt, ultimately taking a great buffalo on Day 6. I am rebooked for 2021 and will be taking my wife to pursue her own buffalo and hunt more of the endemics.

I put together a brief video of the experience. The video can be stopped about 7:00 minutes; the remainder is entertaining B-roll footage of retrievals, baiting, and camp.


https://youtu.be/V0L8DcIeQPI

Enjoy!

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Proper stuff and a cracking eland!! Congratulations on a successful Moz hunt.
Great vid.

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Cool video footage.

Excellent, congrats on a great hunt. Huge bosses on that Buff as well as a great ruff on that Blue Bull. How bad are the tetse flies there, looks to be some around the camera. I was walking by Cabassa Safaris booth early in the day on Sunday at DSC, struck up a conversation with Hardus and ended up talking for a good while about their Mozambique operation's. Very nice young man. He talked very highly of the Niassa area and the game population's.

thank you for posting
Gale Johnson

Hi Gale! Hardus has been really great to me over the years. I always said there are too many places in Africa to explore to go back to the same place twice, but for Niassa I will make an exception.

I think the flies buzzing in the video are a non-biting black fly. While out of the vehicle I was only bitten two times by Tetses. Black flies flogged the buffalo once it was down and in the heat of the day mopane bees were an annoyance while on tracks.

The tetse flies were bad in specific localities. It seems that the noise of the vehicle calls them in swarms. We would go hours with only the occasional tetse dropping in to say ‘Hello’ and then we would hit a patch (tall grass depressions) and they would flood in the windows ten or twenty at a time.

Overall, I found them to be less annoying than our deer flies in Montana.

I spent 15 days in Mozambique last September. In Coutada 9 we experienced some Tetse flies but not bad at all, a few times they got a little annoying in the truck but didn't seem to bother while on foot. I mainly discussed leopard hunting with Hardus at the show and he was definitely very passionate about that as well.

I have spoken to Hardus about this hunt actually. He was at a hunting expo in Norway. Very nice guy and seems they have a great area there!

Well done! Thanks for posting.

Congratulations and a great video!

BH63

Congratulations on a nice safari. Excellent, excellent Eland, well done!

Congratulations! I really enjoyed your video.

Proper eland. I'm headed to Niassa in November. Looks like I can expect hot and dry.

quote:

Originally posted by safari-lawyer:
Proper eland. I'm headed to Niassa in November. Looks like I can expect hot and dry.

I found the mornings, evenings, and nighttime to be pleasant. Lows were between 70-75F. The afternoon highs were between 90-100F on the hottest days, but would peak for 3-4 hours before slipping to pleasant temperatures again.

We had a rain shower roll through upon arrival, and the front brought highs around 80F for the first two days. Upon departure more showers rolled in. I would expect the frequency of showers to increase through November.

Most importantly enjoy—it is an incredible place. Who are you hunting with?

Great animals! Thanks for posting the video.

Very good video. Looks like a great hunt

Good Hunting
Carl Frederik

Congrats. Awesome video. Thanks for sharing

Great video- I liked the sound track- newer music rather than the same tired old tribal stuff.

The b roll footage was very entertaining too.

Congrats on two great trophies! That eland was impressive!

great trophies. Well done.

Awesome. Congratulations.

Congratulations and great video.

Pardon me asking, but what is a Boehm's zebra and Johnson impala?

quote:

Originally posted by Bwanamich:
Congratulations and great video.

Pardon me asking, but what is a Boehm's zebra and Johnson impala?

Hi Bwanamich!

The Boehm's zebra I believe to be essentially the Selous Zebra; a subspecies of plains zebra noted for the lack of shadow striping and other minor phenotypic differences. I'm uncertain if significant genotypic differentiation is present to seperate this population from others.

The Johnson's Impala is a recently recognized subspecies of impala. They tend to be smaller in body and horn, and I also believe the coloring of the ears to be a distinguishing characteristic.

Overall it comes down to if you are a 'lumper' or 'splitter'; I prefer the middle ground. These are just the titles assigned to the species in that specific locality.

Bivy great to see a relaxed, breeding herd of elephant.

Congrats! Nice shooting

quote:

Originally posted by safari-lawyer:
Proper eland. I'm headed to Niassa in November. Looks like I can expect hot and dry.

Your a brave man Will ,

We hunted Niassa last year in late Oct.
yes it was hot, humid, tsetse rampant, but we had a great hunt!!! Have hunted the Zambezi in oct/nov as well,called suicide month by some pHs!!
I reckon the hunting is great this time of year, especially in Niassa if you want a big eland!
You need to hydrate regularly. We are going back next yr same time as well.

Great Buff and eland, Congratulations!

Saw this video when Hardus posted it on their WhatsApp group.