Like many other people I was very uncertain about visiting Zimbabwe this year.The news on the BBC seemed all bad and there was a noticable air of unease on AR but some of the deals on offer were very attractive and I decided to look into Russ Gould's management elephant hunt.

After a lengthy exchange of emails and phone calls I booked the Charara hunting area in northern Zimbabwe with PH Ben Kotze.The hunt was for one management bull up to 30 pounds,non-exportable and with the meat going to National Parks for rations.

As with any last-minute booking flights were a bit tricky and I ended up flying BA to Joburg and then Comair to Harare,booked through Amex Travel.

The BA flight turned into something of a nightmare as a passenger was taken ill at the end of the runway.We had to return to the terminal and finally got away over 2 hours late.Not what you want with a 3 1/2 hour connection.

Safely through immigration at Harare I was met by Ben and we stopped briefly at his house to collect the boat before heading north through the usual roadblocks towards lake Kariba.

The roads were surprisingly busy with heavy lorries plying their trade between South Africa and Zambia and are not at their best after dark so we decided to overnight with Ben's family at Karoi.Despite a lack of power they made me very welcome and,after a good dinner,we turned in for the night.

In the morning we resumed our journey and arrived at the Nzou Lodges,our base for the week.No camp beds and bucket showers here.A comfortable bed,indoor bathroom and a terrace overlooking lake Kariba 100 yards away where a pod of hippo were snorting noisily.

After a good lunch prepared by our cook Godfrey we head off to the nearby Parks Dept to have our permits validated and collect our Monitor (the new PC term for a Game Scout) Victor with his trusty AK.



Just time to check my rifle,a Mannlicher .375 with variable scope that I've borrowed from Ben as I can't bring my trusty .416 Rigby from the UK due to the embargo,then a quick recce and it's back to the lodge for an early dinner.

We set out next morning at 5.30 AM and are soon checking the river beds for spoor which is plentiful to say the least.

At our third crossing we find a fresh set of 22" prints which are completely smooth on one side.A dream track for sure but we are looking for a management bull not a 60 pound trophy.

We decide to follow them and,within the hour,close up to the bull in thick cover.

We skirt around carefully and eventually he feeds into an open space,revealing an ancient bull with shrunken temples and one broken tusk.Just what we are looking for!

A quick nod from Ben and my heart shot at 35 yards settles the issue.He puts in a back-up as agreed and the bull runs around 30 yards before collapsing.

It is a quarter to nine in the morning.



The perfect management bull.Over 40 years old,on his last set of molars,one broken tusk and just over the 30 pounds guide.





We leave two of the trackers to start skinning and head of to the Parks Dept to collect the butchering gang.The deal on these management hunts is that the PH and his crew help to recover the meat for Parks but we soon learn that this to be a little different.Head Office in Harare also want rations and a lorry is standing by to take the meat.

We collect the usual crew of a dozen guys and head back to the bull.By the time darkness falls,the carcass is on its way to the capital.

In the morning we take the skin and tusks to Parks and the Ranger asks if we can help them out with a favour.As yesterday's meat went to Harare could we possibly shoot another elephant for their rations?This puts me in a bit of a quandry and I have to think about it for a full five seconds.If they need our help,who am I to refuse?

Before we can resume hunting we have to find them some salt for the second skin and this takes most of the rest of the morning.

We return to our lodge for a quick lunch and are greeted with the marvellous sight of a span of 8 bulls,the biggest in the 50-60 pound class,coming to drink at the lake directly below our terrace.As we walk down to get a better look we find a young zebra stallion limping along the shore with the remains of a snare around its hind leg.

A quick call to Parks and our Scout (sorry,Monitor) asks us to put it out of its misery.I oblige with a shoulder shot at 50 yards.



We take the stallion to Parks for skinning and decide to call it a day as we are planning an early start tomorrow.

We set out again at 5.30 AM and within a couple of hours our trackers Hardlife and Justice find fresh spoor of a span of cows and calves heading from the river bed where they have been drinking towards a range of low hills a couple of miles away.

We follow them and soon catch sight of a tuskless cow in the distance.Closing quickly we find the span consists of 8 cows and calves,six of which are tuskless,including an old cow without a calf.

We are on the opposite side of a gentle valley and the wind is fickle so I take the heart/lung shot at around 50 yards.She turns and my second shot quartering into the neck anchors her,the bullet smashing the vertebrae before exiting on the opposite side.Who says the .375 is underpowered?



On her last set of molars and completely dry she is an ideal candidate for culling although I hope the lads from Parks have good teeth!!

Unbelievably it is only ten o'clock and I haven't even worked up a proper sweat.

We leave Hardlife and Justice to start skinning and head back to Kariba for the butchering gang.

Assured of their own meat this time we collect an impressive (or should that be excessive) 18 guys and head back through the bush,cutting a track as we go.

The guys work like Trojans and as the light fails we make our way slowly back to the road,our cruiser with with over a ton of meat and skins (plus five of us) and the Parks' Land Rover with 18 guys plus their bags of meat.

We make steady progress and arrive at their compound around 8 PM,having stopped to admire a female leopard on the side of the main road.

We are greeted with a message from the Fisheries Dept.They are also short of rations and wonder if we could shoot a hippo for them if we have time!

We set out later the next morning hoping to catch a decent bull taking advantage of the winter sunshine to warm up but most of the pods are still in the water.We spot a huge old bull on the bank a mile away but he is too sharp for us and quickly heads out into the lake.

There are pods all over but I really want to try to catch a bull on dry land,particularly as this stretch of the lake is thick with crocs, so we press on round the bay and come on a younger bull who has obviously come out the worst in a fight and is trying to keep out of the way of the big boys.

After a short stalk we manage to get into position and a quartering brain shot at 40 yards drops him to the floor.Not the biggest bull but he has plenty of charcter and is ideal for a first hippo.



We soon have him skinned and loaded into the cruiser.We have had plenty of practice this week,although the knives are getting a bit blunt.

In accordance with the local tradition I throw the tail back into the lake to ensure next season's rains and we head off to the Fisheries Dept which occupies a superb position on a hill close to the dam wall.



The end of the most amazing week and we head back to Karoi for an overnight with George before the drive back to Harare and a bit of shopping before the flight.

The almost complete lack of tourists means that the many of the usual wood and stone carvers have deserted their pitches and I can't find a bottle of Zimbabwean wine in the supermarket (probably a narrow escape).



Sitting in the departure lounge at Harare airport I am left to reflect on the most incredible hunt of my life. Two elephant,a hippo and a zebra in a week and all that at a rate that I daren't publish here in case Russ sues me when his website crashes under the weight of emails.Just don't try boking the first two weeks of July 2009 - they're mine!!

To anyone thinking of going to Zim this year my advice would be to go for it.

I realise there are serious political difficulties but we had no problems,apart from a couple of short power cuts.Everyone seemed genuinely pleased to see us and the meat we provided was very welcome.

I was treated courteously at the airport (even though I'm British) and we had no problems with the roadblocks around Harare.At no time did I feel threatened and Zimbabwe remains the only country in southern Africa where I haven't been asked for a 'drink' by the police or other officials.

There has been a wealth of discussion on this site about these so-called 'meat hunts' and some have questioned their legitimacy.This hunt was properly conducted by a respected Zimbabwean PH in a recognized hunting area (NOT the National Park) with all the correct permits and supervision from the Zim Parks Dept.The only difference to a trophy hunt is that the meat goes to the Parks employees rather than the wider community as in a Campfire area.

There are undoubtedly shortages of food and other items for the local people but these will not be an issue for any well-organised operator.

The Zim dollar takes a bt of getting used to with a bank transfer rate approaching a trillion to one compared to its US namesake but your trackers and skinnners will be more than happy with smaller denomination US bills that will hold their value.

Malarone for malaria and Avon So Soft for the tsetse did the trick and a good cook helped ensure no dodgy stomach.

My sincerest thanks to PH Ben Kotze,trackers Hardlife and Justice,cook Godfrey and driver James for a fantastic week as well as to Lameck Dzodzo and Victor Mahachi of the Parks Dept for their help.(Oh,and a small mention for Russ Gould as well.)



Hunt Summary:

Duration 7 days 19th to 26th July 2008
Agent Russell Gould (bigfivehq.com)
Area Charara,Lake Kariba,Zimbabwe
PH Ben Kotze
Trackers Hardlife and Justice
Rifle Mannlicher .375 H&H
A Square 300gn factory solids
Game Taken Bull elephant,tuskless cow,
Hippo,Zebra
Game Seen Buff,Waterbuck,Leopard,Impala,
Warthog,Kudu,Croc.

Sorry for the length of my first post but I just had to share this one.

Hello LTS

Congratulations on your successful Elephant hunt and thanks for sharing your adventure with us.

Regards
Aziz

What a hunt! I'm in. I can't believe how fortunate you were.

Great report, congratulations.

What a great hunt! One of the best reports I've read yet.

I like the names of your trackers - Hardlife and Justice.

Namibiahunter

Allright LTS - Weidmannsheil! - looks like a heart shot on ele is quite sensible thing to do, BTW what bullets did you use?

Unbelievable hunt!! That is my dream hunt!! Congrats on some super trophies.. Your bull ele is a brute!


That is pic of you throwing the hippo tail back into the lake made me crack up. Lorena Bobbitt came instantly to mind!!!

LTS,

The hunting Gods certainly smiled on you. You took an incredible bag in a weeks hunt. Well done.

I have clients on the way to Charara as I write this. I expect a great report also.

Mark

Congratulations on a great hunt. I'm curious about your ammo also, solids I assume? What flavor?


TerryR

Really enjoyed your report, and the additional luck you had with the extra animals. About right now, you should go to the casinos!

Wow, no kidding, "right place at the right time.".

Of course, it certainly was "kind" of you to help out like you did. What a great guy!

Very nice report. Thanks for posting it.

I loved that old bull elephant... a true character trophy! Congrats on a great hunt!

Sorry...???

I was sorry to come to the end of your account and photos. I was enjoying all, and it came to an end.

Thanks for sharing your safari with us.

Congratulations! An awesome hunt! Thank you for sharing!

We have had the pleasure of booking 3 AR members for elephant management hunts in Zim this season (as distinct from our normal PAC hunts which were hampered by excessive rain this year).

First client shot a charging bull first day out. Writeup is here

Second client shot two bulls. One was not recovered until last week.

LTS was our third client (and the number 3 must be lucky!) and also the most successful hunt. He was the only one who took species other than elephant. We can and do hunt buffalo, hippo, and plains game on these hunts, subject to quota which can't be guaranteed up front.

We have a fourth client who is hunting trophy ele and buff right now in another area and will take a management hippo after his hunt.

Unfortunately, Ben is booked pretty solid for the balance of this season (the poor guy has hardly had a day off since April) and he prefers to conduct these hunts personally. He has secured management ele quota for next year in the same area so we are booking for 2009 at this point in the game. If anyone wants to book one of these hunts for 2008, we may be able to squeeze one more hunt in but we will have to organize a stand-in PH and the dates etc would have to work for all parties.

We are also booking PAC for next season. Hopefully it won't be as wet. The daily rate for the PAC and management hunts are the same ($500 for this year, probably going to $600 for next), success fees are similar with the PAC being a little cheaper. The PAC area is also good for leopard esp. in the cold months but not too much in the way of plains game - we do have access to some private land within a two hour drive though where most species of PG are available including Sable.

Looks like a great adventure! Congrats.. And thanks for sharing this wonderful story with us..