I don't think they are the same person.

Simon at one time owned Tsankaruka (spelling?). They hunted on a ranch in the Gwaii river area. Karna was the name of the ranch. It was about 35,000 acres.

I believe Dudley operates out of or near the West Nicholson area with a different company.

I feel the fact that Linda has worked around convicted criminals the last 19yrs, may have overly jaded here judgement toward Wendell.
Shame toward Wendell is yet to be justified, so I feel it was not an appropriate mature way to launch this thread.
..sure you got the attention you were looking for.
But why not just title it something like: " Concerned,why would my trophies be overly delayed?"

TRAX, I tend to agree. The title of this thread causes damage to Wendell as long as people add posts, as I suspect it was meant to. I don't know Wendell from Adam, but I am still not sure what he was supposed to do other than keep contacting the Outfitter. As near as I can tell once the money changes hands one has limited clout, and this applies to the agent as well as the customer.
Peter.

This thread has a life of its on. Lets kill this thing

Kill it? Have Linda Adams and her husband gotten their trophies yet? If not, then it should stay up as a warning for others who might consider hunting with "good ol' Dudley Rogers".

There is another thread about Dudley Rogers! Having said that, what are the lessons learned here? Many have touted the benefits of dealing with an American agent because 1. He is someone you can sue 2. He can "work things out, make things right".3. He can handle the financial arrangements between you and outfitter. Are we saying that there was no benefit in this case? If so, why? Was it was becaue the outfitter was a deadbeat? Was it because the agent did not do his job? Those seem to me to be the key questions. It is presumably too late to help Linda, but others may benefit. BTW what should Linda be doing now?
Just my thoughts. Peter.

quote:

Originally posted by Peter:
There is another thread about Dudley Rogers! Having said that, what are the lessons learned here? Many have touted the benefits of dealing with an American agent because 1. He is someone you can sue 2. He can "work things out, make things right".3. He can handle the financial arrangements between you and outfitter. Are we saying that there was no benefit in this case? If so, why? Was it was becaue the outfitter was a deadbeat? Was it because the agent did not do his job? Those seem to me to be the key questions. It is presumably too late to help Linda, but others may benefit. BTW what should Linda be doing now?
Just my thoughts. Peter.

. BTW what should Linda be doing now?praying might help. otherwise, get on with living. this dead horse has been beat enough!!

...Peter, Bang ON!!...I think the answer to all questions is YES.
NO, it is NOT to late to help Linda and her husband...they don't have their trophies yet and this should stay active until they do...and so that others don't fall in the same hole!!
Keep on pounding Linda...that's why she posted here...don't give up and let us have a weekly report on progress...someone will come up with some good hints for you!!

Hey 470EDDY, either get on a plane and fly to Harare and try to fix it yourself or stop beating this. Preaching and screeching don't work on problems like this one, no matter how well-intentioned.

There is a limit to what can be accomplished by any US citizen, even an agent, using constructive, sensible and cost-effective means. And those are the only options, buddy.

Anyone who thinks that any Zimbabwean-related or generated problem can be solved from the USA by threatening, screaming or chest-beating - or even more laughably, by pleading and insisting on good sense and justice - needs to wake up and read the morning paper - twice.

470EDDY:

The answer to your question about Dudley and Simon being one and the same is no. I hunted with Simon in 94 & 96 and met Dudley and his son Colin in their booth at DSC last week. Dudley is definitly not Simon. They did have some nice photos of Buffs in their booth and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Colin. I think I would enjoy hunting with him, but I can say that about several other PHs also.
Wendell has always been straight up and honest in my dealings with him and I still think that he has done all he can in regards to this issue. Every problem that has ever come up in my experience with him has been promptly dealt with to my complete satisfaction.
As I age I find my tolerance level has gotten better about dealing with problems such as this one. My life has been blessed with several trips to Africa, and the only important thing to me is getting to go back as soon as possible. I, like others, feel this thread has long outlived it's usefullness.
Good luck and best wishes to you all.

joec

joec

I'm tired of seeing this f#$%ing thread! Can we please take it down!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brett

I don't have a dog in this fight, have never done business with, or even met any of the principles. My 2 cents, for what its worth. We tend to look at problems through the prism of our own experience. Most of us live in the first world, USA, Europe, Australia, etc, and assume that the rest of the world operates the same way. I have had the pleasure of having a business interest in a company in Africa. Trust me, efficiency is not an African word. Where else could a work crew break an anvil? True story, I'm still trying to figure out what they did. Never the less, in Africa the sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and that's all that you can count on. I hope Linda gets her trophies, but all the bluster in the world isn't going to make it happen.

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:

There is a limit to what can be accomplished by any US citizen, even an agent, using constructive, sensible and cost-effective means. And those are the only options, buddy.

Anyone who thinks that any Zimbabwean-related or generated problem can be solved from the USA by threatening, screaming or chest-beating - or even more laughably, by pleading and insisting on good sense and justice - needs to wake up and read the morning paper - twice.

ye know what the world is like, people mostly dont give a ratz until the postman dont deliver their mail, then it suddenly becomes of utmost importance....cause the world was perfect up to that point, but now its happened to them, they feel someone must be out to get them.

Hello Joec, Mrlexma and Brett:

This is sounding very similar to what our book agent told us. Be quiet and just wait for your trophies, it has been 31 months and we are still waiting and still no closer to getting the trophies shipped.

You as fellow hunters are disappointing to me. You seem to feel that my post should be shut down. All I have asked for is what is rightfully mine. The completion of our hunt, which includes our trophies home with us.

Indy posted that he received his trophies in 2 1/2 months. Once again, we were reassured by our booking agent Wendell that Dudley had been in business for 20 plus years and our trophies would be shipped within 12 to 18 months.


Due to this thread I have been (PM) by many people who have continued to give me helpful information.

Linda Adams

Linda

I’m sorry if you felt this is a boys club and we were ganging up on you. I grew up hunting with women relatives and have introduced several women to hunting over the years and to me hunting camp is not a boys club, so I hope you feel welcome here. I'm in a similar situation with trophies from Tanzania from August of 2006. I did a poor job choosing a hunting company to hunt with. It's my fault that I didn't know enough to see a really bad thing before it happened. So I most definitely have empathy for you. I also appreciate you posting your experience. That's what this forum is for. I think this thread however has made its point and it’s time for it to die.

Wendell seems to be a hell of a nice guy. From those I've spoke to he is a straight shooter and will bend over backwards for a client. It is undoubtedly in his best and the hunting company's best interest to get you your trophies as soon as possible. The hunting company screwed up the paper work and it's there fault. It seems as if they have done their best to make it up to you with the hunt offer or hide replacement in the event that you do not recieve them (which you still may). At this point it just seems like this thread is putting it to them for the sake of putting it to them. Please keep us informed if something NEW happens, but until then this horse has been beaten enough!

Brett

Some of the posters here disgust me.

On boo hoo. You're tired of reading about this!

Well some are tired of an industry that takes $20,000 or $30,000 $40,000 or $50,000 of our money and then delivers poor service and/or delivers the trophies two years late. It's not chump change that we're giving them. What if Porsche or Lexus or Cadillac took two years to fix your car under warranty?

Don't tell me "that's Africa." You're selling a product. Fix it. Other outfitters get stuff back in a reasonable time. Why can't some others? What's the secret?

Wendell Reich's a nice guy? Well, nice guys finish last. What about being a competent or effective guy at fulfilling what he said his outfitter would do?

And this is not an issue of Linda Adams being a woman or failing to understand "how Africa works." It's an issue of a couple working and slaving all their life to take the hunt of a lifetime and then being cheated out of what they paid for, through no fault of their own.

If this type of thing is ubiquitous in the safari industry, then the safari industry had better straighten itself out. There are a lot of other leisure activities where high-income people can spend their money.

Wendell:

Did you go to DSC?

Did you ask Dudley Rodgers to go to Harare and figure out what to do about this and then go DO IT?

What did he say?

Is he going to do anything?

quote:

Originally posted by Linda Adams:
Why would I not be angry? I am angry and frustrated after all of this time. As I was told since April of 2007 many times over that our shipment was going to be shipped in 4 to 6 weeks.

Linda, may I give you some friendly advice...even as a total stranger?

I can see how a person would be frustrated with this. But angry?

Angry is what you get when a teenager blows off their head with a 20 guage. Angry is how you get when a parent goes and hangs themself and leaves behind a spouse and kids. Angry is how a person should feel when innocents are killed because of warfare, disease, and indifference.

I say this with all humility. Certainly you may be frustrated. But if I were you, I'd save my anger for something a little more important than dead animals.

Sincerely,

friar

Hello Friar:

So essentially you are saying the my "dead animals" are not important and that my hunt or the memories of the hunt was not important either?

Are you a hunter? If you are do hunt for the hunting memories and the trophies? I look at our trophies in our home and I can tell you details of that hunt. Can you say the same?

If the outfitter and booking agent would have continued to do their job that they were paid to do I would have already had my trophies home with me.

Linda Adams

quote:

Angry is what you get when a teenager blows off their head with a 20 guage. Angry is how you get when a parent goes and hangs themself and leaves behind a spouse and kids. Angry is how a person should feel when innocents are killed because of warfare, disease, and indifference.

I say this with all humility. Certainly you may be frustrated. But if I were you, I'd save my anger for something a little more important than dead animals.

You don't help people get over their anger by being preachy and condescending. I would expect someone with an interest in theology to be able to write a more sophisticated post. You come off as a bit of a drama queen.

Frustation and anger are the same thing and both Linda and Wendell have good reason to feel as they do. I have always heard the hunt isn't over until the trophies are delivered. It isn't over for Linda until she gets her trophies or a refund.

Just out of curiosity, when did it become the booking agents job to get trophies shipped home? In a case like this it would be great if they assisted, but it's clearly the outfitters responsibility to ensure that trophies are shipped out in a timely manner. It seems pretty obvious to me that a booking agent in the U.S. has few options in a case like this. I can certainly sympathize with the hunters involved this, but I believe their anger is misplaced to a large extent.

Perhaps this thread should have been titled "Shame on Dudley Rogers"?

Do booking agents typically transfer full payment to the outfitter at the completion of the hunt? Do they hold some payment (say 10%) back until the trophies are delivered? Does any booking agent have any financial pull with an outfitter (other than not booking future hunts with him) after the completion of the hunt to make sure trophies are delivered?

I have been following this thread for a while,I have been to Africa only once,I will be going back,It was expensive but worth it,I did not bring any trophies back,I feel that Linda has a valid complaint,I also feel that she is not getting a fair shake from some of you that have posted here,I wonder how you would feel if the shoe were on the other foot,& it was you that had this problem,all these excuses & no customer satisfaction,money spent & goods not delivered,yes problems do happen,stuff goes wrong,how you work through it all says a lot about who you are & how you conduct your business,excuses for poor service do not cut it!
So some of you have had problems of this nature before,& in your generosity you ask Linda to drop this thread,this lack of support for a fellow hunter is shameful!!
I feel that she was dealt with in a very high handed manner,I personally would not stand for it,Yes this thread has gone on long enough,but that's only because she still has not recieved what she paid for!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Bill73:
I have been following this thread for a while,I have been to Africa only once,I will be going back,It was expensive but worth it,I did not bring any trophies back,I feel that Linda has a valid complaint,I also feel that she is not getting a fair shake from some of you that have posted here,I wonder how you would feel if the shoe were on the other foot,& it was you that had this problem,all these excuses & no customer satisfaction,money spent & goods not delivered,yes problems do happen,stuff goes wrong,how you work through it all says a lot about who you are & how you conduct your business,excuses for poor service do not cut it!
So some of you have had problems of this nature before,& in your generosity you ask Linda to drop this thread,this lack of support for a fellow hunter is shameful!!
I feel that she was dealt with in a very high handed manner,I personally would not stand for it,Yes this thread has gone on long enough,but that's only because she still has not recieved what she paid for!!!!

Bill73,

I think the point many here have made is that this tread seems to be focused on the booking agent, when it should be focused on the outfitter who made the mistakes that led to all of this.

Don

Linda,

I didn't say that your trophies were unimportant. I was suggesting that they are a lot less important than a lot of the other things you might hold dear.

And if you'll believe it, the answer to all of your other questions is, "yes."

Best wishes
friar

First Woodmandan your comments are totally uncalled for. You need to delete your post and apologize. If not, the forum administrator needs to contact you on your post.

The Booking agent in most cases gets anywheres from 10 to 15 percent of the daily fees for booking the hunt so he does have a vested intested in the hunt. So, he has some obligation in making sure the the person or person has a satifactory hunt.

The PH is in the US right now. I gleaned this from an ealier post, why has the PH not contacted the Adams and straigtened this mess out? If not why has not the Booking agent contacted the PH?

In answer to an PM Linda sent me, I suggested Linda post just some of those many nasty threatening emails she claims Wendell is supposed to have sent her....so forum readers can better judge for themselves.
Seems not interested in doing that....wonder why?

Linda
I believe that I understand the point that Friar was trying to make. I also understand what it means to not receive your trophies. In 1998 I took a Kudu and an Ostrich. I never got the trophies because they burned up in a fire at the taxidermists. Am I disappointed, yes, but did it ruin the trip or erase the memories? NO. I can remember every detail of the stalk, in my minds eye I can see the animal through my scope and see the cross hairs settle on my target. I can still feel the shot and my satisfaction when we found the animal down. Between my journal and my memory, dispite the lack of a tangible record, that hunt still comes alive for me.
I understand the frustration. But the level of rancor is such that it seems to smother the joy of your hunt. Your hunt is too valuable to allow it to be diminished by the mere absence of the trophies. You have every right to be irritated, and to tell your story, just don't let that irritation become the legacy of your hunt, let your memories it be it's legacy.
My 2 cents.

TerryR

TerryR,

I was going to keep out of this, but I think you said it about as well as it could be said. I am still in a similar experience as Linda with trophies from Tanzania that have been there for 29 months. Will I ever get them? I have my doubts, but then agian I might. The trophies or lack there of in no way taint the memories I have of my hunt or my interest to return. I will however make a better choice in the future as to the outfitter and hunting company I use. Regardless of the outcome of this I hope Linda and her husband will remember the hunt fondly and think of some day returning.

Brett

Linda;

Sorry for calling you a moron and bitch....

If you want go to Taxidermy.net and look at the thread regarding the cheetah mount that was shot in 1938.All hope is not lost,salted skins have long shelf life....

I hope you find peace in your life....


Dan

quote:

But the level of rancor is such that it seems to smother the joy of your hunt. Your hunt is too valuable to allow it to be diminished by the mere absence of the trophies. You have every right to be irritated, and to tell your story, just don't let that irritation become the legacy of your hunt, let your memories it be it's legacy.

TerryR, well put! It seems that we still have an open question: "Did Wendell being this issue up with Dudley at DSC and what was the response?
Peter.

Peter,

Of course I did. I talk with him about this often. He called me yesterday and we had a long talk about it. We talked at the show and many, many times over the past year and a half. Phone calls from me to him, from him to me, emails, etc.

I can not understand why the assumption is that Dudley has done nothing, the applications for export are in. They have been in for a long, long time. From the beginning of this problem, the delays have all been paperwork related. Not paperwork that Dudley had not submitted, paperwork that was submitted and was "being processed."

The last copy of export documents had the Warthog omitted, an unbelievable, ridiculous and unacceptable mistake. But it happened.

Everyone (Adams included) said, forget the Warthog, take it out of the crate and just send the rest of the trophies. Everyone was on board with this, just to get them out of there. We can sort the Warthog out later.

"No, we can't do that." said the exporter. Export permits have to be re-done because the paperwork does not match without the Warthog.

So export papers are re-submitted and we wait. We are not waiting on Dudley to do something, we are waiting on Parks to issue the export papers.

The trophies are at the shipping company, in the crate, ready to go.

The Adams do not dispute this, they have confirmation from the shipping company.

There is not a task that Dudley can do to make them move. There is not a piece of paper that he has not submitted, there is not a phone call he can make to release the trophies for shipping. It is 100% in the hands of National Parks. It has been for a very long time. Check The Hunting Report website, do a search under Zimbabwe trophy shipping difficulties. There are articles about the difficulties in export. The Adams are not alone in the problem, they are simply the most vocal about it.

Nobody ever tried to cover up the fact that Dudley initially screwed up by loosing the ivory cards. He admitted it, from the beginning, apologized for it and set about changing it.

The Adams want to make it seem like we have this entire thing in our palms and we can say the magic word and they will ship. That is an incredibly naive view of the situation.

If that was the case, this thread wouldn't exist and the Adams would already have their trophies.

Linda,

I have attempted to treat you with respect here. I have not once criticized you for posting this or submitting a report to The Hunting Report. Mainly because all the facts are in there, and it is clear, to the reasonable, what the situation is. It is also clear that Dudley and I have attempted to be as accommodating as possible to you and Bill.

All my efforts at courtesy have been met with accusations and untruths. You send PM's claiming I have emailed threats to you. Really?

I believe it was Trax who said you PM'd him saying I threatened you. Post it. He told you to post it too.

I have no interest in arguing with you online. Nobody will win. But there comes a point where I have to stand up and say "enough." My patience has worn thin. Your smear campaign against me has reached a fever pitch involving lies in private messages to many of our members. It is completely unnecessary. I have been nothing but courteous to you despite your continued attacks on me.

I have nothing to do with trophy shipping. No booking agent has anything to do with trophy shipping. There is nothing I can do other than keep updated on the situation.

Why is this thread called "Shame on Wendell?" Because Dudley doesn't post here. If he did, it would be titled "Shame on Dudley". You want to exact revenge for a mistake that was made in Zimbabwe. A mistake that is taking forever to sort out. You want to destroy my reputation over a mistake that I did not make. A mistake that is in the process of being fixed.

Why blame me? Because it is convenient, I am an easy target. Harming Dudley's reputation is simply collateral damage. If you can destroy my reputation here, you have a victory.

Dudley and I have offered you everything under the sun to make it right. A free Elephant hunt, (in writing, check the report on The Hunting Report website) How you continue to deny this when it is in emails and letters to you and The Hunting Report, is beyond me. We have offered free capes if yours are damaged, some of them are even tanned already. You respond with criticisim and accuse us of attempting to "destroy your trophies".

The most amazing thing about this is both of our commitment to make this right with you, even in the face of such ridiculous allegations, hatred and anger.

I can tell you, all the promises I made to you for free capes and the Elephant hunt are still on the table despite what Barbra Crown told you. What roll does she have in sorting this out? Nobody gave her authority to make executive decisions. She is only the one who publishes The Hunting Report.

I can not count the number of times I have apologized to you for the delays. I am truly sorry this has happened to you, but your refusal to believe what Dudley and I tell you is only making this harder on you.

Wendell,
You have done the right thing and taken the high road on this. Hang tough. Ms. Adams will get here heads and I hope she enjoys them. Worse things have happened. Tell you what, I have a house full of trophies and she come and pick out what she wants and I will take the elephant hunt. Heck, I will deliver them.

Hang tough - you are doing and have done the right thing.

Hey Wendell,

Here's a suggestion of something you can do here in the U.S. to assist Linda.

Reports state that Zim Parks will have a delegation at SCI Reno, as usual. Dudley Rodgers usually has a booth there. How about you and Dudley meeting with Zim Parks regarding this issue and trying to get them to prioritize the paperwork for Lindas' trophies? They can place a call back to Zim and have the paperwork resolved, if they are properly motivated to do so.

Best regards and let us know what transpires.

I saw that, now I am just wondering how I find him.

Odds that he reads this are slim, but if you are reading this, I am in booth 5710. Please come see me!

Anyone on the floor who talks to him, please call me 214 692 8769 or come to booth 5710 or send someone to booth 5710. I will drop whatever I am doing and visit with him.

Wendall

Your last post has clear up a lot of confusion and I applaud your effort in getting this situation resolved.

Lionhunter did have a great suggestion. I do not know if will do any good but I assume Zimbabwe wants hunters to continue tocome Zimbabwe. Maybe there is way to meet with them and tell them this is causing a tremendous problem within the hunting community and this delaying of shipments are of a great concern. It is embarrassment to their country. It would be in their best interest to get this resolved as quickly as possible. It will only cost them money in long run because of the lack of bookings and future american hunters coming to their country.

I have not gone back Zimbabwe because I lost part of shipment several years ago. It was later discovered one of the crates was left in government warehouse in Zimbabwe.

A friend of mine who is a taxidermist had elephant/leopard hunt booked, cancelled because several of his clients have been waiting over three years for their trophies and say they have no hope of getting them. In their cases it was not PH screw up or mis-information by any body state side. It appears it is the idiocracy of a lower level Zimbabwe official.

Wendell it is a worth a try and I am sue Linda would appreciate it. You are already there and few minutes of yours and Dudley's time will go a long ways.

Wendell,
You say you are doing all you can, then why don't you go see them? It would show that you are taking advantage of the opportunity while it is there.

338zmag,

Umm, I believe I covered that above, unless you are talking about something else?

If he had a booth, I would go to him the day before the show started and talk to him then, but the way I read Kathi's post was simply that he would "be in Reno". Which is why I have asked for assistance in finding him.

I would have offered to assist in arranging this meeting I suggested, but unfortunately I've injured my back (again) and had to cancel air, hotel and SCI registration effective last Monday. This will be the first SCI convention I've missed since 1995.

I will encourage anyone on this forum who is in attendance at Reno to do whatever you can to help Wendell rectify Lindas' trophy problem. An awful lot of pressure can be applied to Zim Parks while they are in attendance here in the U.S.

Zimbabwe sometimes has their own booth, but it's my experience that it is not always staffed. I suggest checking at the SCI vendors registration area to see if they have a line on where/how Zim Parks can be contacted at the show.

Wendell:

We could debate the facts of this trophy shipment forever, that is one thing that I do agree with you on, however, I did not lie about anything, I only stuck to the facts.

We feel and still do feel that you left us hanging, after all we trusted you and when you book a hunt that is all you have. The whole transaction is based on trust.

Our patience about this situation has worn thin long ago, we just want our trophies back before they are ruined. Which we have explained to you several times.

As far as a smear campaign, it appears that I have been smeared more than you in this situation as I have been verbally attacked, motives and character called into questioned repeatedly, even to the point of name calling by members of this forum. Do you think that I would put myself in a position like this if I did not feel strongly about our problem. How would others feel if they were in our position?

We have been told for 2 years our trophies would be shipped in 6 to 8 weeks and still nothing. As I have said before we spent a considerable amount of our income on this hunt of a Lifetime. My husband and I probably will never be able to afford another elephant hunt in our lifetime and he is perfectly happy with the trophy (in our eyes) he took. They are awesome tusks for a non-trophy bull. We even took some animals that we never intended to and to think they are rotting in some storage facility is upsetting. It sure would be nice to have those tusks, as well as, the other animals back.

I e-mailed Freight Consultants last week and they informed me that they would have to check with the Harare Office for the paperwork as they were not sure where it was at. Since that e-mail I have not received anything else from them.

I would like nothing more than to get our trophies and put this behind us.

Linda Adams

Wendell, thanks for your post above. It clarifies the situation for me, and I hope that it was not repetitious for you. Your explanation certainly satisifies me (FWIW!).
Peter.