Zambia Hunt 2010 – Part 2

Date of Hunt – July 2010
Hunt Area – Nchila Reserve and Nkwaji Reserve, far northwest Zambia
Outfitter- – Pete Fisher, owner of Nchila Reserve ( www.nchilawildlifereserve.com )
Outfitter- - Pete Fisher, Brian Wilson
Rifles – Model 70’s in .375 H&H, .300 WM, .243 Win and .270 Win
Ammunition – Federal factory loads using Barnes Triple Shocks in various weights
Optics – Scopes were Leupold VX 3’s, Binos were Swarovski 8x30 and 10x42’s

Animals Hunted – Forest Sitatunga, Warthog, Puku, Blue Duiker, Kafue Lechwe, Leichenstein’s Hartebeast, Common Reedbuck, Eland, Roan, Impala, Harnessed Bushbuck, Oribi, Black/Cookson’s Wildebeast

Animals Seen but not taken – Sable, Big Sable, Very Big Sable, Tsessebe, Cape Buffalo, Waterbuck, Vervet Monkey’s, Angolan Duiker

Would I Go Back? I like to rate every place we go with the “would I go back or not” standard. The rating is very scientific – Did I have a good time? Did my wife have a good time? Did the outfit do what they said they would do? Did the cost match the sales pitch? Not yes, but HECK YES!!! As a matter of fact, we are. I cannot say that about every place we go, but Nchila is getting a repeat visit in 2012 or 2013.

Background:
I am not an “inch” hunter but rather I seek out an experience that I can share with my family. This is the 5th place we have hunted in Africa (RSA, Zim and Zambia). It came on the back end of a lesser experience in the Luangwa Valley hunting buffalo. I will file a report on that trip at a later date.
As I mentioned, I usually only hunt with my family and prefer to have a camp all to ourselves. As most of you know, as your kids get older, time to hunt or travel is limited and the various interests of kids and a wife dictate where and when you go. I had an unusual agenda for this hunt – my wife and daughter wanted to go somewhere where they could interact and work with the local people. My sons and I were game for that as well but wanted to hunt – something.

I read about Pete Fisher and his operation in African Sporting Gazette and tracked him down. I met him at DSC to get a “feel” for his operation and area. Pete is fourth generation Zambian. His family settled this area in Zambia in the late 1800’s as missionaries fighting the slave trade. The history, documented in several books, is something out of the Stanley & Livingston stories. In summary, his family started a mission school, hospital, orphanage and church here. The area is the farthest northwest part of Zambia, right in the corner. Pete’s wife Lynn is the daughter of missionaries and that is their primary focus and passion in life – continuing the service and mission of his family for the past 130 years. Today, they operate a large ranching and farming operation along with the Kalene Mission School, a 200 bed hospital, a nursing school, an orphanage, a church and a host of other services to the local people. They live simply in an area that is 2 hours by air from Lusaka and 18 hours by truck. They are very remote and within walking distance of the Angola and Congo borders. The source of the Zambezi River is near their home.

As Christians, we found a kindred family in the Fisher’s. They walk out their faith and their lifestyle in a fascinating corner of the world. We enjoyed every minute with them.

My wife and daughter are both in the medical profession and saw the hospital as a place to serve and work while my sons and I wandered about hunting. We were not prepared for the depth of service and care that Pete and his family provide for the people there.

Details:
We met Pete in Mfuwe for the pre-hunt prior to our trip to Nchila. He had arranged a buffalo hunt in the Luangwa for us and joined us there along with his son, Sonny. I will report on that trip later, but suffice to say, that portion of the trip was not as nice or professionally handled as the portion of the trip that was under Pete’s control.

After four very long days in the Luangwa area, we travelled to Lusaka, met up with my wife and daughter and three charters to get to Nchila. Pete is a pilot as is Brian Wilson, the other guide on this trip. The third pilot was part of the missionary organization that shuttles sick people around the country for help. We loaded up and the three planes made the 2 hour journey to Nchila. We flew over the Kafue Swamp area and a large part of rural Zambia. I imagine that Zimbabwe was as green and cultivated as Zambia before Mugabe started his war vets free land program.

Pete’s airstrip is long enough for big cargo planes which we later found out would handle shipping sable to South Africa and other places. You see, Pete operates a large sable breeding operation along with the mission school, the ranching and farming, the orphanage and the hospital. He employs many many local people in all aspects of his operation/ministry. We landed and went straight to our guest cottages – a remarkable upgrade to the poor accomodations we had in the Luangwa camp. The pictures speak for themselves.

Nchila Accomodations

























Later in this report, I will note the second camp he has – Nkwaji Reserve – which is a twenty minute helicopter ride or 3 hour road trip away from Nchila. It is wilder and a luxury tented camp. More on that later.

I was stunned to see sable, eland, bushbuck, oribi, roan and impala grazing within view of our chalets and dining room. We passed some seriously nice warthogs and duikers on the way to the chalets from the airstrip. Unbelievable. These were Pete’s breeding groups and were unafraid of us as we photographed and gawked at them. These were not for hunting.

During our five course meal, Pete settled the women on a plan and we made a hunting plan. The ladies would head to the mission school to help with Bible instruction and to interact with the kids while the men would hunt. We learned to remain flexible as Pete was pulled in many directions each day while we there – one day there would be an incident with a local villager, the next would be an air conditioner repair at the school, next would be too many patients needing surgery or meds at the clinic or hospital. Pete has great help to run these various operations, but he still gets the call when needed.

As far as the hunting went, it was all spot and stalk. Granted, a puku is not the wariest animal around and did not require a lot of work but the blue duikers and the eland were very tough. Pete’s trackers called the duikers and we had a lot of trouble getting on them to make a shot. I never did connect but my son’s were successful. The roan and wildebeast were as tough as they were wary.

Pete’s sable ranching is impressive. He has a herd of about 500 animals. He tracks DNA and the breeding of each group. He has confirmed DNA in his herd that relate his animals to the Giant Angolan Sable thought be extinct until the past couple of years. He has males that rival the Angolan Sable in horn length. I saw at least 25 or likely more sable with 42” or longer horns and a few that exceed 50”. That’s right – longer than 50”. Pete sells excess animals to game ranch operations and breeders outside Zambia. He formed a partnership with the local people to shepherd his “babies” as he calls the main breeding animals to let them share in the success of his operation in return for regular paying jobs and no poaching. We saw no evidence of poaching in his area. He told us of a man that poached one of his sable. He took the problem to the village leaders that he knows well. He told of the value of the sable as a hunting animal and the amount of money the village lost as a result. They conferred, found the poacher and took care of the problem.

There are many other stories that I could relate that would give you a feel for Pete and Lynn, but I know many of you want to see the pics – so here goes……

Below are the pictures of the various animals we hunted. In summary, the Forest Sitatunga was blast to stalk along with the others. A blow by blow or shot by shot account is not needed except for my daughter’s puku.



























School Pics
My wife and I both spoke at the Kalene Mission School. This is a boarding school with kids ranging in age from 5 to 14. I spoke about the BP oil mess in the Gulf of Mexico and found the kids very informed and loaded with questions about it. Their main concern was about the fish, birds and sea turtles. They felt as all of us did when this was happening. See the pic below with their description of solutions to the problem. I think they were smarter than the folks at BP.

My wife engages with kids no matter where. She was having a ball teaching Bible stories and having well behaved kids.












They have a larger than Olympic sized swimming pool on the school grounds that is drained and filled every three days via a small canal to a local spring fed stream. This was pretty cool.








Hospital Pics
Pete has a relationship with various medical mission groups in Zambia and has one doctor who comes monthly to his hospital to perform a variety of surgeries. My wife and daughter assisted him and found the patients more than grateful to have a doctor rather than complaining about the care they received. It was humbling to see the needs of these people being met and the gratitude they showed.



















Orphanage Pics
Orphans in Zambia are like orphans in most sub-Saharan countries. They are turned out of their villages and left to fend for themselves or die. Pete’s family started an orphanage for these kids with the a unique idea – they ask that when a child comes to the orphanage that another family member come also. This is usually a widowed aunt or grandmother that is cared for as well while the child is educated and taken care of. There is a stigma to an orphan here as the child is blamed for the death of the parent(s). This is a tribal stigma. With this plan of taking an elderly, unsupported female from the village to help raise the child at the orphanage, the village sees two less mouths to feed and a solution to having to deal an orphan. AIDS is not a major problem in this area, yet, but it likely will be. This orphanage saves the lives of a lot of children. When the child is 18, he/she can return to their village without the stigma of being an orphan. Several have left the area, gone on for more education and are now coming back to the area.







Puku Poop:
My recently married daughter decided she wanted to hunt something as we were having a lot of fun. She had taken a zebra in Zimbabwe in 2005 but was not a Pam Zietz or a Cindy Garrison. Pete took her under his care and we proceeded to spot and stalk a top 20 Rowland and Ward puku. The puku is gifted with great looks and no brains. He stands in the open and stares at the enemy and decides to run when you get within about 200 yards. Pete is blessed with a bunch of puku, most of the males are extremely nice bucks. The sequence of photo’s below show the outcome of Pete’s leading.















These photo’s show what happens to a new hunter in Zambia – you are challenged to a puku poop spitting contest. Pete convinced my daughter that it was ok and that all hunters do it. She actually out spit Pete on one of her “spits”. This was compared to watermellon seed spitting contests in the USA but I failed to see the similarity. A laugh was had by all.









Nkwaji Reserve Pics
We spent a couple of days at Pete and Lynn’s new reserve camp on the Nkwaji River. The camp is luxury tents on concrete pads over looking the river. The area is raw, wild and stunning. We were the first guests at that camp. Pics below do not do it justice as it was wonderful.























Had to include a fisherman. It seems everywhere on the planet, every fisherman you meet is the eternal optimist. This fellow was out and catching small bream and having a ball. Here we were, a bunch a white guys cruising the Nkwaji River in a ski boat and he is fishing. Note the smile.

We hunted sable, wildebeast and eland here along with extensive bird watching. The highlight for me was sighting the Lady Ross’ Turaco ( http://www.pbase.com/image/33814638 ), a large crow sized bird that lives on the Nkwaji River. It is stunningly colorful, much like macaw parrot. I found out from Pete that he regularly hosts contingents of bird watching experts on his place due to the rare African species found only in this part of Africa. I added about 70 birds to my life list while here.

Pete and Lynn



Rarely on a safari or hunting trip do I truly relax and just let things happen. I can say that Pete created the type of environment where that occurred. The time was exceptionally well spent and my family had a truly wonderful trip. The animals were nice and I enjoyed the hunting, but more than anything, I enjoyed our time with the Fisher’s and Nchila Reserve.

Great pictures there, it looks like a lot of fun was had along with doing some great work.

Congratulations and well done.

Wonderful adventure. Memories for a lifetime.

That forest sitatunga is a different looking critter.

Thanks for that report. It's one of the most interesting one's I've seen.

I had heard there were Forest Sitatunga in Zambia from Dave Fulson and originally called BS, but Ross you brought home the proof. Well done! Great report and nice trophies and hats off for always involving your family in your (and their) adventures and giving something back to the areas you hunt!

Very good report. Great pics. You have a wonderful family by the looks of it.

Looks like a Blast!!! Congrats on the Trophys!!!

Thanks for sharing the great experience including the part about real missionaries. I am always amazed by people who can care so much to actually do something about it in remote and far away places.

Wonderful report! That's great that you and your family give back!

Brett

well done to you all!

Truely, a trip well done. A marvelous and rewarding adventure

Excellent report dogcat. Congrats on all your trophies but your daughters Puku is a toad!
LDK

Frickin' awesome!

A quick clarification, if I may: the rifles were yours, right? You didn't have to rent them, did you? Just wondering. Thanks.

The rifles were ours. You can rent some if you wish as Pete has a few.

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
The rifles were ours. You can rent some if you wish as Pete has a few.

Nice job and great trip!!

What a delightful experience you got to share with your family! PTL!

Y'all were blessed-- and were a blessing... a great combination.

Thanks for sharing the super story and photos!

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
The rifles were ours. You can rent some if you wish as Pete has a few.

Thanks for the info. I'd prefer to use my own rifles. However, I had heard some (apparently incorrect) information to the effect that Zambia require rifle rentals be used. Is there any restriction against using military chamberings?

Fantastic report, thanks for sharing.

Wonderful report! Congrats to you and your family! It is so nice to see the mission work that your wife and daughter did. Having done a fair amount of mission work myself, though never internationally, it certainly gives me something to look in to doing on my next trip over.

Adam

Hey Dogcat!

Great report! It's great to see how well you and your sons ended up doing after you left Luangwa. I was hoping everything worked out well for all of you, and by the looks of this excellent report, everything did.

I hope we cross paths again sometime.

By the way, Strang came over and stayed with me for a week earlier this month, then he went to Brad and Austin's for a week.

quote:

Originally posted by Wismon:

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
The rifles were ours. You can rent some if you wish as Pete has a few.

Thanks for the info. I'd prefer to use my own rifles. However, I had heard some (apparently incorrect) information to the effect that Zambia require rifle rentals be used. Is there any restriction against using military chamberings?

You can bring your own rifles but need a permit. Your outfitter will arrange for it. The checking in at customs was easy and they were no problems.

The surprise to me was the "tax" on imported ammo. It amounted to $1 per round on less than .375HH and about $2 per round on the big stuff. Had to pay in cash at the airport for the tax. Also, the entry visa was paid in cash - so take a few hundred $$$ or euro's to pay the fees upon entry. There were no hassles and the airports were nice.

Thank you for the report. it is wonderful to hear about someone with a mission focus that is also in the hunting business.

Thank you again for the report.

What a wonderful safari and humanitarian experience great photos and to that young lady god shooting.

The best,

Mike

Great to see game farming integrated with local communities. The hunting and accommodation looks to be first class.

Welcome to Zambia.

Fairgame,
I was concerned about how the game farming/local community relations work. After seeing how Pete manages his operation with the locals, I was truly impressed and inspired. The story of how it all came about is too long to relate here but the bottom line is that education/health care/training of locals have them "owning" what they do a little bit more than I have seen in other parts of Africa. Pete works with the leaders to solve problems and figure out how to proceed on a given issue.

An example was moving hippos back to the Nkwaji River area. In the past, the hippos were killed out for the meat. After discussing the pros and cons with the local village and leaders about moving hippos back to the river, the leaders agreed. The benefits were meat (eventually) from hunters, the hippo trails to and from the river to keep grass and foliage reduced near the river, the opening up of clogged creeks and streams that feed this river. The hippos were a solid part of the eco-system in the past. The hippos were moved there after I left. Pete hires the local guys to watch the wildlife and to keep poaching out. He pays them a good wage and lets the leaders sort out problems.

Another example is re-introducing buffalo to the area. He has brought in, at great expense, brucelosis free buffalo and is propagating a herd to not infect local cattle operations. So far so good on it. Again, he works with the local leaders before jumping into something.

Overall, I think this is a model that can be used in other areas of Africa successfully.

Dogcat,

I am developing a very similar model in the Kafue. Approx 25,000 acres unfenced and about 15,000 acres fenced. The fenced area is to breed common species for consumptive purposes and to combat the illegal bush meat trade.

The way to go is to prove the value of wildlife as a sustainable and valuable natural resource. Make it readily accessible to communities under an intensively managed environment.

Also offers a range of hunting to suit all budgets.

Pop in when next in Zambia.

By the way my advice would be to take another Kafue Lechwe but on the Kafue Flats. You would enjoy it. I did do a hunting report somewhere?