It’s 3:30 AM and I’m wide awake, fully ‘enjoying’ the jet lag; so I guess now is as good a time as any to share a report on my just concluded hunt with Alan Vincent on his new Selous concession, MA1/Madaba. In a word, it was Fantastic! I liked hunting Mlele 2 years ago, but I like Madaba a lot more. Madaba has a lot of game and a broad diversity, while Mlele lacked many of the species we enjoyed seeing and hunting the last couple weeks.

I booked this hunt with Alan as soon as he told me he was bidding on a new area in the Selous. My hunt would be for 16-days with a 21-day license to allow certain species that cannot be hunted on a shorter license, like leopard. I brought my son, Danny, along as a ‘Companion Hunter’, meaning he had his own 10-day license and could take animals from my quota. His interest was primarily to hunt one or two of my 3 buffalo and get to tag along while I hunted other stuff like leopard, hippo and crocodile. Also joining us was a very close friend of 45 years, Jim, who was hunting Africa for the first time at 79 years old. Jim was also on a 10-day license, focusing on a buffalo and hippo with Peter Waddelow as his PH. I jumped back and forth to spend some time as an observer enjoying Jim’s first African hunt and also give Danny some one on one time hunting with Alan since he has literally known Alan his entire life. I figured they’d have a great time together without me and they did. But I did spend most days hunting with my son, highlighted by a great buffalo day where we took 2 Dugga Boys from a group of 3 bulls. The animals I was interested in hunting included buffalo, leopard, dry land hippo, crocodile, and just a few plains game, primarily eland. I was fortunate to take everything I really wanted with the exception of eland.

We flew Emirates from San Francisco to Dar. As expected, everything went smoothly and we met up with Gladywin (Alan’s logistics manager in DAR) who ushered us through Tanzania’s arrival process very efficiently. Off to Sea Cliff for the night before our charter out to Madaba the following day. Our mid-day flight with Safari Airlink was smooth and I definitely enjoyed the short 1-hour flight compared to the 2 1/2+ hour flight out to Mlele.

On arrival, it was a nice reunion with Alan’s team of our driver, Lema as well as Nyoni & Robert, our trackers. They’re a great group of guys who hunt hard and have fun while doing so. I brought each of them a new pair of Converse All Star ‘Chuck Taylor’ high tops, along with plenty of new socks and these were a big hit. They all wear Chuck Taylors daily and theirs were pretty worn, so new shoes were appreciated. We also had a lot of fun with my attempts at Swahili, courtesy of Google Translate. While I had the basics down pretty good, they started longer conversations that left me in the dust, much to their amusement.

Now that we’re in camp and I’m finally ready to get some sleep since it’s nearly 5:00 AM, I’ll add more a bit later.

Alan is one of the finest young men Ive ever met, and a outstanding PH. with all the skills of the best. He was well trained by his world famous father and growing up in the business..

For those not familiar with the Selous Game Reserve, I’ll include a few maps. This first one shows the location of Alan’s Madaba concession in relation to Dar es Salaam, the point of departure. The Madaba concession is approximately 1,677 square kilometers or 415,000 acres. The area we hunted is the extension to the northwest where the blue lines run.

Here is what is left of the Selous hunting blocks, after about 60% was taken to form the new Julius Nyerere National Park. Alan’s area is listed as MA1, pretty much the center of the Selous. This map isn’t entirely accurate as the photographic area on the south side of Lake Nyerere doesn’t exist but is actually part of the adjoining hunting blocks.

Congratulations on your fine and successful safari, DLS! It sounds as close to perfect as it can get, whether these days or any other.

Thanks, too, for the map.

I can't help but feel crushed that so many of the amazing blocks to the south that I used to hunt with the Pasanisis are now closed to hunting.

But it's good to know that hunting grounds still exist in the Selous where the game numbers remain high and quality is still excellent.

Can't wait for the photos!

Alan’s camp is a traditional East African tent camp. It’s very comfortable but not over the top luxurious



The fire pit looks out over the Madaba River, which at this time of year only has scattered pools of water. We enjoyed watching a group of eight Dugga Boys that fed in the river bed on multiple evenings, perhaps 75 yards from our tents.

Sounds like a great safari Dan! Look forward to the rest of your report.

My tent (actually it is Saeed’s I just got to use it before him).

The first day I rode as an observer with my friend Jim, while my son Danny hunted alone with Alan. Danny shot a Crawshay’s Zebra, which are one of the most beautiful and small sub species of plains zebra.

One of the few plains game I was interested in taking was a bushbuck and on the 2nd afternoon we found a very nice ram with beautiful horn shape. The location would prove to be important as the bushbuck wasn’t the only thing we were fortunate to take right there…

Jim also scored on his first African animal on day two. When they rolled in I asked him if he shot anything. He said he did and said he wasn’t sure what it was but had horns on one end and a tail on the other. It was a nice Nyasaland Wildebeest.

Congrats! Keep it coming...

I have pictures of Alan standing on my elephant.

10 year old with a ginormous grin on his face.

He used to be the cameraman for our hunts with Roy.

We never stopped giving him a hard time.

Somehow the two of us seem to forget all the screw ups we do.

Now he never stops complaining about Roy, being the cameraman.

Or complaining about my "quick shooting"

"Please don't shoot until I block my EARS!"

Hunting with Roy and Alan is a grand comedy show!

It is a rare occasions when any specific hunt one of us three did not screw things up.

On the 4th day I was going to ride with Jim again to enjoy watching him experiencing Africa for the first time. Alan had other ideas and said he wanted to go look for a big hippo bull on dry land. That sounded better than riding as an observer so we went in search of a lone hippo bull in the forest.

We dropped down into a long korongo and found lots of water with abundant game. First a herd of elephants, then hippos and crocs in a pool. Waterbuck, bushbuck, good eland sign. We were walking along a game trail that was well above the pools of water, checking each pool for hippos. Even though the forest was fairly open, parts of the trail were quite thick. Suddenly, Alan retreated backward rapidly while bringing up his rifle. Since all the hippos we’d seen were below us, I instinctively thought we’d bumped into a buffalo bull and advanced forward. Alan hissed ‘hippo’ as we passed each other. The bull was 15 yards in front of us but I couldn’t see much except teeth. Suddenly, the bull broke to my left to escape. It’s shocking how fast an hippo can go from zero to very fast, I hadn’t expected that. Instinct took over and it was like shooting a 5,000 lb quail flying low. I was shooting 400 grain Cutting Edge solids in my .416 and the first shot was about 20 yards and took out the bull’s heart. My next shot went in about halfway back on the left side with the hippo quartering hard away. The bull skidded to a stop instantly. We later found the 2nd bullet at the base of the skull. The solid had penetrated approximately 4’, including traversing about 16-18 inches of spine. We thought this was very impressive performance. I could reload that bullet should I wish to shoot it again.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Congratulations on your fine and successful safari, DLS! It sounds as close to perfect as it can get, whether these days or any other.

Thanks, too, for the map.

I can't help but feel crushed that so many of the amazing blocks to the south that I used to hunt with the Pasanisis are now closed to hunting.

But it's good to know that hunting grounds still exist in the Selous where the game numbers remain high and quality is still excellent.

Can't wait for the photos!

Actually, Mike, as I understand it, Passanissi’s blocks haven’t been taken over by anyone but it didn’t sound like they’d been closed to hunting. One of those blocks borders Madaba on the southwest side.

Excellent

Now that we had the hippo, croc baits were set along the lakeshore. We were also hanging and checking leopard baits, so most of you know how our next few days were spent. This was all new to Danny as his previous trips with me focused on plains game and buffalo. He was loving every minute of checking leopard & crocodile baits. His sense of smell must not be very good!

I should mention that Madaba seems like a special place to hunt leopards, as it has a very high population. The hunter before me had multiple cats on bait and enjoyed a great hunt. We had a total of 7 baits up and at least one cat was feeding on 5 of them within a couple days, with a couple baits having multiple cats on the trail cameras. At two of the baits, the leopard was up in the tree when we arrived and we saw them jump down. One female laid on the limb for a good minute with 5 of us watching her from 30 yards away. This was definitely something I’ve never seen before and didn’t expect. It was common to see leopard tracks at nearly every bit of water we checked that had sandy soil, including many cub tracks. I think the future of leopards here is very bright.

Since we’d been spending much of our first days getting baits, hanging and checking them; we hadn’t done much with buffalo. Around day 5 or 6 we checked a pan and there was sign of 3 Dugga Boys that had been there recently.

Over the next few hours, we tracked them through thick grass, which was slow due to visibility, but fairly easy since they’d left wet mud on the grass they were pushing through. We finally caught up with them in a burned patch of miombo. All three were older bulls and Alan took Danny up close while I stayed back with the trackers. A short while later Danny fired two shots from his .375 H&H and we heard the death bellow soon after.

Almost immediately, Alan started waving me to come up quickly as the other 2 bulls had not left. When I got to Alan he asked if I could see a bull through a narrow window. It was about 100 yards away and all I could see was a shoulder, nothing else. I shot, hitting the bull well, but it simply took a step or two forward and stopped. I told Alan the only thing I could now see was its ass and was going to put another bullet there. He nodded and I shot it through the back legs. We moved a bit closer and the bull turned to face us so I put a shot into the front of his chest with no reaction, then another into its face, dropping the bull on the spot. My bull had gone perhaps 15 yards from first shot to last. We advanced, made sure it was truly dead and then turned to look at Danny’s bull which had gone down only about 30 yards from where my bull died. His bull was gone! Where the hell did it go? It was laying ‘right there’, dying! There was a huge amount of lung blood but no buffalo.

My buffalo

We took up following Danny’s buffalo, with Robert & Nyoni leading the way. Surprisingly, despite a large amount of blood where the bull had been lying, there was very little blood as we slowly followed whatever sign they could find. Most of the country this buffalo traveled through had been burned, so at least it was fairly open in most places. Tracks in the ash covered ground made progress steady, but this ‘dead’ buffalo was really covering country, never stopping. Each time we came to a patch of thick cover I reminded Danny to be ready as things could get pretty western in a hurry.

As it turned out, we caught up to the buffalo after about an hour and it was pretty weak. Another shot by Danny and it was down. Alan uses GAIA GPS, which is a great app. The buffalo had wandered around as it traveled so I didn’t see total distance, but the straight line from my buffalo was a bit over 2 kilometers! A hell of a long way for a ‘dead’ buffalo to travel. Danny had put one TSX through both lungs and the other TSX through one lung from the front. And then that buffalo got up traveled over 2 kilometers, amazing!

We obviously weren’t able to get photos of both buffalo together, which I’d been hoping to do, but shooting father-son buffalo together was a really special moment for both of us.

Danny’s buffalo

Well done Dan.

Up to now, Danny had never been exposed to hunting leopards but he was thoroughly enjoying the entire process. One of the locations we put a bait was very near where I’d shot the bushbuck. There was a small waterhole right there and we noticed a large leopard track in the sand by water’s edge. As luck would have it there was a suitable tree less than 100 yards from the water, so we hung a bait there.

Buffalo, it’s what’s for dinner…


We checked this bait two days after hanging a zebra leg and it had been nearly finished, so we quickly added a buffalo leg to it and built a blind. Alan mostly uses Double Bull blinds for both lion and leopard baits and we set one up 47 yards from the tree. A nice aspect was that this blind would enable Danny to sit with us so that he could experience the best part of leopard hunting. As we were finishing brushing the blind, we suddenly heard loud growling nearby in the karongo. The leopard was right there!

Brushed up Double Bull blind


We got out of there quickly so as to not spook the leopard, with a plan to return before daylight for a morning sit.

The next morning, we rolled up to the blind about an hour before first light only to see the leopard take off in the headlights, right in front of the truck. Apparently he was checking out the blind when we drove up. We quickly unloaded and settled into the blind, hoping the cat would return. Alan had instructed Lema to bring the truck at 8:00 as he figured if the cat came back, it’d be early and nothing would be happening that late.

Nothing was going on for the first hour and we were all settled in waiting. I’d had trouble staying awake when I hunted Mlele in October of ‘21 so this time I brought along a bunch of ‘5 Hour Energy’ shots to ensure I wouldn’t doze off and snore. I was doing pretty good, but Alan kept nodding off. Danny was absolutely wired since this was his first time. I was sitting in the front left position, while Alan was to my right. Danny was behind us, right in the middle. This gave him a perfect vantage point as he had an unobstructed view of the tree and he’d be looking right over the top of my gun should an opportunity present itself.

At 7:53 Danny suddenly whispered “Don’t move”. And just like that the leopard walked out onto the limb. Danny heard him climbing the tree, while my impaired hearing gave me no clue. As soon as the cat was positioned where he was feeding, Danny whispered that I could get on the gun. Alan had turned on the video from his iPhone and was capturing great video in the full morning light. We had a bit of a problem, as the leopard had turned toward the blind and was facing us, not a good shot angle. I had the Firedot reticle on, and each time the cat would reach down I had a very solid shot right through the top of its spine but Alan wanted me to wait for a broadside opportunity.



The leopard was well aware of the blind and every minute or so it’d pause and stare at us.

The leopard continued to feed and pause to stare at us but never present a broadside opportunity. He’d been in the tree over five minutes with me aiming at him the entire time. Suddenly, the cat snapped up from feeding and immediately went on full alert. The truck had started and they were coming to get us. Suddenly, he turned to his right and started quickly walking down the limb. Alan was urging me to shoot and I was tracking his shoulder with the bright red Firedot. The cat started to pause and gather himself to jump down and at the moment I noticed his pause I fired.

This image from the video is at the moment where the bullet struck. Note the impact on his shoulder and his head as it impacted.


The cat did a forward somersault off the limb and was gone. Alan immediately was asking how I felt about my shot and I told him it was good. We then played back the video and all 3 of us broke into broad smiles when we saw where the bullet had impacted. While we were waiting for the truck we just kept playing that portion of video over and over. And over again.

Awesome report so far. Can't wait to hear about cats and crocs.

Now crocs.

When the truck arrived we showed the video to the crew and it was smiles all around as everyone realized we has a dead cat. Even so, we approached the tree on high alert. We couldn’t see the cat from above so descended down and immediately Robert yelled “Kabubi”. The cat was laying in the open about 20 yards away.



Danny was savoring the moment and wanted all kind of pictures with our nice Tom

HELL of a safari and great photos!!

Thanks for sharing this.

Dan,
What a fantastic hunt!! Thanks for the great hunt story and photos!!

I am envious!! Next year...I'll be 80 like your friend... but many safaris are in my memories...

Is Airlink a charter outfit or scheduled airline??

CheerZ,

Steve, Safari Airlink is a charter service, flying Cessna 208 Caravans. Alan has been using them for years. The pilot we fly with, Matt, is highly experienced despite his young age and an excellent, safe pilot. I enjoy that he lets me ride in the right seat.



The caravan is important as Alan’s Madaba concession is actually quite remote. The nearest village, Liwale, is a 7+ hour drive each way. All supplies except fuel come in on the Caravan flights. They have to drive to Liwale to pick up game scouts for each hunt, so always bring in drums of fuel from those trips.

Some of you know, but many may not, that Tanzania has built a hydroelectric dam at Steiglers Gorge, effectively turning the Rufiji River into Lake Nyerere. The dam has been finished for about a year and the lake is rapidly filling. At this point it’s about 1/3 full and is going to be a huge lake when full.



With this in mind, we brought Alan some quality fishing gear and tackle. We did try some fishing after the leopard was in the salt, catching a couple dozen catfish and vundu, but only a few small tiger fish. Everyone had a blast for a couple hours and the crew had a bunch of fresh fish to enjoy.





Alan has purchased an 18 foot boat that he’ll have there next season. This will be a nice benefit for fishing, as well as hippo and croc hunting. He’s going to investigate whether it’s feasible to pick up clients at the dam and bring them in by boat. He also plans to build a small camp at the lake as it’ll make for more efficient hunting without the long drive every day.

I think the lake, once full, is going to offer excellent crocodile hunting with very large crocs. More on this later.

Danny & Jim were getting close to the end of their time and Jim had shot a 42” buffalo, wildebeest and was hoping to shoot a hippo. On the 8th day, Jim shot an old bull in a tigh place that was full of crocodiles.

Thanks for this superb report and these excellent photos, Dan.

They are like going back in time for me.

If there is such a thing as better than best, then this would be it.

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
Danny & Jim were getting close to the end of their time and Jim had shot a 42” buffalo, wildebeest and was hoping to shoot a hippo. On the 8th day, Jim shot an old bull in a tigh place that was full of crocodiles.

Impressive. Well done.

I'm really enjoying your post. What a safari and to spend it with your son and friend. Hunting in an area where the nearest village is a 7 hour drive away, that would be wonderful. Thanks for posting, looking forward to reading more.

quote:

Hunting in an area where the nearest village is a 7 hour drive away

That is what the Selous Game Reserve is all about: no villages, no unauthorized human beings and no livestock are permitted access.

The other beauty about it is the absence of any kind of fence or man-made barricade (other than the dam) which is anyway out of bounds.

Dan,
Thank you, interesting input. This was still being sorted out when we were trying to book.
I am a pilot and always try to ride in the right seat, just in case!! After retiring from my Corporate career in 1999, I had the option to go fly Beavers in Alaska, and was offered a Caravan position by one of the Tanzania outfitters...my wife thought better of BOTH!!
Knowing the costs of ownership and operation over 30 years, I am always astounded at the charter costs, and of course concerned about Africa standards for maintenance and pilot training/safety. My general reaction to charter prices, "I don't want to buy your airplane, just use it for a few hours!!"
That being said, we were actually looking at driving in one way, and flying the other... we really wanted to experience the Selous up close... and yes, we understand the highway risk and possibility of terrorists/rebels along the route!!
Yes, it is interesting also that a larger aircraft is needed to haul in the camp provisions at the client's cost!! That said I do prefer the reliability of a turbine in the Caravan than 1 or even 2 engined, probably older piston powered aircraft!!
Glad you had a great hunt!!

CheerZ,

BWANA,

WELL DONE IN ALL RESPECTS!!!!!!!!!

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

Hunting in an area where the nearest village is a 7 hour drive away

That is what the Selous Game Reserve is all about: no villages, no unauthorized human beings and no livestock are permitted access.

The other beauty about it is the absence of any kind of fence or man-made barricade (other than the dam) which is anyway out of bounds.

Fulvio, you forgot to mention one other important thing, at least for Madaba. It is so far from any habitation that we saw no evidence whatsoever of poaching of animals or timber.

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

Hunting in an area where the nearest village is a 7 hour drive away

That is what the Selous Game Reserve is all about: no villages, no unauthorized human beings and no livestock are permitted access.

The other beauty about it is the absence of any kind of fence or man-made barricade (other than the dam) which is anyway out of bounds.

Fulvio, you forgot to mention one other important thing, at least for Madaba. It is so far from any habitation that we saw no evidence whatsoever of poaching of animals or timber.

Dan, hopefully the elephants can make a comeback? Was there any talk of elephant numbers after the bad poaching that lasted until about 2015? Thank you for the excellent report!

Safari2, we saw elephants several times, though no big bulls. Lots of elephant sign in terms of tracks and dung. Alan’s understanding is that Madaba does hold decent numbers and possibly some interesting bulls in a different portion of the block that they haven’t yet accessed. He does plan to explore that in the future though not this year.