Hunter: Will Parks
Observer: Betsy Parks
Operator: Zambezi Hunters
PH: Thierry Labat
Save Valley Conservancy: Hammond & ARDA
Dates: July 10 -24, 2010
Logistics: Shawn at Gracy (Delta from ATL, overnight at Afton, SAA to HRE)
Rifles: Winchester Model 70s in .338Win Mag and .416Rem Mag.
Ammo: 400gr Swift A-Frames and Barnes Solids for the 416 and 250gr Nosler Partitions for the 338
Scopes: Swarovski 1.25-4x24 in QD Mounts on the 416 and Zeiss 2.5-10x50 (illuminated reticle) on the 338
Binos: Zeiss 8x20 compacts for tracking and Swarovski 8x30 for use from the vehicle or blind

OVERVIEW
This was my +/- 25th guided/outfitted trip, ten of which have been international trips and five of which have been to Africa. I think I have made enough hunts to know a good one from a bad one, but at the end of the day, these are my subjective feelings about the PH, outfitter, area, hunting, and the overall experience. That said, this is my second hunt with Zambezi Hunters and Thierry Labat in two years. I am also booked with ZH and TL for elephant and lion in 2011 and 2012.

ZH runs a highly efficient and superbly organized safari company. They are not the largest operator in Zim by far, but that lends itself to a high level of personal service and great attention to detail. In 30 days of hunting with ZH, I’ve not had a single concern about the logistical or operational aspects of the safari (fuel, vehicles, food, hidden costs, up-charges, surprises, changes, operational issues, theft, legalities, disputes over area, etc, etc, etc). That leaves me 100% free to concentrate on hunting and enjoying the African experience. That is how a safari should run.

Labat is 100% hunter. Skilled, hard working, personable, unassuming, funny, and knowledgeable. At 31, he is on the rise. We couldn’t be more pleased with Thierry. Several of his other clients, including some on this forum, echo that sentiment.

BACKGROUND
I was not planning to go to Africa this year. With hunts lined up for 2011 and 2012 to round out my big four, I resolved to stay at home, work hard, and save some cash. Well, plans change.

In June, I received word that Thierry had a 10 day buffalo hunter cancel his late July hunt. We moved quickly and determined that there was also an available leopard on quota. We needed more days for leopard and it turned out that Thierry was to have some time off in early July. He graciously agreed to cut his break short to hunt me for the longer buffalo and leopard hunt. With this news, we ironed out the final details and booked the 14 day leopard and buffalo hunt to begin on July 10.

AREA
The Hammond and ARDA hunting areas, which have been hunted by several AR posters, comprise 90,000ish acres on the southern end of the conservancy. There are large herds of buffalo and lots of elephants on the property. Lion are also there as are leopards and some limited number of rhino. In addition to the big game, I observed many species of plains game in good quantities including the following: impala, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, duiker, klipspringer, and warthog. I saw several kudu bulls, most of which were not fully mature; some eland, one of which was a shootable male; lots of bushbuck; and a few sable.

While I didn’t see many trophy class kudu or eland, the truth is that I was not really looking for either. Both species are there in huntable numbers as evidenced by AR’s larryshores’ and Cazador Humilde’s recent successful hunts for both species. I told Thierry that I would not shoot a kudu or an eland unless they were real whoppers. As a result, we really did not spend much time hunting either species, but would have taken the opportunity to do so if we stumbled across a great one.

With the bushbuck, I shot an average one last year and I was committed to shoot a really big one or not shoot at all. As it turned out, I didn’t shoot at all.

LEOPARD
We set four leopard baits (zebra quarters) on the first day of the hunt. To my great surprise, we had a hit the first night. The trail cam confirmed we had a male on bait as well as a female. It was time to hunt leopard again!



On day two, as the sun dipped toward the horizon, we settled into a double bull blind. Tucked into a rock outcropping, it was some 20 to 25 feet above the bait site and it gave us a commanding view of the bait tree.

After two hours, there SHE was. In the fading light, a leopard female materialized below the bait. I could see her through my rifle scope as she silently scaled the tree and went to eating the bait. After a few minutes, during which time I “shot” her 15 to 20 times, she descended and made off into the coming darkness.

Two hours later, shortly after 8pm, we again heard the sound of a cat on the bait. We readied ourselves and Thierry hit the light. This leopard, unlike the first cat I ever saw in the light, remained calm and unalarmed and continued about the business of eating the bait. We looked for the pouch under the tail, but we could not see it to confirm the sex of the cat. After several seconds, the cat stopped eating, descended the tree, and disappeared into the night.



Later again, the sound of a cat on the bait caused us to turn the light on. When we did so, there was a cat on the bait feeding as well as another cat on the ground. Again, we were not able to verify the sex of either cat based on the body so we turned off the light and sat several more hours before we gave up the hunt at midnight, some eight hours into the hunt.

While I was a little disheartened that we had not collected a cat on the SECOND night, I was well pleased to be back in a leopard blind trying to outsmart Mr. Spots. Thierry is good at this game and he takes it as seriously as anything that I’ve seen him do. He is adamant, as he should be, about making sure that we only shoot males. He cuts no corners and is diligent in selecting bait sites, creating scent drags, locating and building blinds, and maintaining complete silence in the blind. The best evidence of his ability with the leopards is the rate at which we have hits on baits. Not many Zim hunters get to sit in the blind and see leopards on the second night of their hunt. Not many at all!

The following morning (day three) we shot some more baits and checked the trail camera from where we sat for leopard the previous evening. True to form, the cats had returned shortly after we left the blind. Upon studying the pictures and the rosettes, we determined that we actually had TWO males feeding on ONE bait as well as the female. Unlikely to say the least! Having dissected the trail cam photos, we ate lunch, had a nap and a shower, and set out for the leopard blind with a plan to be in the blind no later than 4pm.





We settled into the blind at 3:56 p.m. on day three. Still in the double bull, it was hot and dusty, but it was very good to prevent the cats from detecting noise, scent, or movement. As daylight faded, I was getting sleepy and I decided to sit (rather than lie down) to keep from dozing off. I also passed the time by looking through my rifle scope and my binos in the direction of the bait.

At about 5:50, we heard a single grunt that sounded like a leopard. It quickly followed that a couple of klipspringers started making their distress calls and some francolin flushed with a great commotion. Within a few minutes, however, all was quiet again. Then, while making my routine inspection of the bait tree with my binos, I saw a form under the bait that had not been there previously. It was THE LEOPARD.

Thierry was on his back, resting, and I touched him on the arm. Without saying a word, Thierry sat up and raised his glasses just as I re-raised mine. We both saw the cat scale the tree and we both heard him begin eating the bait. As the sounds of the cat eating the bait became louder and more regular, Thierry decided that it was time to turn on the light. I slid into my tripod mounted rifle and readied myself. As I laid my head on the stock, all I could see through the scope was the red, illuminated center of the German #4 reticle. When the light came on, there they were. Two leopards! One on the branch and one on the ground.

I did not see the cat on the ground as I was zoomed in on the bait branch. Believe me, at 6x I could see that cat. He was sleek, muscular, and beautiful. Waiting for Thierry’s instruction to shoot, I kept the red dot on the cat’s shoulder. After a few seconds that seemed like minutes, the cat turned and made his way down the tree. I followed him the whole way down, ready to shoot him at Thierry’s command.



The leopard eventually made his way to the ground and stood there broadside. The tail was in the air, but I could not make out that this was a male or a female. The leopard eventually walked off and Thierry killed the light. He leaned over and said, “I think that was a male. I almost told you to shoot him. His head and neck are too big to be a female.”

Now you tell me! Ugh! I chuckled to myself thinking that we were “green” hunting leopard and that we were never going to shoot one at this rate. However, I agreed with Thierry’s assessment. My last and best view of the cat was just before he took his last step from the tree. His front feet were below his rear feet and he was quartering to me. His shoulders, neck and head all looked too stocky to be a female. It is easy, however, to reach these opinions in hindsight.

Less than five minutes later, the sound of feeding began again. Thierry’s leg was close to my foot and I tapped him with my toes to make sure that he heard what I was hearing. He nodded in agreement and, again, he gave the cat a few minutes to get comfortable on the bait. After a minute or so, he told me to get ready that he was about to turn on the light.

When the light came on, a leopard was on the branch, again. I was ready with the crosshairs on the leopard, again. And seconds passed like minutes, again. The leopard looked around and gradually started making his way down the tree. He stopped and turned 180 degrees on the branch, offering Thierry a view of his “under the tail region” and stopped quartering to us. Thierry gave me the “Shoot Him” command, and that was exactly what I did.



The .338 rang out like a cannon. The leopard looked to be knocked from the tree and into the darkness below. With the rifle in a firm rest and just 50 yards between me and the cat, I felt confident that I’d drilled him. In the seconds after the shot we heard the death grunts of what we believed was a mortally wounded cat.

Excited, we put on our shoes, grabbed our lights and rifles, and headed down to recover our cat. When we reached the bait tree, however, there was no cat, there was no hair, and there was no blood. Instead, we heard a gargling sound and a cough from across the sand river that lay behind the bait site. Thierry said, with a smile, “That didn’t sound good.”

Shining our lights, we could see two sets of eyes reflecting back at us. One was completely across the river and up the opposite bank. The other was slowly moving up the bank. Neither was more than 100 yards away. Thierry had me to hold both lights to better illuminate the cats while he looked with his binos. Neither cat gave any indication that it was wounded or that it was one of the cats that we were hunting. With binos, you could tell that you were looking at a leopard, but that was about it.

Thierry decided to call the car, get the spotlight, and continue the search with the assistance of the trackers. While we waited on them, we continued looking around the bait site and the sand bank behind the bait site without finding the cat, blood, hair, or any sign of a hit. Personally, I was starting to feel sick on various levels. One, did I miss the leopard altogether? Two, did I wound this cat, possibly to never find him? Three, did I create a situation where someone might get very seriously hurt or killed? The only thing that made me feel slightly better was the fact that the leopard made the sounds of a dying cat as he ran away.

It took a good 15 minutes for the trackers to arrive. When they did, they fetched the spotlight and we began scanning the sand river for any sign of the cat. Now, some 30 to 40 minutes after shooting, we were on the riverbank with the lights when we heard some gurgling sounds from the opposing riverbank area. Further, one set of those yellow eyes was STILL THERE in the approximate area of the sounds! Personally, I could not fathom why a leopard – the most secretive and illusive of the big cats – would still be in the area, after a shot was fired, after the car arrived, and after 6 men began canvassing the area with lights and guns unless he was non-mortally wounded and highly pissed off.

After some time looking for blood with the spotlight and still finding no blood, it was decided to cross the sand river and to see if we could find those yellow eyes that had been staring back at our lights the first 40 minutes after the shot. By this time, the eyes could no longer be seen and it was completely unknown whether the cat slinked away or whether he lay in wait to attack his pursuers. I stopped to place another round in my rifle and Thierry quipped, “Don’t bother with reloading, you’re not going to have time for more than one shot.” “Thanks for reassuring words”, I thought.

Slowly, we made our way across the river. Tonga and Mudini were in the middle with the spotlight with Thierry on the right with his .458 and me on the left with my .338. Even with the scope on 2.5 power, I was wishing that I had my .416 dialed down to 1.25 power. I was also hoping that Mudini and Tonga had been instructed that their only job in the case of a charge was to keep the light on the cat. This, however, concerned me since I had seen Tonga run when Thierry and I fended off a charging buffalo just 12 months previous. To top it all off, the batteries in my torch were failing.

Step after step, we eased along. Tossing rocks and sticks at likely hiding places, we slowly crossed the river. As we started the climb up the opposing bank, the vegetation created hundreds of possible hiding places for our attacker. I tried to stay focused on the job at hand, but all that I could think of was that we were about to face a charge from a furious leopard, at night, in knee tall grass and other undergrowth.

Everywhere you looked was a leopard hiding spot. If the cat bolted from any of these likely ambush sites, there would be time for one shot – if even that – to stop the yellow fury of fangs and claws. By this time, I was sure that we were about to be charged. It was certain. The big question was if our crew could sort out the mess before someone got scratched. I felt physically ill, terribly excited, and scared for mine and my friends’ safety, but I was committed to the task at hand. If I was willing to shoot a leopard, I must also be willing to stand by my PH and the trackers for the follow up, even if that meant getting scratched.

As we arrived at the tree where the leopard was last spotted. I braced for the attack. My gun was at my shoulder as was Thierry’s. Mudini trained the light on the cat’s last known position as Tonga threw a stick and a rock trying to get the cat to give up its position. Nothing. Another stick. Nothing.

Now I was really sick. I was starting to feel like we should call it off and return in the morning to track the cat. It obviously was not dead where we last saw it. Further searching, I believed, put all of us directly into harm’s way.

Before I could speak my mind, Thierry called for me and the spotlight. With his torch, he’d spotted Mr. Spots in the reeds just below us at the bank of the sand river. I rushed over sure that a finishing shot was needed. Still uncertain if he was dead or alive, we trained our rifles on him as Tonga threw a few sticks in his direction. Stick one, no movement. Stick two, nothing. Stick three, more of the same.

Thierry and I descended the bank and I took the lead for the last few steps leading up to our leopard. Now just a few feet distant, it was clear the cat was dead. Nevertheless, I touched his eye with my rifle barrel just to be sure. He was done. He was ours.

We carried the cat into the open river and took many pictures to celebrate the successful hunt, our safety, and this bond that exists between those who hunt game that can hurt you or kill you if you are not careful. Today, the hunters had won. I was proud for that, but I was more proud for our safety and the fact that I had not caused anyone to get hurt on account of poor shooting.

Since it was now obvious that our leopard was dead in the river, it was clear that the two sets of eyes on the opposing bank belonged to the other two leopards. Indeed, investigation of the trail camera photos taken during the hunt verified that there were THREE leopards, including the two males, at the same bait within a matter of minutes.

The first cat to feed was a nice male that was a virtual twin of the cat I’d shot. He arrived at just after 6:30. This leopard was accompanied by a female who stood on the ground beneath the bait while he ate. When we turned the light on this pair, the female slinked off while the male continued eating. Thierry was on the verge of green lighting me to shoot this cat, but he could not see the testicles. Not wanting to make a mistake, we watched the cat come all the way down the tree before walking down into the river.



Then, just five minutes later. The second male was in the tree, eating the bait. This time, when Thierry hit the light, the cat stopped eating, did a turn on the branch, thus showing what evidence that Thierry needed to see before giving me the green light to shoot. When he did so, the cat was quartering towards us.



My feeling that I’d hit the cat hard was spot on. In fact, the 250 grain bullet hit on the point of the shoulder at the vertical midpoint of the body. The Nosler Partition absolutely pulverized the on-side shoulder and ran through the body from left front to right rear before exiting on the opposite hip. Even so, the cat ran 70 yards before dying.

On physical examination, this was a great cat. At about 7 feet and 130ish lbs, he is a great trophy and I am greatly pleased. Any successful leopard hunt is a great success and should be considered as such. Needless to say, Betsy was surprised at our 9pm return to camp. Having finished her supper, she was reading and journaling and contemplating going to bed. After our last safari where we spent close to 70 hours over six nights sitting in blinds, she could not believe that we’d sealed the deal with just 11 hours spread over two nights. Frankly, I can’t believe it either.









What is very surprising in this case is the speed with which the hunt took place. We baited on day one, had two males and one female on the bait the first night, sat in the blind on day two and could have killed a cat, sat again on day three and killed one of two males that came to the bait before 7pm.

Every part of this leopard hunt was fantastic. Just fantastic. Every part of “my” success is attributable to Thierry’s love of leopard hunting, his understanding of these great cats, and his skill as a professional hunter. Being in a good area is a factor as well, but knowing what to do when you get there is essential.

I just can’t wait for us to do it again next July.

BUFFALO

After celebrating the successes of the leopard hunt, we elected to sleep in. We did not get out of bed until 7am and we did not leave the camp until well after 8am. Needless to say, we were not expecting to do much hunting. Maybe ride around, cut down some baits, retrieve trail cameras, dismantle the leopard blind, etc.

Our first stop was the previous night’s blind. As the trackers rounded up the leopard accoutrements, we checked the trail cam. After the shot, the follow up, and the photo session, the female had been back and had eaten a good deal of the remaining zebra quarter. The other male, however, had not returned.

Just a few hundred yards past the leopard blind, we cut fresh buffalo tracks and dung. Dagga boys! The road we were on circled around and we cut the tracks again. As we drove on past a rocky outcropping, we actually spotted two buffalo. One of them looked really good with a big drop and nice hooks.

The wind was good and the buffalo were not very alarmed so we backed the truck down the road and stopped. Thierry and I jumped out thinking that the buffalo had not yet run and that we might be able to get a look at them to see what was there. However, by the time we dismounted, loaded up, and hit the track, the bulls had left.

We elected to follow the track. Over the next hour, we tracked the bulls through some absolutely beautiful country. The wind was in our favor the great majority of the time and we moved fairly quickly on the track. The bulls ran into the wind for more than a mile before slowing to a walk and moving with the wind down into an area with dense vegetation and undulating terrain.

Everyone was starting to act “birdy” when I saw one of the buffalo through the scrub mopane. I grabbed Thierry by the coat and pulled him to me so that he could see what I was looking at. He set the sticks and I put my gun up as he studied the bulls.

One of the bulls clearly had seen us and he walked toward us and raised his head. Facing us straight on at less than 50 yards was one of the nicest buffalo that I’ve personally seen. Hard bosses, good drop, nice spread, great curls, basically he had it all. With eleven days to hunt, Thierry knew that I did not want to shoot just any bull, but that I wanted something as good or better than what we’d shot together the previous year. I felt like that was what we were looking at and Thierry confirmed it when he gave me the “Shoot!” command.

I complied and delivered a 400 grain solid into the buffalo’s chest, taking out the top of the heart. The buffalo and his two mates burst through the scrub, with one running to the right and my bull and another running to the left. The run, however, was short as the bull only covered about twenty yards before he collapsed. A second shot was not really required, but the bull was still thrashing a good bit, so we put another solid in the bull to anchor him and to hasten his death. On the second shot, he bellowed and he was done.

When we walked up the bull, he was everything that I hoped for. With a fantastic horn configuration, spread, mass, drop, and almost grown together bosses, he had it ALL!









Time for an Encore?

Just four days into the hunt and my primary trophies are in the salt. Now what? Fortunately, Alistair Pole was due in camp on day five, and I planned to talk to him about our options. With ten days left and no intentions of leaving Zim a minute early, we needed something else big to hunt. I figure that we’re already here and we might as well enjoy it while we can. It turned out that Alistair and George Hulme (Johnny’s father & Alistair’s father in law) joined us for lunch on day five and we were able to discuss the possibilities for another leopard and/or another buff. While the leopard was impossible, the buff was OK. In fact, we made a plan to add a buff bull and a cow.

MORE BUFFALO
Fast forward to Day 13 and there are only two hunting days left after today. We really need to come up with another buffalo bull. We’ve turned down some really nice bulls and we’ve chased a 42 or 43 inch super bull for two days. Time to fish or cut bait.

We found fresh buffalo tracks and dung on Hammond and took up the chase about 7:30 am. It was not ten minutes until we first encountered the herd. Maybe as many as 100 animals in this herd. Many ears, many eyes. We maneuvered round and round the herd, playing the ever switching wind and trying to get a look at a mature bull. Twice we tried to catch the herd as it crossed a sand river, but in both cases, we were just a few minutes late.

As we walked the river bank, listening to the sounds of the feeding herd and keeping tabs on the wind, we were surprised to see a male leopard in the river sand, just 150 yards away. He had no idea we were there and we had the pleasure and privilege of watching him for 30 seconds as he crossed the river and disappeared into the foliage on the opposing bank. In fact, we were so caught up in the rare, daylight leopard sighting that we bumped into the herd. We startled a cow and calf and they ran forward a few yards, but not enough to trigger a stampede of the hundred or so buffalo that we now could hear feeding just above and ahead of us.

What next began was a game of cat and mouse that lasted for better than two hours. Playing to the wind, we darted in and out of touch with this herd trying to locate a good bull. We glassed cows and calves and young bulls, but it was difficult to find THE bull in the presence of the hundred other beasts. Just when we thought we were about to get into a good position to view most of the herd, we were run out of the country by elephants. A group of cows and calves were feeding right toward us. Breaking branches and stripping the bark away, they sounded like an army coming through the forest. Two or three times we had to move out of the way of these elephants. Even though the wind was bad for us, it was as if the elephants always wanted to be right where we were. Not wanting to get into a shootout or a standoff with the pachyderms, we continually retreated and surrendered our turf to the ellies.

After we got around and up wind of the elephants, they left. The buffalo, however, were still around. We pressed closer and closer to the herd. Not really scaring them, but letting them know that we were there. Some ran, but most turned and looked to see what we were. Three or four times we performed this maneuver until a bull finally walked into a small lane and stared us down.

Thierry set the sticks and said, “Shoot the one of the left.” Instinctively, I went to shoot off the top of the sticks, but the rest was much too high given the tight, brushy spot in which we had settled. Thierry said to use the leg of the stick as a rest and I knelt and complied.

I figured the buff to be slightly quartering toward us, so I aimed for just left of center of his chest. I was surprised when the gun went off – usually a good sign in my book – and the buffalo reacted favorably at the shot. At some 75 yards, he hunched up and staggered back before hobbling off to the right with the remainder of the herd. The herd only ran 50 or so yards before stopping and regrouping. Thierry and I climbed atop a fallen mopane to get a better view. On two occasions, we heard a crashing sound that we hoped was our buffalo falling over dead.

After what seemed like an eternity, the herd of buffalo began trotting off. Not very scared, but alarmed and alert. We looked for a bull that showed signs of being hit, but none was apparent. Finally, a limping bull appeared trying to follow and keep up with the herd. We tried twice to make a move to get into a position to shoot the buff again, but the brush was too thick.

After discussing the shot, the reaction, and the condition of the bull as he limped away, we began the follow up. There was not much blood, but there was blood. The blood was “fatty” per Thierry, leading him to speculate that the shot may have hit low and into the brisket. I told him that I was confident that I’d not shot low, but everything happened so fast that I could not be absolutely sure.

After a short tracking job, we heard the bull running. It was not the characteristic running of a buffalo, but sounded as if the buffalo was hobbled. We moved forward and found where he had been standing and there was a considerable amount of blood on the ground and on the scrub trees. Then, we elected to return to the truck, get a drink, and allow the buff some time to stiffen up and/or die. We marked the last blood and marched about a kilometer back to the truck.

About this time, I was lower than a mole. For three or four days, I had contemplated shooting this buffalo. I had gone over and over how I was going to take my time and shoot the buffalo properly, resulting in a one shot kill. Now, I was worried that I had ruined the whole deal. If this buffalo was shot in the brisket, he was likely lost and gone forever.

We sat by a water hole and had a drink. It was nice in the shade and the cool water tasted good, but I was sick. The thought of losing a cape buffalo made me want to vomit. The idea that I had buggered up the shot disgusted me.



About this time, Thierry told me that he’d just had a dream in the last few days that one of our party was hit by a wounded cape buffalo. I asked who and he replied, “Doesn’t matter. It was just a dream.” I took that to mean that I was the unlucky one that took the brunt of a buff charge. Not good, not good at all.

With more than one hour having passed since the shot, I dumped every item of non-essential gear, loaded my 416 with solids, rolled up my sleeves, and began the death march into the bush. As we walked I prayed the same prayer over and over. “Lord, please keep us all safe. Please let us recover this buffalo. Please let this turn out well.”

The GPS took us right back to the blood trail, but the GPS was largely unnecessary. Once we were in the vicinity of the last blood, the amazing trackers went right to the tracks and right to the blood. With the track found, we were off to face down black death. I just hoped that he was already dead.

It could not have been more than 100 yards into the tracking job when Mudini, the head tracker, indicated that he heard something in front of us. With Thierry on the right, the trackers in the middle, and me on the left, we slowly marched forward. Step after step, inch after inch, I was sure that we were about to experience 2000 pounds of charging, mad, wounded buffalo.

As we came into an opening, I saw him. Lying in the shade under a dense bush, the buffalo would have been invisible had he not moved his head to look at us. I suspect the bull was looking at us and was weighing his options, fight or flight. I raised my rifle. Thierry and the trackers had no view of the buffalo whereby they could give me the “that’s him” blessing, but it had to be the wounded buffalo. Now that I had him in the scope, he had to be sorted out before he charged us or charged away.

At the shot, the 400 grain solid smashed into the bull and shattered his other front shoulder. He stumbled out of the bush and tried to get away – neither of his front legs working for him. Follow up shots anchored the bull and a close range shot into the spine finished the deal for sure.

Whew! It was over. We had the bull and no one got hurt.

After we sent the boys for the truck, I asked Thierry if I was the one that got trampled in his dream. He said that I was, and that the buffalo’s bosses hit me in the chest, sending me flying. When I asked how the story finished, he said that he didn’t know because he woke up when the buffalo hit me.

Fortunately, that dream did not come true.







THE BUFFALO COWS
With no lion on quota for 2010, there was no real demand for the two buffalo cows on quota. As a result, I took the opportunity to hunt and shoot them. I figured the more experience I can get with buffalo, the better. Plus, hunting the cows allowed us to stay on the buffalo herds in what is one of my favorite forms of hunting. Finally, it was great fun and to me it was a much better alternative than shooting a load of PG.





BUSHPIG
When you have a chance, you have to shoot a bushpig. As it turned out, I shot this one from a blind where we had been baiting for civet. The shot was by moonlight only, which adds a considerable amount of difficulty to the shot, even at short ranges.





LITTLE EARNEST
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Little Earnest. On what I believe was his first buffalo and leopard hunt, he performed admirably. I guess he is 100% on leopard and 400% on buffalo. Who wants him next? PM me your address and he will be on the way.













MISCELANEOUS FROM THE BUSH
With the leopard in the salt early and four buffalo sorted by lunch on day thirteen, we had ample time for fun.

Early in the hunt, we enjoyed an overnight visit from Nevin and Lindsay Lees May, both of whom are known to many here for their current work at Sango as well as Nevin’s prior work with Buffalo Range and Parks.



We also had nice meals and visits with George and Madeline Hulme. George is an amazing source on Zim history and wildlife conservation. I tried to soak up as much of his knowledge as I could while I was there.


Late in the hunt, we had Thierry’s girlfriend Suzie down to visit us. We all had a big time “hunting” with the girls in the front of the cruiser playing the radio and the men in the high seat as well as exploring various parts of Hammond and Arda.







As well as going for sundowners with the girls and the apprentice hunters, Peter and Mark.









CLOSING COMMENTS:
I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed this hunt. Shooting the leopard on day three allowed us ten straight days of buffalo hunting during which time we shot four buffalo. This is about as good as it gets in my book. We walked miles and miles and miles following those buffalo and I loved every second of it. My feet and my legs are tired, but it was so much fun. I think I understand why some people get to the point where they only want to hunt buffalo.

I also cannot say enough good things about Thierry and Zambezi Hunters. ZH is as organized as any outfitter that I’ve ever dealt with. In our 30 days hunting in ZH camps and areas, there has not been the first snag. Running a business is hard. Running a business in Africa is really hard. ZH does it very, very well.

Thierry continues to be absolutely tops in my book. He has all of the tangibles and intangibles that go into making a top PH. It’s hard to believe he’s only 31. He will be at the very top of his occupation in a few years. Betsy and I are lucky to have him as our occasional safari guide and full time friend. If only I hadn’t walked him into the ground chasing buffalo . . .



I should also say that Suzie is tops for not getting mad at me for shortening Thierry vacation so that he and I could go hunting.

The Bag


Humor from the roadside


Walking into the last sunset


Hope that you enjoyed the report. I certainly enjoyed living it and reliving it again through this forum.

What? No oncore to the night gown? Great pictures and report! Congratulations on another fantastic leopard!

Brett

Awesome hunt. Well done!

Will - Great job! Love the stories and the pics. I too have hunted with Thierry in the CAR. He's an enjoyable guy to hunt with.

Congrats Will that is an awesome cat, also very nice report

Congratulations once again !

Will - What a pleasure to meet Betsy and yourself. Share a couple of plane rides and a night at the Afton House. Here is to looking for you on the borders of future hunts or sharing a camp with you as well. Great Report and good luck on your future hunts and endeavors.

Bret

Fantastic report Will!

Beautiful trophies, I dream of bulls like that.

Will, great hunt and write-up. Good to see Little Ernest is batting 1000!

Thanks for sharing your great pictures and story.

Great report Will and welcome home. Glad to hear you guys had an enjoyable trip. Again, good show, really.

Well done Will, congrats....4 buff, wow!

Will,

Congrats on another fine safari. What a great report. It was worth the wait!

Your leopard story transported me back to that special time and place... Well done.

Fantastic, Will.. Wonderful trophies and another great hunt conducted by ZH.

Congrats on a great hunt and a great report. Well done!

Thank you sir for a well written report,makes me all the more eager to return to Africa!

Congrats Will

Congratulations on a wonderful hunt and a well written report. Thanks for sharing !

What a great report. Congratulations on a fantastic trip.

Very nice report and congratulations on a great safari. It must be very exciting in blind with all that Leopard activity.

Well done!!
Congratulations!!

Will,
Excellent report and some tremendous trophies! You are on your way to becoming the leopard expert on the forums! Thanks for taking the time to post your report... I know how much time they take but the smallest details help others make informed decisions in their planning. Well done.

The Hammond Camp is one of my favorites in Zim!

Welcome home Will !
BRAVO ! ... back to back leopards, simply outstanding !
Great Buffs as well !

Thanks for sharing your story of a fabulous hunt.
Andy

well done, well done indeed

A wonderful report on some great trophies and memories. Congratulations and Thank You.

Congrats and thanks for a fantastic report!

Pete

Loved your report, very well written. I also can identify with the "sickening" feelings you experienced until your trophies were located. Well done!!!!

Best regards, D. Nelson

Well done on a great hunt and a great report. I have recently had the same "after shot" leopard experience and your description of your feelings at that moment brought the memories flooding back to me. Fortunately my outcome was also the same. It wont stop us hunting them again though will it?

Have Little Earnest seen Scandinavia ? I could need the luck in Zimbabwe later this year. Direct after my hunt I will go to Maldives and I think Earnest needs a good vacation
AD

Will,

Nice job on the report. Zambezi just keeps cranking out very happy clients. I just booked another client for leop/buff with them for 2011 and I fully expect he'll have a super hunt.

Congrats on some lovely trophies. Oh! How did you find the new camp at Hammond/ARDA?

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Oh! How did you find the new camp at Hammond/ARDA?

Mark

Mark: I liked ARDA as did Betsy. It was very comfortable and functional. East African wall tents, plush carpets, teak furniture, proper beds, en suite lavatories, and one channel of bush television. Lots of night sounds: lions roaring, hippos splashing, baboons quarreling.

quote:

Originally posted by safari-lawyer:
East African wall tents, plush carpets, teak furniture, proper beds, en suite lavatories, and one channel of bush television. Lots of night sounds: lions roaring, hippos splashing, baboons quarreling.

Sounds like heaven!!!!!!!!!!!

Brett

quote:

Originally posted by Brett Adam Barringer:
What? No oncore to the night gown? Great pictures and report! Congratulations on another fantastic leopard!

Brett

Brett I have to admit I was thinking the same thing.
Will Outstanding!!!
I am heading to Zambia send me little earnest.

Will- Congratulations on a wonderful hunt!

I enjoyed the hunt report and the great pics...

Congratulations on some great trophies and thanks for the report. I believe I recognize Thierry's leopard tree. 'Glad you had such good success at it.

quote:

Originally posted by Cazador humilde:
Congratulations on some great trophies and thanks for the report. I believe I recognize Thierry's leopard tree. 'Glad you had such good success at it.

On Hammond's southwest corner, right on the north bank of the Mkwasine, close enough to the boundary to hear noises from the village.

A fun, exciting, and productive hunt, way to go. I enjoyed the report, and think it is just great that you and your wife can share in these adventures. Sounds like you picked the right outfitter and PH too! Is Thierry still hunting CAR?

Thierry's vision, probably a flashback...in the dream you didn't have a wooden leg did you?

Thanks for sharing this great hunt. Amazing stuff.

Great report and wonderful pics! Congratulations.

Mad Dog

Bonus! CITES permit has arrived.