28 September 2016, 23:17
Andy Buchanan. Film AfricaCameroon Bongo Safari - Buchanan Hunts
Hunt: 2016 Cameroon Rain Forest – ReportConcession: Border of Lobeke National Park
Concession Owner: Pepe Chelet
Hunt: April 2016
Booking Agent: Michelle Buchanan-Buchanan Hunts
PH: Dylan Cloete
Cameraman: Andy Buchanan
Animals Sought: Bongo/Forest Buffalo/Sitatunga/Forest Duikers
Animals Shot: Bongo/Dwarf Forest Buffalo/Pieter’s Duiker/Blue Duiker
Our hunting party consisted of three of Buchanan Hunts clients, Myself as the camera man for one of the clients and my Sister Michelle Buchanan as the booking agent to ensure all the client’s needs were met.
The first thing we were greeted with on arrival in the capital Douala was the intense humidity infused warmth.
The airport was a typical African style affair with all Immigration officials dressed far more importantly than their job titles. We had pre organized a local "help me through guy” so clearing weapons was fairly easy but a couple of loose ten $ bills in the pocket always makes this a happier occasion. Unfortunately, I couldn't buy a way in for my drone so she stayed behind for collection on the way out.
We spent one night at the Pullman Hotel where the clients got to know each other before boarding the very fancy charter plane. It was at this point taxying down the runway past old moss covered war planes that I really started to feel that sense of adventure that drives so many of us to seek experiences in these exotic destinations.
Flying over the miles and miles of forest and watching the large rivers snake below us as we flew into the unknown made us all feel a little more alive.
Flying low over the river that separates the Congo from Cameroon we submerged below the tree line and touched down on rainforest soil and were met by the very flamboyant Pepe Himself.
Pepe is a lovely Spanish gentleman with faaaar to much energy!
He took us to his humble but comfortable camp before slicing the end of his finger to within a millimeter of clean off whilst preparing us some snacks. I offered to remove the dangling piece as to stitch it back on was going to be rather painful, Pepe refused, saying he didn't want his finger to look like the sharp end of a pencil. He then rushed himself off to the local clinic and returned with a large ET style finger wrapped in a bandage and explaining that they had sewed it back on and all was fine. Everyone shot their guns, ate dinner and retired for the night in anticipation for the morning.
We were all awoken before dawn by excited hustle and bustle of the first day of the hunting season and shouting pigmies trying to round up the 18 odd forest hunting dogs that would form the three 6 member packs for the three hunting parties.
The first impression of our 6 trackers and 6 dogs crammed into the back of the double cab pick-up was not very comforting. Never the less we set out to see what there was to see. The forest walls the road 30 yards high and timer trucks hurtled around the red dusty roads as we scanned for fresh tracks. It didn't take me long to realize that I was no good at helping the trackers as I had no idea what track belonged to which animal and I felt more like a novice client than someone who could assist on the safari. Before long we were on tracks and although the pigmies cut a path for us we still found ourselves in tangles, 'fighting the forest".
During the hunt we coined the phrases "the forest quick step" which is when one is forced to dash through a marching entourage of biting ants and "the forest two step" which is when you take a step, get your foot hooked on a vine and have to lift your foot higher and take a second attempt at the same step to avoid landing on your face.
Our first bongo sighting occurred on day 2 when after finding a fresh track, offloading our mangy mutts and still trying to swallow the last bite of our mid-morning sandwich we were rudely awoken by our first experience of the sound of a bay! the trackers beckoned us off the road into the forest. As we all charged at the forest wall a huge bongo bull burst full flight out of the wall a mere 2 yards in front of us directly at us sending PH and Client onto their bums as they narrowly avoided being bongo horn kebabs. Being the amazing camera man I am I captured absolutely none of this on film but I did manage to choke on the last bite of my sandwich as I gasped in shock. We all had a good laugh and set about trying to find the bull again which was probably in Egypt by the time we all realized what had just happened.
The forest never let us have anything without a fight and drew first blood on all of us before we drew blood on two crested Guinee fowl on the morning of day three. We spent most afternoons calling for duiker, it is so tough to get a shot in that thick stuff but we finally came right with a blue duiker on the afternoon of the third day. Mr. C's (our client) first question after he pulled the trigger was..."What did I shoot at?"
The next couple of days where full of adventure and lots of tracking but it seemed the hunting dogs were more interested in feeding themselves, they caught a porky pig (a strange looking porcupine like creature with quills only on the end of its tail) 3 mongoose, a tortoise and a Bay Duiker that managed to horn one of our dogs in the eyes, rendering him completely blind!!!!
Eventually our mutts managed to stay focused and bay a bull bongo, the client could have shot the bongo 5 times over as he stood with his head down warding off the dogs with his horns that our PH judged not big enough. It was on days like this with the trackers furious, the client disappointed, everyone tired and with miles and miles of forest to fight through to get back to the vehicle that one really has to dig deep, think about where you are, what you are doing and appreciate the experience otherwise the forest WILL get to you!
Meanwhile the client my sister was hunting with and the third client had both taken great bongo bulls and had moved on to other species.
The next day after yet more mind blowing tracking by out 6 pigmies we eventually caught up to a good bull. With us standing in sunshine and the bull fighting the dogs in a dark thicket Mr. c couldn't see the bull in his scope, i couldn't see a thing and the ph was fighting a nest of ants he had stood in, as the bongo took off it was clear to see that it was a good one and Mr C took a shot from the hip but missed! The bongo was gone and the safari was now named Bongo Balls-up! Judging by the amount of bull tracks we were seeing i knew it was only a matter of time that until our luck changed.
That night Pepe conducted a bit of West African witch craft by mixing water, tree bark, soil and a gorilla skull in a bucket and doing some crazy Pepe dance. Pepe has had a 100% success rate on bongo over the past 15 years and he was starting to stress a bit as it was now day 8 of 13 but then again it doesn't take much to get Pepe Riled up and his crazy behavior was understandable especially as he had recently taken off his finger bandage just to discover that they had disposed of his finger tip instead of sewing it back on as he had requested.
The next day The team decided that if the bongo was too close that Mr. C was to use Dylan’s open site 458 to shoot.
After a long march after the Bull we finally heard the Bay and wrestled our way over, Mr. C literally crawled on hands and knees and peered into a thicket before getting the go ahead from the PH through the swapping of weapons he let fly the 458 at the only white stripe he could see. The bullet hit the spine, dropped the bongo and Mr C moved in, this time with his own rifle and finished the job.
I always believe that the harder you work for your trophy the more you will enjoy it, I think it’s safe to say that Mr C will never forget the effort he put in to acquire this Beautiful bongo...
The last few days we sat in Machan’s over big forest openings they call Savannahs. We waited for a male sitatunga but we only ever saw females and young but it was still amazing to sit and watch all the birds and monkeys and enjoy the strange sounds of the forest.
We did more Duiker calling and Bagged ourselves a Pieter’s Duiker and also shot a forest buffalo that we tracked down the road and found feeding on the edge of the forest. What a Luck!!!!
All in all, we all had a fantastic Safari where we forged great friendships Though good laughs and hunting stories. There is no life better than one filled with adventure and i for certain will be back to fight the forest.
To Mr C from us at Buchanan Hunts, thank you for the great experience and trust you put in us!!!!
