22 September 2011, 19:36
Luca GaetiZimbabwe Sable and Buffalo with Chinanga Safari
Location: Victoria Falls, ZimPH: Terry Fenn – Chinanga Safari
Dates: July August 2011 (10 days)
Rifles: Weatherby 378
Ammo: Barnes Triple Shock 270gr
Here I am back for the second time from a wonderful hunt in Zimbabwe in the company of my friend and PH, Terry Fenn.
The Hunt has taken place in the area around Victoria Falls with Buffalo and Sable as our main targets. Part of the fellowship my other friends Scott Jurgens, the camera man, and Stipe.
After a pleasant flight with a stopover in Johannesburg to visit the town and to enjoy a delicious dinner, we landed at Vic Falls on Monday morning. Cool temperatures and a glorious sunny day gave us welcome. After all the celebrations of happiness for being together again, we headed straight to the hunting grounds to manage our luggage and to study the area which would be ours for the next 10 days.
Welcome at the camp was very warm, the place was tidy and clean. From the room and the main bungalow there was a fantastic view on an artificial lake as well as on the plain on which we would hunt.
Each day you could observe animals making their way there to get water while, during the night, elephants were heard drying out the small amount of water pumped at daytime.
All dressed up and set, we headed straight to calibrate the rifle which was ok. I immediately realised to be in the right place as we were walking a few kilometers around the camp and loads of animals were there: sables and a group of a hundred Buffalos, some of them old males with really impressive trophies.
Back to the camp after a delicious dinner, we went to bed with a smile on our faces.
The first morning, sitting by the fire with a cup of hot coffee in our hands, we watched as ten sables came by the lake to drink… how nice to be back in Africa! It’s even better if again in the company of my friends Terry and Scott!
We then took off with great anticipation for the fun to come. We spent the first few days pursuing buffalos that, gathering in groups of more than 400 individuals, were always heads up and quite difficult to get close to.
The fact that we had competition didn’t help much as well…being the competitors equipped with claws and big theet. I’ve learnt the meaning of the word Shumba on my first day there. As we were observing a buffalo herd against the sunset about 50 metres ahead of us, tracker and game scouts who were walking just before us, were suddenly running towards the car… it seems that shumba was about to attack the buffalos and we kind of “stepped in his tail”.
As the days passed pleasantly, I could enjoy the colours and the odours of the Africa I fell in love with and that I missed so much. On the fourth day, as an icebreaker, we skillfully approached a herd of zebras and elands that led to a nice shot from the distance on a zebra that went down after no more than 30 metres.
It was worth all the effort also because the following day there was time for a tableau composed by kudu, sable and buffalo. You can imagine the celebrations back to the camp.
The morning began with a clean shot on a male kudu, spotted together with a small herd of females;
as we were heading back to the camp for lunch though, 5 or 6 sables bulls were there, among them one with a great trophy. A short approach and a shot to its heart ended the last escape of this wonderful antelope. A fiery animal that I’ve been dreaming of from the first time I had seen it show its royal breast as in sign of challenge.
The day had been more than satisfactory but in the late afternoon we spotted a buffalo herd. They were about a hundred this time, probably a group detached from the main herd that was grazing nearby. Once again, Terry’s skills in evaluating the situation, the wind, the animal’s behaviour and in conducting the breath-taking approach revealed precious. And so there I was, ready to fire about 20 metres away from my bull.
After the first shot, good though slightly back, the buffalo started off with the rest of the herd that stopped to watch us after about a hundred metres. Fortunately the wounded one stand within a short distance from the others, allowing me to shoot it twice again; the second shot hit high on its back knocking the fiery animal to the ground.
We arrived running and short breathed stopping at about 10 metres from my buffalo who tried in vain to stand back up and run against its pursuers. The last shot hit its breast to close the game. Hugs and celebrations while dusk turned into night which was only broken by the shimmering eyes of the herd that was watching us from 80 metres.
As usual despite all the running, the sweat, dust and excitement, Scott was by my side, a silent shadow you can barely feel the presence. I’m looking forward to watch my video.
With all the main trophies in store for which I came, the remaining part of the safari went by with a more relaxed rhythm, enjoying dawns, sunsets and all the emotions only Africa can provide.
After a day spent in total relax, after the celebrations of the previous night, the hunting resumed with a shot on a Waterbuck, taken in the proximity of one of the many little lakes in the area. The animal fell without even realising what was going on... 378 Weatherby, as usual, revealed an excellent choice.
On the way back Stipe took his first african animal, a nice impala.
The following day, among a herd of females, a nice eland male stand out. After a breath-taking pursuit and three shots, this beautiful antelope is mine. The ritual photos turned into red as the dusk gives way to the night... a wonderful antelope and a hunt of times gone by.
Sadly time flew… the last day finally came. Stipe started off the day with a good shot on a warthog with a nice trophy.
After the photos we headed off to a rocky area home of the Klipspringer. After only 10 minutes walking we spotted 2 females and a baby that gave us a hard time with our binoculars through the thick vegetation. As we stepped forward, we finally spotted a nice male on a rock about 150 metres away. I aimed and… missed. The bullet ended its course down below the rock. My first mistake during the safari right on the last day! I barely had time to despair when on top of a hill we spotted another nice male. This time I paid more attention and down went my klipspringer!
As I headed back to the camp I realised that my holidays really were over. Ten wonderful days spent in great company. I already miss Terry and Scott but my Express is nearly finished and we’ve seen loads of Elephants… I’m sure we’ll meet again soon!!
[IMG]http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb458/lucag979/Zimbabwe%202011/IMG_0999.
