Charlton McCallum Safaris
July 19-28
PH: Rich Tabor

Well, I am finally on the other side of my first safari experience and I am here to tell the story. But first let me start with the plan: a ten-day hunt split between Dande North Pedza Pasi camp for a cape buffalo for me (the new hunter) and the “Down East” camp for a hippo and croc for Wesley (the experienced hunter).

We left Harare in the charter plane without our guns as they had failed to accompany us all the way through on our flights. Buzz assured us that the camp had .375's we could get started with and he would follow up on the guns and get them to us as soon as he could. So we arrived at Pedza Pasi and were immediately charmed by the camp and the wonderful staff that runs it.

Day one we took off with Rich and his capable trackers and before lunch on the first day he had me within shooting distance of a herd of six dugga boys although as it turned out, he didn't identify one that he would advise me to shoot. After lunch we tried looking in the area of a new road the camp staff had recently cut but had no luck there.

Day two we found buffalo quickly – a large herd estimated to number as many as eighty! Rich and the trackers kept us on them as we repeatedly “bumped” the herd five or six times as they traveled toward a more open area. Rich then advised leaving them to settle in the heat of day and returning after lunch and a brief rest. By the time we got back for lunch, our guns had arrived at camp. After returning, we came upon a small herd of 5-6 first and Rich thought he could see an appropriate bull for me. I was up on the sticks waiting for the bull to stand up and hoping the cows standing in front of and around him would move. Unfortunately when the bull rose, he stepped behind a thick bush and the cow that was facing us got spooked so they all ran. We followed and caught up gain only to have them stampede off again when they caught our scent. On the way back to camp, a large herd of 40-60 buffalo were spotted on a hillside in the distance and so we made a plan to come back after them in the morning.

Day three entailed challenging terrain that led to difficulty with the tracking, but after hours of slogging on we finally get to the herd. We have basically done the wait, listen, creep, circle, crouch, etc dance until we pretty much can hear them all around us. We are advised to stick close together in case they stampede. At this point, I realize no one has really explained what to do in that event... I start looking for tall sturdy trees just in case and pray that everyone intends to protect me! Finally Rich spots my trophy bull. We have followed the herd to an open area at a water hole and there is a good bull at the back of the herd in the water. This fortunate situation means I can sight easily in on the appropriate place on his body to shoot. Except that just as Rich has me going up on the sticks, the wind shifts, they spook, and they run. Rich motions and he and I run, too... but they are gone. My adrenaline had built and built, my heart was pounding, I had rehearsed all the instructions of what to do. And then, poof. It's over. I don't have a large vocabulary of bad words, but over the course of that morning, I had pretty much worn them all out. We follow that herd and catch them three more times, only to hear them thunder away three more times. Grrrrr. After the lunch break, we walk, walk, walk. Finally we got back on the same herd only to have them run again. Rich calls it a day.

Day four we took off in the truck to look for new tracks. Finally finding them, the discovery was also made the buff tracks were overlaid by lion prints. Rich decides to try to figure where the buffalo are going and intercept them rather than follow them and compete with the lions. Only we get there to find another safari truck already on the road – a PH and hunter from the Murure camp. As hunting etiquette required we leave it them, we headed back to camp. After lunch we talked briefly with the PH Colin and his client Julian who had been on the road this morning. After a six-hour stalk, Julian had shot a young bull with soft boss that morning. Back out in the afternoon on fresh sign the trackers had located, we finally came upon a herd. Rich's head tracker Urayai is amazing. We may have to walk for what feels like forever, but he always seems to come up with buffalo. We start the dance to approach them, but off they run. That gets a little old. On them again, we have them at the edge of a road. We move up and down it trying to sneak in on them, but they are very skittish and move from us every time. The light is fading so we call it a day.

Day five we rode and rode. We saw elephant, a huge sable, two herds of zebra, a duicker, warthogs, and baboons. What we didn't see – at all - was buffalo. Finally Rich dropped off the trackers Urayai and McDonald to look on foot as we continued to drive. After some time, they radioed that had located a herd – probably one we had followed before. Two more radio transmissions and we drove down a river bed to pick them up leav
ing the buffalo to sleep in the heat of the day. At camp, we run into Myles and his client who report that they were also frustrated buffalo hunters that day. Following lunch we head back to where the trackers had left the herd only to find that they already moved on. We followed but they ran from us twice as we got close. As we close in on them the third time, two lions streak by between us and the buff killing a young calf not 15-20 feet away! We could see the bloodied calf as we passed by but knowing the lions were probably watching us we did not linger. We caught up to the herd but they ran from us twice more as they had been made jumpy by the lion attack. So much for that day.

Day six we pondered what to do about the remainder of the hunt. Should we move and try for Wesley's hippo and croc at the other camp? He was adamant however that I should have my buffalo first as I have never had the experience. Plus we had been so close already, we just honestly thought... one day more and we would have it. Heading out from camp in the cruiser, Rich headed west to explore new possibilities. We wound down road after road, path after path. Nothing. The only buffalo sign we ever came across was old. We went so far we ended up visiting the Murure camp for our lunch. Urayai and McDonald scout out from there, but find nothing. And the staff from that camp tell Rich there's nothig in their area. So we head back. We get out to walk three times before the day is over, but still nothing. Our first day of no buffalo at all. Frustrating.

Day seven we are still operating on the optimism of “one more day” should do it. And as luck would have it, we were quickly on a herd. I even got on the sticks but Rich could not spot one that was right to shoot and the herd began to move again. We followed them to a road where I was able to go up on the sticks and watch the herd as they crossed waiting for Rich to tell me which one was my bull. I sight on animal after animal but they are all cows, calves, or young bulls. We go back to the waterhole where we found these and track off after the other part of the herd that had split off in a different direction. We are lucky enough to get ahead of them with the wind on our favor and catch them approaching an opening in the jesse. I am on the sticks at 30 yards watching a slow parade of buffalo pass in front of me literally one and two at a time! But as they march past so sedately it's obvious even to me that nothing has wide horns and solid boss – more cows and youngsters. I stand there holding my position, gun pulled into my shoulder, cheek along the stock, eye locked in through the scope, taking even breaths... I am so ready. The last few straggle past and I am so disappointed. I had been so sure this was the time. The walk back to the truck felt like the longest ever. After trying to locate more buffalo and “making a plan,” we head in for lunch. For the afternoon hunt, the trackers start off on foot while the rest of us ride looking for sign. The radio crackles with news from the trackers and Rich spins the truck around to race off to where they are. We get there and navigate boulders, hillsides, and loose rock in a hurry to catch buffalo who are running. We give chase and finally crest a large hill only to see them running way in the distance as we hear a lion attacking a member of the herd. The lions beat us again.
Day eight we awake to the knowledge that we had a herd of buffalo in camp over night feeding on the grassy lawn! We may not be able to shoot them from there, but we can sure track them from there. We drive through the dark to the airstrip and as we come the full length of it, we see dozens of pairs of golden glowing eyes staring at us from the blackness at the end of it. We pull to a stop but they run anyway. We get ready and take off after them as soon as we have the least bit of light to see by. But we never caught them. We tried two more attempts on foot that morning as well with no success. Lunch and then an afternoon of bumping a herd several times only to have them run from us every time.

Day nine and it's clear the remainder of the hunt will never happen. It's my buffalo or nothing. We had not even gotten started when we were on fresh tracks. We could hear them faintly in the distance, but never saw them and had to give it up when it was clear we were too close to the Mozambique border. After riding some more, we saw fresh sign and followed this herd. Rich decided we would get around them and beat them to the water hole hoping to get one there. We set up at the water hole in his selected spot after scoping out several possibilities and trying for the best wind and most hidden location. They never came. We even stole back and checked on them – yep, they were there. So we returned to our position and waited some more. But the buffalo had settled for the heat of the day so Rich decided we would close in on them because even if they ran, we'd at least be trying. We looped in and out, testing the wind, looking for vantage points. Rich even spotted a shootable bull, but as he handed me the binos to check him out, the bull ambled off. Rich and I moved alongside so excruciatingly slowly and quietly for a long time, but we were never able to spot him again. Back to the truck. After lunch, we headed back to the waterhole and found the tracks only to discover that our herd from earlier went to a different nearby waterhole. Foiled by the buffalo again. And no new sign of any other herds.

Day ten. Last day. Spent the whole morning driving with Rich and the trackers periodically jumping out to check at waterholes, but nothing. After lunch, we head back to the end of the airstrip, find fresh tracks, and follow only to have to give up again at the Mozambique border. As we head back to the truck, the walkie-talkie crackles with news that the camp manager had spotted a herd while he was out on another road. We race back to the cruiser, stop briefly to pick up someone from camp who had seen them as well, and Rich breaks land speed records to get to that location. It's getting late in the day. The trackers are pushing hard to find and follow the trackers. We are all panting and sweating with the pace and the exertion. All of a sudden, Rich and Urayai pull up short throwing up hand signals for all to stop. Both turn and look at me beaming as they motion frantically for me to come forward. Oh my goodness. Standing there placidly looking at me is the ONE. As Rich puts up the sticks and whispers to me, I lift the gun to the “v”, plant my feet just right, ease off the safety, get the bull in my sight, and breath as evenly as I can. He says to shoot it just below the chin. But the bull is standing in a little dip in the hillside and the heavy grass in front of him means I can only see clearly from his nose up. So Rich revises his directions and says to shoot it between the eyes. I review my mental preparation list, know I am ready, and ease the trigger back. Ka-blam. The bull swings his head to the side and runs off. We give chase. And although everyone makes a good faith effort to look for blood or any other sign that I had hit him, I think everyone knew immediately.... I had obviously pulled up and shot right over his head. I missed. I felt sick. I really wanted to sob but did not allow myself to cry at all. But, man, I just felt this wash of fatigue, disappointment, disgust, and sadness that was overwhelming. The official determination came that it was a clean miss. The game scout who had so little English he had not spoken to me all week, shook his head sadly and said, “Bad luck.” Rich and Wesley assured me that it happens to all hunters at one time or another. But, at that point, I just could not be consoled. I had missed. We took the long walk back to the truck. I had tried for ten days – twenty half-days of hard hunting. I finally got a shot at my dugga boy at 5:15 pm on my last day. And I missed.

So, was it a successful hunt? I guess it depends on the parameters you use to measure. I did not get my buffalo, but I had the time of my life. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. And I would go back and do it all over again in a heartbeat.

I cannot say enough about CM Safaris. Their professionalism is impeccable. Rich Tabor and his trackers worked so hard to get my buffalo. I felt like I had let them down as much as myself! Buzz and Myles both personally made sure the arrival and departure parts of our trip went smoothly. Kirstie and Royal from their office gave us hands-on help as well. Japie, the Pedza Pasi camp manager, is a class act and runs the operations there beautifully. We even had the opportunity to meet Rex, Mike, Anthony, and Justin from the CM staff, too, as they were all coming in to camp for the big hunt group that would be following us. These gentlemen were endlessly entertaining... I could sit around a campfire drinking with them and listening to their tales on themselves and the others all night.

CM Safaris has even offered us the opportunity to return this year to hunt again and finally get that buffalo. It's too early to know yet if we can work out the logistics, but who knows? If so, I may be posting another report with a different outcome!

Here's a picture of me with Rich, Urayai, and the game scout.


And this is a shot of much of the CM staff seeing Wesley and I off at the airstrip at the end of our camp experience.

Glad to see your report and sorry you didn't get your buff.

I think often the outcome is sometimes similar,but folks are reluctant to write a report where they are unsuccessful.

I hope you get to return and get the "one".


Edit to add; Yes I've missed clean,and yes I have lost one animal that was wounded(blue wildebeest)

i sincerely hope you enjoyed yourself even without getting a buff. missing a shot is something everyone has done, more than once, to say otherwise would mean that you would not be telling the truth

Welcome home.

I sure hate that you did not connect with your buff. However, ten days of chasing buffalo is just about as good as it gets in my book.

You must return and even the score.

Best,

You'll get him next time. Just tell hubby to be that it'll be your honeymoon!


Mad Dog

Was your buffalo hunt a success? ABSOLUTELY! You hunted buffalo in the Zambezi Valley of Zimbabwe properly and with a great PH and outfit, made a number of approaches, witnessed lions as they hunted the same herds you did, felt the exhiliration of the chase and the disappointment of blown stalks. You even got your shot on the last evening of the last day. I know the miss was terribly upsetting... but it is a part of hunting and it happens to us all! Take cheer in remembering the camp, people and places you came in contact with. And begin to let the anticipation build... because you will hunt buffalo again. You know you will!

Echoing what Russ said.. the hunt was a success just by being there and getting the chance to hunt buff..

I went to Zim last year and didn't get my buff either..just too thick and green.. Settling the score in 2 more months with a return trip!! I'm sure you are already planning yours as well!!

Betcha it was still 10 of the most fun days of your life--wasn't it?

I spent 19 days hunting in Moz last year without taking a shot, and only within view of half-dozen various trophy animals for a total of about 2 seconds each. You had a great trip compared to that--just seeing the lions kill that buffalo calf had to be worth the whole ten days of effort. That's something few non-Africans get to witness.

Even more incentive to go back!

Brett

you may not know it yet, but you just got THE essence of Nyati that will always bring you back...kills never do that!

You will be back in no time and Nyati will grow big time till then! Keep it up - it is worth it - you will see!

HWTB,

You had the opportunity to really hunt buffalo. You probably learned twice as much about the actual hunting as people who have shot a buffalo or two.

Congratulations on not giving up. You have a great attitude and you definitely are a real hunter. Many "hunters" given your circumstance would become irritable and sullen. They could learn from you.

You'll get 'em next time for sure.

Mark

That was a good read.

Just think how great it will be when you do get your buffalo next time!

After you go back and get your buff, all your efforts will make it all the sweeter and it will mean much more to you than if you had killed it the first day!

465H&H

congratulations on a great hunt. You had an experience few are fortunate enough to have. Next time you will take your trophy, but you will always remember your first hunt.

I enjoyed your report immensely. Glad you had such a great hunt.

Now you know exactly why what we do is called "hunting" rather than "shopping". You'll get him next time.

quote:

Originally posted by LionHunter:
I enjoyed your report immensely. Glad you had such a great hunt.

Now you know exactly why what we do is called "hunting" rather than "shopping". You'll get him next time.

Just when I thought to take him off "Ignore".

You have been amongst them, that is more than the vast majority of folks can say.

Buzz told me the story about a fellow that hunted a trophy bull elephant with him a while back (a non-American client). They hunted hard for a number of days and finally caught up with a good bull. They made the approach, got set up, the bull turned and faced them, the hunter aimed . . . and click. A misfire. The bull turned and disappeared. Buzz said, that's okay will we get another. The hunter said, what do you mean, I got my bull -- we hunted it properly, we had the shot, I made the shot, the bull is mine in my memory. The hunter was quite satisfied that he had taken his "trophy". Sometimes we get too caught up in the actual kill and forget the experience of the hunt. My bet is that you will go back . . . and you will get your bull.

Thanks for sharing your story.

Good to see you have such a good attitude about it all!

The report is a good, honest report of what was undoubtedly one of the most frustrating experiences you may ever have. There are all kinds of "coulda shoulda" things you may say to yourself, but it sounds like you will be back when you can do it! At least you didn't shoot a immature buff...

Best of luck in the future with the black bull.

I greatly enjoyed your report. While your hunt may have been very frustrating I'm happy to hear that you still enjoyed it so much. You have a great hunter's attitude.
You'll get him next time.

A well written report made better by your candor and honesty. I enjoyed reading the details of your adventure - particularly as I will be in Dande in a few weeks - and will greatly look forward to your sequel.

Nice report. We've all been there. I'd recommend adding a few common plains game ( if available) to the card. Allows a break from the intensity of DG hunting......and often results in happening upon the DG you seek. DG areas are exciting but buff may be lion spooked and very wary, and plains game slim. The conservancies are a good alternative for the new African hunter with lots of variety and Buff and cats. You, however, are no longer a new hunter and can successfully hunt wherever you damned well please. Congratulations! Jim

Well done on a great adventure. As others have already mentioned you have now become an African hunter. If you had managed a one shot kill on day two you would have missed out on what buffalo hunting is all about. Unfortunately you have yet to experience that empty feeling that comes after you have shot your bull and realise that the experience is over for another year. Enjoy the hunt for every minute that you are out whether you are on tracks or not.
I must give great credit to your "husband to be" for his patience and generosity in insisting that you continue with your hunt and for sacrificing his own. I am sure that I was not the only long time married hunter to have a read your report and experience certain "what if" thoughts.

quote:

A misfire. The bull turned and disappeared. Buzz said, that's okay will we get another. The hunter said, what do you mean, I got my bull -- we hunted it properly, we had the shot, I made the shot, the bull is mine in my memory. The hunter was quite satisfied that he had taken his "trophy". Sometimes we get too caught up in the actual kill and forget the experience of the hunt.

Mike, you have really spoken the truth. I love your story. Thanks for sharing that with me.

quote:

I must give great credit to your "husband to be" for his patience and generosity in insisting that you continue with your hunt and for sacrificing his own. I am sure that I was not the only long time married hunter to have a read your report and experience certain "what if" thoughts.

He is a quite remarkable man and I fully appreciate the sacrifice he made. I think I'll keep him.

Thank you all for your encouragement! I love this place!!!

And, yes, I have the fever. I'd love to be going back right away.

Thanks for your report, I'd been waiting for it!
Bad luck? Not if it means you can go back this year! You can have the best of both worlds- lots of hunting days, with the potential for great trophies at the end.
I know how agonizing missing a shot you have been preparing to make for months can be. You will have truly earned your buff.

Great post, well written.
When you go back you can give us (as Paul Harvey would say) "the rest of the story".

Thanks for sharing the hunt! Really enjoyed the report and hope to experience the thrill hunting buff along side the lions, such as you have....Wow, what a great safari! Cheers!

Thanks for sharing your experience!

You really captured the emotion of the hunt, especially the feeling of getting "so close" and then having things evaporate in front of you. Personally, I believe Hunter's Luck comes in waves. After coming so close for 10 days and putting in that much effort, I think you have some good karma coming your way on your next trip. I hope the hunting bug bit you hard and stays with you!

Pete

Thank you for sharing those memories with us!

That was a HUNT! I tip my hat to you for your report of hunting hard, and more, for your obviously possessing a true hunter's heart, lady.

Next time, you'll be needing salt. Of that I am positive.

Thanks for sharing.

Angie,

So sorry you didn't get your buff. The whole staff at CM were pretty upset about it and hope you can come back soon. On my way home from Pedza now, and though we had a fantastic hunt, there was also some rough times for me as well. Hang in there and keep going. I know you had a great hunt with Rich in a great area. Savor the good parts and let the bad stuff go...

Thanks for a well written and interesting hunt report. Too bad you didn't get a buffalo, but it sounds like you had an ecellent buffalo HUNT. You got to experience about 99% of a buffalo hunt, and you guys did it the right way, so I think you had one heck of a hunt, even if the killing part didn't happen. Heck think of how few have ever seen lions kill a buffalo out of the herd we were stalking. I never have, and I doubt many others on here have, either.

I can't wait to read about your next buffalo hunting adventure.

Great report!!! Way to go, girl!! As one huntress to another, you experienced hard buffalo hunting and hung in there. By that you have learned more about buffalo hunting than if you had taken a buffalo on day one. You have now done more than a lot of hunters have done. I know you'll go back, I can hear it in your report. You have been "bitten" and the addiction has already occurred.

Best regards, D. Nelson

quote:

You have been "bitten" and the addiction has already occurred.

I read a great quote recently that read:
"Everything in Africa bites and the safari bug is the worst of all." (Brian Jackman)