It is my sad duty, to give this report. Duty, because I owe it to the hunting fraternity to give an honest appraisal. Sad, because the hunt itself was little more than a sham, and I may be taking some personal risk reporting it.
Many readers here are aware of the 24 hour Campfire and the NT bull elephant/buffalo hunt that was recruited through it. The website itself and owner had nothing to do with the hunt except loaning the name.This abreviated version has been posted on the 24hr campfire in longer form, but I like the warning to reach as many people as possible.The thread can be seen in the 24 hour african forum.
Three of us, who happened to all be Canadians signed up for the hunt, to be conducted by Tim Schultz' African Dream Safaris of Balawayo. The two possible locations were the Omay South region of Zimbabwe, tented, or the Sengwe Buffalo research area out of a permanent lodge, depending largely on whether charter flights were feasible with the number of hunters who signed up. The deposits were held by an American booking agent (Mark Claiborne)due to the forth-coming presidental elections. This seemed prudent under the circumstances.
The first sign of problems was when we left Balawayo and were told after the trucks left town that we were now going to the Matetsi area by Victoria falls. No reason for the abrupt change of plan was given, nor was any mention of it made until after the remainder of the fee was handed over. We soon came to regret that.
Things took a decided down-turn when we arrived at the camp where one member of the party had already been for 2 days. We were informed that there were no non-trophy elehant on quota, and precious little else either. The camp manager, who hadn't even been told we were coming, mentioned goats and donkeys as the only viable options. Not a great start for us, but even worse for the first member who had already wasted 2 days waiting for permits that weren't coming.
The next and following days were spent figuratively knocking on doors, seeking permission to hunt and looking for quota. One of the party was lucky enough to find an area with a permit on the first day and shot his elephant. The small area proved to be the only area that was worth hunting, and soon the 3 separate vehicles were circling it like city folk looking for a parking place. Buffalo were seen, 2 were shot in snares and the hunter who got his elephant on his first day was able to shoot his buffalo.No other elephant permits were found, and one member switched camps in the hopes of changing his luck. Other areas were explored, explored being the operative word since it was painfully obvious that the PHs hadn't hunted the areas before. I was offered the option of a trophy bull elephant for another $14,000 if such an opportunity arose. It didn't, but at least I could pretend to be hunting elephants while waiting for some "parks permits" or a miracle, whichever came first. What came first was getting kicked out of camp, and having to move to another. We changed locations, but the hunting locations stayed the same.Somewhere allong the way I shot 3 impala and a croc that was lost. Many days nothing at all was seen beyond the goats, donkeys and cattle.We heard that the member that had moved, had shot an elephant in Hwange Park when he got a permit on his 8th day of 10.
On the 10th day of the 10 day hunt a permit that may or may not even be illegal was gotten for Zambezi National Park, and I shot my elephant. Whether the one good day makes up for 9 bad ones, depends rather heavily on whether the permit that I had was legal. After I got home some of the more esteamed members here assured me that it was not, and advised that I file a report with ZPHGA which I did. In the interest of preserving privacy I'll not mention names, but believe me they are people who should know. I have been assured that charges won't be laid against us.
Sound like a good time? I'm under no illusion that any settlement will ever be reached. None is even being considered. I just want to put out a warning so others can avoid the same misfortune.

Thanks for the courage to post...

It's not easy to admit a bad time in a public forum,but thanks for spreading the word with fellow hunters...

Hopefully this experience hasn't soured you twords Africa,and in the future you can have a hunt that makes up for this...

dan

I am truly sorry to hear of your mistfortune too. I ran into two hunters from the State of Washington last October that were going to be hunting cape buffalo with Tim Shultz. We parted ways at the airport in Bulawayo and I never heard whether their hunt was successful or not. I know that you do not want to mention any other names, but for the rest of us, not knowing who all of the culprits were does not help us in staying away from them. I, for one, would like to know, unless part of the deal to not prosecute individuals was to not reveal names.

They should change the name to African nightmare safaris...

It is a shame when one gets taken over by unreliable outfitters...

Mike

Nightmare sounds about right.

Thanks for having the guts to post your hunt report! It's my guess 90% of hunters experiencing truly bad hunts never publicly talk about their hunt, or the outfitter they hunted with. Why is that? My guss is nobody really likes to admit they picked a bad hunt or outfitter. It's like admitting you bought a lemon car!

If you feel you have a TRULY VALID complaint and you have tried to resolve it privatively to no avail. Let them earn their reputation! One thing I know bad guys HATE is public/internet exposure of their problems! Nothing kills booking and takes money from them faster than a few bad hunt reports!
Good luck

Dogleg,
Sorry to hear about your horrible experience.
I hunted with Tim Schutlz of African Nightmare last year. Would never hunt with him again, for my troubles I was offered 2 free days if I came back.

Motorcity,
Bet you can hardly wait to go back to claim your two "free days". Personally I wouldn't go back with him if I were offered a free trip. I prefer to spend my holiday time having fun, somewhere else.

Dogleg,
Have you heard anything more, if your elephant you shot was legal? What did the outfitter say about this?

Thanks for posting this.

Like I said on 24hourcampfire, I got lucky because of the poor communication skills of the booking agent I ran away from this hunt when I was offered it.

It's a good thing that Tim Shultz or the booking agent (Mark Claiborne) don't post on here because the normal procedure for people who post this type of report is immediate and vicious attacks on your character.

I am truly sorry you had such a horrible experience . I followed the thread on 24 hour and can say that you were very calm and professional stating what transpired during the hunt and the way you were treated. I hope the agent is able to recover some of your funds.

Motorcity,
My last corespondence from Zimbabwe has the permits pegged as illegal, with Schultz trying to shift the blame to his PHs. Obviously, I'd prefer that they were legal, but have no reason to believe that now.

These threads may often degenerate to character attacks, which is why I'm staying away from things that could be considered a matter of opinion and staying with facts. Facts like:
1)No elephant permits arranged.
2)Camp Manager didn't know we were coming.
3)Hunting area changed without bothering to even mention it to clients.
4)Camp changed mid-stream due to outfitter's issues.
5)One member changing camps only to find out that he still couldn't hunt the new area because of unpaid bills.

I won't list the illegality of the permits as a fact until it is finalized.

I don't think that Mark Claiborne is going to attack me on this. I posted this with his knowledge and blessing. If Schultz wants to, that's OK. If he can deny those 5 points he is welcome to take a shot at my character.

My purpose in posting this thread is, and always has been as a warning to others.I don't expect to regain a penny, nor do I think money can fix what he did.

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:
I guess everyone has forgotten the hunters who got screwed over in Tanzania last year? Hunting in Zimbabwe has an obvious risk as well. Comparing prices without knowing the outfitters is tough, but I do know I can get a 2 buffalo and a non-trophy elephant bull, 10 days all-inclusive in Zimbabwe for less than the estimate given for 2 buffalo in the same country.I'm booked for July. No doubt someone can beat that price. There's also no doubt someone offer better value for the money at a higher price, and there is no question that hunts in Zimbabwe have a risk attached that they may not take place at all given the present political climate. That Tanzania can and has changed prices in midstream is a matter of record. How do you go about deciding or comparing between the two? There are a lot more variables than just the money. BTW I've hunted Zim, and not Tanzania. That by itself is a reason to hunt there. How do you put a price on that?

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:
...Sure, it's not a secret and it has been mentioned here before. Bearing in mind that I'm a hunter not a booking agent here's the break-down. 10 day non-trophy bull elephant hunt $12,000 all inclusive. Adding a buffalo brings it to $14,950. Adding a second buffalo at the exact same $2950 trophy fee comes to $17,900. $500 dip and pack for a grand total of $18,400. There are no extra charges. Plains game are available subject to quota at normal trophy fees as well, but that is outside the scope of this topic.
The hunt is known as the "24 hour Campfire hunt" and is promoted on the website of that name. I went on the first one last year, and shot buffalo, giraffe, eland and a couple zebra in seven days. 2 buffalo was an option then as well, though I didn't shoot two. I can put you in contact with the booking agent if you wish.

I usually don’t involve myself in any of these types of matters, but this one has been of interest/curiosity to me for a while. Dogleg, when you posted this, given my general understanding of the way things work in Zim, my reaction was "WOW - sounds too good to be true!!!".

Looking at it closer, the Safariman thread at 24hourcampfire looked very amateurish, and things did just not jive. Such as the hunt location being Sengwa or Sengwe (spelled both ways) OR the "lower Omay" which would imply Omay South run by HHK (there was no way Graham is/was going to give away buffalo for the trophy fees alone, nobody in prime areas can unless an end of the year thing and/or one is on a big dollar hunt or maybe a "preferred client" - the numbers just don’t work out). Then there was the hot new area “across the Limpopo from Krugerâ€.

In his email on 24hr Tim Schultz says they hunt buffalo in "Omay North" (which is run by Martin Pieters - a standup guy who sold a small amt of quota to Schultz in the past as is common with areas/companies that have large buff quotas, such as HHK and Chifuti, but has NOT for 2009, and per Martin is in NO WAY associated with Schultz or African Dream Safaris) and “Matetsi†(a broad generalization for a huge area of land run by multiple companies including some occupied farms where Americans do not want to hunt).

Obviously Safariman was not clear on all of this, be it Schultz’s fault or his, as the Agent he had the obligation to understand how the industry is working in Zim and to ask the hard questions in order to protect his clients. This is not a cut to Safariman necessarily, and I would expect that he has come to this same conclusion, and if he had it to do over would do it differently. I look at it as there all types of people involved in the hunting business – crooks/swindlers, decent people who are desperate, good operations and outstanding ones, and if I am using a booking agent it is their job is to cut thru it all and help me make a good decision.

This may seem trivial, but this sort of waffling regarding the area and/or unfamiliarity with the hunting industry and players in Zim should be a big warning sign to anybody considering a hunt there, except those hunting with one of the "big" outfitters who controls the leases to multiple concessions (and even then one should know where they are hunting so that, for example, the outfitter does not “make a plan†and move you from your prime river camp and hunting area to a bush camp in the sticks, in order to make way for their trophy clients).

Sorry you had such a bad hunt. You sound like good guys who deserved better. Hopefully others can benefit from your mistakes and experiences.

Just as with the outfitters who frequent the local/hometown Outdoor Shows and those who donate hunts to the clubs where there are more exclusions then inclusions, clients need to be suspicious of the entities posting on the forums, be they booking agents or Internet PH’s. It is not hard to tell who are sincere and capable of delivering, and who are just gifted with the keyboard and a bottle. We have seen a few here over the years, and suspect there are still a few amongst our ranks.

Regarding Zim, there is a lot of good hunting and excellent value to be had at least for the foreseeable future. But unless you know your way around and/or have a high propensity for risk, stick to the established PH’s and operators hunting the prime areas, and the experienced and reputable Booking Agents who have the financial means and desire to stand behind their hunts and their hunters.

Regards,

Bill

Bill C,
I find nothing to disagree with in your post. It was not easy to post that we were played for fools, but we were. Hopefully, as you say, someone else may avoid the same fate.

I've read the 24HCF thread as well, and all I have to say is that I'm sorry you got skewered. It gets my blood boiling to read about folks getting ripped off in general, but in particular in places like this, where a number of outfitters/agents are allowed to ply their trade, for free to boot, and then start slinging the shit when people post a bad report, well, man, it's enough to get really, really sour on these types. Don't get me wrong: some seem very much stand-up and honest, and don't push their sales pitch BS too much, but others, well, you all know the few. Makes me sick.

I appreciate the courage needed to post a negative hunt report.

The value of this forum is to allow fellow hunters to benefit from the experience of others who travel to areas we plan to hunt. By having access to the great, not-so-good and downright bad reports we are allowed to make an informed decision as to whom we book through and hunt with. Remember most references given by an outfit are going to be successful, happy hunters. So the unvarnished truth from a hunters perspective is invaluable. That is why I think this particular forum is the best on AR. It rivals The Hunting Report for clarity and honesty... with an added advantage. You can pm the poster for specific info if you need to.

Thanks again Saeed for this important service!

Posting this for another.


Logged onto 24hr campfire and see that the discussion is still raging. Haven't time or inclination to join another forum, but you could pass on to Mark "safariman" that I notice that Tim is now blaming him- since the only complaints have come from clients he booked!

Don Heath

Not surprised. This seems the way Tim operates.
Blame a booking agent in the states for hunters being in the wrong camps, no PH's, lack of game, lack of permits, lack of "a plane".

Can't wait to go back to Zim for my 2 free days for all my problems.