I hunted in the Selous, Tanzania, concession R2 with Pierre van Tonder Big Game safaris for 21 days...The hunt was great..It was hunting at its finest..My conditioning made it absolutely one of the best times of my life...
Hunt arrangements were made thru Atkinson Hunting Adventures.

Travel arrangments were handled thru Kathi Klimes of Wild Travel. She handled getting visa's and Amsterdam paper work..Take extra copies of everything..KLM wanted paperwork for the flight back and collected it in Dar Es Salaam...
Pierre's staff met us at the airport they had our paperwork in order and we cleared airport in 15 minutes and off to the Sea Cliff for a nights sleep and back to the airport for the bush flight..

Arrived in camp on July 24th and flew out on August 15th...Pierre and some of staff met us at the Mseguni airstrip in the middle of nowhere when we landed...Even saw my first bull ele when we circled airstrip to make sure there were no surprises there when landing...A 45 minute drive to the base camp on the Ruaha river was beautiful..The grass was green and lush, but that was going to make the next 21 days of hunting hard with visibility down to yards and feet in places...
I hunted many of Africa's big animals and even missed a few..The rifles I was using were a Champlin Famars 450 #2 N.E.and a model 70 in 375 H&H..The Barnes TSX was devistating on the plains game and Woodleigh's and Bridger solids speak for themselves..

We were in to the buf daily but the grass often 10 feet high hid the buf from us..I was up to 10 feet from a bull and never saw a hair...
I did end up shooting 15 animals in 21 days..I can tell you I worked for, and earned each and every one..I shot one old dagga boy, a zebra, 2 impala, 3 baboons, leopard, bull ele, croc, hippo, 3 kongoni, waterbuck...

The rains came for the first 10 days of the hunt...Showers during the day and down pours at night. Three to be exact for maybe 2 to 3 hours.. Lot of water in the pans so animals could not be patterened to get to water.
The camp was to say the least beautifully laid out with 5 large tents and bar - mess area and the dining table out in the open overlooking the river... daily serenades from the hippos in front of camp...
The staff was impecable..Wanting to cater to your needs and they did...All were very friendly and took to their jobs with a serious attitude of importance..
Cherie and I had the camp for 14 days to ourselves being pampered and waited on, better then a 5 star hotel...
Last year Pierre had asked permission of me to allow him to bring some other hunters into camp for the last 7 days of the hunt..I said absolutely...May need some more bait!!!The gentlemen who came to camp hunted hard and contributed to the bait pool..They too were catered to by the staff just like Cherie and I.
I took gatorade for hydration and it really helps you recover from all the sweating and adds miles to the hunter...I did a lot of conditioning to be able to carry an 11 pound double rifle..before leaving home, I ended up walking 7 miles a day and carrying a 10 pound dumbbell..I did curls & presses till arms and shoulders burned..The last 3 weeks I did lots of hill climbing and stepped on all sorts of roots, rocks, whatever, to strengthen my ankles and this I feel worked fine..

Never on the entire safari was I stressed out or out of breath that I could not keep up...To put it bluntly I hunted with Pierre and the Masai and not them with me...
Anneli, is Pierre's wife and she runs the camp...What a wonderful camp and atmosphere in camp..The whole staff goes about there jobs with a proud attitude and no one is more important than another..They all mesh and make all welcome...and the littlest details are not overlooked or assumed..

To sum up my time in Tanzania, I could not have shared the time with better people...Yes, I will be returning for my date with simba,


evenings around the campfire, renewing friendships,

...Yes, I will be back to Africa, to hunt with Pierre.

I wish the shirts said Asante sana..Thank you very much...
Mike

There were lots of us who wanted to win the contest, but none who would have worked harder (after the fact) to deserve it. Way to go, my friend!

Congratulations on a great hunt. The detailed reporting relayed thru you daughter and son were a daily highlight for many of us here at AR. I don't think the hunt could have gone to a better person.

Thanks for keeping all of us involved!!!

Phil

Wow. You earned every one. And it was nice how you slipped the leopard ad croc in amongst the other game.

Mike, I can't wait to see you again in Dallas this January, and hear more about your great hunt ........ also, your son & daughter really kept us informed while you were there. Great stories.

Mike,

We're really glad you had a great time and fine hunt. We're especially appreciative that you took us along. We too enjoyed it!

Thank you.

Glad that you had a great trip and the way you tell the stories made me fell I right beside you during the hunts.

I am very happy for you. Thank you again for sharing your wonderful experience.

-George