Hunt Dates 04 Nov/16Nov 2012
Travel Steve Turner “Travel with Guns”

Location Sengwe II, Zimbabwe
Outfitter, SSG Safaris. Nixon Dzingai
My Agent for this Hunt. Phillip Smythe, Ivory Trail Safaris.

PH Ishumael Tshabalala
Head Scout, Matwasa “The Old Man”.

Rifles
Krieghoff Classic Double in 500/416
Winchester Model 70 in .280 Rem.

Trophy’s wanted;
Cape buffalo (2) Bush Pig, Hyena, Jackal.

Trophy’s taken.
Cape Buffalo (2) Hippo (1)
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It’s 6:00 AM on the last day of a 12 day Hunt. I’m in the Land Cruiser heading up the dry river bed on the Limpopo River in south eastern Zimbabwe on our way back to Camp. I have a Buffalo in the back of the Cruiser. It is just not any Buffalo, It is the greatest Buffalo in Zimbabwe. No, it will not break any records. And No, it did not charge me. But, It is the Buffalo that I have walked close to a 100 miles for in the last 12 days. It is the Buffalo that I have worked harder for than any other one. He has brought me close to Heat Stroke. It is the one that made me “Pay my Dues”. It is the one that showed me what true Buffalo Hunting in Africa is all about. But I’m getting ahead of the whole story.
The reason for this started back in March when I acquired another Krieghoff Classic Double in 500/416. The Rifle demanded to be taken to Africa.

Then back in October when Phillip Smythe offered a Buffalo Hunt in Zimbabwe on AR. After a few PM’s and a lot of e-mails a Hunt was booked. I would hunt with Phillip in the Malapati area.
Steve Turner “Travel with Guns” was contacted and travel arrangements were made for the November Hunt.
All is well, Right? No. This being Africa, sometimes problems arise. As in this case. An unforeseen scheduling problem arose for Phillip and could I change my dates or if not, would I consider hunting with a different PH? Not what I wanted to hear. Now, problems do come up in Africa that cannot be avoided. The true professionals deal with these problems and you must be willing to work with them to make the best of a poor situation sometimes such as now. The date changes didn’t work for me, so who would I be hunting with was the next question? The answer being SSG Safaris which also has a great reputation and all is well again. I must point out here that had I backed out I would have missed an opportunity of a lifetime.
I had my Air Fare and was booked straight to Harare with no overnight stop in
Jo berg. All is well again. Right? No. A problem again a few days before departure with the runway lights in Harare. It seems the chickenshit SAA Pilots don’t want to land in the dark without runway lights. Thankfully Steve Turner had my back, and a change in tickets was made as well as overnight accommodations at the Afton House were provided. This enabled me to be sure my Guns made it to Jo berg and would be on the plane to Harare. The folks at the Afton House helped me with the SAPS process which went very smooth.

The next day back to the Airport and on to Harare on SAA. A short flight and I was met by the Charter Pilot. In a short time we were loading the Bush Plane and I was heading for the start of my Hunt. Two hours later we set down on the dirt runway in the Gonarezhou National Park. The Land Cruiser was waiting and I met my PH Ishumael Tshabalala. And #2 Tracker Steven. I signed in while my gear was being loaded and we were on our way to the Hunting Camp on the Mwenzi River Bank. Ishumael and I got acquainted during the scenic one hour drive to camp and I got to see part of the Park. Ishumael informed me that I should easily be able to collect the two Buffalo I wanted, but I would have to speak to Nixon regarding a Hippo. We arrived at Camp and I got settled in and then out back to check the Rifles were sighted in properly. All is well!


Day 1.
Up @ 5:00, Breakfast and off we go. I was informed we would stop first and pick up the Old Man “Matwasa” as he lived close to where we would be hunting and knew what the Buffalo were doing.



As the days went on I had to wonder why they refer to him as the Old Man?

We were soon on fresh tracks and begin to trail a small herd that showed promise as a couple of them appeared to be large Bulls. About a mile and a half later I realized two things. One didn’t need the T Shirt I was wearing under my short sleeve shirt, and two, we were walking uphill and would continue to do so for another mile. We followed the tracks to the top of the ridge and down the back side into a valley. The herd never did slow down to rest but seemed determined to be going to visit relatives in Mozambique. By now we had traveled close to five miles and the heat was starting to slow me down. So back to the truck and Camp for a nap and lunch. Later that afternoon we drove down to the Limpopo River and scouted some more area to see where the Buff were moving. The wind was wrecking havoc with us as it was constantly changing direction and making our stalks a futile effort at best. Back to Camp for Sundowners and Dinner. Then off to bed. I was informed we would get an early start for Day 2.

Day 2.
Up at 4:00, Breakfast and off we go. This will be a repeat of Day 1. I am starting to develop a Love/Hate relation with the wind. With it our scent is being blown everywhere, without it is extremely hot.

Day 3.
Up again at 4:00, breakfast and off we go. It is barely daylight when Matwasa picks up fresh tracks. We park the truck and take to the trail. The wind is almost non existant and the temperature is pleasant. The track leads us up the mountain as I now call the hill. I’m thinking this is going to be another repeat performance of the two previous days. The trail leads us to a rocky ledge near the top which the buffalo scaled with no effort. I manage to get myself and the Krieghoff up top as well and call for a break. By now the wind has picked up, but is blowing toward us. All of a sudden Steven drops down and points. I can see a Buffalo Cow thru the brush. She is at ease and grazing. Ishumael grabs my arm and we skirt around the cover to a position above and in front. A nice Bull walks out into the clearing followed by another. You may take your shot whispers Ishumael.
The Double comes up; the Dot on the Doctor Red Dot falls behind the shoulder and a 370 grain CEB Bullet is on the way. The Bull humps with the impact and turns to run. Shoot again says Ishumael. “I must point out here I have a reluctance to fire my second barrel when I feel the first shot is fatal” I dis-like holding a empty rifle in heavy cover when Buffalo have been spooked” In a few seconds we hear the Death Bellow and all is well. The Buff made less the 60 meters before going down and was quite dead when we got to him.



This old gentleman was somewhat famous as Nixon’s son Simon had been guiding a client a few months earlier who had a frontal shot at him, and had shot away part of his right Horn.
The locals had spotted him a few times and felt he was lucky and would never be taken. However I had “lil Earnest” with me.



The truck was bought up, the Buff field dressed and loaded and back to camp for lunch and a nap. The Guys had used an old abandon road that I found out was the Boundary for a Mine Field from the Bush War. Yes, there are Mine Fields in the area that the Army is in the process of clearing. We did hear one go off one morning in the distance.

We scouted the riverbed that afternoon and found the track of a large Elephant form the night before. I took a shot at a Baboon I thought was about 300 yards out, but must have been closer to 450 judging by where the Bullet hit. Then back to camp for sundowners and dinner. By now I’m realizing we do not have a Cook in camp, but a Chef instead. The man’s name is Titus and will provide me with the finest camp dinning I have ever had. I would have been happy the whole hunt just eating his homemade Pizza. The Buffalo Fillets he prepared one night with Roasted Potatoes and steamed vegetables was the best by far. I never thought Buffalo could be that tender.

Nixon does run a top notch camp.
Days 4
A late start. ”Too many Sundowners last night maybe”. We track and catch up to a small herd that contained two young Bulls and three cows and a calf. By now I’m getting the hang of this and am able to cover 8 or 10 miles with a minimum of complaining. By now I’m wondering why they call Matwasa the Old Man? He never gets tired, He never loses the Track, He never gets thirsty, and He is always in a good mood. He does give me the look when I make too much noise. Speaking of noise, Henry the Game Scout does not make any! I have to look behind me to see if he is still with us? He walks along carrying his AK 47 and I never hear a sound. They train the Park Rangers well for their Anti-Poaching Patrols.
Day 5
Light rain, so a late start. No Buff seen today. We check the river bed and see a lot of Hippo tracks from the night before. We talk about try to ambush one at night, but decide that would not be sporting for us, but might be for the Hippo? We log around 10 miles today but the wind will not work with us so we give it up.
Back at Camp I learn the other Hunter in Camp has taken a large elephant. I will skip over this as I want to wait for his Hunt Report.

Day 6
We change hunting areas to give ours a rest and move to Malapati. This area is also loaded with fresh sign of Buffalo as well as Elephant. We log six to eight miles today, but the wind is constantly working against us. No Buff sighted, but the tracks show where they caught our scent and took off. We did spot 4 poachers with dogs in the distance. Decided to call it a day and headed back to Camp.
Day 7
We take up the track of what appears to be a Bachelor herd and follow for over two hours, but the wind is fighting all the way. They finally catch our scent and head for the Park. We did find a poacher’s Snare.
And remove it. Light rain moved in so we called it a day and back to camp.

Day 8
Today we are back in Swenge II. We take the track of a small herd and almost catch them twice before the wind gives us away. We finally catch up only to find we have been tracking two cows and a young Bull. We did come across the remains of a Cow Buffalo that appeared to have died of old age.


Day 9
Not my best day. We track a herd for almost five miles and find where they joined another herd. Tracks are really mixed up. We sort out the tracks as best we can and follow for two more miles. While actually crawling thru some heavy brush an old Dugga Boy is spotted in some very heavy cover. He is watching us.” I had to remove the Doctor sight from my Double Rifle due to a design flaw that I hadn’t had time to discover before leaving for the Hunt and was back to using Iron Sights at this time.” Now the old boy is in heavy cover about 60 yards out”. I’m in even heavier cover and cannot even stand up. It is an Old Bull says Ishumael. If you feel comfortable with it, you may take the shot. A bit of over confidence here on my part perhaps, but I did take the shot. I sent a 400 grain Woodleigh Solid his way and herd the Bullet hit. He dropped out of sight and I thought he was down. Then a Buff appeared there heading away. I was reluctant to fire again as I didn’t want to have two wounded Buff running around that late in the day. Bad judgment on my part. He had dropped in a ditch after taking the hit and it was him that I seen.
Had I fired again things may have turned out better. We waited 10 minutes or so before going over for a look. The Trackers said my shot hit the high lung area and we picked up a spot of Blood. The Trackers had a hard time following the trail but did find more Blood and in one spot where he stopped found a good amount of Blood.

We followed him into some very heavy cover which had Ambush written all over it. Not good! We waited and watched for about 10 minutes and then decided to walk around the area to see if he was still in there. He was! As we reached the up wind end of it, he broke out of the opposite end. I will always believe he was laying in wait for us. We followed his trail for over a mile and he never quit running full bore the whole distance. By now the hottest part of the day is on us. We are down to less than two bottles of water. The truck is over five miles away. The Old Man wants to stay with him, but I feel it will be a futile attempt. Reluctantly I call it off. I am beaten. The guys tell me they think the wound is not fatal and he will more than likely survive it. I hope so. He is a Grand Old Warrior and deserves a better fate. The Game Scout and I stop at a place where the truck can pick us up and I have time to regret ever taking the shot. A quiet ride back to camp, where I had to explain my actions to Nixon. An experience I do not relish having to repeat.

Day 10
Ishumael tells me a Hippo is available some distance from Camp in the Chilonge Communal area on the Runde River. Would I be interested he asks? After my poor performance from yesterday I feel a change of scenery is in order, so we are off. Over 3 hours later we arrive to find the hippo can be found in one of the pools located at the bottom of a gorge which requires a decent down a rocky cliff of almost 150 yards.
As I look down on this I wonder what in Hell was I thinking when I agreed to this? Too late now as the decent has started. Lil Earnest would have no part of it and stayed with the truck. Finally I make it to the bottom only to find out that it must be in excess of a 100 degrees down here. We walk over a mile on a very rough trail checking a couple pools along the way. Ishumael seems to have spot in mind as he keeps us moving. Finally we slow up and move to the next pool. He has spotted three Hippos napping close to the bank. The one on the left is a good Bull he whispers. You may take the shot he says. I make sure the front sight is in the V of the rear sight and they are lined up between the eyes. The shot will be a slight angle, but should be a clean kill. The Woodleigh Solid hits true and the old boy sinks to the bottom. He is mine! Now I ask, how are we to get him out? The shot was right at 60 yards and he is in a pool known to contain some large Crocs. That is my jobs says Ishumael. Sit in the shade and watch. He did not have to tell me twice.
It was not long before the people started arriving. Soon a small boat was carried in and two young men went to get a rope on the Hippo. In less time than it takes to tell about it, they overturned the boat and sank it. It was only 3 ½ feet deep there so they proceeded without the boat to rope the hippo. Soon 10 to 15 Men as well as some of the ladies had the hippo in tow and were en route to the far end of the pool where he could be put on shore for pictures.

After the photo session it was time to climb back up to the waiting truck. I was thankful all I had to get up was me and my Rifle. The guys brought up the head and a bunch of the meat and we were on our way back to camp.







Day 12
Today is last chance. Up @ 3:00, pick up the Old Man and drive to the river bed.
We are off going. Two miles later we are still going. It is so dark I cannot even see the ground. The Old Man does not miss a step. The Game Scout may or may not be behind me. It is too dark to tell. All of a sudden the Old Man stops and listens.
There are Buffalo ahead he whispers. I can see and hear nothing. We stand there and watch and listen. We must go back he says. We cross over and head back a few hundred yards to a island with some willow type brush growing on it and watch. It is now getting where I can. I can make out what looks like Buffalo, put we take cover before I can get a good look. We wait for 15 to 20 minutes. They are coming says Ishumael. Soon I can hear them. I raise up and see about 9 or 10 Buff. I get in position and wait. Another 15 minutes passes and all of a sudden the first one comes into view, followed by 10 more. They keep coming by less than 40 yards in front of me. Ten then twenty, then thirty, One old Cow out in front stops and turns around and stares right at me. She is locked up on a solid point. Now I have counted forty head and they are still more coming. The Cow holds her point. If she would raise one hoof and straighten her tail she could have won every field trial in the country. At 48 head I quit counting and hope the cow don’t raise the alarm. The big one is coming whispers Ishumael. The 53rd one I could tell was a shooter for sure. When he turned his head I got a glimpse of his Boss’s. You may take the shot I hear. The Double comes up and a CEB is on the way. It hits on the shoulder and rolls him. The herd takes off for South Africa and another round to the chest puts him down for good. We come in from behind and put the insurance shot in. He is mine.






The spread measures 37 ½ “ The Boss is 16” and a SCI score of 106.

The next morning it is back to the Airstrip for the charter back to Harare.
I finally get to meet Peter Symthe who arranged all this. A quick ride to the Guest House, and I’m settled in. That evening Peter takes me to Miller’s Café for dinner. Downtown Harare is quite a place at night. A great Steak dinner followed by a couple Dom Pedro’s “a very good drink” and back to the guest house. The next morning Phillip picks me up for some shopping and a tour of Harare. Then back to the airport to start the long trip home.

I found Zimbabwe to not be at all what I expected. The people are very friendly. I observed several Schools and Medical Centers in the areas I hunted in. The Game is plentiful. In Harare the store shelves are well stocked. If I hunt Buffalo again it will be in Zimbabwe without a doubt. The main problem I will have is to decide if I should hunt with Nixon and SSG Safaris or to Hunt with Phillip @ Ivory Trail Safaris? This will be a very tough decision! Oh well, I have a few months to sort it out.

Also let me add the History of “LiL Earnest” here; Courtesy of Judge G, who I want to thank again for the loan of.
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Lil' Ernest started about five years ago when SBT (Scott Terry) asked if anyone had a good luck charm to take to Africa because his last safari had been a bust. I knew of the little stuffed animal (and the actual name was "Little Ernest) and decided to send him one. He had a great safari and was going to pass along the totem, but his granddaughter fell in love with the guy and that was that.

I subsequently have sent out 30 or so of the guys that have made their way to 10 or so African countries, Spain, Scotland, Alaska, Austrailia, Canada, Turkey.... you name it and Lil' Ernest has brought good luck for most every one.

Ivan Carter hunts with one, I got off the plane at Chete' one day and there were folks I didn't even know with Lil' Ernest in hand after their two buffalo success.

It is a fun thing for me to have started and it is kind of a great way for me to experience safaris vicariously.
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*Judge G has allowed me to offer the services of "Lil Earnest" to whoever wants to use him on their next Hunt.


PM me for details.
Larrys01

Let me be the first to congratulate you Larry on a great hunt!

The dry hunting beats the swamps hey my friend?!

Larry,
You had a great hunt,thanks for posting,glad to see you got the 500/416 bloodied up

Thanks for sharing your adventure.

Great hunt report. Sounds like one hell of a time. Congratulations.

Congrats Larry - nice hunt. Thanks for sharing.

Larry,

Great hunt, thanks for the post. your second bull has fantastic bosses.

Did you see much lion sign along the Limpopo?

Best -

Sorry I couldn't have joined you in Malapati Larry, but needless to say was great to meet you and hear your stories over dinner back in Harare!!

Was upset I couldn't be with Lil' Ernest again.... next time for sure!

Thanks for the report.

Thanks for posting. Yes it does get hot in Zim durng that time of the year. Can you please elaborate a bit on how the camp is. I have been to Malapata a couple of times. the last time i was there Sengwe II was being renovated.

Congratulations on a fantastic bull.

H Kittle

Great bulls, thanks for the report.

quote:

Can you please elaborate a bit on how the camp is. I have been to Malapata a couple of times. the last time i was there Sengwe II was being renovated.

I felt the Camp is in good shape. Nixon has the most comfortable camp chairs. I was quite confortable and would have no problem staying there again.

You had a great hunt,thanks for posting,glad to see you got the 500/416 bloodied up.

That is one great cartridge. With the 370 gr CEB bulllets it is devastating on Buffalo.

Great hunt report and pics Larry! Congratulations on some fine trophies!

Thanks for a great report and congrats on a very successful hunt. Really like your second buffalo's boss, but #1 had a fantastic story to go with the damaged horn!

Larry,
What was the problem with the dokter sight?

No problem with the sight, it was the mount. We were rushed for time when we made it. A design error that allowed it to rock in the Dovetail for the rear sight. I think I could have still used it, but I didn't feel comfortable with it should a dangerous situation be encountered. We are going to re-design it after our Iowa Deer Season and Tom will be able to make them.

Larry;

Thanks for your report and pics....BIG congratulations!

Best regards, D. Nelson

quote:

the chickenshit SAA Pilots don’t want to land in the dark without runway lights.

HUH?? and HUH?? again!!

Good report, thanks.

quote:

HUH?? and HUH?? again!!

A small attempt at Humor. "very small"

Very nice report and pics. I especially liked the hippo trophy. Thanks for sharing.