Dates; 04th .May.11 - 24th .May.11
Area ; Dande North Safari Area, Zimbabwe.
Outfitter; Charlton McCallum Safaris
PH; Buzz Charlton
Video; Justin Drainer
Rifles; Krieghoff 470 NE Double, Winchester 375 H&H
Bullets; Federal factory load 500gn Woodleigh solid,
Remington factory load 300gn Swift A frame.
Hunt; 21 day Bull Elephant, Male Lion, Buffalo Cows (bait)

This was my fifth consecutive year hunting with CM Safaris and my biggest hunt to date. I started with a ten day buff hunt and just kept adding species and number of days until I got to this point in my African experience.
I posted some months ago that I intended to try a new route into northern Zim and it proved to be a great success. http://forums.accuratereloadin...961033841#6961033841

I left London Heathrow on 1st May at 19.10 on the direct flight to Lusaka Zambia and I was fishing on the Zambezi river at 13.30 the following day. Carel Maartens of Chawalo Safaris had organised all the paperwork and the charter from Lusaka to Luangwa and apart from the usual minor African delays at the border posts all went smoothly. I can definitely recommend this route as an alternative to the Joburg option.
I travelled out with two friends who were to hunt different areas, but who also wanted to chill out with a day or so fishing before starting their hunts. We all stayed one night at Chawalo’s very comfortable fishing camp on the banks of the Zambezi and had two half days fishing before being ferried across to the Zim side to be collected by our respective hunting vehicles.






Chawalo fishing camp


Joe's first tiger fish


My first vundu


I was collected by Buzz Charlton and our intrepid camera man Justin Drainer. The hour’s drive to the Pedza tented camp went in no time as we caught up on all the news.



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Pedza tented camp


Day 1

Main priority is bait for the lion, but when we found a good Ele bull track we couldn’t help but follow it. We started at 07.15am and followed into thick jesse where we caught it together with two others at 12 noon. The best would go in the mid forties per side, but too early in the hunt to think of taking it. In making our way out of the jesse block we found three other bulls and a lot of cows. It soon became clear that this thick stuff was full of elephant and we almost bumped (literally) into several lots as the five yard visibility didn’t give us much warning. All exciting stuff and a time when you are only too glad you are carrying a big double.
Shot an impala in the afternoon. Not much of a lion bait, but we learned never to pass on an opportunity when hunting cats.

Day 2

As we were doing our tour of the roads for buff tracks at first light we heard over the radio that Alan Shearing and his client John Williford who were hunting out of the Mururu camp had just shot their leopard. The report also added that “it had gone into some thick shit” and Alan was following. Immediately there was another voice on the radio belonging to Buzz’s partner Myles McCallum who swiftly volunteered the information that he was unfortunately miles away in Ward 11, but if Alan needed a hand Buzz was much closer. Buzz thanked him for being so helpful. We made our way towards the site, but they had already found the leopard dead when we arrived.
Now that they had their leopard it gave us the ideal opportunity to commandeer all their baits which we did without hesitation.

Buff sign was proving hard to find, but we did come across a big male lion track on the road leading to the Mkanga river.
This is probably the ideal point to explain Buzz’s thinking regarding lion hunting.
He does not subscribe to the view that you just hang baits in likely places and wait –
oh no ! First you find where your lion is likely to be and then bait around him to increase your chances of him discovering your bait. How do you find where he is likely to be ? - you find a track and you follow it.
Over the next couple of weeks we identified ten different big male lions within our area, some of which we tracked for full days before being satisfied that they warranted a bait. Most cats were given names to make things easier and some of them were shown to wander up to10kms in a night. There were individuals, pride males and a group of three we called the three musketeers. These numbers do not include young males. Dande is definitely not short of lions.

Day 3

Found the tracks of a buff herd early in the day and eventually caught it just as the mid day swirling winds cut in to frustrate us. Having bumped them several times we withdrew for lunch and a cooling of our frustration. They had proved to be quite predictable in that they just went from one lot of thick bush to the next even thicker lot.
In the afternoon Buzz played a hunch as to where they would be and it proved to be spot on.
I eventually got a chance of a tiny window in the scrub at about sixty yards and following the shot with the 375 the cow disappeared with the rest of the herd towards an area of head high grass. A quick change to the double and a follow up found that she had only gone about fifty yards before she had looped around and was waiting in the grass facing the way we were coming. The only good sign was that she was on her knees. When we made eye contact she jumped up and attempted to move forward, but the shot through the lungs had done its job and I put her down with the 470. We had bait.


You have to take your chances through whatever gaps you find


She was waiting in the tall grass



Day 4

Put up baits in areas which we had identified as holding a big male lion or lions.
Moved to Mururu camp to be closer to bait sites and hence cut down on the driving times.

Day 5

The bait on the Mkanga river had been hit and the trail cam showed a male worth looking at. As he was missing the end of his tail he was named “stumpy”



Stumpy


We built a blind and then I asked for a practice to check the rifle. We drove out a respectable distance and set up a target. I then experienced a weird situation.
I have always considered the shot on lion to be the most pressurised that you are ever likely to be asked to take. If you mess it up you are asking your PH and staff to put their lives on the line to a higher degree than with any other animal.
The set up on this particular bait was about 80yds from a dead rest and under normal circumstances the kill area (of a conservative six square inches) should be very straight forward even for an average shot like me.
I normally consider myself a fairly calm individual, but the practice session turned into a nightmare. I was spraying bullets all over the place and for the first time that I can ever remember I was nervous with a gun in my hands. Buzz gave me the usual reassurance, but I’m sure I saw the trackers giving each other sideways glances.
When we sat that night I can honestly admit that I was relieved when nothing showed.

Day 6

Up at 3.30am and then two hour drive to sit at day break. Nothing had fed, but there had been a minor miracle. My nervousness of the previous day had completely gone and didn’t return for the rest of the hunt. I think I must have experienced what some people call “a brain fart”.
Followed more lion tracks in the afternoon and arrived back at camp at 6.45pm.
A long day !!

Day 7

Went to Ward 11, a small communal area that CM control which is separated from the Dande Safari Area. We had the privilege of coming across a wild dog on the road which seemed to crave our company and hung around the truck while we got some great video footage.


Wild dog

Tracked buff which we caught in extremely thick bush and spent some considerable time in a Mexican standoff at ten yards before they eventually broke.
Returned to Pedza camp that evening.

Day 8

While doing the usual rounds in the morning we get a radio call from PH Richie Shultz who says that he and his client have just seen a big male lion asleep under a tree in a dry river bed. We get over there fast.
When we arrived at the site Criton, Buzz’s main tracker suggested that we do a diversion through some thick bush to arrive on the opposite bank of the sand river and get an unobstructed view under the tree in question.
Part way through this manoeuvre in thick bush Buzz silently indicates that we have diverted enough and should cut back towards the tree. About ten yards after changing direction everyone freezes and I look around for the reason. Buzz gives an exaggerated chewing motion with his hands to his mouth and the trackers point in the direction that we were previously walking. Everyone else had heard it except me.
We later learned that there were a pride of lionesses and cubs feeding on a buffalo calf no more than twenty yards from us in the thick bush and at the very spot that we would have reached if Buzz hadn’t changed our direction.
Needless to say that our “silent” approach then became an even more “silent” sideways retreat.
The male lion was nowhere to be seen at the tree, but it did give cause for the hanging of yet another bait. We tracked the pride down the river bed and found them sleeping in the sand before they realised something was wrong and melted away into the bush.
We built a blind so we could sit the following morning.

Day 9

Up at 3.30am again to sneak into the bait at first light and when we hit the road we find that everyone is on the move.
The tracks of two big male lions and then one loan track that we follow on the road towards our bait for 6kms before he heads into the bush. We also have to pass on a big ele bull track.
Just before we abandoned the truck for our walk in to the blind we find one of those famous African lucky omens walking down the road. We of course have to stop for the pictures.


Who said Pangolin were lucky ??


When we sneak into the blind we just get a departing view of a lioness, as what wind there was does a nasty swirl and busts us.
We go back to where the single male lion had left the road and Criton sets off on his own to track it while we do the bait checking run.
We later meet up with him to be told that he caught the lion which ran from him after part eating an aardvark which it had just killed. The casual way in which the trackers treat these situations amazes me. I am told that they get their confidence from the belief that their highly skilled senses are keen enough to avoid the dangers. I am also told that they are the result of years of selective breeding, in that those with lesser senses aren’t around anymore !!.
We set up a trail cam by the dead aardvark on the assumption that the lion will return to finish his meal.
We gave this lion the name “aardvark man” for obvious reasons although Buzz would insist on calling him “pangolin man”.
We sat at the bait in the evening, but a lioness ran as quickly as she appeared when that fickle wind busted us again.

When we were walking out on dark Buzz just avoided stepping on a Puff Adder that slowly slithered out of his way on the road.
During the safari we saw all the main African species of seriously poisonous snakes.
Buzz said he had never seen as many on any other safari that he could remember.
I have already described my thoughts on Critons amazing attitude to dangerous game, but I’m afraid that doesn’t extend to snakes. We were walking through some thick jesse one day when I was puzzled to see our intrepid tracker high tailing it back past me. The cause proved to be an eight feet long Black Mamba which he found coming towards him with the front part of its body raised off the ground. They obviously must be afraid of Englishmen because when it saw me it turned and took refuge in a tree where Justin was able to take some fantastic video footage of it glaring at us from head height. I obviously hadn’t realised what it was at that stage otherwise I would have overtaken Criton.
At other times we also had firsthand (and close) experience of a ten feet Egyptian Cobra, a Boomslang, a Mozambique Spitting Cobra and another Puff Adder which Justin filmed at close quarters.
Back to camp at 7.30pm – another long day !!

Day 10

Early start to blind. We could hear the lions on the bait, but they had gone when we got in. We decided that the wind does funny things in that river so we should abandon the site.
Trail cam shows the male to be immature anyway.

We find the fresh tracks of three lions in a river bed, one big one and two immature.
We track them for several hours and get busted by a flock of guinea fowl just as we catch up to them. We know which block of jesse they are in so more baits are hung to try to intercept them.


The tracks were fresh, fresh !


We get a call from Richie Schultz with a sighting of a buff herd track and off we go.
It is already mid afternoon and the wind is swirling as usual so when we eventually catch them we have the inevitable round of stalk, busted, run, thicker bush, stalk, busted etc. etc. etc. In an ideal world we would give up for better conditions, but we are now desperate for bait and nothing to lose.
Buzz later admitted that he could feel my thoughts permeating through the back of his head as I followed him for the last hour. I must admit that I am always in a positive frame of mind and I always have total confidence in my PH, however even I was losing the will to live on this one.
As is often the case, and just as I was about to put my point of view forward the impossible happened. The buff herd that we had been harassing for hours suddenly appeared from nowhere and started to file across the front of us in a relatively open area at sixty yards. The sticks went up just as they all stopped to listen and our attention was initially taken by the second in line which was a massive bull that I thought would go 44inches.
I soon came back to reality as a cow stepped out and I shot it on the shoulder.
A brief follow up with the double in hand and we had bait again.


Second buff cow

Day 11

Checked baits – no hits
Found tracks of the three male lions again and tracked for four hours.
A new bait site is planned in a dry river bed with a great cliff top view from the blind position, but we will have a long walk in as we can’t get the vehicle close.


View of the bait tree from blind site


View from the blind


Eddie the driver and Criton have to carry a quarter of a buffalo each for nearly half a mile. I am totally amazed where they get the strength and stamina.


They carried the meat for half a mile


My wife has arrived in camp when I get back having travelled out to spend the last ten days with us. Unfortunately she had forgotten about the bait bucket. !!!
When she travels around she always likes to travel on top of the truck as I have told her that the air conditioning in the truck cab is bad for her. She had however forgotten the bait bucket that she endured when we were leopard hunting a few years ago. We had unfortunately had the contents of this lion bucket for quite a few days by the time she arrived and it was well ripe. She did say that whilst driving forward it was almost bearable, but it was when we stopped or reversed to review a track on the road that you really got to appreciate its finer bouquet.

Day 12

Whilst following some Zebra we got a call from Eddie the driver who had been sent to check the roads for tracks. He had found a big Elephant bull track that we should see. We arranged for him to collect us and when we arrived at the track we followed without hesitation. It was all you would ever want, 22inches with deep cracks and edge wear. It soon became apparent that he was also scuffing his back right leg. Buzz said that it could be a poachers wound and that we should be cautious as to his attitude.
It didn’t take us long to catch him, but it was a disappointment when we did because although he was a big bodied animal he only had one tusk. I was asked if I wanted to take him, but I declined.
As we were walking away I started to question my decision. It was an old bull just the kind we look for and he was undoubtedly in some kind of distress on that back leg most probably from a poacher’s bullet. I had declined him because he only had one tusk. I already have two sets of tusks at home and I hadn’t even thought what I would do with the ones from this hunt. How much responsibility should I consider in ending whatever suffering he may be in? It was a very disturbing situation that I had never encountered before and it didn’t sit well with me.
By the time I decided that I had made the wrong decision it was too late, we were miles away.

We had some good news when we got back to camp because Richie Shultz and his client had got their leopard which meant that we could steal their baits and add to ours. They also bagged out without needing to use their allocated buff cow so I could filch that quota as well.
They had bagged out by shooting both their buff bull and leopard in five days which sounds great, but I would personally prefer to struggle and hunt hard right to the end of the safari.

Day 13

We dropped off Criton and Nyati the two trackers to walk a jesse block looking for decent ele tracks while we did a speculative walk.
We hadn’t been walking long when the hunting gods smiled upon us and we found a large buff herd of over a hundred walking slowly across the front of us. Considering the long days that we had spent chasing buffalo in swirling winds this seemed too easy. A short stalk to get in front of them, a clear choice, a heart shot cow that only went thirty yards and it was all over. Who needs trackers ?
Hung two more baits in the afternoon


Third buff cow


Day 14

Checked baits, but nothing. Everywhere seems very quiet today. Could it be because the weather is very overcast ?
Only thing of interest is that I have sore feet. Why should that be ? I am using the same boots and socks as the past four years and I have never had a problem before. It’s a good thing that I have my darling wife to administer to me. After she has plastered up my toes I am all good to go again.

Day 15

We start early on our usual rounds and drop Criton and Nyati to check out a jesse block for tracks while we drive the roads.
When we all meet up again they report that they hadn’t seen any tracks that would be of interest to us, but in passing they mentioned that they had seen the track of the bull with the injured leg. It may not have been of interest to them, but it sure was to me and I insisted that we go and try to find it again.
After picking up the track with the distinctive drag mark we eventually caught the bull in what was probably ideal elephant hunting ground. The bush was thick enough to provide stalking cover, but open enough to find clear shooting lanes.
As we closed in the trackers dropped back and Buzz and I took the front as usual.

The bull was walking slowly across from our right and stopping occasionally to listen. Each time he stopped, we stopped. When we got to about forty yards he raised his trunk as he got our wind and turned to face us.
We picked up our walking pace to close quickly for a shot, but he turned and started to run. It must have been at that moment that he remembered his past experiences with humans because he suddenly swung around and charged.
As he burst through the trees Buzz calmly said “frontal Rob”
( I did question him later as to what other option he thought I had ?)
My shot hit him in the centre of the head just below the level of the eye. A perfect shot for a bull standing in a normal attitude, but too low with the head dropped in a charge. Even though I know full well the brain versus head position angles my past practice sessions kicked in under the pressure of the moment. I say “pressure of the moment”, but in all honesty it was a bit like a car crash and everything seemed in slow motion.
Fortunately the 470 round was enough to stop him and he staggered to one side and looked as if he was going down. I concentrated hard on the second shot which I thought was perfect, but it must have missed the brain down one side as it just put him on his knees. As he staggered to his feet I reloaded and this time centred the brain. Reviewing the video afterwards, the time from the first shot to the last was 5 seconds.
All very exciting, but as the man said “you can never have too much gun”
I would certainly never want to hunt elephant with anything less than a double 470.


Here he comes !!


Bullet strike (distance later measured as 22yds)


Second shot missed the brain to one side


The second shot briefly knocks him to his knees



Third shot at a tight angle but centred the brain


Down at last


A time to reflect


A great team effort


The tusk weighed 53lbs

When we examined the bull we found no less than nine healed wounds which we assumed to all be bullet wounds. The degree of healing on them clearly showed three different time scales and we were later to recover two different sized homemade bullets which will have been fired from muzzel loaders.


Bullet wounds along the top of the neck. A poacher’s favourite ploy is to wait in a tree at a waterhole and then shoot from above.


From left to right - my 375 and 470 bullets recovered from buff and ele and the two poachers homemade muzzle loader bullets recovered from the elephant.


The old fella had certainly seen some persecution and it sat very well with me that we had finally been able to end it.

It is worth mentioning at this point the considerable amount of resources that CM Safaris are currently putting behind their anti poaching campaign. Apart from sponsoring the costs of the local Parks Department anti poaching teams they also circulate the local villages with rewards offered for information leading to convictions.
Last season they had more successful ivory poaching conviction in their concession than all of the other Zimbabwe National Parks Areas combined. That degree of aggressive action definitely seems to have paid off as this season the poachers seem to be avoiding their area. Well done them !

When we got back to camp we found that Myles McCallum together with my friend Joe had returned from chasing elephant in Dande East and were to stay with us for one day in search of buffalo.

Day16

Straight after breakfast we had arranged to meet a team of villagers together with tractor and trailer in order to recover the elephant. On our way to meet them we found where a large herd of buff had crossed the road and Buzz immediately radioed Myles to advise him, only to be told by his driver that they were already on the tracks.
After meeting up with the recovery team we cut across country to start the recovery road. Buzz suddenly slowed the vehicle and said “those buff are heading on a collision course with our recovery road, I hope we don’t ruin Joe’s hunt - never mind, nothing we can do “
We had only gone another few hundred yards when, through the trees we saw a line of buffalo slowly filing past. “Oh shit” he said “we had better wait here a while”
We halted our procession and sat quietly, although the “quietly “bit failed as the tractor’s starter motor was buggered and they had to leave it running.
My wife decided that this was the perfect time for a good old English cup of tea. We were all stood at the front of the cruiser partaking of said beverage when someone said ”look who’s here”
There, no more than 150 metres away came the McCallum hunting party who had the indignity of having to file past this colourful circus of laughing individuals who were obviously only out for a picnic. When I gave them silent hand gestures enquiring if they would like a cup of tea I was amazed to find that most of them only wanted one sugar. At least I think that’s what they meant.
Fortunately their story ended successfully when they shot their buffalo about three hours later.
During the recovery of our elephant one of the trackers pointed out that some of the vultures that had been circling overhead were now gliding down a short distance away and that we should go and take a look in case it was a lion kill.
When we got there we found that it was a young dead elephant that had probably been there for a few days. At first it was suspected that it had been poached, but as we couldn’t find a mark on it, and more importantly it still had its ivory it was decided that it had to be put down as unexplained. They cut out the tusks which were later delivered to the Parks Department.


Our recovery


Finished our recovery and then checked our baits, but no hits.

Day 17

Checked baits only to find that two big males had all but finished the meat on the farthest site. The team rushed back for more meat which they then had to carry the half mile as before and build a blind. This was going to take all afternoon so we were sent back to camp out of the way.

Day 18

In the blind at first light but nothing. There was no trail cam on the bait, but tracks showed that the two males had been back during the night.
Sat again in the evening, but nothing.

Day 19

In at first light, but nothing.
Checked other baits during the day and then in the blind again by 4.30pm.
At 5.30pm, and in full glorious sunshine we had the privilege of watching a huge male leopard stroll down the dry river bed and stretch out in the sand in front of us. He stayed there until we were forced to leave as the light faded – priceless !
During the safari we had four different male leopards feeding on our baits. We didn’t bother counting the females.






She was determined to get at that meat !


Day 20

Buzz was now using words like “down to the wire” and “pressure”, but I shot my first leopard on the 17th of the 18 day hunt so I wasn’t panicking.
I go to Africa to hunt not shoot so I would rather go to the last day than bag on day two and hang around trying to fill time.

We found a single big male lion track on the road at 8.15am which we followed on the road for about 1.5km before it took to the bush. We off loaded from the truck and those two magicians Criton and Nyati followed that loan track through long grass and thick jesse for the next seven hours. On two occasions we had to circumnavigate cow elephant herds which we could hear at ten yards in the jesse, but couldn’t see.
They pointed out where the lion had started to track a buffalo herd and where it had caught one. They also explained how the skirmish marks and the blood quantity showed how the attack had been unsuccessful.
I have long ago stopped even trying to understand how those top trackers do their job, but I never stop being grateful for it. They are astounding.


The jesse was thick and the tracking was difficult


When they temporarily lost the track amongst the buffalo herd Buzz called a halt as we were near to an old recovery road and he could call Eddie in with the cruiser and some lunch. It was 3.30pm.
After a quick lunch ( come to think of it, we never had a slow one !! ) Buzz said that we were quite close to the dead elephant that we had found the other day. The tracks had been heading in that general direction and it may be worth a look considering the limited light that we would have left.
The dead elephant lay in an area of medium density bush and we reached the site just as the light was fading. We hadn’t encountered anything of interest on the way and I was expecting Buzz to call time at any moment.
I don’t know whether it was optimism or intuition, but Buzz handed his rifle to Criton and took the shooting sticks from him. He had no sooner done it than I thought I caught sight of a slight movement ahead.
Buzz saw it at the same time, but he must have seen more of it than I did because he threw up the sticks and just said “Rob – yes!”
As my rifle hit the V of the sticks this massive blonde lion walked slowly out from some scant cover. He was glaring straight at us as he angled slightly away at 60yds. I don’t remember switching on the illuminated reticle, but I will always remember how clearly it stood out in the failing light and how noisy the rifle seemed as the dot touched mid body behind the shoulder.
I always wear electric ear defenders, but I had forgotten to put them in after lunch.
I am told that he jumped and the trackers said “good shot”, but I didn’t see anything. We were then all made to stand silent and listen. Buzz said that at the shot he made a good reaction and then” ran into the thick shit in front”
I think that I should have been nervous, but I was confident of the shot and the relaxed attitude of the trackers helped keep me calm.
We called up the truck, but it was dark by the time it arrived. My wife was shut in the cab with the driver and then the trackers with axes in hand started to clear the bush to allow the cruiser forward. I took one side and Buzz the other. My double weighs 11.5lbs, but when I changed to it from the 375 it felt like a feather. We were well lit from the cruisers headlights, but Buzz also had a hand torch and I had put on a headlamp.
I have never had to shoot wearing a head light, but I quickly worked out that if you are right handed you have to position it over your left eye to prevent you losing the beam when you mount your gun. This however has the disadvantage of you having to hold your head to one side to use the beam without the gun. – funny the things that you can work out in a nanosecond when under pressure.
After a lot of tree chopping and a very nervous fifty yards Nyati pointed and said “there it is”
Under a bush ten yards ahead lay a magnificent huge dead lion.
We all react to tension in different ways and I must admit to being somewhat surprised when I heard myself saying aloud “I fucking love you Nyati !!”
Before I went to Africa I had done my usual practice on a life sized photograph of a lion, but someone must have double crossed me on the sizes because it was nowhere as big as the beast that lay in front of us.
Five strong men using lifting poles just manage to heave it onto the back tailgate of the cruiser and Buzz said it would probably go 450lbs. What a monster.

If we had been successful I expected to shoot my lion on a bait and from a dead rest without that nervy off the sticks business in a split second tracking situation.
In the final event that’s exactly what I got and yet there were no nerves at all. I sat for a while trying to take it all in, but eventually just opened a beer with the rest.

We arrived back at camp to singing and dancing from the staff who’s numbers were swelled by the presence of the road gang. This proved to be quite ironic because they had returned to camp having refused to sleep out in the bush after being harassed by lions all the previous night.
We then had the photographs and a late night with plenty of of alcohol!


In light of the past reactions to lions pictured on reports I felt that this was the most appropriate. ( if anyone can age it from its arse hole then I will concede that they really are an expert ! )

Day 21

Late breakfast and then a very pleasant walk down a picturesque spring looking for a bushbuck, but without success.
It was then time for the traditional shooting competition which I decided this year should be conducted with the 470. We recruited some camp staff to swell the entry numbers to 12 and we all considered it to be a reasonable success when nearly half of them managed to hit the cardboard box. Of those, four were successful in hitting the target which was located on the box. The winner was Nyati who was a creditable two inches from dead centre.


Crispin our fantastic cook concentrates


Justin the cameraman did extremely well, but he was disqualified for being “too tall”.


Nyati and this years prize.


In the evening we sat at one of our old lion baits that we had dropped to the ground when it rotted. I have had an ongoing battle with hyena who have plagued me for years by walking through camp at night laughing at me and yet staying well away from our baits in shooting light.
Buzz said that it was my time.
The makeshift blind was just a thin grass screen on top of a cliff overlooking a dry river bed. We had been sitting quietly for about an hour when we heard a slight rustling on the other side of the screen. I leaned forward in my chair and when my eyes managed to focus through the strands of grass there was a female leopard staring straight back at me from all of three yards. She must have made the realisation at exactly the same moment because she did one of those feline levitation things and then crashed off at lightning speed. We all had to stifle our laughter.
At exactly 6.10pm and in the last five minutes of shooting light a dark shape moved across the sand below us and I finally managed to seal the fate of one of my tormentors.


Big Hyena


On the way back to camp we had the pleasure of coming across a honey badger in the road. What a fabulous little creature; it would run in front of the truck for a few minutes with its tail straight up in the air and then swing around to give us an open mouthed threat display whilst running backwards. It did this for about half a kilometre much to the amusement of all.

What a great way to end a fabulous safari !!


Lessons learned during the safari

1. When you substitute one of your cameraman’s hard boiled eggs for a raw one at breakfast it is advisable to ensure that it is not collected in error by the other (and far more muscled) cameraman sharing camp who prefers to put his in his pocket for later - ( I believe that the event was very messy, but thankfully many miles away !!)
2. If you are a well known PH it is advisable to ensure that the video/radio mike that you wear on your shirt lapel is turned off before making a diversion into the bush to attend to a call of nature – ( unfortunately these radio mikes are designed to pick up even the slightest whisper at 200yds - the recording is not nice !! )


Sorry, but I couldn’t resist the lion picture thing before – here are the real ones


Happy hunter with his monster

The team


The skull has an SCI score of 25 6/16


A rather undignified picture for such a magnificent cat, but it best demonstrates the size of the thing ( I am exactly six feet tall).


Many thanks to all the management and staff at CM Safaris for all their professionalism and hard work and for providing me with yet another ”hunt of a lifetime” - yes, I know you are only suppose to have one, but it doesn’t work out that way does it !!

Looks like a pretty good trip with nice trophies.

Great report and congratulations! I'm making my first trip to Africa to hunt Dande with CMS in August. Gonna be a long 2 months. Again, congratulations on a great hunt.

Kudos to you for taking that wounded bull ele!!



465H&H

Congrats man! What a fantastic trip!

Excellent report and superb trophies... congratulations! Ol Buzzer always comes through in the clutch!

Great report. I had something relatively important to do before noon today, but when I started reading, I forgot about it and read until finished.

I guess I'll call and just say that I was "in Africa on Safari". It sure felt like it!

Fantastic trophies, congratulations and thanks for the report. Great Job !!!

Great report...fantastic photos!!! Congratulations on a very successful safari!

Best regards, D. Nelson

Congrats on a great hunt.

Excellent report and pictures...Thank you!

One of the most enjoyable 1/2 hours online I can remember.

Great report!! Thanks for taking the time. I laughed at the Lion Butt picture.

Great story and a great hunt, congratulations.

What a great safari and excellent reporting. I loved the tail photo!

Fabulous report. Well written with just the right touch of humor. Congratulations on some very nice trophies.

Perry

Thanks for the great report and photos.

Saweeeeeeeeet!.

Just a GREAT report!!
Couldn't stop reading,despite my granddaughter pulling on me...she like the pics!

Congrats to the big four and a hell of hunt !!

Thanks for the report. Dande is a super area and you had a super team.

Great LION PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!

PS- Any picture of lion that has been shot is a great pic.....

Fantastic report and a great hunt. Congratulations! CMS are truly a first class operation. Well done!
Bill

Congratulation on a fine hunt! The tail photo and the " one sugar" sure made my day.

You had one hell of a hunt, congrats!

That is a fantastic lion, absolutely amazing.

Insanely jealous right now, outstanding report and photos.

WOW! Trip of a lifetime! Something I will probably never be able to do. Thank you for sharing!!

Rob--

What a wonderfully evocative hunt and well reported. As always, you write so well without one wasted word; I was with you guys every step of the way. I was thrilled that you got to shoot the wounded bull. That was very exciting climax to that hunt. I can really appreciate the fact that you didn't want to finish your hunt too soon. Great lion (mature) too.

I think that the folks who say they never see a poisonous snake in that part of Africa, aren't really looking. I have seen dangerous reptiles every time I have been there, although I have never felt any threat. Certainly when I saw Myles come flying down the trail with his eyes as big as saucers, I was slightly alarmed but by that time the mamba had gone.

I have always equated the sighting in process with shooting free throws with Michael Jordan looking over your shoulder (or, to translate from basketball to football)in your taking a penalty kick with David Beckham looking on.

Say "Hey" to Des...

Dick

What a great read your report was! Congrats on a very memorable safari.

Beautiful trophies!

Great hunt and report. Well done.

Rob-
I've been waiting for your report, and it was well worth the wait.
What a fantastic turn of events, to have passed on the one tusker, changed your mind, and then encounter him again and be able to shoot him. On the charge, no less. I absolutely think you made the right choice, and I love second chances! I gotta ask, were those my rounds?
Your lion is magnificent, and a most righteous hunt. Things rarely go down the way you expect, but you were clearly well prepared and able to make the unplanned shot.
The hyena is a terrific topper. I have been unable to connect with bere on two hunts with Buzz. I'll be in Dande in 2013, I hope I will be as lucky as you.
Well done, and thanks for the report.

Congrats on a great hunt.

Fantastic report!! I thoroughly enjoyed it. My son and I leave for Zambia for lion and leopard in a month. This fires me up. Thanks for such a great report and congrats on an amazing hunt!!!

Another great hunt w/CMS and great report! Congrates to you and the CMS Team!

Great report and excellent hunt, congratulation.

A "Sterling" Safari there mate.
Has Buzz retired his old Zeiss Bino's?? And for Swarovski??

Congrats on a great adventure.

How do we use this lion (and the other recently posted) as an educational example without hurting any ones feelings or starting a ?

Superb Report. Great Lion. Congrats

Many thanks for everyones comments.
Hey Dick, good to hear from you and hope you are keeping well. I will pass on your hello to Des who is now working as a stalker in the Scottish Highlands.
Marty; Thanks for leaving me those 470 softs, two of which did spend a while in the chamber when we followed the lion. Fortunately they remain unfired and I have left them with Buzz so that your generosity can be shared with others if required.
Ozhunter; Buzz no longer has those Zeiss, and knowing him he probably lost them. He now has two pairs of Swarovski (probably so that they will last twice as long as the Zeiss)

Thank you for sharing. For some of us this is as close to a Safari as we will ever get. My project manager has been to Africa I believe 4 times and planning his next trip soon. I love to see his photos and hear his stories as well. If you ever see Trackers with "Chapman" hats on Jason was there.

I cant think of a better way to take a lion. Congradulations on one fine safari.

quote:

Originally posted by Bwanamich:
How do we use this lion (and the other recently posted) as an educational example without hurting any ones feelings or starting a ?

Bwanamich,
Perhaps if enough people would like to learn and discuss...they could say so and another thread could be started in African Hunting to discuss likely ages and why that would even matter.