DATE of SAFARI:

June 30 through July 13, 2005

OUTFITTER:

Swainson's Safaris
Dande North, Zimbabwe

Swainson's Website

Dande North is located in the north central part of Zimbabwe, bordering Chewore Safari Area to the west, the Zambezi River to the north, Mozambique to the east and Dande South to the south.



PROFESSIONAL HUNTER:

Kevin du Boil (pronounced "due Bwah"). Kevin is 45 years old, was born in England but adopted as an infant by a French couple who were tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe. Kevin is married and has a four year old son. Kevin grew up hunting and is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hunting and fishing. He is best known in Zimbabwe as Chikwama (pronounced - Chee Qwa Mah).

Kevin is an honest and ethical hunter who loves to hunt buffalo on foot. You won't spend any more time in the cruiser than is absolutely necessary. He prefers hunting the old hard-bossed bulls. Kevin is amazingly funny and a gifted story teller.

I can recommend him without reservation. With Kevin as your PH, you will experience buffalo hunting as it was meant to be.

CAMPS:

We spent most of time in Mukanga camp and three nights in Mururu camp. We visited Pedza Pasi camp several times during the day. Pedza Pasi is the headquarters for Swainson's in Dande North.

All camps were very comfortable. The staff was well trained and the food was very good.

MUKANGA CAMP-















MURURU CAMP-















PEDZA PASI-















We did not see the fourth camp, Masau Camp, located on the Zambezi River in the far north of the concession.

WEATHER:

We had cool evenings. It got as low as 47F one night, but most nights were around 50F to 55F. Days were cloudy with a nice breeze and the temperatures were usually in the upper 70s to low 80s.

HOTELS:

We always spend one night on arrival and one night before departure at the Afton Guest House in Johannesburg. Louie and Annelise are the ultimate hosts. I highly recommend them.







OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

Our best safari to date. One of the best areas in Zimbabwe for buffalo. With Kevin du Boil as PH, you will earn your buffalo and have a wonderful time. As is the case with most of the Zambezi Valley, this is primarily a dangerous game area and the plains game are sparse. While we were there, they took a 56" kudu and we saw one that would probably go 55".

I took a buffalo, tuskless cow elephant and zebra in Dande. I missed a shot on a sable. We also spent 3 days at HHK's Lemco Ranch where I took two zebra, a giraffe and a bushpig.

We mostly chartered but did drive from Dande to Harare and from Lemco to Bulawayo. We had no problems and never felt unsafe.















Regards,

Terry

Here is a link to my story about the buffalo huting in Dande One Down and One in My Pocket

I am, however going to copy the same story and pictures below as sometimes these links don't always work after a few months.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The first day of safari in Dande North, we picked up a daga boy’s tracks early in the morning. His tracks were soon joined by two others. After a couple of hours of tracking, their tracks joined a herd. Three times we got on the herd but could find no shooters. Never really saw much of the herd as they stayed in thick cover for most of the time. On the final approach of the day, we were walking single file [by “we†I mean, George and Skelly (the two trackers), Kevin (the PH), me, my wife, Meplan (junior tracker), Muno (camp manager) and Peace (game scout)] . George stops suddenly and points to some thick brush about 30 yards ahead of us. We have found the tail end of the buffalo herd. Two bulls, an old boy about 34†and a young soft-bossed bull are working the rear guard. Well here “we†are, all 8 of us, standing in a clearing with these two bulls looking at us. To our right, about 20 yards away is a large tree. Kevin whispers to move slowly to the tree and the word is passed back down the line. All 8 of us begin taking half-steps toward the tree, coordinating our movements so that, from the buffaloes’ point-of-view, they can only see George. Well, it worked, we didn’t spook the rear guard. They were aware that we were there, or at least they knew George was there. I am convinced that it was curiosity that kept them from spooking. If you spoke buffalo, I suspect the conversation went something like this. Old bull, “Hey, kid do you see what I see?†“Yeah, old man, I think it is some kind of human caterpillar. What do you think they are doing?†“Beats me,†says the old bull, “maybe a new kind of dance.â€

The fourth day on safari, we walked a couple miles to spring. The spring was in a deep valley and as we approached the spring from a high ridge, we saw 4 buffalo bulls heading away from the spring and up the other side of the valley. We were able to get a decent look at all four. Number 1 was about 38†with swept back horn tips and hard bossed. Number 2 was about 36†with deep curl and hard bossed. Numbers 3 and 4 were twins, both old bulls with about 34†spreads. Down the ridge, across the valley and up the opposite ridge we go. After an hour or so, we make contact with the four bulls. We used a termite mound as cover and got within 30 to 40 yards of them. Number 1 was standing behind Number 2. We waited for about 30 minutes but could never get a shot on Number 1. Finally, a change in wind direction and off they go.

To make a long story short, nine hours after we left the truck and about 7 miles of walking, gave us two more close up contacts with the 4 bulls. Two hours of that time was spent in the noon day sun, perched on the side of a termite mound while the 4 buffalo took a siesta in some thick cover. I had at least two good chances at Number 2, but I was holding out for Number 1. He never presented a decent shot. Always screened by brush or one of the other bulls. At 4:30PM, swirling winds finally put an end to our buffalo hunting for the day. We were able to walk out to a track and radio for the Cruiser, saving us a 3 mile walk. We missed lunch that day and had survived on Gatorade and hard candy.

Buffaloes' Siesta Location (heavy brush in the center of the picture)



Our Termite Mound Home for 2 Hours



Upon arrival at camp, I snagged a cold beer and headed for the shower. Simply the best combination in the world, a cold beer and a hot shower after a long day in the bush. Two whisky and soda preceded a dinner of salad, chicken stew, sadza, cabbage and fruit crepes for dessert. I was in bed by 9:00PM.

The next day found us back at the spring and on the tracks of the same four buffalo. Four hours of tracking (covering almost 5 miles)and we found the bulls grazing in a small valley. The PH, George and I did the final approach leaving the rest of the crew behind. We approached to within 50 yards using a boulder as cover. The boulder was on the side of the hill with the ridge running along on our right side. The bulls were slightly covered by brush. Number 1’s luck continued to hold. I was never able to get a clear shot on him. Number 2 was the only bull on which I had a clear shot. After 10 to 15 minutes of waiting for Number 1 to present an open shot, I decided to go ahead and take Number 2. He was facing us, but because of our higher elevation, there was no shot into his chest. He was grazing and I decided to shoot him in the neck and break his spine. I told Kevin of my plan and then pulled the trigger. He immediately went down. I covered Kevin and George as they approached the bull. I heard the rest our group move up to my left and slightly below me. Just before Kevin reached the downed buffalo, my wife screams, “Bull, bull, bullâ€. I turn to my left and Carol and the rest of the group were moving to cover. Carol then points at me and says, “Bull to your right.†I spin to my right and scan the ridge line but I see nothing. I holler to Carol, “Where?â€. She says, “Right there, to your right.†As I scan back across the ridge line, Carol says, “He’s goneâ€. Number 1 had circled back to see what had happened to his buddy. He was standing directly to my right at 15 yards on the ridge line and I didn’t see him. There were trees along the ridge line, so it's not like he was the only thing on the ridge line. I guess I was looking for movement and never saw him. Carol said he looked like one of those Spanish fighting bulls as they enter the ring, nostrils flared and quite agitated. I can only assume that he was as surprised to see Carol and the rest of the guys as they were to see him. Me, I never saw him. If he had charged, maybe I would have seen the movement. Otherwise, it could have turned into a bit of a mess.

My Shooting Position (the buffalo were in the little clearing in the lower left of the picture)


Number 1's Location on the Ridge Line (he was standing just to the left of the tree in the center of the picture - you can see the boulder that I shot from in the lower left of the picture)


Shot Placement


Me and Number 2

The buffalo has been turned 180 degrees (for picture taking purposes), in the background you can see from where I made the shot.

Regards,

Terry

Some miscellaneous pictures from our safari in Dande.

Me, PH Kevin du Boil and buffalo


Buffalo Boss


Zambezi Valley


Cruiser


Setting Up for Lunch


On a Ridge in the Zambezi Valley


Dry Riverbed


Arriving Dande


Spring


Trackers


Valley in Dande


Great View


Another Great View in the Zambezi Valley


A link to a story about a little surprise we found, Really Dangerous Game

Terry,

Great report..makes me want to be there right now. How can anyone concentrate on work after seeing those pictures. I'll be useless the rest of the day.

BigBullet

Terry, that is a GREAT MAP. Can you send it to me at work like last time pls? thanks, jorge

Jorge,

On its way.

Regards,

Terry

Terry,
As always, great information.
Thanks for the pictures.
L

Terry I have truly enjoyed all the great reports you have helped others to post Mainly pictures you are a Work Horse for our treasured site. You certainly deserved another great hunt of your own. Fantastic report, Thanks Ben(rug)

Kevin is a good man. I shared a camp with him last year.

I had lost a hippo in the Zambezi one day, and since he was between hunts, he offered to go over to the Zambia side of the river to a fishing village to try and talk them out of the tusks while my PH and I were out hunting.

I would hunt with him any day, and he was a good character to have around camp.

Thanks for sharing your story. Good job.