Congrats on a great hunt Mike & welcome home.

Bore

quote:

For me the highlight of the trip had to be, just being in Africa . . . .


Amen Brother Mike!

Russell said it best...+1!!!

Mike,
What a wonderful hunt and you are one of the best report writers on the list...hence, all the anticipation to the report.

Well done sir!!!

P.S....I have become an avid .500 NE fan as well.

Mike,
Thanks for the great hunt report. You must have been there when UEG and I were in Dande South. We, likewise, had a great hunt. Were you there for the lunar eclipse? That was such a great experience. Unfortunately, I was too stupid to get any pictures of it. Do you have any?

Ryan

Congrats Mike on another successful hunt with Buzz! Very enjoyable story and pictures, thank you.

quote:

Originally posted by Bwanna:
Mike,
Thanks for the great hunt report. You must have been there when UEG and I were in Dande South. We, likewise, had a great hunt. Were you there for the lunar eclipse? That was such a great experience. Unfortunately, I was too stupid to get any pictures of it. Do you have any?

Ryan

Like an idiot, I only stayed up until about 9:00 p.m. As you may recall the total eclipse was around 9:30 p.m. or so. So, I have pictures of a partial lunar eclipse, about 1/2 shaded.



I know that Buzz was on the radio talking to your PHs both of whom he knew and had a lot of confidence in and respect for. If I recall correctly, I believe that one of the PHs had just recently recovered from a very serious bout with malaria.

Outstanding hunt, report, and photos, thanks.

Several folks have inquired regarding the picture of the seed pods. Those are buffalo beans. Fred Duckworth described buffalo beans as follows:

"[I]t is one of the nastiest of the many obnoxious secrets of Africa, an incubus that settles incongruously with deceptive natural innocence on a human body to become an instant living hell . . . Each hair, which contains a poisonous irritant, works its way into every fold of clothing and every crevasse and wrinkle of skin. This causes an itch, not just a common or garden itch, but an irritation of such major proportions that an irrational tormented scratching is induced until the skin bleeds."

Wow! Amazing trip. Thanks for the report and pictures.

congrats on your hunt.some great pics

Congratulations on another great hunt. Lovely photos and excellent report, thanks for sharing.

Congratulations and well done!!!
Thanks for the report and the photos of your amazing trip

$$$$$$

Mike:

I just returned from traveling overseas to find your eagerly anticipated hunt report. Wonderfully written and with a great selection of photographs, I especially like the context photos showing the camp and CM team and staff. Boy, does all of that bring back great memories of our 2010 hunt and our happy stay at Mururu.

(I'm particularly jealous of your fourth (!) hyena - a species that is proving to be my nemesis on each of my safaris. You're right: They are a worthy and challenging adversary, particularly when you set out to find them.)

Well done, Mike, and congratulations on the great hunt and first-rate trophies.

"We continued to walk in closer. The cow was now walking to our right, perpendicular to our approach. When we got to about 20 yards, the cow sensed that we were there and turned to face us. I fired and at the shot she literally lifted up and flopped on her side all four legs kicking. At the sound of the shot the other cows went nuts. They began trumpeting and looking in all directions to identify the source of the shot. We high tailed it backwards about 25 yards. The cow we shot had not been brained but was still down. I put two raking shots into her. By now the other cows were at her side and attempting to lift her. After milling around momentarily the other cows hastily run across a small valley to another hill.

Rather than approach the cow we decided to hang tight for a moment. Good move. As the downed cow gave one last bellow, the other cows immediately did a 180 degree turn and returned on the run to the cow’s side. We knew she was down for good, but with fading light and with the other cows not prepared to move off, we made the decision to back out for the night and return in the morning.

In the morning we returned to the cow. It was clear from the spore that the other cows had in fact stayed in the area for some considerable time after we had left. Elephant are truly special creatures."

Yea, they are special creatures! Nothing more need be said. This is why I have no interest in hunting elephants. It just seems cruel.

Congrats on a great hunt Mike! Thank's for shareing!

Nils-Ole

Brilliant.

Congratulations on a wonderful hunt and an expert report! I would love to make that trip some day.

Great looking Buffalo and Kudu!! Congratulations.

Great report and pictures Mike. We were there at the same time. I was in Makuti chasing cow Ele and Leopard. Just missed the eclipse. It happened the night of my return flight.

I agree about the Hyena. I missed a big one at midday while checking a bait. Took us totally by surprise and I pulled the shot as it began to run. Maybe next time.

Your report took me right back there. I will definitely be back to hunt with CM Safaris again.