I've covered the travel over and back on the Africa Travel Forum so let's start in the west of Zimbabwe in the Ngamo Sikumi Forestry area bordering Hwange Park.

The fist impression when arriving at the Sikumi camp is that it is really nice. In the past I'm sure but not now. The camp being a government facility is run down, poorly supplied and severely lacking supervision of the staff. I knew it would be marginal but not that bad. It was tolerable becuse of the great hunting but I would not send a fussy client there.

Day one started off with sighting a good sable about 6 AM. The sable was my main goal at Sikumi and I had set my standards pretty high as I already had a 42.5" sable. We followed the sable for about an hour and finally caught him unawares feeding at about 40 yards where I shot him through the shoulders with my 375. He almost went down but recovered and came by us at 25 yards full out. He went down hard with a second shot to the neck.

When we put the tape on him he went 45.25". Neil Duckworth my PH thought he would go at least 43" when we first saw the bull but I was delight to say the least with the final measurement and such a magnificent animal.

I also wanted a steinbok since they had alluded me on several safaris before. After several failed stalks one of the litte bugger stood still for a miute and I got him with a good shot on the second day.

That same afternoon we found a smoking hot eland track. Here things went a litte down hill. We found the eland quite easily and eventually got a shot. Filled with pride and over confidence from my previous day's accomplishment I yanked the trigger and simply missed a whole eland. We continued to follow the big boy which Neil felt would go at least 36"-37". I finally did get a bullet in him but not and instantly fatal shot. We left the trail at dark that evening hoping for the best in the AM.

The next morning we all were very quiet on the drive out to where we had left the track the day before. To my surprise we found the eland very sick 200 yards from where we had left off. He did try to make a dash but a combo of 470 and 375 bullets ended what could have been a long and painful follow up.

Once again I was knocked over when the tape ran out to a full 39". Another great trophy and tremendous animal.

Because the camp was a disaster and we really had all our animals that we had specifically come to Sikumi for we packed up on day 4 for for the long ride across the country to the Save Conservancy..........













This last pic is of the ivory taken by Neil's client in early Sept. there at Sikumi. The elephant hunting is excellent to say the least. The pictured tusks run 76-79 pounds. The elephant hunter we shared the camp with had looked at 64 bulls in the 4 days he had been there.

Mark


After an 8 hour ride we arrived at the Mokore camp on the Save Conservancy. Here let me say that the Save is a fenced property but that is a moot point. The southern fence is down, you see no fence while hunting on Mokore and the existing fence is more of a double cattle fence as opposed to the 8 foot game fencing you find in RSA etc. You drive straight in from the main road for 45 minutes to even get to the Mokore camp. Put all these things together and the Save has not even a vague resemblace to any other "Ranch" hunt.

The Mokore camp was a welcome improvement from Ngamo Sikumi. The chalets are very comfortable with nice beds, fresh linens, cooling ceiling fans and beautiful en suite baths. The dining area is right on the Turgwe river and the cook has a special knack for setting a beautiful table with a different theme each night as well as generating some delicious meals. Nice!

On Mokore I particulary wanted a southern bushbuck to add to the other varieties I have. My previous luck held and we spotted a nice ram just a few minutes from camp the first day. A 300 yd. stalk through the river boulders put us in range. I carefully crawled up on a big rock and took the shot as the ram walked toward me. He dropped to the shot as the 180 TSX from my 30-06 pentrated almost the whole length of his body. He was an old boy but only a representative trophy. Nevertheless I was very happy as he was one of my main goals for the safari.

I had shot a common waterbuck that was a dink on my first safari and had not been able to top it since that time. I told Neil that I was only interested in 28" or better so once again the bar was set quite high. Day 2 while returning to camp for lunch we spotted four nice waterbuck bulls feeding on the shady side of the river at about a quarter mile.

After one of the best stalks I've ever been on we were withing 75 yards of the bulls and totally exposed but above them a litte. Neil told me which one to shoot and I shot him through the shoulders. Now we had waterbuck going everywhere and I could not determine which one to shoot again. We next saw 2 bulls climbing the river bank. We changed positions and saw that one was standing and the other was down. We gave them a couple minutes and then climbed the bank and finished off the wounded bull. Once again I was very pleasae to see the tape register 29+".

It was getting very hot im midday with temps reaching 100 degrees plus each day. We were drinking quarts of water and soft drinks and sweating most of it out. You'll see my soaked shirt in a pic.

The 3rd day I came down with a short duration bug but it hit me like a slegde hammer and I was down and out for 1.5 days.

Day 4 in the PM we made a very tense stalk on a klipspringer and caught a male, female and yougster feeding and unaware. A heart shot with Barry Duckworth's ancient and well worn pre-'64 22 Hornet rolled the trophy I had wanted for a long time.

Day 5 we hunted bush pig which we had been doing between hunting other game and would do throughout the safari.

Coming later in the season allowed us to see some beautiful blooming plants and flowers we had never seen before as you will see in the pics

Day 6 saw us off to Mozambique.....












Possibly the biggest baobab in Southern Africa


Since the Whitalls are neighbors to the Duckworth's we had to visit Jimmy the rhino. Sadie and I found it quite a treat.


Anne Whittall with her charge.


A Sabi Star. Wow!


It was nice to see my old PH from'96 Hilton Nichols and his new wife Ray on left. He was hunting my client (middle) Charles Butler. Sadie and I are on on the right.


These frogs were everywhere but nearly motionless and when they move we hunted for them. Stepping on one in the shower was not all that pleasant though.

Mark


Coutada 9 in Mozambique is about a 7 hour drive from the Save with a couple hours of beaurocratic fiddling at the border post. No hassles just a slow process.

The camp is 17k's off the main dirt road and very much in the wilderness. The facilities are a litte more rustic than Mokore but very comfortable with proper safari tents and en suite bathes.

Coutada 9 was a very pleasant surprise. The game was abundant, obviously not harassed and of great trophy quality. In 7 days I saw all the big game that exists there except buffalo and lion which we were not hunting.

The first day we followed some bushpig tracks and did find them where upon I promptly shot a tree between me and the boar. Oh well!

Days were getting hotter with a return to camp about 11 AM and out again at 3:30 PM. Our tent was on the river, in the shade and there usually was a litte breeze so surprisingly to me we were able to snooze in midday even if the temp was 100 degrees plus.

Day two we saw a red duiker male before he saw us but I just couldn't get it together and he ran left. He stopped one time and I still couldn't get on him quickly enough. He stopped a third time and Neil told me to shoot at the red thing. Whack! We were all elated until we dicover NO BALLS! We were crushed. There were 2 duikers evidently a male and female and we had seen only one. As we were standing there dejected a huge warthog came trotting by and Neil said to shoot him. Whack again but this time we had a beautiful boar warthog with the enormous manes that these pigs have in Mozambique.

Day 3 we made a stalk on a nice oribi and I made a great shot even if I do say so. After returning to the vehicle we started off to camp and saw a warthog boar that was literally skin and bones but had nice teeth. After a short stalk I made a double lung shot and he was down. I think I could have run him down on foot he was so near death. At that point Neil decides to stay out all day and skin the oribi in the bush.

Late in the PM we found a bushbuck feeding at the edge of the river and he didn't know we were there. Neil nearly freaked out as he thought this was a giant ram. The ram walked into the riverine bush and we started a long stalk. It took about and hour of tedious creeping but we found the ram and two females. The sticks went up slowly and that's were I stood for over an hour waiting for the ram to give us a shot. Finally the females moved up and out into the open with the ram following. He almost gave me a shot but sensed something and doubled back. Now we had running jumping, yelling but the ram fatally stopped for a second and the 180 TSX from my '06 hit him low in the chest. he made it another 50 yards and could n't get up when we reached him. One finsher and he was ours. Neil had thought he might go 18"-19" but over estimated a little(The only time on the safari). The big boy did measure a full 17" with excellent mass. We all were very happy that night.

Day 4 was a treat as we had negotiated an extra 1.5 hours of sleep in the AM. We told Neil we deserved 30 minutes for each animal we killed so 3 kills on the previious day equalled a 6: 00 AM wake up rather than the usual 4:30 AM. What a treat!

The rest of day four was spent looking for the elusive bushpig and perhaps a kudu or grybok if we saw a great one.

Day 5 was very slow until almost dark. We made a corner and the biggest kudu I have seen was stareing at us. Neil didn't say a thing I just piled out of the vehicle and as the big bull turned a shot him with a high lung shot, he went a mere 20 yards before dropping and was stone dead when we reached him. 57" and a hair. I was blown away. The trophy quality so far on this safari had been excellent and far exceeded my personal expectations.

Day 6 we found a grybok that stood still for just a second too long and we added the little ram to our bag.

Day 7 we shot nothing but as usual we saw quite a varietry of game. I should say at this time that for Zim prices on a 10-14 day hunt here I would expect you to take sable, Lichenstein's hartebeest, Livingstone's eland, kudu 54"-55", bushbuck, warthog that are huge and all over the place (we picked up a 16.5 x 15.5), reedbuck, oribi. Red duiker and suni are also possible. Buffalo are not present in big numbers but the quality is very good with the average over 40".

Day 8 we headed back to the Save for Part 4



Big pig



Oribi



Note very poor condition of this guy



Finally got the grysbok



Great bushbuck



My best kudu



This was a boomer hog







Mark

The trip back to the Save from Mozambique was a little quicker as crossing through the border post only took about 50 minutes.

Upon arriving back at Mokore we found that my client and good friend Scott King had taken his first buffalo that morning. He was very excited and Sadie and I were very happy for him. Nothing quite matches that rush after the first buff.

The rest of that day we just hung out, unpacked and got a litte rest. The next day we would pursue the bushpigs in earnest along with one monster wildebeest we had briefly seen.

Day 1 we tracked bushpigs and put out some baits but no luck.

Day 2 saw us off to a large dam to fish for bream. That was excellent with us catching 3 orange sacks full of fish and just having a ball. The shore lunch of fresh fried fish was perfect. We returned to camp and after a litte nap we were after the bush pigs again with no luck.

Day 3 Hilton Nichols told us where he had seen 3 bushpigs in the AM. Late in the afternoon we climbed the kopje where Hilton thought they would be sleeping. It was so noisy up there that I held litte hope of success. We broke over into a litte bowl on top and there was one pig but Neil told me not to shoot as it was a young male. Then to our left we saw another and Neil said shoot. That one went down to the shot. At that point we could see the back end of another going away so I took the shot. The pig took off like he had not been hit but we found a litte blood and after 1K of tracking we found the beautiful boar.We had wanted a bushpig since first seeing them years ago and now we had 2.

Day 4 we continued to look for the big wildebeest. After a long walk in the afternoon we found him. Eventually we had him dead to rights but Neil could not promise me he would be near what I wanted so I passed. Excellent stalk though and lots of fun.

The 5th and last morning we took a casual ride and that afternoon did our packing and settled up our business.

About 5 PM we rode out and climbed a high hill for sundowners. Spectacular view and a nice touch for the end of our safari.

At dinner that night the cook brought out a cake for Sadie to celebrate our 27th anniversy the next day. These guys think of everything.

The next day we drove to Harare for our flight home. The whole trip went very well and we travelled as far as Heathrow with Scott King were we breakfasted on fresh oysters and champagne.

Mokore just did a great job for me and my clients. Everybody was very happy with their safaris. Mokore just has the bases covered in an enviroment that is not the easiest to do business in. One example is that they have a full line of safari clothing available including Courtney boots for those that have luggage problems or just need an extra shirt or whatever.

The PH's are hard working and really know their business as all of them have been in the business with Barry for many years or in the case of Neil and Bary Duckworth have grown up in the business.

If you are looking for a safari were you walk alot and really get out and hunt this is for you. We routinely walked 5-10 miles a day and I really enjoyed it.

For the rifle and ballisic junkies I shot a Dakota 76 in 375 with the 270 TSX on the sable and eland. I got perfect bullet performance in both cases with 2 pass throughs on the sable and two perfectly mushroomed bullet be removed from the off shoulder of the eland. I shot everything else other than the klipspringer with my Remington 700 in '06 shooting the 180 TSX. Performance was perfect except in one case. I shot a bushbuck low through the chest on a broadside shot and the exit was at a right angle through the front of the chest. Of couse the ram died but I found the line of penetration quite interesting.

Pics coming...



One of many bream we caught



Pair of bushpigs (the reddishones are the pigs)



More Sabi stars





The cook really had an artistic flair



Sundowners over looking the whole Save Conservancy



Our anniversary cake



Scott King, Sadie and I after two very successful safaris.

THE END

P.S. I forgot to add that my client Dr. Charles Butler was hunting with Mokore in Chewore and on the Save at the same time I was there. He had an incredible safari taking 3 buffalo, eland, waterbuck and bushbuck in his 7 days in Chewore. While finishing up his 15 day safari on the Save he took 7 more animals. Not bad for a guy's first guided hunt let alone African safari.

Mark

Congratulations Mark! That is a beautiful sable!

Howdy Mark,

I looked for you when I went south to say hi to the Duckworths but they said you were in Moz. Sorry I missed you, but congrats on the good trophies. By the way I missed the biggest eland bull I have ever seen on this last trip. I saw the stick that I shot in my scope before I pulled the trigger, and I remember thinking there was no way I would hit the twig. Lessons learned for next year.

Mark;

Congratulations on your successful hunt. I love that sable!!! Can't wait to hear the "rest of the story"...the Moz chapter.

Also, that "quiet drive out in the morning", I can really relate after my Zim elephant experience. But all turned out well.

Best regards, D. Nelson

Great trophies !!!
Well done Mark
Nice to see you have such a great.
Please post more pictures.
L

Mark,

Congratulations on your outstanding trophies. Sable are truly one of the most handsome animals in Africa.

Best,

Hugh

Congrats - great stuff!

What a sable! Congratulations.

Kyler

Congratulations Mark, great Sable.

Excellent trophies

The ivory looks good as well in that area.

i really liked the first sable picture best - you know - the one without the old guy with the gray beard in it

Ben,

Sorry I missed you at Mokore. Neil Duckworth had very nice things to say about Leon. BTW congrats on your lion and all the rest. Well done.

Mark

Part 3? You are slacking!

Wow! Magnificient animals and what appears to have been a great hunt. Thanks for sharing!

Beautiful flower. I have never seen one there but I wish I had. Maybe next year. Congrats on the bushbuck. The largest bushbuck I ever saw was in the Save Conservancy. I am including all live sightings, mounted specimens, and photos I have looked at in that "ever". That is a great place to find a monster Bushbuck.

Ben,

Standby for the Moz part with my largest bushbuck to date. I have feeling some real boomer spiral horns will come from there.

Mark

Beautiful sable along with great other trophies. Thanks for describing Save so well. My PH mentioned that I ought to come back to Zim and head to Save and bring my youngest daughter. Your report helps me get a feel for the place. The ivory at Sikumi is certainly an attention getter.

Congrats, Mark. Glad you found that big Harris buck. He is superb.

Cannot wait for the Moz chapter !

Great report and great trophies Mark. Especially that sable and kudu, wow.
Russ

Congrats! Great trip and report. Wonderful Picts, thanks for sharing. I like those big warthog Ivories! Super Kudu.

Guys,

Thanks for the kind words. This really was one of the best ever safaris for me. The trophy quality was far beyond my expectations and I was able to take several animals that I had wanted for a long time. I give a lot of credit to Neil Duckworth for our success as he went far beyond the call of duty to help secure the trophies we needed.

Mark

Way to go Mark!

Nicely done Mark. I talked to Scott King before he left and I know he was really looking forward to everything. It's nice you got to be there for his first trip.

can't decide which i liked more the report or the wonderful pics,great job to a couple of great folks.congradulations to another trip of a lifetime

Mark,
A hearty congratulations on a great hunt and super trophies... looks like you took everything you wanted and more! Also a heartfelt cheers to you and Sadie on your 27th anniversary! I couldn't think of a better place to celebrate........

Mark, great report and trophies!

MARK; Congratulations, Im jelous, Nice pictures, thats wonderfull pictures maked happy my day and bring me full of memories, Thanks.Kind Regards;Guillermo.

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Ben,

Standby for the Moz part with my largest bushbuck to date. I have feeling some real boomer spiral horns will come from there.

Mark

Bloody hell Mark!! This could be an area to hunt in for a Aussie.

Sunni, red duicker, bushpig and all those great BUSHBUCK

Cheers mate!!

Blair.

Blair,

I would be more than glad to discuss Mokore's concession in Mozambique with you at anytime. The sable, eland, bushbuck and big kudu make this a sleeper in my book.

Mark

Mark- WOW! Way to go!

John

great eland i just love those blue bulls

Great report and pics. Thanks for sharing. You are tempting me badly....

What a great adventure! Congrats on everything!

great pics Mark!! Superb sable and klipie!! thanks for sharing your hunt with us..

Looks you enjoyed an extremely complete safari. Now what are you gonna do to top that one? Nice sable and congrats!

Moja

Moja,

I never try to top one safari with another but it would difficult to have another run of luck like the one I had this year.

I have a couple of choices for '09. Either a monster buffalo or a some of the difficult litte guys. I'm taking a Africa break in '08.

Mark

Happy Anniversary Mark!

Great kudu & sable and a really interesting narrative.

Well done, Mark.