HUNT LOCATION: Elephant- Sengwe 2, Buffalo- Malapati, PG- Naivashu

PROFESSIONAL HUNTER: Elephant-Kobus Van De Merve, Buffalo Nixon D., PG/DG- Lloyd Yeatman

HUNTING BUDDIES: Tyler S., John F., Johann G.

HUNT DATES: March 23 - April 8, 2010

SPECIES HUNTED: Elephant, Buffalo, Klipspringer

SPECIES SEEN: Daytime leopard, giraffe, lots of eles, waterbuck, bushbuck, impala, duiker

TOOL of CHOICE: Heym .470, Blaser R93 in Hollands .375

FLIGHT: Delta using AE miles to JNB. Drove to camp.


There is a story that must be told. A story of a greed and deception, about a hunter with stars in his eyes- too caught up in the bargain hunt for a great jumbo to heed the warning signs. A hunter who followed a bad decision with a potentially stupid one. And except for the graciousness of two local Zimbabweans, would have a sad ending. Instead, these two gentlemen kissed this frog, and turned it into a fine looking princess.

Our hunt started two years back. My buddy John caught my enthusiasm for hunting the greatest show on earth, so the research began. It soon came clear that the biggest bulls in Zim consistently come from the Gonarezhou area in the south east part of the country. In 2008, we met .458AUBS in Reno, who at that time was in an arrangement to sell hunts for a Mr. Todd Luttman in Sengwe 2.

Due some changes in the picture, it became doubtful whether Todd could deliver the promised hunt. Aubrey and Todd split their partnership. Aubrey tried to warn me in a gentleman like manner. We could not get any concrete info from Todd. Areas were shifting. Evasive answers were all I had. In spite of asking a TON of questions to Todd and other hunter's in the area, there was a HUGE question mark whether the hunt we booked could be delivered. And I sent Todd the balance of my hunt anyway.

John was fortunate that Nixon Dzingai stepped in rather last minute and offered to hunt him, while I went with the original plan to hunt Sengwe 2. In the month preceding my arrival, ownership of Sengwe 2 changed to a Zimbabwean named Bruce Rensburg. Bruce met me in camp, and assured me that even though my deposit paid to Todd was not forwarded to him, it would not interfere with our hunt. He would sort Todd out. Bruce is a class act. Thank you Bruce.

While we were there, he was bringing in heavy equipment and building supplies to improve camp. He is in it for the long term.



The food was some of the best ever in such a remote location. We had fresh fruits and vegetable every day, the dining hall was everything we could want.


The location of the main camp was on the Bubi river (Right up from Hooter Harbor. OK, I made that last part up) View from camp



Sengwe 2 is in a very unique location. It shares over 20km of the Limpopo River with Kruger National Park. It bends around the east side of Gonarezhou Park, putting Sengwe 2 safari area right smack dab in the middle of the Trans-frontier Park System. The area averages 60 pounds plus, with the largest last year dragging the scales to 94 pounds.

But it is still elephant hunting. The bulls come and go from the park into the hunting area. We drove a lot looking for the right tracks, and following up.

Tracks on the border


A four hour hike later, we found the water hole


On day four, the trackers said the reason we had not seen any bulls was that we had no blessings from the ancestors. At first light, we were at the house of the elder. With an offering of cash, three cans of beer, and a Cuban cigar, he offered a very solemn request for the ancestor's blessing. He then assured us we will get our bull today. When in Africa.....

We got onto a track about 8:00 am. Followed it right through the heat of the day, and finally caught up with him around 2:00. He knew we were there, and turned the tables. He started to follow us. Show time. After backing up a bit, I decided this was the bull for me. The 500 grain woodleigh entered just one wrinkle high.


At the shot, the bull shook his head. Uh oh, not good. A flurry of shots followed, and the grand bull went down.


The headman who blessed our hunt earlier


The Crew


And the locals who enjoyed the feast. The next day, there was nothing left but a wet spot on the ground.


Back at Sengwe 2 camp


PART 2

After completing this hunt, I wanted to hunt with my buddy John He was hunting Malapti safari area with Nixon. Nixon again was gracious enough to accept John in his camp, even though he was not paid copletely be Todd. We arrived into camp, which Nixon opened up to my son and I. Malapti area has REAL good buffalo and an unlimited quota!. Lloyd Yeatman was our PH in this area, having come down from his adjacent area to help out. My son tyler was a last minute addition to the crew. His enlstement in the USMC is on a temporary hold, waiting for a slot to open up in his chosen specialty. I was very glad for his company.

We chased buffalo every day. Finally, on day 3, we came on the tracks of 2 dugga boys. We saw them after a three hour stalk. But doing what they do, they melted into the bush before Ty was comfortable. A few hours later, Lloyd sent his tracker back for the truck, ready to call it a day. A few minutes later, we spotted a black shape on the far side of a pan. Ty's .375 flamed, and this buff was dead right there.


Ty's impression of Walter!


The next day, the team found this very cool big-little guy


We spent a few days at the end of the hunt up in Naivashu, looking for a sable. It was not to be.

John had a great hunt with Nixon. I had my dream hunt, shared with family and friends.



Out of our two hunts, John had the most fabulous hunt ever. But that is a story that must be told another time...

Cheers!

Great report of an outstanding hunt. One of these days, I will have to hunt elephant.

Congratulations! Nice story and great pics!

Mad Dog

nice report pops, almost the way it went.....lol jk, thank you so much for taking me

Very nice.

What did the tusks weigh?

That klipspringer looks massive. How long was it?

I hunted that same area in 93. Tough country.

Jack, a friend and I were tentatively scheduled for a management Ele hunt with Todd this year, but luckily backed out when we started to hear "issues" with changing area ownership as well as other tell-tale signs to get out.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
Very nice.

What did the tusks weigh?

That klipspringer looks massive. How long was it?

Larry,

John's ele on the outside was a beautifully matched pair at 60 and 58. The inner pair are 56 each. My largest went 65. Ty's klippie was right at 5.25"

Wait till john posts pics of his buff, man-o-man what a bull. And his waterbuck needs to be seen to be believed.

Jack's Twelve Month Recap:

Leopard and crock in Moz, Dall Sheep in NWT, Desert Ram in Sonora, Elephant in Zim . . .

Maybe there's even more?

Jack is the man!

Congratulations to both you and your son!

Father & son fabulous hunt and good shooting. i want to know how the videography went.

Mike

Great hunt Jack, congratulations!

Excellent trophies and report! Well done and kudos to you and your son. One question though, is the area you hunted for elephant the same concession John Sharp and his hunter killed the large 90 pounder on a few years ago?

Congratulations on a great hunt! I see that Cliff was your scout also. He was a great guy to talk with. Can't wait to see John' report. I saw the type of waterbuck your speaking of, very impressive!

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Lozano:
Congratulations on a great hunt! I see that Cliff was your scout also. He was a great guy to talk with. Can't wait to see John' report. I saw the type of waterbuck your speaking of, very impressive!

Chris, I cannot believe you know Cliff. What a small world! Cliff is an amazing hunter. He often picked up the tracks when others lost them. I have a lot of respect for that man.

MRM, I really do not know where John killed his giant. I do know that 80 pounders are seen every year, and 70 pound plus eles are downed fairly regularly. That was my goal going in.

But things happen. I could not turn down this one. And the bonus was, we got to spend more time with John up in Nixon's camp. And my son got to shoot that Dugga boy. Yep, a pretty fair trade, I'd say.

Congratulations to you and your son on a fantastic hunt. You're also to be commended for hanging in there when the arrangements got a little "dicey". The new operators sound like true gentlemen and proper businessmen to boot.

Beautiful bulls.

Congrats.

Fantastic!

Very nice Jack.

That klipspringer is bigger than any I have ever seen. It is certainly bigger than the only one I have ever shot by 3/4ths of an inch or so. In klipspringers, that is like the difference between B cups & DD's! LOL

Congrats.

Congrats on a great trip. Looks like a good area.

Now thats the stuff dreams are made of . Thanks for the report, and congrats!

Wow...great hunt and excellent pics !!!

Jack,

Great hunt and trophies too...DAN

Jack,

Beautiful array of ivory and a classic dugga boy but that klippie is a monster. Congrats all round.

Mokore is taking some of my clients down there this season and I'm expecting good things.

Mark

Congrats on a great hunt, love that Buff.

What a great trip and report. I am glad to see that you were able to have faith in your operators, and that that faith was rewarded. Some good karma is accumulating!

Congratulations on a memorable safari!

Congratulations on a great hunt and thank you for posting the report and photos. I enjoyed it very much.

Regards
Aziz

Congrats - sounds like an awesome hunt!

Congratulations on a great hunt.

Jason

Jack,

Glad you guys had a good hunt and that it worked out in the end!

you guys had an awesome hunt by the looks of it and there is nothing better than being able to take your son hunting with you, i look forward to that day myself

Go well,

Regards

Aubrey

Good to see y'all putting those Heym .470's to such good use.

Congrats!!!!!

Don

quote:

Originally posted by retreever:
Father & son fabulous hunt and good shooting. i want to know how the videography went.

Mike

i will try to post the film i made shortly on youtube,

im a little disappointed, i didnt get the best shot i could, because of the situation, lots of brush, FIRST wild elephant i have ever seen, but it kinda turned out and i put some other clips and pics in there as well

quote:

And the bonus was, we got to spend more time with John up in Nixon's camp. And my son got to shoot that Dugga boy. Yep, a pretty fair trade, I'd say.

Aye!

quote:

Originally posted by Donald Soter:
Good to see y'all putting those Heym .470's to such good use.

Congrats!!!!!

Don

Don, thanks to you! It was a pleasure getting ele blood on that rifle.

There was one small hiccup though. Those factory Federals with the Woodleigh solids are not to be trusted.

We recovered a bent solid. My first shot hit the bull on the top wrinkle, about an inch too high, hitting the solid bone just above that sweet spot cavity/sinus opening.

The Woodleigh deformed, and arced down and to the right about 45 degrees. We recovered it just under the skin behind the bull's left ear.

When I get the time, I will post photos. Needless to say, no more woodies down those tubes!

Great depiction. I hunted Naivashu this past July.......long ,fast tracking,then the turn toward the park.......then faster......then saliva dripping from the leaves of uprooted trees........then the boundary........then a few beers ,a sleep, and at it again. Nicely, done. Jim

Nice report, congratulations on a good hunt.

Great report. I want to see Johns' hunt report with Nixon. Nice to see the familiar faces around the elephants tusk. It is probably apples and oranges, but I had no problems with the 286 grain Woodleigh solids out of my 9.3X74 double on buffalo.