My apology for the format of the report. I tried to colour the writing in with some pictures. All pictures from 2020 season


It always was going to be an extremely difficult task to operate a proper Tanzania operation, if you do not live there full time.
As a dedicated conservation hunter and Outfitter I grabbed the task with relish in my meaty paws and jumped into it in 2017.

After two seasons in 2018 and 2019 we got to grips with the challenges we faced, and looked forward to a bumper 2020 season with both blocks fully booked.
As they say, the rest is history. I do not think that since the two World Wars, that any event had such a direct and devastating negative impact on the world economy, and leisure travel of course stood proudly in the front of that unpopular row.

Some applaud president John Magufuli of Tanzania for his strong stance in keeping Tanzania open for business, and some scolded him for it. When we got firm news from TAWA that no block fees would be “rolled over” to the following year, we faced a dire position. Either loose the significant investment in the blocks we already made, OR do anything in our power to make the hunts work.
Well, the short version is we pulled it off!



For you that do not know, we operate the Mbarangandu and Nalika WMA’s in Southern Tanzania. Total huntable land covers just north of 1 MILLION acres.



Our Ultimate Tanzania Safaris managed some solid hunts, that enabled us to battle through the most difficult season the industry has faced, probably ever?
What was strange is that only hunt was a client booked for 2020, as most hunters rather moved their Safaris to 2021. We ended up booking the hunts we outfitted in about 6 weeks before the “wheels got rolling”!



This is just another testament to the incredible strong partnerships we have managed to build over the years with very reputable and top end booking consultants and friends.
Friends, it was not without challenges. For starters, we could not get our 4 Land Cruisers to Tanzania, and had to rent them from other Outfits. Another testament of our “brothers in arms” coming together in a time of need.


Our first two safaris was two brothers from down south somewhere. They both bought Leopard/Buff combo’s. Contact made and money paid weeks before departure to Tanzania. Our normal flights did not flight, so the clients all had to travel through the sandbox to get to DAR.



Back to the hunt. No sweat. Young men living the dream and hunting hard. They both got what they wanted and they were both happy as “pigs in mud”

https://postimg.cc/DJTH6hHZ

Next hunter lucked out a bit. Wounded Buff that was lost and then a Leopard nightmare that ended in one of our trackers getting mauled. PH shot the cat off the tracker. Two weeks off and he was back at work, albeit with a bit of a puffy left hand and some itchy stitches. Hunter got a second Buff that he killed, and then some on land sports with a tank of a Hippopotamus. His main quarry was a Lion. We are VERY strict in following the Lion hunting protocol, and although he had bunch of cats on bait, the right one never showed up. Some nice Plains Game rounded off his bag.




Hippo on Land with a real double Rifle. Some only dream of this experience, we provide it every year for four lucky hunters!



This male Lion clearly in charge of his pride and therefore def. NOT a shooter.



A hunt booked from Accurate Reloading on a special I had ended in a 2 x Buff hunt success story, with an absolute tank of a second Dugga Boy after the first bull got into the salt without much drama.



The last full bag Safari was an incredible success story with classic 400 H&H and .577NE making for a nice traditional Selous experience for the hunter and his wife. A nasty and ugly Dugga boy that got the boys their feet wet ended up being a tasty top up bait for a hog of Tom Leopard. As we had 1 Hippo on quota, the hunter did not waste a good Covid crisis and got his bull with his double on dry land. Nice close and personal. Add some gorgeous Zebra and other Plains Game and you get a happy couple heading home towards a world they nearly forgot about.





The above is of course a condensed version of the tales told to me by my two super PH’s, without who we could have never pulled this off. Koos and Gawie can def. be counted as two of the top Professionals in Africa. Handling tough and difficult curve balls without too much hassle.



My apology for the format of the report. I tried to colour the writing in with some pictures. All pictures from 2020 season
Season Lesson:
The Leopard charge was a baptism of fire that Gawie went through, that he will not easily forget. And the tracker(s) neither. Word of advice on baited hunts, wait for the PH to say its ok to take the animal. There are little tricks learned over years of other people making mistakes. It’s called “school fees”. Tap into the experience sitting/standing beside you and you should be ok. Most of the time. And if it is not ok and you are facing a potential dangerous situation, listen to the PROFESSIONAL that is now responsible for everyone’s safety.




2021 is fully booked for us EXCEPT for Buffalo which I still have 12 off. For 2022 we have 2 x Leopard/Buff combo’s and about 20 Cape Buffalo left.



I can also offer 1 x Hippo/Buff combo where you will hunt your Hippo on land tracking to close quarters for an intense engagement.

Me and Erika are here to make sure your Tanzania experience is what it should be!



I trust you are all well my friends, and slowly coming to grips with this “speed bump” we all got!


Me and my family would like to wish y’all a Happy and Blessed Festive season!


See you in Dallas in February if all goes well!

Thank you Charl for the wonderful report.

Some great pictures shared and trophies taken.

fantastic buff

Great report, Charl. Glad you were able to make some lemon aid from the bumper crop of lemons this year was. Looking forward to a much better 2021 for everyone.

Those Tanzanian zebras are really colorful (for an animal that is only black and white).

Nice job!

Great job under difficult circumstances Charl!

Did you see many elephants?

Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
Those Tanzanian zebras are really colorful (for an animal that is only black and white).

Nice job!

Is that the normal coloration for zebra in Tanzanian? It is really stunning, the colors around his ears. Beautiful. Like those white face, smooth horn bulls too.

Charl,

That was indeed one hell of a hunt, that's my Wife and I following Koos back across the river in the photo, my 577 double is in the mouth of the largest Hippo PH Gawie has ever seen, and the worn smooth bosses of the Buffalo in the river is the oldest Buffalo he's ever seen, we had a great time, Rowland Ward Hippo, Ancient old Dagga Boy bull, Gold Medal Waterbuck, very nice tom Leopard, Warthog, beautiful Zebra stallion, [don't remember if the one pictured is mine] big herd bull Hartebeest.

The animals were taken from 16 to 277 yards, offhand, off sticks and prone, I think the happiest for Gawie was the Leopard at 70 yards, he was dead before his feet left the tree.

Big shoutout to Tim Herald for doing the behind the scenes legwork to get this quick hunt thrown together, I told him I had to have my Wife in a bush camp on 10-10-20, he said, I can make that happen, and he did, Thanks Tim, ironically enough, I shot the Leopard and Hartebeest on 10-10-20, the two animals my Wife wanted most, and happens to be our wedding anniversary! Perfect.

Shoutout to Koos De Wet as well, he and Gawie put their heads together a lot during this trip, figuring out morning and evening plans to find and stalk the animals, it was a hell of a collaboration that worked very well as I was able to get every single animal on my list, plus a Hippo and beautiful Zebra.

The 400 H&H and 577 double did fine jobs, all animals died with the first shot, with only a couple extras put in at PH Gawie's direction.

We'll Be Back.

Charl,
Congrats on "making a plan" and dealing with the adversity we all have been dealt. 2020 is an ultimately forgettable year but you and your crew made dreams come true for some intrepid adventurers! Well done.

Great pics, thanks for posting!

Hope 2021 is a great hunting season for everyone.

Great photos. Where are you hunting?

Congrats Charl on the amazing job you've done in a such a short time! I'm glad to hear your booked up for 21. Wishing Happy Holidays to you and your family.

Nice mature Buffalo.

Well done!

all nice old bulls... well done.

Beautiful area and some really nice buffs! Really like the look of the zebra too, that will make a beautiful rug!

Great read! Looking forward to our next trip this year and Tansania in 2022! Hopefully.

Thank you all!

Thanks for the excellent post.

Jerry, you did my old 577 proud!

Glad you persevered sir. Well done.

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Jerry, you did my old 577 proud!

Well at least Biebs got to hunt with me at last, in a round about, messed up sort of a way. Just a pity me and and him was not there in person. He could have bullshitted me about all the pro's an no cons' of the Blazer shooting platform and I would have amazed him with all my insight and knowledge of the human body response to culinary delights and cold beverages.

Would have been amazing time.......if only.....

quote:

Originally posted by Fury01:
Glad you persevered sir. Well done.

Thank you Sir!

quote:

Originally posted by infinito:

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Jerry, you did my old 577 proud!

Well at least Biebs got to hunt with me at last, in a round about, messed up sort of a way. Just a pity me and and him was not there in person. He could have bullshitted me about all the pro's an no cons' of the Blazer shooting platform and I would have amazed him with all my insight and knowledge of the human body response to culinary delights and cold beverages.

Would have been amazing time.......if only.....

being a Blaser fan...



Morten