HUNT SUMMARY

Date of Hunt: September 5th to 14th 2005 (10 days)

Location: Lunga Lushwishi Concession, Zambia – just north of the Kafue Park

Animals Hunted: Buffalo, Bushbuck, Kudu, Hyena, Warthog, Defasso Waterbuck, Impala, Puku, Crocodile, Zebra, Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest, Bush Duiker

Animals Taken: Bushbuck, Kudu, Warthog, Defasso Waterbuck, Impala, Puku, Zebra, Bush Duiker

Other Animals seen: Hippo, Lion, Leopard, Sable, Roan, Reedbuck, Oribi

PH/Outfitter: Richard Bell-Cross, PRO Hunt Zambia

HUNT REPORT

Travel:
We were originally scheduled to fly out of Atlanta on the usual cattle car Airbus to Joberg, but a month or two before the trip I got a call from Susan at Gracy Travel informing me that SAA had started a new flight out of Dulles on a 747. Since I was leaving from Baltimore, this would save me a Delta flight to Atlanta and one less chance for the airlines to lose our luggage. Besides, I had heard good things about the 747 compared to the Airbus and we were able to book on the upper level of the plane. Man was I glad I did the switch. The 747 wasn’t full and I ended up with a whole row to myself. An Ambien or two later and we were landing in Joberg. I don’t even remember the flight, what a joy. Anyway, we quickly caught a flight to Lusaka where we found that my partner’s suitcase was lost. Note to Susan and other agents: Asking the clerk at the check-in desk if all pieces of luggage are on the plane doesn’t work. Anyway, we were met by our outfitter/PH’s and went out for lunch hoping that the missing piece would arrive on the next flight. Of course it didn’t and I ended up lending half my clothes to my buddy for half the trip. It’s a good thing that the reverse didn’t occur since I’m taller and I would have looked like Tweedle-Dee in his clothes. We then took a 4 hour drive to the concession on surprisingly good roads for most of the way. The one thing that really struck me is the lack of game outside of the protected concessions. It was absolutely sterile, no big game, small game and even very few birds. As soon as we hit the concession we started to see antelope. This was a real education on the value of sport hunting and conservation in Africa.

Camp:
Richard had a well run camp with individual huts for each hunter. The whole camp had lighting due to a solar powered battery system that he had set up. Same with running water that was pumped from the Kafue River that ran along the camp. Each evening the camp help started a fire in some type of boiler behind my hut and I returned from a hot and dusty hunt to a warm shower. Nice. Food was fantastic and as requested, his chef made dishes with just about everything we shot including Bushbuck pizza, Waterbuck enchiladas, Zebra and Kudu steaks, Warthog meatballs, etc. For those of you that haven’t eaten African game before, you are in for a treat. I’m sure that preparation helped, but it seemed to me that African game meat had no “Gamey†taste at all, regardless of how we handled it. I could never tell that I was eating wild game.

Actually, the camp I have described was the southern camp along the Kafue River. We also stayed at a nearly identical northern camp on the Lunga River for a day while hunting Zebra. In between we spent a few days in a fly camp while buffalo hunting. Everything was organized and efficient.

Rifles & Loads:
In am in love with old Model 70’s, so I took two pre-64 Model 70’s, one in .270 caliber and the other a .375 H&H. I used Trophy Bonded Bear Claws in both and for solids in the .375 I used Trophy Bonded Sledge Hammers. For those of you that think the .270 is too small for African plains game, I’m here to tell you that every animal shown below was taken with one shot except for the Puku, which had to be finished because I hit him too far back. I had originally intended to take the bigger antelope with the .375, but I just got into the swing with the .270 (a gun that I have hunted with for 25 years) and never looked back. Thanks Richard for your encouragement in regards to this. My partner used a .30-06 and .375, but I don’t recall the loads and since we hunted separately (except for the Zebra), I didn’t observe the performance of his shots.

Hunting:
It’s too much to describe the details of all the hunts here, but the area had an abundance of plains game, especially Warthog, Impala and Puku. Lots of Bushbuck as well. There were good numbers of Duiker, Waterbuck and Kudu , but they took some searching. Had a couple of chances at Hartebeest, but never got a good opportunity. They are spooky. Most of the grass had been burned off by then, so spotting game was good. The only difficulty we had were with Buffalo and Crocodile. There were plenty of crocs in the rivers and my buddy got a nice 13 footer after some clever baiting. I of course hunted 5 days for the “monster crocodile†that had been seen there, but never found him so I ended up shooting at a 12 footer. Unfortunately, he sunk to the bottom of the river belly up, but crocodiles being crocodiles, he either floated downstream or came back to life and my PH and trackers never found him with the boat. Bad luck!

We never did get on a Buffalo because of a combination of very few in the concession and a lot of poaching activity in the area that they were in. This was disappointing. When I go back, they will be on the top of my list. Anyway, here are the photos of my trophies. Unfortunately I don’t have the photos of my partner’s animals yet.

Kudu


Bushbuck


Warthog


Duiker

Zebra

Impala

Puku

Waterbuck

The African Experience:
Here are a few non-hunt related experiences that my partner and/or I had during our 10 day hunt. Maybe this stuff is common to you veteran hunters, but it was sure exciting to us:

1. Watched a Leopard walk a riverbank for 15 minutes during a crocodile hunt. This was a once in a lifetime event.
2. Had to quickly backup our vehicle as an Elephant came out of a waterhole and got too close.
3. Had 200 Elephants come to our fly camp waterhole at night and had the herd within 30 yards of us at times. Both PH’s were on high alert, guns loaded.
4. Saw a lion walk away from a bait.
5. Heard lions roar almost nightly within a half mile of my hut.
6. Had a lion wounded Hippo show up in camp and stay a few days, presumably to stay safe from lions/crocs.
7. Found a poachers camp and a Sable in a snare. The Sable died while being freed.
8. Our game scouts caught 6 poachers and hauled them back to a game scout camp.
9. Came upon honey hunters and bought fresh honey for our nightly toast.
10. Followed vultures and found a 12 foot python carcass.
There were many others….

Return:
We had a fairly uneventful trip back to the airport on our return except for one incident. We got pulled over at a roadblock for a cracked windshield. My PH went through a series of arguments for about 15 minutes with the local police and even though I was getting a bit nervous about making the flight, I was confident in Richards take on the situation. We finally ended up getting some sort of ticket, but I eventually found out that they really wanted a bribe of some sort and Richard wasn’t in the mood. These roadblocks are apparently a joke. We had to buckle up when coming to one (a fineable offense), but apparently is perfectly fine to have 12 natives hanging off the back of the truck. Nuts!

After going through the “Banana Republic†routine with our guns at the airport in Lusaka, we got on our way and had no problems getting home with all of our luggage. Note to all you posters that warned about the “cattle car†Airbus. You were 100% right! The seat space on this flight is an abomination. The only thing that saved us was that I reserved a seat 11 months in advance that was open in front of it (Thanks Susan – Gracy Travel). My buddy and I were able to switch off for some stretch room during the 19 hours that we were onboard. Man did we get some looks for having that seat.

Final Thoughts:
I would without reservation recommend Richard Bell-Cross and PRO Hunt Zambia. He is young, but is molded after the old style PH. He was a great tracker, mechanic, camp manager and companion. He runs a tight ship, his staff was great, and the level of plains game on his concession has to be seen to be believed. I wouldn’t recommend going there specifically for buffalo; it’s too “hit or missâ€. However, even though I wasn’t on a cat hunt, we saw lots and lots of sign and actual sightings (both Lion and Leopard) while I was there. Yes, Zambia is more expensive than most of Africa for the plains game species, but if you want to hunt in what is still wild Africa, this is the place to go. His concession is bigger than the state of Connecticut and you just never knew what you would run into around the next corner. Another plus for this concession was the great weather for this time of year. There was no humidity and while the days got hot, the evenings were cool and pleasant. I’m told that the Luangwa valley during the same time is a sweltering oven. I had very little trouble with insects, a few bad areas for Tsetse’s, but no mosquitoes or other nuisances and no snakes. Do I plan on going back to Africa? You bet. But if my situation prevents me from ever returning, I’ll never feel I missed anything. Good hunting.

Gordon L. Krause

Tips and Novice Wisdom:
Here are a few things that I learned on my first trip to Africa. Take them for what they are worth.

1. Of course avoid the Airbus “cattle car†if possible or at least book enough in advance to get one of the “bulk head†or more open seats.
2. If you are going with a friend/friends, consider packing half and half as far as clothes and possibly ammo goes. In my case, my partner’s luggage didn’t arrive and he was hunting in borrowed clothes and travel clothes half the safari. It could have been worse. We were lucky enough to be within driving distance of the airport and got the luggage mid week. In the case of a charter, you’re out of luck.
3. Ambien works great. Really great. I suffered no sluggish wake up effects and it sure made the long flights bearable. Also helped with the jet lag in camp for the first few nights.
4. The sun can be brutal, especially if you are coming from a non-tropical climate like I did. Get a broad brimmed hat for most situations and bring a ball cap for stalking if you need it in heavy bush. Also, call me a wimp, but I just didn’t have the hydration requirements of my PH and trackers who could go all day on a thimble full of water. Whenever I went on a stalk, I stuck a bottled water in my pocket. A simple stalk on a Puku can change into a 2 or 3 hour ordeal. Drink lots and don’t try to be act tough as your PH. Believe me, you can’t anyway. Also, bring Gatorade powder or some other hydration pills. It really helped with fatigue. Sunscreen is also a must, especially when you end up 4 or 5 hours on the upper seat in a safari car at midday. I used the Avon sun screen/bug repellant combo and took very few Tsetse bites. Bring plenty as it has to be reapplied.
5. Practice with shooting sticks and then practice some more. I did practice, but not enough. It took me longer than it should have to steady myself.
6. Malaria pills. I know a bunch of you had no problem with Larium. My buddy didn’t. I did (dizziness, jumpiness, sleeplessness, etc.) and I switched to Malarone before I went. Bottom line; try it enough in advance so that you have time to switch before leaving. BTW, my prescription plan covered it. Just go to your Physician.
7. Bring lots of hard candy. The truck staff loved it.
8. Keep a journal. I was the type that never wrote down a thing on any hunt I have ever been on. I did this time and was sure glad I did. So much new and exciting happens that it’s sometimes hard to remember by the end of the day. Also, don’t forget to log those little details that you’re sure to forget in 6 months, such as the names of the staff, African names of the camps or waterholes, menus served, birds etc. It will all bring back valuable memories.
9. Learn a little about the local language/customs before going if possible. I learned a few Kaonde sayings before I went and even though the staff laughed at my pronunciation, I think they appreciated my effort and it did bring me a bit closer to them.
10. This has been said a million times here, but take plenty of pictures! I did and still missed a few pictures that I wish that I had now, especially around camp. It’s easy to put off taking pictures of the buildings, skinning shed, kitchen and staff, but those are the kind of shots that family and friends really want to see. My kids especially wanted to see where I slept and ate. The best way to do this is to get a digital camera so that you aren’t hung up on the cost and you can review each shot. Digital also lets you show the pictures immediately upon your return. I have a compact model and had it on my belt at all times. This helped me to get some quick shots that I would have missed. I also took a few disposable cameras and doubled up on the trophy shots just in case I had a complete digital failure.

Very nice trophies. That Puku looks thick and heavy! Zambia is on my wish list.

Gordon,

Congratulations. Excellent trophies; I especially like the kudu and zebra. It sounds as though you really enjoyed yourself and made some great memories!

Hugh

Congratulations. Great to hear about that area and about your success with a pre-64 270 -my favorite rifle of all time.

Looks like you had a great trip. Nice trophies especially the kudu and puku.

Very nice. That Puku is a dandy, as is the Kudu.

That Waterbuck should be the Crawshay Defassa Waterbuck. A unique sub-specie. Yours appears to be pretty darn big, considering a huge Crawshay is about 24".

Well done on everything.

Nice trophies and a great adventure. Soryy about the buff...gives you a reason to go back!

Great account and photos.

Thanks for sharing.

Kyler

Gordon, very nice animals...when one has confidence in a rifle no excuses are needed...performance and making the shot are what count...fine job...

Mike

Thanks for sharing! That was a great report! Beautiful pics.. Love that kudu and bushbuck!

I like the interesting markings on the zebra's back - never seen that before.

Great report

Congrats on a great safari.

Thanks for sharing, Gordon. Really appreciate your thoughtful tips/conclusions.