I will post pic's as soon as I figure it out!!!!

BOOKING AGENT: Adventure's Unlimited-John Barth 361-852-0537. He and Marrona did an incredable job putting it all together. I will never go anywhere else!

OPERATOR: John Hunt of GEORGIA SAFARIS geosaf.mweb.co.zw

AREA: Zimbabwe's Lowveldt, Matebleleland.

GAME: Leopard and P-Game.

CAMP: Rondevels with thached roof,running water, showers, electricity etc. Very nice and comfortable accomodations. Food was mostly game meat killed the day before, served on china with linnen table cloths. Nice candle-light dinners! Pleanty to eat and drink.

We arrived in Bulawayo with an problems of any kind We were treated very well by airport staff and picked up by John's wife Debbie for a 3 hour ride to camp. Once at camp we, being me and my brother-in-law Anthony knew that we were in the right place...camp was very nice, and friendly. John reminded me of english gentleman! So nice and polite and a great man in every way. John has a wonderful sense of humor too, which is so important to me...you can be the best PH in the world, but if you are a cold fish, I don't want to hunt with you!
Food was mostly game meat from whatever you killed the day before, prepared by kitchen staff nicely dressed every day we were there.

Let's get to the hunting. First off, let me say that I hunted in northern Namibia last year, and in almost a month there I didn't see one Leopard. I was told that two baits were hit, but after seeing what I saw this year in Zim, I wonder if they were hit by Leopards (which I was told) or honey badgers. In Namibia, those cats were far and few in between, and I did see tracks, but not many...don't get me started! What a difference in Zim! Tracks were all over the place, and really everywhere you saw bare ground, you saw Leopard track. The terrain is very different too...much more foliage, Koppies and water too. Much more suitable for cats.

John pre-baited for me, which I think every Leopard should do. Before I even got there, John had Leopards on baits. In fact, 8 out of my 10 baits were hit, and we stopped checking after day 5, which is when I shot mine. The place is crawling with Leopards!
I shot a beautiful 130lb male on night 5, actually it was the first night we decided to sit. Another hunter in camp got his on his fourth day, also his first night sitting.
I hunted with PH David Amyot, who free-lances for John. These guy's are not Leopard hunter's, they are Leopard scientists! To see them and their crew, especially Ian, is unbelievable!

Besides my cat, I shot Zebra, Wildebeast, Impala, Bush pig, Klipspringer, 2 baboons, and lot's of rabbits and dassies. I could have taken more, but I ran out of money before time. Anthony shot the same (didn't want a Leopard) game as me plus Warthog,Genet, Steenbuck, and Eland. We also saw Waterbuck, Bushbuck, Kudu, and Rhino tracks.

These guy's hunt hard! Some days we returned to camp for lunch, and other days we stayed out. Most evenings we spot-lighted for varmits, and small game, as well as game viewing. David gave me my money's worth!


In all, I can't say how pleased we were with John's operation. He treated us like family, and was an absolute pleasure to be with. We enjoyed ourselves so much, and it killed us to go back to New York!

The area is georgous, baobabs, mopane, huge koppies, boulders, and caves. Lots of native villages with children all over the place on the roads. Everyone waves when you pass them.

ZIMBABWE: Let me say this right away...these people are hunting, and despretly need our support. Without our dollars, they are FINISHED, PERIOD! Think what you want about Mugabe, but it is the common people like John who are getting screwed! They all have suffered huge losses, both financially as well as emotionally. The rural blacks, believe it or not, are suffering too due to the lack of job oportunities due to the loss of tourism. Nobody is getting rich there, that's why it's so important to continue hunting in Zimbabwe. We never at any time felt the slightest bit in danger...it's all bullshit that you read in the papers and hear on the news. There are fuel shortages, but John had pleanty and we were not affected in the least. In fact, you couldn't tell that Zim is in such termoil, it's only the people who live there and lost so much that it affects. Their money is worth nothing now, and people have lost their land , pensions, and jobs. That's why it is so important to support people like John. I'll say it again...don't be afraid to hunt Zimbabwe...there is nothing to worry about!

I will post pictures as soon as I can figure it out, sorry!

Sorry, I read my post over and found a few mistakes!! The people are HURTING...I spelled HUNTING! Tired I guess!

Sounds like a great hunt... look forward to the pictures of your tom! I agree totally with you on Zim... it is so hard to see that beautiful country wither before your eyes!

Wolfgar, sounds like a great hunt. Could you check the spelling of the link that you provided? I'm having trouble finding Hunt's site on the web. Thanks.

Hello GL,
His e-mail address is geosaf@mweb.zw No web site yet, since for many years Tony DaCosta did his booking for him.

E-mail him, or contact John barth listed above in my report!! Thanks

Just contacted John last night...another nice male for his most recent client!

Thanks for your story, and congrats on a wonderful bag of trophies and memories..
Very interesting what you say about Zim.. You hear so much negative that it really effects your view even if you`ve never been there..

Wolfgar

Great report. Did you figure out how to post pic's yet? I'd like to see that Leopard.

Excellent report. This is what makes this such a great Forum. Looking forward to the pictures and I wholeheartedly agree with your posit of supporting the PHs in Zimbabwe, regardless of Mugabe. Without them and hunting, both the animals and more importantly, the people, would be in even more dire straits. jorge

Ray and Jorge,
Thanks for the interest in my post!
I did post the pic's but they are in the African Big Game Forum....I'm no computer wiz!
Do a search, the thread is called:

Leopard and Plains Game with John Hunt..Zimbabwe pic's added.

Let me know if you have any questions, since I am still in touch with John...The Hunt family stayed with us and we all toured New York City before the SCI show.....that's another story!!