I hunted with Valie Enslin of That's Africa Safaris after seeing his offer here on AR. We hunted a game reserve totalling 367K acres bordering the Gonarezhou National park in Zim and the Save river to the North.

Crossing the Limpopo



Last petrol before we headed in to camp.



Camp was comfortable, the food was very good, the rooms had bathrooms and showers with hot and cold water, electricity was provided by generator.





I saw plenty of wildlife, both species were were targeting and ones we were not.

A couple of bulls at a pan getting a mid-day drink.



A very nice Kudo



Nyala bull, the most beautiful of the antelope species to my eye.



I was in awe of the size of my Eland bull, just huge. It is amazing how such a big animal can be so graceful.



Nice sold bosses on my buff but not that wide. Might have to try for another on a future trip.



I very much enjoyed my first African safari and will return again. Valie was an excellent PH, the Shangaan trackers were truly amazing. The food and accommodation were quite good.

It was HOT! By far the hottest I have ever experienced during a hunting trip. The bright side was that you can see farther during the dry season and the animals congregate around the pans. That said, I might try a cooler period next trip.

I will certainly return.

This trip was a bit of a business venture as well in that Valie wants to break into the American market, his current clientele is mostly European and South Africans. I will be marketing hunts for him in the future, in Mozambique, South Africa and possibly some additional locations.

Well done on getting the first Africa hunt under your belt. Congrats on your bag. I like your Eland bull. Good to now you enjoyed it enough that you want to return. Personally, each time I have returned to hunt in Africa the hunt and experience seems more enjoyable than the last.

Excellent first trip, I would agree on the Nyala being the most beautiful antelope. As far as the buffalo, don't worry about the inches, the experience is what's important, that's what you will remember years down the road. Glad you had a great time, you will come back again.

Great hunt and report. When it comes to hunting, Africa hold no equal to value. Interesting to see your eland with what looks to be the starting of the rut and swollen neck?

The Eland was rutting, we found him in a heard with another large bull and quite a few cows. My favorite part of the hunt. It was getting really dark and I had put two shots into him, the first shot quartering on and the second broadside but my shot placement was a bit too far back. We decided to pull out until morning. Dawn brought a light rain upon picking up the track we found that a heard of buffalo had run over the track during the night. Watching the Shangaan trackers sort out the story and picking up the spoor where my Eland separated from the heard was nothing short of amazing. The Eland did not travel very far from the shot, maybe 400 yards. Great hunt.

Great report and trophies, Steve!! Thanks for sharing!!
There is no such thing as one trip to Africa....

CheerZ,

Great job and eland hunting beats most other hunts! Congrats

Great hunt! Congratulations on some fine trophies!

Congrats on a great safari!

I would love to hear more about the area. How much border does it have with Gonarhezou?

The concession is a total of 6 blocks, we mostly hunted the Southern two blocks. There are 2 blocks between the the two concessions which are operated by another outfitter. It is a two hour drive to reach the starting point of the Northern concession from base camp in the South. I never made it all the way up to the Save River. The entire north West border of these blocks borders Gonarhrezou, the distance I cannot say but it is quite a ways. The area is very flat, dense bush, Ironwood forest, Mopane trees, thick Jesse in the Northern concession.

quote:

Originally posted by skb:
The concession is a total of 6 blocks, we mostly hunted the Southern two blocks. There are 2 blocks between the the two concessions which are operated by another outfitter. It is a two hour drive to reach the starting point of the Northern concession from base camp in the South. I never made it all the way up to the Save River. The entire north West border of these blocks borders Gonarhrezou, the distance I cannot say but it is quite a ways. The area is very flat, dense bush, Ironwood forest, Mopane trees, thick Jesse in the Northern concession.

Do they have an elephant quota being bordered by Gonarhrezou?

They do. They took an 83 and an 84 pounder this year, last year they took a 98 pounder.

It looks like you have a great time.

Elephants close to camp are always a plus.

Now if a LION is sleeping under your tent that is a bonus.

Steven it was a great honor and pleasure sharing your first African Safari with you and again congratulations on some wonderful trophies.
Looking forward to seeing in our camp again

Congrats, that was a great safari!
I would defiantly suggest recording the events of your days in pen while it's still fresh on your mind.

Well done and thanks for the report!

Thanks for posting a report, and congratulations on a WHOPPER of an Eland!

Very cool! Very, very cool.
I'd like to hunt Mozambique.

Looks like you had a great safari with some very nice trophies. Can you share a bit of info on the rifle you used...

The rifle is a .375 H&H that I built long ago on a standard length Mauser action. A few more pictures.

Left to Right, Roberto and Mishaq are both local Shangaan trackers, John is a PH and tracker from South Africa, and myself. I owe the Eland to their tracking skills.



Picture showing the rifle a bit more.

Thanks for the report Well done.

Great Kudu & Nyala. Congrats!

Excellent. Well done!

Sounds like a very successful first safari, and good to hear you are hooked on it!

Eland are my favorite plains game species, you got an excellent bull there.

Well done! Love the gas station!!!!

Valie contacted me awhile back. Might have to get over there for a visit.

Mark