I guess my initial post was too long - here is the rest of it:

out in the field in force, but so far, they have not come up with anything. With authority to “shoot to kill poachers on sight”, these guys take their jobs seriously. Getting back to the buffalo tracks at the pan, Winna and Mike disagreed about the direction to proceed. We eventually deferred to Winna, even though Connor and I swore we heard a buffalo bellow in the opposite direction. We ended up tracking for hours, but we never got onto buffalo. At one point, Mike spotted the 44” sable he told me was on the ranch. He told me it was the trophy of a lifetime and asked if I wanted to go after it. I said, “you are the PH – I follow your lead”. So, we put on a stalk for about 15 minutes, and then the wind direction suddenly changed. My sable of a lifetime got our scent and took off never to be seen (by me) again. Mike said “that small puff of breeze just saved you a lot of money”. We had a good laugh over our misfortune, and pressed on. Further on, we saw zebra and giraffes, but still no buffalo. At about 1030, Mike called Dunwork to bring the truck. We all loaded in the cruiser and returned to the pan where we had started. On the way to the pan, Dunwork mentioned that he had seen 15 buffalo come to the pan to drink while we were gone, and they had come from the direction that Mike wanted to head in the first place. Winna smiled sheepishly, and Mike continued to rub it in on Winna the rest of the day about who really knew how to hunt buffalo. We tried going after them, but we never got on them. That’s hunting, and this morning is one Winna will not soon forget. The rest of the morning, we sat on a water pan hoping buffalo would come to drink, but after an hour or so no game appeared, and we called for Dunwork to come fetch us. As a side note, Mike is becoming increasingly annoyed with his new tracker, Ishmael. The sarcastic nickname of “coiled spring” seems to fit.
After lunch, we headed out once again in search of buffalo spoor. The buffalo Gods were not with us this afternoon, and no fresh spoor was found. Connor will have to wait a bit longer to take his first nyati with his double. I imagine it will be all he will think about between now and when it happens. While looking for more buffalo spoor in the afternoon, Mike got a radio message from the conservancy asking him to provide a zebra for the lion study they were doing. Since they needed the zebra that afternoon, Mike asked me if I would like to shoot one free of charge. I quickly agreed, and we were off to find the zebra herds. Mike said he knew of a great place to hunt what he calls “disco donkeys”, so we set off for the “shit road” near one of the conservancy boundaries. Once there, it was not long before we started seeing lots of zebra and wildebeest. When we saw a small group of zebra break off from the rest, we got out of the cruiser and commenced a stalk. Ten minutes later I was up on the sticks and shot my first Birchell’s zebra at a range of about 150 yards. We summoned Dunwork to bring the cruiser, loaded the zebra, and proceeded to the drop off point where we would leave the zebra for the biologists doing the lion study. Then, it was back to hunting. We didn’t see much the rest of the afternoon – just a few warthogs and impala. Connor missed a 200 yard shot a ram with the .222, but that was the only action we had.
Back at camp, we met Mike’s new Italian client, Andreas. He seemed like a nice old gentleman who spoke very little English – next week could really be interesting for Mike! Andreas seemed distraught as he had lost his satellite phone in Johannesburg airport, and he had no way of letting his family know he had arrived safely. When I offered my Iridium phone for his use, he beamed. He was able to call home to Italy and talk to his wife. He seemed a lot more relaxed after making that phone call, so I was glad to be of service. Dinner was roast warthog in tomato and onion gravy. Francis did an exceptional job in preparing the warthog, and as a result, I am sure I ate too much. It really was excellent. After dinner, I tried to pack for the trip home. Unbelievably, it seemed like I had too much “stuff” to fit into my bags. Oh well, I will sort it out in the morning.

Day 14 – “ I’m coming Home” - 21 June 2011
I got up early this morning to see the kids off as they left to catch the bus back to boarding school. They looked very smart in their #1s (dress uniforms – blazer with slacks/skirt, shirt and tie). Mel was taking Connor and Chloe to Leon’s house where Judy was taking all the kids to the bus at the nearest town. They were late getting to Leon’s and almost missed the bus because elephants had knocked trees down across the road during the night. So, they all had to get out of the car and remove the trees off the road before proceeding. What a unique excuse for being late to school. Yep, elephants knocked trees down and blocked the road – that’s why we are late!
When Mel returned, we went over the bill for my safari, and everything was in order. Mel is very efficient in keeping the books.
After breakfast, Mike departed for the rifle range with Andreas in tow to sight in rifles. The boys loaded my baggage into Mel’s Isuzu, and Mel, Nick and I headed for the dirt airstrip where Nick had parked his plane the night before. When we got to the airstrip, Nick did a thorough preflight check of the Cessna, my bags were loaded into the plane, Mel and I said our goodbyes, and I got on the plane.
Nick and I had an uneventful flight to Harare International Airport. We had to wait a bit for the SAA folks to show up at the check in desk, but once they arrived, my rifles were cleared, my bags checked, and I passed through security screening with no problems. I then said my farewells to Nick, telling him that I hoped he would be our pilot next year when Ken and I returned to hunt with Save Safaris. I found it interesting that SAA gave me only a ticket to get me to Johannesburg. The said I would have to go to the transfer desk there to get my next ticket to the States. It looks like the trip home adventure has begun!

Day 15 – 22 June 2011
The flights home were uneventful. In Johannesburg, I found a nice little restaurant to have a couple of glasses of South African Chardonnay and a sandwich. We will have to remember this place for next year.
I arrived at Dulles on time, and my baggage, rifles included, all showed up. I breathed a sigh of relief. Going through customs was a breeze. The only paperwork the agent wanted to see was the documentation for my rifles. He didn’t even make me open the gun case. Through customs, I found Ken waiting for me as promised. On the way home, I told him stories of Africa, and we discussed plans for next year. We stopped at Hooter’s in Hampton to give Terrell (Mufasa) the lion sculpture I bought for him in Harare. He was speechless. After lunch, it was a short trip home to unpack and unwind.
All in all, it was a super trip.

I can’t wait to return!


Special thanks to the camp staff:

Camp Manager – Judy Du Plessis
Cook – Francis (Felix – this is what Mike called him when he could not remember his name)
Waiter – Patson
Boilers – Steven
Skinners – Bonniface and Robbie
Laundry – Margie
Trackers – Winna , Dunwork, and Ishmael (Coiled Spring)

Sounds like you a good hunt...photos??

I would love to post photos as well, but I do not think I have the permissions to do so as yet. Can you offer any advice?
Mangwana

Hopefully this link will take you to photos of my hunt. ( I am new to this!)

Mangwana

One more try for photos - they are located at:

http:/s1185.photobucket.com/albums/z350/mangwana/

A little help;

Dinsdale - many thanks - you Da man!
Mangwana

quote:

Originally posted by subsailor74:
Dinsdale - many thanks - you Da man!
Mangwana

You did all the hard work getting them to Photobucket......

When you mouse over a pic a drop down menu appears.......scroll down to the bottom box and left click on it....."copied" will appear briefly.....

On your post right click where you want the pic....right click and select "paste"....only the code will show up....the pic will be there when you hit "post now" in the actual thread.


Nice animals by the way......

You seem to have a great attitude of taking what comes your way and enjoying the experience.

Dinsdale - Being there (the experience) is everything. Harvesting animals is a bonus!

Thanks again for your help.

Mangwana

Well done and did you get a shot at that bushbuck?

Nope - I spoke with Mike Payne a few days ago, and he confirmed that 18" bushbuck is still there.
Mangwana

Well done Admiral, Beautiful animals!

Congrats, Mike is one of the finest gentlemen I have met.

Thanks for the detailed report!!