23 September 2019, 04:13
Gundog 64Mokore Safaris/Save Valley Conservancy
Outfitter: Mokore SafarisLocation: Save Valley Conservancy South eastern Zimbabwe
PH: Doug Duckworth
Videographer: Double D Productions, Jordan "Tripod" Alderton handling the camera work.
Booking agent: Mark's Exclusive Adventures
Travel agent: Shawn Kennedy at Gracy Travel
Hunt dates: Aug. 25 - Sept. 3, 2019
Trackers: Solomon and Gumi
Rifles used:
Mine; Mauser 404 Jeffery with North Fork 400 gr. softs and 400gr. cup point solids. Dawn's: Mauser 275 Rigby with 140 gr. North Fork soft points, both built by Ben Piper from Arizona. Soroka1 here on AR.
This was to be our second hunt with Mokore for my wife Dawn and I, having previously hunted with Mokore at their Sengwa Research concession in 2017. In fact the first discussion of this hunt happened 2 days into our first hunt with Mokore, we already knew by then, we had to come back to Africa again. The hunt was booked through Mark shortly after our arrival home and then the long 2 year wait started. There was constant communication with Doug and Jordan, and we met Doug the last 2 years at DSC just to catch up. It really became sort of a reunion with a hunting trip thrown in and the camp manager at Sengwa, Dalton Mclintock and his fiance Jaimie-Lee Holtzhausen were now the camp manager's in the Save concession so all of the same people were going to be there along with a few new faces. Doug's wife Chantel was able to join us for 5 days and she brought their son Liam with her, and she brought brownies for me
. Instead of doing a day by day I think I will do this report by animal, so first up was Non Trophy buffalo. We were in and out of buffalo every day, just trying to find the right bull, I think the secret to finding a trophy bull is to book a non trophy hunt. We saw some really good bulls and it was fun getting on the sticks even when I knew we were not going to shoot anything. This also gave Doug and I time to discuss various shot placement based on the position the bull was in, all very valuable to someone on their first buffalo hunt. We did gat sidetracked on the second morning due to an exceptional Eland but that will come later.
On the morning of the 6th day I woke and just knew it was going to happen today, I cannot explain it, I just knew. Solomon and Gumi picked up the tracks of a group of 10 bulls leaving a water hole and we quickly got after them. About 3 hours in we bumped them and 3 bulls split off from the main group, so we stayed on the group of 7 and were led in a very large loop right back the the same water hole we had started the morning at. It was clear they had watered again and started heading towards a river bed looking for a place to rest up for the day. Doug circled out trying to get in front of them, but I think we were a bit late. I saw Doug setting the sticks up and not really being sure why I did not wait for an invitation and got my rifle on them. Out stepped a beautiful bull, he took about 3 steps, stopped and looked directly at us. Doug gave me the go ahead and I put the first shot about 3 inches in front of where I should have shot, the bull reared up and took off. I got one more solid into him as he ran to our right and down into the dry riverbed. It happened so fast I really did not have time to think about it, but we decided to wait 10 minutes before we took up the trak and I needed that time to settle down. The whole situation hit me after the shot and I was literally shaking for a while.
Doug asked Dawn and Solomon to wait on our side of the river while he, Jordan, and I did the follow up. We had heard the bull bellow twice and thought he might be down in the riverbed, so we ventured in. There was a good blood trail as we started after him, then Solomon got our attention and pointed to the other side of the riverbank. The bull was down under a tree, but still moving so Doug positioned me behind him and had me put 2 more solids into him.It was done and I had my first Cape Buffalo, he may not be trophy by tape measure standards, but he's my first and I could not have asked for a better experience.
Eland:
As I said earlier, on day 2 we got side tracked following 3 buffalo by an exceptional Eland. As we were following the buffalo, Doug suddenly dropped to his knee and asked if I wanted to shoot an Eland, as we moved slightly to the right and I was able to see the Eland clearly, there was no question I wanted to forgo the buffalo and take this bull. He was standing about 60 yards away and broadside, one cup point solid to the shoulder and he was down about 50 yards away. When we got up to him the first thing that caught everyone's eye was the size of his neck, it was absolutely huge, his horns were well worn. As it was put to me this was a "Proper Eland" to take and just my kind of trophy, he was very old and his genes have been passed on many times. It was also a plus to me that now we were going to have Eland meat in camp as I feel it is the best eating animal you can find.
Baboon:
Doug knew I had wanted a baboon and it just so happened they had a troop giving them some trouble around camp. Seems the troop was getting "Quite Cheeky" around the camp and we had been watching them since the day we got there. Doug explained the situation as how destructive baboon can be and every once in a while they have to take one out to get the troop to back off for a while.On day one or two I commented at lunch that the large male was inside the fence and would be more than happy to shoot him, "NO" was the answer. Doug further explained that there is a superstition amongst the tracker's, that if you shoot a baboon before your main animal is down, it jinxes the hunt and they would be very unhappy with you. On our last morning we were coming back to camp and the troop was over by the skinning shed, so Doug told me to get my rifle ready and to take the male when I had the shot. The male had just got done attending to one of his females when I took the shot. He went about 30 yards and died with a smile on his face.
Solomon, the lead tracker on the right.
Dawn's hunting went well, I felt bad for her just following us around for the first six day's, so the morning I got my buffalo I told Doug that the remaining time on the hunt was for her. I will keep this part brief as this is getting a bit long winded but Dawn took an Impala that I have no pictures of. On Day 7 Doug got her on an absolutely gorgeous Kudu that measured 54.5 inches with nice deep curls.
And late one afternoon she got her Waterbuck.
All in all we had yet another outstanding hunt with Mokore, all of their staff just go way beyond the normal to make your stay the best they can. On our last night Barrie and Bertie Duckworth joined us for dinner and it was a great pleasure to have them there with us.
This year was, for Dawn and I, very special in that on July 9th we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary, and it was also on July 10th that I turned 55. Our original intention was to spend those dates while on this trip, but we ended up going later in the year. Doug, Jordan, Jamie, Dalton, and Chantel had known about this and put on a very special dinner for us in the now dry Gwezi river bed. It was an evening we will always remember and just solidified to us that we have chosen the right people to hunt with, and we both feel blessed to call these people our friends, in reality, more like family.
We will be hunting with them all again very soon. I am sure I'm forgetting many things but these are the highlights of this trip and I hope you may enjoy them as much as we did.
John
We got to see African Wild dogs 4 times in 10 days and this was a real treat. We also saw Black and White Rhino though I did not get any pictures good enough to post here.
The camp Bushbuck, he is off limits or you will have Barrie to deal with and nobody want's that.
Mr. Alderton flying his drone, I have found Jordan to be an asset to have along on your hunt. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time, his eyes are great and it's like having another PH or tracker with you. His experience in the bush goes far beyond the camera.
No report with Mokore in the Save would be complete without a picture of the giant Baobab tree.
Sunset on the Turgwe river.
Always a nice thing to return home to after spending the day hunting.
Sleeping quarters, very nice and comfortable.
(L) Solomon, Doug's lead tracker. (R) Gumi the assistant tracker/driver.
Our last afternoon in the Save. From L to R
PH extraordinaire Doug Duckworth
His lovely wife Chantel
Camp Manager Dalton Mclintock
His beautiful fiance and also Camp manager Jaimie-Lee Holtzhausen
My ugly mug
My lovely wife Dawn
Jordan "Tripod" or "Carved By Angels" Alderton
