24 April 2013, 15:03
faisalRoyal Kafue (new content added)
Dates: 17 Oct. - 3 Nov.Area: Kafue River Mukuyu Camp.
Operator: Royal Kafue Ltd.
Professional Hunter: Andrew Baldry (Fairgame)
Species Hunted: Buffalo, Reedbuck, Sable, Puku, Litchenstein’s hartebeest, Leopard.
Species Taken:
Buffalo, Reedbuck, Sable, Puku, Litchenstein’s hartebeest.
Species Seen:
Oribi, Buffalo, Reedbuck, Sable, Puku, Litchenstein’s hartebeest, Leopard, Zebra, Roan, Common Duiker, Blue Duiker, Lion, Crawsay’s Deffasa Waterbuck, Elephant, Impala, Crocodile, Hippo, Bushbuck, Warthog, Bushpig, Baboon, Vervet Monkey.
Rifles: Winchester Mod 70, .375 H&H Magnum, Swarovski 3-9x36
Nesika custom .300 Winchester Magnum, Schmidt&Bender 3-12x42
Ammo:
.375H&H Magnum:
Handloaded 300grain Swift A-Frame, Norma brass, Federal 215M Primer and76 grain’s of Hodgdon H4350. velocity 2500FPS.
.300Winchester Magnum:
Handloaded 180grain Nosler Accubond, Norma brass, Federal 215M primer and 82.5 grain’s of Hodgdon H1000. velocity 3100FPS.
After our long and exhausting return journey from Bangweulu to Lusaka we awoke late and spent the following morning gathering supplies for the next two weeks in Royal Kafue.
With the vehicle full loaded we headed west out of Lusaka for the five-hour drive to Andrew’s camp on the Kafue River.
Stephen the skinner only just manages to find a place to sit!
As we crossed into Andrew’s concession we spotted a heard of Sable this was to be a daily occurrence as the density of sable at Royal Kafue is unbelievable.
Royal Kafue’s Mukuyu Camp overlooks the floodplain of the Kafue River and has commanding views up and down stream. The newly constructed camp proved to be ideal and was expertly managed by Iran Andrew’s camp manager. The whole team ensured my stay was comfortable and Conrad the cook made sure I returned home fatter than when I arrived.
Needless to say Andrew’s Bar was well stocked and always open!!!
The primary target for this safari was leopard. Andrew and his trackers had been scouting the area for some time and had come up with a plan to bait and drag two areas. The first was along the river near camp. A large tom had left his tracks regularly on the road behind camp and had been heard calling at night. The thick riverine bush was perfect habitat and the concentration of game coming to drink at the river made this all look very promising.
The second area was on the southern boundary about an hours drive from camp this area was within a few kilometers of the Kaindu community’s farmlands. Andrew had constructed a fly camp here in order to have a better anti poaching presence on his border. One of his scouts had been regularly finding the spore of a male leopard in the area and had located some thickets that he thought the tom was using to lay up in during the day.
Old Bushbuck kill left in a tree nearby.
We headed out on the first morning and soon ran into a herd of sable after carefully glassing them for a while Andrew said that we can find better its only the first morning.
Half an hour latter found us glassing another herd this time Andrew said “I know it’s the first morning but that’s a bloody good sable what do you think?”
Well it didn’t take much thinking we now had a magnificent 45’ sable bull and plenty of bait to hang.
A few days latter we spotted these two sable sparring near by to where I had taken the herd bull.
We now set about hanging baits and making drags.
Chris one of Andrews trackers who had been staying at the fly camp in the south had spotted fresh leopard tracks not thirty yards from where they had found the old bushbuck kill so a bait was hung nearby.
Fresh sable quarter with grass skirt covering to camouflage it from vultures.
Andrew was concerned that there wasn't any water close by in the south so he rigged up a make shift water hole out of an old basin twenty yards from the bait. I had brought with me some trail cameras and placed these nearby as i was a little sceptical that the leopard would drink from the artificial source.
we returned to camp to catch the sunset over the Kafue river.
We continued to hang and check baits and make fresh drags
Litchenstein hartebeest are common at Royal Kafue.
As are reedbuck
The elephant at Royal Kafue were numerous, we had one group that hung around camp and made for some great photos. none sported big ivory the biggest we saw probably would have just been shy of 30Lb.
The trail cam captured images of bushpig regularly.
Chris the tracker had an uncanny ability to find leopard spore and would show us daily where the cat had passed by. Things looked promising as the cat had circled the bait and drunk from Andrews makeshift waterhole that Chris was topping up daily with fresh water. the weather was mild and the baits remained fresh it was only a matter of time before this cat fed.
Early the following morning we were checking for fresh buffalo tracks at a natural spring some twelve kilometres from camp.
the surrounding vegetation was covered in mud from were the buffalo had been passing after wallowing at the water hole.
As we made our way across country to meet up with Chris we spotted the buffalo off in the distance. it was nine in the morning and the wind stayed in our faces as we slowly manoeuvred towards the six dagga boys who were spread out grazing. Andrew and I slowly crawled to a termite mound to try to get a better look at the the buffalo but they were now moving off into the long grass.
we quietly followed them until they stopped in a clearing some fifty yards away, resting the rifle against a tree i took a frontal shot at the buffalo with my .375 H&H. On the shot he whirled around making it some forty yards before falling over and giving out a death bellow. The other five stood there looking at us for a few minutes before deciding to move off.
now the hard work begins
I think it got Andrews seal of approval
Once back at camp Stephen the skinner finished off dressing the buffalo and recovered the single 300grain Swift A-Frame from the stomach. it weighed 285 grains and had expanded to .739"
the rest of the day was spent fishing for pike,bream and catfish.
the elephant came down to the river in front of camp thus preventing our return.
good job Iran stocked up the cool box!!!
The following morning Peter another of Andrews scouts informed us that one of the baits we had hung along the river had been hit. Quickly we made our way to the site to find the bait gone, taken not by leopard but by some of the opportunistic fishermen who come down stream at night.
Andrew quickly mustered a group of guys headed by our ZAWA scout to make their way to the fishing village and make our displeasure known, needles to say our baits weren't touched by the fishermen again.
A few days earlier we had seen a monster reedbuck as we were exploring the interior of the concession. Andrew embarrassingly informed me that the community had been a bit slow in issuing the request for an extra reedbuck permit so we would have to wait until said permit was issued before we could take one. But Andrew had a plan, mark it on your GPS he said and we will find him again. fat chance I thought. But the plan payed off we caught up with him within six hundred yards from our last sighting days before. As we approached both of us were stopped in our tracks by a solitary sable bull with the most impressive set of horns I have ever seen. Andrew thought it would go 47" knowing his tendency to underestimate by an inch or two this bull really wasn't far off the magic 50".
We stalked into the Group of reedbuck to within a few hundred yards as they began to move off we spotted the big buck some hundred yards further out by himself I got set up and made a frontal shot on him at 290yds with my .300WinMag dropping him in his tracks.
He was ancient and on his last legs. He was suffering from an abscess on his front leg and his ears ands eyes were covered in legions.he measured over 16"
Chris was proving to be quite the cat tracker, and his daily update of the Leopards movement never failed to impress especially when backed up with spore.
The tree the bait and the trail cam all confirmed that the leopard had indeed fed the night before.
So we replenished the bait with a fresh impala as it was beginning to turn. and constructed a ground blind.
