A HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our friends around the world…  We hope you had memorable festivities and enjoyed the celebrations with family and friends.  Here is to a year filled with happiness, achievements and continued success…

Benny & Norris: 2x1, 14-Day Safari July, Priority – Leopard/Crocodile

LEOPARD	CROCODILE

Heavy rains in the 2007 off-season came late, but lasted into the month of May.  This created difficult conditions at the start of the season, with frequent winching, slipping, sliding and tall grass throughout the area.  Visibility was bad but the tracks on the ground were encouraging and we started out at the Riverside Camp, with leopard as our main target.

From the very start, there was something extraordinary about this safari… missed flights, missed shots, wrong ammo, tough conditions, a buffalo jinx, but eventually things connected and we ended-up having a great time.  Benny & Norris still have un-finished work in the Kilombero Valley though and we cannot wait to have them back again.

The Riverside area gave us a beautiful leopard, warthog, hartebeest and two big baboons.  On day six we drove to Catfish Camp to settle the buffalo jinx.  We saw numerous herds of buffalo in both areas but just never had clear-cut shooting opportunities.

WARTHOG	HARTEBEEST

At Catfish Norris got a very big Puku – something only found in the Kilombero Valley. The only other place one can hunt puku, is the Luangwa Valley in Zambia, but 70% of the worlds’ puku are in Kilombero.

There cannot be a stranger hunt than our crocodile experience. With focus on buffalo, we left the croc pursuit to when we are closer to the river. One afternoon, searching for buffalo, a glimmer caught our attention while driving – we were kilometers away from the river and there was just a little puddle in the middle of the ‘serengeti’ with a hump in it that reflected the sun. A quick stop, bino’s out and a huge croc head emerged from the puddle - we trotted over & Norris brained his 12' croc!

If only the buffalo would have been as easy as the croc. After numerous encounters with buffalo, behind, in front and among them, surviving a couple of stampedes in the long grass, we finally took a half chance on an old herd bull. The bull was wounded, angry and in the long grass! We pushed him a little, but in the next opening he decided to push us and came at full charge. Norris got a shot into his chest which turned him around, but only a few yards into the long grass he made his stand again. At this point, both guns came to use and the bull dropped 3 yards away! This was definitely an adrenalin overdose.

 

BUFFALO

 

Despite all the negatives, it was a successful safari. Norris got his croc and more buffalo than he bargained for. Benny got his leopard and baboons which both eluded him over many years of hunting in Africa. Well done to Benny & Norris for dealing with the elements. Karibu tena!

Dr. Kollig:1x1, 10-Day Safari August, Priority – Buffalo

They don’t come as calm, focused and committed as Dr. Kollig and the results from the safari are proof of his fine attitude and accuracy. The doctor’s main objective was buffalo. But he put faith in us and agreed to take a full license in the event other opportunities arise - they did!

BUFFALO

We started at Riverside Camp and bagged an old worn-down Harvey’s Red Duiker early morning.  That afternoon, we had a shot at a Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest, but the ballistic tip bullet proved unworthy.  Next 3 days days, we had an impala, wildebeest, warthog and bohor reedbuck in the salt.  A Buffalo jinx led us to move to Catfish Camp.

RED DUIKER	IMPALA
NYASALAND WILDEBEEST	BOHOR REEDBUCK

A long drive got us to Catfish Camp and ready for action the next day… Action was only a kilometer from camp in the form of two big dugga boys! We made a stalk and set-up 50 metres from where two big bulls walked out of the grass. We picked our bull and as soon as he was clear, the shot rang & we had an awesome 40” buff – a dream come true!

The following day we spotted another dugga boy who also went 40” and was taken down at 30 yards. Next morning we set out for puku and got a beauty that went 18”.  A day later, while glassing for crocodile, we got another dugga boy that was belly-deep in mud at the waterhole.  He was taken with a perfect heart shot.  It was all going too well.  Now it was time to focus on a big croc that we had sighted in a pool just off the main river

BUFFALO 1	BUFFALO 2

We set-up at the pool around mid-day and waited for the crocodile to come up on the bank.  He did, but it was a long shot.  We took it and it was a clear hit.  The croc flipped his tail, rolled a couple of times and splashed in the shallows…then it all went silent.  With the help of canoes, nets and fishermen, we spent two days trying to find the croc, but it seems the shot was not fatal and he got away.  That marked the end of our luck and the hunt.  We have since, sighted numerous other crocodile and are looking forward to having the Doctor back to settle the matter.

WARTHOG	PUKU

Mathey: 3x2, 7-Day Safari September, Priority – Buffalo

BUFFALO 1	BUFFALO 2

Mr. Patrick Mathey has worked with us for many years now and serves as our main reference in France.  This year, he once again accompanied a group of first-time buffalo hunters and the objective of the safari was to produce six buffaloes in seven days.  The Kilombero Valley is probably the only place where this is possible, in fact we have been doing it for years, and the norm is actually eight buffs in seven days on a 4x2 basis.

The safari went extremely well, with a chance at six old bulls.   But buff hunting as a first-timer is not at all easy and a couple of bulls got away wounded.  Nevertheless, it was a great safari, with four good bulls in the salt and lots of thrilling memories.  We know Patrick will be back for more.

BAG

Nicu & Ovidiu:2x1, 21-Day Safari Oct/Dec, Full Priority

BUFFALO 1	BUFFALO 2
BUFFALO 3	BUFFALO 4
BUFFALO 5

This was a 2-part hunt started in October (14-days) and ended in December (7-days), which was definitely the highlight of the season. Mr. Dogar hunted with us last year and had the best hunt of 2006, with a huge lion, leopard, buffalo and hippo taken along with numerous other game.  In 2007, he brought a good friend along to enjoy the experience of hunting in the Kilombero Valley.  The main target was elephant, but anything exceptional was also on the list and we ended-up with quite a bag of game at the end of the safari.

Of note, was the exceptional elephant taken on the second leg of the safari.  The ivory went 70lbs in total and measured 1.70 meters a side.  The hunters will be back again next year for more adventure. During the 21 hunting days, we had a hippo charge which was settled at two yards, a few hairy buffalo moments, close calls with three different pairs of young lions, two genius leopards that foiled all our baits and a crocodile that has at least five lives!  The photos tell the rest of the story…

ELEPHANT	WARTHOG
BUSHPIG	PUKU
Serval	BUSHBUCK
BOHOR REEDBUCK	HYENA
HIPPO	ZEBRA