Back from Zimbabwe

[amar911]

Well, I am back from Zimbabwe and had a great time. As some of you might already know, this hunt was primarily for my wife Annette since she was unable to go to Zim last August because her father was about to die when we were leaving. My son and I went on without her, but I booked this hunt for her as soon as I got to Africa last year. Annette’s dad died August 12, 2008, two days after my son and I arrived in Africa. This hunt we just returned from was very special for us with lots of memories of last year when we were away from each other as she dealt with the death of the first man in her life.

I know a lot of people string out the final results of their hunt, but I will skip to the end and let you know what happened. I also am going to try to figure out how to post pictures so that somewhere later in this thread I can let you see some of the sights to help you get a better feel for what it was like.

Allan

[amar911]

This was my fifth African safari, but the first one where I took a bow. It takes awhile before becoming comfortable with only a stick and string in your hands when there are animals around you who can and will kill you. Please bear with me when I talk about Annette using a rifle to take her animals, since this is a traditional archery forum, but that was the setting of my first African trad hunt. I was the tag-along hunter who only got the scraps while Annette was being served the main course. Annette does shoot a couple of trad bows, but she has never really been much of a hunter, and certainly never a dangerous game hunter. I am very blessed to have a wife who would participate as a hunter in a dangerous game hunt in Africa. It was far too much to expect her to do it with traditional archery equipment! Some day I hope to get her to the point that she will be willing to hunt smaller plains game with her longbows, but I’m not going to push that agenda too hard now for fear of scaring her off. What I will describe is a little of what I got to watch while I was waiting patiently for my turn to try to track, spot, stalk and shoot a cape buffalo cow on our eleven day hunt in the Save Valley Conservancy in the lowvelt of Zimbabwe, located in the southeast part of the country.

Allan

[amar911]

Annette did great and got a cape buffalo, zebra, eland, kudu and two impala. We spent nearly the entire 11 hunting days trying to get animals for her, so the only times I was able to hunt for my cow buffalo was when we were stalking buffalo herds for her and one afternoon when she was not hunting. Unfortunately, on one of those early stalks for Annette, she was supposed to shoot a buffalo bull that was on the left and instead did not realize which one was the bull. So, she ended up shooting the cow just to the right of the bull. Fortunately, it was a perfect shot through the heart, so the shooting was good even though the indentifying of the animal was not. After that we mostly tracked groups of bachelor bulls known as “dagga boys” to make sure the next buffalo she shot was a bull. “Dagga” or “dagha” means mud and is meant to describe the appearance of the coats of these old bulls who roll in the mud to cool themselves and protect themselves from insects. There were a couple of really good bulls we saw and almost got, but there was never a clear shot when Annette was in position. When we were on the trail of the dagga boys, I did not even bother to bring my bow along since I knew there would not be any cows around to shoot. By the end of the hunt we had seen a number of bulls, but Annette never got one. I was not going to sit in a blind to shoot anything, and the only animal I wanted to shoot was a cow buffalo, so I was confined to the prospect of trying to shoot a buffalo cow in a track, spot and stalk situation. I know that was very limiting under the circumstances, but that was what I chose to do, and I am not disappointed with that choice even though I ultimately was unsuccessful in getting a shot at my intended quarry.

Allan

[amar911]

I only got one afternoon to hunt by myself when Annette and our PH decided to take the afternoon off from hunting, he to watch a rugby game on TV and she to go to a small “party” for some of the women in the area. I headed out with three trackers to try to find a cow buffalo. We had been told of the location of a nearby herd that was right on the border with some adjoining property. We found the herd quickly and saw lots of eligible cows, but the wind on our side of the boundary was swirling and the buffalo were often downwind of us. As a result, when we attempted to put on a stalk, they caught our scent and took off. We tried to flank them before they crossed the boundary, but couldn’t get around them in time. That and a couple of other occasions were the only times I had any chance of shooting a buffalo cow. One time when we were stalking a herd we got within 20 or 30 yards of some cows, but there was very thick brush separating us, and we could only see a few legs and some shapes through the screen of plant growth. When the cows finally got in the open, they were 60 to 80 yards away, moving, and quartering away from us. We followed them trying to get a shot, but the wind was wrong and the terrain was not right to get into position for a shot. We decided to circle ahead of them and hoped to ambush them at a water hole in the river before it got dark. We found a great ambush spot in a natural blind, but the buffalo did not arrive before we ran out of light. That was about it for my actual bow hunting. Since Annette shot the cow instead of a bull, that left us with a buffalo bull on license that I could have shot if the opportunity had arisen. I know that Annette would have been fine with that, but I really wanted her to be able to get the bull since I have already shot three of them on past safaris. Unfortunately, I was never given in a position with a bull in range where I had to decide whether to give in to the temptation to shoot it. In hindsight, if the opportunity had arisen I would have been wise to go with it.

Allan

[amar911]

I did get to shoot my bow and arrows quite a bit. Sometimes that was at camp where I shot at a makeshift target in a dirt embankment, but most of the time it was stump shooting during our daily outings when we would take a break from the action. I would shoot at various items including stumps, dirt clods, small vegetation, and holes in the ground, but my favorite targets were dry animal dung. Elephant droppings were the best target of all. They are softball sized spheres of partially digested vegetation and were plentiful throughout the area. Of course, that means that elephants were regularly present and an immediate source of imminent danger. The Super Shrew Samurai takedown “buffalo bow” (68#@29 ½”) was built for me by Gregg Coffey specifically for this trip, and it was absolutely the perfect one for its intended purpose. With a Bow Bolt installed, it broke down easily into two pieces that went into my Tuffpak plastic gun case (http://www.tuffpak.com/retail/product1.asp?P=TP-1049KYB) in a slim, padded two piece Gazelle longbow case I got from Rod Jenkins at Safari Tuff. I put the arrows in my Safari Tuff Arrowmaster quiver that also went into the gun case, along with two rifles in soft cases. I took a dozen 600 grain AD Hammerhead arrows that Paul Mattson of Badger Arrows made up for me with 100 grain brass inserts, 70 grains of screw-in brass weights behind the inserts, an aluminum collar between the insert and the front of the shaft, and unibushings with g-nocks at the rear. With the 315 grain Ashby broadheads from Alaska Bowhunting Supply, the total arrow weight was 915 grains. I ended up strapping an Eagle Flight Archery four arrow quiver on my bow for the hunting because it was easier using the bow quiver under the conditions of the hunt. I do want to get an EFA Totem model next time so for the stability of the anchoring to the bow and the ability to remove the quiver with the arrows in place. I used the Arrowmaster quiver for shooting around camp and transporting the arrows to and from Africa. Under many conditions the Arrowmaster would have been ideal for the field also, but not this time. There was nothing about my archery setup I would have changed except for having a soft strung bow case to use when riding around in the Landcruiser with Annette, the PH, the three trackers, a dog or two, four or five guns, and lots of other equipment. I was able to rig up a way to safely carry the bow and arrows in the truck, but it was less than ideal.

Allan

[Al Kidner]

Allan.... so good to read your post mate. The hunt sounds as if it was a fine time. Me... well I'm still in the planning stages of my first Zim hunt (that we spoke about some time back) and am just sorting the wife out as such.

If you need any help with the posting of pics, email me at [email protected] and I'll get them up for you asap.

Cheers, oh and fine first name!


ak.

[amar911]

Al,

Of course, it is a great name, isn't it!!!    

I am trying to learn how to post the pictures and hope to figure it out by tomorrow. I will finish with the basic story of the hunt tonight and hopefully start on describing what was going on in some of the photos tomorrow. I would like to make it seem somewhat real to those who were not there so they can get a feel of the hunt and how wonderful it was to be there. Thanks for the offer to help with the pics. If I have problems getting them posted I will gladly take you up on your offer.

I remember well our discussions about your upcoming backpacking hunt in the Zambezi Valley. I thought about you often as I was driving along over long distances to get to the places where we would start our tracking or our walks to find tracks away from the roads. You are a better man than I am to be able to do a backpack hunt. I am going to be back up in the valley next June for a hunt, so we need to keep in touch about our respective plans. I need to get back so I can get my buff with stick and string. I don't think you will be able to get your wife to go with you if you insist on the backpacking idea. I know my wife would not hunt or even observe under those conditions. I don't think I would either.

Allan

[amar911]

My PH, Barrie Duckworth, has been hunting professionally for 40 years now and has two sons, Gary and Neil, who are also very accomplished PH’s. The two sons bowhunt and use both wheel bows and trad bows, including a couple of custom longbows. There were also several other PH’s around camp at various times, some of whom are trad bowhunters too. Every one of the PH’s was extremely impressed with my bow, arrows and associated equipment. They all told me that, given the proper shot, my setup would efficiently kill any animal they hunted other than elephant, although it would be marginal on giraffe. They had no problem with the idea of me being able to kill any buffalo that walked the African continent if I shot in the meaty portion of the shoulder on a broadside or slightly quartering away shot. At first they thought the draw weight of the Shrew would be on the light side with about 68 pounds at my 29 ½” draw length. Then they saw how the Hammerheads performed out of the bow. Needless to say, they were impressed! My PH would stand to the side of the flight of the arrows and commented on several occasions just how powerful the arrows sounded in flight and upon impact. He was concerned as to whether I could hit the kill zone on a buffalo, but after seeing the way the bow shot, he was satisfied that I could kill an animal at distances beyond those that I was willing to shoot from.

At first I was shooting at the target at camp from about 23 yards, which was a few yards beyond my planned maximum game shooting distance of 20 yards. I was hitting the target well from that distance, but he wanted me to get farther away. He was concerned that we would not be able to get as close as I would like and wanted to know my limitations. He had me back up to about 30 yards and shoot. I hit well at that distance too, so he told me to back up a couple more yards. I started walking quite a ways and he asked me where I was going. I just yelled over my shoulder “Quigley Down Under” which was a movie I had watched with him last year. He knew that I meant I was going to go farther back than he thought I could shoot before I tried to hit the target again. I stopped some distance away, but I was not sure how far. I took the shot and hit the target within a couple of inches of dead center. I then paced off the distance at 40 yards. He told me to try it again, which I did several more times, always hitting within a few inches of the center of the target and easily within the kill zone of a buffalo. At that point he proclaimed that I could shoot any buffalo that was within 40 yards of us. I was still determined to limit my shots to no more than about 30 yards.

Allan

[Nakohe]

Glad to hear of your safe hunt and return. I have always wanted to hunt Africa, but not to be I guess. My brother and I were going to try to go next year, but with the lay off no way to save for it. He did not want to go by himself. I look forward to seeing the pics and rest of story. If you need help posting them, email them to me and I will post for you.

Donald

[amar911]

Throughout the next 10 days my PH would regularly stop the truck or take a rest break during a “walk” to have me shoot a few arrows. Our favorite targets were, as I said before, elephant dung. He would have me regularly shoot dung spheres out to 40 yards and was always pleased at my ability to hit them almost every time. I was a little impressed myself, as I do not usually practice at those distances. Even the trackers were amazed. One of them wanted to know where the sights were on the bow. When I told him there were not any, he could not believe I could hit targets at those distances without using sights. The trackers would always smile and laugh whenever I hit a target at some distance away. To them it was almost like magic as they could barely do that with a rifle with sights. Everyone was also amazed at the power of the bow and arrows and the durability of the arrows. Several times my arrows hit the ground and bounced back into the air, hitting a rock or a tree with a loud noise. The trackers would back away and try to get behind me when I was shooting. Even though the arrows would sometimes bounce back many yards after striking a solid object with great force, there was never any damage to the arrows themselves. I was very glad I had re-glued the inserts and weights in the front of the arrows with slow curing marine epoxy because nothing ever came loose or rattled again, and the arrows performed perfectly and were tougher than nails. This is definitely the equipment I will be taking back with me to Africa and would recommend to anyone wanting an outstanding setup for hunting buffalo or other large animals, in Africa or elsewhere. In fact, it is more than is necessary for most bowhunting situations. This should be adequate for hippo and even giraffe, but too light for elephant or rhino, not that I am planning on hunting either of the latter with bow and arrows.
 
We just got back a few days ago, so there is much to do to get settled back into our lives here. We took a number of pictures, so I will try to get some of those together to send out along with some more information about the hunt. I just wanted you to know how things went and how the equipment performed and was perceived by others who know a lot about bowhunting African game. I would have liked to have taken a buffalo cow, but it just gives me something to look forward to doing in the future. We had a fantastic time that was basically trouble free, and Annette was thrilled to have been able to take all the game she did in physically demanding hunting conditions. I certainly could not ask for more than that on this trip -- but next year ....

Allan

[amar911]

Thanks Donald. Keep the faith brother. You may be on your way to Africa sometime in the next few years. I would love to plan a trip there with you sometime, so keep it in mind. I appreciate the offer to help with the pictures. I am trying to educate myself on how to do that so I don't have to inconvenience others. Also so it will be easier for me to include explanatory text with the pics. You and Danny would love it there, and I'm sure Kimber would too. Coincidentally, the rifle my wife shot all her animals with is a Kimber!

Allan

[amar911]

Al,

Note the "Quigley Down Under" reference above. See -- I was not only thinking of you while I was there, I was also thinking about a movie themed around place you live. I love that movie!

Allan

[Al Kidner]

Hahaha.... well done Allan on two things...1) that IS a fine movie and 2) good shooting mate!

I know what you mean in regards to my wife and I'd think she would be somewhat like yours I'd have to say. The very idea of living out of my old army ALICE pack does nothing to her ideals of an African Hunt! Me, yes, her no way. So I'm yet to see what we can do to include her, even if we do some "normal" safari things before hand.... whatever those are...lol.


Keep it comming mate.


ak.

[Chris Surtees]

Great story Allan...keep it coming. Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

[amar911]

I thought I would go through some of my pictures and describe the trip both visually and verbally, so here we go. Thanks for joining me on this trip. Hopefully it will be fun for you too, but if you ever get the chance you simply must take the plunge and go yourself. The first time I went in 1996 I was taking the "trip of a lifetime" and expected it to be my only African safari. This one I just finished is my fifth safari. Everyone says that Africa gets in your blood and as soon as you think about leaving you start planning your return trip. While that may not be everyone's mental state after a safari, it certainly has been mine. So off we go with me making my first attempts at inserting pictures (thanks to those who have helped me with the Photobucket instructions)!

I am going to make this post short so that I can see if the picture insertion is working correctly. This first picture is taken at the airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. We had boarded a plane in Oklahoma City (where we live) at noon on June 23 and had flown to Washington, DC, where we connected with South African flight 208 to Jo'burg. The overseas flight is 18 hours long with a fuel stop in Dakar, Senegal, where we remain on the plane during the hour of refueling. My wife hates the flight because she has trouble sleeping. I like it because I am usually so tired from getting ready for the trip that I get to relax, watch about four movies, eat pretty good food that is served to me in my seat, get about eight hours of sleep, and generally have zero responsibility for the full 18 hours. My wife always tries to talk me into flying first class, but for three times the cost I am not about to do that. The coach seating is fine with me. SAA has more leg room in the economy section than most airlines that do the overseas flights, they have individual screens and controls on the entertainment systems located at each seat, and they are very good at providing excellent service to every passenger. I will always fly coach!

We arrived in Jo'burg just before dark on June 24, the day after we had left Oklahoma City. The airport in Jo'burg has been expanding rapidly for the upcoming soccer world cup next year, and I could hardly recognize it from last August. It is really nice. The restrooms are always very clean with an attendant present all the time cleaning up the sinks, stalls, etc. That may not seem too important, but when you land after almost 30 hours of travel time from home, you need to spend some time in the restroom, and the last thing you want is for it to be a disgusting experience. There are many shops in the airport, and our daughter loves some of the trinkets that are made from the animals, minerals and vegetables (referring to the guessing game we used to play as children) native to Africa. I always try to get her some little items to take home. Here is a picture my wife took of me picking out a couple of keychains made from carved warthog teeth for my daughter. Annette wanted to capture how awake and animated I was after traveling so long while she felt totally wiped out.

 

The store I was shopping in was called "Out of Africa". Don't think the people there miss out on an opportunity to capitalize on the appeal of movies and books that romanticize the African experience. On the way home my wife went back to this store and bought jewelry and other items that appealed to her after she was more rested.

I am stopping here to see whether I did the picture correctly.

Allan

[amar911]

Oops! Wrong picture, but at least it looks like I am doing something right. I meant to insert the picture that actually shows my face rather than the one where I am buried in the trinkets. Let's try this one:

 

Allan

[Tim Fishell]

Awesome Allan.  Thanks for taking us along.  I am really looking forward to more pictures of your and your wives adventure.

[amar911]

After a couple of hour layover in Jo'burg we boarded SAA flight 24 to Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. For those of you old enough to remember, Zimbabwe used to be called Rhodesia and Harare was Salisbury. The country was for many years the shining star and breadbasket of southern Africa. That of course has changed dramatically in the last decade and a half since I started going there. While most of the people you meet there are very good folks, the political and economic environment is not healthy. We arrived in Harare at 9:20 pm and spent the half hour minimum required to get through immigration. Fortunately, all our luggage arrived with us. We got a porter, provided the firearms paperwork that I had filled out in Oklahoma City, showed the serial numbers on the rifles, explained that the other items in the gun case were a bow and arrows, and eventually were ushered through the process without undue delay or problems.

We were met by Wendy,the representative of our safari company, Mokore Safaris, whom I knew from before. Wendy and a friend of hers took us to the house owned by the Duckworths on the other side of Harare. It is a beautiful home with a pool and tennis court and the guest house where the clients stay behind the main residence. The grounds are located behind high walls and an electronic gate, with electrified fencing at the top and an armed guard who patrols the grounds at all times. Still, there have been breakins and thefts at the house. Fortunately, violent crime at the city residences is rare. Most criminals are just trying to get something to live on because the unemployment rate exceeds 80%.

When we got into the guest house and were getting ready for bed, we noticed that we had no water. That meant the pump was not on, so I had to wake up the hired help and ask for the pump to be turned on. That done we could use the faucets and flush the toilet. Unfortunately, the hot water heater was not on either, so there would be no showers that night after our long trip. Tired and stinky, we fell asleep around mid-night and awoke at 6 am.

With no hot water in the guest house, we asked whether it would be possible to get warm showers. Remember, this is the southern hemisphere, and it is chilly there at night and in the mornings because it is the dead of winter. The low temperatures were in the 40s and 50s with high temperatures into the 70s and low 80s. That put water temperatures in the high 50s to low 60s which is a little cooler than what we prefer for showers. We were told we could use the main house to shower. We got cleaned up, ate breakfast and were picked up by Wendy to head to the airport.

At the airport our pilot, Giles, met us and got all our luggage and firearms through security and onto his plane. He then started his plane and turned the controls over to me while he manned the radio. I am a pilot and have flown with Giles before, so I get to do all the flying when I am in his plane. We taxied out to the runway, took off and winged our way across the beautiful countryside half way across Zim to a 3000 foot runway located just a few minutes from our hunting camp at Mokore. I buzzed the camp on our way in to let them know to send a vehicle to the airstrip and then set up for landing. We came over the river on short final approach, pulled the power back, touched down with the stall warning blaring (just as we should), and rolled out to the point less than halfway down the runway where the vehicle would be coming in from the road. Just after shutdown, up rolled Barrie and Bertie Duckworth, our hosts and good friends. Then it was off to camp to settle in and eat some lunch. Here is the camp as we rolled in.

 

I had been to this particular camp twice before, so it is very familiar. It reminds me of a little Hansel and Gretel village and is very quaint and pretty. The cottages have thatched roofs, hot and cold running water (hot when there is a fire burning in the hot water heater outside each cottage), a large shower, sink and flush toilet. It is really luxurious compared to the typical hunting camp in the US. Here are some views of the Turgwe River that flows below the camp as viewed from the deck at the outdoor dining room.

 

 

Allan

[amar911]

Lunch was served at the dining room. That is Bertie on the left, my wife Annette in the middle, and Shayle Duckworth (Neil's wife) on the right, as they busy themselves around the large dining table set under the thatched roof of the open air dining room.

 

Annette presented gifts for some of the young children (Rachel and Dan are Neil and Shayle's kids, and Conner and Mitchell are Gary and Melanie's kids) when Shayle appeared with her two.

 

 

In this remote area, all such little items are greatly appreciated. We love the Duckworths and were happy to see the kids enjoying the toys and books. Here is grandma Bertie with Dan and grandpa Barrie with Rachel showing the little ones the new books we brought them.

 

 

It was a great start to our safari.

Allan

[amar911]

One more post and then I have to get to work! I will post more later today.

After lunch we rested briefly, then it was off to the bush for the afternoon drive on our "non-hunting" arrival day. In Africa you are ALWAYS hunting when you are in the bush and ALWAYS carry your weapons. We were greeted soon by the tallest of the animals in the area. Mokore has expanded its giraffe population substantially over the last decade because they breed well and very few hunters have a desire to shoot these stately, magnificent creatures.

 

Most of the time you see giraffes they begin moving away from you.

 

But sometimes they will stop, turn back, stand there, and just look at you for awhile.

 

 

Even on the non-hunting day, we got out with rifles and started looking for something to shoot.

 

 

That's Barrie up front with his .505 Gibbs shoulder canon that will stop most anything in short order. It is not so much a rifle to hunt with as it is a weapon to provide protection from large, dangerous animals that might decide to kill someone. That happened at Mokore 3 years ago when a young bull elephant who was very "cheeky", as they say there when describing and aggressive animal, decided to attack a hunting party who had left the hunting vehicle to stalk an impala with only a .30-06 in hand, having left the large caliber rifles in the vehicle. The PH got the clients back to the vehicle, but the elephant caught the head tracker and killed him in short order. Today there is a bronze plaque attached to a baobab tree in memory of the tracker near the spot where he was killed. We were on safari in Mokore just two weeks after the tracker was killed three years ago and actually saw the elephant they believe killed him. This trip we passed the plaque on a number of occasions and remembered Joram, the tracker whom I knew from earlier safaris where Pete Fick, Joram's PH, was in camp with us.

Those are not Mickey Mouse ears that Annette is wearing, and that you will see me wearing in later pictures. They are electronic earmuffs that we carried all the time to attenuate the noise of the gunfire but allow us to hear when we were wearing the cups over our ears. They are a nuisance, but we enjoy our hearing. The PHs do not have very good hearing after awhile and we did not want to end up in that condition. Besides, Annette's rifle has a muzzle brake that makes it much louder, and my ears were damaged and the eardrums are very fragile as a result of the chemo and radiation I went through 2 1/2 years ago for my stage 4 tongue and neck cancer treatments. You might see in some pictures how my neck is discolored and the skin on my lower face and neck are so wrinkled. That is from the artificial sun of the x-ray machine, not so much from natural sunlight. I am lucky to be alive to experience Africa again, and I thank God every day for the blessings he has given me and my family. There is no way to be out in the wilds of Africa with all its natural beauty and diversity of wildlife and not believe there is a God who made all this happen! Thank you God for your gifts.

Allan