Al -- If your wife is willing to go along, you probably ought to make it a little more pleasant and easy for her than a backpacking trip through Chewore North. I fished there on the Zambezi and drove through it, but my hunting on was on Chewore South on the four safaris prior to this one. The North has the Zambezi River and the South has the Escarpment. Next year I will be hunting in Nyakasanga on an auction hunt which will be on the Zambezi River. It is a great area and will make for a superb hunt. Annette has declined going with me, so I will be going with my best friend (outside my family) again.
David -- That Lott is a very nice cartridge. It is the new favorite of bolt gun toting PHs. And for good reason. It is what Gary Duckworth carries. I want something like that or a .470 NE or a .505 Gibbs backing me up when I stick an arrow into a big buffalo bull. I spent some time at Matetsi. It is a beautiful place where it is a lot easier to walk and the areas are more open woodlands. I like that and want to go back sometime. I also like the area around Kariba. Chiredzi is, of course, right down the road from the Save Valley Conservancy and is very similar hunting. So you and I have had similar experiences in our Zimbabwean hunting. I have never been to Bulawayo, but that is where the Duckworth family farm was before it was taken away and given to the "War Veterans". Oz sounds like a really fun place to hunt. I want to go there soon. Let me know all about your experiences there.
Ed -- Good to hear from you again. Glad you liked the narrative.
Gilbert -- Give me a shout any time and we can talk about your African hunt. Don't put it off any longer than you have to.
Mike -- Glad you could come along. I got some help from fellow TradGangers on the picture posting process, which I greatly appreciate it. I need to go through everything again so I remember how it is done from start to finish. Annette, my two kids and I are definitely blessed to have had such special and wonderful experiences on the Dark Continent. I wish you could go someday because it is something you would remember fondly forever. I told my PH that if he had that kind of hunting area with all those animals anywhere in the US he would be booked for decades in advance and would be an extremely popular and wealthy man. The biggest concern of guys like him is that next week, month or year everything he spent his lifetime putting together is going to be taken away from him. Most of what he has had in the past has already been confiscated, and the future does not look any better than those past experiences. Although we had a great time, we are glad to be home in our great country where we enjoy tremendous opportunities and freedom. Also, I can now get back to shooting lower poundage bows like that sweet "Black Gold" Lil Favorite I bought from you! My shoulder will appreciate it. I did dearly love carrying and shooting that superb Super Shrew Samurai. It is undoubtedly the bow I will take on future trips after big game around the world.
Thanks to all of you for your kind words and encouragement.
Allan