ZIMBABWE: Oct 24 - The Adventure Of A Lifetime

I will eventually post about my experience (once it truly has started) but I have realized, with only a couple of weeks left, that I have some questions/need for input already in advance from the knowledgeable people on AH. I have hunted in Africa before but never in Zimbabwe nor for dangerous game.

Short summary of what we have planned, so far:

Timing:12 day hunt in Zimbabwe starting the 19th of October
Outfitter: Dalton & York Safaris
PH: Dalton Tink
Primary focus: Buffalo, Hippo, Tuskless
Hunting areas: Chewore and Omay

I have to start off by saying that it has been an absolute pleasure to plan and work out the details with Dalton during the past 18 months! Like everyone else, I did my due diligence and had great help from this forum to find the Outfitter/PH that would best fit my needs and preferences. Dalton has always replied back promptly (bear in mind that he is in the bush for a living) and has be extremely solution oriented everytime he or I have had a “great new idea”.

Some thoughts/topics/questions that I bet a lot of you have input on:

- Being a first time visitor to Zimbabwe - What should I prepare for / expect?
- Want usually gets forgotten or overlooked in terms of what one packs for the trip?
- First time DG hunt, Do’s and Dont’s?

More to come…

Take trinkets to give the staff, trackers etc. All of Daltons trackers smoke. But never around the hunter. They are very polite with smoking. Take a few cartons of cigarettes.

Be ready to walk all day if needed.

Good luck. I think you’ll really enjoy this type of hunt. It’s easier to say than do but don’t overthink it and trust your PH once there. Zimbabwe is a very easy country to travel to. My thoughts would be
1. Bring $30 USD cash for visa on entry
2. Discuss back up shots first day with PH so no surprises
3. Bring electrolyte drink mix to stay ahead on being hydrated. It can get easy to fall behind. Especially with October heat and a lot of miles walked in sun.
4. Bring quiet footwear. Hiking shoes are really loud for stalking close. Anything with a foam midsole really amplifies noise like crunching leaves.
5. I always bring superglue in case soles of shoes start to fall off, chapstick, a bug net, and a neck gaiter both for sun and mopane flies getting in your ears.

Great call on the electrolytes powder.

On a few of our stalks Dalton would pour some electrolytes into our waters. Take some electrolytes in individual packets. Dalton would appreciate you replenishing his supply.

I always take a small battery operated fan - helps keep you somewhat cooler at night. It will be HOT!

Chewore south has solar powered fans for your tent

I hunted with D&Y this July for tuskless had a great time, my suggestions are......

1. Cigarettes - Zim has the cheapest cigarettes in the world, you can buy them for $2 pack at the local stores, so I wouldn't bother carrying them over; the PH's told me that you can buy some cigarettes for as cheap as $6 per carton in the cities.

2. Electrolytes - as others have said they are important and my PH was happy I brought them; personally I prefer the Pedialyte packets.

3. I brought a case of Rice Crispy treats and Kirkland granola bars with dark chocolate and handed them out every morning to the trackers and rangers, they were a big hit.

4. In the remote areas you are going, clothing is in short supply so t-shirts, caps, hoodies - will always be appreciated.

5. I brought a bunch of soccer balls - I gave one each to the trackers for their kids and we gave the rest to the local school and the kids loved it. I thought this was a better option than candy; the children will use the soccer balls until they are thread bare and worn out, while candy makes them happy for only a little while. Just make sure you bring the needles needed to inflate the soccer balls!

6. Heat control - If you are not familiar with a brand of underwear called SAXX I suggest you invest in some, they will keep you cooler. https://www.saxxunderwear.com/products/sxpp2w_dac?nosto_source=cmp&nosto=477700687

7. Make sure you bring a wide brimmed hat that is made to keep the sun off your face and head.

8. Currency - US dollars are the currency of choice; $100 bills must be the newest blue version and try and get them in as pristine condition as possible. Also bring smaller denomination bills with you for tips, purchasing from locals, paying fees, ect.

9. Purchase a hand made axe! - You can get these from one of the trackers or a villager; just ask Dalton and he'll make it happen. These axes cost between $15-$30 depending on size and craftsmanship; I bought 4 of them to take home and have discarded my Estwing hunting axe.

It’s a small thing, but those Frog Togg chilly pads work pretty good for a neck drape or a midday nap in October. I’ll be there in 2 weeks.

Should be one less dugga boy and tuskless for you to choose from.

Get ready for the heat(electrolytes, hat, clothing) and make sure you have lightweight broken in boots for walking a lot.
Good Luck.

Soo... how did it go?

I’m sure you will have a blast.

Things have been quite hectic since I landed back in Europe last Friday… I will need a couple of additional days to get sorted out before I can sit down I write about my adventure…

But until then I will leave two short quotes:
- ”Amazing, absolutely fucking amazing”
- ”We chose to do it, not because it is easy, but because it is hard”

Finally found some time to start the write-up after this magical adventure. See this as part 1… more parts to come….

Day 0 – The trip is part of the journey

After a long flight from Europe to Zimbabwe, we were greeted and assisted thru Immigration and Customs by a couple of local guys that Dalton had arranged. For anyone traveling to/thru Robert Mugabe Airport, especially with rifles and ammo, this setup is almost a must. The process of getting thru Immigration and getting a local weapons permit at Customs, was both time consuming and frustrating even with the assistance from the really service orientated local guys. It would for sure been an absolute mess without them.

Once we got through all the paperwork we boarded our charter flight, the last leg of our journey, and made our way to the Chenje Airstrip. I am not a huge fan of flying, but our pilot Adam from GrandAir Charters, made me feel as comfortable as ever possible. Almost exactly 24h after leaving home, we arrived in Chewore South, greeted by Dalton and his team. We were finally there!

After settling in at camp, we headed off to the range to check that our rifles had travelled well. Everything worked well and we made our way back to camp for a great dinner with Dalton and the camp manager Charlie. Wonderful to start to get to know Dalton and Charlie and to learn more about Chewore and Zimbabwe in general. Before going to bed early after a long day and getting ready for a 5AM departure in the morning, my hunting companion and I reflected, in front of the fire, sipping on a glass of whiskey, upon how good the camp was that Dalton&York have setup in Chewore with really comfortable, fully equipped tents, great dinning room/bar area and really fully functional camp in a very remote area.



Day 1 – “We choose to do it, not because it is easy, but because it is hard”

I woke up early after a night full of sounds of the wilderness (hippos, elephants, crocodiles…) ready for an intense first day of hunting (and intense with would be…) A quick cup of coffee in front of the fire pit, a run thru with Dalton of what the plan for the day was and then off to search for fresh buffalo tracks…

Tracks were found early, and we started following a small group of dugga boys just as the sun was coming up…This was the start of a 27km (48000 steps) hike in 35C degree weather, in the scorching sun… we stopped every 60 minutes to rehydrate and take electrolytes (thanks to everyone who highlighted this for me before the trip, a literal lifesaver).

By 3PM my weak body started to shut down… heartrate skyrocketed, and I started to feel really bad. I quickly flagged my status for Dalton who acted immediately and ordered me to take a 30min break. Dalton and one of his tracker pushed on to see where the buffalo track where heading, most likely While recovering from my fatigue, I see that one of our trackers is making his way back from the excursion, without Dalton, signaling us to get ready… plans have changed… we are no longer looking for buffalo…get ready for elephant

After waiting for quite a while for the herd of elephant to move away from the water hole, as shooting them close to water is not an option, Dalton made the decision that is was . After moving in even closer on the other side of the riverbed, we made our final approach on the selected tuskless in the large group of elephants. Dalton positioned us for a side brain shot at 20 meters… now it was just a matter of waiting for “the perfect shot” …

End of part 1… more to come

A important part of a sentence in the last paragraph didn't make it from my word-file. Sorry for that...

Dalton made the decision that is was time to get closer as the herd had moved away from the water hole and were now feeding on the other side...

Keep it coming!

Exciting start. Buffalo and elephant get into your blood

Part 2 already today per popular demand…

Day 1 cont’d

The tuskless was facing away from us and didn’t turn its head, for what felt like an eternity… suddenly it swung its head to the right and presented a decent angle for the shot. Dalton gave the go-ahead… but I hesitated ever so slightly looking for the perfect broadside and a clear line of sight… the tuskless must now have realized that we were there and quickly swung its head back and ran in behind the trees.

Dalton had us quickly move into a new position in order to get a better overview of were the elephant had gone. Suddenly the tuskless chose not to run off in the other direction but instead decided to charge the three of us, coming straight at us from the thicket…

The first shot came from my 470NE Blaser double and a tenth of a second later my hunting buddy’s 450 Rigby Brno went off as well… both projectiles hit the the elephant right between the eyes, within an inch or two of each other. The effect was immediate and the tuskless dropped to the ground more or less 10 meters from our feet. I never felt scared (before, during or after the charge). Dalton had control of the situation a let us handle the charge, of course ready to assist and mitigate any potential mistakes from our side.

It was quickly decided that recovery of the animal would need to be done the following day as we where losing light and we still had a 3km hike to the nearest road…the ride back to camp was in itself magical… an intense day full of challenges and rewards. For some reason my mind sum up the day with a distilled version of JFKs speech about going to the moon…

“We choose to do it, not because it is easy, but because it is hard”

And this way just the first day of a 12 day hunt… I would need a recovery day after day one as I was “broken”… I should have been in better shape physically for the hunt but manage to push thru on sheer willpower. Chewore is a tough place especially in the heat of October… but what a wonderful place…

Everything I had read and heard about Daltons perseverance was true… never gives up and will give it his all to deliver the requested experience. My initial view of him as a PH would be reinforced several times during the rest of the hunt…more of that in future posts.

Part 3 to come… “Recovery and a missed opportunity”