CAMEROON: Cameroon Forest Hunt With Mayo Oldiri

[LivingTheDream]

Any update on the hunt with Mayo Oldiri. Thanks in advance, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.

I was actually just wondering the same thing!!!

 

[Andrew62]

Really looking forward to this hunt report. Having hunted Cameroon 4 times, I can attest to what a headache it is to navigate the Douala airport with a rifle. On one trip, after arriving into the rain forest, I saw my bag come off the charter plane, got to camp, discovered that someone had put my bag back on the charter flight with the hunters leaving, so I had to wait a week for the charter plane to get my luggage back to me, thus the reason I take 90% of my hunting clothes with me in a backpack.

 

[Adipose]

Best of luck to you on this hunt. It is certainly on our list, so all the details are appreciated.

 

[TXhunter65]

 

[Firebird]

Do we have any proof that he made it back home?! I need the rest of this story. . .

 

[LivingTheDream]

He hasn't signed on since July 3rd.

 

[dchum]

Jerry hunted with PH Herve Houdebine
A true master in the jungle.

and I can’t wait for Jerry to tell the the rest of the story

I’m sure he is just busy after the trip and getting caught back up.

 

[gillettehunter]

Jerry is back and had an incredible hunt. I won't spill the beans. It's his story to tell!!!
Bruce

 

[Jerycmeach]

First of all, let me apologize to my fellow AH members for taking so long to continue my hunting report! I was in the Congo Basin for a little over a month on this epic adventure and as you can imagine I have been swamped ever since returning to my lodge in Kansas!

I began this report back on June 29th in a motel room not far from the airport in Casa Blanca, Morocco. I had already been traveling for three long days and hoped that in just a couple more I would begin a once in a lifetime hunting adventure in the forest! While visiting this area I planned to research how ‘trophy hunting” is benefiting the wildlife, the habitat, and the communities; as well as gain an understanding of the challenges faced by those trying to protect the natural resources in this tropical rainforest. I would like to continue my hunt report at this time…

I know it is not common when writing a hunt report to jump right into describing the animals harvested; doing so is kind of like eating your desert before having dinner! But, in fairness to those of you who have been patiently waiting to hear how my hunt turned out; I would like to start in this manner and then ask those interested to return to this thread and read my follow-up posts. I have so much to say and I think much of it will be extremely interesting and useful to those of you considering a forest hunt; I just do not have time to do the full hunt report at this time. Thank you for understanding!



Booking my hunt:

Raquel is the daughter of Antonio Reguera the owner of Mayo Oldiri Safaris. She was incredibly helpful in every aspect of the planning and preparation for my safari! Working with her put me totally at ease because you could just tell she was an experienced professional and nothing would be overlooked! Judging from my limited experience Raquel is almost entirely responsible for managing this big safari company and she is great at it! I was impressed with Raquel from the very start! She is a detail oriented and stays on top of everything! You will never wait on a response from her! She is just fantastic to work with and a breath of fresh air in a hunting industry where a lack of communication with your PH or safari company is all too often the norm! Raquel was full of information and willing to tailor a safari with my specific goals in mind! Sure, I wanted to hunt bongo with the dogs and take long and difficult treks thru the “jungle” tracking forest elephant; but I also wanted to do a deep dive into the subject of how hunting was benefiting conservation. I explained to her that unlike some other hunters I was not a “trophy hunter” judging my success by what an animal scored. Nor was I a “collector hunter” trying to get as many forest species as I could harvest during my trip. Raquel totally understood. I believe that normally Mayo Oldiri safaris in the forest are roughly fourteen hunting days with a travel day on either end. I arranged with Raquel to book two safari periods back-to-back that would afford me an entire month to hunt and delve into the conservation subject matter that interests me. The hunting season ends in the forest on the last day of July so it was decided that I would book the last thirty days of the hunting season in the hardest to reach and most remote camp; right on the border with the Congo and the C.A.R. This was getting exciting!



Choosing a camp:

Mayo Oldiri operates several camps in the rainforest as well as several in the Savannah. I chose the furthest away, hardest to reach, and least visited forest concession that Mayo Oldiri operates for my hunt. I wanted adventure! This hunting area is in the extreme Southeast corner of Camaroon and borders the Republic of the Congo and the Central Africa Republic. This hunt camp where I began my safari is named Lognia. This concession is huge, encompassing over 300,000 acres and is six or seven hours drive on very rough roads Southeast of Lokomo, Camaroon. Lokomo is a sawmill village with a dirt runway and is the location where I landed inbound for my safari. I was the only one on the plane from Douala, Camaroon to Lokomo. What a spectacular view flying just above the canopy of the rainforest for two hours. The focus of my trip with Mayo Oldiri was twofold. As I said earlier, I wanted to have an adventurous hunt in the world’s second largest rainforest for bongo and forest elephant and also gain an understanding of the conservation challenges facing wildlife and the habitat in the Congo Basin. While in Camaroon I visited other Mayo Oldiri forest concessions and spent time hunting in each of them as well as doing anti-poaching with Herve’ my French Professional hunter and his trackers. I will elaborate more in subsequent posts but for now let me just say that Herve’ is amazing and is entirely responsible for my productive and rewarding safari! Herve’s resume is thick and impressive! He has hunted Africa for forty years including being a camp manager and PH for Mayo Oldiri for just shy of the last twenty years. I will have much to say about the conservation challenges that I witnessed while on this trip but I will balance that with all the good things Mayo Oldiri is doing for the community, the wildlife, and the habitat in my future posts! Reach out to me in personal messages if you like and I will answer all your questions but I may be slow to respond as our hunting season is approaching and we are very busy. Just remember, if hunting this part of the world is something you want to do you must do it now! The resource is dwindling, the human population is swelling immensely and rapidly! This is one hunt you don’t want to delay taking if it is something you plan to do! This hunting opportunity has an expiration date on it; trust me! Whether the Savannah or the Forest; do not delay if these hunts are on your bucket list! I cannot say enough positive things about this being the company I would book with! I will tell you my reasons and elaborate more in my future posts. Please harken my words!