MOZAMBIQUE: My safari With Juan Pace Of Chasseurs de Mocambique

[GreenT]

So you dont have a breakdown of costs.....

I do. I took them directly from my contract and posted them here in the interest of full disclosure. But that was before I read K-Man's comments, and he made a good point about maintaining some degree of business confidentiality, so then I deleted the post.
My safari expenses were customized to my specific hunt, so it's probably not fair to publicize that, as it wouldn't be reasonable to expect to duplicate identical terms. I can give you the broad outline, or you can make inquiry directly to Chasseurs de Mocambique yourself.

 

[gbflyer]

Who was that?

Sent you a PM

 

[thi9elsp]

@GreenT

Thanks for the background and information. My wife grew up in Racine. I'm partial to O&H Bakery Kringle - almond. And, we have friends that farm around Union Grove as well as close friends retired in West Bend. Welcome to the site.

 

[GreenT]

Those rates do seem reasonable, buff is more expensive than buffalo I’ve seen advertised and shot in the delta. Niasa could very well be different. You did have a tremendous hunt and congratulations.
It’s really none of our business; but what was the invoice for $25,000 for?

I think it's fair to address this issue. The final invoice for $25K was for all our plains game, and incidental stuff like lodging while traveling between hunting locations, third party help with government permits and applications, export permitting, etc.
As I've said repeatedly, it was my fault for not fully understanding the terms of the contract I agreed to. Honestly, it's horribly embarrassing and I'm ashamed to admit it, but there it is. I thought I was getting the deal of a lifetime on this hunt, but actually I just got lost in the changing terms of the safari (countries, species, dates, etc.) and too excited to remain critically objective. What I had paid for was the leopard and buffalo hunt in Niassa and some of the hunt in South Africa. That didn't include ANY of the plains game, and it was a stupid mistake for me to not see that. I own that entirely. I also regret being told there was nothing more I would owe. It's very unfortunate, but I don't think I was being taken advantage of. There was always some difficulty communicating clearly and effectively with people who don't use English as their first language, and I believe that was the crux of the problem with being told I was paid up. We just weren't understanding each other and didn't realize it.
That's why I made so much of it in my report, so other folks don't make the same mistake I did. The best advice I ever got in my life was "pay attention". Those two little words can prevent so many problems, and I failed to heed it. My intention is just to let everyone know that miscommunication is a major threat to a satisfying hunt in a foreign country because of cultural and language differences. This is my attempt to alert folks to beware of the problem, and take extra steps to avoid it.

 

[GreenT]

@GreenT

Thanks for the background and information. My wife grew up in Racine. I'm partial to O&H Bakery Kringle - almond. And, we have friends that farm around Union Grove as well as close friends retired in West Bend. Welcome to the site.

I went to school in West Bend; my Army Reserve unit was in Milwaukee; and I got my degree from UW Madison.

 

[Hunt anything]

I think it's fair to address this issue. The final invoice for $25K was for all our plains game, and incidental stuff like lodging while traveling between hunting locations, third party help with government permits and applications, export permitting, etc.
As I've said repeatedly, it was my fault for not fully understanding the terms of the contract I agreed to. Honestly, it's horribly embarrassing and I'm ashamed to admit it, but there it is. I thought I was getting the deal of a lifetime on this hunt, but actually I just got lost in the changing terms of the safari (countries, species, dates, etc.) and too excited to remain critically objective. What I had paid for was the leopard and buffalo hunt in Niassa and some of the hunt in South Africa. That didn't include ANY of the plains game, and it was a stupid mistake for me to not see that. I own that entirely. I also regret being told there was nothing more I would owe. It's very unfortunate, but I don't think I was being taken advantage of. There was always some difficulty communicating clearly and effectively with people who don't use English as their first language, and I believe that was the crux of the problem with being told I was paid up. We just weren't understanding each other and didn't realize it.
That's why I made so much of it in my report, so other folks don't make the same mistake I did. The best advice I ever got in my life was "pay attention". Those two little words can prevent so many problems, and I failed to heed it. My intention is just to let everyone know that miscommunication is a major threat to a satisfying hunt in a foreign country because of cultural and language differences. This is my attempt to alert folks to beware of the problem, and take extra steps to avoid it.

That was a fair assessment, even though it caught you by surprise you had a hunt of a lifetime. My dream is to do a multi country Safari but those little things scare the hell out of me, I think I would get carried away with targets of opportunity .

 

[375Fox]

I do. I took them directly from my contract and posted them here in the interest of full disclosure. But that was before I read K-Man's comments, and he made a good point about maintaining some degree of business confidentiality, so then I deleted the post.
My safari expenses were customized to my specific hunt, so it's probably not fair to publicize that, as it wouldn't be reasonable to expect to duplicate identical terms. I can give you the broad outline, or you can make inquiry directly to Chasseurs de Mocambique yourself.

That was a good decision to remove that post. I’ve not seen anyone publicly asked for a full breakdown of costs on a hunt if that caliber here previously. Also the member asking is asking in bad faith.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

Congrats on a wonderful Safari and I appreciate the write up.

HH

 

[GreenT]

That was a fair assessment, even though it caught you by surprise you had a hunt of a lifetime. My dream is to do a multi country Safari but those little things scare the hell out of me, I think I would get carried away with targets of opportunity .

Realize your dream! I'm going to forget all about the money (someday), but I'm not EVER going to forget the adventure I had!
I think I would have been much better off if I had used a trusted confidante to look over and discuss the contract with. I've been divorced since 2010, but my wife had a keen eye for pointing out my misunderstandings... imagine that. Do your research, explore your options, take your time, discuss with people who know and care about you, clarify everything, and go.
The targets of opportunity are tempting, no doubt about it. I had no interest in a blue wildebeest, but when we saw one of the Niassa subspecies I thought, wow, that looks pretty cool! Then I told the PH that if we came across one that was a really great specimen I would be interested, but not to go out of his way for one. It was only a couple days later that he pumped the brakes on his Hilux and the trackers got pretty excited - "That one! That one!" The Niassa wildebeest I got is a pretty impressive trophy, and the first kill with my Ruger .416 Rem Mag (we had already taken a leopard and I was now armed for buffalo). Same with the Niassa sable - it wasn't on my list, but knowing that it only exists there made it too appealing to pass up. (I'm going to have a pedestal mount of the Niassa and common sable together.)
Safaris are like weddings, in that everyone thinks you've got a ton of money to spend and they jack up the prices accordingly. I do not have a ton of money, but I expected to pay the bill of a lifetime for the experience of a lifetime. I could afford to take advantage of two more animals that I hadn't planned for but didn't want to regret passing up.
There's also the option of breaking up safaris, according to your budgets for time and money. People go back again and again, to different places for different species. I can't imagine repeating my hunt, but of course I'd love to return to Africa. There's just SO MUCH to do and see.

 

[fourfive8]

Thanks for the report. Glad you had a successful hunt. Good buff! I can understand the issues- especially in Mozambique. The government interactions with outfitters is and has been a real mess and headscratcher for a long time. It is very unique politically and my impression is it's still somewhat unsettled after so many years of civil war. I know for a fact through first hand experience, Chinese corruption is involved there now at all levels. Portuguese was a real pain in the arsicle when I went, and I do fairly well with Spanish. Good points about traveling with guns there, also a pain in the arsenal. I really liked the local people in Mozambique though. You just have to accept that it is classic TIA. I don't know about now but when I went just prior to covid, there were still animosities between political factions. But the people recognized I (we) had nothing to do with that so I had no bad vibes nor any issues from the locals at all. Matter of fact some locals were of great assistance along the way with no bribery involved. The soft bribery ($10 a pop variety) is common at the airport in Tete but it is what it is. Not dissimilar to what I've experienced in RSA and Zim, again simply TIA.

 

[flatwater bill]

@GreenT Thanks for adding the buffalo report. Good shooting, good bullet performance as well. I still have hopes (perhaps foolishly) of returning to Moz one day. A buff like yours would fill my needs quite nicely..................I expect you are already dreaming of another trip to Africa, hope it will be equally as impressive...............FWB

 

[GreenT]

Thanks for the report. Glad you had a successful hunt. Good buff! I can understand the issues- especially in Mozambique. The government interactions with outfitters is and has been a real mess and headscratcher for a long time. It is very unique politically and my impression is it's still somewhat unsettled after so many years of civil war. I know for a fact through first hand experience, Chinese corruption is involved there now at all levels. Portuguese was a real pain in the arsicle when I went, and I do fairly well with Spanish. Good points about traveling with guns there, also a pain in the arsenal. I really liked the local people in Mozambique though. You just have to accept that it is classic TIA. I don't know about now but when I went just prior to covid, there were still animosities between political factions. But the people recognized I (we) had nothing to do with that so I had no bad vibes nor any issues from the locals at all. Matter of fact some locals were of great assistance along the way with no bribery involved. The soft bribery ($10 a pop variety) is common at the airport in Tete but it is what it is. Not dissimilar to what I've experienced in RSA and Zim, again simply TIA.

We flew through Maputo and Lichinga, and the customs/police were really heavy handed about pressing for bribes. Thankfully JP had hired local people to act on our behalf, making sure all the paperwork was in order and translating for us, so we eventually were allowed to pass with our firearms, but it was a long delay. Outside of the airports we never ran into any kind of authorities, except for some police checkpoints that just waved us by.
The airline agents were in on the corruption as well. I made sure I was not bringing in "too much" ammo, had them in their original boxes, secured in a locked briefcase, in my checked luggage, per the rules and regulations of LAM, Mozambique's national airline. It wasn't much of a problem getting in, but on the way out of the country I was told that the briefcase with my remaining ammo could not be in the checked luggage. But... the regulations require it! "No, no sir, you must remove the briefcase with the ammo." Ok, fine. Then the kicker, "Sir, you have an excessive amount of baggage. You must pay $60 for the extra luggage." Right. You got me. And now my ammo just went from being secured to free for anyone to snatch up.
My brother watches this unfold, takes his ammo box (a locked pistol case) out of his luggage, and secures it to his rifle case with that plastic wrap vendors at the airports have to secure suitcases. He puts the gun case with exterior ammo box up on the luggage scale. It weighs 23 kilos. "Sir, I'm afraid your luggage is overweight." What's the weight limit? 25 kilos. "Sir, if you want to leave with your overweight luggage you will have to pay the $60 fee." So that's how that went. One of those guys also stole my pocket knife out of my suitcase. I remembered at the last second that it was still in my pocket, so I slipped it into the suitcase just before security, and they watched me do it. No more knife.
South Africa is at least making an attempt at discouraging bribery at the airports, so the customs guys try to be sly about it. When they start glancing around you know it's coming: "Sir, we are very hungry, very thirsty. Can you help us out?" Sure, I saved you a bag of peanuts from the plane. "No, no we cannot... that is... we... could you-" Sorry, gotta go!
Local people are awesome, though, very friendly and helpful. Of course the villagers are glad to see us hunting successfully, since we get a taste of the animals at dinner and they get the bulk of the meat. I think of us as proxy hunters, shooting game for people who can't get firearms and hunt for themselves. They utilize everything from our trophies. I asked the PH why nobody guts these animals in the field for easier transport back to camp and he said it would lead to a riot if people found out he was leaving all that food out in the bush to rot.
The locals working as camp staff were exceptional in their understanding of customer service. They seemed genuinely offended if I didn't let them carry something for me. There was never any need to even try to get their attention, or interrupt their discussion of their weekend plans. We didn't think of them as servants, just service people who were very professional about their jobs. That element of the safari was really impressive to me.

 

[GreenT]

@GreenT Thanks for adding the buffalo report. Good shooting, good bullet performance as well. I still have hopes (perhaps foolishly) of returning to Moz one day. A buff like yours would fill my needs quite nicely..................I expect you are already dreaming of another trip to Africa, hope it will be equally as impressive...............FWB

I'd like to add some more about the buffalo hunt. I think the first shot hit too high and too far forward, hitting the bull in the spine, which would explain why it dropped in its tracks. Leo said it's pretty common for first time buffalo hunters to aim too far forward, because the buffalo's neck is so thick and it just kind of flows into the chest. With some tall grass to obscure the view (especially where the leg is, for reference), it's easy to misjudge shot placement. But I "screwed up good", as the saying goes.
A single shot, falling block action like the Ruger No. 1 is not my ideal dangerous game rifle, just to be clear and avoid any argument on that issue. It was a gift from my brother, first and foremost, and I wanted to honor that, in the very capable .416 Rem Mag chambering, and it's a beautiful rifle, so that's why I used it. Leo and JP both carried .416's as back-up guns; Leo's was a Rigby and JP's a Weatherby, if I'm not mistaken, both in gorgeous CZ rifles. (Leo's back-up in the leopard blind was a 12 gauge Berretta semi-auto with buckshot.)
Leo and I were talking about the buffalo hunt some time later and somehow we got to discussing the fact that there were three buffalo lying in the shade, but only the specific bull I was after stood up to investigate, which I thought curious, if not a hell of a coincidence. Leo's take on it was that Big Toe got just a whiff of our scent, and recognized it as belonging to the big two-legged apes who'd been bothering him so much over the past few days, whereas it meant nothing to the other two bulls. Maybe Big Toe wanted to have it out with us, or maybe he just wanted to get away again, but his loss in deciding on a course of action was my gain of a trophy Cape Buffalo.
Here's a decent picture of my shot placement. The skin is moved around a bit now that he's on the ground, but you can see where the first bullet entered the neck, and a trickle of blood from the top of the back where I placed the second shot through the shoulder blades.

 

[GreenT]

I'd like to take a moment and thank everyone who posted today, especially those welcoming me to the site. (I've been on here many, many times over the years, but never became a member since I had nothing to report.) It's been a real pleasure to answer some of your questions and talk about my safari without any animosity. I appreciate all the well wishes and interest. Thank you.

 

[WAB]

I’m glad you had a great hunt. I have to say, the base hunt before the extras was a heck of a good deal. Well done!

 

[DieJager]

Thanks for your report. Was a pleasure reading. Waidmannsheil ! Great trophies.

 

[Gerry Addison]

Great job with the report and so happy you had a great PH that put you onto the animals you wanted. Super nice bull! You had a great hunt and you will forget about the money but the hunt will live on! I've very happy for you. Had I known you were going on this hunt before you left I would have been holding my breath until your return. LOL

 

[PARA45]

We brought our own rifles. Mine were an ancient Browning X-Bolt in 30.06 for the plains game (bought used in 1993, it's still performing with excellence), a Ruger No. 1 in .416 Remington Magnum for the buffalo, and my brother used a Tikka T3 in .300 Winchester Short Mag.
I would like to note that bringing rifles into Mozambique is not something I would do again. It is such a tremendous hassle, from the red tape to the incessant pressure to provide bribes to the inconvenience of lugging gun cases into a really remote area, that it's just not worth it. I'm very attached to my rifles, and the Ruger was bought purposely for this hunt, but it really wasn't worth the trouble. The main camp in Niassa has a very nice gun collection for hunters to choose from (most lodges do, from what I've seen), and I would recommend utilizing one of their rifles. South Africa is a different story: the bureaucracy isn't nearly as bad, the attempts to solicit bribes much less aggressive, and it's pretty convenient to use your own gun there.
I've got garboons of photos! Your want animals, people, landscape, lodging, food, vehicles...? Just name it.

We all like pictures, probably a mix of the camp, animals, area.

 

[gillettehunter]

I'm glad you had a great hunt. Looks like some fine trophies. I do have to say that I admire your attitude. Positive despite a $25 K mess. Also you have been graceful under fire here so to speak. Some would of left and not answered questions as you have. Welcome to AH. I think you have earned your place here so to speak.
There is likely going to be some well earned hostility towards your outfitter here for many years. Frankly I'm surprised that he is still in business. That of course is not a reflection on you as a fellow hunter. Congrats on your hunt. More pics would be great.
Another measure of your hunt is whether or not you get your trophies. Please let us know as that unfolds....
Bruce

 

[GreenT]

The plains game from South Africa is already at the exporter's shop for dip and pack treatment before delivery to the States. (Most of my taxidermy work will be done here. I've used "The Wildlife Gallery" in Michigan a few times and been very pleased with their service and prices.) All the trophies from all the hunting parties in the Mozambique concession are being held until the end of the hunting season in December, then they'll be transported to South Africa for processing. It's much more efficient and economical for the camp manager to arrange for one truckload, and all the hunters to split the cost of delivery, out of a very remote area to an appropriate facility. It takes longer, but as a matter of logistics it's probably the best option. Once everything is crated and ready for transport I'll have it shipped by boat. Again, it'll be time consuming, but I can save a lot on freight costs versus flying. All this stuff is expensive, but I can be patient.
I've got my CITES permit in hand for the leopard, but I'm pretty anxious about having all the shipping paperwork accurately and completely filled out with absolutely no errors. What a tragedy for those folks who've had their trophies confiscated by US Customs because of a clerical error.
The taxidermy turn around will be months, maybe even a year, once they have the trophies in their possession. All told it's going to be a long time before I have anything ready to put up on my walls. Which is maybe not such a bad thing. It'll give me time to save up money for the taxidermy work, but mostly I'm just imagining the day when I get to be reunited with those animals after such a long wait. I'm going to experience the thrill of seeing them all over again, and that's going to be amazing!