ZAMBIA: Zambian Adventure At Takeri Game Reserve

[enysse]

Beautiful bushbuck, congrats!

 

[bluey]

thanks eric , he is stunning.
im going to get his horns , mounted on the other guys cape, them colors on him are too good for a flat skin
and this ones flat skin will live in the grandsons , room , proberly as a floor skin ......

 

[gizmo]

Bushbuck was high on my list when I was in Africa. We ran out of time and they got a stay of execution. A event that won't happen again I can assure you.

 

[JustinC]

What an amazing and successful trip Bluey and congrats to Mike and the team for making your hunt such a happy and fulfilling experience!

Loving your Trophies and report, Mate!

 

[bluey]

loaded up with water
driving along for a good while, looking for these elusive giants......
we happened across some very nice defassa water bucks , hows this for camouflage

a time later ,mike stops and says eland , we were to busy yakking ,like school girls.
but he got our attention,directly.
off the ute and loaded up the 06 grabbed a bottle of water each ,as its getting bloody hot again ,into the forrest , with the eland havein a good lead , patsy just wants to slowly follow them up as they weren't to spooked ,
we kept going in their general direction for half an hour or more ,to no avail , we didn't see them .they are dust
it was the big herd we seen the second day, the bull is unbelievably hooooge..
we get to where the ute is waiting , but mike hasn't seen them .
about 15 minutes later , we bump into them still doing their trot , and that was the last we did see of them
.after that we toured the place a bit . seen a real pregenant sable heading off to find her very own maternity ward.
then we seen warthogs , lechwe , several nice sable bulls

as we are driving around the dam , we stop and glass the waterfowl . patsy says , come bluey ,grab the 870 ,see if we cant get a goose for supper (tea)
mike just laughs and says , bluey the will be flying higher and faster ,than they look .
she'll be right mate , ive got this .....
he just laughed again .....
and got off the ute loaded up the pump gun with no.4s and went into the long dry yellow grass , skirting the dam to get the wind right .
once we were there , the spur wing took off , in a big wide circle away from us only to turn and come straight back towards us , shit l thought they are up high.
patsy says get ready , off with the safety , boom,pump boom ,pump ,boom,pump, boom ,pump and another boom . and not even a hint of a big goose feather falling from the takeri heavens
we are laughing ,and joking on the way back to the ute .
walking along the edge of the big dam .
when I look into the clear water , what the , l look again . im taking another look ,when patsy says what is it bluey ?
im looking at a log , that for two quick looks ,I could've sworn was a big crocodile .
on the third look l laugh , patsy thought , that was precious .....
specially when l told her , how close I was to picking her up and running out of there .....
l could imagine copping a couple of elbows in the cheek if that had of happened .
she laughed all evening ,about that ......
went back to the ute and mike asked howd you go ........
they fly higher and faster than you think ,isaid ................and as the sun started to set we headed back home .
sadly this most excellent Zambian hunting adventure was setting with that sun ........................................

and this night we celebrated a great hunt,nay a fantastically great hunt ...

 

[bluey]

What an amazing and successful trip Bluey and congrats to Mike and the team for making your hunt such a happy and fulfilling experience!

Loving your Trophies and report, Mate!

thanks Justin ,amazing is an understatement ,mate .
for all the reasons , this hunt was planned , and the sadness associated with that
it was like all the stars ,sun and the moon aligned in perfect harmony as soon as I stepped off the plane in Lusaka.
the friends ive made here from the planning to the living out of this dream
and of course the hunting and the fishing , are the stuff you usually read about , not write about ,mate ....................................

 

[bluey]

no goose ........
we had another excellent tea and then we give the bar a bit of a nudge .
an evening with great new friends , with lots of laughs ,in most comfortable surrounds .
and shit there was some laughs ..............

I woke at just after three , my waking thought was , I don't want to leave !!!
, went through all my photos and reread the notes , before getting up and starting to pack , as me and mike were going back to Lusaka tonight , gearing up for the fishing . staying in town at the protea towers
and going out for tea at mike favourite place , then a few drinks after wards.
then tomorrow , we would be getting all the fuel we would need ,packing our stuff , and taking a long hot winding drive south to the Luangwa valley .
about six things started to move ,in the yard and from with in the house .
we had a light breaky and a couple of coffees.
then l went and thanked all the staff ,for the big effort they put in to make this the best trip I have ever done ,
thanked the guards
thanked the skinners
this old fella afuiniki has spent atleast 20 hours getting our croc skin right , each night he resalts it , and the next morning ,he is back out there getting all the fat and meat off ,of it ,
when l was asking him about it he went into greta detail , about how much had to be done to a croc skin to get it right .
he is definitely well versed in the quality control of game skins....skulls and horns ...............
along with the young bloke who seems to be hia apprentice , they really get the job done
afuiniki , will not let him do the cuts yet , and watches ,over him as he does the caping , but although he doesn't talk much , he gets the job done well , under afuinikis gaze.

the house staff were great and l made big effort to thank them individually.

then lastly l went to thank lackson , I really enjoyed hunting with this young man . he is 100% keen all the time ,he is like a leopard on the stalk , and you can see he loves it as much as the guy he is walking in .
there wasn't much tracking after the shot , which is always a good thing . but I would've liked to see him on this task aswell.

once that was done patsy got all the skulls out for one more patsy shoot.

then the directors had a meeting with all the scouts(guards), about the poaching that's totally out of control along the river and at time on takeri as well

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

It's been a great read so far, congrats again on a great hunt bluey!

 

[ActionBob]

Wow bluey you had a great hunt! That has to be the most beautiful brace of bushbuck I've seen.

A terrific list of trophies and even better memories. Congrats mate!

 

[bluey]

thanks bob , these are chobe bushbuck the only other ones that are as pretty as these guys are the harnessed ones
tho all bushbuck are good lookers
and theres lots of them at takeri ...

 

[ActionBob]

these are chobe bushbuck the only other ones that are as pretty as these guys are the harnessed ones

Definitely going to need one of each some day! But it is unlikely anyone is going to have a better looking bushbuck mount than what you have planned!

 

[bluey]

soonafter the meeting .me and mike left for the long hot trek back to Lusaka (the only place in Zambia ,l don't like) for the night ,then we are going tiger fishing in the Luangwa valley on the lower zambessi ,at kingfisher lodge .
on the highway back im shattered at the site of all the charcoal bagged and for sale
de forestation is happening here faster than any where else in the world , mike was telling me .

you can buy Zambia forests for around $3.00 a bag aud.

not many people grin like this after copping 3 traffic infringements in one go hey >>>>>>>.

once we get to Lusaka we change some notes , and meet up with sturat from kingfisher , who is doing the tucker and booze for the fishing trip .
he is a top bloke, l cant wait for this to get under way
then we go and settle in to the motel and have a scrub and then head out to mikes favourite bistro /bar , for a steak and a skin full .

the steak (forget what its really called) although it was only beef .was rare enough to be called perfect.
after that the mossis , flowed , until captain morgan entred the argument .then things became a bit of a blur , specially the time .
I woke in the motel room at 0600 and though shit hot l got home ...
then went to check on mike , once I seen the do no disturb sign , l thought hes alright , then I went back to my room to call the kids , the partners , then the boat .
and work out how to turn the t.v off
I must of got industrious last night as every battery was on the charger .
about seven mike knocks on the door and comes in and says its bloody cold in here ,bluey .
nah mate its goood , set to the lowest ..............
then we went and got all the fuel we needed and some more bits and pieces
then on this hot windy day we put Lusaka in the rearview mirror and headed south to Luangwa valley and the lower zambessi

 

[Wheels]

not many people grin like this after copping 3 traffic infringements in one go hey >>>>>>>.

View attachment 50212

Funny.



Sounds like you had a great time at Takeri with some fun people.

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of the safari.

 

[spike.t]

Love the bushbuck! Man I might need to hunt Zambia.............

@johnnyblues when your ready just let us know

 

[johnnyblues]

@johnnyblues when your ready just let us know

Gonna have to save my pennies...

 

[bluey]

Gonna have to save my pennies...

join the club johnny

 

[bluey]

Funny.



Sounds like you had a great time at Takeri with some fun people.

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of the safari.

a graet time in great company wheels
the hunting was fantastic
the atmosphere is what really , made me happy
relaxed , ive not ever been so relaxed as what I was while at takeri
the whole time ,there everything was as smoothe as you could handle , wheels
and it seemed that no effort went into it , everything and everyone ,just flowed into a great time
its the first international hunt , ive been on where I put on weight .....
we hunted hard ,but not stupid hard ,we ate way to much , and we almost laughed enough .......

 

[ROCKET]

What incredible hunt you did there Bluey........awesome trophies battery you got......really a great trip.....I have enjoyied alot with your hunting report and all this is very good to keep in mind some other hunting destinations in Africa beyond the most ussual Countrys........!!!!

Congrats and thanks Bluey........

 

[spike.t]

Dang I forgot about the Eland after the Bushbucks all I could see was spots! No one even said is it Cape or Livingstone?

livingstone eland

 

[bluey]

ha ha ha ,found a note l typed to my self ,in Lusaka ,after the casino .at dumb oclock

!@#k im drunk
this night started with a steak swinging on a skewer, like a hangman gallow, and salad
and turned pear shape from there.
man , l had fun tonight .........
shutting down now , later..................
HA HA
the things you write to your self ,when ya pissed...


we were on the road at ten thirtyish .it got hotter and hotter as we travelled south .

mikes great to travel with , he knows a lot , about this country , and gives a great explanation on the go , its great , every where weve been , either he or patsy ,have been able to answer all my questions , and theres been a few of them . l like it when l can learn a lot from the people in the know ,wherever ,Im fortunate to travel to .adds a take home quality , that you never forget , once you leave a place.

along the way there was a truck broken down in the middle of the road , as we passed the driver was begging for some water .
so mike pulled over and l got out in bare feet to get the poor bloke some water
that road was about a 80 c
I give the lad some bottles of water and got back in the ute as quick as l could .
the winy road was in all states of repair , from pretty good to crap .
mike gave peteG a ring to tell him ,when he and patsy come down for the week end to not drive at the lunatic velocities , he usually does , or he'd end up over the edge ,
in some places that a long way down .
pete just laughed it off .......
about the three quarters of the mark , we were in Zambia , and on the other side of the zambessi was Mozambique ......
then road flattened right out ,and become real good to drive on , (tho I never got to drive anywhere , any time !!)
after about 70 or 80 kms, of flying along one minute then slowing down for goats ,then leaning onit again , only to slow down for more goats ,
we wstat seeing a lot more boab trees .and then we turned off the good road ,and on to a rela crappy dirt road , mike explained that this is track we need to get to the village ,where we will park ,for the duration .
this is a slow 13 kms,over some broken ground , then once your in the village , its a headache trying to work out the road system
we drove straight throw the middle of the school ,that mikes wife kate, set up through charity work
at the kingfisher carpark ,
a dusty little piece of cleared dirt . there aelaphant crap in the middle of it . this is a wild place ........
mike points out that , across the river is Zimbabwe.
three countrie in one day , cant say ive done that before .
we load our stuff into mike boat , one minute he is spikeT, next he is captain mike .( he wont let me drive the bloody boat either )

us leaving for kingfisher lodge , the carpak is up top of the boat ramp to mikes right

with in minutes we see hippo and croc on the Zimbabwe side ,

and elephant ,on the Zambian side

this ia 2 minutes from the village , on the ten mniute boat ride up to kingfisher , (this photo was taken the next morning on our way tiger fishing )

my first impression of kingfisher , is simple HEAVEN ON EARTH ...................
we settle in our cabins , these are open fronted , with chicken wire and a fine strong mesh no glass windows , so you get the breeze there awesome .
***will post photos later , im on the edge of service and its taken near an hour to get these few up ***
once we settle in mike take me for a tour , I should've grabbed the camera , not the binos , after the shows me the camp and tells me all the things that they have done to it over the years , we slip out the over the back , straight away we 2 bushbuck , monkeys and baboons, soon impalas , elephant foot prints everywhere ,
he shows me alister plaque , and fill me in a bit about his good friend , then we walk over to kates favourite boab tree which is getting trashed by the local elephant population .
the elephants come right into camp as you can tell by the mountains of turds around the place . unfortunately they never did come in while we were there . but three night prior to our arrival they broke a big tree off in the middle of camp
shit l forgot to tell how bloody hot it is down here
it burns your throat when you take a deep breathe , its now about maybe 1700 and its gotta be 40 c
later this nis night its blowing a smoking gale and its still 35 plus .
each night here I take two bottles of water to bed with me and as soon as l go to breaky , the first thing l do is arab another water bottle from the fridge
tonight as we watch the sun set , were are drinking warm drinks as we couldn't find any ice on the way out of Lusaka
thereare wart hog and a cracker waterbuck and impala ,all coming out to water and eat alonnnnng the water flat in Zimbabwe .
and the ever present hippos aswell