Jumbo
AH veteran
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2011
- Messages
- 242
- Reaction score
- 304
- Location
- Lusaka, Zambia
- Media
- 45
- Member of
- SAGA, SA Hunters
- Hunted
- RSA, Zim & Zambia
I have just come back from a 7 day hunt for buffalo in HHK’s Dande South concession. This was a long planned and anticipated hunt as one would expect on a hunt of this cost.
I had my father along as an observer and I have to say we had a great time in the bush. The camp we stayed at was the fly camp, which is set on the Angwa River. A more spectacular setting would be hard to find. (In my opinion much prettier than the main camp) The camp accommodation is basic safari tents with an ensuite bathroom. The other camp areas are simple but comfy and we loved the proximity of the bush this feel allowed!
The food was simple but fine and certainly well enjoyed after a hard day of hunting. Bezil, the cook, did wonders with a basic kitchen and the fresh bread was brilliant!
I feel very lucky to have been allocated York Mare as my PH. York is in his 2nd season with a full licence. York is energetic, professional, a great hunter and an all-round great guy to spend a week in the bush with!
Now to the hunting. The concession is really beautiful and vast, with us covering in excess of 120km’s by car per day in addition to between 6 or 8 hours of walking. The concession has a bit of everything, riverine jess, hills (that feel like mountains when you slogging through them) and some nice plains, open and heavily mopani’d.
We hunted hard, 12-14hrs per day out of camp, and apart from day 1 saw buff every day. I estimate we saw between 300-350 buff during the week in various herds. So there are definitely buffalo on the ground. The only problem we had was that we only saw 3 mature bulls in all that time. Two were in a herd, which we saw in the Angwa River, but they crossed straight into a neighbouring concession never to be seen again. The 3rd bull was the only one to present us any opportunity and he did that twice!
The first opportunity was a bizarre one, where we had left a herd to pick them up again in the afternoon when the wind settled. We had walked up a road and stopped to wait for the cruiser. We had put all our kit down and rifles against a tree, when one of the trackers gave the “Nyathi” call. We looked up to see a beautiful bull running through open Mopani across from us at about 80m. we grabbed guns and trotted a couple of paces down the road to open a shooting gap, when York gave a call (made a noise like a baby buff) and the bull pulled up to listen at about 50m. I set up on the sticks only to see him turn towards us and start trotting closer through the Mopani. Surprised doesn’t describe the look on my face.
It was only as he faced us that we then saw he only had one horn, whilst the other was broken off near the base of the curl. The horn he did have was great though, with a deep curl and nice hard boss! He pulled up at about 25m and stood face on; a perfect frontal shot could have been taken. But for my first buff I want a mature representative bull with two horns and a hard boss. So I declined. He again offered me a shot later in the week – that’s how hard we hunted!
Overall the experience was great and I had a fantastic time with York and my Dad. I do however have to say that I think the area has been overhunted for buff. This would go for surrounding concessions as well as they mostly all hunt the same herds which move between the areas.
HHK has 18 bulls on permit still for the 2014 season. This concerns me, as apart from the 3 bulls we saw in 7 days of hard hunting we only saw 2 to 3 year old soft bulls. This means they will start shooting these most likely, bringing the sustainability of the area into question. (I say this as even if we missed 5 more hard bulls – hell make it even 10 – what will they hunt next year?)
I am very glad I did my first buff hunt in the Zambezi valley, but it is now out of my system. I cannot recommend anyone to hunt that area for buff, certainly not because of the operator/camp or hunter, but purely because of the quota management that has and is taking place by National Parks.
I strongly urge anyone booking for buff in Zim to do even more research than I did. (I thought I had asked all the right questions etc.)
I had my father along as an observer and I have to say we had a great time in the bush. The camp we stayed at was the fly camp, which is set on the Angwa River. A more spectacular setting would be hard to find. (In my opinion much prettier than the main camp) The camp accommodation is basic safari tents with an ensuite bathroom. The other camp areas are simple but comfy and we loved the proximity of the bush this feel allowed!
The food was simple but fine and certainly well enjoyed after a hard day of hunting. Bezil, the cook, did wonders with a basic kitchen and the fresh bread was brilliant!
I feel very lucky to have been allocated York Mare as my PH. York is in his 2nd season with a full licence. York is energetic, professional, a great hunter and an all-round great guy to spend a week in the bush with!
Now to the hunting. The concession is really beautiful and vast, with us covering in excess of 120km’s by car per day in addition to between 6 or 8 hours of walking. The concession has a bit of everything, riverine jess, hills (that feel like mountains when you slogging through them) and some nice plains, open and heavily mopani’d.
We hunted hard, 12-14hrs per day out of camp, and apart from day 1 saw buff every day. I estimate we saw between 300-350 buff during the week in various herds. So there are definitely buffalo on the ground. The only problem we had was that we only saw 3 mature bulls in all that time. Two were in a herd, which we saw in the Angwa River, but they crossed straight into a neighbouring concession never to be seen again. The 3rd bull was the only one to present us any opportunity and he did that twice!
The first opportunity was a bizarre one, where we had left a herd to pick them up again in the afternoon when the wind settled. We had walked up a road and stopped to wait for the cruiser. We had put all our kit down and rifles against a tree, when one of the trackers gave the “Nyathi” call. We looked up to see a beautiful bull running through open Mopani across from us at about 80m. we grabbed guns and trotted a couple of paces down the road to open a shooting gap, when York gave a call (made a noise like a baby buff) and the bull pulled up to listen at about 50m. I set up on the sticks only to see him turn towards us and start trotting closer through the Mopani. Surprised doesn’t describe the look on my face.
It was only as he faced us that we then saw he only had one horn, whilst the other was broken off near the base of the curl. The horn he did have was great though, with a deep curl and nice hard boss! He pulled up at about 25m and stood face on; a perfect frontal shot could have been taken. But for my first buff I want a mature representative bull with two horns and a hard boss. So I declined. He again offered me a shot later in the week – that’s how hard we hunted!
Overall the experience was great and I had a fantastic time with York and my Dad. I do however have to say that I think the area has been overhunted for buff. This would go for surrounding concessions as well as they mostly all hunt the same herds which move between the areas.
HHK has 18 bulls on permit still for the 2014 season. This concerns me, as apart from the 3 bulls we saw in 7 days of hard hunting we only saw 2 to 3 year old soft bulls. This means they will start shooting these most likely, bringing the sustainability of the area into question. (I say this as even if we missed 5 more hard bulls – hell make it even 10 – what will they hunt next year?)
I am very glad I did my first buff hunt in the Zambezi valley, but it is now out of my system. I cannot recommend anyone to hunt that area for buff, certainly not because of the operator/camp or hunter, but purely because of the quota management that has and is taking place by National Parks.
I strongly urge anyone booking for buff in Zim to do even more research than I did. (I thought I had asked all the right questions etc.)
and head down and shoot it for you.......
I can't imagine the sacrifice you are willing to make to hunt a buff for your fellow man.......I am only sad that I didn't offer my generosity first!
