ZIMBABWE: Off To Zimbabwe With AH Friends

[BenKK]

Awesome stuff, Toby and Team!

 

[Rare Breed]

I actually used a 300gr TSX for the Buffalo. I used a CEB solid for the elephant. As well as those TSX penetrate, I don't see much of a need for a solid on a Buffalo.

Got it! Makes perfect sense! Thanks!

 

[TOBY458]

Buffalo down today! Nice old bull, estimated to be 14 years old! We were hunting in a very thick area, and when we spotted the bull, all I could see clearly was his head. So a 300gr CEB solid through the brain settled the matter very quickly! Two more insurance shots through the chest and all was calm. The Buffalo hunting is very tough here, with a lot of miles walked, but very rewarding in the end.
Off for Hippo and Hyena next.

TBC

I actually mispoke here. I meant to say a 375 300gr TSX through the brain. My mistake!

 

[Bullthrower338]

Looking forward to the tale guys! Safe travels back home gents!

 

[revturbo9967]

Safe travels home guys

 

[Frederik]

Safe Travels popcorn on standby.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Can't wait to see the pics. Well done to all. Please also comment on the temperature during the day and whether there were tsetse flies?

 

[Rare Breed]

Can't wait to see the pics. Well done to all. Please also comment on the temperature during the day and whether there were tsetse flies?

Thanks Kevin about the tsetse flys. I am going to same place same time next year and also want to be prepared. What do you use Kevin against tsetse flys please?

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Thanks Kevin about the tsetse flys. I am going to same place same time next year and also want to be prepared. What do you use Kevin against tsetse flys please?

Pretty much nothing deters them RB, and over dressing in 40 degree heat is too uncomfortable. I cary a small leafy branch as a fly swat and swish around my head (they love behind the ears) and behind the knees. Carry a tube of anti histamine and rub some in immediately if you are bitten. You may also encounter a very large horse fly type thing called a Chewore Buzzard that makes the tsetse flies look mild, it draws blood. Again, chalk it up to the African hunting experience and rub in cream!

 

[TOBY458]

Can't wait to see the pics. Well done to all. Please also comment on the temperature during the day and whether there were tsetse flies?

Kevin. Temps were low 60's at night, and high 80's most days. I never saw a tsetse fly. Not a single one. There are many tsetse fly traps in the trees, but no flies to speak of. Maybe they are worse in the rainy season, but not now. Humidity is very low as well. Overall a warm hunt, but not that bad at all. They say the coming weeks will be brutal though....

 

[revturbo9967]

Kevin. Temps were low 60's at night, and high 80's most days. I never saw a tsetse fly. Not a single one. There are many tsetse fly traps in the trees, but no flies to speak of. Maybe they are worse in the rainy season, but not now. Humidity is very low as well. Overall a warm hunt, but not that bad at all. They say the coming weeks will be brutal though....

Ill be flying this exact day next year to hunt with Dalton. I'm hoping to see the weather you guys had.

 

[Tucketed]

No experience with tesetse but the Shannon Bug Tamers work well on deer flies and mosquitoes. Deer season here in Florida starts mid September so you need all the help you can get. It’s material is a mosquito net material held off of body by thicker net. I wear tee shirt and shorts under it and it is cooler than any regular camo. I noticed Alan Smith hunting in thick tesetse area using them.

 

[AZDAVE]

looking forward to the groups reports. Safe travels back home.

 

[thriller]

The long flight home is a good time to write a report..... look forward to hearing from yall.

 

[CAustin]

Well folks it took @YancyW and me about 39 hours to get to camp. Qatar Qsuites are indeed everything they are said to be. Lots of room and very comfortable.

 

[CAustin]

The airport in Doha is massive, even the teddy bear is massive, and I availed myself of the chance to get a shower in the business class lounge. Absolutely the best lounge I have ever been in anywhere in the world.

 

[CAustin]

From Doha we flew to Zambia and were on the ground for about 1.5 hours and then took off for a quick flight to Harare Zimbabwe. Landing there I couldn’t help but wonder if rifles had actually been out on the plane. A baggage handler in DFW told me point blank that once Qatar had you sign their arms surrender document the plane would not take off without them. True to his word the guns were all accounted for. Then the circus started, First you have to pay $30 for your entry visa and then go collect luggage and guns from the same place. Imagine that. It took about an hour for all of us to clear the gun process but nothing difficult just time consuming. Once through security a meet and greet service took us over to the small plane terminal where we had to have the guns checked again before we could head out to the Caravan. All you have to remember is that it’s Africa and everything is on Africa Time. Just keep repeating that to yourself.
Watching the meet and greet folks and our pilot, Godfre, load everything was as entertaining as anything I watched on the inflight system on the Qatar planes.

 

[CAustin]

We got off the ground without any problems but the pilot sure used an awful lot of runway. The fight out to Lake Kariba took about an hour and 15 minutes. I really wasn’t expecting to see mountains but we sure did. Once we flew out over the lake we started to see hippo, elephants and buffalo from the air.

 

[CAustin]

Kariba Dam was constructed in the late 1950s and is currently under going a massive stabilization project. As it turns out the design and construction left a lot to be desired. But nothing that $500,000,000 can’t fix. Given this project being a multiple year process the water level of lake Kariba has been drawn down considerabl,

 

[CAustin]

We landed at the croc farm airstrip which is located about an hours drive from the Ume river camp over very rough roads. We are greeted by our individual PH and the ever happy Andy Buchanan who would be filming Philip’s hunt.