Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa When you think "Africa"..

Thanks for another valuable contribution to this forum. I’m still flattered to have my very own internet stalker. Hopefully you will eventually get a life but I doubt it….

Cowards like you are easy to keep track of. Keep jabbin' though, you're kicking asss.

Probably telling my PH in Zimbabwe that his bull of choice was in front of my bull of choice. When the dust settled he agreed.

Doves as Ingwe said

Sounds like Mathias in Paris did the gun permit and visa. LDE might be an excellent tracking hunt....and what a trophy!!

Mine are both visual and auditory I’ll never forget.

I was hunting Sitatunga at Kasonso Busunga with Andrew in Zambia. We were in a tall machan overlooking an endless swamp, of many square miles, covered by 12 foot tall grass. Below us was what I thought was a 5 foot wide stream. When I looked down below us at the stream, there was a Leopard drinking at the stream. I saw movement upstream and it was a huge Croc slowly swimming towards the Leopard, gently moving his tale back and forth quietly, as to sneak up on the cat. The cat never noticed the Croc, but had slaked his thirst, and turned away from the stream to walk to the base of our machan. As the croc kept coming down the stream, the water exploded behind him as a Hippo breached the water right behind the croc, and pursued the reptile.

Two predator actors finally chased off by a herbivore.

I initially thought the small stream was about a foot or possibly two feet deep. Nope. The entire thing was a swamp where we were hunting, and what I thought was a stream, was just the ‘trail’ through the swamp and water vegetation parted by regular animal traffic.

The three of us slept under the stars in one man tents on the ground, off of the swamp. All night we heard the hippos grunting and a Leopard sawing. We listened as Spots killed a Hartebeest next to the tents during the night.

We tried a different machan along the swamp the next day. Andrew and I were in the two man machan, and my hunting partner was standing on the top of the steps up to the machan at my boot level as there was no more room on the platform. The machan was right next to a large anthill (termite) about the size of a school bus. After about 15 min. in the machan, my partner taps my boot. I put my binocs down and turn 180 degrees around to look at him. He is pointing to the anthill, where a black mamba is coming out of a hole in the side of it. It slithers out to the right a few feet, and then turns left 180 degrees, turns back to the right again, etc. It is still not out of the hole. He was huge. It is coming down to ground level at the base of our ladder on which my partner is standing. We are contemplating our options which we will need to execute if the snake begins the climb up the ladder…

I killed my Sitatunga the next morning at about 75-100 yds.

We hunted Buffalo the next few days, and at one point we’re walking a trail through tall 3-4’ grass, a black mamba moves ahead of me, about three feet in front and turned left into the grass. I turned right! We kept walking, following a herd of Buffalo that was always moving in front of us, because a herd of Roan between us and the Buffalo were pushing them forward beyond shooting range. We made it to a barricade of tall rocks and Andrew said we’d wait there for a bit so as to not spook the herd too much. The gov. game scout pushed Andrew back, as he saw a mamba in the tree above them. We gave up the chase there and decided to leave the mambas to their daily pursuits. Three in one day was enough.

Sounds and sights I remember and cherish.

So many sounds and scents that I remember from Africa.The sound of doves, elephants, leopard,lion,my PH speaking to the trackers in their language(shona?),the voice of the flight attendant recording on SAA(sawubona).The scent of freshly cut flowers on the table in the bed and breakfast in Harare,elephant musk, the scent of cape buff, the scent of wild fires burning in Makuti.

Three things:

1) The smell of Gemsbok fillets cooking over mopane coals;
2) The smell of a Cuban Montecristo smoked over a mopane campfire while sipping a cold Tafel Lager;
3) The sound of morning doves calling in the distance.

-the first time you are downwind of a tracker.
-sundowners
-roller birds
-how quiet elephants walk

The doves, sounded good the first 1/2 day, annoying for the next four, then became so much a part of the surroundings I actually had to listen to hear them.

Picturesque trees, too small and gnarled for lumber or anything but firewood, but so much a part of the landscape.

The great variety of wildlife.

I immediately think of the preparation for my hunt back in 2010. Reading all the Ruark I could get my hands on. And I think of his quote about Buffalo, (I think it was his), how the Cape Buffalo looks at you like you owe him money.

The sight, sound, and flavour of thick Cape Buffalo steaks thrown on ultra-hot lava rock and seared to perfection. Maybe it was just the wonder of being outdoors in the African wilds and just being there, but those Lava Rock steaks are the best steaks I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy.

Lots of great birds in Africa. I particularly like seeing the Rollers, both the Lilac Breasted and the Abyssinian. Also, the small Kingfishers are wonderful little gems to see back in the bush. And some of the Bee-Eaters are quite beautiful.

Hearing the lions roar at night is always special. I was once camped in the Serengeti and we had a large pride of lions coming though camp at night. There were a lot of baboons in the area and when the lions would come though they would make a terrific racket as they climbed into the trees to get away from the lions.

Blood red sunset over the Kalihari. MTG