Leaving for Zim on 4/19. Hunting Matetsi with Gavin Hume in HHK area for elephant and buffalo. I am about to wet myself from excitement.

You are going to get over-excited...best to let me go in your stead.....

Trust me....





Ingwe

iam with ingwe!!! take tons of pics . have a safe trip

Which unit will you be hunting? Not familiar with HHK's operation.

Matetsi Unit 3. My first trip to Zimbabwe. Rifles are happy, paperwork done, bags packed weighed and triple checked. The planning and dreaming are a good portion of the fun. I am ready to smell some mopane woodsmoke again.

Let me see....

Where is the "green with envy" emoticon??

Have a great and safe safari!

That is an excellent unit and a well know Safari company.

Me too!! Have a great safari doclee!! I'm leaving for Zim on the 28th of this month for Sable and Mr. Spots. I'm with you on the bladder control problem. Running out of Depends!

Mike

Mike, Good luck on the Leopard and Sable. What area are you hunting? Are you planning on using a bow?

Anyone had personal experience with recent passage with firearms through Vic Falls? I read on AR that they were extremely interested in shell counts on exit from the Zim.

Have a good time.

"Stay cool, Honey Bunny"

They have always been interested in shell counts, it means nothing..tell them you don't save your brass and left it out on the ground...That stuff is usually an overreaction by someone that hasn't been there many times and over reacts to an official thats fishing for a twenty dollar bill.

I hunted Unit 3 with HHK in 2008 for Elephant, Buff and Sable. If the water is dried up on the Bots side, you'll see a lot of game. If it's on quote, try and find a reedbuck as there are some monsters there!

Pete

Pete,
Thanks for the input. Game is usually where there is feed, water, and the least human pressure. I hope that these conditions are on my side! Interesting reading in Lou Hallamore's book where he tolled elephant from across the border by running the pump motor that filled the pans in this area. No quota that I am aware of for reedbuck but you never know what might be available when you show up to hunt.

The Bots side of the border is a photographic concession, there's no hunting in Wankie and the animals know that. We saw the bull I ended up shooting on one of the first days of my hunt. He was standing in Bots drinking out of a puddle left over from some late rains. About a week into my trip, the water dried up. First, a herd of about 200 buffalo came across the boundary making a bee-line for a big pan. The elephant bulls started coming across a few days later.

You should be in for a good trip. I can't wait to see the pictures!

Pete

I've had two great trips to Matetsi Unit 3!

There really are some monster reedbuck there!


The sable there are not bad either.

I''ve been hunting 5 times in Zim - 4 times through Vic Falls. I've never had anyone interested in shell counts or anything to do with ammo. In Joberg they look at ammo - never got a second glance in Zim. I've always left excess ammo with the PHs - they appreciate it - for some unfortunate client like the Spanish Doctor in camp in Kazuma that only brought one box of 416 Remington and shot it up missing every animal he saw.

They will check your serial numbers on your rifles closely both coming and going to see that you take your rifle out of the country with you..

Ngrumba,
Nice animals. Thanks for the insight on the area. That Sable is what Matetsi is famous for!

Doclee-

The tusks from my Unit 3 elephant showed up yesterday. Hopefully, you'll find a bigger one than this!

Here's what they looked like still attached. The official weights were 44 and 35.2 pounds.

I hunted with one of the "contract" PH's from HHK in 2003. Had a ball! The guy was one of their Leopard specialist and he was a hunter.Great place,great food and beer! Lot's of animals...

Some of the funniest hunting stories I ever heard too...

Have a good hunt!

rifle

rifle, glad to hear another positive report on hhk.

talentrec, any elephant is a trophy to me. It is all about the hunt. I am not sure I will want to know the weight of the tusks.

doclee,

Despite my handle, I've never taken a bow to Africa. It will be my trusty .375. The Leopard (the BIG #1 on my list) will be hunted on the east end of the Matopo Hills near Mbalabala. If I score early we will head up north for Sable.

Mike

You should be into herds of elephant every day. It definitely won't be boring! And there are some bruisers that come across the border...

Mike,
I will never forget the sound of a stone dead leopard hitting Tanzanian soil and the relief of a shot well placed. May you have the same good fortune and memory.

talentrec,
HERDS of elephant...can't wait.

An interesting read on Matetsi is Geoff Groom's book "A Life On Safari. You can get ir from Craig Boddington's web site.