Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa The good old days

Me and my now departed friend, Don Heath/Ganyana, cruising the gorge near Devil's Gorge, Zimbabwe in 2003. Photo taken by another great friend, John Harris.

Great photo.

Curious as to the rifles - chamberings and makes - if you would care to share.

5sdad

The rifle I am holding is a Krieghoff 500/416 and Don is holding a pre-64 Winchester in 30.06 that belongs to John Harris. I have used John's rifle as a loaner on a few hunts and killed a good assortment of plains game with that rifle. I was carrying the double on this trip primarily for elephant and hippo. The only kills with the double on that hunt was a nice right and left on some kaffir cattle that "Warvets" had driven on to a white owned farm we stayed at for a few days after the adventure in Devil's Gorge. Two years later I used that rifle to kill a decent PAC bul elephant during a hunt with Don in the Magunge (sp) area of Zimbabwe.

This hunt was a disaster of the first order. It was during a time when farm invasions and camp raids were at the most fevered pitch in Zimbabwe. The concession was a citizen auction area that I subleased based upon year old game survey. My mistake. The first issue was considerable de-mining operations in the general area with the crews blowing the mines in place. This drove out all the elephant and buffalo out of the concession. Then the local villagers from both Zimbabwe and Zambia had poached out nearly all the big and small game except for Baboons, crocodiles and hippos on the river. Then to add insult to injury the day before we got to camp Warvets raided our camp and took most of the meat, all of the beer and booze and over half of our fuel after they beat the crap out of some of the camp staff. These criminals did manage to stick the 2 ton truck they drove into and away from our camp in a steep donga and abandoned it. Don and I were the last guys to abandoned our camp when the food and drink ran out. When we passed the ababandoned truck I tossed a Thermite genade in the truck and burned it to a hull. This small act had no effect on the looting of white owned camps and farms in the area, but made me feel a bit avenged for the ruined safari I had just endured. After we left the concession we were offered an opportunity to hunt a farm that was being taken over by Warvets and allowed to shoot all the common game we wanted to keep the "new" owners from poaching the game. The farm did have some elephants raiding fields at night but we never could catch them. However, the party I was with did kill a good collection of plains game and the farmer stayed busy making biltong out of what we brought in. That was where I killed the skinny kaffir cattle at the request of the farmer. These beasts were the first animals I had shot with the double rifle and I was more than impressed with how quickly it knocked them down. The beef was left where it layed as a warning.

Don and I always seemed to get into an adventure on each hunt I had with him and John. Someday I will post a story about a buffalo hunt in Mozambique with those fellows. It involves land mines, Warvets in Zimbabwe, close encounters with lions and getting lost with 3 completely stoned trackers at night in the wilds around Lake Cahora Bassa.

Thanks for the picture and the very interesting anecdotes; I’d look forward to more. Seventeen years ago was probably well after the “good old days” but I know what you mean.

Been twice, once for PG and another on a mission trip, Namibia and Ghana respectively.

I think Africa was close to but was not the Cradle of Civilization. Not called the Dark Continent for nothing.

PWN - thanks for the information - very interesting.

Do you perhaps mean "Mukanga?" I hunted in Mukanga in 2011, killed a bull elephant, buffalo, hippo, and lion. Gavin Rorke had the concession at that time.

You have a doppelganger here where I live.

Spent several months there ( Zimbabwe/ rhodesia) in the late 70's...didn't do much 'game' shooting, but it still got a bit sporty at times....

Beautiful picture. Pictures are there to remind us of memories we treasure so much.