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I have seen seen there operation on "Track and Trail Adventures" with Wally Dallenbach on the Pursuit Channel. I watch it with a grain of salt, they shoot some really nice animals, but wonder if everything went well just because there was a IMPORTANT CAMERA in camp?
As I have said in this thread and others, I had a great experience with Paul Davies and Safrique. I intend to go back again in 2013 for leopard. I did not have a video camera with me in camp and from my expierence with Paul there is game there in the Niassa and Paul is a go-after-it PH. He doesn't quit and loves to hunt.
Rick
Good for you having a good experience with Safrique...
You are one of very few who have had a good experience...
your one safari is a trickle compared the the flood waters of poor to unacceptable safari experiences....
Your one experience will not make me or others rush out to purchase a safari with them...
could you explain why anyone would want to go with a marginal outfit when we have many excellent outfitters and PH's on Ah that have great reviews, and stand behind there word...
Just read the many outfitter and member posts...
Actually James, I have "read the many outfitter and member post" concerning Safrique. My purpose in answering NON-HUNTERS post was not to defend Safrique; on that score you are right. However, this is the first post that I have read that was not positive concerning Paul Davies and L1 in the Niassa. As stated, I did have a great hunt there. So did WDRacer (Wally Dalenbeck) who posted in this forum his positive experience and Andrew (Judge Dredd) Dillon who posted a very positive report in The Hunt Report? and many others who have hunted with Paul and didn't post but sent emails, etc. I just didn't want anyone who would not hunt with Safrique because of negative reporting on their other areas and PH's, to draw a general conclusion and Lump the L1 concession in with them.
I won't speak about what I don't have experience with, so I take at face value that those other concessions and PH's were a bit of a mess. Whether that is Safrique or the PH's fault is not mine to judge. I will let the reader's judge as long as they have ALL the info. The quality of the clientele needs to be considered in these maters too and when necessary; one must read between the lines. I stand by what I said about NON HUNTERS report. I contacted Paul and he stated that NON HUNTER did in fact not hunt but he did manage to have an accidental discharge while handling a rifle! According to Paul, his brother had three chances to shoot good Sable, one a monster, and wasn't able to get a shot off. He did manage to wound one and then decided to quit hunting. It was also reported both by them and Paul that they complained about everything from the time of arriving in Mozambique until leaving.
Mozambique and particularly the Niassa is a hunting experience in one of the last truly wild, remote and unfenced hunting areas harkening back to the old days of Africa. It is not easy or for the faint of heart. That is part of its charm and no one should hunt there without understanding that. I wonh't speak for Safrique or its owners but I do feel compelled to standup for Paul and the concession he operates. I would recommend a hunt with him if you are looking for an old style wild African Hunt rather than a four star travel experience. After all, we are talking about hunting. Nuff said, and thanks for your comments.
L1 in the Niassa looks like a good hunting area. You should have seen the giant elephant they passed on (Track and Trails Adventure, last night). It was HUGE! They didn't shoot it, because the guy was a US citizen and it couldn't be exported. 80 pounds ++
I am "Judge Dredd" referred to in the post by "RickSpecialist" above. Just thought I would chime in and note that I had a great hunt with Paul Davies in L1 in the Niassa. Paul may be the finest PH I have ever hunted with. I have only done 5 hunts in Africa, so take that as you will. I had such a great time I wrote an article about my hunt that was just published on page 59 of the November/December issue of Safari magazine. They even paid me for the article (only $25, but it's the thought that counts)
The Niassa is truly an "old Africa" type of hunt, with all that entails; however, I was very impressed with the quality and quantity of animals, as well as the professionalism of Paul Davies and his assistant PH Adrian.
Read the article for more details.
Andrew Dillon (Judge Dredd)
Welcome to AH Andrew.Quote:
Originally Posted by ajdillon
I would invite you to get a copy of your first professional writing and post it here in a separate thread along with your trophy/trip pictures.
Welcome to AH Andrew! As BRICKBURN has said we would love to read your article and see your pics I get the SCI book but a lot of others from other countrys do not please share with all. BobQuote:
Originally Posted by ajdillon
Per the invitation of Super Moderator Brickburn I posted the story I wrote for Safari magazine with some pictures under a separate thread>
The link to that thread is: http://www.africahunting.com/mozambi...unt-story.html
Andrew Dillon (Judge Dredd)
Great to see your post in this forum Judge Dredd. I couldn't agree with you more. Just got an email from Paul and his last two clients got to great Dagga Boys and plains game. Niassa L1 is truly an old style African Hunt.
RickSpecialists
I suspect I知 one of the two hunters that harvested one of the dugga boys that RickSpecialist remarked on in a previous posting. We arrived after NON HUNTER痴 hunt was completed. My hunting partner and I did take two very nice buffalo. While they were the icing on the cake, the cake was that both of us had two very different and enjoyable buffalo hunts. My buddy痴 buffalo demonstrated the tracking skills of Paul and his team of trackers while mine demonstrated Paul痴 stalking skills particularly with as the wind was not being in our favor.
We had chosen Mozambique as our introduction to African hunting for its open, wild and fenceless hunting. We wanted to work hard for our animals, and that we did. Did I harvest all the animals I wanted? No, the eland were elusive although we tracked a nice herd one afternoon (hard to keep up with those creatures with their long legs). My buddy took a sable (found a bullet lodged under the hide. Could this be the animal one of the previous hunters wounded?), Lichtenstein's hartebeest and a duiker along with his buffalo.
The hunting experience, as every hunter knows, is more than the animals one harvests. My memories included the industrious dung beetle, the ever singing cicadas, 100F temperatures, the majestic saddle-billed stork and the noisy purple-crested turaco. On the human side, there were old poacher dwellings and remnants of rice fields as reminders that we need to be vigilant to maintain our hunting privileges.
The six hour drive to and from camp was a bit rough due to the road condition but it afforded me the opportunity to see different villages and small towns, the change in flora and fauna as well as a puff adder along the way. Were there disappointments??o. I attempt to check my expectations at the door and let the experience be what it痴 going to be and this was a memorable one which I hope to repeat some day.
Paul and his staff know hunting and Mozambique. I came away with lessons learned and that was worth the price of admission.
I am the other hunter that hunted with Paul Davies the first week of November. Our primary species was buffalo which we harvested on our 3rd day of hunting after following a wonderful track from a swampy grassy area into a bamboo thicket. My initial shot was at only 25 yards. The old dagga boy is my first African animal and I can say I can't be more happy.
This was my first African safari so I don't have a good baseline to compare it too, but I have no complaints. The L1 area was exactly what I was looking for. It is very remote and hard to get too (5 commercial flights and a 6 hour truck ride). There are no fences and it essentially as wild as you can get. We hunted from dark-to-dark for 10 straight days and worked very hard. Paul was great, the terrain was spectacular.
As for the hunters before us, I think they bought something at auction without understanding what they were getting. My understanding is that it was also their first trip to Africa. Unless you are very adventurous, I wouldn't do this hunt for only 7 days (it took 3 days to get to camp). With that said, the individuals got opportunities on 4 different Sable in a short period of time. With the early rains, we only got an opportunity at one great bull which I was lucky enough to take.
I don't expect that Mozambique will change much in the next 20 years. The L1 section will only get better if Paul is allowed to manage it. It is a massive tract of land that has not been effectively managed or opened. In fact, the roads we took to hunt buffalo didn't exist until the last 2 years. This has opened some land that hasn't seen hunters. Based on the buffalo sign and actually buffalo we saw, this area will continue to produce great dagga boys.
On another note, we used Gracy travel and Safrique for the travel. Every leg of our travel went exactly as planned. We had no issues with guns, permits or ammunition during every step of the process. If you follow the rules and guidelines, it was a very reasonable process (if not antiquated and cumbersome - but that isn't Safrique's problem). I had to laugh at the number of times I saw carbon paper.
All in all, my first safari won't be my last. I came away from Mozambique with a lot of learning. Paul and his staff were great. If anyone has an reservations, they should talk directly with Paul and previous clients. As with any trip like this, do your research and talk with hunters that have actually done the hunt that you're looking for. Paul knows how to reach me and I'd be happy to give an honest assessment in detail as to how our safari went.
Cheers
Welcome BB Bill and WIRick. It was really great to hear your experiences with Paul in L1. As you know from these pages I am a big fan of Paul and plan to hunt leopard with him in 2013. I just received a DVD from WDRacer (Wally Dallenbach) about his leopard hunt with Paul in 2010. It really got me excited to go back. As you stated I think the guys before you just didn't have a baseline to judge anything about Mozambique and the Niassa which are truly wild and untamed areas. One does work for his supper there. By my count their's was the only negative review concerning Paul Davies concession L1 in the Niassa reserve. The other negative reviews concerning Safrique were with different PH's in other concessions. Thanks for helping to make the case. It is very important to get references from hunters that have been to a particular concession and hunted with a particular PH. Many outfitters have several concessions and PH's. Every PH runs his concession a little different from the next. Homework is a must. I look forward to more hunting development in the Niassa. Good Hunting!