Hunters; Steve and Craig Hunting ibex, I was hunting Marco Polo.
Dates; First 10 days of November.
Booking agent; Theo Blignaut Skin Africa consulting
Outfitter; Rinat Subanov. The contract has the company as Kyrgyzhunt adventure outfitters, The letter of invitation has the company as Argali LTD.
Before the hunt started:
There were a couple of hiccups with our documentation before we left. The first was the letter of invitation, it took Theo and Rinat three attempts to get our info correct. The second was our rifle import permits, it was left right to the last minute. Craig and I received ours 12 hours before we departed, Steve had already started his journey so we were sent his to pass on to him when we met up in Istanbul airport.
Arrival:
There was no representative from the outfitters company to meet us when we arrived a 3 am at bishkek, so we did the best we could without being able to speak Russian or Kyrgyz. At one stage both Craig and Steve had to go out into the main airport to try find a photo copier to get copies of their documentation. The company rep turned up just as we had everything sorted and took us too our taxi.
We got to camp mid afternoon to find no horses or guides. Some time overnight one guide and a driver arrived in a 2wd jeep.
Day one:
After breakfast we were all squeezed into the jeep and driven down a road that went to a coal mine. The plan for the day was to stop on the side of the road and glass the cliffs for ibex (No MP in this area). Late in the afternoon the guide takes both Craig and Steve for a walk while the driver and I wait by the road side. They see a small mob of female ibex which he wants both Craig and Steve to shoot. They both decline.
We get back to camp after dark to find one more guide has arrived with the horses. That night we are told the plan for the next few days. We will be spike camping after ibex, I am told that I can also go along in case we see a MP, but our objective will be Ibex.
Day two:
Half the morning is lost shoeing the horses, we leave camp at 10.30 am. At mid day we spot a small mob of MP. All are either ewes or lambs, no rams at all but I am still asked to shoot one. I thought, "you are joking or what? " But they were serious. I politely said no. One thing that I did find interesting though was that all the sheep were sitting in pairs with each sheep facing in the opposite direction to the sheep its sitting beside. I guess when you live in a place that has wolves and snow leopards it pays to have someone watching your back.
Later in the day a small mob of ibex is spotted. Craig, Steve and one guide go and have a closer look. The biggest was maybe 80cm, so they pass on them. The other guide and I head further up the range to try and spot more ibex. All we saw was six female ibex and once again I was asked to shoot. Just on dark we met up with the others and head down into a gorge. This turned out to be the highlight of the trip for me, riding down a gorge through snow with the full moon shining. At around 8pm we found a spot to set up camp.
Day 3:
One guide left first thing in the morning to get the camp staff to move base camp around to this side of the mountain range. Now we were down to one guide for three hunters. The four of us head south. After two hours of riding we take the packs off the horses. I am told to wait with the packs as there are no sheep where Craig and Steve will be hunting. They only see 3 ibex that day, with all being under 80cm.
The second guide finds me just before the others get back. The only thing I see all day are three other hunters up the valley to the south of where Craig and Steve had been hunting. We find the other hunters truck and the guides leave a note on the seat. The three of us want to wait so we can have a talk with them to see who they are hunting with, but the guides are adamant that we have to keep riding to get to our next camp site.
Day 4:
We were up at day break this morning. The first thing I did was grab my binoculars and walk to a small rise not far from camp. It didn't take long to spot ten MP ewes and lambs standing in a patch of sun. I went back to camp and told the guides. We had breakfast and got the camp packed and rode in the direction of the sheep. The wind was all wrong so we never saw them again.
After riding for two hours Craig and one guide headed down to find the base camp while Steve and I went up a ridge with the other guide. Once we get to the top we spot around 20 ibex feeding on the next face. We search for males but can't find any. Steve is once again asked if he will shoot one. We spend the rest of the day following tracks in the snow. At one stage I am asked if I would shoot a ram of 60cm if we see one. Yes he really meant 60cm, not 60 inches. I just shook my head. We get back to our new base camp after dark.
That night while having dinner I'm told to stay in camp the next day as there are no sheep where they are going tomorrow.
Day 5:
I stay in camp all day. The guides, Steve and Craig find a mob of around 30 ibex that morning. There is one male over 80cm, maybe getting close to 100cm. The guides plan is for one guide to take the hunters to the top of the mountain. The other guide will wait till they get there and drive the ibex to them. They are also told to shoot all the male ibex they can, then pick the biggest one each as trophies. Suddenly it became apparent why there were very few mature ibex around. Both Craig and Steve decide this is not the way this hunt should be conducted. Later that afternoon Craig is taken by one guide and the interpreter and they stalk this same mob on foot. They get to 500 meters of the herd. The guide picks out a Billy and says he's 100cm. Communication is no problem because he has the interpreter with him. Even then, he still gets the rifle set on the ibex and gets the guide to confirm it’s the right one. This happens two more times with each time the guide looking through the rifle scope and confirms it’s the right animal. At the shot the ibex drops and the guide immediately says that the ibex is smaller than what Craig wanted, but he now has his ibex. The ibex is around 60cm.
When Craig gets back to camp he runs us through what has just happened. We call a camp meeting and let them know that we are not happy with what has just happened and that we are not happy with the way the hunt is being conducted in general. The story from Craig's guide changes a couple of times throughout our discussions and by the end he told us that the ibex would disappear. Later that night both guides came up to Craig and apologized.
At dinner I am told to wait in camp again tomorrow as I am to be picked up and taken to another camp across the valley that has good MP hunting as the area we are in is terrible for sheep.
Day 6:
Craig, Steve and one guide leave camp just after 3 am to hunt an area they had not been to yet. The guide we had the problem with the day before stays in bed. They ride until dawn at which stage Craig realizes his eyes are unable to focus past 150mm. Both Steve and Craig's first thought is that its altitude sickness. At the same time the biggest ibex for the trip is spotted. The guide doesn't want to leave but Steve and Craig know that Craig has to loose altitude. If we would of had the right number of guides Steve could have hunted this big Ibex with his guide, while Craig’s could have taken him down. Anyway Steve started down with Craig. A little time later their guide joined them. We found out later that it wasn't altitude sickness, but a reaction to the Diamox Craig was taking that lowered his blood pressure enough to affect his eyesight.
I get up at 8am and notice that one of the guides is still in this sleeping bag. I take a short walk up a nearby hill to see what I can see. At 9am the cook and guide start getting breakfast ready. We sit around until 10.30am, at which stage I'm told we are going for a ride. I'm also asked if we see Ibex, will I shoot it. I tell them no. We leave camp at 11am and ride back to the same place where Steve and I had been to on day 4. Half way there I point out to the guide that the wind is going the wrong way. He lets me know that once we get to the top of the ridge the wind will be blowing in a different direction. When we get to the top the first thing we see is the mob of ibex from two days ago running over the next ridge around 800 m away. They had smelt us because the wind was still going the wrong way. We have a quick ride around on the top of the ridge looking at ibex tracks then head back to camp. We get back to camp at 3.30 to find Craig and Steve there with Craig’s vision troubles. Bizarrely the guide’s and staff's remedy for Altitude sickness relies solely on pouring Vodka on his feet.
Luckily Steve has a sat phone and we get the guides to organize someone to pick him up and take him back to Naryn because it turns out that no-one is coming to pick me up today and it will now be tomorrow. We don't want Craig waiting here for that long. After dark a car arrives and takes Craig back to Naryn. The interpreter and trouble guide also go along with Craig. Before the interpreter leaves he tells me that I will be picked up at 7am tomorrow and taken to a new area six hours to the south and there is a new set of guides that are already scouting for MP rams and there are new camp staff there as well. Steve is told that he will be going back to have another go at the big ibex they had seen that morning and if he doesn't get it will be brought to the same camp as me tomorrow night. Knowing that the camp staff won't be with me tomorrow, I give them their tip that night.
Day 7:
Steve leaves camp at 4am. I am packed and ready to leave at 7am. They don't arrive until 4pm. Steve arrives back at camp 20 minutes later without having any luck. I ask about Craig and am told that he has improved and that he is back in Bishkek and that he can be brought back to start hunting again. We are now told that the guides and camp staff will be coming down with us to new camp, so there has been no scouting done for MP or Ibex and we only have 3 days left of our hunt. Steve and I have had enough of being lied to. The camp manager is here so I take the opportunity to have a talk with him and let him know how the hunt has been run and go through with him how our contracts have been broken. He tells me that its best we go back to Bishkek and talk about it with Rinat. We agree.
We get to Naryn and are told that we will have to stay here the night as there are no taxis going to Bishkek. We are told that if we stay in Naryn that night Rinat will be here first thing in the morning to talk it over with us. As soon as we get our bags into our rooms we are told that Rinat will not be meeting us. I then ask the interpreter to find out the phone number for Craig’s hotel in Bishkek so I can see how he's getting on. He rings the camp manager’s house! It turns out Craig is still in Naryn at the camp managers house! I ask to talk with him and am told no, I’m not allowed. Are you farken kidding me???? Steve has managed to get Theo on the phone and let him know what’s happening. Theo tries to contact Rinat but he doesn't answer Theo’s calls. The interpreter gives us a message from Rinat. If we don't go to the new area, we won’t be given a refund. This stupid little threat doesn't impress either Steve or I. We then get the interpreter to ring back the camp manager with the deal that I just talk to Craig to check he's OK. This time Craig is put on the phone. He has no idea we are back in Naryn. His eyesight has not improved, but at least he has seen a doctor. Craig told me that earlier that day two English hunters arrived at the managers place and on seeing Craig, were looking after him. They had been pulled from their block to make way for Steve and I. But the ibex situation, they said wasn't any better than where we had come from and there were no MP there at all. Steve and I made the decision to pull out of the rest of the hunt at this point. Craig was brought around to us the next morning and we left for Bishkek.
Back at Bishkek:
We arrived at Bishkek on day 8. Rinat and his 2IC Avat meet us at the apartment we were to be staying in. They took the interpreter aside and talked with him for half an hour. We were then asked to go out for lunch to talk about what happened.
The lunch went well. They said all the right things and in the end we all agreed that the 3 of us would write reports on how the hunt was conducted and send them to Theo and at that stage we would receive a refund.
The 3 of us had a few minutes alone outside the restaurant and we came to the conclusion that the meeting went too well and it could be a ploy to get us out of the country without making trouble.
Of course we had not much option, and sent our reports to Theo. We received no refund. Then we were promised that it would be on the 10th of January. This didn’t happen either. Theo has stopped communicating with us since the 2nd of Feb. Rinat will not reply to correspondence either.
I guess we have to chalk this one up to lessons learned.
Looking back, can I claim to have hunted Marco Polo? I don't think I can.
Dates; First 10 days of November.
Booking agent; Theo Blignaut Skin Africa consulting
Outfitter; Rinat Subanov. The contract has the company as Kyrgyzhunt adventure outfitters, The letter of invitation has the company as Argali LTD.
Before the hunt started:
There were a couple of hiccups with our documentation before we left. The first was the letter of invitation, it took Theo and Rinat three attempts to get our info correct. The second was our rifle import permits, it was left right to the last minute. Craig and I received ours 12 hours before we departed, Steve had already started his journey so we were sent his to pass on to him when we met up in Istanbul airport.
Arrival:
There was no representative from the outfitters company to meet us when we arrived a 3 am at bishkek, so we did the best we could without being able to speak Russian or Kyrgyz. At one stage both Craig and Steve had to go out into the main airport to try find a photo copier to get copies of their documentation. The company rep turned up just as we had everything sorted and took us too our taxi.
We got to camp mid afternoon to find no horses or guides. Some time overnight one guide and a driver arrived in a 2wd jeep.
Day one:
After breakfast we were all squeezed into the jeep and driven down a road that went to a coal mine. The plan for the day was to stop on the side of the road and glass the cliffs for ibex (No MP in this area). Late in the afternoon the guide takes both Craig and Steve for a walk while the driver and I wait by the road side. They see a small mob of female ibex which he wants both Craig and Steve to shoot. They both decline.
We get back to camp after dark to find one more guide has arrived with the horses. That night we are told the plan for the next few days. We will be spike camping after ibex, I am told that I can also go along in case we see a MP, but our objective will be Ibex.
Day two:
Half the morning is lost shoeing the horses, we leave camp at 10.30 am. At mid day we spot a small mob of MP. All are either ewes or lambs, no rams at all but I am still asked to shoot one. I thought, "you are joking or what? " But they were serious. I politely said no. One thing that I did find interesting though was that all the sheep were sitting in pairs with each sheep facing in the opposite direction to the sheep its sitting beside. I guess when you live in a place that has wolves and snow leopards it pays to have someone watching your back.
Later in the day a small mob of ibex is spotted. Craig, Steve and one guide go and have a closer look. The biggest was maybe 80cm, so they pass on them. The other guide and I head further up the range to try and spot more ibex. All we saw was six female ibex and once again I was asked to shoot. Just on dark we met up with the others and head down into a gorge. This turned out to be the highlight of the trip for me, riding down a gorge through snow with the full moon shining. At around 8pm we found a spot to set up camp.
Day 3:
One guide left first thing in the morning to get the camp staff to move base camp around to this side of the mountain range. Now we were down to one guide for three hunters. The four of us head south. After two hours of riding we take the packs off the horses. I am told to wait with the packs as there are no sheep where Craig and Steve will be hunting. They only see 3 ibex that day, with all being under 80cm.
The second guide finds me just before the others get back. The only thing I see all day are three other hunters up the valley to the south of where Craig and Steve had been hunting. We find the other hunters truck and the guides leave a note on the seat. The three of us want to wait so we can have a talk with them to see who they are hunting with, but the guides are adamant that we have to keep riding to get to our next camp site.
Day 4:
We were up at day break this morning. The first thing I did was grab my binoculars and walk to a small rise not far from camp. It didn't take long to spot ten MP ewes and lambs standing in a patch of sun. I went back to camp and told the guides. We had breakfast and got the camp packed and rode in the direction of the sheep. The wind was all wrong so we never saw them again.
After riding for two hours Craig and one guide headed down to find the base camp while Steve and I went up a ridge with the other guide. Once we get to the top we spot around 20 ibex feeding on the next face. We search for males but can't find any. Steve is once again asked if he will shoot one. We spend the rest of the day following tracks in the snow. At one stage I am asked if I would shoot a ram of 60cm if we see one. Yes he really meant 60cm, not 60 inches. I just shook my head. We get back to our new base camp after dark.
That night while having dinner I'm told to stay in camp the next day as there are no sheep where they are going tomorrow.
Day 5:
I stay in camp all day. The guides, Steve and Craig find a mob of around 30 ibex that morning. There is one male over 80cm, maybe getting close to 100cm. The guides plan is for one guide to take the hunters to the top of the mountain. The other guide will wait till they get there and drive the ibex to them. They are also told to shoot all the male ibex they can, then pick the biggest one each as trophies. Suddenly it became apparent why there were very few mature ibex around. Both Craig and Steve decide this is not the way this hunt should be conducted. Later that afternoon Craig is taken by one guide and the interpreter and they stalk this same mob on foot. They get to 500 meters of the herd. The guide picks out a Billy and says he's 100cm. Communication is no problem because he has the interpreter with him. Even then, he still gets the rifle set on the ibex and gets the guide to confirm it’s the right one. This happens two more times with each time the guide looking through the rifle scope and confirms it’s the right animal. At the shot the ibex drops and the guide immediately says that the ibex is smaller than what Craig wanted, but he now has his ibex. The ibex is around 60cm.
When Craig gets back to camp he runs us through what has just happened. We call a camp meeting and let them know that we are not happy with what has just happened and that we are not happy with the way the hunt is being conducted in general. The story from Craig's guide changes a couple of times throughout our discussions and by the end he told us that the ibex would disappear. Later that night both guides came up to Craig and apologized.
At dinner I am told to wait in camp again tomorrow as I am to be picked up and taken to another camp across the valley that has good MP hunting as the area we are in is terrible for sheep.
Day 6:
Craig, Steve and one guide leave camp just after 3 am to hunt an area they had not been to yet. The guide we had the problem with the day before stays in bed. They ride until dawn at which stage Craig realizes his eyes are unable to focus past 150mm. Both Steve and Craig's first thought is that its altitude sickness. At the same time the biggest ibex for the trip is spotted. The guide doesn't want to leave but Steve and Craig know that Craig has to loose altitude. If we would of had the right number of guides Steve could have hunted this big Ibex with his guide, while Craig’s could have taken him down. Anyway Steve started down with Craig. A little time later their guide joined them. We found out later that it wasn't altitude sickness, but a reaction to the Diamox Craig was taking that lowered his blood pressure enough to affect his eyesight.
I get up at 8am and notice that one of the guides is still in this sleeping bag. I take a short walk up a nearby hill to see what I can see. At 9am the cook and guide start getting breakfast ready. We sit around until 10.30am, at which stage I'm told we are going for a ride. I'm also asked if we see Ibex, will I shoot it. I tell them no. We leave camp at 11am and ride back to the same place where Steve and I had been to on day 4. Half way there I point out to the guide that the wind is going the wrong way. He lets me know that once we get to the top of the ridge the wind will be blowing in a different direction. When we get to the top the first thing we see is the mob of ibex from two days ago running over the next ridge around 800 m away. They had smelt us because the wind was still going the wrong way. We have a quick ride around on the top of the ridge looking at ibex tracks then head back to camp. We get back to camp at 3.30 to find Craig and Steve there with Craig’s vision troubles. Bizarrely the guide’s and staff's remedy for Altitude sickness relies solely on pouring Vodka on his feet.
Luckily Steve has a sat phone and we get the guides to organize someone to pick him up and take him back to Naryn because it turns out that no-one is coming to pick me up today and it will now be tomorrow. We don't want Craig waiting here for that long. After dark a car arrives and takes Craig back to Naryn. The interpreter and trouble guide also go along with Craig. Before the interpreter leaves he tells me that I will be picked up at 7am tomorrow and taken to a new area six hours to the south and there is a new set of guides that are already scouting for MP rams and there are new camp staff there as well. Steve is told that he will be going back to have another go at the big ibex they had seen that morning and if he doesn't get it will be brought to the same camp as me tomorrow night. Knowing that the camp staff won't be with me tomorrow, I give them their tip that night.
Day 7:
Steve leaves camp at 4am. I am packed and ready to leave at 7am. They don't arrive until 4pm. Steve arrives back at camp 20 minutes later without having any luck. I ask about Craig and am told that he has improved and that he is back in Bishkek and that he can be brought back to start hunting again. We are now told that the guides and camp staff will be coming down with us to new camp, so there has been no scouting done for MP or Ibex and we only have 3 days left of our hunt. Steve and I have had enough of being lied to. The camp manager is here so I take the opportunity to have a talk with him and let him know how the hunt has been run and go through with him how our contracts have been broken. He tells me that its best we go back to Bishkek and talk about it with Rinat. We agree.
We get to Naryn and are told that we will have to stay here the night as there are no taxis going to Bishkek. We are told that if we stay in Naryn that night Rinat will be here first thing in the morning to talk it over with us. As soon as we get our bags into our rooms we are told that Rinat will not be meeting us. I then ask the interpreter to find out the phone number for Craig’s hotel in Bishkek so I can see how he's getting on. He rings the camp manager’s house! It turns out Craig is still in Naryn at the camp managers house! I ask to talk with him and am told no, I’m not allowed. Are you farken kidding me???? Steve has managed to get Theo on the phone and let him know what’s happening. Theo tries to contact Rinat but he doesn't answer Theo’s calls. The interpreter gives us a message from Rinat. If we don't go to the new area, we won’t be given a refund. This stupid little threat doesn't impress either Steve or I. We then get the interpreter to ring back the camp manager with the deal that I just talk to Craig to check he's OK. This time Craig is put on the phone. He has no idea we are back in Naryn. His eyesight has not improved, but at least he has seen a doctor. Craig told me that earlier that day two English hunters arrived at the managers place and on seeing Craig, were looking after him. They had been pulled from their block to make way for Steve and I. But the ibex situation, they said wasn't any better than where we had come from and there were no MP there at all. Steve and I made the decision to pull out of the rest of the hunt at this point. Craig was brought around to us the next morning and we left for Bishkek.
Back at Bishkek:
We arrived at Bishkek on day 8. Rinat and his 2IC Avat meet us at the apartment we were to be staying in. They took the interpreter aside and talked with him for half an hour. We were then asked to go out for lunch to talk about what happened.
The lunch went well. They said all the right things and in the end we all agreed that the 3 of us would write reports on how the hunt was conducted and send them to Theo and at that stage we would receive a refund.
The 3 of us had a few minutes alone outside the restaurant and we came to the conclusion that the meeting went too well and it could be a ploy to get us out of the country without making trouble.
Of course we had not much option, and sent our reports to Theo. We received no refund. Then we were promised that it would be on the 10th of January. This didn’t happen either. Theo has stopped communicating with us since the 2nd of Feb. Rinat will not reply to correspondence either.
I guess we have to chalk this one up to lessons learned.
Looking back, can I claim to have hunted Marco Polo? I don't think I can.
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