SOUTH AFRICA: MOZAMBIQUE: TANZANIA: South Africa, Mozambique & Tanzania 2019

JES Adventures

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October 6


Heading to the airport via Uber today, it finally sunk in that I am finally going back to the Dark Continent after 17 long months!


This trip evolved around a a hunt for Suni, Red Duiker, Blue Duiker and Oribi donated to DSC by Zambeze Delta Safaris. I was sitting at the Life Member Breakfast back in January and after listening to Dan Cabela, Ivan Carter and Mark Haldane talk about the amazing success with the 24 Lions Project and bringing the wildlife numbers back to Coutada 11 I was intrigued and wanted to experience the place first hand.


Having never been to Mozambique this seemed like the perfect opportunity to help DSC with their fundraising and hunt a country I have never been to. I had thought about Mozambique many times over the years but having hunted extensively in South Africa and Zimbabwe I had taken most all of the species. The Suni and Red Duiker however eluded me a couple years back so I am looking forward to changing my luck this time.


With the auction item purchased and the dates set, I headed over to see Jaco Oosthuizen of Game Trackers Africa at his booth to tee up a short hunt in the Selous - another place I have never hunted that has always peaked my interest. My primary objective there will be East African Greater Kudu and Nyasaland Wildebeast. Of course, time permitting and if we come across an old buffalo I will seize the opportunity.


A couple months after the convention, Dawie Kemp of Kemp African Safaris posted on the forum an exceptional Sable which had the extreme curved horns you see from the Kafue and Sichifula areas of Zambia. I communicated with Dawie and we came to an agreement so I squeezed a few days in at the beginning of this trip and with some luck we will locate the big bull. Not like I am trying to cram too much into the overall itinerary but Dawie suggested a bit of night hunting so he took permits out for a couple of species that I have not taken. I somehow get the feeling when this 25 days is over with, I will need to go home to get some rest!


On the recommendation of several friends along with the reports posted here on AH, I decided to cash in my AMEX miles and take Emirates Business Class for the first time.


When I arrived at the airport in Houston, it was just as everyone has reported and when they knew it was me with a firearm, a Senior Agent took over and handled everything. The TSA Agent who checked out my rifle was a very nice fellow and we talked hunting all the while he was going through his process. After we finished with the rifle and a couple of hunting stories, the Agent walked me to the boarding area and directed me to the lounge.


The Executive Lounge was nice, not very crowded so I asked for a Pinot Noir and sat down and started writing. One hour before the flight, the announcement was made for First Class and Business Class to board however I remained sipping my wine and writing.


As I boarded the plane I was impressed with the attention to detail in the Business Class Cabin. Extensive Birds Eye Maple Veneer and a well appointed space around my seat. A large, flat screen that appears to be 30” or more and two beverage coolers. The flight attendant served a fine Champagne prior to takeoff along with the customary hot towel. Its been a long and busy year so I am actually looking forward to the 14+ hour flight to decompress and get some rest.

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October 7

The overnight flight was very nice, after dinner I watched a movie then managed to get about seven hours of sleep. I woke up feeling very good and after a light breakfast we are about an hour out of Dubai. My layover is three and a half hours so that will give me ample time to walk around and stretch my legs a bit.

Once in Dubai, I made my way to the Business Class Lounge and had a shower which was totally refreshing. Having never been to the Dubai Airport I was amazed at how extensive the Emirates Business Class Lounge was. After making a thorough assessment, I settled in at the Moet & Chandon Champagne Lounge to catch up on email and make these posts while sipping the latest vintage.

I must say, Emirates has impressed me thus far and I have traveled on every major carrier to the African Continent in every class of service over the last 35 years.

My flight to Johannesburg departs at 11:30PM so I will resume my report tomorrow.

Since I will be hunting with three different companies, I will start a new thread on each company for each leg of the trip.

Tomorrow starts my South African hunt with Dawie Kemp of Kemp African Safaris.
 
Sounds like a grand trip! Look forward to following all the reports!
 
I am not a wine drinker, but I think I would have enjoyed that Emirates flight too! Looking forward to the rest of this report.
 
Sounds like a great start to another fantastic hunting trip. Looking forward to reading about it.
Bruce
 

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