In my previous note, I didn't go in to any details; I was just giving some reassurance that Gordon Stark is a person of integrity who had a lot of experience an could line you up on a good hunt...and keep you from getting killed.
But if you want details, I'll elaborate. Gordon will tell you the same with respect to the PAC elephant hunts, if you call to inquire about one of them. The PAC elephant hunts in Zim are done through a licensed local PH in Zimbabwe. They are PAC hunts, so NOTHING is exportable, other than a picture; the meat, skin and tusks belong to the locals. NOTE: I've heard from several sources that a regular hunt in Zimbabwe, where you might shoot a 40lb elephant that is exportable, will probably take you 3 years to get the ivory out. You better be able to trust the person(s) doing the paperwork or you'll never see it, because it may never leave the country or get seized at the port of entry for a paperwork screw up.
With Nhoro, all the dangerous game hunts will be with at least 2 PH's; in the case of the PAC hunts it will be a local PH with Zimbabwe license who lined up the permitted hunt, as well as one or two from Nhoro. If you go on a lion hunt in South Africa in the Kalahari, same thing, there will be a licensed PH from whatever game farm you may be hunting on as well as one or two from Nhoro. Any PH from South Africa hunting in Zim is going to be going through a licensed PH in Zimbabwe; if they tell you otherwise, they are lying or doing something illegal (as the previous expert stated). Zimbabwe is pretty screwed up right now; you better know who you are hunting with before you book a hunt up there. Be very skeptical of outfitters in the US booking hunts with so called licensed PH's in Zimbabwe. Licensed, or not, they may be a worthless F*#$ that will get you in a bind or screw you out of some money. Again, you need to trust who you ar hunting with. Any of these so called good deals in Zimbabwe, especially for buffalo, may not be a good deal.... there people who are actually scratching on buffalo hunts in Zim these days.
One other tidbit on PAC hunts... I'm no expert, but I believe the only persons that are allowed to do PAC hunt in South Africa are SA citizens, so if you see an advertisement for some type of PAC hunt in SA for an outsider, it's probably illegal. I've seen some of those floating around the internet as well.
If you have your heart set on going directly with someone living in Zimbabwe AND want someone who has their own concession AND is licensed in Zimbabwe, I've heard good things about Jimba Safaris. They are relatively close to Victoria Falls and you don't have to mess with going through Harare. There were some guys that flew back with us on the last trip who had a great trip.
