77th Birthday, and Planning Ahead

[Stephen Ausband]

February 27, 2020: I am 77 years old today. I am, most fortunately, in very good health for a septuagenarian. I walk several miles every day, I work out frequently, and I still hunt hard (for ducks and deer mostly). I have been to Africa only twice, once to SA, near Hoedspruit, and once to Zimbabwe, hunting the Kazuma area near the Matetsi concessions. I have taken two buffalo, a kudu, and an assortment of other plains game. I would like to think there's another buffalo hunt in my future.

But here's the thing: I love being in an area where there are lions, elephants, leopards, and other mega-fauna about. I want to sit by a campfire again and listen to lions. That's important to me. I'd like to hunt another old buffalo bull, but I don't care a thing about a taxidermy mount this time. (No more room in my little hunting cabin/man cave) so a scrubby looking animal with half a horn broken off would be fine. I like old and gnarly. I'd like to shoot some plains game for camp meat. I love eating venison of all sorts, but again, not interested in heads this time. (I might get tempted by a zebra run, though.)

As I said, I'd really like to do another buffalo hunt, and in an area where I could nurse a drink by a fire and listen to a lion serenade. We heard lions almost every night in the camp near the Timbavati, and we had leopards chasing monkeys in the camp at Kazuma. There were elephants around both areas, and we saw them frequently. I want to give myself a present for my 79th or 80th birthday. (Hell; at my age, how far ahead is it even reasonable to make plans? But now is the time to make them.) This plan gives me some time (2-3 years) to save up for the trip and do plenty of dreaming.

I still drag my own deer out of the woods, set out my own duck decoys, and can easily walk 5 miles at a time--ten if there are some breaks during the hike. I want to hunt hard, see some more good country, meet some good folks, and just enjoy the whole experience again. Oh, and listen to lions. Did I mention the lions? Yeah; I guess I did.

Anybody got any suggestions for this kind of hunt?

 

[Bullthrower338]

Welcome aboard Stephen! Glad you are planning a return trip!
I wish you the best luck in finding your perfect spot!

cheers,
Cody

 

[Shootist43]

l’ll be 77 in August. I completely understand your desire to hunt again. Here’s wishing your next hunt and the ones after that provide you all the excitement you can stand.

 

[TByrd]

Best of luck to you. I couldn’t help but reference in my mind, Santiago from Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”....and no, I am not calling you “old”. As Santiago aged, he began only to dream of lions, seen in his younger days. Dreaming of the Lions are referenced 5 or 6 times in the book......

I hope you get to see your Lions soon, young man!

““He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them”

Excerpt From
The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-old-man-and-the-sea/id381645838
This material may be protected by copyright.

 

[MARTIN PIETERS SAFARIS]

There is nothing better than hunting a wild and unfenced area where big game roams freely. I have the matetsi 5 concession bordering Hwange nat park, excellent buffalo hunting with herds in excess of 500 per herd, countless elephant and loads of cats. Let me know if you are interested in returning to that portion of Zimbabwe.
martinpieterssafaris@gmail.com
Regards
Martin

 

[Spear Safaris]

Steven, what an amazing desire and we all feel your need to hear and listen to Lions.
I have two options for you.
I have a private camp on a game reserve called Thornybush, this reserve is part of the APNR, iow open to Kruger, Timbavati, Klaserie etc. so we have LOTS of lions around. For that matter lots of Elephants and the rest as well.
What I propose is to buy a Buffalo from Klaserie game reserve, they have affordable management bulls, but we will stay at my camp in Thornybush for the hunt. The drive to "Huntable terrain" will only be around 30 min every day, through Lion Country. I attach a few photos of wildlife in and around the camp.

The Other option would be Tanzania, I hunt the Chunya / Lukwati blocks in south western Tanzania where we could look over many Buffalo bulls, while hunting in Lion Country. This is true wilderness.
Please feel free to email me. info@spearsafaris.com.

 

[Stephen Ausband]

There is nothing better than hunting a wild and unfenced area where big game roams freely. I have the matetsi 5 concession bordering Hwange nat park, excellent buffalo hunting with herds in excess of 500 per herd, countless elephant and loads of cats. Let me know if you are interested in returning to that portion of Zimbabwe.
martinpieterssafaris@gmail.com
Regards
Martin

Thank you, Martin. That is a beautiful area. I will get back in touch with you.

 

[Stephen Ausband]

Steven, what an amazing desire and we all feel your need to hear and listen to Lions.
I have two options for you.
I have a private camp on a game reserve called Thornybush, this reserve is part of the APNR, iow open to Kruger, Timbavati, Klaserie etc. so we have LOTS of lions around. For that matter lots of Elephants and the rest as well.
What I propose is to buy a Buffalo from Klaserie game reserve, they have affordable management bulls, but we will stay at my camp in Thornybush for the hunt. The drive to "Huntable terrain" will only be around 30 min every day, through Lion Country. I attach a few photos of wildlife in and around the camp.

The Other option would be Tanzania, I hunt the Chunya / Lukwati blocks in south western Tanzania where we could look over many Buffalo bulls, while hunting in Lion Country. This is true wilderness.
Please feel free to email me. info@spearsafaris.com.

View attachment 332810 View attachment 332811 View attachment 332812 View attachment 332813

Ernest, the Thornybush option sounds very interesting. (Tanzania would be interesting too, but probably out of my price range.) Thanks very much for your reply. I'll be back in touch via email.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Stephen, you have just become my hero! At 72, I am saving up for a possibly last grand hunt for my 75th birthday! Hopefully more after that just to compete with you now, but life can be hard and end at any moment. So, one needs to not waste a minute of our most precious commodity.
I’m considering the Caprivi or Tanzania all dependent on costs and logistics. I too don’t care about another mounted head for my family to have to get rid of when I move on to the final game rich hunting ground. “Own use” animals, memories, and photos are my goal.
Best of luck in your grand adventure! I’ll be watching!

Almost forgot to wish you a happy belated Birthday! And many more!

 

[Stephen Ausband]

Stephen, you have just become my hero! At 72, I am saving up for a possibly last grand hunt for my 75th birthday! Hopefully more after that just to compete with you now, but life can be hard and end at any moment. So, one needs to not waste a minute of our most precious commodity.
I’m considering the Caprivi or Tanzania all dependent on costs and logistics. I too don’t care about another mounted head for my family to have to get rid of when I move on to the final game rich hunting ground. “Own use” animals, memories, and photos are my goal.
Best of luck in your grand adventure! I’ll be watching!

Almost forgot to wish you a happy belated Birthday! And many more!

Thanks, Ridgewalker, and best of luck to you on your planned adventures as well.

 

[TSALA HUNTING SAFARIS]

Good Day Stephen

Its always so exciting to plan that next buffalo hunt even if have done it a few times.

I can offer you two areas.

Firstly my own area a few hours drive north of Johannesburg international airport in the Limpopo Province.We have sustainable herd of buff on the property with Hippo and Croc and loads of plains game that contribute to a excellent experience.

We also have a beautiful area near Hoedspruit.We you should see elephant , Hippo , Croc and might encounter Lion.

We would really love to help you make this buffalo hunt memorable.

Please feel free to contact me if you need any more info.

Regards

Rouan

 

[Stephen Ausband]

Good Day Stephen

Its always so exciting to plan that next buffalo hunt even if have done it a few times.

I can offer you two areas.

Firstly my own area a few hours drive north of Johannesburg international airport in the Limpopo Province.We have sustainable herd of buff on the property with Hippo and Croc and loads of plains game that contribute to a excellent experience.

We also have a beautiful area near Hoedspruit.We you should see elephant , Hippo , Croc and might encounter Lion.

We would really love to help you make this buffalo hunt memorable.

Please feel free to contact me if you need any more info.

Regards

Rouan

Thanks, Rouan. Both of these look interesting, especially the Hoedspruit area. I'll email you if I need more information. Just getting started with the planning and exploring possibilities now. Thanks again.

 

[Philip Glass]

There is nothing better than hunting a wild and unfenced area where big game roams freely. I have the matetsi 5 concession bordering Hwange nat park, excellent buffalo hunting with herds in excess of 500 per herd, countless elephant and loads of cats. Let me know if you are interested in returning to that portion of Zimbabwe.
martinpieterssafaris@gmail.com
Regards
Martin

I’m glad Martin chimed in here because I was going to say Zim for sure. I know Matetsi has many lions and good buffalo. This would be the hunt for you.
Philip

 

[CBH Australia]

Advice? Just do it! Your doing well and the kind of hunt you are asking for really sounds like a dream hunt.
There was a link here for a video of an older gentleman from England who done one last Buffalo Hunt. A real character.
If you keep up the good health try hunt Australia sometime.

 

[PARA45]

Happy B-day!!!! Go do it, we are not getting any younger!

 

[Newboomer]

Happy Birthday, young fella. You sound a lot like me. I'm 79 and have booked my (probably) last hunt with Huntershill for April of 2021, a month before I reach the big eight - o. I kind of parallel you for activity--daily workouts, walk 5 to 6 miles a day, shoot as often as I can, and visualize days in the bush.

I want an old cow buf to go with my dugga boy, sort of a him and her double mount, and the warthog I've been chasing for three years. As an old guy once told me: "As long as you keep going, you'll keep going. It's when you stop you die". So keep it up and best of luck on your hunt.

 

[CAustin]

February 27, 2020: I am 77 years old today. I am, most fortunately, in very good health for a septuagenarian. I walk several miles every day, I work out frequently, and I still hunt hard (for ducks and deer mostly). I have been to Africa only twice, once to SA, near Hoedspruit, and once to Zimbabwe, hunting the Kazuma area near the Matetsi concessions. I have taken two buffalo, a kudu, and an assortment of other plains game. I would like to think there's another buffalo hunt in my future.

But here's the thing: I love being in an area where there are lions, elephants, leopards, and other mega-fauna about. I want to sit by a campfire again and listen to lions. That's important to me. I'd like to hunt another old buffalo bull, but I don't care a thing about a taxidermy mount this time. (No more room in my little hunting cabin/man cave) so a scrubby looking animal with half a horn broken off would be fine. I like old and gnarly. I'd like to shoot some plains game for camp meat. I love eating venison of all sorts, but again, not interested in heads this time. (I might get tempted by a zebra run, though.)

As I said, I'd really like to do another buffalo hunt, and in an area where I could nurse a drink by a fire and listen to a lion serenade. We heard lions almost every night in the camp near the Timbavati, and we had leopards chasing monkeys in the camp at Kazuma. There were elephants around both areas, and we saw them frequently. I want to give myself a present for my 79th or 80th birthday. (Hell; at my age, how far ahead is it even reasonable to make plans? But now is the time to make them.) This plan gives me some time (2-3 years) to save up for the trip and do plenty of dreaming.

I still drag my own deer out of the woods, set out my own duck decoys, and can easily walk 5 miles at a time--ten if there are some breaks during the hike. I want to hunt hard, see some more good country, meet some good folks, and just enjoy the whole experience again. Oh, and listen to lions. Did I mention the lions? Yeah; I guess I did.

Anybody got any suggestions for this kind of hunt?

lots of places to go. Just do it and enjoy!

 

[meigsbucks]

Sorry I didn’t catch you yesterday. Happy belated birthday. Go hear the lions roar. Life is too short not to.

 

[flat8]

February 27, 2020: I am 77 years old today. I am, most fortunately, in very good health for a septuagenarian. I walk several miles every day, I work out frequently, and I still hunt hard (for ducks and deer mostly). I have been to Africa only twice, once to SA, near Hoedspruit, and once to Zimbabwe, hunting the Kazuma area near the Matetsi concessions. I have taken two buffalo, a kudu, and an assortment of other plains game. I would like to think there's another buffalo hunt in my future.

But here's the thing: I love being in an area where there are lions, elephants, leopards, and other mega-fauna about. I want to sit by a campfire again and listen to lions. That's important to me. I'd like to hunt another old buffalo bull, but I don't care a thing about a taxidermy mount this time. (No more room in my little hunting cabin/man cave) so a scrubby looking animal with half a horn broken off would be fine. I like old and gnarly. I'd like to shoot some plains game for camp meat. I love eating venison of all sorts, but again, not interested in heads this time. (I might get tempted by a zebra run, though.)

As I said, I'd really like to do another buffalo hunt, and in an area where I could nurse a drink by a fire and listen to a lion serenade. We heard lions almost every night in the camp near the Timbavati, and we had leopards chasing monkeys in the camp at Kazuma. There were elephants around both areas, and we saw them frequently. I want to give myself a present for my 79th or 80th birthday. (Hell; at my age, how far ahead is it even reasonable to make plans? But now is the time to make them.) This plan gives me some time (2-3 years) to save up for the trip and do plenty of dreaming.

I still drag my own deer out of the woods, set out my own duck decoys, and can easily walk 5 miles at a time--ten if there are some breaks during the hike. I want to hunt hard, see some more good country, meet some good folks, and just enjoy the whole experience again. Oh, and listen to lions. Did I mention the lions? Yeah; I guess I did.

Anybody got any suggestions for this kind of hunt?

I can’t love this post enough. Go to Africa, Stephen, have a drink and listen to those lions.

 

[ack]

I am 71 and just returned from a plains game at Khomas Highland..Little slower but really enjoyed it ...The guys would grab my rifle and tote it for me...Very helpful..Older I get ,the harder it is to quit..Wife did too..