Hello All! This is my first hunt report!
It has been almost a year since I hunted in Benin with Christophe Morio and Atacora Safaris and it would be a great disservice to them if I didn’t provide a report on my truly fantastic experience. Arriving at the end of January for a ten day safari focused on buffalo and roan, from the time I was picked up at the airport to the time I departed back to Paris, my time in Benin was productive, memorable, and the people and hunting were excellent. Hunting in Konkombri, I saw hundreds of animals, collected fine trophies, not only of buffalo and roan, but kob, bushbuck, oribi, duiker, and warthog. If you are looking for some adventure and the unique flavor of Benin’s culture and history, I highly recommend it.
I arrived in Cotonou quite late and was picked up by Bruno, an owner of Atacora Safaris. He took me to the Hotel du Lac where we had a late dinner and were scheduled for an early rise to make the trek literally from the bottom to the top of Benin, travelling almost the entire length of the country. I had planned to fly but due to the whims of the President of Benin, private charters were banned making a drive the only option. It’s a long drive, thirteen hours, but it was a chance to see the country. The changes in people, landscape, road conditions, and a few pleasant stops all made it worthwhile, especially for me visiting for the first and possibly only time in my life.
We met Christophe in Natitingou, a town a few hours from the game reserve. I had never met him but he’s immediately likeable and fun, so the rest of the drive to camp was easy. The camp itself is a series of mud and thatch roof huts surrounding an open kitchen and common area. While the huts are modeled in the local style they are comfortable, well appointed, and everything seemed very new. It’s a top notch operation, no doubt. I settled in and we had a light dinner, discussed our hunt, and went early to bed.
Before dawn we had a breakfast of eggs, bread, and coffee before loading up the truck and heading out. It’s cool in the morning, enough to make a jacket useful. We drove an hour outside camp and quickly started seeing a nice array of animals. In the first day alone we saw not only buffalo herds but elephants and lions. The terrain is mostly open savannah but has a nice variety of water holes, some serious hills, the Pendjari River and its banks, and some pockets of lush greenery. For the first day we concentrated on buffalo and took a few walks into the bush. While there always seemed to be a buffalo trail to follow, sometimes we got close to a herd, sometimes not. What struck me was that Christophe has a sincere enjoyment of the buffalo and all the flora and fauna for that matter. There is no doubt that over ten days he took a lot more photographs than I did. He also loves to call the buffalo and often gets the herd to come toward us for a close encounter.
Kob are an antelope that have always caught my eye for their solid beauty and uniqueness. We looked at several groups before a lone bull was spotted from the truck. We had a short stalk until I took a shot at not more than 100 yards. He was down and was a nice animal to start our hunt. While I want to be productive on a hunt, I don’t want to feel rushed, especially early on when it’s unnecessary. Fortunately, the pace was such that we were always focused on trophies but took the time to really take in this part of Africa. What’s nice is that despite Benin being a very small country and Konkombri being relatively small, it does not feel small. It feels big and it feels like you are the only ones there.
The following day we were on the road mid-morning when one of the two trackers spotted a herd. We hopped off and followed them for probably an hour before getting close enough to look for bulls. Personally, I think the Western Buffalo has horns and head every bit as interesting as the Cape Buffalo and in Benin some of the buffalo are black while others are reddish. We found a nice one that had a bit of both so I took a shot off Christophe’s shoulder with the nice .416 Rigby borrowed from Bruno. We were maybe 20 yards from him so the shot was on target. I put two more in him and he was down. He was not ancient, but mature, not the biggest but great looking, for me a true prize and a trophy I will cherish. The day was still young after he was skinned and butchered so we had a lot more hunting ahead of us.
That afternoon we spotted a nice bushbuck in typical bushbuck habitat not far from the riverbank. We played a little cat and mouse with him, my first shot completely missed, but we stayed at it and took him shortly after. I believe the bushbuck in Benin are the harnessed subspecies. He has beautiful white lines running the length of his coat and his horns, while not massive, had nice curls. I’ve been on more than one hunt where by day three we had nothing, so this was starting to feel pretty lucky.
And our luck continued the next day. We had walked an hour or more until we came to a wide hill that stood in the center of acres of open grass. Hiking to the top, we glassed the area and quickly spotted a roan bull feeding about 200-250 yards below. We watched him for a bit before setting up for a shot. For me the angle was a little bit out of my comfort zone, angling downward over rocks, but I managed to take him down and the first thing I remember was the huge smile on the tracker’s face. That was all the validation I needed. We descended the hill and came upon what, if I had to pick just one, is probably my favorite African trophy. A mature roan’s body is more massive than I imagined and this one had really nice horns, thick and mature, not rubbed down much, but imposing. And the black mask across the white of his face was really striking. Getting a nice roan in Benin, in my opinion, was worth the trip alone.
The duiker we took just off the road at dusk the following day. It was not on my list but he was a nice one and I’m happy we made the effort. While it was my first duiker, I see now how these little guys can become an addiction! Same with the oribi whose face I almost blasted away due to his quick movement or, more likely, my bad shooting that day. Fortunately, his horns were intact and we’ll see what kind of magic the taxidermist can conjure. Finally, when Christophe spotted the warthog at the top of a fairly imposing hill, I did not see him at all until they convinced me that this grey speck was indeed a warthog worth taking. I took a very lucky shot and must give a warm and hearty thanks to the tracker who carried him down for me. I could have done it myself, but I would probably still be there right now if that had been attempted.
Between hunts the food was terrific. The warthog schnitzel was so good I requested it a few days in a row. The fresh grilled roan and buckbuck livers with only a dip in mustard were also excellent. The buffalo was good as was local fruit with local honey for dessert. We ate a sort of shepard’s pie with the kob meat which was also good. There was also non-game food but we’re on safari so that’s what I enjoy. Staff was friendly, of course French is the spoken language and it’s nice to speak a bit of it but not necessary. Bruno and Christophe’s English is fluent. I tell people I only speak French in an emergency and so it wasn’t tested at camp.
That’s the end of my hunt, although I did spend another week in Benin because I wanted to learn and participate in voodoo rituals since Benin is the birthplace of voodoo. That portion of my trip started with a not only long, but somewhat scary drive back to Cotonou since this time it was only me and a driver who did not speak any English. We had some serious car trouble in the middle of nowhere and remarkably, some guys with homemade blow torches actually fixed the car and we made it to Cotonou in 15 hours, although emergency French had to be deployed in harsh tones when it came to pass that my driver had no idea where the hotel was. We had to get a guy off the street to help us but the beer that night never tasted so good.
I spent the next several days in Cotonou, Porto Novo, Abomey, and Ouidah, watching and participating in several voodoo rituals and ceremonies way far off the beaten path. For that I had a local guide who is a voodoo initiate and his knowledge and connections were critical, as you might think. Benin is a vibrant and colorful country and I found the people genuinely friendly and, for the most part, unused to tourism, at least in any great number. Because of this, I never felt like I was being put on and I have at times felt that way in other African countries. There are tourist shops and areas in Cotonou and Ouidah, but it didn’t take much to get off the beaten track. In Porto Novo I visited a farm school and bumped into an American. He said, “What the fuck are you doing here?” When someone says that I tend to think that I have arrived.
Brian
It has been almost a year since I hunted in Benin with Christophe Morio and Atacora Safaris and it would be a great disservice to them if I didn’t provide a report on my truly fantastic experience. Arriving at the end of January for a ten day safari focused on buffalo and roan, from the time I was picked up at the airport to the time I departed back to Paris, my time in Benin was productive, memorable, and the people and hunting were excellent. Hunting in Konkombri, I saw hundreds of animals, collected fine trophies, not only of buffalo and roan, but kob, bushbuck, oribi, duiker, and warthog. If you are looking for some adventure and the unique flavor of Benin’s culture and history, I highly recommend it.
I arrived in Cotonou quite late and was picked up by Bruno, an owner of Atacora Safaris. He took me to the Hotel du Lac where we had a late dinner and were scheduled for an early rise to make the trek literally from the bottom to the top of Benin, travelling almost the entire length of the country. I had planned to fly but due to the whims of the President of Benin, private charters were banned making a drive the only option. It’s a long drive, thirteen hours, but it was a chance to see the country. The changes in people, landscape, road conditions, and a few pleasant stops all made it worthwhile, especially for me visiting for the first and possibly only time in my life.
We met Christophe in Natitingou, a town a few hours from the game reserve. I had never met him but he’s immediately likeable and fun, so the rest of the drive to camp was easy. The camp itself is a series of mud and thatch roof huts surrounding an open kitchen and common area. While the huts are modeled in the local style they are comfortable, well appointed, and everything seemed very new. It’s a top notch operation, no doubt. I settled in and we had a light dinner, discussed our hunt, and went early to bed.
Before dawn we had a breakfast of eggs, bread, and coffee before loading up the truck and heading out. It’s cool in the morning, enough to make a jacket useful. We drove an hour outside camp and quickly started seeing a nice array of animals. In the first day alone we saw not only buffalo herds but elephants and lions. The terrain is mostly open savannah but has a nice variety of water holes, some serious hills, the Pendjari River and its banks, and some pockets of lush greenery. For the first day we concentrated on buffalo and took a few walks into the bush. While there always seemed to be a buffalo trail to follow, sometimes we got close to a herd, sometimes not. What struck me was that Christophe has a sincere enjoyment of the buffalo and all the flora and fauna for that matter. There is no doubt that over ten days he took a lot more photographs than I did. He also loves to call the buffalo and often gets the herd to come toward us for a close encounter.
Kob are an antelope that have always caught my eye for their solid beauty and uniqueness. We looked at several groups before a lone bull was spotted from the truck. We had a short stalk until I took a shot at not more than 100 yards. He was down and was a nice animal to start our hunt. While I want to be productive on a hunt, I don’t want to feel rushed, especially early on when it’s unnecessary. Fortunately, the pace was such that we were always focused on trophies but took the time to really take in this part of Africa. What’s nice is that despite Benin being a very small country and Konkombri being relatively small, it does not feel small. It feels big and it feels like you are the only ones there.
The following day we were on the road mid-morning when one of the two trackers spotted a herd. We hopped off and followed them for probably an hour before getting close enough to look for bulls. Personally, I think the Western Buffalo has horns and head every bit as interesting as the Cape Buffalo and in Benin some of the buffalo are black while others are reddish. We found a nice one that had a bit of both so I took a shot off Christophe’s shoulder with the nice .416 Rigby borrowed from Bruno. We were maybe 20 yards from him so the shot was on target. I put two more in him and he was down. He was not ancient, but mature, not the biggest but great looking, for me a true prize and a trophy I will cherish. The day was still young after he was skinned and butchered so we had a lot more hunting ahead of us.
That afternoon we spotted a nice bushbuck in typical bushbuck habitat not far from the riverbank. We played a little cat and mouse with him, my first shot completely missed, but we stayed at it and took him shortly after. I believe the bushbuck in Benin are the harnessed subspecies. He has beautiful white lines running the length of his coat and his horns, while not massive, had nice curls. I’ve been on more than one hunt where by day three we had nothing, so this was starting to feel pretty lucky.
And our luck continued the next day. We had walked an hour or more until we came to a wide hill that stood in the center of acres of open grass. Hiking to the top, we glassed the area and quickly spotted a roan bull feeding about 200-250 yards below. We watched him for a bit before setting up for a shot. For me the angle was a little bit out of my comfort zone, angling downward over rocks, but I managed to take him down and the first thing I remember was the huge smile on the tracker’s face. That was all the validation I needed. We descended the hill and came upon what, if I had to pick just one, is probably my favorite African trophy. A mature roan’s body is more massive than I imagined and this one had really nice horns, thick and mature, not rubbed down much, but imposing. And the black mask across the white of his face was really striking. Getting a nice roan in Benin, in my opinion, was worth the trip alone.
The duiker we took just off the road at dusk the following day. It was not on my list but he was a nice one and I’m happy we made the effort. While it was my first duiker, I see now how these little guys can become an addiction! Same with the oribi whose face I almost blasted away due to his quick movement or, more likely, my bad shooting that day. Fortunately, his horns were intact and we’ll see what kind of magic the taxidermist can conjure. Finally, when Christophe spotted the warthog at the top of a fairly imposing hill, I did not see him at all until they convinced me that this grey speck was indeed a warthog worth taking. I took a very lucky shot and must give a warm and hearty thanks to the tracker who carried him down for me. I could have done it myself, but I would probably still be there right now if that had been attempted.
Between hunts the food was terrific. The warthog schnitzel was so good I requested it a few days in a row. The fresh grilled roan and buckbuck livers with only a dip in mustard were also excellent. The buffalo was good as was local fruit with local honey for dessert. We ate a sort of shepard’s pie with the kob meat which was also good. There was also non-game food but we’re on safari so that’s what I enjoy. Staff was friendly, of course French is the spoken language and it’s nice to speak a bit of it but not necessary. Bruno and Christophe’s English is fluent. I tell people I only speak French in an emergency and so it wasn’t tested at camp.
That’s the end of my hunt, although I did spend another week in Benin because I wanted to learn and participate in voodoo rituals since Benin is the birthplace of voodoo. That portion of my trip started with a not only long, but somewhat scary drive back to Cotonou since this time it was only me and a driver who did not speak any English. We had some serious car trouble in the middle of nowhere and remarkably, some guys with homemade blow torches actually fixed the car and we made it to Cotonou in 15 hours, although emergency French had to be deployed in harsh tones when it came to pass that my driver had no idea where the hotel was. We had to get a guy off the street to help us but the beer that night never tasted so good.
I spent the next several days in Cotonou, Porto Novo, Abomey, and Ouidah, watching and participating in several voodoo rituals and ceremonies way far off the beaten path. For that I had a local guide who is a voodoo initiate and his knowledge and connections were critical, as you might think. Benin is a vibrant and colorful country and I found the people genuinely friendly and, for the most part, unused to tourism, at least in any great number. Because of this, I never felt like I was being put on and I have at times felt that way in other African countries. There are tourist shops and areas in Cotonou and Ouidah, but it didn’t take much to get off the beaten track. In Porto Novo I visited a farm school and bumped into an American. He said, “What the fuck are you doing here?” When someone says that I tend to think that I have arrived.
Brian
