Phillip congratulations on a wonderful safari, the hard ones make you really appreciate the trophys. each time you look at the taxidermy and the pictures you will be able to remember the hard work and sweat that went into it. Missed seeing you at DSC but really like your alternate location:A Camping:
 
It appears that it was well worth your time and effort to miss DSC and the AH dinner. Congratulations!

Yes hated to miss a good time but well worth it. Too hot later in the year.
 
These areas are unsafe , but in Africa you only see the danger when it is already there. What the people tell you on place is a lie , anyway. Collaboration with the enemy is great. In terms of security , you can also forget the local armies and police. There is a reason why France has to deploy troops in west and central Africa, among others.

I don't understand that there are still outfitters that take a risk with their customers. Don't believe that the french army will always sacrifice soldiers to rescue careless tourists like in Benin.

I go on the recommendation on not only the people on the ground but the US Dept of State. Some areas may be unsafe but not near my area. There is more crime in Johannesburg than anywhere in Africa but we all go there.
 
Any tips on what you did/took to get through your sickness (or what caused it?)? Hopefully wont have to find out what it's like to be sick so far from home especially during hunting days, but if there are tips to get better faster it would be worth remembering

Could have been the water that comes from the river and inadvertently being exposed or possibly undercooked food. Not sure but after other experiences I take hand sanitizer everywhere now. Three days of it but I make it through not wanting to miss a hunting day
 
Congrats on some fine animals! Thanks for the report, did you use your R8 exclusively and the .375?

Yes I did and was happy with the results.
 
Its a level 2 country for Americans with some level 3 areas. I guess I have spent too much of my professional life banging around the amber colored areas of the world to automatically strike any such destination off my hunting list. Bob Kern of the Hunting Consortium is one of the best, most experienced, and most trusted agents in the business. Pretty sure he hasn't lost a client to a revolution yet.

Fabulous set of animals @Philip Glass . You could not improve upon that ancient buffalo, and no words truly describe a LDE. Your bull is magnificent.

Did you travel with an antibiotic? I have been hit with bugs as bad as Shigella Dysentery over the years and never leave home without a couple of courses of gorillacillin (usually Cipro) in my carry-on. Glad you mended quickly.

That R8 is a pretty nice rifle isn't it!

Love the R8! Yes I had Cipro but waited until second sick day to take it. I don’t want to take antibiotics unless I have to but thought I should go ahead instead of risk getting sicker and then really losing days. I also take a Zpack for upper respiratory infections as well as a gallon ziplock full of OTC stuff.
Thanks!
 
Missed you at DSC this year. Now I know why.

Glad you survived the crud. It is never fun getting sick, especially when away from home.

When reading hunting reports there always seems to be an animal or two that are very average. Not here. Your animals are fantastic. All are top trophies.

Thanks for sharing your memories with us.

Thanks yes I was blessed with real trophies that all had some age on them.
 
Hi Phillip!
Great hunt and great report, congratulations!

Question:
What are the security risks, threats, or concerns on the ground in Cameroon?
Or which parts of the country could be considered risky?

If you had a chance to discuss with PH?

Never felt unsafe. The very northern tip of Cameroon is considered risky. The rest of the country is low risk. If you want to hunt something you do have to weigh the risks but you can’t worry about every news report you hear.
 
What a great safari Philip! Way to hang in there and persevere! I ALWAYS enjoy your stories and success.

Other than the group you saw when you got your roan, did you see any others?

We saw roan about every other day. Plenty of roan and buffalo here.
 
Yes hated to miss a good time but well worth it. Too hot later in the year.

What temperatures were you experiencing? (I'm a little concerned when a Texan thinks it would be too hot.)
 
The only other time I got sick on an international trip was Zim on the lion hunt. We realized we had all gotten a stomach virus from one of the game scouts that was sick. No need for antibiotics with a virus. We lost a day and a half of hunting but all recovered fairly quickly. We were eating breakfast and lunch in the bush and not washing hands. Hand sanitizer!
 
What temperatures were you experiencing? (I'm a little concerned when a Texan thinks it would be too hot.)

I had my Kestrel and played with it a bit on this hunt. I had two warm days that topped out at 92F. The rest of the time was nice and jackets early and late. Feb/March are when it really gets hot there.
 
Cameroon Savanna Safari

As with any great adventure this one was long in the planning. I booked my Lord Derby Eland hunt with The Hunting Consortium at SCI last year. Plans were made for me to hunt with Faro Coron Safaris in Cameroon on the Faro River. The only thing about using an agent is that you don’t always get to meet your PH until the hunt begins. I flew from Midland Texas to Douala, Cameroon, (MAF-IAH-CDG-DLA) and spent the night. The staff hired by The Hunting Consortium took good care of me clearing my gun upon arrival and then delivering me to the Hotel La Falaise to get some much needed rest. I was up incredibly early in order to check in my gun and luggage and fly to Ngaoundere. In Douala it takes forever to get in and out of the airport with a rifle! In Ngaoundere I was met by my French PH Nicolas Dubich. Nicolas has a lifetime of experience hunting Tanzania as well as Central Africa and of course France. Many great hunting stories were shared on this trip. Evenings in camp were great with an incredible view of the Faro River. We would see hippo, kob, and baboons regularly from camp. This is a very neat safari camp that is in such a great location as it is very cool down by the river compared to anywhere else.

My first hunting day was December 30th. I planned to hunt this early to beat the oppressive heat of Central Africa. It worked and the weather was beautiful! I was hunting Block 15, a 250,000 acre hunting block in Cameroon’s savanna forest area. The first two days were spent like all days, looking for eland tracks and planning. Day 3 found us looking for fresh eland tracks when we ran into some Western Savanna Buffalo. After getting a good look at cows and calves grazing 40 yards in front of us an old bull was spotted bringing up the rear. He was facing us at 80 yards and Nicolas put up the sticks. I immediately saw the shiny, worn horns of a very old trophy bull in my Swarovski scope and I was ready. Or was I? Buffalo are dangerous game and they tell me these buffalo can be particularly nasty. Great care must be taken on this shot. I got my head straight and focused on this all too important opportunity. The shot looked good and I immediately reloaded my R8 for another but the trees obscured him as he turned. We approached carefully. Scope on low, gun on fire, going slowly in his direction. Not more than 25 yards from where he stood the .375 Ruger loaded with Barnes TSX 270gr bullets had done a remarkable job and he was dead as a hammer! He went down so hard and so quickly he was upright, posed and-ready for pics! What a great start to the Safari. The camp staff have a huge celebration when a buffalo or eland is taken and it was great fun for all. Singing and dancing they say “We we’re looking for the buffalo and we found him”!

The Lord Derby Eland spends its day walking many miles browsing and breaking trees to get to the fresh leaves. Finding fresh tracks that can be followed and the eland found in a day is not easy. We were grinding it out day after day following tracks for many miles and looking for fresh sign and it was tough. We would see the Central Kob daily on this hunt and in good numbers. Needing a bit of a break we decided to take an afternoon off from eland tracking and look for a big Kob. We were certainly not going to take anything that was not a real trophy since they were everywhere in this area but I needed to put something in the skinning shed. This was one of the few times we actually spotted something and stalked it. The PH found what we were looking for and a fairly easy but careful stalk was made and we were successful.

Midway through the hunt some stomach bug hit me pretty bad. Bad luck and bad timing as we found a herd of Roan with a big bull in there. I got set up on sticks for a 180 yard shot and just waiting for him to clear a tree when I realized I was shaking all over and extremely nauseated. I tried to concentrate, be still, and squeeze off a slightly quartering shot on this colorful animal. It was not to be. I clearly missed and now really feeling bad. About three days with this bug but I pressed on.

Days passed and I enjoyed the camp, Nicolas, and his hunting stories. I am dreaming of hunting Tanzania with him someday. Day 10 of my 13 day hunt arrived and I was getting frustrated by this time. After a few opportunities on an eland over the many days we were finally in the right place at the right time. A young bull and his massive counterpart were slowly grazing our way. I’m sure the young bull saw us but we had the wind in our favor and we slowly crawled to a kneeling position with the sticks set up. You are always “threading the needle” here as there are trees and tall grass everywhere and a clear shooting path is rare. I was just able to get pointed through a small opening at what was a facing eland bull. I had to calm myself and really concentrate. It took 10 days to get this chance and there is just no room for error. The shot rang out and we found the big bull about 100 yards away. There are simply not words to go any further. The Lord Derby Eland is the most regal animal in Africa as well as possibly the hardest to hunt. The ghost of the savannah was mine!

With only 3 days left on my safari I knew I would not fill my wish list but I was ready to press on. We were concentrating on Roan and searching for tracks and sign when we spotted a male Red Flanked Duiker that everyone thought we should take a look at. Next to Kob these duikers are the most plentiful animals we saw. After a short stalk I was able to get a clear shot off and as soon as I fired Nicolas said “world record!” Thinking he was joking I thought nothing of it until we got over to him. It was the largest Nicolas had ever taken and roughly scored makes #11 SCI.

2 days left and still after the Roan we found very fresh tracks and sign at a natural salt lick. The trackers were not excited as the wind didn’t look to be in our favor but we took the track hoping he would turn and on approach the wind would be ok. Everywhere you go there is tall grass, burned areas, large crunchy leaves, and these little termite mounds that cover acres and all this makes a stalk very challenging. Three solid hours on this track and the PH gets his trackers together and whispers to slow down as he will be laying down or standing under a tree at this time of day. Sure enough another 100 yards or so and there was my Roan! I made a good shot and the celebration was on. We spent the last day and a half looking for Oribi as we had seen a few early in he Safari. Sadly the sun set on my 13th and final day in the Cameroon savannah. As tough as this hunt was I really didn’t want it to end. I had a very nice time with Nicolas and his staff on this Safari.

This hunt is not for everyone. It is mentally and physically challenging but equally rewarding. Cameroon is the only place to hunt the Lord Derby Eland and one of only two countries to hunt Western Savanna Buffalo. Nicolas, unlike all the other companies I looked at, allows you to purchase two hunting licenses and therefore be able to take all of the animals available. I am glad I chose to go with him and highly recommend him as a PH.


Regards,

Philip

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Philip,
Where in TZ does the PH work when not in Cameroon?
 
Its a level 2 country for Americans with some level 3 areas. I guess I have spent too much of my professional life banging around the amber colored areas of the world to automatically strike any such destination off my hunting list. Bob Kern of the Hunting Consortium is one of the best, most experienced, and most trusted agents in the business. Pretty sure he hasn't lost a client to a revolution yet.

Fabulous set of animals @Philip Glass . You could not improve upon that ancient buffalo, and no words truly describe a LDE. Your bull is magnificent.

Did you travel with an antibiotic? I have been hit with bugs as bad as Shigella Dysentery over the years and never leave home without a couple of courses of gorillacillin (usually Cipro) in my carry-on. Glad you mended quickly.

That R8 is a pretty nice rifle isn't it!
Not to make too much of this, but its a level 2 country with several DO NOT TRAVEL TO areas which are level 4, high risk areas.
 
Not to make too much of this, but its a level 2 country with several DO NOT TRAVEL TO areas which are level 4, high risk areas.
Yes and as others have indicated, the terrorism problem areas are in the far north, not in the hunting areas that are recommended. Crime is present in other areas but hunters are escorted. Definitely should not travel in these areas unescorted and that is the real issue that the SD is warning against.
 
Last edited:
Do Not Travel to:

  • North, Far North, Northwest and Southwest Regions, and Parts of East and Adamawa Regions due to crime and kidnapping.
  • Far North Region due to terrorism.
  • Northwest and Southwest Regions due to armed conflict.

  • I don't know what areas are used for hunting, but it isn't just the "far north" that is level 4, its lots of the country. Look I am not trying to say anything other than there is obviously a need for caution, and nothing should be taken to mean anything about Philips hunt.
I don't think the State Dept makes any distinction on level 4 areas as to whether one is guided or not, its means Do Not travel to. They cant tell you not to go of course, simply they are saying if you do go and get into trouble, they wont be of much help.
 
Great job Philip. Some very nice trophies and thanks for the report.
 
Philip,
Where in TZ does the PH work when not in Cameroon?
I think they have 4 big safari areas. I am primarily interested in hunting with him in Massailand for the gazelles etc. The whole time he was telling me stories of hunts there! It will have to be a few years but I am most likely going with him. They have a package just for the PG plus Buffalo for a better price than others. They also allow two hunters to share one license as there are two of each species on one license. This would reduce the massive costs to hunt TZ a bit. Plus Massailand does not require a charter which is big bucks there.
 
Do Not Travel to:

  • North, Far North, Northwest and Southwest Regions, and Parts of East and Adamawa Regions due to crime and kidnapping.
  • Far North Region due to terrorism.
  • Northwest and Southwest Regions due to armed conflict.

  • I don't know what areas are used for hunting, but it isn't just the "far north" that is level 4, its lots of the country. Look I am not trying to say anything other than there is obviously a need for caution, and nothing should be taken to mean anything about Philips hunt.
I don't think the State Dept makes any distinction on level 4 areas as to whether one is guided or not, its means Do Not travel to. They cant tell you not to go of course, simply they are saying if you do go and get into trouble, they wont be of much help.
I will never discount a persons concerns for personal safety when planning a safari. It is a real concern many places. All of the trouble is on the borders and I have not heard of anything recently. I suppose my point is that the general public thinks all of Africa is dangerous from reading news stories. Chicago at night is dangerous so a person just has to decide what they are comfortable with.
Regards,
Philip
 

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