NAMIBIA: ZAMBIA: Namibia & Zambia, The Tale Of Two Leopards

[JES Adventures]

This will be a most memorable trip for my family as we will start in the Luangwa Valley of Zambia then move on to Bushmanland of Namibia in pursuit of a Leopard for each of my daughters.

The trip is to celebrate the culmination of two college graduations.

My wife Debra has joined us to share this most memorable experience and my good friend Melcom Van Staden will be along to record the events for us all to enjoy in the years to come.

I chose Qatar for the long haul then will use several different regional carriers and one charter while moving between the three countries.


We will start with my old friend Strang Middleton hunting the Mbizi Game Reserve. I am so looking forward to spending time at Mbizi after reading Michael’s posts here over the last few years. It has remained in the back of my mind as a place to experience. As fate would have it I finally get to see Mbizi.

Then, mid month we will travel to Bushmanland to hunt with Peter Thormahlen for two weeks. Peter and our family go way back and this will be my first time to see Bushmanland.

Everything started off well with check in at DFW being a breeze and the overnight took off on time.

About five hours into the trip the Captain announced there was a medical emergency onboard and we had to turn back and land at JFK. This added nearly ten hours to our trip so we missed our connection to Johannesburg.

It was a long day but as usual when we arrived in Doha everyone was so friendly and accommodating I almost forgot I’d spent over 24 hours on the plane!

The staff had us rebooked on the evening flight and have us hotel vouchers for our 12 hour layover.
While waiting for transport to the hotel the staff directs us to a Business Class Arrivals Lounge where we had a nice cup of coffee then we’re off to the hotel in a few minutes.

It was nice to have a shower, refresh and a decent meal at the hotel restaurant. I have never spent any time outside of the airport in Doha so it was nice to see a little of the city. We all decided we should take an overnight or two next time to see more of Qatar.
The transport took us back to the airport and we did a bit of shopping. Me, I picked up three bottles of Champagne to celebrate two leopards and Deb’s and my 35th Wedding Anniversary. Seems like a great unexpected gift to celebrate this milestone in our marriage as we both have fond memories of our two Safaris to the Luangwa Valley.

The girls hit several of the countless shops, it seems every designer brand is represented at the Doha Dury Free.

The flight to Joberg pushed off on time and we spent the next 8 hours trying to get some rest. We now have a longer layover in Joberg to catch the Zambia Proflight at noon. Barring anything unusual, this time tomorrow we should be in camp.

We made it to Johannesburg on time and the airport was pretty quiet at 4AM. Customs was a breeze and we collected all the luggage and went over to wait for Zambia Proflight to open so we can check out bags. Next stop Lusaka then we will head for Mbizi.

 

[VertigoBE]

Looks like a rough but promising start to a great adventure! Safe travels and looking forward to hearing about the next instalments of your family’s safari!

 

[Fatback]

Congrats to your daughters in graduating and on the 35 years of marriage, both wonderful accomplishments. Sounds like an adventure awaits. Based on all of your previous hunt reports, I look forward to reading all about these safaris. Good luck to all.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

Can’t wait to her about this hunt and congrats on the anniversary and graduations respectively.

HH

 

[flatwater bill]

Lottsa pretty young ladies on that trip with you.! Have a great time! My wife and I celebrated our 50th in Africa and it was awesome. Looking forward to the reports..........shoot straight, be safe.................FWB

 

[PARA45]

Lottsa pretty young ladies on that trip with you.! Have a great time! My wife and I celebrated our 50th in Africa and it was awesome. Looking forward to the reports..........shoot straight, be safe.................FWB

Wow, that is beautiful, congrats to you two. In today's age, that is very unusual.

 

[Tucketed]

Can’t wait to hear “the rest of the story” Beautiful family and congratulations to your daughters on their graduation.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Wow, quite an adventure @JES Adventures ! Looking forward to the report.

 

[gillettehunter]

The beginning of another epic hunt. This should be quite the tale. Very much looking forward to hearing about your hunt. Congrats on the graduations. Great thing to celebrate. 35 yrs is a long time with one partner. Many don't make it that far. I hit 44 yrs a short time ago. Lots of commitment on both of your parts. Good luch and shoot straight!
Bruce

 

[cls]

Looking forward to following along on this grand adventure. Good luck to all. I am quite sure that you all will enjoy your time at Mbizi.

 

[Nyati]

That is a great plan, wish you all the very best on your journey.

 

[Houston Bill]

This is going to be an epic adventure. Good luck!

 

[Scott CWO]

Wow! Good luck to all on special safaris.

 

[JES Adventures]

Travel - Continued

The flight was only a little late and our bags came out quickly so we were on the road headed for Mbizi by 2:30. We arrived on camp just before nine and were greeted with orange juice and the smiling staff. They made short time of taking our bags to the chalets then we went for dinner.

The Chef prepared a wonderful meal of steak, potatoes and vegetables accompanied by a nice South African red wine. After dinner we retired to the deck overlooking the Luangwa River and after an hour or so we called it a night.

Strang said we will be up early as we need to get baits collected and hung. It was close to eleven when I got to bed and I slept solid through the whole night.

 

[JES Adventures]

Day 1

The alarm went off at half past five and I got dressed and went straight over for coffee. I slept like rock in the comfortable bed and was pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the camp sitting on the high bank of the Luangwa River. Deb and I are in the last of three chalets under the canopy of a huge tree.

Strang was already up and greeted me with his ever present smile and positive demeanor. We took our coffee out to the deck under a massive sausage tree overlooking the river.

The rest of the crowd trickled in over the next hour and after breakfast we finally got out of camp around seven. It is a beautiful area, very hilly to almost mountainous. The bush is thick but huntable as we come across open place periodically.

The head tracker Steven gave Strang the intel and by 7:30 we found tracks of a male leopard on the road.

We now were in search of bait and the impala population is quite healthy so that would be our target. If we see a big kudu, we will take it. By 9:15 we cut a second set of leopard tracks which was a good sign. The moon is nearly full and the cats are active at night hunting. About 20 minutes later we spotted a nice herd of impala and a stalk ensued. Less than ten minutes later the ram was down and we had our first bait.

Strang knew where he wanted to hang it so we made short time getting to the area and he searched out the correct tree. Once finished we went back to camp for a wonderful lunch overlooking the river then had a short siesta before going out at three.

Shortly after three we departed camp to continue our quest for impala as we need to get three more baits up.

Not fifteen minutes after we left camp the trackers said “Lion”. There in front of us a pride of nine lions with two young males, females and a couple of cubs. What a beautiful sight and a testimony to the game management at Mbizi.

We continued onward, looking for another impala so we could get two baits up today. The bush is very thick and not much of the area has been burned so visibility is limited with makes the plainsgame hunting more difficult. About half past four we spotted three kudu bulls on a hillside. They were calm and we were able to study them for a minute or so. None of them were fully mature so we pressed on in search of a bait animal.

A half hour or so later the trackers spotted some waterbuck and there was a couple of zebra with them. Off of the car they went and made a stalk but the zebra saw them and barked as they ran away.

It was about a half hour from sunset when we got onto an impala ram and he was quickly collected.
We made way to the next bait location and had to finish hanging it with the aid of the cruiser lights.

It was about seven when we got to camp so a shower was in order then to the bar for a cocktail. After a G&T we had another great meal then back to the deck for a nightcap. The sounds of Africa with hippo’s calling in the river and a lion in the distance made for the perfect end to a great day.

 

[buck wild]

Not sure how I missed the beginning but I'm in now

 

[Rare Breed]

This will be a most memorable trip for my family as we will start in the Luangwa Valley of Zambia then move on to Bushmanland of Namibia in pursuit of a Leopard for each of my daughters.

The trip is to celebrate the culmination of two college graduations.

My wife Debra has joined us to share this most memorable experience and my good friend Melcom Van Staden will be along to record the events for us all to enjoy in the years to come.

I chose Qatar for the long haul then will use several different regional carriers and one charter while moving between the three countries.


We will start with my old friend Strang Middleton hunting the Mbizi Game Reserve. I am so looking forward to spending time at Mbizi after reading Michael’s posts here over the last few years. It has remained in the back of my mind as a place to experience. As fate would have it I finally get to see Mbizi.

Then, mid month we will travel to Bushmanland to hunt with Peter Thormahlen for two weeks. Peter and our family go way back and this will be my first time to see Bushmanland.

Everything started off well with check in at DFW being a breeze and the overnight took off on time.

About five hours into the trip the Captain announced there was a medical emergency onboard and we had to turn back and land at JFK. This added nearly ten hours to our trip so we missed our connection to Johannesburg.

It was a long day but as usual when we arrived in Doha everyone was so friendly and accommodating I almost forgot I’d spent over 24 hours on the plane!

The staff had us rebooked on the evening flight and have us hotel vouchers for our 12 hour layover.
While waiting for transport to the hotel the staff directs us to a Business Class Arrivals Lounge where we had a nice cup of coffee then we’re off to the hotel in a few minutes.

It was nice to have a shower, refresh and a decent meal at the hotel restaurant. I have never spent any time outside of the airport in Doha so it was nice to see a little of the city. We all decided we should take an overnight or two next time to see more of Qatar.
The transport took us back to the airport and we did a bit of shopping. Me, I picked up three bottles of Champagne to celebrate two leopards and Deb’s and my 35th Wedding Anniversary. Seems like a great unexpected gift to celebrate this milestone in our marriage as we both have fond memories of our two Safaris to the Luangwa Valley.

The girls hit several of the countless shops, it seems every designer brand is represented at the Doha Dury Free.

The flight to Joberg pushed off on time and we spent the next 8 hours trying to get some rest. We now have a longer layover in Joberg to catch the Zambia Proflight at noon. Barring anything unusual, this time tomorrow we should be in camp.

We made it to Johannesburg on time and the airport was pretty quiet at 4AM. Customs was a breeze and we collected all the luggage and went over to wait for Zambia Proflight to open so we can check out bags. Next stop Lusaka then we will head for Mbizi.





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Awesome!!! Excited to hear about this great adventure!!! Also congratulations on your anniversary!!!

 

[Angelo_orygun]

Sounds like a fantastic trip so far, I’m in for the next day!

 

[ChasingHemingway]

I’m all in: ready for the next chapter!

 

[Houston Bill]

How exciting that on day 1 you are already on some leopard tracks! Good luck and I hope a big male comes into one of your baits!