ZAMBIA: Hippo, Croc, & Kafue Lechwe Hunt With MBIZI SAFARIS Zambia

[Cecil Hammonds]

I tend to be somewhat concise in my writing, so if anyone has questions, by all means ask. We just returned from our hunt in Zambia with Mbizi Safaris in the South Luangwa River valley. It was a top notch experience in every way, from the quality of game to the incredible hospitality. My wife and I were the only clients in camp, and Michael de Gre-Dejestam was our host and PH. We booked this hunt last year when we saw a hippo-croc special Michael was advertising here on AH.com

We flew on Qatar Airways from DFW to Lusaka with a layover in Doha. We like Qatar Airways quality of service and no problems traveling with hunting rifles and ammunition. When we arrived in Lusaka, Michael had his agent in the airport meet us at baggage claim with the gun permits and assist us getting the rifles cleared through customs which was no big deal. I brought along my 375 Ruger and Tikka 300 win mag. Hornady 300 grain DGX for the 375 and Federal Terminal Ascent 200 grain for the 300 win mag.

It was about a 4.5 to 5 hour drive to camp from Lusaka. We were a bit jet lagged, so my wife snoozed most of that drive, and I nodded off a little my self. We got to camp and relaxed a bit before dinner and then got a good night of sleep. The chalet where we stayed was quite comfortable , and we had lots of wildlife roaming through camp. There was a waterhole right by our chalet, and there was almost always game there.

The next day, we went to the range and got the rifles sorted out and then went in search of croc or hippo. The guys had been scouting the area, and had been seeing a nice croc hanging around on certain area, so we went and had a look.

 

[Cecil Hammonds]

Once we arrived in the area where the guys had been seeing the croc, we stalked up a dry, sandy creek bed to have a look. There was a berm of sand that we could hide behind that gave us a perfect view of the river. Well, there he was lying on a sand bar at about 130 yards. A 14ft croc! He was basking in the sun, and we were concealed by the berm, so I had plenty of time to get set up on him with the 375. First shot in the neck 'behind the smile" got the job done. We put some more insurance shots in him, but he never went anywhere. I wanted to bring Swift A Frames, but couldn't get any before the hunt, so I went with Hornady DGX which worked fine. Recover bullet from the croc weighed 261 grains out of 300. The guys went across the river and recovered the croc which was quite something to watch. One of the guys was a little short, and the water was just over his head. He kept bobbing under the water and coming back up. That concerned me a bit, but he was fine. The guys were tough!

 

[PARA45]

Wonderful start. Anxiously waiting for the rest.

 

[Cecil Hammonds]

Since it was only day one, we went back to camp and decided to wait til the next day to pursue the hippo. After a pleasant evening and a great meal, we started out the next morning and had a look at a spot not too far from camp. There was a lone hippo there, but there would have been no way to recover him from that spot, so we moved on. We went to another spot and saw quite a few hippos, but they were a bit spooked and would just come up for a breath and then go back under the water. We watched them for a while and then decided to move on. We went to another part of the river beyond where we spotted the croc, and sure enough there was a pod of hippos there. Coincidentally, there was another shooter croc basking in the sun at this spot! We had a bit of a struggle picking out he bull and if he was a shooter, but we got him sorted out eventually. We stalked down the river bank to a spot where could get a shot from a concealed position, and then set up on him. He was in shallow water, so after we shot him, he didn't sink. The local fishermen in the area came with their dugout canoes , and towed him about 2kms downriver to a spot where we could get the truck winch hooked to him. What a job all that was; not just getting him there, but getting him up on the bank. Once he was up on shore and pictures were taken, the guys all got after getting him dressed out. Everything was put to use, including the entrails. which the guys seem to treasure highly.

 

[Cecil Hammonds]

Well at this point, we are only two days into the hunt and we already have the two main animals on the list down! We have seven days in camp before heading the Kafue Flats for Lechwe, so now I have 5 days to work with. We decided to hang a couple of baits and try for a hyena. Also, if an opportunity presented itself for a Chobe Bushbuck, I would definitely take it! We hung baits from the hippo at two sites in opposite directions from camp where Michael has some nice elevated blinds that offer about a 50 yard shot to the bait. We had a trail camera at one of the bait sites. It didn't take long for the hyenas to find the baits. However, when we checked the trail camera, we had quite a surprise when something else quite larger showed up at the bait!

 

[Cecil Hammonds]

The next evening, we opted to sit at the other bait site (the one without the lion!!) My wife wanted to come along and we all sat up in the blind. We had two honey badgers come in that evening, but no hyena. The next day, we checked baits again and the lion had taken the entire bait from the first bait site, so we hung a fresh bait. We went back to the second site and there were fresh hyena tracks there. He must have come later after the honey badgers left. We decided to sit on that bait that evening. My wife decided to opt out this time. Well it wasn't long after we got up in the blind that we heard something moving through the leaves. Sure enough, a big hyena came in just as it was starting to get dark. He got to the bait, and it was a 50 yard shot to put him down. It didn't look that big when we got set up for the shot, but when we walked up to him, we were surprised to see how big we was. It was quite the opposite of ground shrinkage. The crew was very happy about getting the hyena and they were singing in the back of the truck all the way back to camp.
The celebration continued after we go back with more singing and dancing. The next day we measured the skull and it was 19 inches!

 

[Cecil Hammonds]

At this point, I should back up and talk about the bushbuck. As I mentioned right by camp there was a waterhole. There had been quite a few female bushbuck and a young ram that had been coming there quite a bit. While we were out checking baits and driving around there area, we heard about a big bushbuck coming up near camp when we returned. I should add that while we were out looking over another area, the guys spotted a big lioness lying under a tree. We got a good look at her from about 50 yards aways, and she didn't even move. Well anyways while we were sitting around camp waiting to go out after the hyena, Michael told me if a good bushbuck came to the waterhole, I should take it. Well, guess what, that happened!

 

[Cecil Hammonds]

At Mbizi, Michael also has a forestry and milling operation. The harvest and process beautiful Mopane, Ebony, and Mahogany lumber and ship it out all over the world. It was a very impressive operation. After a great hunt, out time at Mbizi came to an end and it was time to go back to Lusaka to get set up for the Lechwe hunt at Kafue flats. We drove back to Lusaka and checked into a lodge there. We went out for a meal, and then the next morning at 4 am, Michael and I set out for Blue Lagoon at Kafue Flats. My wife stayed there, and then transferred to the hotel where we spend our last night, Latitude 15. It was about a 2.5 hour drive to the hunting area. We got there and met up with our game scout and set out in search of the Lechwe. It wasn't long before we spotted massive herds. The challenge was picking out the right ram, coordinating that we were both looking at the same ram, and then waiting for him to get clear for a shot. Well that all came together with great results.

 

[7mmFan]

awesome report so far. congrats and thanks for sharing!

 

[Cecil Hammonds]

The last morning of our stay, we went to a few spots around Lusaka souvenir hunting then headed to the airport. We opted to take a 19 hour layover in Doha and get a hotel room there. That was a game changer as we had the opportunity to sleep in a bed, take a shower, and just relax a bit before the 15 hour flight home. We had no problems getting the rifles cleared out of Lusaka and no issues with the airline either. Everything made it home with no problem. We are already talking about a trip back next year for Sitatunga, Sable, Puku, and Black Lechwe.

 

[Safari1]

Did you see much in the way of elephant and buffalo at Mbizi?

 

[Cecil Hammonds]

Did you see much in the way of elephant and buffalo at Mbizi?

We saw several female elephant, but no bulls. Lots of buffalo sign and I know they take some really nice ones out of there, but we didn't go up into the main area where they hunt buffalo, so I didn't see them.

 

[cls]

Great report. Congratulations on a very successful hunt. Your report brought back some great memories from my hunt at Mbizi in 2017, it is a special place.

 

[JerBear8]

Congratulations and thank you for sharing! Great write up and beautiful trophies.

 

[Hunt anything]

Great report, really enjoyed it. That bushbuck is phenomenal!

 

[USN]

Thank you for the report. Well done

 

[Adipose]

What a great hunt and report. Love the Bushbuck!

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats and thanks for sharing! Bushbuck of a lifetime there!

 

[MontanaPat]

Congrats on what sounds like a phenomenal hunt. The bushbuck and lechwe are impressive

 

[Graham Hunter]

Excellent Bushbuck!