Scott CWO
AH legend
I am on my way home from my latest safari adventure and thought I would use my flight time to file a report. It’s a great way to make time on the long flights go a bit faster as well.
Planning
Several years ago, I decided to look for a safari in Zambia to add to my collection of free-range plains game species and small cats. Why Zambia, you say? Well, Zambia has a unique combination of species that overlap and some others that are only found in Zambia. For example, I believe Zambia is the only country where you can hunt free-range red lechwe, black lechwe and Kafue lechwe, although transfers by charter aircraft are required to get all three in three different areas. Sitatunga, puku, yellow-backed duiker, Crawshay defassa waterbuck and roan were also on my list and available in parts of Zambia. Although I already have a nice 39” sable from my 2014 trip with Safaris de Mocambique, Zambia is well known for really big sable so I could possibly upgrade my sable as well. Sable are so dang beautiful!
I reached out to several safari companies but I was having some difficulty in finding a company that offered everything I was looking for in Zambia. So I reached out to a friend on the ground in Zambia. That friend, Mike Taylor, of the Takeri Private Reserve is well-known on this website as @spike.t and a great guy. Mike and I had first started corresponding several years ago after we had both hunted with another friend, the late Jamie Wilson, in R3 in the Niassa Reserve in northern Mozambique. Jamie’s untimely death, in a way, connected Mike and I and we’ve kept in touch ever since.
Initially, I asked Mike if he had all the species I was looking for at Takeri but he did not. I asked Mike if he could offer any suggestions. He said he would think about it and get back to me. Later, he told me he had talked to the Carlo Cuturi family that leased the hunting rights on the Kansonso Busanga and Lunda Busanga safari areas bordering Kafue National Park and that they could sort out a safari for me for everything I was looking for. I learned that their two areas are the only areas in Zambia with free-range red lechwe on quota. In addition, these areas have sitatunga, roan, huge sable, puku, Crawshay defassa waterbuck, a few yellow-backed duiker, serval and many other species such as Lichtenstein hartebeest, wildebeest, blue duiker, common duiker, warthog, lion, leppard, crocodile, hippo, buffalo, etc… on quota.
Mike put me in touch with the Cuturi’s managing PH for Ntengu Safaris, Federico (Fico) Vidale. Fico and I later worked out a deal for a 16-day safari in late July and August. I owe Mike a debt of gratitude for helping me contact the right people
The Itinerary
Fico suggested we start in Kansonso Busanga and Lunda Busanga July 28th - August 11th for 15 days for sitatunga, red lechwe, puku, roan, sable, waterbuck, serval, yellow-backed duiker, bushbuck, hyaena, and possibly a buffalo, if we had time. We then would charter up to the Bangweulu Swamp for a one-day black lechwe hunt on August 12th and then charter that evening to Lusaka. From Lusaka, we would drive out 3.5 hours to the Kafue Swamp on the next day for Kafue lechwe on August 13th before flying home on August 14th.
Travel
I decided to take my parents from South Dakota on this safari as a gift to them and as a thank you for everything they have done for me. They are 79 years-old and have done a lot of traveling but never to Africa. I left Denver on July 25th on American Airlines and met up with my parents at DFW for our business class Qatar Airways flights to Doha and then to Lusaka. I reclaimed my bags/rifle at DFW and rechecked them with QA, as required. It was a bit of a hassle but no big deal. QA makes sure that firearms always make the flights, so that’s worth the hassle and extra steps to me. The QSuites with lay-down seats were really great on my Botswana trip last year and I decided to book them again this year. After the 15-hour flight to Doha, I showered at the QA lounge and then we ate a free dinner. The lounge and airport in Doha are awesome.
Our next flight from Doha to Lusaka was also nice and we arrived in Lusaka about 9:30am on July 27th. After doing the gun inspection, Fico’s assistant, Rene, took us to the charter flight office for our flight to the Lushimba Camp in Kansonso Busanga. The pilot was great and so was the scenery.
After lunch and a nap, we checked the zero on my two rifles and after one shot from each, everything was good so we went for a game drive before returning to camp for dinner. We saw a lot of game!
Area and Camp
The Cuturi family owns several businesses in Zambia with their main business being supplying heavy equipment to the copper mines. They also own farms and sell maize, soya and chickens. They have conducted the most aggressive anti-poaching program in Zambia with boots on the ground and a helicopter patrolling every day to the tune of a $250k helicopter budget per year. In addition, besides paying the local community fees, they also provide maize and soya to the community. Nobody does more. The results in seven years have been dramatic. Lots of wildlife!
Helicopter hangers.
The Cuturi’s also constructed a very nice camp in the middle of nowhere with a great dining shelter, several chalets, safari tents, offices, and outbuildings. The camp is solar powered with generator backup. They also have a water filtration system that is impressive.
The Kansonso Busanga and Lunda Busanga areas border Kafue NP one the park’s west side and north side. I hunted Kasonso for most of the trip and Lunda for one day. Later, we chartered to the Bangweulu Swamp and later drove to Kafue Flats from Lusaka on the last day. There are thousands of lechwe so it’s a one-day hunt for lechwe. Please see attached maps. On the Zambia map, I circled the three areas hunted. On the Kansonso/Lunda map, I’ve circled the camps and drawn in a dividing line between the two hunting areas/blocks. Kansonso and Lunda each have their own quota of animals and separate lease contracts. The Kansonso contract is up for renewal for next year and the Lunda contract has six more years remaining.
The terrain is incredibly diverse with everything from thick forest to giant wide-open plains to big swamps, which explains why there are so many different and unique species. The area has a lot of permanent water sources. Fico and the crew had done a great job of burning well before my safari so there were a lot of areas with new green grass to attract the animals. The openness of many areas makes for some longer shots than experienced on most other African safaris.
It’s 2:15am now on my first seven hour flight to Doha from Lusaka. I will get to the hunting part of the adventure after getting some sleep. More to come!
Planning
Several years ago, I decided to look for a safari in Zambia to add to my collection of free-range plains game species and small cats. Why Zambia, you say? Well, Zambia has a unique combination of species that overlap and some others that are only found in Zambia. For example, I believe Zambia is the only country where you can hunt free-range red lechwe, black lechwe and Kafue lechwe, although transfers by charter aircraft are required to get all three in three different areas. Sitatunga, puku, yellow-backed duiker, Crawshay defassa waterbuck and roan were also on my list and available in parts of Zambia. Although I already have a nice 39” sable from my 2014 trip with Safaris de Mocambique, Zambia is well known for really big sable so I could possibly upgrade my sable as well. Sable are so dang beautiful!
I reached out to several safari companies but I was having some difficulty in finding a company that offered everything I was looking for in Zambia. So I reached out to a friend on the ground in Zambia. That friend, Mike Taylor, of the Takeri Private Reserve is well-known on this website as @spike.t and a great guy. Mike and I had first started corresponding several years ago after we had both hunted with another friend, the late Jamie Wilson, in R3 in the Niassa Reserve in northern Mozambique. Jamie’s untimely death, in a way, connected Mike and I and we’ve kept in touch ever since.
Initially, I asked Mike if he had all the species I was looking for at Takeri but he did not. I asked Mike if he could offer any suggestions. He said he would think about it and get back to me. Later, he told me he had talked to the Carlo Cuturi family that leased the hunting rights on the Kansonso Busanga and Lunda Busanga safari areas bordering Kafue National Park and that they could sort out a safari for me for everything I was looking for. I learned that their two areas are the only areas in Zambia with free-range red lechwe on quota. In addition, these areas have sitatunga, roan, huge sable, puku, Crawshay defassa waterbuck, a few yellow-backed duiker, serval and many other species such as Lichtenstein hartebeest, wildebeest, blue duiker, common duiker, warthog, lion, leppard, crocodile, hippo, buffalo, etc… on quota.
Mike put me in touch with the Cuturi’s managing PH for Ntengu Safaris, Federico (Fico) Vidale. Fico and I later worked out a deal for a 16-day safari in late July and August. I owe Mike a debt of gratitude for helping me contact the right people
The Itinerary
Fico suggested we start in Kansonso Busanga and Lunda Busanga July 28th - August 11th for 15 days for sitatunga, red lechwe, puku, roan, sable, waterbuck, serval, yellow-backed duiker, bushbuck, hyaena, and possibly a buffalo, if we had time. We then would charter up to the Bangweulu Swamp for a one-day black lechwe hunt on August 12th and then charter that evening to Lusaka. From Lusaka, we would drive out 3.5 hours to the Kafue Swamp on the next day for Kafue lechwe on August 13th before flying home on August 14th.
Travel
I decided to take my parents from South Dakota on this safari as a gift to them and as a thank you for everything they have done for me. They are 79 years-old and have done a lot of traveling but never to Africa. I left Denver on July 25th on American Airlines and met up with my parents at DFW for our business class Qatar Airways flights to Doha and then to Lusaka. I reclaimed my bags/rifle at DFW and rechecked them with QA, as required. It was a bit of a hassle but no big deal. QA makes sure that firearms always make the flights, so that’s worth the hassle and extra steps to me. The QSuites with lay-down seats were really great on my Botswana trip last year and I decided to book them again this year. After the 15-hour flight to Doha, I showered at the QA lounge and then we ate a free dinner. The lounge and airport in Doha are awesome.
Our next flight from Doha to Lusaka was also nice and we arrived in Lusaka about 9:30am on July 27th. After doing the gun inspection, Fico’s assistant, Rene, took us to the charter flight office for our flight to the Lushimba Camp in Kansonso Busanga. The pilot was great and so was the scenery.
After lunch and a nap, we checked the zero on my two rifles and after one shot from each, everything was good so we went for a game drive before returning to camp for dinner. We saw a lot of game!
Area and Camp
The Cuturi family owns several businesses in Zambia with their main business being supplying heavy equipment to the copper mines. They also own farms and sell maize, soya and chickens. They have conducted the most aggressive anti-poaching program in Zambia with boots on the ground and a helicopter patrolling every day to the tune of a $250k helicopter budget per year. In addition, besides paying the local community fees, they also provide maize and soya to the community. Nobody does more. The results in seven years have been dramatic. Lots of wildlife!
Helicopter hangers.
The Cuturi’s also constructed a very nice camp in the middle of nowhere with a great dining shelter, several chalets, safari tents, offices, and outbuildings. The camp is solar powered with generator backup. They also have a water filtration system that is impressive.
The Kansonso Busanga and Lunda Busanga areas border Kafue NP one the park’s west side and north side. I hunted Kasonso for most of the trip and Lunda for one day. Later, we chartered to the Bangweulu Swamp and later drove to Kafue Flats from Lusaka on the last day. There are thousands of lechwe so it’s a one-day hunt for lechwe. Please see attached maps. On the Zambia map, I circled the three areas hunted. On the Kansonso/Lunda map, I’ve circled the camps and drawn in a dividing line between the two hunting areas/blocks. Kansonso and Lunda each have their own quota of animals and separate lease contracts. The Kansonso contract is up for renewal for next year and the Lunda contract has six more years remaining.
The terrain is incredibly diverse with everything from thick forest to giant wide-open plains to big swamps, which explains why there are so many different and unique species. The area has a lot of permanent water sources. Fico and the crew had done a great job of burning well before my safari so there were a lot of areas with new green grass to attract the animals. The openness of many areas makes for some longer shots than experienced on most other African safaris.
It’s 2:15am now on my first seven hour flight to Doha from Lusaka. I will get to the hunting part of the adventure after getting some sleep. More to come!
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