ZIMBABWE: Has Anyone Hunted Elephant With Nyamazana Safaris?

I have booked a 14 days trophy bull elephant hunt with Wayne in april next year.
I will bring my Dakota 76 African in 416 Rigby loaded with 410 gr Woodleigh solid.
Now start the fun part of the preparation for the hunt. Paperwork, looking for air tickets, planning, reading about shooting placements (books from Kevin Robertson) and shooting practise. I hope the next 12 month go fast..

I high recommend Charlton's Hunting the African Elephant. The section on shot placement is outstanding, and humbling. Since it's video, you not only get to watch where the bullet hits, bad shot or good, but I also found myself watching the hunters. Some I wanted to emulate, and some I learned other lessons from. :)

http://www.safaripress.com/dvds/hunting-the-african-elephant.html
 
Royal27: Thanks!
 
I unfortunately did not get to hunt with Wayne, but I know him personally and can recommend him for a successful hunt.
 
I had the pleasure of taking my father to Africa last June, our first experience with overseas hunting. I elected Nyamazana Safaris and Mr. Van Den Bergh based on an article I had encountered in a CZ magazine some years prior. In the article, CZ's journalist described an ethical, fair-chase hunt of a wild elephant, with less emphasis on trophy size than on the quality of the pursuit and the ethics of the hunt.

When I finally got around to exploring my options, Nyamazana's advertisements ("truly wild animals") helped to confirm my original choice, and in correspondence, Mr. Van Den Bergh offered a number of options, and was not abashed to champion hunt venues where the "trophy quality" might be regarded as inferior, but the game hunted could be guaranteed to be truly wild and the property ethically managed. Chief among these options he put forward Bubiana Conservancy (owned and operated by Drummond Ranching), saying that the elephant would not necessarily be of the scale found in greater public lands, and that the buffalo hunting would be extremely difficult, but that the property, privacy, and experience were second to none.

I elected ultimately to hunt with Wayne Van Den Bergh, on Bubiana Conservancy. I can speak with absolute positivity about all aspects of the experience.

Mr. Van Den Bergh is a target-oriented hunter. Given the objective of finding you a trophy-quality animal on a difficult property (and Bubiana, especially that year, and that month, was in many ways a beautiful nightmare), he will pursue it doggedly and professionally. He has been around the block more than once (and has paid some dues to his chosen profession). If he seems gruff or taciturn at times, it is not to be taken personally; he is simply working a dangerous problem, from a stand-point devoid of any illusions about anyone's mortality. Be clear about the product you would like to get for your money (be it the pursuit of a Big Five trophy, or a casual bird hunt, or a photo opportunity), and he will strive to the utmost of his abilities and those of his crew to provide that product within the bounds of survival.

We were successful in hunting the bull elephant--almost immediately, by happenstance, as a tremendous old bull traversed the Bubiana property within our first few days there, and Wayne and his trackers were able to track him down and catch up to him only hours before he would have reached the property boundary. Our first encounter with this old bull--for he busted us early in the day, necessitating that we let him go, fall back, and track him again for several hours more--remains one of the profound experiences of my life. (I say this as one who has not lived a sheltered existence.) It's a memory that begs for poetry beyond the scope of this post. Suffice to say that we eventually took him. We caught up to him again in the heat of the late afternoon. Wayne identified a particular tree from a distance, venturing that the elephant would be napping in its shade and maneuvering us silently to its downwind side before approaching. His theory (born of long experience, no doubt) bore out to the letter, and I found myself in position for a transcranial brain shot, perfectly broadside. The shot was taken with a .375 H&H bolt action rifle, using express iron sights, if that tells you anything about the distances involved. We never again saw sign on Bubiana of a bull of that scale.

We were not successful in hunting the Cape Buffalo, though we pursued it--and by "it," I mean a specific, trophy-class, wily, nimble, stealthy, cruel individual--for a total of 14 days. The underbrush was thick and green, even in mid June, owing to unusually prolific rainfall during the preceding Summer and Autumn. Being few in number, these buffs did not mill about the watering holes, waiting for someone else to get shot, but kept to the thickest of the thick thorn brush, and each day migrated on the highest, most treacherous passes over the kopjes, along stony paths one would have thought more suited to a mountain goat. Ten kilometers climbing up and down steep slopes through tunnels of thorns was our daily exercise for two weeks, every now and again stopping to ensure that a shadow ahead was not the monster lying in wait for us. More than once we were within thirty yards of the buffalo, it running past us at full tilt, and we could see nothing more than the shaking of the trees. In its entirety it was an experience out of "Jurassic Park"--except velociraptors have the decency to kill you because they're hungry, rather than out of sheer spite.

I have never felt closer to death than during that hunt, with the possible exception of certain low-light night formation events in the -60. Eventually the risks could not be mitigated, and we let the buffalo go. I call that animal the Beast of Bubiana.

We are contemplating our rematch.

Multiple plains game were taken as trophies of opportunity while scouting for buffalo sign during that 14 day pursuit of the Beast, including a Greater Kudu, a Waterbuk, a pair of baboons--Shooting a vital zone the size of a softball at 200 yards at a 30-degree up angle off a shooting stick is an interesting challenge. Climbing up the cliff-face upon which the baboon's corpse has become lodged is also an interesting challenge, but worthwhile because you never know what you may find atop a kopje. Bubiana abounds with uncatalogued archaeological sites. But I digress. If you wish to hunt for plains game, Bubiana is a paradise of Kudu, Impala, Waterbuk, etc. That is Bubiana's stock and trade moreso than Big 5 trophies. Taking trophies of opportunity while hunting a buff is all well and good, but it does not give one the experience of pursuing and tracking in a dedicated manner these incredible antelope, who truly deserve a hunt all their own. Consider your objectives carefully--or schedule two months worth of hunts.

We also delighted in goose and dove hunting on those days when it was not feasible for us to pursue bigger game, and took a host of birds for the table, including what may have been the only authentic Cajun gumbo ever cooked in Zimbabwe. (We brought the necessary spices and file with us, but managed to acquire the rest locally. Egyptian goose and bush pig sausage gumbo, scratch. Eat that.)

Speaking now to the service of Wayne's crew and the people of Drummond Ranch, we were nothing but thrilled. Sam and Cowboy (Wayne's trackers), and Sunday (Drummond's tracker assigned to us), all demonstrated excellent skill and dedication. Wayne's personal cook, Jonathan, never failed to astound us. If you have never broken your fast on sauteed kudu liver, poached eggs, and crepes, under a luxurious dining tent on the banks of a river in the middle of a Matabeleland wilderness... consider giving it a try sometime.

The "bush camp" was an obscene luxury. To each of us a private tent, queen bed, clean sheets and plenty of warm blankets, a dresser, solar-charged electric lights, a hot shower, a flushing toilet. A few yards' walk to the dining tent on the sandy beach by a bend in the river. And not another human settlement for miles in any direction. By night, hyenas and leopards calling, and various creatures splashing across the river. Morning and evening, geese on the water, and eagles hunting along the forested banks, and a warm fire by which to sit and watch the sun set. (If there's one place where leopards are not endangered, it is a well-managed game ranch. One cannot walk a quarter mile of Bubiana's roads without tripping over leopard tracks.)

The Drummonds consider their part in the trophy hunting complex to be essentially hospitality--in the sense of the hospitality industry. They run Bubiana as a luxury hotel with its own game preserve, or a game preserve with its own luxury hotel. Five stars; would stay again. And to be clear, their lodge is also quite nice; but the bush camp is an experience without equal.

I wish also at this point to express our thanks to the Drummond family for their personal hospitality, and what a pleasure it was to make their acquaintance and share with them a big, piping pot of gumbo, along with Jonathan's French bread and grilled dove breast appetizers.

All in all, a very positive experience, and one we would repeat, albeit (given the option) with a bit less imminence of death. Perhaps later in the season, for that rematch against the Beast of Bubiana.

Principal lessons learned:

First, be clear in your expectations and desires. The PH is trying to work for you, but if your agenda does not align with the typical trophy-seeking client, you must communicate that. Mr. Van Den Bergh is your man for a more old-fashioned, less "commercial" style of hunting.

Second, consider not flying into Bulawayo if you can help it. Victoria Falls is some hours' drive away, and will cost you more in terms of ground transport if you are bound Bulawayo way, but it's a much nicer and friendlier airport. The downside is that if your bags are delayed, getting them from Victoria Falls will be nigh impossible. These are the challenges of traveling in Africa.

Third, if you are hunting down Bulawayo way, and Wayne encourages you to take a night in town (to ensure you have everything you need and do some last-minute shopping), and he recommends one Hornung Park Lodge, trust that this is good advice.

Fourth, if you have arthritis of the spine, ride in the cab of the Land Cruiser, not up on the bench, especially when Mr. Van Den Bergh is driving.

This is all that comes to mind, for now.
 
Fantastic pics and congrats on your hunting experience with Wayne (saw Cowboy and Sam in the photos as well- great guys)!!... Was wondering if you were using a professional camera or were those pics taken with a phone (they turned out incredible and the focus on some of them was fantastic)? Good friend of mine will be back chasing Mr. Spots with Wayne and his crew in a couple weeks- we weren't able to close the deal a year ago last March- I, unfortunately, can't join in the hunt this year.
 
These were taken with a ten year old consumer-grade Canon EOS, with a few exceptions (mostly the panos) which were taken with an iPhone 7. The dirty secret of professional photographers is that making photos look artistic only takes a couple of tricks: First, use long (telephoto) lenses to take pictures of things that are nearby, and short (wide-angle) lenses to take pictures of things that are far away (especially scenery). Second, make sure whatever you're taking a picture of is off to one side rather than center-frame. (Use manual focus to keep the subject in focus.) Bam. Your ordinary photos are now high art, fit for serious discussion on public radio. Oh, and of course, 90% of your photos must end up on the cutting room floor, rejected in a fit of extremely artistic alcohol-fueled self-loathing. "Trash!" you must shout. "They're all trash! I'll never take another photograph!" Be sure to do this in the presence of concerned friends who understand your inner demons.

But this is off the OP's topic. The upshot is, Africa is amazing to see, and Bubiana is a particular gem, and Wayne Van Den Bergh is in tight with the Drummonds, so he can get you there.

Also, yes, Sam, Cowboy, and Jonathan are good men, and strong assets to Mr. Van Den Bergh's team.
 
The more I read about Wayne’s operation the more I want to hunt with him. Knowing myself it will happen in the near future.
 
I had the pleasure of taking my father to Africa last June, our first experience with overseas hunting. I elected Nyamazana Safaris and Mr. Van Den Bergh based on an article I had encountered in a CZ magazine some years prior. In the article, CZ's journalist described an ethical, fair-chase hunt of a wild elephant, with less emphasis on trophy size than on the quality of the pursuit and the ethics of the hunt.

When I finally got around to exploring my options, Nyamazana's advertisements ("truly wild animals") helped to confirm my original choice, and in correspondence, Mr. Van Den Bergh offered a number of options, and was not abashed to champion hunt venues where the "trophy quality" might be regarded as inferior, but the game hunted could be guaranteed to be truly wild and the property ethically managed. Chief among these options he put forward Bubiana Conservancy (owned and operated by Drummond Ranching), saying that the elephant would not necessarily be of the scale found in greater public lands, and that the buffalo hunting would be extremely difficult, but that the property, privacy, and experience were second to none.

I elected ultimately to hunt with Wayne Van Den Bergh, on Bubiana Conservancy. I can speak with absolute positivity about all aspects of the experience.

Mr. Van Den Bergh is a target-oriented hunter. Given the objective of finding you a trophy-quality animal on a difficult property (and Bubiana, especially that year, and that month, was in many ways a beautiful nightmare), he will pursue it doggedly and professionally. He has been around the block more than once (and has paid some dues to his chosen profession). If he seems gruff or taciturn at times, it is not to be taken personally; he is simply working a dangerous problem, from a stand-point devoid of any illusions about anyone's mortality. Be clear about the product you would like to get for your money (be it the pursuit of a Big Five trophy, or a casual bird hunt, or a photo opportunity), and he will strive to the utmost of his abilities and those of his crew to provide that product within the bounds of survival.

We were successful in hunting the bull elephant--almost immediately, by happenstance, as a tremendous old bull traversed the Bubiana property within our first few days there, and Wayne and his trackers were able to track him down and catch up to him only hours before he would have reached the property boundary. Our first encounter with this old bull--for he busted us early in the day, necessitating that we let him go, fall back, and track him again for several hours more--remains one of the profound experiences of my life. (I say this as one who has not lived a sheltered existence.) It's a memory that begs for poetry beyond the scope of this post. Suffice to say that we eventually took him. We caught up to him again in the heat of the late afternoon. Wayne identified a particular tree from a distance, venturing that the elephant would be napping in its shade and maneuvering us silently to its downwind side before approaching. His theory (born of long experience, no doubt) bore out to the letter, and I found myself in position for a transcranial brain shot, perfectly broadside. The shot was taken with a .375 H&H bolt action rifle, using express iron sights, if that tells you anything about the distances involved. We never again saw sign on Bubiana of a bull of that scale.

We were not successful in hunting the Cape Buffalo, though we pursued it--and by "it," I mean a specific, trophy-class, wily, nimble, stealthy, cruel individual--for a total of 14 days. The underbrush was thick and green, even in mid June, owing to unusually prolific rainfall during the preceding Summer and Autumn. Being few in number, these buffs did not mill about the watering holes, waiting for someone else to get shot, but kept to the thickest of the thick thorn brush, and each day migrated on the highest, most treacherous passes over the kopjes, along stony paths one would have thought more suited to a mountain goat. Ten kilometers climbing up and down steep slopes through tunnels of thorns was our daily exercise for two weeks, every now and again stopping to ensure that a shadow ahead was not the monster lying in wait for us. More than once we were within thirty yards of the buffalo, it running past us at full tilt, and we could see nothing more than the shaking of the trees. In its entirety it was an experience out of "Jurassic Park"--except velociraptors have the decency to kill you because they're hungry, rather than out of sheer spite.

I have never felt closer to death than during that hunt, with the possible exception of certain low-light night formation events in the -60. Eventually the risks could not be mitigated, and we let the buffalo go. I call that animal the Beast of Bubiana.

We are contemplating our rematch.

Multiple plains game were taken as trophies of opportunity while scouting for buffalo sign during that 14 day pursuit of the Beast, including a Greater Kudu, a Waterbuk, a pair of baboons--Shooting a vital zone the size of a softball at 200 yards at a 30-degree up angle off a shooting stick is an interesting challenge. Climbing up the cliff-face upon which the baboon's corpse has become lodged is also an interesting challenge, but worthwhile because you never know what you may find atop a kopje. Bubiana abounds with uncatalogued archaeological sites. But I digress. If you wish to hunt for plains game, Bubiana is a paradise of Kudu, Impala, Waterbuk, etc. That is Bubiana's stock and trade moreso than Big 5 trophies. Taking trophies of opportunity while hunting a buff is all well and good, but it does not give one the experience of pursuing and tracking in a dedicated manner these incredible antelope, who truly deserve a hunt all their own. Consider your objectives carefully--or schedule two months worth of hunts.

We also delighted in goose and dove hunting on those days when it was not feasible for us to pursue bigger game, and took a host of birds for the table, including what may have been the only authentic Cajun gumbo ever cooked in Zimbabwe. (We brought the necessary spices and file with us, but managed to acquire the rest locally. Egyptian goose and bush pig sausage gumbo, scratch. Eat that.)

Speaking now to the service of Wayne's crew and the people of Drummond Ranch, we were nothing but thrilled. Sam and Cowboy (Wayne's trackers), and Sunday (Drummond's tracker assigned to us), all demonstrated excellent skill and dedication. Wayne's personal cook, Jonathan, never failed to astound us. If you have never broken your fast on sauteed kudu liver, poached eggs, and crepes, under a luxurious dining tent on the banks of a river in the middle of a Matabeleland wilderness... consider giving it a try sometime.

The "bush camp" was an obscene luxury. To each of us a private tent, queen bed, clean sheets and plenty of warm blankets, a dresser, solar-charged electric lights, a hot shower, a flushing toilet. A few yards' walk to the dining tent on the sandy beach by a bend in the river. And not another human settlement for miles in any direction. By night, hyenas and leopards calling, and various creatures splashing across the river. Morning and evening, geese on the water, and eagles hunting along the forested banks, and a warm fire by which to sit and watch the sun set. (If there's one place where leopards are not endangered, it is a well-managed game ranch. One cannot walk a quarter mile of Bubiana's roads without tripping over leopard tracks.)

The Drummonds consider their part in the trophy hunting complex to be essentially hospitality--in the sense of the hospitality industry. They run Bubiana as a luxury hotel with its own game preserve, or a game preserve with its own luxury hotel. Five stars; would stay again. And to be clear, their lodge is also quite nice; but the bush camp is an experience without equal.

I wish also at this point to express our thanks to the Drummond family for their personal hospitality, and what a pleasure it was to make their acquaintance and share with them a big, piping pot of gumbo, along with Jonathan's French bread and grilled dove breast appetizers.

All in all, a very positive experience, and one we would repeat, albeit (given the option) with a bit less imminence of death. Perhaps later in the season, for that rematch against the Beast of Bubiana.

Principal lessons learned:

First, be clear in your expectations and desires. The PH is trying to work for you, but if your agenda does not align with the typical trophy-seeking client, you must communicate that. Mr. Van Den Bergh is your man for a more old-fashioned, less "commercial" style of hunting.

Second, consider not flying into Bulawayo if you can help it. Victoria Falls is some hours' drive away, and will cost you more in terms of ground transport if you are bound Bulawayo way, but it's a much nicer and friendlier airport. The downside is that if your bags are delayed, getting them from Victoria Falls will be nigh impossible. These are the challenges of traveling in Africa.

Third, if you are hunting down Bulawayo way, and Wayne encourages you to take a night in town (to ensure you have everything you need and do some last-minute shopping), and he recommends one Hornung Park Lodge, trust that this is good advice.

Fourth, if you have arthritis of the spine, ride in the cab of the Land Cruiser, not up on the bench, especially when Mr. Van Den Bergh is driving.

This is all that comes to mind, for now.

@WCC - after reading this write-up I may have to take a sleep aid tonight.

75 days and will be in Bubiana with Wayne...the Beast, if we can find him, is on the menu so to speak!

Thank you for sharing
 
Bring good binoculars. Not for far viewing, but for examining the details of nearby shadows. Consider a low-power QD scope on your buff gun as well. If foliage is thick, the scope may aid you in picking out the shape of the animal through the clutter. Take that extra moment to make sure and aim true. Consider eye protection if crawling through the brush, so you don’t get stabbed in the eye like I did. A small solar charger and something like the Streamlight rechargeable LED lantern does not go amiss if you’re at the bush camp.
 
Bring good binoculars. Not for far viewing, but for examining the details of nearby shadows. Consider a low-power QD scope on your buff gun as well. If foliage is thick, the scope may aid you in picking out the shape of the animal through the clutter. Take that extra moment to make sure and aim true. Consider eye protection if crawling through the brush, so you don’t get stabbed in the eye like I did. A small solar charger and something like the Streamlight rechargeable LED lantern does not go amiss if you’re at the bush camp.

Appreciate the heads up on the binos, have a Zeiss 8x42 HT that is exceptional. Have a 2-12 x 42 on the 375 H&H so have the low end covered well. It is in detachable mounts but I cant see the front sight anymore.

I sent Wayne a note about the electrical power that may/may not be available. The lodge burned down late last December and I'm guessing we are staying in the "bush camp", which is fine by me!

I had my wife read your post as she will be accompanying me again...she said she may want to sleep with a gun!

Edge
 
The most dangerous thing I encountered in the bushcamp was a single scorpion I found in my shower one night. And my father found their equivalent of the black widow spider under his toilet. But those were the only two arthropod issues we had in the entire three weeks. In the dead of winter, there's no significant spider/scorpion/snake/etc. activity to speak of. The gravest threat she will in all likelihood encounter in the bushcamp is the seductive grasp of warm blankets and a soft mattress before dawn on a cold morning. Fortunately, you will have access to a hot shower to help escape the bed's clutches. And a restaurant-quality hot breakfast, if Jonathan is cooking.
 
I had the pleasure of taking my father to Africa last June, our first experience with overseas hunting. I elected Nyamazana Safaris and Mr. Van Den Bergh based on an article I had encountered in a CZ magazine some years prior. In the article, CZ's journalist described an ethical, fair-chase hunt of a wild elephant, with less emphasis on trophy size than on the quality of the pursuit and the ethics of the hunt.

When I finally got around to exploring my options, Nyamazana's advertisements ("truly wild animals") helped to confirm my original choice, and in correspondence, Mr. Van Den Bergh offered a number of options, and was not abashed to champion hunt venues where the "trophy quality" might be regarded as inferior, but the game hunted could be guaranteed to be truly wild and the property ethically managed. Chief among these options he put forward Bubiana Conservancy (owned and operated by Drummond Ranching), saying that the elephant would not necessarily be of the scale found in greater public lands, and that the buffalo hunting would be extremely difficult, but that the property, privacy, and experience were second to none.

I elected ultimately to hunt with Wayne Van Den Bergh, on Bubiana Conservancy. I can speak with absolute positivity about all aspects of the experience.

Mr. Van Den Bergh is a target-oriented hunter. Given the objective of finding you a trophy-quality animal on a difficult property (and Bubiana, especially that year, and that month, was in many ways a beautiful nightmare), he will pursue it doggedly and professionally. He has been around the block more than once (and has paid some dues to his chosen profession). If he seems gruff or taciturn at times, it is not to be taken personally; he is simply working a dangerous problem, from a stand-point devoid of any illusions about anyone's mortality. Be clear about the product you would like to get for your money (be it the pursuit of a Big Five trophy, or a casual bird hunt, or a photo opportunity), and he will strive to the utmost of his abilities and those of his crew to provide that product within the bounds of survival.

We were successful in hunting the bull elephant--almost immediately, by happenstance, as a tremendous old bull traversed the Bubiana property within our first few days there, and Wayne and his trackers were able to track him down and catch up to him only hours before he would have reached the property boundary. Our first encounter with this old bull--for he busted us early in the day, necessitating that we let him go, fall back, and track him again for several hours more--remains one of the profound experiences of my life. (I say this as one who has not lived a sheltered existence.) It's a memory that begs for poetry beyond the scope of this post. Suffice to say that we eventually took him. We caught up to him again in the heat of the late afternoon. Wayne identified a particular tree from a distance, venturing that the elephant would be napping in its shade and maneuvering us silently to its downwind side before approaching. His theory (born of long experience, no doubt) bore out to the letter, and I found myself in position for a transcranial brain shot, perfectly broadside. The shot was taken with a .375 H&H bolt action rifle, using express iron sights, if that tells you anything about the distances involved. We never again saw sign on Bubiana of a bull of that scale.

We were not successful in hunting the Cape Buffalo, though we pursued it--and by "it," I mean a specific, trophy-class, wily, nimble, stealthy, cruel individual--for a total of 14 days. The underbrush was thick and green, even in mid June, owing to unusually prolific rainfall during the preceding Summer and Autumn. Being few in number, these buffs did not mill about the watering holes, waiting for someone else to get shot, but kept to the thickest of the thick thorn brush, and each day migrated on the highest, most treacherous passes over the kopjes, along stony paths one would have thought more suited to a mountain goat. Ten kilometers climbing up and down steep slopes through tunnels of thorns was our daily exercise for two weeks, every now and again stopping to ensure that a shadow ahead was not the monster lying in wait for us. More than once we were within thirty yards of the buffalo, it running past us at full tilt, and we could see nothing more than the shaking of the trees. In its entirety it was an experience out of "Jurassic Park"--except velociraptors have the decency to kill you because they're hungry, rather than out of sheer spite.

I have never felt closer to death than during that hunt, with the possible exception of certain low-light night formation events in the -60. Eventually the risks could not be mitigated, and we let the buffalo go. I call that animal the Beast of Bubiana.

We are contemplating our rematch.

Multiple plains game were taken as trophies of opportunity while scouting for buffalo sign during that 14 day pursuit of the Beast, including a Greater Kudu, a Waterbuk, a pair of baboons--Shooting a vital zone the size of a softball at 200 yards at a 30-degree up angle off a shooting stick is an interesting challenge. Climbing up the cliff-face upon which the baboon's corpse has become lodged is also an interesting challenge, but worthwhile because you never know what you may find atop a kopje. Bubiana abounds with uncatalogued archaeological sites. But I digress. If you wish to hunt for plains game, Bubiana is a paradise of Kudu, Impala, Waterbuk, etc. That is Bubiana's stock and trade moreso than Big 5 trophies. Taking trophies of opportunity while hunting a buff is all well and good, but it does not give one the experience of pursuing and tracking in a dedicated manner these incredible antelope, who truly deserve a hunt all their own. Consider your objectives carefully--or schedule two months worth of hunts.

We also delighted in goose and dove hunting on those days when it was not feasible for us to pursue bigger game, and took a host of birds for the table, including what may have been the only authentic Cajun gumbo ever cooked in Zimbabwe. (We brought the necessary spices and file with us, but managed to acquire the rest locally. Egyptian goose and bush pig sausage gumbo, scratch. Eat that.)

Speaking now to the service of Wayne's crew and the people of Drummond Ranch, we were nothing but thrilled. Sam and Cowboy (Wayne's trackers), and Sunday (Drummond's tracker assigned to us), all demonstrated excellent skill and dedication. Wayne's personal cook, Jonathan, never failed to astound us. If you have never broken your fast on sauteed kudu liver, poached eggs, and crepes, under a luxurious dining tent on the banks of a river in the middle of a Matabeleland wilderness... consider giving it a try sometime.

The "bush camp" was an obscene luxury. To each of us a private tent, queen bed, clean sheets and plenty of warm blankets, a dresser, solar-charged electric lights, a hot shower, a flushing toilet. A few yards' walk to the dining tent on the sandy beach by a bend in the river. And not another human settlement for miles in any direction. By night, hyenas and leopards calling, and various creatures splashing across the river. Morning and evening, geese on the water, and eagles hunting along the forested banks, and a warm fire by which to sit and watch the sun set. (If there's one place where leopards are not endangered, it is a well-managed game ranch. One cannot walk a quarter mile of Bubiana's roads without tripping over leopard tracks.)

The Drummonds consider their part in the trophy hunting complex to be essentially hospitality--in the sense of the hospitality industry. They run Bubiana as a luxury hotel with its own game preserve, or a game preserve with its own luxury hotel. Five stars; would stay again. And to be clear, their lodge is also quite nice; but the bush camp is an experience without equal.

I wish also at this point to express our thanks to the Drummond family for their personal hospitality, and what a pleasure it was to make their acquaintance and share with them a big, piping pot of gumbo, along with Jonathan's French bread and grilled dove breast appetizers.

All in all, a very positive experience, and one we would repeat, albeit (given the option) with a bit less imminence of death. Perhaps later in the season, for that rematch against the Beast of Bubiana.

Principal lessons learned:

First, be clear in your expectations and desires. The PH is trying to work for you, but if your agenda does not align with the typical trophy-seeking client, you must communicate that. Mr. Van Den Bergh is your man for a more old-fashioned, less "commercial" style of hunting.

Second, consider not flying into Bulawayo if you can help it. Victoria Falls is some hours' drive away, and will cost you more in terms of ground transport if you are bound Bulawayo way, but it's a much nicer and friendlier airport. The downside is that if your bags are delayed, getting them from Victoria Falls will be nigh impossible. These are the challenges of traveling in Africa.

Third, if you are hunting down Bulawayo way, and Wayne encourages you to take a night in town (to ensure you have everything you need and do some last-minute shopping), and he recommends one Hornung Park Lodge, trust that this is good advice.

Fourth, if you have arthritis of the spine, ride in the cab of the Land Cruiser, not up on the bench, especially when Mr. Van Den Bergh is driving.

This is all that comes to mind, for now.
let me know when your first book comes out,your writing is quite eloquent.
 
The Hyenas and Leopards sounding off, animals splashing through the river, being in a “tent” and me playing up The Beast might have added to the “I’m sleeping with a gun” :A Camping:

She also appreciated the photog tips you provided earlier.
 
Well, folks, it took a few years, but we did get around to round two.


In 2019 we arranged with Wayne Van Den Bergh (Nyamazana Safaris) to take a second safari hunt in Zimbabwe, to complete our one item of unfinished business: the cape buffalo. On Mr. Van Den Bergh's advice, we booked a 14-day hunt this time at the Bubye Valley Conservancy for July of 2020.

You can imagine how well that went. BVC held our deposit and rebooked us for July of 2021, but then their new shareholders interfered with that as well, forcing us to delay again until November. Not ideal, but in this age, one takes what one can get. We made the necessary travel arrangements with Jennifer Ginn at Travel Express Agency and, rolling the dice that COVID had run its course, we departed on schedule on the 14th.

Travel via Emirates was fairly effortless, but as on our first trip, only about half of our bags arrived in Bulawayo. Last time, it was Emirates who failed to transfer our bags in Dubai. This time, Airlink decided to leave about half of its luggage load behind in Johannesburg for our flight from there to Bulawayo, we presume on account of weight and balance limitations. (It was a full flight.) Fortunately, we once again had booked an overnight in Bulawayo (and the Hornung Park Lodge, courtesy of hosts Fredi and Rita) prior to our drive out to BVC. We took advantage of that evening to enjoy an excellent steak dinner and do some last-minute shopping, and Airlink was able to deliver our remaining luggage the following day.

We drove down to BVC in Wayne's truck. Fair warning: it's no limousine. It has a back seat in name only, and it's a tight fit for three big men and luggage. The trip was only a few hours, though, and not difficult, including the final 40 minutes traversing the Conservancy from its front gate to our lodging.

The lodging was excellent. On our previous trip, we enjoyed Bubiana's tent camp on the river. Once again we were on a river, once again with a spectacular view, but BVC affords each guest party what amounts to a private lodge, consisting of a suite of separate buildings for the guests--namely two large sleeping cabins plus the living and dining cabin, all of stone construction with thatched roofs and very comfortable appointment--plus a dedicated staff with their own quarters and utility buildings, and a dedicated game-cleaning facility. For the record, the small staff was excellent, providing daily laundry service (on those days when it was not raining continuously, which made line drying impossible) and restaurant-quality meals with meats from wild game at the guest's request, and so we always requested. We are particular fans of the Cornish pasties. Not sure what they would have called them, but if you know what a Cornish pasty is, you know what I'm talking about. A pot-pie without the pot, instead wrapped and crimped. Also, do not miss out on dishes made from the livers of various antelope species.

Once again, Wayne set to work on our primary objective early and with a will. As we got our elephant on the third day of hunting last time, so we got our buffalo on the second day of hunting this time. The buffalo hunting on Bubiana is torturous, with only a few buffalo moving skittishly like goats through thick brush and high kopje passes. On BVC, the buffalo hunt is more traditional, with large herds wandering mostly flat forested land. Wayne's method is to scout herd by herd, driving the property in search of buff sign, locating a herd, and then stalking it patiently to see if it includes a promising bull or two. The large herds ensure that a hunter will, eventually, find a worthy trophy, and the hunt is significantly easier than that on Bubiana, though characterized by much more frequent close encounters. Every time you go to look at a herd, you must approach it stealthily to sufficiently close range to spot the bulls, and then even closer to assess each one for the quality of his horns. In the woods, that is pretty close. You can't get that close without eventually being spotted, so you approach, you look, and he spots you, and you make a decision: this bull is not our bull. We'll pass; we'll wait for the next one.

Then you wait for the bull you're looking at to come to the same decision, because by now he's looking at you, too, from about thirty or forty yards away, and he's making his own life choices. So, you've decided he's not the right bull. But, as your PH will tell you, if he charges, then he's the right bull.

So it went, through several encounters over those two days, following individual herds for several hours only to decide that its best bulls were not quite the ones we wanted, and then disengaging very carefully and returning to the truck to find the next herd. It was not unusual for us to spend fifteen or twenty minutes a literal stone's throw from a thicket of curled black horns and the beady eyes under them, each party staring at the other, until it was safe to withdraw.

We took the buffalo with a .45-70 shooting Buffalo Bore hard-cast bullets. The rifle did its job, but the shot was not as good as we had hoped, a little too far forward in the shoulder for the quick heart-and-lungs kill.

Lessons for the neophyte hunter:
1) Practice shooting off shooting sticks.
It's not a typical method for us, and it takes some getting used to, if you're accustomed to doing your rifle shooting from a bench, a sling, or a deer stand. It's not a matter of stabilizing the gun, but stabilizing your body, and you will find yourself inducing more lateral sway than you expect. For my part, I find that I can usually shoot off-hand more accurately than off the sticks, because that's what I've grown up practicing. Know your strengths and weaknesses, and use the best method for yourself.

2) Old PHs don't always make good teachers. Ask questions and manage yourself. We hunt with Wayne for a reason. He has experience and connections the better of which you won't find in Zimbabwe. If you want to get your animal, but you also want a legitimate, ethical hunt for truly wild game, he's your man, and accept no substitute. That said, he's been doing it for a long time, and he expects the client to know the client's business. If you're new to the business of dangerous-game hunting (and your intent is to do it right, rather than just blunder your way through), then do your research beforehand, yes, but also continue to ask Wayne a lot of questions throughout the hunt, about what to bring on the truck, what to bring when you dismount, in what condition to carry your rifle, etc. His focus is on the animal, and it's easy to step off the truck for what seems like a quick ten-minute walk into the woods and find yourself three hours deep, wondering why you left your extra water or extra ammo behind.

Take it from us. Each time we have done this, we have learned lessons. In any case, while the buffalo did not go straight down, it was gravely wounded, and we were able to follow it and finish it in due course, if not without some stress. We can, at least, say we have had the complete buffalo experience. More complete than one might care to repeat.

The rest of our trip we dedicated to birds, fish, and photo safari, and Wayne is no slouch in these areas, either. If you want one of the Big Five, or an assortment of plains game, he can make that happen, but if you want to go fishing or dove hunting, he'll arrange that, too. We spent several evenings by watering holes, as well as running down francolin along the roads, and several days fishing for largemouth bass in the lakes and freshwater tilapia and catfish in the rivers. (While the others raked in tilapia, I preferred to take some cut bait or bird guts and go after the big catfish in the deep pools.) Birds and fish which we harvested landed on the table within a day or two. Wayne has his own ideas about how certain game should be cooked and is not shy about taking over the camp kitchen to ensure his guests get the best culinary experience.

We eventually decided that we would take a wildebeest, and hunted them for a couple of days as well before lining up on a good one. Aside from the buffalo and that bonus, though, we had no particular agenda for terrestrial animals. Our interest was in photography, in getting some good shots of the creatures we had no desire to hunt, including, if possible rhinoceros and lion.

Would you believe the trackers stumbled upon a pair of lioness during our buffalo hunt, not thirty yards from the truck, but we missed 'em? Never even caught a glimpse. Later, another lioness stalked past our camp in the dead of night while we were asleep. Wayne got her photo and showed it to us the next morning. We did find a full-grown black rhino, though, one day, right there on the side of one of the roads, all by itself without even its human security detail nearby.

Lest we go home without our lion encounter, Wayne went to work on this, our last request, contacting Blondie, the Conservancy manager, who reached out to the naturalists who reside on the property. These, a married couple and incredibly kind-hearted, donated several hours of their day to take us out and look for the lion prides they track as a part of their daily duties. We went in their research vehicle, following the signals of the radio collars, and were able to drive up on a pair of females and their cubs for some close, once-in-a-lifetime photos. We went after the males, too, and spotted one, but only from a distance. The big males are like ghosts, truly wild and skittish. At a hundred a fifty yards, this one stirred himself and melted into the thick brush. As our hosts explained, that was the best we were going to get unless we wanted to go crawling in there after him, which they did not advise.

Fortunately, I had my longest lens, so I have the proof that we saw him.

All in all, we have completed our second and, as far as we are planning for now, final trip to Africa for hunting, and we are eminently satisfied. We have the elephant and plains game from our first hunt, the buffalo and wildebeest from our second, have shot birds and caught fish, and have seen and photographed some of Africa's most famous animals--not the semi-tame animals of some drive-through park, surrounded by a hundred other vehicles, but truly wild animals, ready to vanish in a moment, or kill you as soon as look at you.

Just about as we were finishing was when the Omicron panic broke out and Emirates canceled all their flights to or from southern Africa, with "apologies for the inconvenience." Getting home was a whole other adventure. Our thanks to Jennifer Ginn for her assistance in rebooking us. Also, Ethiopian Airlines is still the United of intercontinental carriers.
 
Round 2 was a knock-out and congratulations!

Photos were outstanding and Stan looks well fed!

May have to hunt BVC with @Nyamazana Safaris one day in the future!
 
Stan and his labeled brethren are well fed. That's Hornung Park Lodge in Byo. Fredi and Rita are looking to sell, but probably have a few more years there. They run a delightful operation and we recommend it to anyone who wants to get a buffer night or two prior to rolling out to the ranch or during the return, prior to heading to the airport. We took one buffer night on each end and did not regret it at all.

One thing I failed to mention: the various delays pushed us into November and thus into their summer. We were blessed with a freakish two weeks of stunning rainstorms, cold snaps, overcast skies, and chilly weather, which made the whole experience much more comfortable than it would have been with a typical summer swelter. Even so, there were nights when the open-air lodges were quite warm, and days when the hiking was quite hot and draining. And there were bugs. Bugs upon bugs. Bugs by the millions. Not biters; just flying ants and may-fly-like things other swarming insects that that tend to get in your hair, land on your food and drink, or fill your bathtub.

Go during their winter time, especially if you are bringing the ladyfolk. Winter in that region is mild and comfortable, crisp at night but not more than a few thick blankets can manage, at most pleasantly warm during the day, and, critically, bug-free.
 
Congrats on your success and thanks for sharing the stories of your safaris! Great adventures!
 

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