ZIMBABWE: Nyerezi Safaris, Savé - Father Like Son

[Tau Wilderness]

‘Do not rely on luck but be grateful if you are blessed”. – Tau



Yes, that is the thoughts I had on the back of a Toyota in the glorious 40 Celsius chill of the Savé Valley with very little going our way.

WARNING: I write these reports as I experience the hunt and try create a story that is fun to read. My spelling is horrible at the best of times and my grammar worse.

 

[Tau Wilderness]

Savé Valley Conservancy, it just sounds so romantic and foreign for a farm boy from the country in South Africa. The name makes me excited!!!

I see people wearing strangely spelled and pronounced branded hats. I have seen those names on golf balls at the driving range. I have always connected those incorrectly spelled names (Titleist, Ping, Srixon) with golfing success and grown men wearing tight white pants.

And I wondered why people would wear a spelling mistake branded cap whilst following a ball that is always missing in the rough.

I do not judge as we hunters are the same, just different. We buy khaki clothing in different shades and leather boots and ammo holders and we cannot wait to wear and use these items that smells of leather and polish for a couple of days a year whilst hunting. The excitement and energy that is felt and spent to reload for your rifle, sharpen your knife pack your clothes and check and recheck the packing list is a friendly return to pre-hunt jitters.

When you sit in your trophy room, reloading area or at work when I am just tired, and you close your eyes for a moment……. It is there. I can hear a bolt closing on a loaded solid cartridge and the comfortable pressure of my rifle resting over my shoulder as I swing it into position in a familiar pattern. The sound of a string of grown men walking in a line thru the bush with Mopani leave crushing under the pressure of the boots.

The wait becomes unbearable. 2 months, 1 month, 1 week and then before you know it, you are standing at Bulawayo airport with a person asking you to “buy them lunch” to speed up the rifle import process.

Jump in the back of the confines of a extra cab Hilux for 6 hours and before I know it, BOOOM !!!!!!!!

Savé Valley Conservancy, breath out close my eyes and look up. As I open them, I am standing under the leaves of the large Cathedral Mopanies of the Neyangumbe river camp. I close my eyes again and listen to the Hammerkop making his familiar noises, Hyenas in the background and the Crested Francolins racing around in the undergrowth of the riverine forest.

Heaven to me, just being here again is a feeling I wish I can bottle and sell to the depressed and those longing for rest or success. Can one place be so beautiful????

 

[Frederik]

Keep em coming.

 

[Nyati]

 

[PARA45]

Anxiously waiting for more. Oh, and you are doing great, don't worry about the spelling and grammar part. I will not judge you, mine is probably worse than yours.

 

[Tau Wilderness]

We had a brilliant first evening in camp, strange how a place I have only spent 7 days at 11 months ago felt like home.



The camp on the banks of the Neyangambe river is even more beautiful this year as the grass around the tented chalets and upkeep of the camp was country club like, whilst still keeping to a natural layout and feel to the camp.

I will call the camp Bush 5 star.

Us Africans have a attration to fire and sitting around one on a hunting trip is standard procedure even if it is mid 30 Celcius at night .

I wish this picture was of Sean showing my Dad shot placement pictures, but no they realised both have a love for flying and Light sports aircraft.

I am a planner and prepper when it comes to hunting. My Dad is a planner and prepper when it comes to life, strange how I now felt the urge to talk shot placement, starting times and possible scenario's. My Dad just said we can go out in the morning and quickly go shoot some Buffalo.

Oh I was using my beloved Ruger Alaskan .375 Ruger with hand loaded ammo. I have used it on a Northern Namibia hunt earlier this year ( Yes I need to still write that report) and trained with it on my range to be ready for this hunt. My ammo was polished my Aimpoint cleaned and fitted with a new battery.

My Dad rented a camp gun from Sean with some 300gr solids he took one look at the weathered Winchester Pre 64 and was happy.. What about eye relief and trigger feel and bullet performance??? I asked. My Dad and Sean just looked at me funny and continued to talk about aeroplanes and flying.

We had a brilliant supper and went to bed. At 01:00 the local pride of lions decided to treat us to a 2 hr long roaring spectacular. At a stage it felt like they where less than 100meters from my tent.

 

[rinehart0050]

Great posts! Looking forward to more!

 

[Rare Breed]

Savé Valley Conservancy, it just sounds so romantic and foreign for a farm boy from the country in South Africa. The name makes me excited!!!

I see people wearing strangely spelled and pronounced branded hats. I have seen those names on golf balls at the driving range. I have always connected those incorrectly spelled names (Titleist, Ping, Srixon) with golfing success and grown men wearing tight white pants.

And I wondered why people would wear a spelling mistake branded cap whilst following a ball that is always missing in the rough.

I do not judge as we hunters are the same, just different. We buy khaki clothing in different shades and leather boots and ammo holders and we cannot wait to wear and use these items that smells of leather and polish for a couple of days a year whilst hunting. The excitement and energy that is felt and spent to reload for your rifle, sharpen your knife pack your clothes and check and recheck the packing list is a friendly return to pre-hunt jitters.

When you sit in your trophy room, reloading area or at work when I am just tired, and you close your eyes for a moment……. It is there. I can hear a bolt closing on a loaded solid cartridge and the comfortable pressure of my rifle resting over my shoulder as I swing it into position in a familiar pattern. The sound of a string of grown men walking in a line thru the bush with Mopani leave crushing under the pressure of the boots.

The wait becomes unbearable. 2 months, 1 month, 1 week and then before you know it, you are standing at Bulawayo airport with a person asking you to “buy them lunch” to speed up the rifle import process.

Jump in the back of the confines of a extra cab Hilux for 6 hours and before I know it, BOOOM !!!!!!!!

Savé Valley Conservancy, breath out close my eyes and look up. As I open them, I am standing under the leaves of the large Cathedral Mopanies of the Neyangumbe river camp. I close my eyes again and listen to the Hammerkop making his familiar noises, Hyenas in the background and the Crested Francolins racing around in the undergrowth of the riverine forest.

Heaven to me, just being here again is a feeling I wish I can bottle and sell to the depressed and those longing for rest or success. Can one place be so beautiful????

What you might not realize in spite of grammar mistakes your passion for Africa and excitement are crystal clear and very enjoyable to read!!! Keep it coming!

 

[Tau Wilderness]

The first day of Safari with my Father arrived. I am very fortunate to experience such an adventure with my Dad and for the first time in my life I am treating him. Since our visit last year Sean is now also in control of Hammond ranch which is the neighbouring property to Neyangumbe conservancy in die Save Valley. The Mwkasine river splits the two properties, so “I wonder what is on the other side of the river” feeling was now replaced by go to the other side and exploring the breath-taking Hammond ranch.

I am a hunter, but firstly a Conservationist. The fauna and flora of Hammond is spread over mopani flats, rivers lined by massive trees and then the koppies/ Ghomos with their massive rock formations.

We had a drive to the Shooting range and my Father with his rental rifle was on target and my little Ruger was also in the bullseye.




We started exploring the new to us section and immediately the beauty of the area was refreshing and I felt like I needed to take 10 mental pictures every second to remember this place by when I am back at work.

 

[Tau Wilderness]

So we take a drive from the range a little later than planned and drive up the most beautiful vantage point on top of a koppie. We would come here a couple of time more on this trip.

Whilst scanning the area, we are shocked by seeing 3 Dugga boys grazing 200meters below us. We cannot get to them as we ar on top of a huge Granite boulder.

We haven't really had 'the talk' and game plan session.

To none hunters or "occasional hunters" us dedicated hunters can sometimes be too much. You know the knife, ammo belt, boots and pre hunt prep can puzzle others.

I love hunting and all the extra's. Reloading, time on the range, sharpening my knives, getting my boots ready. And then some more time on the range. My Father pitches and shoots animals and goes home after a hunt. The only reason he was carrying a knife on this hunt is because I had it custom made for him. The custom bullet holder never left his tent... He shakes his head when he see my guns and reloading equipment etc. He believes in 2 things, God and his 7mmRem Mag. In his mind nothing is better or needs improvement. If it was legal he would shoot his Buffalo with his trusty 7mm RM that he has taken 100's of Gemsbok and other Game with.

So keeping this in mind and visualise me trying to show him shot placement pictures ( I have 308 of them on my phone) as we leave the shooting range on the first morning.... we spot 3 Dugga boys and before I can explain to him the importance of walking softly and slowly he is on the sticks not even 800 meters from the bakkie on day one looking at a Buffalo thru the Zeiss Davari on the loaner .375 H&H.




I am so excited on the one side that my Dad gets this experience on the first stalk and morning of a 6 day hunt, but I cannot imagine the aftermath of this success.
" Buffalo hunting is easy, should have taken my 7mmRm, you make too much of it" would be repeated at every Braai and family gathering. I was fine with it, last year on our Buffalo hunt we had a chance on day one on a 41" plus bull and we didn't take it as serious as we should. We did a couple of short stalks and my Dad was on the sticks 3 or 4 times however the branches and shot angles did not coincide with our view of the Buffalo. Unfortunately the wind turned and gave our position away which made the Buffalo move away.

 

[Tau Wilderness]

Sorry Gents I am struggling to load pictures so there is some gaps in the report.

 

[Smitty]

I am really enjoying your report so far! Especially the difference between your Father's attitude and yours! It makes me laugh because it is very similar to mine and my father's outlook. Keep it up! Great job with the report.

 

[Tau Wilderness]

Day 2 of the hunt arrived.

Some info about hunting Zimbabwe in October!!

October is hell month in the lowveld of Zimbabwe. The heat is not your friend and hunting in the heat is very challenging.

No,no I am tough enough and where I live in South Africa we have the same dry heat during February +plus a little more. The difference is in February at home I sit in my aircon office and the last thing I think about is hunting!!! Hunting during the heat of October after a very good rainy season creates a very short hunting day.

Why? Well, the Buffalo can graze during the night (we had full moon) or very early in the morning until 10:30 and then they disappear into the undergrowth of the riverine forest or the mopani shrub areas that still have leave. They will then only start moving again from 15:30 onwards. Between 11:30 -15:00 the temps were hitting 40-43 Celsius daily. So even if the hunter can handle the heat you won’t be hunting buffalo during mid-day, they will bed down and you will only bump them or you will have to wait for hours for them to get up.

How did I get to hunt such an amazing area?

Sean had management Buffalo left on his sections, he was very kind to accommodate myself and my Father on a 6-day hunt in between two groups of European hunters. Hunting two management animals in 6 days in the heat or anytime of the year is a little bit of a crunch especially if you want to Walk & Stalk and in my case shoot without a telescope.

I was happy with this, as such an opportunity does not come around every day.


We had barely left camp when we bumped into a herd of Buffalo crossing the road. We stopped behind an anthill and my Father and Sean did a quick climb to the top. The sun was rising and in the haste to get in position neither of them had sun glasses on. The sat in this position for almost 30 minutes, but the Buffalo did not give them an open shot.

My Dad and Sean on stake out position.

The Buffalo moved on and we started tracking on foot. We got very close 3 times, but then the wind gave our position away and the Buffalo would jog away a little bit and start walking. By 07;30 they had enough. A brilliant early morning walk in any way.

Shooting from or stalking from anthill to anthill became e regular occurrence on this hunt.

We spent the rest of the morning looking for Buffalo, but the heat made them bed down in the shade.

 

[Tau Wilderness]

The temperature was in the 40 Celsius range so the afternoon started very slow. We barely spotted anything, however we explored huge sections of Hammond ranch and visited some waterholes.

This waterhole at the base of granite koppies was especially pretty. We climbed up and watched the sun set.

We left just after sunset for the 1.5 hr drive back to camp. The iPhone ability to take pictures in low light is amazing, but these buffalo and elephant pictures was taken in very low light. We bumped so many animals as it got darker showing us that the animals was staying out of the worst heat of the day and feeding and drinking at night.

Another wonderful day of exploring and we had a good chance early morning. There was shots, but not without risk of hitting branches, so not worth it.

 

[Tau Wilderness]

Day 3



Welcome to the mid hunt blues…. Goodness gracious how did we end up here again after two great days!!!



Yes like last year day 3 was dismal, well when considering we were looking for old Buffalo, the bush and other animals was still brilliant to spot. We spent lots of time at and around waterholes looking at spoor. As always, I tried learning as much as possible from the trackers and Sean whenever they looked at spoor. My skills are very rusty.

Not much to report only that the heat was serious in the 43 Celsius area and the Mopani flies tried to drive me nuts. It was still great fun.

For me this is where the hunt is formed, you don't choose it. You just need to suffer a little or alot to epxerience and appreciate the hunt. Buffalo hunting should not be easy or quick..... I convinced myself as I was screening the bush like a hawk as we drove for hours and hours searching for spoor or Buffalo.

We went to our favorite koppie again scouting for Buffalo

The bush was "dead" every animal had left the area and gone to a cooler place it felt like : )

We had lunch in one of the underground dugouts at a waterhole and had some nice close up views of Impala and Sable.

We tried and tried, but did not find any Buffalo. We did howver spent some time in some of the most beautiful places I have been in the bush. Considering this was the last days before the dry season would end.

You need to keep a positive attitude on these hunts, or any hunt worthwhile. Well that is the pep talk I silently had with myself : )

 

[Tau Wilderness]

Day 4 had arrived.

My Dad was starting to feel the pressure I could see.

Something about a rental gun and getting older. Firstly the eye relief setup on any rifle is very important especially if you need to shoot quickly. Rental guns setup is not always correct for your ey relief. Practice with the rifle in camp and get used to the eye relief of the specific rifle. In Zim ammo is such a problem that you cannot move scope and sight rifle in again so rather get used to the rifle and the functions of the optics.

Getting older eyes take longer to focus. My Dad used to shoot extremely fats as he grew up in the Namib desert in Namibia. I also got taught to be ready and shoot quickly as animals don't give you too much time where we are from. However now at 70 and a rental gun and scope and very thick bush he was taking longer than normally to get his eyes, scope and Buffalo lined up. He also did the correct thing and declined to shoot when there was sticks or small branches in the way. The PH doesn't have the exact same angle towards target as the hunter so the hunter still needs to make the final call if the shot is on or not.

 

[Tau Wilderness]

We barely left camp before we found tracks 1km out of camp. We would follow these tracks on very Corn flakes like undergrowth. The crunching of grass and crackling of Rhodesian teak seed pods made stealthy approaches very difficult.

Once again we got withing 80 meters of the herd of Dugga boys, but the branches and twiggs blocked any responsible shots.

My Father was on and of the sticks on many occasions, but the Buffalo was moving away and we just couldn't get a shot in.

It was however one of the best areas to walk in the Neyangumbe Conservancy all along the winding Neyangumbe river/creek.

 

[Tau Wilderness]

We retreated back to camp to escape the mid day heat.

We started at 15:30 in very very very hot windless conditions.

However we still had lots to explore and learn.

We found what is left of an old tree that the elephant had worn down super smooth and created their own rubbing post.

We ran across this guy showing of to the ladies.

This is a specie of rock Agama some of the smarter guides can help me with the correct name.

We tried hard, but no Buffalo was shot on day 4, only pictures!!!

 

[Tau Wilderness]

Day 5 ... arrived.

My Dad was worried that we would not get our Buffalo. He wanted me to shoot first now. I said no, I am fine. Maybe I had a hidden agenda. See if I do not shoot a Buffalo, I have to return again to this wonderful place .

Sean as also getting a little stressed. I understand that a PH is only as successful in some people or their own eyes as their last hunt or trophy sizes etc. The reality of hunting as anybody that has done it enough is you need to work hard and you need to have some luck/ blessings.

Like the great Gary Player said " The more you practice the luckier you get".

So we went out earlier on day 5 at 05:30. If we would be successful in harvesting a Buffalo(s) or not at least we anted to insure we did all we can.

Barely out of camp and we once again got on the tracks of a herd of Dugga boys in the very very dense grass. The tracking was very difficult.

We got spooked by a Buffalo at less than 10 meters lying under a tree sleeping. We swung around lifting our rifles, just to realise the huge old bull was already dead. He had no wounds on him other than his rump that was already eaten by Hyena's.

The Buff wa sin good condition and we couldn't find any injuries on the left side. Turning it over would have been a very stinky affair.

We departed for camp and the relief of the portable pool

 

[Tau Wilderness]

Well if you reach afternoon of day 5 of a six day hunt without any success you do everything Possible. We decided to walk form camp. This was glorious!!! I love hunting Kudu and Eland like this. Yes you waste time, but it just feels good to me.

As luck would have it we bumped into a herd of Dugga boys and my Dad got on the sticks on three occasions. there was a bull in the group of 7 that was a perfect management bull. Small horn and body and old enough to harvest. At a stage Sean took a branch of a Raisin bush and we walked in a line towards the Buffalo they just stood and looked at us until we got closer it was a very comical scene.

There was a stage that I was convinced my Father would shoot, but the shooting sticks collapsed under him and the Buffalo ran of..... the mood was sombre and the Shooting sticks got scolded

We ended up doing a nice 6km walk and got to camp as it was dark.

One more day left.