MOZAMBIQUE: Mozambique With KWALATA SAFARIS

[gillettehunter]

Congratulations on an excellent hunt
Bruce

 

[Chukardogs]

Congratulations on an excellent hunt
Bruce

Thank you. It was a great hunt.

 

[Chukardogs]

Great story & old warrior! Looking forward to hearing more. Good to see AJ working Niassa. Headed there with Jaco in ‘24, & the time is passing VERY slow.

You are going to have a great time. It is an incredible place! I will be headed back in a couple years.

 

[Chukardogs]

Oh I'm looking forward to the rest of this report @Chukardogs! I will be hunting with Jaco next year in July in the same area. Congrats on a proper old bull!

Good luck. It will be a blast.

 

[Nyati]

That was a great hunt, congrats !

 

[PANTHER TRACKERS]

10/8/2023
The morning after the eland bull was an easy morning. We decided on a later start and had no plan or destination in mind. We just wanted to go and see what there was to see. Katherien opted to stay in camp that morning so AJ and I headed out for a look see. Mark, the other hunter in camp had a leopard on the menu so AJ took me to one of the baits to see if there had been any activity. That was a really cool experience to see how the process worked. As we drove and talked I really had the sense of how much AJ, Jaco, Donny (PH), and the rest of the Kwalata crew care about the block that is in their care. I truly understood their passion and had some insight into the process and responsibilities that are in play there. There is no greed present. Of course they have to make a living, raise their kids , and pay the bills. But, as I said they do not do this to make a killing and drive Porsche's. It was refreshing to hear and realize this.
In the afternoon we all wanted to go back and sit at the pan before the water dried up. It was going down quickly and would be gone in a matter of a day or two. As we were sitting there AJ and Katherien were sitting to my front right and I see them giggling, pointing, and looking back at me. All I see are some baboons, impala, and a red duiker. Then AJ says, "John are you related to that baboon over there? You guys are sitting in the same position." With this they both stifle laughs. I look over and sure enough I sit just like a baboon. I guess we are not that far away on the evolutionary chain. To me that is what a great trip must have, jokes, laughs, and some s%?# talking. I love it.
Driving back to camp that night we come around the corner and in the light from the light bar is our first wild dog. This is special because it was one of the animals that Katherien and I had really hoped to see. He was a curious young dog that hung around for several minutes. His two pack mates took off into the brush but he was curious and approached the cruiser. We had a good long look at him.
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Katherien and I felt very lucky as we had seen everything we had hoped and more. At the airstrip we stopped the cruiser and shut off the lights. As our eyes adjusted, the brilliance of the un-polluted night sky amazed us. Living in Nevada there are some parts of the state where I can see an amazing night sky, however nothing can compare to the stars that we saw there. The thought that the Kwalata crew puts into giving you an an experience is bar none. It's about the little things. There is so much going through your mind that you cannot think of everything that you want to see and do.
They do these little things that surprise you and make you feel grateful and tell yourself 'I'm glad someone thought of that.' What a way to end the day.

10/10/2023
Out of camp this morning at 4:30 to go down the river and look for bushbuck. After driving down the Lugenda a bit AJ, Timodjo, Sofu, and I got out to take a walk. We walked maybe a mile down the river in the tracks of elephant and buffalo. The numbers of animals we see on this walk is incredible. Pretty soon eagle eyed Timodjo points into the riverine brush and says bushbuck. I cannot see it. I mean I know I am not used to looking for these animals in this type of habitat, but come on, I have been doing this for a long time. Talk about feeling inadequate. There is a female and a young ram then suddenly AJ spots a mature ram. We ease into the low hanging thick brush. Once you are inside of it there are trails. AJ tells me, "Step as I do." Okay, and off we go. We creep our way forward very slowly, constantly squatting and glassing. We saw the female pass by in a gap and just waited for the male. They were maybe 35 yards away. AJ asks," Do you need the sticks or can you free hand it?" At this distance I better be able to free hand it. The male comes out in the brush and I could just make out his head and the top of his back. Sitting on my feet I put the crosshairs where I thought the shoulder to be and squeezed off the shot. The ram hunched up and circled out of the brush towards us. He came from my front left to right and I put a second shot into the point of his front right shoulder at maybe 12 yards. That was all he needed but I got a little excited and shot him again as he was going away. AJ said with a smile, "That's enough John, you got him." Hell, I still had rounds in the gun. But, listen to your PH. He was dead within a minute and 50 yards of where I had shot from. Talk about adrenaline. We took him down to the river to get the photos. You could never tell that Timodjo is in the the photo laying down next to me behind the bushbuck holding his head.
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In the afternoon we all took it easy and just went to look for a good warthog. Just before dark we found one but after a short stalk he gave us the slip.

More to come...

VERY nice Bushbuck!

 

[Red Leg]

Great old eland and that was the bushbuck of a lifetime.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Wow! What an awesome adventure, trophies and write up. Thanks for sharing!

 

[AjFourie]

Good evening John & Katherien

Excuse the late reply, as you know, I have been out in the bush busy with a couple of things…

Thank you so much for your kind words, it was great having you two in camp and to see someone appreciate everything going on around them as much as we do! It is as you said, very much a team effort and we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without people like yourself.

I enjoyed the hunting we did, our discussion regarding conservation and everything else and of course the banter in between.

We are looking forward to catching up with you and Katherien in the states to discuss your return! If you need a bird list, just let me know, I’ll be happy to send you one, minus the crows maybe?

Also thank you to all the other members for your kind words in the comments, we will see you all soon!

Kind regards
Aj Fourie.

 

[AZDAVE]

Thank you so much for a nice writeup of your safari. Your smiles say more than words can ever express.
We will be hunting with Jaco next year. and are very much looking forward to the time in camp.

 

[rinehart0050]

Congrats on your hunt- what a bull!! Well done and thanks for sharing

 

[Scanos]

John,
It was great to meet you and Katherine in camp. Glad you had a great hunt. Niassa is a truly special place and it was great to share camp with you both. Hope to see you around a campfire again.

 

[USN]

What a wonderful report, filled with many ups and downs. A lot more positives, however, a few downs keeps us humble and appreciative of the pluses. And your wife was along to create lifetime memories for you both. Thanks for a report that took us along with you!