ZIMBABWE: Hunting the Omay For Elephant & Leopard With Dalton & York Safaris

[Foxi]

oh man, when will it continue ??.
This is worse than when a good Netflix series has a glitch, so exciting are your hunts.

Greathunt,great report and a super footage.

 

[AZDAVE]

I have really enjoyed your report so far. Like your writing style. Thank you for taking us along on your adventure!

 

[Frederik]

Seriously we cannot wait a week for another episode.

 

[VertigoBE]

I’m loving this report! Thanks so much putting all the effort in writing all of this and accompanying it with all these pictures!

 

[rinehart0050]

Sorry for the long delays... back to the story!

Fishing Village Showdown at High Noon...

The next morning, we returned to the village were we had encountered the groups of elephants. Dalton suspected that the two bulls had been nearby the group of cows we'd found and that we just hadn't seen them from our vantage point, with the failing light.

Today, my parents are coming along on the hunt as observers. They'd arrived in camp yesterday, having just missed the leopard party! This would be their first time venturing into the Zimbabwe bush and boy, where we all in for an exciting day....

A quick inspection of the hills near the village revealed that the elephants had left the area, at least for the time being. Dalton decided to make a plan. There had been reports for the last few weeks from a fishing village on the banks of Lake Kariba of an elephant harassing the villagers and actually coming into the village. We decided to go check it out and see if he'd returned recently.

We were in the southern part of the concession and the village was in the very north. Once again, Dalton showed off his Rally racing skills as we barreled along the rough roads at break-neck speeds! By the time we made it to the village, the sun was reaching its apex and we were starting to feel the coming afternoon heat.

A quick survey of the villagers found a young boy that claimed to have seen the elephant this very morning! Dalton took the boy to find the tracks, while the rest of us stayed in the village. We went down to the water to take pictures of a large pod of hippos. My mother's favorite animal is the hippo. On her trip to South Africa, she'd only seen 3 hippos at a distance... "just shiny rocks" as she described them. This trip would be different- she'd get more than her fill of hippos! The large pod was only about 100 yards away, on the opposite shore. There were lots of baby hippos mixed in. My mom said that getting to see them that close already made the trip worth while- and this was only their first day in the Omay!

While Dalton was away, looking for elephant tracks, we also walked around the village. Near the shore, the villagers were drying rudimentary mud bricks used to make their huts. Here you can see how the bricks are stacked and then more mud is added to make everything fast. Some huts even have paintings on them!

Bricks:

Stacked to make a wall:

Paintings:

As this was a fishing village, there were lots of fish either hanging or laid out to dry:

Here's a video:

There was also a man making fishing nets. Our Parks Ranger Million checked to make sure that the net was legal. If the gaps between the string are too small, then the net is illegal. We didn't see any illegal nets while we were there...

While none of these villages have running water or power, it was interesting to see how technology is making its way even into these most remote of places. Many villagers have cell phones, which they use solar panels to charge. In this village, they even had a large speaker powered by solar that they used to play music. Simple pleasures!

Andy gathered a group of villagers around and demonstrated his drone to them. Everyone was impressed! But I was impressed by the ingenuity of the village kids and their toys. Using wire and a stick, they fashioned a toy truck. Impressively, the steering wheel really worked, turning the wheels of the truck! Amazing what can be done with a little bit of creativity!

A short while later, Dalton returned. He'd found the tracks! A lone bull. Very close to the village! I quickly grabbed my double and gun belt and we set off on foot to see what lay at the end of the tracks...

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Back on the edge of my seat…..

 

[375Fox]

I think this report is going to convince a lot of people to look into hunting Zimbabwe and other wild areas. Really great report.

 

[rinehart0050]

High Noon...

We picked up the elephant's track less than half a mile outside of the village. The deep grooves in the track were immediately evident and along with their diameter, indicated a good sized bull!

The vegetation was not too thick here and we were able to move quickly through the bush. Only a short while later, maybe a kilometer, maybe less, Dalton signaled everyone to freeze!

We'd found the elephant- nearly bumped right into him! He was feeding from a tree, with some large bushes obscuring us from him. The wind was good, gently blowing in our direction. It carried the faint sounds of music and people talking from the nearby village to us. This bull was clearly not concerned about being in the vicinity of the village!

Prior to starting any elephant hunting, Dalton and I had discussed shot opportunities. The preference was to go for the heart-lung. If this was not available, side brain. Front brain was the most difficult and we would only do this if no other option existed.

Dalton, Tongai, and I carefully approached closer, using the bushes as cover, watching the ground to make sure we didn't step on a branch or dried leaves.

The elephant was moving around now, starting to walk in the direction of my parents and our Game Rangers.

The elephant is maybe 20 meters in front of us. No time for sticks. Dalton gets ready and I bring up the double.

The elephant moves to our right, bushes obscuring our view.

We move right with the elephant, trying to find a gap.

The elephant moves back left again and squares up in our direction, presenting the frontal shot.

Dalton gives the go ahead, "between the eyes."

With the thick brush, I can't see the elephant's eyes from my angle.

Dalton tells me to aim for the lump, above the base of the trunk.

I shoot. Dalton back's me up with another shot. I shoot again as the elephant stumbles to our left.

I'm reloading as the elephant regains his footing and is moving quick to our left.

We take off at a sprint after him. Racing through the long grass, ducking between bushes and under trees.

We emerge into a clearing and spot the bull moving through the trees in front of us. Each takes another shot. I eject the single round and load another.

And we're moving again, in hot pursuit!

Maybe 50 more meters and we find him again. He's slowed down and we take two more shots into his side, as he's quartering away from us.

We move through the bush to get a better angle. We approach within about 15 meters, as the elephant's back legs buckle and he sinks down. He lets out a bellow of frustration as I shoot again.

The bull is anchored now and we finish him quickly. This entire sequence of events lasted no more than 2 minutes (as the video footage confirms!).

Once we confirm the elephant is down, the gravity of the situation begins to set it. What a majestic giant. I am in awe.

The bull's position makes it seem as though he has just lain down for a rest. The sheer mass of his body holds his head and tusks off the ground. His hide along his back has a unique texture, almost like a rough sand paper. His massive ears move gently in the breeze.

What a privilege. Not just to hunt such an animal, not just to feed a village, but to help the local community with an animal that has harassed and threatened life. My pride at this accomplishment mixes with a sense of sadness that this fine tusker had to die. Had it not been me, it would have been a Parks Ranger in short order. At least this way, the villagers get back a degree of safety, get meat to last them for weeks, and will get the monetary benefits of the trophy fee.

What a majestic animal...

His feet bear the deep cracks indicative of an old bull:

His ears remain spread, as they where when he was looking at us, right before the first shot...

Already, as we are taking photos, villagers begin to arrive, with exclamations of joy and excitement! They will all eat well tonight!

And so now the real work of butchering the elephant awaits... more on this soon...

 

[Edge]

Congratulations on a great bull!

 

[Mort Hill]

Super -awesome-fabulous! Just a tremendous day!

 

[rinehart0050]

I think this report is going to convince a lot of people to look into hunting Zimbabwe and other wild areas. Really great report.

Totally agreed. This was our first trip to Zim and we're sold! There's nothing quite like hunting true wilderness areas!

 

[CAustin]

An epic hunt sir! Leopard and now an elephant bull worthy of stories for generations to come! Well done and congratulations on joining an exclusive group of hunters.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I’m back to Wow! A very nice bull, but more so from telling it like it happened. The preferred brain shot that results in an immediate drop from one shot didn’t happen. So be it, no criticism at all from me. I’m just impressed with you being honest and forthright in how it happened. Congratulations, I’ve so enjoyed this report!

 

[rinehart0050]

To feed a village...

Now, Dalton is the sort of guy who likes things a certain way. He's particular and doesn't tolerate deviation. This applies to meat distribution too and it helped keep the whole affair as orderly as possible.

Seemingly within moments of the elephant going down, villagers were already arriving. Without realizing it at the time, it turns out the elephant's final resting place was actually on an old, disused and overgrown road. This made getting the Land Cruiser to us a piece of cake!

Dalton had all the villagers stay on the opposite side of the road from the elephant. They all sat around chatting and enjoying themselves. As the elephant was so close to the fishing village, soon we had everyone present and waiting. Others trickled in from more distant farms as word of the elephant spread.

Dalton then selected a group of villagers to assist with skinning and butchering. No other villagers were allowed to cross the imaginary line until instructed to do so.

Skinners ready to get to work:

The skinning went relatively quickly, with large panels of hide being cut from the elephants back. Once the hide was off the elephant's back, he was pushed to one side to continue skinning, then the other.

At the same time, the head was removed and skinned. Then the hard work of splitting the skull to remove the tusks began. Tongai and Trymore handled this part to ensure it was done correctly. We inspected the teeth and saw that the elephant was on his sixth and final set of molars.

With the skin removed, the butchering began in earnest. I didn't dare offer to help, as knives and axes and other assorted blades whipped about with furious gusto! No need to get a finger chopped off!

The chunks of meat were tossed in a pile, under the shade of a bush as the butchering continued. After a while, Dalton let our Parks Ranger Million and Council Scout Time know to start lining the villagers up. Dalton put out strict instructions- two lines, women first, then children. The men come last.

Million and TIme kept strict order, with no shoving or cutting in line tolerated.

The villagers accepted their meat with smiles on their faces- especially the kids. So cool to see the kids running off with giant chunks of meat to bring home to their families!

Every once in a while, some guy would try to cut in line. Either Dalton or Time or Million were quick to push them back and make them wait their turn. As the meat distribution of the choice cuts went on, the butchering continued in the background.

As the pile of precut pieces dwindled, more of the locals began to focus on the elephant carcass to cut off bits and chunks. Gradually, things started to get a bit more chaotic and excited.

With all the women and children having received their meat, we decided it was time to go. The villagers continued to hack away, ensuring that not a single piece of the elephant would go to waste. The village would enjoy a great celebration tonight, with everyone enjoying precious protein and libations all around!

On our way back to camp, we periodically stopped at the farms and huts of the various camp staff, handing out meat to their family members.

We also stopped at the farm of the local chief. We'd stopped there before heading up to the fishing village and he was surprised to see us again so soon! Dalton had saved a special piece of meat for him- the trunk! The locals believe that the trunk is imbued with magical powers and is the most desirable cut of meat. Little favors like this for the chief help to ensure good relations with the villagers. It also means that the chief will help keep the people in line, to the advantage of the local wildlife. The chief is the older gentleman wearing the red shirt and tan vest.

Back in camp, another celebration ensued- although a bit toned down from the leopard party! After all, we need to be fit enough to hunt the next morning! It was Day 9, we still have 5 more hunting days to go!

More adventures to follow soon!

 

[rinehart0050]

I’m back to Wow! A very nice bull, but more so from telling it like it happened. The preferred brain shot that results in an immediate drop from one shot didn’t happen. So be it, no criticism at all from me. I’m just impressed with you being honest and forthright in how it happened. Congratulations, I’ve so enjoyed this report!

Yup. Shots don't always work out the way we hope. My first shot was about 2 inches too low. Glad we were able to immediately follow up and bring him down quickly.

Funny too, how at the range the 470 NE can really punish you after a handful of shots. In the excitement of the moment, I never noticed any recoil at all!

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on a nice bull!

 

[revturbo9967]

Amazing story

 

[BourbonTrail]

Nice bull, congrats on a quick and conclusive follow up.

 

[gillettehunter]

Looks like a great bull. Congrats on an exciting hunt. Great write up. Pleasure to read it.
Bruce

 

[BnC 04]

Congratulations on a magnificient animal! Puts a smile on my face as i read and look over the pictures showing how nothing goes to waste and how respect is given/received through hunting. Love it, again outstanding job!