Doug3006
AH legend
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2015
- Messages
- 2,090
- Reaction score
- 8,219
- Media
- 16
- Member of
- SCI, NRA
- Hunted
- Namibia (X2), Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa
I’m sitting on the dining deck at Pedza Pasi camp having just finished packing up for my return home. The bush plane arrives in a couple of hours so I have time to start my hunt report. My friend Jeff505 and I spent the last 12 days chasing Buffalo and Sable in the beautiful Zambezi Valley. I’ll let Jeff tell his stories separately and he has some great ones to tell!
Before I get started with the story, I thought some background might help anyone who is about to make the trip to Dande or maybe considering a Safari here.
United from St. Louis to Houston. The aircraft was a mid-sized commuter flown by a partner. I paid for first class since there were no baggage fees. The price difference between coach and first was not much if you add the coach class baggage fees. However, I was pissed when I saw the seats in first class (tiny even for a regular coach seat) and near total lack of carry on overhead space.
We flew Emirates business class from Houston to Dubai. Super efficient check in. They had our firearms paperwork in hand and a supervisor walked us to TSA, waited for them to check our guns, and then he delivered them to the Emirates baggage handlers. No fuss at all. Shawn at Gracey Travel took care of the details for us. I can’t stress enough how simple things are when you use a company like Gracey or TWG.
Covid tests dealt us a fit! Getting results back within 48 hours of departure is really tough when you are traveling mid week. That means you have to take the test over the weekend and pray that you get the results back before you leave. The testing labs warn you that weekends may delay your results. Jeff‘s test hadn‘t been emailed to him by the time he arrived in Houston. So he had to pay $250 bucks for a rapid PCR test in Houston. They have a lab in Terminal E. Of course he got his results emailed to him just a bit after shelling out for the test in the airport!
The aircraft was a newer 777 with the better “pod” layout. Very comfortable seats that fold flat. I had no problem getting a full 8 hours of sleep.
We overnighted in Dubai at the airport hotel. It was fine for a 15 hour layover. A good hotel, but kinda dated. The price was $200 a night which would have been highway robbery if the hotel wasn’t right in the middle of concourse B. Location, location, location. We hit the business class lounge for a few free Heinekens then off to bed.
We had breakfast in the lounge the next morning. Nothing like free Mimosas to start your day!
The flight from Dubai to Harare was 9 hours, a couple of hours of which were spent offloading and reloading in Lusaka, Zambia. The plane was an older 777 but still very nice.
CMS had a government employee meet us at the end of the jet way when we landed in Harare. We handed him the stack of papers that CMS had given us to complete ahead of time. He walked us through customs and gun clearance in about 30 minutes. Buzz Charlton met us outside the terminal and drove us to the Amanzi Lodge. What a nice place! Great restaurant too! Another restless night, breakfast in the morning and then back to the airport for the 45 minute bush plane flight to Pedza Pasi airstrip.
Our PHs (Allan Shearing and Dean Kendall) met us at the strip with Jack, an hunter from Texas who had just wrapped up his Buffalo hunt. Jack was highly complementary about the whole experience and promised us we would have a great time. That was nice to hear.
I’d be hunting with Dean as my PH. We got settled in and then checked the zero on my rifles. I brought 2 Kimber Caprivis. One in 458 Lott for Buffalo and another in 375 H&H for Sable and anything else. They shot where I was aiming so we were good to go.
Pedza Pasi camp is beautiful and comfortable. I’ll send pictures when I get to where there’s more bandwidth.
That takes care of the preliminarie. The hunt report will follow soon.
Before I get started with the story, I thought some background might help anyone who is about to make the trip to Dande or maybe considering a Safari here.
United from St. Louis to Houston. The aircraft was a mid-sized commuter flown by a partner. I paid for first class since there were no baggage fees. The price difference between coach and first was not much if you add the coach class baggage fees. However, I was pissed when I saw the seats in first class (tiny even for a regular coach seat) and near total lack of carry on overhead space.
We flew Emirates business class from Houston to Dubai. Super efficient check in. They had our firearms paperwork in hand and a supervisor walked us to TSA, waited for them to check our guns, and then he delivered them to the Emirates baggage handlers. No fuss at all. Shawn at Gracey Travel took care of the details for us. I can’t stress enough how simple things are when you use a company like Gracey or TWG.
Covid tests dealt us a fit! Getting results back within 48 hours of departure is really tough when you are traveling mid week. That means you have to take the test over the weekend and pray that you get the results back before you leave. The testing labs warn you that weekends may delay your results. Jeff‘s test hadn‘t been emailed to him by the time he arrived in Houston. So he had to pay $250 bucks for a rapid PCR test in Houston. They have a lab in Terminal E. Of course he got his results emailed to him just a bit after shelling out for the test in the airport!
The aircraft was a newer 777 with the better “pod” layout. Very comfortable seats that fold flat. I had no problem getting a full 8 hours of sleep.
We overnighted in Dubai at the airport hotel. It was fine for a 15 hour layover. A good hotel, but kinda dated. The price was $200 a night which would have been highway robbery if the hotel wasn’t right in the middle of concourse B. Location, location, location. We hit the business class lounge for a few free Heinekens then off to bed.
We had breakfast in the lounge the next morning. Nothing like free Mimosas to start your day!
The flight from Dubai to Harare was 9 hours, a couple of hours of which were spent offloading and reloading in Lusaka, Zambia. The plane was an older 777 but still very nice.
CMS had a government employee meet us at the end of the jet way when we landed in Harare. We handed him the stack of papers that CMS had given us to complete ahead of time. He walked us through customs and gun clearance in about 30 minutes. Buzz Charlton met us outside the terminal and drove us to the Amanzi Lodge. What a nice place! Great restaurant too! Another restless night, breakfast in the morning and then back to the airport for the 45 minute bush plane flight to Pedza Pasi airstrip.
Our PHs (Allan Shearing and Dean Kendall) met us at the strip with Jack, an hunter from Texas who had just wrapped up his Buffalo hunt. Jack was highly complementary about the whole experience and promised us we would have a great time. That was nice to hear.
I’d be hunting with Dean as my PH. We got settled in and then checked the zero on my rifles. I brought 2 Kimber Caprivis. One in 458 Lott for Buffalo and another in 375 H&H for Sable and anything else. They shot where I was aiming so we were good to go.
Pedza Pasi camp is beautiful and comfortable. I’ll send pictures when I get to where there’s more bandwidth.
That takes care of the preliminarie. The hunt report will follow soon.
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