The next day, we spotted the herd a few hundred yards away, they are grazing in the open, but the ridge behind them should bring us to shooting range. A quick walk around the hill and we are now within 200 yards of that nice ram on the right. We almost bumped into a herd of Roan in the process, but the wind was in our favour and they just walked past us. Soon, Philippe can put that golden blesbok in his Schmidt & Bender scope and the .375 H&H Mag bullet did the rest.

My friend became one of the first hunter ever harvesting a Golden Blesbok. He is a collector and already has the common, white and yellow blesbok, together with 2 bontebok taken 2 years ago on the same concession. His blesbok collection is now “up to date” as would say Xolilé my tracker!

Later that week, Philippe will also harvest a Watsui Wild Cattle originally from Kenya. What a beast, but this is another story …

• Your camera and / or video camera
• 1 pair of hunting trousers (khaki or green)
• 1 hunting shirt (dark in color) and 2 T-shirts
• 1 fleece jacket (dark color)
• 1 pair of well broken in lightweight leather boots
• 1 set of underwear – ALL PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
• Samples of recommended medication (see our “Health” recommendations)
• Sunglasses
• 1 Cap
• Passport
• 1 pair of binoculars (10×40 for plains game and leopard, 8×30 for buffalo)

Remember that liquids and gels are prohibited in carry-on! Although Grand Safari camps all offer daily laundry services, you should pack in your check bag:

• Two sets of hunting clothes (in addition to the one in your carry-on).
• Possibly a second pair of WELL BROKEN IN lightweight leather boots.
• Personal gear should include a hat, sunscreen (SPF 30 or better), lip balm, insect repellant, cartridge pouch, rain jacket (such as Goretex), and a fleece jacket with hood for mornings.
• Good quality compact flash light (with spare batteries)
• Needle and thread for clothing repairs
• Canteen with carry strap or pouch for South Africa and Namibia, 3 liter hydration pack for Buffalo and Elephant in Tanzania
• Soft rifle case for vehicle, (optional as we have some of them for you to use).
• Cough Drops, plus cough syrup for leopard hunts
• Ear plugs and paper targets for zeroing rifle (optional)
• Leather gloves
• Bug jacket (for Tanzania)
• Q Tips (for cleaning ears)
• Whistle (carry in pocket)
• Pocket Knife (your tracker and PH will do all field dressing of game)

Nylon shoes and boots are routinely punctured by thorns is Africa: ouch! Wool collects burrs and thorn branches: not recommended! One set of casual clothes worn for airline travel, plus a spare casual shirt, will suffice for a hunting safari. Our selection of shirts and jackets are offered in the colors most suitable for African Safari. If you specify your size in advance, your order will be ready upon your arrival for your safari.

Trophies and transport

Grand Safari trackers are not only experts on tracking and skinning, but also good companions and assistants during your safari. The field preparation of your trophies as well as the taxidermy are two very important parts of your safari. While Grand Safari does the field preparation itself. We have relations with taxidermist in South Africa. A quick visit in their workshop after your safari will show you how it’s done. The work is of very high quality, delays are moderate and all paper work is done on time. If you are accustomed to working with any other taxidermist, they will forward your raw trophies (often called “Dipping & Packing”) to the taxidermist of your choice. Your Tanzanian trophies can either be shipped in South Africa, or to any other taxidermist in the world. The choice is yours.

Weapons

It is always recommended to hunt with your own guns, and you will be able to do so at any of our destinations. We will provide you with the necessary forms, and we will take care of getting all African permits on your behalf. You will also need to show a US Customs form upon return to the US, obtained prior to leaving the US, listing the make, model, and serial number of your guns. We also have a limited number of rifles to rent in all our camps. Calibers will vary upon type of hunting to be done. This option has to be booked well in advance, contact us for details. In South Africa: – SAKO rifle caliber 222 Remington fitted with Zeiss scope 3 – 9 x 40 – SAKO rifle caliber 300 WM fitted with Zeiss scope 3 – 9 x 40 – SAKO rifle caliber 375 H&H Magnum fitted with Schmidt & Bender scope 1,5 – 6 x 42 – Shotgun 12 gage with red lazer point In Namibia: -Mauser rifle caliber 30.06 fitted with Swarovski scope -Mauser rifle caliber 300 WM fitted with Leipold scope -Karl Walter rifle caliber 375 H&H Mag. Fitted with Zeiss scope In Tanzania: -Blaser rifle caliber .416 Remington fitted with Schmidt & Bender scope.

Passport

Travelling in South Africa and Namibia with a US passport RSA and Namibia issue a tourist Visa to US Citizens when their flight lands at airport customs. They require at least 6 months before Passport expiration, and a blank page in the passport. Travelling in Tanzania with a US passport A tourist visa is required for US Citizens entering Tanzania. Best is to consult tanzania ambassy for all your visa requirements.

Water

Water: it must drink

It is hot in Africa. And when it is hot, it was thirst. Our body operating at full speed with at least 2 liters of water per day by a medium heat. There is in the foods we eat but this is not sufficient. Do you know it is sufficient to 2 per cent of lack of water in the body to see its capacity decrease by 20 per cent? The sensation of thirst is triggered by cerebral receivers activated by changes in blood concentration. When the signal sounds, it is already a little late. That is why, one must drink the most regular possible, even if we do not feel the need. Dehydration due to a coup of heat arrives quickly: fatigue, headache, irritability, insomnia, or even malaise.

Any work muscular product of the heat. Only 20 % of the energy spent by the muscle is transformed into mechanical work. The rest, it is to say 80 %, is transformed into heat that our body must evacuate in order to maintain its temperature the more constant possible. The water lost in the form of sweat must therefore be compensated in order to avoid the risk of dehydration. The rule is simple: it must drink before, during and after a physical effort. Note: In order not to hinder this evaporation, it must be ensured light clothing, made of materials for the sweat of disappear and avoid waterproof garments imperative type wind-breaker.
The team of Grand Safari has always make you drink it! The guides are particularly attentive to your water consumption and invite you to you to drink as often as necessary.

First aid kit

Although Grand Safari maintains fully stocked first aid kits, clients are advised to bring:

• Prescription Drugs (including malaria medication and a broad spectrum antibiotic for Tanzania)
• Non-prescription drugs such as Ibuprofen, decongestants, eye drops, and remedies for travelers diarrhea
• Sunscreen (SPF 30 or better), lip balm, antiseptic cream for cuts, balm for sore muscles (Ben Gay or equal)
• Insect repellant
• Cloth tape and Mole Skin for blisters
• Band-Aids
• Tweezers (for thorns) in checked baggage

Vaccination

No vaccination or shots required for South Africa and Namibia.
Yellow fever for Tanzania; consult your physician and www.cdc.gov for recommended shots (such as tetanus and hepatitis).
MALARIA: NO Malaria in the Eastern Cape of RSA, nor in Etosha Conservancy in Namibia. Anti-malaria drugs are strongly recommended in Tanzania.
Although Grand Safari has well stocked first aid kits in camps, we recommend you take your own medication for minor wounds, cuts, blisters …

Happy hunting, and see you in Harrisburg this week!

Only two days earlier we had followed two very promising tembo tracks for  6 hours and more than 10 miles … always very close, the dung still hot, but eventually lost their tracks and had to walk all the way back to the car. Two trackers, myself, the client and the game scout walked slowly in a single file, like the Wildebeest follow each other, sweating during the midday heat.  The Mopane bees around our ears, noses and eyes were our only company.  Nobody can explain the feelings of ups and downs while Elephant hunting, you have to experience it, feel it, smell it ….dream it. Suddenly, out of nowhere appeared a single Elephant cow to our left at about 50 meters on the edge of a thicket, ears out, trunk high, trying to identify the disturbance. No problem, I thought, as I have experienced so many times before, just back of, make a little detour and everything is fine ….  Well not this time, something felt different. Without a warning sound she charged us and came in very fast, even my shouting at her did not turn her (usually it does), but only seemed to infuriate and speed her up even more.

At  15 steps I told the client to fire a shot over her head, but she still pressed on. At ten yards I shouted again, but with my finger already applying little pressure on the trigger ….these are the moments when everything appears in slow motion, while decisions are made in only a split second, suddenly she stopped and kicked up some dust in front of us at about 8 yards (and believe me, an angry Elephant looks mighty big at that distance), but that was, through experience, what I was hoping for. I waved my arms and shouted again, even walked towards her and that made here very uneasy, unsure and she quickly changed her mind and took off with her tail curled up.

Back to our favorite lookout point in Manane, where the two big bulls are feeding slowly, their wrinkled skins brushing against the razor sharp reed grass. They are still too far for us in order to judge their tusks and most of the time their bottom half is covered by the grass. Time is pressing this late afternoon, with only 1 hour daylight left, so we decide to cross the river quickly and have a closer look. Twenty minutes later, we are within 100 yards, but suddenly the wind shifts and they get a little bit of our scent, but not enough to really scare them.  As they run off for about 50 yards, we also run in a semi circle and try to get ahead of them with better wind. Suddenly they stop, unsure why they actually ran and spread their ears, lifted their trunks and try to detect any danger.  Very slowly and quietly we move in closer … 40, 30, 20 yards…now I can clearly see that one bull is just a middle aged Askari with long, but thin tusks, while the second bull is at least two feet taller at the shoulder, much bigger head, sagging skin, but I can not see his tusks which are always covered by the reeds. We could easily shoot him, but without seeing his ivory first? We go a few steps to the left, then to the right, then my two trackers lift my up, but I still can not see or judge his  white gold. All my senses tell me that he is a great old gentleman with mighty tusks … is that wishful thinking only?  Is that enough, to give the client the go ahead and shoot? Time is running out, the sun is sending her last rays over the horizon; a decision has to be made. As tough as it was at the time, I decided to pull back and hopefully get another chance with them again in the next couple of days.

While the other three clients in our group happily hunted the next couple of days, shooting a magnificent Leopard, huge Crocodiles and many other top quality trophies, my client and myself we kept hunting the same area over and over again, in search of the two mighty bulls.

On our last hunting day we had to make another tough decision, because a huge Leopard was feeding …should we sit in the blind, or give it a last try for the Elephant? My client told me, that he likes playing poker and as he would have said at the gambling tables, he looked at me with a spark in his eyes and said “all in” for the Elephant.  That was fine with me and at three o clock on our last afternoon; we made a last trip to our lookout point.

The usual sight in front of us, overlooking around twenty thousand hectares of floodplain dotted with Hippos, Crocodiles and Waterbuck. Suddenly we see a big herd of Elephant cows moving in from our left, along the edge of the river, immediately my heart skips a beat and I hold my breath, while frantically searching for the back of a big Bull with my binoculars. A first quick scan reveals only cows, calves and two medium sized Bulls … something does not feel right about the body size on these two Bulls and then I realize that they are standing in a depression, taking away at least 3-4 feet of their actual height.  Just then, they step out of there, revealing their full body size and their tusks. Immediately I recognize the younger bull, with his long and thin tusks. As my eyes catch the second Bull, it almost takes my breath away. His tusks are thick at the lip, stained dark yellow by the juices of vegetation that brushed against it for many, many years and they carry on thickly for at least 3 feet and only taper slightly for another foot. No need to see more, this might be our last chance.  The scramble for guns and ammo is a funny picture and we quickly run down to the edge of the river, where we have a boat hidden under a tree, just for that kind of emergency. The Bull is fully exposed on the other side of the river, but still 150 yards away… we paddle as quietly as possible across …100 yards …80 yards .. 60 yards… two cows move up to him and must have sensed something, their trunks come up and they slowly turn back into the long grass. He is still standing there, facing us, too far and unsteady for a brain shot…. 50yards…40 yards… I tell the client to get ready for a heart shot, as soon as he turns…slowly the boat is drifting closer and our heart rate is picking up, as he slowly turns to follow his ladies, he presents the long awaited fully broadside shot and my client fires his .416 solid into his shoulder and the Bull stumbles, immediately a second shot rings from my clients gun and the Bull takes off, quickly obscured by the long grass. We paddle frantically to the river bank and quickly move up the steep channel, the last step very careful, because not knowing, if the wounded Bull or an angry cow is waiting there for us. As I get the first glance of the scenery, I see the fleeing herd of cows, including the Askari and 150 yards to my right, the old Bull walking very slowly, the lung shot obviously already taking effect.  We close the distance very quickly to about 20 yards and the client drops the mighty old Bull with a side brain shot. The hind legs collapse first, his head and trunk is thrown up high and before he is reaching the ground, he is dead … nor more walking the ivory trail. Walking slowly up to him, we are torn with mixed feelings. Happiness for having achieved our goal on the very last day, sadness for having taken the life of such a majestic old Gentleman.

This is what hunting is all about, lots of ups and downs, mixed emotions, but at the end of the day, it is us hunters, that have always been and hopefully will always be the ones that actually do care about wildlife and sustainable utilization and therefore give the next generations also a chance to walk ….the Ivory trail.

Happy hunting to all of you. And my very best wishes from our camp along the Kilombero River in the Selous Game Reserve