In This Issue

• Mark's Word
• Specials
• Diary Clip
• Last word

Contact Us

www.hudsonsafaris.com
mark@hudsonsafaris.com
Mobile: +2782 4922 806
Fax: +2786 6044 734

In this Area, in which you will be hunting, the following species are available:

• Blesbuck White
• Blesbuck Common
• Blue Duiker
• Black Wildebeest
• Blue Wildebeest
• Bontebok
• Bushpig
• Red Hartebeest
• Cape Bushbuck
• Caracal
• Cape Grysbuck
• Southern Bush Duiker
• Eastern Cape Kudu
• Eland
• Gemsbuck
• Grey Rhebuck
• Impala
• Klipspringer
• Mountain Reedbuck
• Nyala
• Ostrich
• Red Lechwe
• Springbuck Black
• Springbuck Common
• Springbuck White
• Steenbuck
• Warthog
• Zebra

With the hot weather on our door, in Africa, and the much welcome rains finally rolling in we bid farewell to yet another wonderful season. It was an brilliant year filled with adventure and excitement and many new friendships were made.

This year, as an added bonus, I was able to watch a first hunter, affectionately named the 'chipmunk' experience Africa as well as hunt her first game. I can't explain how enjoyable it is to watch this experience unfold with heaps and heaps of excitement...all 100% true.

We had many old friends return for their yearly fix of Africa...little do they know that having them over in camp again does more for our souls than what it does for them. A big thank you to all of you who made this another memorable year.

Enjoy the rest of the news letter…!

Specials

A short clip from my diary

Click here to view the video clip of this hunt

Day 1

From our overnight stay in Pretoria, South Africa we headed for the Airport in Johannesburg to catch our mid day flight to Beira, Mozambique. The flight lasted about 2 hours. An interesting 2 hours watching the landscape change as we headed towards the coast. Beira lies on the coast on the Pungue River. In Beira we were met by the pilots who would assist us with Visa formalities before flying us to Camp. We were a total of 4 hunters and two observers heading for the hunting concession and would be making the trip in two Cessna 206’s, widely regarded as the ultimate bush plane. The flight out to camp only lasted approximately 50 minutes. The terrain changed dramatically as we left the ocean front and headed into the forest area where we would be hunting. Flood plains engulf the area  to create forest  islands. The grass runway in camp is cut out of the forest and makes for an adventurous landing. Our camp, one of two, is an old building left over from before the war. It is well maintained and has two bungalows with en-suite for clients to stay in. The other camp, which is across the ‘runway’, is a typical east African tented camp. That afternoon we head for the shooting range to sight the rifles. A hearty meal and drinks await as we return to an idyllic African camp fire.

Day 2

05:30 Wake up call, for those still asleep, breakfast at 06:00. A mist haze hangs over the camp as we leave, this adds volumes to the already tangible excitement…what is out there in the misty forests? You are immediately silenced by the beauty of this area. Driving through the forest one can only marvel at the forest canopy which hides a magnificent world in the undergrowth. We spend the morning heading in and out of the forests which are only split up by the flood pans. During the drive we see huge heard of Sable and Hartebeest as well as Red Duiker, Suni, Blue Duiker, Common Reedbuck, Oribi, Bushbuck and a fleeting heard of Buffalo. Over lunch, words like beautiful, breathtaking and majestic ring out continuously with only the occasional pause to swallow our welcomed meal. After lunch there is time for a quick nap before we head out for another drive. Shower, Drinks, Dinner, Drinks and Bed. Another  soul fulfilling day in Africa.

Day 3

Mist greets us as we head out to where we saw the buffalo the previous morning. We find their tracks but they have left our area and headed into the neighboring area. We let them be and continue the rest of the morning scouting for plains game on our trophy list. Despite returning home empty handed we manage to negotiate lunch out of the camp staff with a friendly greeting! After lunch we headed for the flood plains to see if we could find a trophy Lichtenstein Hartebeest. We saw some beautiful bulls but they are too far out and we cannot get any closer. On the way back to camp we spott a monster Warthog and some Bushpig to add to our lists of animals seen. For our unsuccessful day we are rewarded with a magnificent sunset…as only Africa can stage.

Day 4

As usual we run through the 5:30-6:00 routine and head off for the flood plains. We saw some beautiful Hartebeest bulls yesterday and have set our sights. On the way there we are able to add Selous Zebra to our lists. On the edge of the plains there are patches of brush which we weave or way through. It is not long before we spot some Hartebeest. We start our stalk and head closer. It is a huge group of Hartebeest moving through the brush. Jason, our hunter, sets up and waits patiently for a big bull to step out. A magnificent bull steps out and Jason makes a fantastic shot to which the old bull has no defense and goes down. This animal has a beautiful rich colored hide and makes for a beautiful trophy. After lunch we head out to the forest again and focus on some of the smaller species. We see large numbers of Red Duiker but can’t find a trophy. Just before we decide to turn back to camp we spot a Suni which shows some promise. A short stalk follows and we spot the Suni moving slowly through the forest, unaware of the danger hanging over Jason’s shoulder. He is a magnificent ram and Jason weaves his bullet through the trees, like a magician and bags the ram. On the way to camp we spot 2 huge Nyala rams. For dinner we are invited across the ‘runway’ (concourse 1) for dinner with the other hunters and a great evening is spent with everybody sharing stories of what they have experienced in this magical place.

Day 5

D-Day…our friendly wakeup call comes in at 3:00am and we head out of camp at 3:30. Today we are heading for the swamps in the hopes of bagging a huge buffalo. We reach the edge of the swamp at 5:00 and remove the Argos from the trailers. This is as far as the hunting vehicles will go and from here on in we will rely on these 8 wheel amphibious vehicles. At 6:00 we reach the fly camp where we drop off supplies and new guards. We head out and cross our first big river. One cannot see the river as it is covered with papyrus. One quickly falls in love with these little floating tanks as the rivers are approximately 10 feet deep and 50 to 100 yards wide. At about 7:30 we spot our first herd of Buffalo. They look to be about 300 strong. The buffalo are covered in white birds which is normally what we end up following. The grass in the swaps is about 5 to 7 feet tall. We move closer to the heard, but unfortunately they are still feeding which means constant moving. This makes it very difficult to get set up on them. We decide to pull away and let them continue feeding. We also break for breakfast before continuing after the heard. By now the herd has moved about 2 miles further.  We see Elephant in the distance. 

We leave the Argos and try to get ahead.  About a mile further we manage to get around the herd where the animals are starting to slow down.  We spot a good Buffalo but don’t get a shot. We move closer but the herd is very restless and start moving away from us.  We move around to cut them off. We need to stay on the front or back end to be able to get a clean shot. We are spotted by a cow and some of the buffalo start to run.  Some animals have been feeding in the ticker papyrus and are unaware of our threat.  This gives us an opportunity to move in 60 yards closer to the herd and to get set up. The animals in the papyrus start moving out in the direction of the heard and a small group stops, trying to figure out what all the commotion is about. This is the opportunity we are hoping for.  A big bull is spotted at the very back and Jason makes a great shot and brings the animal down on the first.   As he struggles to get up he sends the second round into the beast which flattens him.  We quickly move closer and the final round takes care of business.  A magnificent animal and a trophy to be cherished.  We pull the cape off and start our journey back. 4 ½ hours later we get back to the vehicle where we load up for the final stretch to camp. Back at camp 18:30. A well deserved bath and shower is followed by celebratory drinks around the fire and a good dinner before we can put our tired bodies to bed.

Day 6

Breakfast has been moved to 7:00, this being our reward for our success of yesterday. The night has taken care of the tired bodies of yesterday and our hunting party is ready for what today holds. On one of the open plains we spot a huge Oribi and the stalk is on. Jason gets his sticks up, which means that the Oribi comes down…this is the pattern that has unfolded over the past 10 safaris of hunting with Jason and again today it hold true. The Oribi is a beautiful trophy, with great length and mass. We spend the rest of the morning looking for Red Duiker or Bushbuck. After lunch we head out with our sights set on Bush Buck, Blue Duiker or Red Duiker. We are unsuccessful on all of the above, however this afternoon’s drive is one of the most beautiful we have been on. On our drive we run into a poacher who has caught a warthog. The poacher flees into the forest but leaves his catch behind…the trackers are pleased.

Day 7

This morning we start out into a heavy fog which blanketed the area during the night, not long and the sun wins the battle and the fog lifts. We see a number of animals but nothing big enough, however as we start heading home we see a massive Red Duiker which runs across the road and lays down. From this distance we can see that the duiker is very old and that he has a skin disease of some sorts which has caused much of his hair to fall out. We decide to go ahead and take him as this is what hunting is all about. He is a magnificent trophy and will most probably score in the top 10. After lunch we continue our search for Bushbuck, however it seems that all we did was try and push our way through the 7000 Red Duikers that have now appeared and are everywhere!!

Day 8.

With our sights still set on Bushbuck we head out for a long drive to one of the furthest points on the concession. We see a number or female bushbuck as well as two beautiful Sable bulls. After lunch we head for the forest as we have seen some Bushbuck activity in the huge termite mounts. Late afternoon we approached a large pan hoping to see some activity but instead we saw a Scaly Anteater. This is a very rare sighting and the first in my 14 years as a Professional Hunter. Heading back we spot a beautiful Blue Duiker just before dark and in true form, Jason takes his split second opportunity and bags the ram.

Day 9.

The Blue Duiker ram brings to an end our safari and we decide to spend the last day doing some sightseeing in the area. We head north and find a beautiful church one the banks of the Zambezi River. From there we head east to the town, Marromeu an industrial town that serves as a life line to most people in the area. We also find a huge fruit bat colony on one of the streets. We head back to camp for the final night in this beautiful part of the world. A fitting night, with family and friends around the camp fire, to bring to an end another successful and enjoyable safari. To my ‘family and friends’, Mrs. Bobbie and Jason, thank you for letting me be a part of another adventure with you.

“ Cheers to many more to come! “

Last word...

We will be heading to the States again early in January and will be in Dallas, Alabama, Atlanta, Denver, Wyoming and Montana. Please let me know if we are going to be close to you as we always welcome the opportunity to visit with old friends.

From my family to yours, a very Merry Christmas and Blessings for the year ahead.

Your Outfitter, Professional Hunter and friend,

Mark, Carlien and Tristan