KG & Family - Dande Safari Area

Client Comment

I arrived in Zim via Emirates (DFW-Dubai-Harare) on July 3. I took my wife, Lori and 18 year old daughter, Easton, so Lori could try for a buffalo (her third trip to Africa, second with CMS) and so Easton could be exposed to third world culture, travel through a couple of international airports, and see Dubai on the return trip, all as a high school graduation gift to her. If I were concerned about safety, I would not have taken this precious package. We flew in a Cessna 206 from Harare to Pedza on July 4, which took about an hour. We moved to the Mururu Camp which Buzz and I agreed upon last January. I love this camp in the trees. It was a ten day hunt for two non-trophy elephant for me and Lori was trying to get a buff. We tracked buffalo every day, both single and multiple Dugga Boys and herds, walking 8-12 miles each day on track. We had multiple stalks on buffalo, probably 10 or so, and Lori took one shot through thick limbs and she had the bullet deflected by one on the way to the old buffalo bull for a clean miss. Bad luck. We ultimately failed on buffalo, but it was not due to a shortage or sighting or tracking of buffalo or lack of effort by CMS, Buzz or the trackers. Having hunted most things of interest on earth, I would attribute our lack of success mainly to the blustering and inconsistent winter winds and just bad hunting luck. Lori took it great and still had a wonderful time. In just a total of a day of hunting for me, I still killed two non-trophy cow elephant, which makes more than 20 for me. Buzz and I have proven to be able to kill an elephant about every day or day and a half through the years of killing more than 20 elephant together and I saw this hunt as no different. We saw many elephant and tracked multiple small herds, which, as you know, is the usual drill. As reported on AR, we also saw zebra, many kudu, duiker, grysbok, multiple leopard and lion tracks, had a leopard jump across the road right in front of the Cruiser, eland, baboon, hyena, many Impala, and a 15+ foot rock Python, in the middle of the day. This is actually more plains game than I've seen in past safaris by a considerable degree, but then I am usually tracking elephant every day and looking at the ground. This was my third trip to Dande (December 2010, June 2014, and this trip). I saw the most game on this hunt and certainly the most buffalo. I would offer that DAPU's efforts are evident in the more abundant plains game. We did remove 20 or so snares in two different locations while tracking buffalo. Dande offers a wild African hunt in the Zambezi Valley for buffalo. It is certainly no South African ranch hunt, it is not a Save Conservancy or Bubye Valley hunt, and it is not even a Selous Game Reserve hunt, meaning it is more challenging and, in turn, more rewarding. I came home in 2002 from a 10 hunt in Tanzania with zero buffalo, from Alaska in 2009 with no grizzly (I had two permits), and from British Columbia in 2013 with no grizzly. That is hunting and just part of the game. It is challenging and there is a risk of failure. I frankly think Lori's experience was a fluke and the CMS experience for the year has proven that theory. I do know that you get maximum effort from CMS and Buzz. All aspects of the controllable issues were not just adequate, but were excellent. This was my 14th Safari including Tanzania, Zim and South Africa (once). This was my 6th safari with CMS. I was very pleased with my hunt which ended on July 15, arriving at DFW on July 17. We had no problem in Dubai, no problems with customs anywhere and no concerns about security. Zim is having a cash crunch, but it is always having something. In 2005 I was hunting in Chete with Buzz and there was a presidential election going on. It did not affect our hunt or my travels.