TANZANIA 2006

8-8 Departure. Day started well--green bag was overweight but the lady at Ak Air did not charge me and the gun case was not weighed. Every leg was on time. Flight to Amsterdam was nice. Saw the Canadian Rockies and the flat lands on to Hudson’s Bay. In Seattle, the Northwest/KLM girl at the counter said she did not have to see my gun permit was was surprised that I had firearms with me. She said, “How did you get them past security?” The idiot thought I had them on my person! All went well on the flight to Dar es Salaam. A long wait for my Visa and the police guy wanted to charge me $200 for a business Visa and not the $50 for a tourist visa. Donald Nyiti took care of it. The next police officer could not match the serial numbers of my .450 rifle. He also wanted a bribe but Donald took care of that situation, too. Overnight at the Sea Cliff north of Dar.

8-10 Dar to Arusha and to Springlands hotel in Moshi Town. K.C. and party are on a photo safari and will return at 4. Hotel is kind of Dumpy--no phones or tv but clean. Planned climb, stored gear, and paid my balance due.

8-11 Rented a sleeping bag and rain coat and took a one hour drive to Machame gate. Over 40,000 people a year climb this Kilimanjaro. Moshi is 4500 feel in elevation, Machame is 5400. We climbed 7 hours, 11 miles up to 10,050 feet through a rain forest. It did not rain but the walk was very muddy. Huge trees and vines but no animals. I didn’t expect any due to the amount of people that pass through here. Sweat like hell and I was a bit tired--quite different than my daily walks at sea level. Night temp fell to about 20.

8-12 Catching up on jet lag sleep--up at 4 after 6-7 hours of rest. Breakfast and depart by 9:15. Lunch at 1 and arrive at camp by 3. Out of the rain forest and into a dry high desert. No signs of altitude sickness and I have more energy due to much-needed sleep. Above the clouds and it is clear and sunny. Must wear sun block and glasses as the thin atmosphere does not filter the sun’s rays. I have a concern about staying healthy for the hunt. A sprained ankle will cancel the hunt so I take it easy and won’t push it. Days are 65-70, nights below freezing. Elevation at camp is 12,600.

8-13 Slept well and in tent from 8pm to 7am (good thing I have a pee bottle!). One hour into trip I got a bit sick but the doctors check me out and I was fine. Lunch at 15,400 feet and back own to 12,700 to camp. Best day of the trip as to scenery. We walk averaging one mile an hour. Today was an 8 hour walk.

8-14 Started off with a 100 foot vertical climb to a plateau but only about 5 hours on the trail.

8-15 Up early for a 4 hour walk to camp at 15,000+ Lunch and rest. Early to bed as up at 11pm for the climb to the summit to see the sunrise.

8-16 Decided, after two hours to 17,000 feet, I would return to camp. I was too worried about the fatigue and possible injury to jeopardize the hunt. Late morning, greeted the other 14 members of the party--all of whom made it to the top. After a rest, we’ll descend about 5 hours to the rain forest for our last night on the mountain at 10,000 feet. downhill is much harder and my knees are legs are aching a bit--not so with the climb up.

8-17 Back down to another gate, a short walk to a village (dozens of people trying to sell stuff--some good artwork, some cheap crap). Hotel and a much needed shower after 7 days, dinner a the Indo-Italilan restaurant for a pizza.

8-18 Day in Moshi with K.C. and Dave. Lunch and dinner at the same place. Same pizza!

K.C. made an interesting observation while walking around Moshi. “No one here is over 40.” He was right. Poor health care and AIDS keep people from old age.

8-19 To Dar and on to Sea cliff with K.C. and Zach and meet with Dave and Chris.

8-20 Met Mark Sullivan at the hotel and he made a short video for Donna. Taxi ride to airport for the charter to camp. Toilets out of the tourist areas are interesting--a hole in the floor with no paper--just a bucket of (dirty) water to wash one’s left hand! Chartered in with K.C., Zach, Peter Hillman and his adopted Daughter, Jennifer. Met Gary at airstrip. A black mamba crossed the road on the 1 1/2 hour ride to camp.

8-21 Up at 4 in a cool morning. Out to track buff by 6:30 and they winded us and ran three times. By 10 I was a bit under the weather and my noon I had to return to camp very ill. With meds, I was OK by dinner time. K.C. and Pete went out and Pete shot a hartebeast and K.C. an impala--both for bait and camp rations. Temps are ok--70s if cloudy, 80s if partly cloudy, and near 100 in the sunshine.

8-22 Up at 4:30 out by 5. Check leopard and lion baits. Leopard fed at lion bait by the Kilombera River--25 miles from camp. Lunch at 11. Cloudy and cool--in the 70s. I want a dry land hippo but I need lion bait more. Gary explained to me I can always get a “deal” on hippo, croc, buff, hippo, and even elephant--but not so on lion. The permits are drying up and countries are cutting back on the allocation. Botswana and Zambia charge up to $175,000 for a lion hunt. So, this is a one-time deal for me on lion. With that in mind, we set off for the river to look for a bull hippo in the water. We saw several bulls but they were too far out in the water for a shot with a double rifle. Then we spotted one close to shore, about 100 yards downstream. Still too far for a shot so we made a very quiet stalk in the thick brush by shore until I was on a bank 20 feet above him and he was only 20-30 yards away. He was resting his head on the back of one of four cows he was with. A single shot down through the top of his head was an instant death via brain shot. He rolled and sank as the bank was very steep and the water deep close to shore. We waited 1 hour and 45 minutes then K.C. shouted there was a sand bar where there was not one before. We were getting worried as it takes maybe an hour for a hippo to surface when he starts to gas up. There was no current at that place so he did not go downstream and we saw his bubbles after he sank. Gary, Max, and I went in with a rope and pulled him to shore up stream onto a small beach. The game scout was shooting in the river to keep the cows and crocs away. It took until dark to get him cut up and loaded in the Land Rover. Back at camp at 9:30. Tomorrow we bait.

8-23 Set five baits an shot an impala for camp meat and a leopard bait.

8-24 Happy birthday. Cold this morning means it will be hot today. Woke at 4:40 with lions roaring by camp--exciting. Went to the Kilombero to check on the bait. We were in the back of the land Rover watching elephant as Lusaka was driving to the bait. Then, a male lion jumped up from the bait and ran off. He was a big male but with not much mane. Since he was at the bait, the leopard will be pushed out of the area. We departed quick to keep him there and went to check other baits. PM walked up to two bull elephant but he ivory was too small. The smaller of the two bluff charged us at sundown and last light. Cat hunting does not require much walking.

8-25 Up at 4, out by 5 to check the Kilombero bait by 7. What a day! Gary, Max, and I went in to check on the bait. We walked in very slowly and quiet about one mile and came up to an ant hill 80 yards from the bait. We were waiting quietly with Lusaka and Mohimbi and KC and Zach in the rover a mile away with Lusaka. Then, a lioness came out of the grass--the very grass we just walked through--looked at us about 30 yards away and turned and went back into the grass. A few minutes later her, and three other lioness’ moved out of the grass. We had heard the male roaring a few hundred yards behind the bait. At the same time we heard the lioness and a hyena fighting. The larger female had blood on her nose so she must have killed the hyena. Our guns were up and ready! A call to the Rover and and we were out of there quick to return later in the afternoon to build a blind. When we returned, vultures confirmed the lion kill in the grass. 3 kilometers away, a leopard was feeding on a hippo bait and closer to camp another leopard was feeding on an impala. This was a fresh feed and we may have chased him away as we walked in. tomorrow we will build two leopard blinds and may spend the night at the lion bait.

8-26 Leopard at bait one-a small female. We used Peter’s warthog to set up another bait and build a blind. After lunch, back to the river to stay in the blind there. By 2:30 we were up in a tree blind (too many lioness and a hippo trail prevented us from a ground blind). Gary and Max were sleeping and I was resting. A quick snack on candy and I started to doze off with Gary watching. I felt his hand on my leg and I thought, “Oh shit--Brokeback Mountain!” The lion was standing in the karonga slowly making his way to the bait. When he looked away I slowly--oh so slowly--into position. It took several short moves as when he looked my way I froze. He walked past the bait and when he turned to go back to feed he paused broadside to me. I remember the heart on a lion is behind the shoulder so I lined up and squeezed the rear trigger. He dropped as if hit by lightning! I put in another shot through his chest and he started to get up. As he started to crawl away, two more through the top of his back and angling down into his chest ended him. The first shot took off the top off his heart (we learned later at the skinning shed) and he was dead but I had to keep shooting to keep him from entering the long grass. What a moment. The high point of my hunting life. We called for the truck and close to camp shots were fired, trees were put on the truck for decoration and the camp met us in a big celebration.

8-27 Checked leopard baits and took down the lion bait to use as croc bait. Hot today--in the 90s

8-28 I was up sick all night, throwing up and diarrhea so it was time for Cipro. It was nice having K.C. in camp to take care of me but he departed on day 5 for Zanzibar. I stayed in this morning and Gary went to check baits. Gary returned at noon with news of a large leopard feeding on the bait closest to camp. We are to go to the blind in the late afternoon. In blind by 3:30 and at 6:45 the leopard’s head pops up in the grass close to the bait tree. Light is fading fast. I can’t see him with just my eyes--I needed the scope. One shot hit him the the shoulder and he went into the grass. We followed by spotlight is it was dark. He was in the grass and I shot my .400 when Gary fired his 12-gauge shotgun with buckshot. He was a mature male about 7 feet long but was starving--two months ago he weighed 120-130 pounds and now he was down to 70 or so. We saw later at the skinning shed he was shot in the leg by a Russian client two months prior and the organs in his abdomen were all green--peritonitis. When I saw his head I thought he was facing to my right so I shot for the shoulder. Turns out he sitting facing the bait and looking to my right. But I could only see his head so when I shot the bullet hit him where the leg meets the shoulder and out the front of his chest--not through he chest if he was broad side to me. His teeth are good so he was in the prime of his life but very sad to see him in such rough shape. It was good to put him out of his pain. The hyenas would have taken him soon. Same celebration as with the lion but not as elaborate.

8-29 We collected all baits today. Tanzanian law says baits can’t remain in the tree. The rotting meat was a memory that will remain a long time! Croc bait. We walked upstream in the Luhombelo River from camp to look for sign of a large croc. I slipped on mud with my flip flops and fell. The stock of my .400 broke at the wrist. Shit! Croc hunting is over as I need a scope for this animal so it is off for buffalo with the .450.

8-30 Up at 4 and out to help Peter look for buff sign. They have moved out of the area and only a few daga boys (bachelor bulls) remain. In the drive out, I asked Gary to stop so I could use the loo. He said to wait as there were tracks of four lion in the road. Less than a minute later, we bumped the four in the road and they ran off. We tracked two daga boys to water and the wind shifted and we  lost them. On the drive back for lunch we ran into more lions--two females and five cubs. No crocs on the bait so back to track buff. Wind is blowing in all direction and changing often. No luck so back to camp by dark.

8-31 Up at 5, out by 6. Lion tracks over the daga boy tracks so buff are gone. Drove the boundry of the hunting block (L-1) but no buff tracks in the road. Gary is reevaluating buff hunts later this year. They have moved out of the area. Why is anyone’s guess? Will check for crocs.

9-1  Early am departure to get to the water pool at the rock formations. Daga boy tracks are fresh and the shit is still hot! After 2 1/2 hours we lost the track in the long grass. Drove to the long karonga to check the long water hole and burn grass. Gary said, “Cal, get on the big ant hill while we burn.”  15 minutes the ant hill was in flames. After lunch, we drove to the game bridge on the Luhombelo River and walk upstream towards camp. A mile or so, we came to a one kilometer pool that was deep. A 13 foot croc was sunning himself but the shot was too far of a .450 with open sights. He winded us and went in the water. But he was worth going after. Back at camp at sundown, Gary and I decided on a plan to get the croc with the .400. I took some strips cut from a Coke can, electrical tape, and strips of green sable hide and bound the stock tight.

9-2 Up at 4 and out by 5. Tracked daga boys 6:30 to noon, in a big circle, but no buff. The .400 is in the sun and the sable hide is shrinking as it dries. After lunch, I shot three targets from the left barrel and zeroed in the scope to shoot within one inch at 50 yards. At 2 we went to see the croc. He winded us again and went in the water. So, we burnt the grass for a silent stalk and built a blind. John shot a wildebeast so we will use a leg for bait tomorrow.

9-3 9am croc is basking but went into water with the wind. 11am he was still in the water but looking at the sand bar a few feet into the water. 1pm on sand bar with two others. Slow stalk into blind--crab walking 30 yards in 15 minutes. I raised the rifle to my shoulder and the croc slipped into the water. Shit. He was still gone by 3 so we improved the blind by adding camo burlap. The bait was attracting vultures so we put it in the water. Saw a salamander that was gray behind the shoulders but the head and front part was yellow with spots like a leopard. Also, a pure white butterfly with orange wing tips.

9-4 What a day! 8am croc was in water. 10am croc bashing but the wind shifted and we retreated before he winded us. 12 noon and 1 the same--be backed off as the wind shifted. 2pm wind was right and the large croc was basking alone. Bait was gone. A slow quiet stalk into the blind, rifle to my shoulder and lined up for the shot. Since I was 20 feet up on a bank, I raised the cross hairs one inch on the side of his head to compensate for a brain shot. One shot and the croc only twitched his tail. He didn’t move a bit. The bullet went right through the brain, split his skull open, and he was done instantly. Pulled the croc up the bank with the Rover and back to camp by sundown. Put croc at the tent of Norbert (the PH from Austria) as he said I would never shoot a croc with a double rifle. When Norbert returned after dark we turned off the lights in camp and told him there was an electrical short. When he went to his tent, we followed and enjoyed the scream when he bumped the croc!

9-5 Buff in the morning but didn’t see them. Tracks were at the water hole but as the spoor got into the long grass it was too slow tracking and they were moving away from us. The temperature of the shit told us that. Back to camp for lunch and to rest and pack. Nice dinner with a goodbye cake from the staff. This is the best hunt and camp I have been to. Food was great with Shumway, James, and Patrick as the waiters and Bob as the head cook. I didn’t get the names of the other camp staff.

9-6+7. Charter out to Dar. Met Donald and had dinner. Bags were overweight so Donald tipped the KLM girl $20 to avoid overcharges. Smooth flight all the way home, all on time, and bags were there. A great hunt and vacation!

hunted hippo day 1 and 2. shot him on day 2

hunted lion day 1-6 and shot him day 6

hunted leopard day 1-8 and shot him day 8

hunted croc on day 9, 12-15 and shot him on day 15

hunted buff day 1, 10+11 and the mornings of day 12-13+16

hunted elephant on day 2