James,

Thank you for those kind words, we believe in offering good service as well as good hunting. Add on the fact that we love doing what we do and it adds up to a high quality product.......and Susan & I look forward to meeting and hunting with you soon.

John, Wombat and anyone else interested.

As I said in a previous post, Mozambique is tough hunting, but if you're prepared to walk and work for your trophies then you can be reasonably successful. The Buff hunting there is often especially challenging as they run at the drop a hat, and when they run, you run, and run and run

The area we use is 1.6 million hectares (yes that's right, 1.6 million hectares

) of mixed terrain. Roads and other infrastructure are minimal. Camp is fairly basic when compared to the luxury of Tanzania and other places we operate, but it is adequate and food is reasonably good. Hunting usually takes place by driving in 4x4 hunting trucks until you find spoor and then you walk on the tracks. If we need to get to the further reaches of the concession we usually flycamp for a few days.

The area is at it's best for Elephant, Hippo & Croc and the largest taken this year are Elephant 75lbs per side, Hippo 30 inch tusks and a 4.9 metre Croc. The area also has excellent populations of Roan which so far haven't been hunted, but the concession leasee has applied for (and expects to get) a quota of 10 for the 2005 season.

We will be changing the way we operate there a little for the 2005 season and are trying to simplify things for the hunter, basically, we don't want to offer "packages" any more but instead prefer to offer a simple daily rate and trophy fees, but I'll talk about that more once it's finalised.

2004 prices are 1x1 at US$850 per hunter per day and US$650 per hunter per day, both plus trophy fees (which include the hunting licence fee) which for the mentioned species are PAC Elephant US$4000, Hippo US$3000 & Croc US$1750.......and I don't expect 2005 prices to increase by much. The hunt begins and ends at Tete Airport.

The reason that the Elephants are sold as PAC animals is that Mozambique failed to apply for a downgrading of Elepant staus from CITES schedule 1 to schedule 2 when they should have done. Hence the other signatories to CITES cannot issue an import licence for what is currently listed as a schedule 1 animal. This means that the hunter is only allowed to take photographs and cannot keep the trophies.

I apologise for the delay in posting a reply, but we've been away in Botswana, where amongst other things we took a great 30 inch waterbuck. We also tried for a caracal, but every time we put a bait out it got nailed by the Leopards before the caracals got to it!......and we didn't have a Leopard licence!, (but we do have 2 available for 2005

) and since I got back I've we've been playing catch up with the business.

If anyone would like to have the full details of our Mozambique (or other hunts

) please send me an e-mail and I'll be happy to send it onto you....... plug, plug

Another option for an inexpensive Elephant option for next year might be Tuli Block Botswana, but this will only happen if the Game Department there agree to change the regulations as they have been asked to do.....at the moment this looks likely to happen. Currently, the Landowner is bound by law to shoot any Elephants that come onto his property, but he is not allowed to let anyone else do so. If the GD allow the change, the landowner will be able to sell that right to an overseas hunter. costs are being discussed and I'll post more when I hear something definite.

Cheers for now,