I emailed Graham Hingeston and received an email in reply with a request to post the following report.

Note I am not nor NE is involved in this matter, just facilitating that both sides of the argument or hunt get a fair hearing and chance to comment.

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Graham Hingeston: "The hunt was booked by Paul Stone Safaris with us and he had his SA professional hunter accompany the safari as an independent observer. A while back I asked Paul to have his SA PH write me a report to see what the true facts were. He had no axe to grind, he does not work for HHK and I did not solicit any information in this regard. I attached his report and hope this clears up some of the facts. .... I would appreciate it if you would post the attached report as I say written by the SA ph - Herman - who accompanied the clients on the hunt. "

The report by the South African PH:

A. VEHICLES

1. General:

1.1 I cannot comment on the extent to which the vehicles are maintained or serviced as I do not have direct knowledge of this aspect.
1.2 The vehicles, given the current difficulties in Zimbabwe i.r.o. parts/services and the fact that these are working/bush vehicles, appeared, on the face of it, to be in reasonable order. They were certainly not pristine, new vehicles.
1.3 Given what has happened one could probably say that the vehicles could have been in better mechanical order. (It is, of course, ultimately a question as to whether the problems that arose were reasonably foreseeable.)
1.4 I will limit my specific observations to what is stated herein below.

2. Steve’s vehicle:

2.1 It is correct that the vehicle had a mechanical breakdown and that it was unusable afterwards.
2.2 The morning hunting session was lost on the day of the breakdown.
2.3 A replacement vehicle was obtained on the same day and the breakdown did not interfere with the afternoon hunting session on that day or at any further stage.
2.4 Prior to the breakdown the alleged state of the vehicle had no impact on the hunt.
2.5 I cannot comment on the alleged lack of rear brakes as I have no direct knowledge thereof. I was never under the impression that the vehicle was unsafe due to malfunctioning brakes, nor did I at any stage (over a period of 5 days) feel unsafe in that vehicle. (It did appear as if the vehicle’s handbrake was not 100%, but that came into play only whilst the vehicle was stationary.)
2.6 The replacement vehicle functioned faultlessly.

3. Allan’s vehicle:

3.1 I cannot comment on the exact status of the vehicle’s four wheel drive functioning as I have no direct knowledge of the exact nature of the problem.
3.2 It did appear as if the vehicle had problems engaging four wheel drive, or at least a lack of “pull” in four wheel drive.
3.3 Allan told me during the course of the hunt that he recently bought the vehicle and spent a considerable sum of money on servicing the vehicle. I never got the impression that he was aware of the problem until this safari. If he was, then I am sure he would not have attempted to traverse the areas where he got stuck.
3.4 I am aware that the vehicle got stuck whilst I was not present but can obviously not comment on the duration thereof or the impact that it had on hunting time. As far as I know it got stuck twice in one afternoon.
3.5 I was present on two other occasions when the vehicle got stuck. It is correct that on the one occasion it took us the best part of an afternoon to get the vehicle out. On the other occasion it took us approximately three quarters of an hour to get the vehicle out. On this second occasion it got stuck in sand that was so waterlogged that I think most four wheel drive vehicles would have battled in it.
3.6 It is correct that the hi-lift jack gave a lot of problems and that the vehicle does not have a winch.
3.7 I think that the state of the vehicle did cause a limitation of some sorts and it obviously caused delays in hunting, but I do not think it is accurate to say that access to the concession was “severely” limited.
3.8 I also do not think that there was a material loss of hunting opportunities because of the vehicle.
3.9 The areas that seemed to have the highest concentrations of elephant and buffalo were definitely accessible and these were obviously the areas that were concentrated on. Allan was, notwithstanding the state of the vehicle, still able to provide Eric with opportunities on both buffalo and elephant.
3.10 It is consequently perhaps debatable whether this limitation had any impact on the actual outcome of the safari.
3.11 I thought that the “character building” remark was said in jest and perhaps in frustration. It was not dismissive of the seriousness of the situation.
3.12 Allan did mention to me that he was frustrated and embarrassed by the problems with his vehicle – an indication I believe that he was, prior to the safari, unaware of the problem and that he did not dismiss it as trivial.

B. PROFESSIONAL HUNTERS

4. General:

4.1 Both Allan and Steve obviously knew the area intimately (an indication, I submit, that they are experienced hunters).
4.2 I do not know them well enough to express an informed opinion regarding their hunting ability but, during the time I hunted with them I certainly witnessed nothing that made me doubt their hunting ability. In fact, my impression was that they were experienced hunters. Both Eric and Graeme agreed with this assessment just before we parted ways in Victoria Falls.
4.3 They both successfully guided Eric and Graeme on elephant under circumstances and in an area that were obviously not easy.
4.4 I never got the impression that anyone was unhappy with their style, modus operandi, fitness levels, etc. when it came to the elephant hunts and thus find it strange that the same style, modus operandi, fitness levels etc. were unacceptable when it came to the buffalo hunting.

5. Allan Moodie:

5.1 I spent five days with Allan hunting elephant and following Eric’s wounded buffalo. During this period the following situations arose:
5.1.1 an afternoon of trying to close in on elephant in extremely thick riverine jesse;
5.1.2 tracking elephant on a number of occasions and ultimately successfully stalking a herd an shooting a cow;
5.1.3 following and/or looking for the tracks of the wounded buffalo for three days.
5.2 I never got the impression that he was impatient or excitable in the presence of game. In fact, during the stalks on elephant I found Allan to be calm. After the final approach was made on Eric’s elephant, Allan put no pressure on Eric to shoot. The correct animal was identified, the shot was briefly discussed, whereafter Allan told Eric to take the shot whenever he was ready.
5.3 Furthermore, I think the fact that Allan was prepared to persist in looking for the wounded buffalo for five days, even after the trail went cold, is hardly a sign of impatience.
5.4 Furthermore, Allan spent most of an afternoon, after Eric shot his elephant, trying to establish telephonic contact with the HHK office in an attempt to establish whether a further buffalo was available on quota for Eric. He spent some time in Siyakobvu in order to locate someone with a phone that works in that area, borrowed the phone and then spent some further time in order to find someone willing to sell airtime to him. The cell phone connections were obviously very bad and trying to establish successful communications were very difficult. I thought that Allan was very patient in his attempts to get the information.
5.5 I do not know Allan well enough to comment on his temper. I am not aware of him losing his temper with any of the clients at any stage. I submit, with respect, that this in any event had no bearing on the outcome of the safari. Different people deal with frustrating situations, like vehicles getting stuck and bad cell phone connections, differently.
5.6 No hunting time was lost due to the “celebrations” on the night that Eric shot his elephant.
5.7 We left camp as per normal the following morning, went to look for the tracks of the wounded buffalo and found no tracks that indicated that they might belong to the wounded bull. I was present that morning. The day’s hunting was called off because we could not, despite a search of a few hours, find the tracks of the wounded bull, not because of any other reason. I believe that that was the correct and reasonable decision under the circumstances. We nevertheless, at Eric’s insistence, followed random tracks for more than an hour in the hope of finding the wounded bull. Eric was not interested in hunting any other animals. Later that day Allan located a shotgun and offered Eric a go at some bird shooting.

6. Steve Boshoff:

6.1 I do not think that Steve was severely handicapped nor is he physically incapable of hunting because of weight, smoking or a bad knee.
6.2 Steve is in all fairness perhaps not the fittest person I have met.
6.3 Steve did suffer from bronchitis during the course of the safari. It was my understanding that he contracted the bronchitis shortly before the safari started. I shared a room with Steve and can verify that he did take medication (anti-biotics) and use a nebuliser, on an ongoing basis, in order to shake off the bronchitis.
6.4 I spent five days hunting with Steve. At no stage during this period was a stalk or tracking session or hunting day cancelled due to Steve’s inability to carry on. No opportunities to approach animals were lost during those days as a result of the alleged handicaps.
6.5 It is correct that Steve at times suffered from fits of coughing, sometimes in the proximity of animals. This was of some concern to me as well and I distinctly recall holding my breath every time this happened, waiting for the herd to thunder off. I clearly recall that there was not a single occasion where the animals actually ran off because of Steve’s coughing.
6.6 Graeme did on occasion ask me to swop places with him so that he could sit on the back of the truck. He indicated that he enjoyed sitting on the back from time to time (as most clients do). I do not know whether he discussed Steve’s smoking in the vehicle with Steve. (Graeme certainly made no mention of that to me.) I am sure that a polite request to Steve could have solved the problem. I am thus not entirely sure that Steve “insisted” on smoking in the vehicle. Perhaps Steve can comment on this.
6.7 Steve never approached any animals down-wind just for the sake of approaching and I think to say that he did this as “common practice” is perhaps, with respect, an exaggeration. I think the ash-bottle issue is more a question of style and personal preference. Steve and his trackers constantly checked the wind using dust. (The local tracker, whose name escapes me for the moment, in any event did carry and use an ash-bottle.) It is correct that animals sometimes winded us. Anyone with some experience in tracking buffalo/elephant in swirling wind conditions in thick bush will surely appreciate that this will happen from time to time.
6.8 I was present on one occasion when Graeme was on the sticks. I was some distance back and it was my understanding that a buffalo was turned down because, although big, it was not yet fully mature.
6.9 I could, from my position, not see any other shootable bulls in that herd.
6.10 Steve and Graeme were fairly close to the herd for sometime without spooking the herd, but, I think, also in a position where a further approach was not possible.
6.11 I was not present on the other occasions when Graeme was on sticks, but it was my understanding, based on discussions around the dinner table in the evenings, that a bull of approximately 36” was turned down. I can obviously not give any first hand report on this and stand to be corrected in this matter.
6.12 Graeme did, on the first evening of the safari, indicate that he would prefer a bull bigger than the 36” bull he shot last year. (This point came up when the clients enquired about the size of the buffalo trophies one can reasonably expect in the area. Both Allan and Steve mentioned that something in the order of 36” would be about on par.)

7. The wounded buffalo:

7.1 I was not present on the day that the buffalo was wounded and cannot comment on what exactly happened on the day.
7.2 I can however mention the following:
7.2.1 The night before the buffalo was wounded Allan specifically mentioned that he wanted to go the Nabiri/Siyakobvu area to look for bulls that he suspected frequented the area;
7.2.2 It apparently turned out that there were bachelor bulls in that area;
7.2.3 I submit that this is a positive indication of Allan’s experience and local knowledge;
7.2.4 Eric, according to both Allan and Eric, took his shot freehand although shooting sticks were available. Eric specifically mentioned to me during the course of the safari that he does not want to shoot off sticks. (He also shot his elephant freehand – an excellent single side brain shot at approximately 40 yards.)
7.2.5 It appears, from the discussions that I had with him, that Eric is knowledgeable when it comes to firearms, ammunition and the relative merits of softs versus solids under various conditions.
7.3 I was present on days eight, nine and ten when further attempts were made to locate the wounded buffalo.
7.4 Neither fresh tracks that were believed to be those of the bull nor the bull itself were located on days eight and nine.
7.5 The bull was part of a group of three of three bulls. These bulls are apparently relatively territorial and frequent the Ume River near the bridge below Siyakobvu. We were consequently looking for the tracks of three bachelor bulls. (Apparently the track of the wounded bull also showed a twist from time to time and was very large.)
7.6 It was on days eight and nine that Allan, and I concurred with him, mentioned that “there is no plan here”. There were just no tracks to follow, apart from the tracks of a few smallish herds. On day eight we in fact followed one of these herds for a while at Eric’s insistence, but obviously without success.
7.7 On day ten we found the tracks of the three bulls, followed them to where the tracks joined those of a herd and carried on following the herd.
7.8 We eventually came up on some buffalo and a bull ran off which both Allan and Eric believed to be the wounded bull. Apparently the bull was limping. I was some metres back and was unsighted in the thick jesse.
7.9 We followed this bull’s track (it was a large track) and caught up with it again. It was now standing and facing away from us.
7.10 Allan crept up and looked at the bull for some time through his binoculars. Eric was directly behind him. In order to minimise noise and movement, I hung back. I could only see the rear end of the bull.
7.11 The bull turned slightly after a while. Allan indicated that he could see the wound on the bull’s side and was apparently about to indicate to Eric to take the shot. At this point the bull took off again.
7.12 We followed the herd for some time. The herd later split up. We caught up with the herd twice more but could not positively identify the wounded bull and/or get a clear shot at it again.
7.13 After this the herd kept on running in the direction of some very thick jesse. After consultation with his trackers, Allan decided to call off the hunt. They were fairly certain that we would not catch up with the buffalo again. I agreed with that assessment and it was my impression that Eric did as well. By now we were in any event not sure in which splinter group the bull was.
7.14 I disagree that we were just “going through the motions”. Five days were spent trying to get the wounded bull. Allan, in Eric’s absence, on numerous occasions said to me that we need to “get back onto the buffalo’s case” as soon as Eric shot his elephant.
7.15 As stated herein above, whenever there were tracks that we believed were those of the bull, we followed those tracks.
7.16 I do not believe that the approach was negative at all. I think it was realistic and based on experience.
7.17 I never saw the horns of the buffalo – I saw its rear end once. I cannot comment on the trophy quality of the bull.
7.18 Allan did say on a few occasions, on the day that it was wounded and on day ten, that it was not the best of bulls. My understanding was that the spread was fair but that the boss was still soft.
7.19 Allan did say to me that the bull had his head in brush at the time of the shot. He also said that he believed that this bull was, given that it was in a bachelor group, that it had a massive body and that it had a very large track, a mature bull. (The bull I saw on day ten that was believed to be the wounded bull did have a large body and track.)