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Let me begin today’s post by showing some photos of trophies taken by David Schaible, Maurice and Steve in the Lowveld, whilst we were in Chewore. I still don’t have Maurice or Steve’s last names, hopefully tomorrow. I find it ironic that I can reach hundreds of people abroad through this site but that I can’t get a message to someone 40 kilometers from here! Anyway, by all accounts, David and Maurice had an excellent safari, each taking a leopard and buffalo bull, as well as many plainsgame animals. Once the safari concluded, we all met up in Harare and I met David and Maurice. We all went out for dinner together and a fine time was had by all. Obviously, dinner was dominated by hunting talk and we all relived the moments. It seems that the highlight of David’s hunt was when, with a day or two to spare, he took a magnificent nyala bull that measured 29.5 inches. David and his PH, Colin van de Linden, acted on a tip-off from PH Peter Wood, who told them he had seen a monster nyala bull in a particular area close to the Save River. The hunters spent the afternoon in that area, with PH van de Linden climbing trees and glassing periodically. Although a couple of nyala bulls were seen, they were not the ones the hunters sought. Dusk descended and the men gave up, driving through the area slowly, back towards camp. Not ten minutes later, as Colin was about to switch on his headlights, movement caught the hunters’ attention, from deep shadow within a clump of bush about 80 yards off. Colin and Dave left the vehicle hastily, scanning the spot as they stalked in closer. After a few minutes, there was another movement. This time, Colin had his high-powered binoculars focused on the movement, and he saw what caused it – an outstanding Nyala bull, stepping from the shadows. The bull must have been fully aware of the human presence but appeared unperturbed. Maybe it thought it was already shielded by darkness. A few whispers and David informed Colin that he could see the bull well through his scope. A precise shot and David Schaible had taken any hunter’s dream trophy. There really is something about a nyala bull, is there not? Let me post some pictures from that highly successful Humani Safari, and as I find out more from the PH’s concerned, I’ll fill you in a little more.

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JOMBO

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Just before 3 p.m., in some broken ground not far from the Kachowe River, we came across Jombo’s (Gumboot’s) track……

Now, I am hardly an authority on tracking (elephant or otherwise), but even I realized we were looking at a sizeable print. It seems like everyone on a hunting rig knows instinctively when a large print is crossed, whether it’s their first elephant hunt or 77th. Must be something to do with the way the trackers tap on the roof, or their facial expressions, or something. But even I saw that Jombo’s track was a good one, before we rolled to a halt and carried out a thorough assessment. There it was for the world to see, right in the middle of the hunting track, clearly imprinted in sandy soil, a distinctive crack through the centre, worn well… And it was fresh, from that day – by far the most promising track we had come across. Standing beside tracker Tayengwa and looking down at the spoor in the sand, I heard that man whisper something inaudible.
‘What was that?’ I asked. Okay not really, ‘What was that?’, but rather ‘Chi cho?’ Tayengwa looked up at me squarely. ‘Jombo,’ he said. ‘Ndio Jombo.’ ‘Gumboot, this is gumboot.’
The next couple of minutes didn’t even exist, as we readied ourselves for pursuit in record time.

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Initially, Jombo walked in a dead straight line, on a well used elephant path, heading down towards the Kachowe River. The tracking was a simple affair for the talented team of Tayengwa and Oriah, and ‘hot pursuit’ tracking mode was the order of the moment. Although the tracks were certainly from that day, the bull had passed by many hours before and we were many miles behind him. A kilometer or so from the Kachowe River, the bull had left the path and began meandering around a little, browsing here and there as he went. Several times we came across huge piles of dung – the most impressive aspect related to this elephant’s size. Although he had deviated here and there, the bull had kept with his original course and eventually led us down into the Kachowe riverbed. I would discover later on in the chase that Jombo was not meandering at all, he was tacking, with the wind always on his ample rear. Little did we realize it then, but we had chosen to pursue an extremely canny adversary. The riverbed was reached at sunset and we were forced to give up the chase for the day. But now we had purpose and that is a most beneficial aid to any hunt. We were pumped and knew precisely where we’d be at dawn the following morning.

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The next morning we followed Jombo from sunrise until 2.30 p.m. It was really tough going at times, with rock strewn, grass covered ground to contend with. Tracking an elephant is not easy and don’t let anyone kid you into believing it is. Jombo had zigzagged through a vast area of jesse and mopani forest the previous night, heading north, towards the mountains. Although he maintained that direction throughout, he didn’t seem in any particular hurry and I thought we must be gaining ground. Bob helped me to learn a fair amount more than I knew about elephant tracking that day. Not that it was all that difficult to get me learning something new about elephant tracking! If you know nothing you can only learn eh? Throughout his hunt, Bob showed what an interested hunter he is, and I always enjoy hunting with a guy like that. Bob likes to get involved in the hunt (as any real hunter should), and by so doing he had me asking the trackers questions I never would have come up with. All knowledge is precious.

At midday, we discovered that Jombo had teamed up with two younger bulls, though maintained the same direction. The three bulls crossed the main security road and appeared to be making for the hazy Mashambanzhou mountain range in the north-east. The sun was beating down, we were weary, footsore and hungry and we called a break at 2.30 p.m., after losing the tracks in rocky terrain a few times. By this time we had our fresh-faced young apprentice, Jason Bromley, on the team as a driver. We called Jason in to our loc-stat, and he arrived not long afterwards with reviving food, coke and/or coffee. Yes, we drink hot coffee/tea at noon in the Zambezi Valley, it is a habit ingrained in the people of my tribe. Yes, I know they say ‘only mad dogs and Englishmen’, but we are not either. I guess some of us are mad dogs, at times! Anyway, whilst nourishing ourselves we fine tuned the afternoon’s gameplan, and 30 minutes later we were back on the hunt.

After crossing the main security road, the bulls had entered another vast block of intermingled mopani and jesse, as any creature would when crossing any road in the Zambezi Valley. There was a road that roughly bisected this block and the plan was to drive up it a distance and check if the bulls had crossed. This was done in due course, but after five or so kilometers and no tracks crossed, it was decision time. Judging by the earlier directional trend of the bulls and where we had left their tracks an hour before, it was agreed that they probably would not have crossed the road any higher up. The consensus was that they were somewhere between us and the security road. We drove back in the direction we had come for about one kilometer, to where a wending little sand river cut the road. Leaving the truck, we followed the river’s south westerly course, heading back towards where we had left the tracks earlier, but still about five kilometers from that place. Essentially, it was walking blind, but there was a seriously positive vibe in the air. It was the same vibe I felt throughout the hunt, but now I was buzzing with expectation. Something had to give, I knew it.

We had been walking for no more than an hour when we found Jombo’s tracks again. This time they were very fresh and for the first time we felt warm dung. We had only 1.5 hours of daylight remaining, but still we slowed the pace considerably and followed methodically. Methodically and purposefully – we knew Jombo was very close. He was also still hanging out with the other bulls, and six ears hear better than two, three trunks wind more than one. Picking our way stealthily along, we closed the gap, each pile of dung warmer than the one before. The elephants were obviously relaxed, browsing along in unhurried fashion and moving back towards the security road, possibly the Kachowe River. My only real ‘moment’ on the hunt then came about, as I heard an elephant rumbling up ahead and stopped the hunters with a psssssssst. We listened for a couple of minutes but heard nothing more and proceeded with the utmost care. Moments later, we saw an elephant bull through the light jesse, about 70 yards off. Now, though it was light jesse, jesse is jesse and try as we may we couldn’t see the other two bulls. Richard quickly adjudged the bull at about 35 pounds. Could it be Jombo? Surely not? An approach was quickly planned and initiated. Though the wind had not been constant the entire day, it was satisfactory at the time and we felt comfortable as we moved in to get a better look from a different angle. 50 yards, 40, 35…..and we could see the enormous butt of another bull. And then there was a hiss from Tayengwa, who was now bringing up the rear. We all turned and followed the direction of his gaze. And that is when I saw Jombo’s ivory for the first time, albeit briefly. That is also when PH Tabor saw Jombo’s ivory and he plucked at Bob’s shirtsleeve, motioning him forward, no doubt at all in his mind. I still don’t know how those bulls sensed us, but sense us they did and began to move. Slowly and unsure at first, though picking up momentum fast. The two younger bulls moved across our front, and Jombo went away from us through the scrub, beginning to stride out. We too were striding out. Jombo was no more than 30 yards from us, but there was some pretty thick scrub between us and we desperately needed an opening. A few more strides and a tiny window of opportunity presented itself, with the bull quartering away at thirty yards and a reasonable line of fire, for a .500. I only say that a tiny window of opportunity was there, because Bob himself said there was. I wouldn’t have taken the shot, no matter what caliber I was packing. There was just too much vegetation in the way. Anyway, though he flicked his safety off and shouldered his rifle, Bob didn’t take the shot. The moment passed almost immediately and we were striding out again, fervently willing a reasonable opportunity though the gap between hunters and hunted was now widening by the second. Striding became trotting as all eyes scanned the bush ahead, and then the PH tripped over a rock and sprawled headlong. Rich picked himself up fast, but then Bob also went down! Though trotting side by side, as focused as both men were on the disappearing elephant’s backside, neither Rich nor Bob saw the other fall. But I saw them both, so they cannot deny it! Jombo fled and we heard him crashing away through the bush. We followed the bull’s long strides for another hour or so, back to the security road. And then darkness dictated, calling time.

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We followed Jombo throughout the twelfth day, back down towards the Kachowe River. It was a most frustrating day due to the unreceptive tracking conditions and the fact that his spoor was crisscrossed a number of times by cow herds. Eventually, we lost him for good. Try as we did, we could not pick up his trail, and that afternoon we were forced to call it quits once again. Unbeknown to us, Jombo had already departed the area.

I’m afraid this post is going to have to have a third part to it. There is still much to come. Tune in to my next post for the grand finale on day thirteen! Once again, hope you can make sense of it all, I’m writing in a bit of a rush.

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