By Brandon Justus
Some men turning 40 consider a birthday trip to Vegas or a golf trip with the guys. I, on the other hand, wanted to travel to one of the most remote hunting destinations in Africa, the Bangweulu Swamps.
It all started in late 2023 when I began planning my birthday blowout with a good friend and fantastic PH, Dave Freeburn from Dave Freeburn Safaris, who researched suitable hunts. I wanted to bring my wife Nicole, who had accompanied me before on hunts, as an observer hell-bent on relaxing. I had only one birthday wish and that was for a free-range sitatunga from one of the few endemic areas. That left us with Uganda and Zambia as our contenders. Zambia’s extensive list of other endemic species made the decision that much easier. As Dave was busy planning and organizing a trip, I was busy building the necessary rifles. I built a Tikka T3X .30-06 especially for the sitatunga as well as the other endemic plains game; and with Livingstone eland and a potential buffalo both on the hit list, I was eager to use my .375 Ruger. With flights booked, weaponry amassed, and anticipation mounting, I patiently awaited the November 2, 2024, departure date.
We arrived in Zambia’s capital city Lusaka, and instantly realized that this is “true Africa.” It was my fifth trip to Africa, but my first outside of South Africa, and found the landscape and climate very different from the various South African regions I had previously visited. Dave picked us up from the airport and we began the first of the three legs of our trip.
The first stop was Kushia Game Ranch, owned and operated by Guy Robinson and his son, Ian, who greeted us on arrival. With Dave’s Uncle Mobie as camp manager for our four days, we truly ate like kings. We quickly settled into our authentic African tent accommodations and prepared for an afternoon hunt. Jody Higgins, another Zambian PH, owner of TIA Safaris Zambia and friend of Dave’s, joined us to share his valuable hunting experience and knowledge. The hunting was hard, and the days were hot, but that did not affect our success. The game list here was extensive but our focus was on Chobe bushbuck, puku, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, Crawshay’s waterbuck, and the massive Livingstone eland.
The first afternoon we went out to get a lie of the land with Roger, the ranch’s resident game tracker. Roger was a jovial and diligent man who added more than his fair share of laughs to our exhausting days, and this first afternoon proved his worth by spotting a large reedbuck lying in the tall grass, almost invisible. After quite a stalk, we added reedbuck to our list. What followed over the next three days could only be described as sheer and utter success. On the second day we managed to take an eland, waterbuck, puku, and bushbuck. Every hunt has its own story, but the story of note here was how well the .30-06 performed on a brute of an eland. While glassing and spotting we came upon a massive eland bull and, fearing he would see us and spook, we did not have time to change rifles for the .375, but having faith in Jody, Dave and I persevered and, with great bullet placement we were able to drop the heavy beast. We rounded out Kushia Ranch with another bushbuck, this one with a darker coat than the previous one, and an old male hartebeest, as well as another large puku. The first leg of our trip was completed with eight animals in the salt.
The next part of our adventure, the main event, was the Bangweulu Swamps. After a short charter flight from Kushia, we arrived in the southern swamp area to try our luck on black lechwe. I am not sure what I expected, but the hundreds of lechwe made the hunt seem harder. To watch the enormous herds of lechwe feed across the grassy flatland was truly incredible. After finding our bull, we managed our shot from just inside 200 meters, then flew to our Bangweulu camp.
We landed in the nearby town of Mpika and drove the last two hours into camp and, again, I was amazed at how lush and green the vegetation was. We were greeted by the camp manager, Sylvia van Staden. The camp, again, was rustic, authentic Africa with several canvas tent accommodations, this time with en suite bathrooms. Our hunt here was for seven days and with my birthday quickly approaching I was hoping to connect soon with the elusive swamp ghost. We had a permit for reedbuck as well, but our priority was sitatunga. We sat in machans in the mornings and evenings and drove for reedbuck in the late mornings and afternoons. After no success the first couple days, we came right with a nice old reedbuck on the tenth. Our luck was changing. We decided to go back to what we referred to as machan #3 that evening. We had seen two shooter bulls there previously but never got an opportunity to pull the trigger. The weather was not cooperating as it was overcast and windy, although the rain did hold off. After about thirty minutes in the machan, Dave’s keen eyes spotted one of our shooter bulls. However, as fast as he came in, he went out. We hoped he would follow the path we had seen a few sitatunga follow which would lead him to a clearing and, hopefully, we could get a shot there. After an hour of watching the clearing we had given up, and that’s just when he came out. Elatedly Dave whispered, “There he is, get on him.”
Seeing his horns in the scope filled me with nervousness and I fired as quickly as I could, knowing he would soon disappear. The bullet hit from 180 meters. We heard the thud and knew I had hit him. With the sun quickly setting we had no choice but to attempt a retrieval. The tracker and ranger headed into the swamp. Jody and I grabbed the rifle and charged after them assuming our swamp ghost was not yet a real ghost. But when we reached the tracker and ranger it was evident that the sitatunga was still alive but badly wounded. Mortally, I hoped. The swamp being so difficult to move in, we decided to back out, not push the wounded animal in the dark, and come back in the morning. Although we attempted to celebrate and enjoy the night like any other, I was anxious – more, I think, than I have ever been. After my sleepless night we went back the next morning and found him in eight minutes, a mere ten meters from where we were previously looked. Luckily the overnight rains had kept him cool and none of the nearby predators had found him. He was a gorgeous old bull and, as it was now my birthday, November 11 and my wish had been granted, I was already celebrating! Back at camp the staff performed their traditional Chipolo Polo, a song and chant for whenever a sitatunga is taken. Other areas act something similar for leopard or lion. And it was then that the true celebration began. Much whiskey and wine was consumed, and I cannot thank Jody and Dave enough for giving me this birthday present. After sleeping off our party, we were ready for our third and final leg, Shiwa N’Gandu, the encore to an already fabulous trip.
We travelled back to Mpika by Cruiser and transferred to taxis for the final one-and-a-half-hour drive. The route took us up the Great North Road. The views were stunning. The roadside was fringed with towering acacia umbrella trees with mountains in the background. On arrival we were greeted by the owner, Charles Harvey. Built by his grandfather, Sir Thomas Gore-Browne, Shiwa N’Gandu is Charles’s childhood home and has been in the family since its construction in the 1930s. I find it almost impossible to describe its grandeur. The drive up to the English-style manor, through the enormous blue gum tree-lined driveway, transports one to earlier times. Charles gave us a tour of Shiwa House, settled us into our quarters, then took us for a drive around the 12,000-hectare property. Acacia umbrella trees cover the drier areas, and the massive lake extends its tributaries into the outlying swamps of the lush landscape. At dinner Charles regaled us with stories of his life and the people he knew. He is quite a storyteller with a wealth of knowledge, and has met, hunted with, and guided some of the most fascinating people on Earth, including many royals.
Our final quest here was a Kafue lechwe and blue duiker, and the next morning the hunt was on, lechwe being our first target as we had seen many nice bulls the previous afternoon. We were unsuccessful the first morning, so Charles offered to come with us in the afternoon, and after a delicious lunch we went for our second attempt at a Kafue lechwe. After an hour or so we came upon a small herd about 800 meters away. The stalk was on. Using the forest for cover we were able to stalk to within 120 meters, and I took a frontal shot at a thick-horned old bull. The bullet struck a bit off-center, breaking the shoulder but evidently clipping a lung, judging by the blood trail. As the old bull ran off, Charles brought up the Cruiser and let loose his perfectly trained dogs. The leader was Delilah, a fiery Jack Russell that would find any spoor and take off like a missile. On her heels was Hunter, another Jack Russell. Following them were the two giant Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Artuk and Tajik, that would easily sort out any issue they came upon. Together the four hounds had developed a system that allowed them to track just about anything, just about anywhere. After bounding from the Cruiser, they found the lechwe about eighty meters away in less than thirty seconds. It was truly a sight to behold.
The following day we struck out for our blue duiker. Having seen a few duikers but unable to connect, we relegated ourselves to a cull shot. Dave was able to take a beautiful old, solitary duiker. Having hunted extremely hard for over ten days, we decided to take a day for relaxation. We drove from Shiwa House to the nearby Kapishya Hot Springs, owned and operated by Charles’ brother Mark. The hot springs were gorgeous. The guys enjoyed the warm water and cold drinks while Nicole enjoyed a Zambian massage.
On the last day, we were expecting to charter back to Lusaka around noon. We had seen numerous signs of bushpig, so I asked for one last-ditch effort at a bushpig, and after a 5 a.m. wake-up and stalk, we took a big, beautiful sow. Thinking the day was over and our homeward journey would begin, Charles offered me his crossbow to take another lechwe. He said it would be the first one taken by crossbow on the property. I jumped at the opportunity and the hunt was on. We managed to get within fifty meters of an old bull, and I let the bolt fly, striking him behind the shoulder on a broadside/quartering away shot, and the bolt exited the tip of the opposite shoulder. Bleeding, he ran into the swamp, again with the dogs close on his heels. After wading through the swamp for 200 meters we finally managed to catch up to him in a deep waterhole. The dogs were doing their job, and he wasn’t going anywhere. Now came the “fun” part – to drag this beautiful lechwe back out of the swamp, a task that Dave and I struggled to accomplish. After what felt like an eternity, we achieved our goal and celebrated a unique hunt.
Then, sadly, it was time to clean up, pack up, and prepare to leave. As Charles’s wife came in on the charter, we made our introductions with her and our goodbyes to everyone else. Shiwa House will remain in my memories forever, and I hope to see it again one day.
I look back fondly on one of the best birthdays I could imagine. Nicole and I had such a great time, and those who helped in any way to make this trip a reality, have our utmost gratitude. There is not a doubt in my mind that we will soon return to the beautiful country of Zambia.
