By Enrich Hugo
A look out of the side window of the Qatar airline’s Boeing Dreamliner lets my anticipation run wild. I look at the highest mountain in Africa. Since we are already on the approach to my destination airport, the bird’s eye view of the Kibo, which is located in the Kilimanjaro massif, is a terrific experience. The destination airport is Kilimanjaro Airport in the East African country of Tanzania. On the coast of the Indian Ocean with around 56 million inhabitants, it is one of the fifth-largest countries in Africa by population. Often described as the cradle of mankind, but for me Tanzania means much more. It is one of the most beautiful hunting countries with breathtaking and diverse landscapes, incredible biodiversity of fauna and flora and the myth of hunting in what is probably the most famous big-game area in Africa. Tanzania really offers everything a hunter can dream of… savanna with pronounced bushland and wide, open grass areas, densely forested hills and mountains that put a hunter’s fitness to the test. Wet savannas, swamps and semi-deserts characterize this unique country. Names such as Selous, Rungwa, Lukwati, Ugalla, well-known to most hunters, but one name is deeply rooted in Tanzania: Masai! The people of that name who live there, with their eye-catching clothing and their habitat around the national parks, probably belongs to the most famous East African ethnic group.
Serengeti, Lake Natron, Ngorongoro Crater, Mount Meru and Kilimanjaro are the main attraction of every travel diary of visitors to northern Tanzania. And that is exactly where our hunting trip takes us this time. The typical gazelles and antelopes representative of the dry savanna are part of the program of my hunter Alexey who I will accompany on his hunt and who will capture them photographically.
My partner on site had received all the information for the import of weapons from me before the trip and had applied for an import permit, and all went smoothly. Our professional hunter Div met us and helped with formalities and the luggage. We were off, and after a three-hour drive via Arusha to Longido, we reached our camp. On the way my hunter was amazed to see zebras, Grant‘s and Thomson‘s gazelles in large groups, and the whitebearded wildebeest almost everywhere, with Kilimanjaro in the background. We had the view of this mountain range directly from our camp. Welcome to the heart of Masailand! The accommodation was a typical East African tent camp with 5-Star comfort and with meals a culinary priority. It was not for nothing that my partner and outfitter is one of the best what Tanzania has to offer. After moving into our tents and a pleasant, refreshing shower, we met for a briefing with our professional hunter Div for an overview of where we would hunt for the next few days. We could also enjoy the luxury of satellite Internet in the camp and use breaks between trips to answer our emails and keep our loved ones at home up to date.
My hunter’s wish list included Grant‘s and Thomson‘s gazelle, Kirk‘s dik-dik, eastern white-bearded wildebeest, and the three very special game species – fringe-eared oryx, gerenuk and lesser kudu, all representatives that can be found and hunted almost exclusively in the north of Tanzania. And all of these species can be found around the Longido Camp.
Because of the Covid situation and the resulting cancellation of many trips in 2020, the government of Tanzania created a special regulation for hunting times. The normal hunting season is from July to December, but was extended so that hunting was still possible from January to June in 2021. April is a rainy month and therefore not recommended, but May is perfect for hunting. And we were in the second half of May here in Masailand. Temperatures drop to a pleasant 15 degrees at night and reach a maximum of a pleasant 25 to 28 during the day. Absolutely no mosquitoes and no tsetse flies here. Because we were hunting at an altitude of around 1200 meters, sun exposure is very intense and it was essential to use a high factor sun protection. Sunrise is around 7 a.m. at that time of year and we slept until 6 a.m, and after breakfast the first game drive started through dense, green bushland and although the rainy season was just over, the surface was already dry.
There was my hunter Alexey and our PH, a tracker, and a game scout who is required by the authorities to accompany them and is responsible for compliance with the hunting guidelines.
Wherever we looked there were giraffes in groups, sometimes up to 20 animals. The further we moved from the camp, the more open the area became the flat grassy plains and saw zebra and wildebeest. A light knock from Div on the car roof signalled our driver to stop. Binoculars confirmed what he suspected. At a little more than 300 meters there was a gerenuk very close to a group of trees. “Kushoto“, the Swahili word for “left“ told the driver to drive on. We approached very slowly and another knock made the vehicle stop. We found an ideal place where we could observe the giraffe gazelle closely. Unperturbed, it stood on hind legs to eat, stretching the very long neck to reach the leaves of the black thorn acacia. My camera shutter release was glowing, but you don’t get such shots in front of the viewfinder every day. Div confirmed that the gerenuk was a very good and old one and we started to stalk.
Div lead the stalk after checking the wind direction. Only a few bushesin knee-high grass gave us the desired cover. The gerenuk is not our main problem. A group of young Grant‘s gazelles and some zebras had decided to keep the gerenuk company and that meant many pairs of eyes to watch. Only the slightest suspicion would trigger an escape, and the gerenuk would join in the herd instinct. Div put us in a good shooting position at 140 meters. The bush where we found cover was the last between us and our target. Alexey has a Blaser R8 in .300 Win Mag, no problem to get a good shot at that distance. A very good shooter as I had already noticed on previous hunting trips, he took his time, and only when there was no other game behind gerenuk, Div gave him the OK for the shot. Of course, each of us wore hearing protection to muffle the sound. The shot was excellent and the animal collapsed while the other animals fled left and
right. We waited for a few minutes before we went to where the gerneuk lay.
Everything was carefully examined. Shot placement, trophy strength, age rating. Then the obligatory photos. The gerenuk was loaded and we returned to the camp. The two skinners were already waiting and while they got to work, we indulged in a tasty lunch. After a short rest, we left again at 3 p.m. As in the morning, the journey lead us first through densely overgrown bush before we reached the open grassy plain. Div was heading for a hill. Once at the top we had a fantastic view and Div said we were only 40 kilometers away from Kenya, and very strong old elephant bulls move here again and again, but they are not allowed to be hunted so close to Kenya. The hard work against poaching, which has been strongly promoted by all outfitters in Tanzania in recent years, is showing fruit. Very rarely are poachers caught and apprehended; hardly any snares or other traps. They have come to terms with the Masai population and have been able to convince them of the necessity and importance of hunting and game management.
There is plenty of space and feed for game and farm animals, and any damage to arable crops and arable land caused by game is covered by the outfitters. In our hunting block, too, there are frequent encounters with shepherds and their cattle and goats. Another proof of the importance of ethical hunting for a healthy and growing game population. Here in Tanzania, too, the removal and shooting of old male animals is the top priority. Even if these are all facts are already known, one should not stop mentioning them again and again, and pass them on to hunters. Alexey also experiences it first hand. After we started our stalk, he saw some Grant‘s gazelles and pointed them out to our professional hunter. He also acknowledges it, but though that they are good bucks with potential, they are not the age and strength that we wanted to hunt. There is a subtle difference between seeing game that is really plentiful here and finding a suitable old buck. With this experience, our first day of hunting ended successfully, and a sundowner with a direct view of Kilimanjaro brought the day to a close.
The next three days were similar. Excursions and exploring the bush and open grass areas, in between stalking and looking for suitable trophy bucks. After the fourth day we were able to write zebra, impala and a Kirk‘s dik-dik in our hunting diary, in addition to the gerenuk.
There is no rush here and you can really experience your hunt to the fullest. You have enough time to enjoy the wonderful landscape and the variety of game. The fifth day should be one of the highlights of this hunting trip. Shortly before noon the game drive took us into an area that we had not yet explored, where we reached a huge open area. Even from the edge of this plain you can believe you are looking directly into the Serengeti, with large herds of wildebeest, zebra and gazelles. We tried to get close enough to the herds to look for a suitable Grant‘s gazelle. It shows again how important the experience of the professional hunter and his tracker is. To filter out the right buck from this large number of gazelles requires a very trained eye. Walter, our tracker was the first to find the right gazelle. It was time to be patient. Of course there is no shooting from the car here and Div lead the stalk. It felt like two million pairs of eyes were focused on us and if only one animal started walking, all the others would follow. Div didn’t want to take any risk. We were 250 meters away from the herd and Alexey already had the chosen buck in his sights.
“May I?” he asked Div who, after a further check through the binoculars, gave his OK.
The shot was fired seconds later. After short run, the animal fell. Another first perfect shoot from Alexey and another fantastic trophy from his wish-list. After the congratulations and the usual photos, we loaded the gazelle and looked for shade under a tree to have our lunch, but not before we skinned the gazelle, putting the meat into cool boxes.
This very long trip paid off in the end. A very nice specimen of a Grant‘s gazelle will find its place in Alexey’s trophy room. Since it was already 3 p.m. and a long way back to camp, the lunch break was brief. This day was an absolute highlight of the hunting trip. Half an hour before we reached the camp, the sun was already very low and the way to the camp lead us through dense bush. Suddenly the car stopped. Our game scout excitedly exchanged a few words with Div. From the passenger side of the vehicle, he noticed something special because of his lower position between the bushes in front of him. We still did not understand what was going on but got off on his side of the vehicle. The game scout had identified the “Gray Ghost”, a lesser kudu.
Rifle sticks ready, his gun loaded and Alexey was also ready. I couldn‘t see anything from my point of view. Then the shot broke and Div hugged Alexey. This confirmed for me that he shot the lesser kudu, a ghost that appears out of nowhere and usually disappears just as quickly. One of the most difficult game species to hunt in Masailand had been shot. Everyone involved was very happy. An extraordinary species of game with an extremely good trophy size lay ahead of us. Of course, Alexey thanked our Game Scout without whom he would not have shot this lesser kudu.
With the last daylight we managed to take some photos of it before we headed back to the camp, which we reached in the dark, a special day to be remembered forever. Days like this just have to be celebrated and it was shortly before midnight before we crawled into our beds.
The sixth day of our hunting trip we saw a few Thomson‘s gazelles but unfortunately only females and young bucks. We even saw the fringe-eared oryx but only for a few seconds and the time was too short to tell whether it was female or male. But that very brief sight was enough for Div to make a plan for the following day. He assumed that the oryx would still be in the area so we started the next day at first light. Around 8 a.m. we reached the area where we had briefly seen the oryx. Only a few zebra and giraffes pass by. Then the first wildebeest and, as predicted by Div, the oryx stepped out of the bushes onto grassy areas. Our location was great and the wind was coming straight in our direction. The stalking strategy was quickly discussed. There were enough bushes between us and the oryx, the wind was in our favor and there were still relatively few eyes that could spot and betray us.
The last few meters were on all fours until we found suitable cover. Two oryx bulls were in this group, both old and mature and also about the same trophy size. Div told Alexey to choose the left hand buck which stood apart from the group, facing us. It means staying calm and exercising patience. However, this patience is not put to the test for very long. The buck turned slightly to the left, broadside on.
“Direct on the shoulder!” Div said.“The heart‘s behind the shoulder.“ A few breaths later, a crack and the buck folded, stumbled a few meters further, and fell. Full of adrenaline, Alexey could hardly believe he had really just shot this particular species of oryx. While aiming and firing he was calm, but now there was a slight tremor in his voice and his hands shook. It was special for me, too, to be able to witness this experience.
We examined the oryx. The trademark of this antelope is the unusual tufts of hair on the edge of the ears, and the dark, almost black belly line is much narrower than that of the gemsbok, its southern relative. The horn length is not as long as that of the gemsbok. We positioned it to record the successful hunt. Everyone involved insisted on getting a photo with the successful hunter and the oryx. An unusual trophy.
On the final day, we also took the last two missing animals. A very good Thomson‘s gazelle and a whitebearded wildebeest, ending the hunt with a hundred percent success, and watching a last sunset at the campfire. Before we said goodbye to Kilimanjaro, the date for the next trip was already set. We wanted to hunt striped hyena, Robert‘s gazelle, Coke‘s hartebeest, western whitebeared wildebeest and jackal, all near Lake Natron and Serengeti.
