Botswana and Timbavati 2011 - Coenraad Vermaak Safaris

It was a great pleasure to have Alex Smuzikov and Viktor Efanov return and hunt with me again this year with Coenraad Vermaak Safaris. Also having the wonderful Kerry Wallace of DCVP on hand to document the adventure was rather enjoyable and her services come highly recommended.



Our first leg of the trip started in the wilds of the Timbavati and the search was on for a Hippo and 2 Trophy Buffalo. The going was slow the first day and we saw very little Buffalo herd movement, an unusual occurrence in the Timbavati, but this returned to the usual mass sightings rather quickly and by mid morning on Day 2 we had already viewed over 600 Buffalo. Being able to look over large numbers of Buff and in particular many Bulls each day is what makes the Timbavati a unique and special hunting destination Our search for an Old Hippo Bull ended on Day 3 with a single shot entering the brain from Alex's .375 H&H. The excellent shooting continued and the following morning Alex took his first Buffalo, a perfect SINGLE shot, through the heart and lungs. Later that afternoon we had the opportunity to take another fine Buffalo specimen, which Alex quite comfortably did at 60 yards, and this ended what will always remain with me as one of those "special days" in Africa never to be repeated.



TWO Buffalo bulls, both absolutely remarkable trophies, (42inch and 43inch respectively) taken in one hunting day and with very well placed broadside shots from Alex! It was then off on an early departure to Botswana where Kerry and I had the pleasure and enjoyment of travelling with Alex and Victor in Alex's Gulfstream G450 (cruising at an altitude of 42000 feet, at a speed faster than a 747 in luxury is an experience I highly recommend trying).

In Botswana we met up with PH's Ian Newmarch and Richard de Bufanos and continued our hunt looking for 2 trophy Elephant Bulls. Alex took his first Elephant on the 4th day in Botswana with a perfect Heart lung shot and followed up with some insurance shots to the spine and head. A respectable 50lb plus Ele that Alex can be very proud of. In search of the second Elephant we were stretched to the last day and as the case on many safaris it all came together perfectly with Alex taking his second Bull just before lunch. A truly remarkable 14 days had come to an end and will firmly remain with me as a very fond memory. Ayiki Inkinga (no problem)

I look forward to my next adventure this year with Alex in search of White Rhino and Lion in August. Thank you to Victor for his always energetic humour and company on this safari and to Alex for choosing once again to hunt with me and Coenraad Vermaak Safaris.

Best Dangerous Game Trophy of 2010 - Houston Safari Club

Courtney Comiskey seen here with proud Father Frank Comiskey holds her recently awarded Trophy for Best Dangerous Game taken in 2010. This award was presented by the Houston Safari Club for Courtney's awesome Cape Buffalo and is something she can be extremely proud of. Well Done!

2010 Newsletters

Return to Maasailand and Ngorongoro Crater 2010

In October 2010 Professional Hunter & DCVP Videographer Rayno Egner travelled to Maasailand in Tanzania to document a Maasai species hunt with Christy Bass of Dallas Texas.

Rayno Egner writes…

Just south of the border between Kenya and Tanzania and west of Mount Meru and Kilimanjaro lies the Rift Valley. Here from the dusty plains that lie on the foundations of the Ngorongoro Crater, between Lake Manyara and Lake Natron, to the top of the misty dew moistened forests of Mount Losimingori is the game controlled hunting area of MtoWaMbu.

It has been several years since I filmed a safari in Tanzania. It has been several years since I last was in Maasai land and several years since I last visited the Crater and MtoWaMbu. When the opportunity arose to film Christy’s hunt it was an easy decision to make. It would be a great opportunity to re-visit an area and country that in the past shared many of my travels and experiences. It was destined to be a memorable hunt and it turned out to be exactly that!

Travelling from Joburg to Nairobi then hopping across the border on an early evening flight thru the “Gates” of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru myself and PH Hans Vermaak met up with Christy as she landed on the late evening flight inbound from Europe on KLM.

We settled in camp the next evening after a 3 hour drive from Arusha and watched the sun setting over the Crater rim in the distance.

It was an early start the next morning as we checked the rifles and prepared for 12 days of hunting. In the first few days Christy took some magnificent trophies including a Dik Dik, Grants Gazelle and a Lesser Kudu which tested the skills of the trackers and quick shooting from Christy. We then focused on Gerenuk and Fringe-eared Oryx. Following a report from one of the other hunting vehicles we tried to get onto an Oryx with huge lion wounds down its back but it managed to evade us. We passed many Gerenuk females each day until on the 7^th a fine ram gave us a good hunt and went down with a single “on the walk” shot from the 300 win mag. It was then time to focus entirely on the Oryx. With the next day being a day off to visit the Crater we worked hard and at last light we found the same “lion scratched” Oryx as earlier in the Hunt. He took only one shot and went down as the light faded.

The Visit to the Ngorongoro crater was superb with 4 of the Big 5 sited in just 2 and half hours! It also gave us a chance to recharge before continuing the safari back in Mtowambu. The last few days saw us checking leopard baits and taking on the thick steep undergrowth of Losimingor Mountain and coming off second, ultimately turning around and admitting defeat. Christy also secured herself other trophies such as a Thompsons Gazelle and White Bearded Gnu.

With the hunt complete and successful it was time to head back to Arusha and check out the local wares and Tanzanite before heading home. As we headed out on the early bird precision air flight towards Nairobi and the Sun poked its orange head over the white face of Kilimanjaro I realized that my return to this beautiful and diverse country could not have come any sooner!

First Hunt of the Season starts off with a blast 2010!

The 2010 safari season is already here and the first hunt went very well. A fantastic Buff, Steenbok and Big Gemsbok were highlights of the hunt. In a few days time I will be off to Zimbabwe for 3 Big safaris and will keep all updated when I get back at the end of August.

Its a busy year this year will safaris going all the way into November and a Marco Polo hunt in Tajikistan still on the cards! keep the fingers crossed!

Safari Hunting Season Trophy Highlights

Here are some of the Highlighted trophies taken in the 2009 safari season with Rayno Egner and Coenraad Vermaak Safaris. Amongst them are some truly beautiful specimens including 2 30"+ Nyala, a magnificent Timbavati Lion and a Suni and Red Duiker combo taken 30 min apart!Also let us not forget the Zebra hunt that ended in a smashed finger! Thank you to all of the Clients both new and old who hunted with me this season. Looking forward to sharing a campfire again soon!!!

Safari Season Update 2009

The Season has finally come to an End! It has been eventful and Busy with some fantastic trophies taken in both the Hunting and Fishing departments! I will post some of the best hunting pics up shortly but first wanted to give a brief rundown of the great time that was had at Rio Azul with the Mortimer group and Garreth Coombes of AFRI-G safaris. The Fishing was supposedly slow but each angler at some point or another during our 4 days of Fishing got a good hook up with Fish.
On the filming side of things there were some great underwater shots and a very exciting hook up of a huge GT on the surface plug amidst a shoal of Fusiliers!
Here are some pics.