April 2018 – Newsletter
Dennis Charles Campbell January 15 1951 – February 3 2018.
We would like to extend our sincere condolences to the Campbell and extended GSCO families. We only knew Dennis for a few short years through our association with GSCO and from Dennis spending some time with us here in Zimbabwe. He was a true gentleman and such a positive influence on so many lives who will be greatly missed but never forgotten!!
The end of February saw me return from my marketing trip to the U.S and Austria. Sadly this year I was pushed for time due to an early start to the season so I was not able to visit any of the people I would have liked to-however the shows this year were phenomenal and Zimbabwe seems to be enjoying renewed interest. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank-you for so much to everyone for their continued support and for taking the time to come and see me both in Las Vegas and Salzburg.
Also a special mention to my “Shumba Brother” Jaime in Mexico-congratulations on the birth of “Little Jaime” – can’t wait for you to bring him hunting in a few years time to carry on the family tradition!!!!! Another generation of hunters coming through.
2018 kicked off to a dream start. I was joined by Jim and Stepjan on my first hunt of the season in Chibwedziwa bordering Gonarezhou National Park in search of a big tusker. Conditions were good – late rains and ripe marula’s are favourable for this type of hunt. After a bit of inspired tracking we found ourselves 15 yards away from a big bull on the second day. Jim pulled off a great frontal brain shot dropping an outstanding elephant bull. What a start and Jim then opted to try for a second bull (incase he never comes back to Africa). The second last afternoon saw us again in front of a great bull. Thick bush and shifting winds made getting a safe shot challenging to say the least. Finally I think we had tested the old bull’s patience enough and Jim dropped his 70lber in full charge. Both were exceptional hunts that will stand out for the hunting and the great company.
Congratulations Jim-it was an absolute pleasure and I am hoping that you will make it back to Africa!!!!
Soon afterwards Vladimir joined me for his third consecutive elephant hunt, also in search of a big elephant bull. I cannot say enough about his toughness and perseverance. We hunted hard for 6 days passing up a few good bulls before we found “the elephant of a lifetime”. Again, extremely thick vegetation in the final approach made the going quite tough. We patiently waited for a gap and after what seemed like an eternity Vladimir also frontal brained the huge bull with over 2 metre long tusks and weighing in at over 70 ponds.
Another exceptional hunt from start to finish and although we have a language barrier-hunting seems to conquer that divide as a universal language. Поздравляем Владимира с феноменальной охотой
I leave imminently to begin my hunting season in Nyakasanga and as always I will keep you posted.
Following on from this, long time Texan friends and clients Jim and Camilla who I have been guiding since the mid-90’s, arrived for their hunt in the Save Valley. Fickle winds and dense vegetation plagued us for several days before we connected with a big buffalo bull (above left). Well done Jim—really well deserved!! Camilla took some really outstanding plainsgame (pictured left) in the ensuing days. Perhaps the most memorable being a huge eland which we had to crawl some distance to manoeuvre ourselves into a good position for a clean shot.
As always it is such a pleasure hunting with you both and I’m really looking forward to seeing you all in Texas next year.