28 http://www.africanhuntinggazette.com
cattleegretsthatcircleeverybuffaloherd.The
birdsareoftenvisible ata mile,sometimes
more.Thisis whentheswampbuffalohunt
reallybegins!
Thepapyrusswampsandsawgrassflatsare
a differentworld,andnotforeveryone.For
a decadeI’ve taken a campin Coutada 11
andfilledit withfriends(oldandnew).Not
everyonelovestheswampasmuchas I do!
It’sa harsharea:Noshade,tempsabout 50
degreesCelsiusoncleardays.Decomposing
swamp stinksas you traversethechannels.
Fortunately,it’snotparticularlybuggy...until
dusk,andthen hungrymosquitoesthreaten
tocarryyouaway.
Theswamphuntinghasprogressed,greatly
aidedbyincreasedbuffalonumbers!Someof
thePHswhowerethereat thestartremember
accessing the swamps by foot safari and
dugout canoe. In the Eighties I did that intheOkavango,butthosewereclear-flowing
channels! I have accessed the Marromeu
swamps on foot (with lots of porters for
meat recovery) in Coutada 14 (tough!),
andbyArgo.InCoutada 11 MarkHaldane
andbrotherGlenhitupontheamphibious
HoglandBV,a monstrous tracked Swedish
military vehicle designed for tundra. The
intentwasnottomakethingseasierforold
guyslikeme,(honest!)buttofacilitatefull
meatrecovery.So,today,weswimacrossthe
papyruschannelsin theBVs.Typically, we
goin teams,at leasttwohunters/PHs and
twoBVs.Ifthingsgowell,wecomeoutof
theswampswithtwobuffalobulls...andthe
articulatedtrailer behindtheBV cancarry
three.
Tracks of the several hundred (and
increasing)buffaloes in the miombo forest
may be found and followed on any day, but“swamp days” are in rotation. Because of
numbersandmaturebullswithintheherds,
some success isexpectedonswamp days—
butneverassured.So,tryagain!I waswith
myfriendJohnStucker,whoshota brilliant
swampbuffaloin’16.HecommentedthatI
waseithertoughornuts,makingrepeattrips
outthere.Yep,trueenough,I likeit.Onmy
annualten-dayMozambiquehuntI’llusually
gototheswampsthreeorfourtimes.EVERYDAYISDIFFERENT
Thatmassive herdI describedwasunusual.
Even Haldane, who has been there for
twenty-five years,described it asthelargest
herd hehas everseen...and it’sthe biggest
concentration of buffalo I’ve ever seen.
Two dayslaterwecouldn’tfindit again,so
we assumeit wasa temporarygathering of
several herds...but who knows?The bulls will often come to the edge of the herd to confront danger.