During June of 2015 my friend Devin Beebe from Saskatoon, Canada and I did a 5 day hunt in Zambia.
Devin and I had booked this hunt at the Safari Club Convention in 2013 we had to push it back a few times due to unforeseen circumstances but we finally was able to make the trip.
Devin meet me in Johannesburg, South Africa where I had just completed a 10 day hunt. We flew to Lusaka, Zambia. After arriving we meet one of the guides Michael Borman at the airport who then flew with us on a 6 seat super cub Cessna for 2 ½ hrs headed to North West of Zambia where we landed on a remote grass airfield. We were then picked up by a R44 helicopter, we then flew another 20 more minutes to the camp. The helicopter pilot was Pete’s son Chris Fisher who would be my guide for the next 5 days.
We hunted at a game reserve called Nchila Wildlife Reserve, owned by Pete and Lynn Fisher. Nchila is located in a remote area up the North western corner of Zambia. We were in an area that was only 10 kilometers from the Congo border and a little farther from Angola. Pete’s family has lived in the area since 1886. This area is known for their magnificent sable a bloodline from the beautiful Angolan Sable. There are a few other species on the reserve that can only be found in Zambia such as Puku, Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest, Defassa waterbuck and Eastern Angolan Duiker to name a few. Devin and I were here mainly to hunt sable.
Pete has two different camps at the reserve. Devin and I stayed at their newest camp called Nkwaji located next to the banks of the Lunga River. The area comprises of 19,000 acres of beautiful virgin bush filled with hardwood trees. We stayed in these beautiful first class tented chalets, complete with en-suite bathrooms and private viewing decks overlooking the river. Meals were excellent served in open thatched dining room with comfortable lounge area with a beautiful scenery of the river and bush. The area was beautiful very scenic with lots of wildlife and beautiful birds. The morning air was filled with birds making their various sounds which I tried to record.
Each day of the hunt would start out at 6am where we would meet in the lounge area for fresh made buns, meat roll pastries along with some coffee and tea. The mornings were very cold so there would always be a fire going in the fireplace of the lounge and campfire site on the grounds. We would hunt until noon then return for a full on breakfast brunch rest until 3:00 pm then hunt until dark. Dinners and the desserts was always fantastic this was not a place to lose weight.
We had a great 5 days hunting, I took a beautiful 41” sable saw many larger ones but I didn’t want to pay more and was very happy with the one I decided to take. I also took an outstanding Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest which Pete wanted me to have scored I haven’t got around to it yet maybe later. I also took a very nice Limpopo bushbuck that was very orange in color with beautiful white spots and markings.
Devin also took a beautiful sable, Defassa Waterbuck, a very nice Puku and an outstanding Oribi.
It was sad to see our hunt come to an end on June 22, this was a great place. I’ve been to Africa 4 times everyplace was great but this was a very special place to hunt. I also had a great time in South Africa hunting with my good friend Andri fox, I had been gone since June 4 and it was time to head home. I always say this will be my last trip to Africa but it such a special place that I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of being there. I just want to thank the Lord for making these trips possible.
Jack