This was my first hunt for African dangerous game; one of the African "big five". It was also my most specialised hunt. I booked a 7 day hunt, focusing exclusively on Cape Buffalo.The location was a hunting concession on the Luangwa River, opposite the North Luangwa National Park.

This concession is something in the order of 1000 square kilometers of free ranging game. It is very much the "real Africa". It was excellent to hear lion or leopard just hundreds of yards away while we sipped our drinks round a camp fire in the evening. Or to be following a set of buffalo tracks and see elephant spoor all around us.

It was also very hard hunting. We hunted hard for six full days before we were successful. Up at 3:30 am, and walking or driving for much of the day. But, in the end it was so rewarding, and I really felt like I earned the trophy. It would be hard to ask for a better hunt.

This bull fell to a 500gn Woodleigh Weldcore softpoint bullet. I slammed in two 500gn Woodleigh FMJ's as insurance shots, but the first shot had taken out the heart/lungs. He travelled 30 yards from the first shot.

Rory Gellatly - Professional Hunter, left and Yaco, right, the camp manager who had accompanied us the afternoon that we successfully encountered buffalo.

Unfortunately, poaching was prevalent in the hunting concession. Two days in a row we encountered poachers. Pictured above is a poacher we caught on day 5 of our safari. He had been laying snares in the area, and was caught carrying an impala carcass. Also pictured is a game scout, the local equivalent of a game warden.

We dropped the poacher at the local scout headquarters. Here Rory is explaining the situation. Pictured in the bottom right corner is the impala carcass found in possession of the poacher. He had half the animal on each end of a 4 foot pole which he was carrying across his shoulder.