Dates (inc1uding travel time): November 28 to December 13, 2002. Because flight connections from the US arrive and depart Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) around midnight, a minimum of one day there is required on the way in and out. Then it takes most of a day to travel to Da-Lat by van, where you overnight. From there, it takes most of another day to arrive in camp. You do that first in a jeep, then on a motorbike and finally on foot. The last leg of the trip takes more than two hours, and most of the way is uphill. The trip includes six full days in camp.
Agent/Outfitter: Harv Hollek of the Hollek Company and his female Vietnamese partner accompanied us during the entire trip, even in camp. A former NVA General by the name of Phouk, who actually controls the concession, was also in camp much of the time.
Guides: We had local Vietnamese hunting guides, plus interpreters, all of whom were helpful and friendly. The guides were not familiar with American hunting methods, but two of them, one a female, turned out to be quite good anyway.
Hunting Conditions: This was a very physical bunt. The area was primarily steep mountain jungle, with a few high-grass valleys and a number of streams to walk through. Hunting was almost entirely at night, as it was impossible to track buffalo in the jungle during the day. The local people would scout for tracks during the day to attempt to locate where the buffalo were coming out of the thick jungle at night to feed/drink in the grassy areas. We would then go to that area to arrive shortly after dark, generally returning to camp by midnight. All........(continued)
