Over in Mozambique, subscriber Mike Daley took a gorgeous MGM-quality lion with a 25-inch skull while hunting with Pete Swanepoel of NiassaLand Safaris. (See photo in our online Trophy Gallery.) You may know Swanepoel from his SafariBwana operation in Zambia. Seems Swanepoel has partnered with Graham Cawood to create a new Mozambique operation called NiassaLand Safaris. They are hunting near Chifundi, about a 3½-hour drive out of Tete.
Daley writes of the area, "We have found some great potential for big game there. The area is big with a government concession connecting to it. We were on an exploratory hunt and got to see lots of new territory and have a true African experience. We saw 60- to 80-pound elephant, big leopard, excellent plains game and plenty of sign from another big lion in the area. We had lions near camp at night, along with leopards and elephant. Twenty-one elephants walked past us while we sat in the lion blind. "We were building roads while exploring and found a great area along the river, where we saw lots of different game, including hartebeest, bushbuck, impala and enough roan, kudu and klipspringer to make one drool! We also spotted Sharpe's grysbok in broad daylight and warthogs. There was sign of sable and buffalo, although we did not spot any. And there were lots of crocodiles in the river." Daley says there is some poaching in the area and that Swanepoel and Cawood are working with the local game scouts and villages to get it under control. "I had a great time, and know, as they continue to develop this area, it is only going to get better," concludes Daley. In addition to the lion, Daley also took a steenbok, hyena, 54-inch kudu, a warthog and a Sharpe's grysbok. He says they also had a leopard on bait but were unable to connect with him. I contacted Swanepoel who told me that he and Cawood have secured half a million acres in the Tete Province in an area called Chiridzi near the Zambian and Malawi borders. He made a point of........(continued)
