African Expedition Magazine Volume 4 Issue 4

The Razor’s Edge

African Bullet Report

The new Barnes VorTX

The secret of a supersharp hunting knife

GLOBAL ADVENTURER

Rookie Writers Make a Plan

Soldering or welding in emergencies

Hunt, dive and fish the world while keeping your wife happy

www.africanxmag.com

Published by Safari Media Africa Editors

United States of America

Editor: Alan Bunn editorusa@africanxmag.com Associate editor: Galen Geer ggeer@africanxmag.com

Europe

Editor: Hans Jochen Wild editoreurope@africanxmag.com

Africa

Editor: Mitch Mitchell editorafrica@africanxmag.com

Financial Thea Mitchell Layout & Design Xtasis Media and Digital Wind Contributors & Photographers A. Bunn, C. Cheney, Cam Crieg, G. Geer, L. Grizzaffi (Reloading), Dr. K. Hugo (Medical), C. Mitchell, Dr. G. Swart (Medical) Advertising and Marketing South Africa: T. Mitchell adssa@africanxmag.com Phone +27 13-7125246 Fax 0866104466 USA: Alan Bunn adsusa@africanxmag.com (706) 2762608 African Expedition Magazine is an independent bimonthly publication promoting fair, sustainable hunting, a protected environment and adventure sports in Africa.

The African Expedition Magazine is published

by Safari Media Africa

Disclaimer While all precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of advice and information provided, the Proprietor, Publisher, Editor, or Writers cannot accept responsibility for any damages, inconvenience or injury whatsoever that may result from incorrect information. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or its agents. African Expedition Magazine assumes no responsibility to return graphics unsolicited editorial, or other material. All rights in unsolicited editorial, letters, emails, graphics and other material will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and material will be subject to African Expedition Magazine’s unrestricted right to edit and editorial comment. All material and/or editorial in African Expedition is the property of African Expedition and/or the various contributors. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the Publisher.

contents 4 | AFRICAN EXPEDITION MAGAZINE Volume 4 Issue 4

9 The Razor’s Edge

The secret of a supersharp hunting knife

27 The global adventurer

Hunt, dive and fish the world - while keeping your wife happy

38 African bullet Report The new Barnes VorTX

52 African hunters of yesteryear The Maneating lions of Tsavo

60 Rookie Writers

When things go right Part 2

86 Africa - the good news The good news from Africa

100 African Bush Cuisine Crocodile with Mango and Basil Sauce

108 Make a Plan

Soldering or welding in emergencies

113 True North Come home

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The Razor’s Edge

Mitch Mitchell

The secret of a supersharp hunting knife

N

othing beats a knife in the bush. You use it to bleed your kudu, skin it, cut biltong, trim riempies and clear away branches for your shooting lane. In the bush you need a knife that is efficient - and it can only be at peak performance when it is really sharp Your knife will get dull with use, so you need to sharpen it so we tried a whole bunch of sharpeners, many of them junk or not just not made for Africa.

We quickly eliminated electrical sharpeners, the drag-through type (which removes a small sliver of steel and various other devices that can not create a double bevel.

Our criteria was a razor’s edge - functional, consistent and easy to repair - in the African bush, far away from electricity and paid sharpening services. We did not want a super-fragile shaving edge - you are here to hunt, not to make a advertisement for men’s cologne. We also wanted a system that you can use at the Mopani fire at night while quietly chatting and sipping your Cabernet Sauvignon, something that was easy to use, reliable and did not weigh our daypacks down.

We eliminated all but 2: The Lanski Sharpening System and the locally manufactured Warthog Classic II Sharpening system.

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First, some basics

4. Asymmetrical Flat

Several things - blade thickness, blade shape, edge angle, edge thickness and edge smoothness will determine the cutting ability of your favourite hunting knife.

The edge tapers on the straight line from both sides, but the angles are uneven. Used for more durable edges but sharpness is sacrificed.

Blade Thickness Blade thickness has a great effect of slicing ability.

Because of the thickness of the blade, your hunting knife will never slice like a the thin blade of a filet knife - no matter what you do to the edge.

Blade Shape Blade shape is determined by the function. More belly or curve is typical of a skinning knife and the straighter edge of filet knives are designed for slicing.

Edge type We wanted to choose the correct to choose the correct edge type for a hunting knife.

Here are the options:

1.Flat The simplest and most widespread in factory knives.

The edge tapers from both sides of the blade. Sharp but sacrifices durability. The sharp transition point induces extra drag.

2.Convex Provides the most durable edge at a given angle and has less drag compared to other edge grind types due to smooth transition lines.

Instead of tapering in a straight line, the edge is slightly curved outwards. The famous Japanese Samurai katana used this type of the edge.

3. Asymmetrical Semi Convex Combines durability of the convex edge and ease of sharpening of the flat edge, until the edge gets real dull.

5. Compound or Double Bevel Cuts better than a flat edge at the same angle as the secondary bevel, yet lasts longer than a flat edge if ground at the same angle as the primary bevel.

Provides a strong, durable edge but sacrifices a degree of sharpness.

6. Hollow The edge contours are concave, resulting in a very sharp edge with low durability. Extra drag is induced due to the shoulders and sharp transition points.

7. Chisel The edge is flat from one side, tapers on the straight line from the other side of the blade. This is the sharpest edge, found mainly on chisels in western world.

The Japanese use the chisel edge widely in their kitchen knives.

8. Chisel with Back Bevel This variation of the Chisel edge. Back side has a micro bevel, usually at a very low angle of 3°-5°. Some sharpness is sacrificed for increased edge durability.

9. Chisel with Urasuki Urasuki is traditionally found on Japanese single beveled knives. Back side of the blade is concave to reduce the drag during cutting.

Serrations Serrations help with cutting by letting the edge attack repeatedly from different angles with varying pressure.

Serrated edges are useful for cutting food and rope – but for a hunting knife you need a plain edge.

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The Best edge in the bush In the bush you need: ●● Edge sharpness ●● Edge durability ●● A method to quickly and easily resharpen: that means precise replication of blunted cutting edges The compound bevel is the only edge which provides all that is required.

Factors that affect efficient cutting Edge angle Edge angle is measured between the center of the blade and the bevel or flat cut by the sharpening surface. Most Western knives are double bevel.

Asian knives and woodworking tools are single bevel, and the resulting smaller angle can make them aggressive cutters. That is why sashimi knifes seem so sharp.

evaluating sharpness range from cutting silk to chopping trees. What you need is a test method that is useful for you.

Thumb test Most people test an edge by rubbing their thumb lightly across the edge and feeling how the edge grabs as it tries to cut into the thumb pad. To keep your thumb calibrated, test a known sharp edge like a new razor blade periodically.

Hair test Shaving hair on your hand or arm is another common sharpness test. Shaving sharpness can be achieved even on heavy hunting knives or an axe. Razor sharpness is only possible with both a polished edge and a small edge angle.

Shaving test

Any edge thickness under a few thousandths of an inch may be considered sharp. Paper is about 2 to 3 thousands of an inch thick - but it and will cut you if conditions are right.

Although you will look as cool as Crocodile Dundee, testing by shaving can be misleading if the blade has a burr or wire edge. Steel naturally forms a burr - a thin bendable projection on the edge - during the sharpening process. A blade with a burr will shave but will not stand up to hard use. To test for a burr, slide your fingertips lightly from the side of the blade over the edge. You will feel the burr drag against your fingers. Test from both sides, because burrs are usually bent over one way or the other.

Edge thickness naturally increases with wear.

Thumbnail test

Edge thickness

Ideally, the cutting edge would come together to make a perfect edge with zero edge thickness, but edge thickness is limited by several factors.

Another test for sharpness is to press the edge lightly on your thumbnail at about a 30-degree angle. If it cuts into your nail it is sharp and if it slips it is dull.

First is malleability, or the tendency for steel to move when it is pushed. The yield strength of steel is thousands of pounds per square inch, but as the edge thickness approaches zero, it takes only a fraction of an ounce to move it. The force of your hand with a stone or steel can move enough steel to create or smooth a burr.

The sharper the blade, the smaller you can make the angle before it slips. Try this with a new razor blade to see how a really sharp blade feels. The down side of thumbnail testing is that the little cuts in your nail get dirty and look bad until the nail grows out. For this reason some people do this test using a plastic pen or pencil.

Edge smoothness

Visual tests

The second limit to edge thickness is edge smoothness. You can’t have a 1/10,000-inch edge if you have scratches 1/1000 inch deep. The grit of the cutting stone determines scratch pattern or smoothness.

Good edge smoothness requires careful work with your finest stone

Testing sharpness To be sure you are improving your sharpening; you need an objective way to test the results. Tests

As your sharpening improves you will be looking for smaller and smaller burrs.

The glint along the cutting edge means a dull blade.

Many good sharpeners have learned to see a dull edge. Hold the blade in front of you with the edge in line with a bright light. Move the blade around a bit. A dull edge will reflect a glint as do nicks and burrs.

A sharp edge does not reflect glints.

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Mechanical testing

Stropping

The only tool available for edge testing is the Edge Tester from Razor Edge Systems. The Edge Tester evaluates edges on a 100 point scale for sharpness and smoothness. The principle is similar to the thumbnail test, but the Edge Tester has a special material and shape for repeatable testing.

Stropping is a necessary and effective step after any sharpening.

If you’re serious about sharp knives, get an Edge Tester.

The most effective test?

All these tests (apart from the Edge Tester) are very subjective.

We use another way to test sharpness.

A better test We measure the amount of force it takes to cut through a loop of thread. Repeated tests of this type give data that can be evaluated using statistical methods.

For each test a loop of thread is tied and suspended from a small scale. The blade is placed inside the loop and pressure is applied against the thread.

Stropping serves the same purpose: aligning the cutting edge by it on a piece leather. Stropping normally is done on the plain leather, however coating the leather with an abrasive compound such as diamond paste or chromium oxide powder will make a fine sharpener.

Hard steel (above 62-63HRC) doesn’t respond well to stropping on the plain leather. Borosilicate or ceramic rods are effective on very hard steels.

How to do it Stropping is done in the opposite way of steeling: the edge is dragged backwards, not pushed forward.

Use very light pressure and try to match the edge angle. Again, a magic marker will help with the correct angle.

If you have not done it before, try it: your sharpening results will dramatically improve.

The Ultimate Sharpening Method

The maximum force before the thread is cut indicates the sharpness of the blade, with smaller numbers reflecting a sharper blade.

Your new knife is sharp, but ...

Steeling and Stropping

The best sharpening system in the world won’t give you a sharp edge until you create a relief, which is the base edge for a sharp blade.

Steeling Steeling is swiping the cutting edge against a steel rod - also called a steel or a butcher’s steel – to realign the cutting edge.

How to do it Hold the rod vertically and swipe the knife along it, as if you are making a cut. They key is to try to match the angle you are holding the knife at to the same angle as the edge angle.

Figure 1

Using a magic marker will help. Cover the cutting edge with the marker and make a swipe or two. Wherever the marker is gone that’s where you are hitting the edge.

If you are doing everything right, then all you need is 3-5 passes per side to realign the edge.

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Your new knife will be sharp, but you need to be able to keep it sharp.

All sharp knives and razor blades have at least two edges, the relief and the secondary edge. Failure to put both of these edges on a knife is a major reason for sharpening failure.

Figure 1 shows an exaggerated cross-section of a typical knife as it comes from the factory. There is no relief and a secondary edge is ground into the edge of the knife. Each time you sharpen the secondary edge the knife will become blunter.

What is required is to create a relief as shown in figure 2. It should have a minimum width of 1/16” but it can be much wider. You can hone the relief all the way back to the edge of the knife if you want to remove that much metal. Start with a relief angle of

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13°.

Since your relief has such a small angle, the edge of the blade will be weak and become blunt easily. Figure 2 We will take care of that later when we add the secondary edge.

cutting edge which shows that the edges do not yet meet. ●● With the Warthog System, both sides of the blade are honed at the same time and burrs are much smaller.

Step 2: Create the Primary Edge

Step 1: Create the relief

Lansky

Lansky ●● Set the angle at 20° ●● Use the 280 grit hone (green) ●● Hone until you feel a burr as shown in figure 2. You probably won’t be able to see the burr but you will be able to feel it on the side opposite from the side you are busy honing as it bends in the opposite direction. You can feel the burr by dragging your finger Figure 3 across the bottom edge of the knife blade. Steel naturally forms a burr - a thin bendable projection on the edge - during the sharpening process. ●● Make sure you have a burr running the entire length of the blade. Don’t continue to the next step until you have the burr.

Set the honing angle to 25° •

Use the blue 600 grit honet

•

Hone until you feel the burr

•

Use plenty of water to remove the sludge

• Flip the knife over and hone until you get the burr on the opposite side.

• Select a fine grit (600), flip the knife over and hone (1-3 times) until the burr just goes away Warthog ●● Change to a 600 grit (green) and set the angle at 25°

about 20 times.

●● Hone until the angles meet at the cutting edge -

●● With the Warthog System, both sides of the blade are honed at the same time and burrs are much smaller.

●● Continually wash the honing device with plenty of water to remove the sludge. Sludge will dull the knife while you are trying to sharpen it.

Step 3: Strop or steel

●● Flip the knife over and grind until the burr runs the entire length of the opposite side.

This is not necessary with the Warthog system.

Lightly stroke the knife edge approximately 5-19 times on each side using a ceramic steel rod or a leather strop.

●● Turn the knife over and choose a medium grit. ●● Hone until you get the burr. ●● Flip the knife over and hone the burr away on the other side.

Warthog ●● Set the angle at 20° ●● Hone until the angles meet at the cutting edge. Check for the telltale shiny edge at the

Lansky

Warthog Unclip and flip the rods so that the finishing steels are facing upward and increase the angle of attack to 30°. Pull your blade through another 10-50 strokes.

Done!

You have just created a durable, sharp, bevel knife edge - and it is probably sharper than any knife you have ever handled.

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Shown here is the change in the angle of attack in long blades. With the stone lying 90 °to the edge, the correct angle of attack of 15° is shown

Taken from exactly the same camera position. this photo shows that moving the stone 3.5” (9 cm) toward the point on a longer blade without moving the clamp results in an angle change of 1.16°

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The Lansky sharpening system/ This shows a standard, 3-hone system.

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The results We scored 1-10 for each criterion, ten being the best and 1 being the worst

Criterion Setting up Ease of use Mount Ease and speed of edge repair in bush Weight Angle of attack consistency Speed and ease of sharpening angle change Speed and ease of grit change Diamond hones Angle of attack constancy and solidity Steeler Honing oil Hone grits

Carrying case Price TOTAL SCORE

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Lansky 7 7 5 (optional $5-$20) 8 9 8 8 (Select new angle hole) 8 (Swop with fine hone and rod) 7 (Option) 8 (Clamp has only 2.5mm clamping area) 5 (Optional, $10$25) 9 (Included)

Warthog 9 9 9 (Integral) 9 8 9 7 (Clip in) 7 (Clip in new grit) 10 (Standard) 10 (adjustable and failsafe) 10 (Standard)

9 (70,120, 280, 600 and 1000 grits standard)

8 (Soap and water used with diamond hones) 7 (325 and 600 standard, 1000 grit optional)

8 (ABS, included)

5 (optional)

8 ($49.99)

7 ($60)

114

124

Also, the angle of the primary edge will insure that the knife will remain sharp long after most knives have become dull

The face off We tested 2 great devices which work in African hunting conditions: the proven Lanski system and the newer Warthog Sharpening system.

closer to the point to maintain the same angle of attack on the edge. Angle change can be 1.16° over 3.5� (9 cm). The clamping system tends to let the knife slide out on longer blades 5. As stones wear, they become hollow and the altering the angle of attack changes constantly during every sharpening stroke

Here is what we found:

Warthog

Lansky (www.lansky.com)

The V-Sharp Classic II is a well designed product that is very quick, accurate and easy to use. A constant angle can be maintained while sharpening freehand and the blade guide is easily adjustable. Angles of attack are 17, 20, and 25 degrees.

Lansky has been making various sharpening systems for years. We tested the Standard 3-Stone System with Alumina Oxide & Ceramic which includes coarse (120 grit), medium (280 grit) and fine hones (600 grit) Angles of attack are 17, 20, 25 and 30 degrees.

Positives 1. Light and small 2. Relatively quick and easy to use Negatives 1. The standard kit is not supplied with a mount as standard equipment (a $5-$20 option), so you must sharpen your knife while awkwardly holding the clamp in one hand.

2. Because of the clamping mechanism being set so far back on the blade, it is possible to apply too much pressure on the hone and pushing the blade edge down . This results in a change of the honing angle without you knowing about it - the result is unintentionally using a different sharpening angle.

3. The clamping system has a very small lip one tenth of an inch (2.5 mm). In thicker blades the clamp tends to be unstable.

4. On long blades, the clamp has to be moved

Coarse (325grit) and medium (600) diamond hones are standard. Fine (1000grit) diamond honing pads are optional.

Included as standard issue are high carbon steel wire forms used to steel the edge.

Positives 1. Very quick and to easy use 2. Easy angle of attack adjustment 3. Angle of attack remains constant whatever blade length 4. Both sides of the blade is sharpened at the same time 5. Burrs are smaller or nonexistent Negatives 1. Heavier than the Lansky

The winner A close-run thing between two excellent sharpening devices with Lansky at 114 and Warthog at 124, but the results show the best sharpener for Africa is the Warthog. Visit their web site at www.warthogsharpeners.co.za/

Mitch Mitchell is a hunter, outdoorsman and the author of several books on African wildlife and survival.

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A leather stroppin

g belt with jewelle

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r’s rouge

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The

global

adventurer Hunt, dive and fish the world while keeping your wife happy

When you are a young hunter, fisherman and diver, polishing your old hunting boots and fresh from your Open Water 1 course, it is fun to share a tent and brave the ravenous mosquitoes with your uncouth university friends.

You shower infrequently, spend more money on beer than food, tolerate the sand in your sleeping bag and sit out the rain when it comes. You hunt on a shoestring budget after having saved for years. Convenience (not to mention luxury) is low on the priority list.

Later in life you and your lovey are willing to sleep in a reed hut on a rickety bed for the privilege to dive the spectacular reefs in Mozambique or hunt in Zambia.

Then the children come. More tents, more expenses, a 4x4 trailer and solar panels - every convenience was purchased to make life easier while camping. Friends bring their families and your camp began to look like Tokyo by night.

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It was fun.

The thing is, I am all grown up now. I have kids of my own and my diving excursions are not paid for by income from being a waiter at the diner any more.

What I needed was a solution for the future. My camping and diving holidays were beginning to cost me a packet every year – and it was getting more and more expensive. That excluded fuel, my 4x4 trailer and smart rooftop tent, solar panels, freezer, generator, ice machine and furniture.

Most problematic of all, my wife having raised the kids through years of hunting and fishing, bizarrely felt she deserved some consideration during our holidays.

Now here is how I made myself famous - with one fell swoop I raised the best-hunting/scuba/fishing husband bar way above where you mere mortals are now.

I bought shares in a villa at Tartaruga Bay near Inhambane.

Tartaruga Bay is a luxury fractional ownership resort between Praia da Rocha and Coconut Bay– and truly: it is a total coincidence that it is directly across Manta Reef, a world top 10 diving site. It is strangely also right on the way to Niasssa and Cahorra Bassa where there is great hunting – and close to one of the bill fishing capitals of the world.

The Mozambique hunting season is from June to November, so because I was early, the developer helped me to fix the normally rotating fractions in the hunting season. Contact them at info@tartarugabay. com to do the same - but you may already be too late.

With construction scheduled to start early in May 2012, I got a 5-star luxury fractional estate, fully furnished and air conditioned. It sleeps 8 in the 4 Volume 4 Issue 4 AFRICAN EXPEDITION MAGAZINE | 29

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large, sea facing bedrooms, each with an on-suite bathroom and outside shower. The seriously large deck comes with a pool and cool gazebo and looks out over the Indian ocean. The folding doors of the bedroom open right up to remind me of the camping days.

actually use each year - and I really own part of the villa, not just the time as in timeshare schemes. This means my investment can grow and I can make a profit if I ever want to sell. I can let my kids inherit my shares because the Mozambican Fractional Law 39 of 2007 makes my ownership perpetual - not only for 99 years like most other developments.

The central club house offers an activity center, business center, pool bar, convenience store and business center. And for my wife (how I can now hunt she loves me now) there is a luxury spa for less anyand 2 superb restaurants.

The 1 kilometer beach is a protected turtle nesting site and the humpback whales come to the area to calve and mate from July to September. But for me, the big thrills are swimming with a whale shark and watching the mantas being serviced at the 3 cleaning stations on manta reef.

where in the world - with my better half more than happy

But fractional? What is that? I found out that fractional ownership is a small group of people owning a valuable asset (like a villa at Tartaruga Bay) and sharing the purchase and maintenance costs.

This lets me buy only the portion of the villa I will 32 | AFRICAN EXPEDITION MAGAZINE Volume 4 Issue 4

Also, if I can’t use my time, I let it out and generate passive income or send my mates there.

I pay a levy every month for maintenance, security and services, so I just arrive at my luxury villa and everything is spic and span – and to my immense relief, there is absolutely no expectation of maintenance forced on me.

It cost me just over $10,000 once-off for a low season share and I got 4 of them. I also pay a measly $27 for maintenance, services an security per share.

This means that I get to dive, fish and kayak for a month every year while lovey spends her time in the spa or on the deck getting herself pretty for me when

I get back in the afternoon, flush from my fishing or hunting adventure.

And all this doesn’t cost me an extra cent.

Now here’s where it gets really interesting: for a small fee I can exchange my share in Tartaruga Bay with other luxury destinations worldwide. I am going to dive Maldives, see Disneyland, eat camembert in Paris, drink port in the Algarve, visit Thailand and dive Bali. I may even check out Mexico and the red sea or take a luxury cruise.

So here’s how it is going to work from now on: I will drop lovey off at the international airport in Inhambane and the air-conditioned Tartaruga Bay shuttle will transfer her off to my luxury pad - while I fly north to a truly African Adventure.

If I decide to hunt Kwazulu-Natal in South Africa, I drop her off at Zimbali www.zimbali.co.za and my hunt begins.

The beauty is: I can do this in 30 countries. Classic Hunting in Africa. Billfishing in Belize.

When I get back from my adventure, she will be waiting for me: all exfoliated and peeled and treated – and full of pent-up energy.

Life is good.

My advice? Get yourself a share in Tartaruga Bay. You can’t apply your holiday money better and you get a world of choice thrown in.

Please send my husband of the year award to villa M6 at Tartaruga Bay.

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African bullet Report

The new Barnes VorTX

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I

t is my usual job to write articles about reloading, but we just returned from a trip hunting plains game, where I used the new Barnes VorTX ammunition that has just come on the market.

On this trip, I took 18 animals with this new ammo in three different calibers. I used the 225grain .338 Winchester Magnum ammo for most of the Blue Wildebeest, Gemsbok and Eland, and recovered several bullets that were perfect examples of what a bullet should look like. The five bullets had an average weight of 223.6 grains.

In the .300 Winchester Magnum, I used the 180-grain VorTX ammo for a couple Blue Wildebeest and Gemsbok plus a Namibian Mountain Zebra from which I recovered a perfectly expanded bullet that weighed in at 179.1 grains.

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Taken with the 225 Gr Vor TX 338

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Two recovered 225 Gr Speer Deep Curls from the 338 Win Mag

My .270 Winchester loved the 130-grain VorTX also.

That load was impressive on Springbok and Blesbok and when it also took a great Gemsbok with one shot that was truly impressive.

Not only did we use the VorTX ammo, but also some of Federal Cartridge Company’s new Tipped Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullets in my .300 Winchester Magnum. This ammo shot great at the range, and was also had the highest velocity of any 180-grain factory ammo I’ve used in a long time.

Gemsbok and Blue Wildebeest were no match for these Tipped Bear Claws either. Two bullets were recovered that looked quite nice with weights of 144.5 grains & 143.3 grains.

Just a week before we were to leave, I finally got my hands on some of the new Speer 225-grain Deep Curl bullets for the .338 Winchester Magnum. Not having a great deal of time to experiment, I just took my old standby load of 70 grains of AA 4350 powder and was delighted that they printed the same point of

impact as the 225-grain VorTX ammo did.

This new 225-grain Deep Curl bullet accounted for four Gemsbok, two Blue Wildebeest, one exceptional Wart Hog, and a nice old Kudu Bull.

Bullets were recovered from the Wart Hog and Kudu showing the nice bonded core design and five ragged pedals for internal destruction. The shot on the Kudu was at 150 yards, and it broke both shoulders, stopping against the skin. Needless to say, that bull did not go anywhere but “down”. The recovered bullets weighed 146.5 grains & 175.6 grains.

Both the Barnes VorTX and the Federal Premium ammo performed flawlessly. With today’s technology, factory loading capability far exceed our wildest dreams when we started reloading 50 years ago, and there are plenty of times when factory ammo will out shoot my reloads, but no matter what ammo or bullet… bullet placement is still what counts.

Feel free to write Terry anytime at TBlauwkamp@ superior-sales.com Volume 4 Issue 4 AFRICAN EXPEDITION MAGAZINE | 43

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Recovered .330 Win Mag 225 gr VorTX TTSX bullets from various animals

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African hunters of yesteryear

The African hunters of days gone by have had experiences few hunters have today. In those days, the game was much more plentiful and regulations were non-existent. Hunting was more dangerous in those days - no chopper evacuation when clawed up by a wounded leopard and no protection against marauding tribesmen. We can learn something from them.

In this series, we feature some of the writings of the hunters that came before us and who hunted in an era we think of with nostalgia.

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The Maneating lions of

Tsavo

THE BUILDING OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE

by Lieut.-Col. J. H. Patterson, D.S.O.

D

uring all this troublesome period the construction of the railway had been going steadily forward, and the first important piece of work which I had commenced on arrival was completed. This was the widening of a rock cutting through which the railway ran just before it, reached the river. In the hurry of pushing on the laying of the line, just enough of the rock had originally been cut away to allow room for an engine to pass, and consequently any material which happened to, project outside the wagons or trucks caught on the jagged faces of the cutting.

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I myself saw the door of a guard’s van, which had been left ajar, smashed to atoms in this way; and accordingly I put a gang of rock-drillers to work at once and soon had ample room made for all traffic to pass unimpeded. While this was going on, another gang of men were laying the foundations of a girder bridge which was to span a gully between this cutting and Tsavo Station. This would have taken too long to erect when railhead was at the place, so a diversion had been made round it, the temporary track leading down almost to the bed of the nullah and up again on the further side. When the foundations and abutments were ready, the gully was spanned by an iron girder, the slopes leading up to it banked up on either side, and the permanent way laid on an easy grade.

Then, also, a water supply had to be established; and this meant some very pleasant work for me in taking levels up the banks of the river under the cool shade of the palms. While doing this, I often took my camp-kit with me, and a luncheon served in the wilds, with occasionally a friend to share it -- when a friend was available -- was delightful. On one occasion in particular, I went a long way up the river and was accompanied by a young member of my staff.

The day had been exceedingly hot and we were both correspondingly tired when our work was finished, so my companion suggested that we should build a raft and float down-stream home. I was rather doubtful, of the feasibility of the scheme, but nevertheless he decided to give it a trial. Setting to work with our axes, we soon had a raft built, lashing the poles together with the fibre which grows in abundance all over the district. When it was finished, we pushed it out of the little backwater where it had been constructed, and the young engineer jumped aboard. All went well until it got out into midstream, when much to my amusement it promptly toppled gracefully over.

I helped my friend to scramble quickly up the bank out of reach of possible crocodiles, when, none the worse for his ducking, he laughed as heartily as I at the adventure.

Except for an occasional relaxation of this sort, every moment of my time was fully occupied. Superintending the various works and a hundred other duties kept me busy all day long, while my evenings were given up to settling disputes among the coolies, hearing reports and complaints from the various jemadars and workpeople, and in studying the Swahili language. Preparations, too, for the principal piece of work in the district -- the building of the railway bridge over the Tsavo river -- were going on apace.

These involved, much personal work on my part; cross and oblique sections of the river had to be

taken, the rate of the current and the volume of water at flood, mean, and low levels had to be found, and all the necessary calculations made. These having at length been completed, I marked out the positions for the abutments and piers, and the work of sinking their foundations was begun. The two centre piers in particular caused a great deal of trouble, as the river broke in several times, and had to be dammed up and pumped dry again before work could be resumed. Then we found we had to sink much deeper than we expected in order to reach a solid foundation indeed, the sinking went on and on, until I began to despair of finding one and was about to resort to piledriving, when at last, to my relief, we struck solid rock on which the huge foundation-stones could be laid with perfect safety.

Another great difficulty with which we had to contend was the absence of suitable stone in the neighbourhood. It was not that there was none to be found, for the whole district abounds in rock, but that it was so intensely hard as to be almost impossible to work, and a bridge built of it would have been very costly.

I spent many a weary day trudging through the thorny wilderness vainly searching for suitable material, and was beginning to think that we should be forced to use iron columns for the piers, when one day I stumbled quite by accident on the very thing. Brock and I were out “pot-hunting,� and hearing some guinea-fowl cackling among the bushes, I made a circuit half round them so that Brock, on getting in his shot, should drive them over in my direction. I eventually got into position on the edge of a deep ravine and knelt on one knee, crouching down among the ferns. There I had scarcely time to load when over flew a bird, which I missed badly; and I did not have another chance, for Brock had got to work, and being a first-rate shot had quickly bagged a brace. Meanwhile I felt the ground very hard under my knee, and on examination found that the bank of the ravine was formed of stone, which extended for some distance, and which was exactly the kind of material for which I had long been fruitlessly searching. I was greatly delighted with my unexpected discovery, though at first I had grave misgivings about the distance to be traversed and the difficulty of transporting the stone across the intervening country.

Indeed, I found in the end that the only way of getting the material to the place where it was wanted was by laying down a tram line right along the ravine, throwing a temporary bridge across the Tsavo, following the stream down and re-crossing it again close to the site of the permanent bridge. Accordingly, I set men to work at once to cut down the jungle and prepare Volume 4 Issue 4 AFRICAN EXPEDITION MAGAZINE | 57

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a road on which to lay the double trolley line. One morning when they were thus engaged, a little paa -a kind of very small antelope -- sprang out and found itself suddenly in the midst of a gang of coolies. Terrified and confused by the shouting of the men, it ran straight at Shere Shah, the jemadar, who promptly dropped a basket over it and held it fast. I happened to arrive just in time to save the graceful little animal’s life, and took it home to my camp, where it very soon became a great pet. Indeed, it grew so tame that it would jump upon my table at meal times and eat from my hand.

When the road for the trolley line was cleared, the next piece of work was the building of the two temporary bridges over the river. These we made in the roughest fashion out of palm trees and logs felled at the crossing places, and had a flood come down they would, of course, have both been swept away; fortunately, however, this did not occur until the permanent work was completed. The whole of this feeding line was finished in a very short time, and trollies were soon plying backwards and forwards with loads of stone and sand, as we also discovered the latter in abundance and of good quality in the bed of the ravine. An amusing incident occurred one day when I was taking a photograph of an enormous block of stone which was being hauled across one of these temporary bridges. As the trolley with its heavy load required very careful manipulation, my head mason, Heera Singh, stood on the top of the stone to direct operations, while the overseer, Purshotam Hurjee, superintended the gangs of men who hauled the ropes at either end in order to steady it up and down the inclines. But we did not know that the stream had succeeded in washing away the foundations of one of the log supports; and as the weight of the

trolley with the stone came on the undermined pier, the rails tilted up and over went the whole thing into the river, just as I snapped the picture. Heera Singh made a wild spring into the water to get clear of the falling stone, while Purshotam and the rest fled as if for their lives to the bank. It was altogether a most comical sight, and an extraordinary chance that at the very moment of the accident I should be taking a photograph of the operation. Fortunately, no one was injured in the slightest, and the stone was recovered undamaged with but little trouble.

Not long after this occurrence my own labours were one day nearly brought to a sudden and unpleasant end. I was travelling along in an empty trolley which, pushed by two sturdy Pathans, was returning to the quarry for sand. Presently we came to the sharp incline which led to the log bridge over the river.

Here it was the custom of the men, instead of running beside the trolley, to step on to it and to let its own momentum take it down the slope, moderating its speed when necessary by a brake in the shape of a pole, which one of them carried and by which the wheels could be locked. On this occasion, however, the pole was by some accident dropped overboard, and down the hill we flew without brake of any kind.

Near the bridge there was a sharp curve in the line, where I was afraid the trolley would jump the rails; still, I thought it was better to stick to it than to risk leaping off. A moment afterwards I felt myself flying head first over the edge of the bridge, just missing by a hair’s breadth a projecting beam; but luckily I landed on a sand bank at the side of the river, the heavy trolley falling clear of me with a dull thud close by. This accident, also, was happily unattended by injury to anyone.

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Rookie Writers CLICK HERE

Get our RSS feed CLICK HERE Don’t you just hate it when large international magazines refuse to publish the work of budding new authors? “Give us a list of where your articles were published and we will consider you.” they write in their demoralising emails.

Everybody has to start somewhere. Talk about Catch 22.

Well, enough is enough. We feel rookie writers need to get a chance to strut their stuff, so we negotiated with The Ultimate Field Guide to sponsor a Rookie Writer article in our next couple of issues to help those authors who are not famous - yet.

So here it is - the first Rookie Writer article. Read them and vote for your favorite.

You may just help to launch the next Wilbur Smith on a writing career.

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When things go

right Part 2 Peter Garvin

W

ith fourteen days ahead of us Clanton Lindsay and I sat in camp and discussed how we were going to keep ourselves occupied for the remainder of his safari. Clanton had arrived in the Kazuma Forest Area near Victoria Falls two days previously to begin a 15 day elephant bull hunt. As things turned out we were fortunate enough to be back in camp by the afternoon of the first day with a 60lb bull already in the salt.

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In addition to his elephant, Clanton was keen on securing a good sable but as this area was renowned for its quality trophies, I did not anticipate hunting for too long before finding a decent bull.

morning. That afternoon we carefully choose two elephant trails that the leopard was most likely to return on and left two big chunks of fresh meat to entice him to feed.

Clanton had hunted a variety of animals with me in 2007 and we began to look at the remaining animals still on quota in Kazuma to see if there was anything left that he had not already taken. As it turned out there was still one leopard as well as a couple of hyena still available for 2011. Clanton had already taken a leopard in the Chiredzi River Conservancy but it was not very large and here was an opportunity to look for a bigger animal.

The following morning there was an air of anticipation as we made our way up towards the two baits. The first one was untouched but as we approached the second one I noticed footprints on the path leading towards the bait. Sure enough there they were. The big cat had come in exactly where we had hoped he would and wondered down the path towards the bait tree. It was when we approached the tree however, that it looked like our luck had finally run out. Our friend had walked up to the tree, jumped up onto the branch below the bait and for whatever reason ignored the meat, jumped back down and carried on walking along the path away from the bait.

We agreed that we would only start baiting if we found tracks of a big tom so as to not waste time.

The heat at that time of the year was going to make baiting difficult and I suggested that we wait until we were certain of a big male feeding before we shot a zebra and hung it out. My guess was that the meat would only last 3 or 4 days before we had to throw it away and we only had one zebra to shoot as bait – we had to get it right! Also keen on a hyena, we started out the next morning by hanging a few elephant bones to get the ball rolling.

Unlike the Matetsi Safari Area that bordered onto Kazuma, we had the luxury of being able to use a light at night to hunt predators and it wasn’t long before we had secured our first hyena. Then, on the third day of the hunt we picked up tracks of a big male leopard coming in from Botswana, drinking at a local waterhole, before crossing back into Botswana again. As this was the only water in the vicinity I was convinced that he would make an appearance again soon, so we decided to check the waterhole every morning.

Sure enough the following day we picked up his tracks walking along the boundary road heading towards the Kazuma Pan National Park. Following these tracks, we soon established that he had crossed out of our area and into the Park. This Park is actually a huge depression about 15 kms wide and consisting mainly of short grass. Because of the lack of suitable cover, I didn’t think the leopard would stay in this area for very long and I was convinced that he would cross back into the hunting area the following day.

The race was on to find a zebra and put baits up along the boundary road as soon as possible. Fortunately due to good luck, which was now firmly on our side, and some excellent shooting on Clanton’s part, we were able to secure a big stallion that same

Having hunted these animals for 25 years as a PH, this was not the first time I had encountered this behaviour but I wanted to try and get an idea of whether he was still in the area or had moved out altogether. From where we were, the nearest road in that direction was the same road that we had encountered Clanton’s elephant bull on, so we quickly drove around to try and establish the cat’s movements. Sure enough to our disappointment, we found he had visited the site where we had shot the elephant, crossed the road and carried on moving away from the bait, by now a good 3 kms away.

Once again it looked like our luck had deserted us, but I was determined to at least give it a try and see if he would return that evening. We then carried on down that same road to circle back to the bait when suddenly his tracks were back on the road again!

This time he appeared to be walking back towards the bait although he was by now at least 4 kms away.

It was time to stop trying to second guess this leopard and get back and build a blind as quickly as possible. Having a well made pop-up blind makes all the difference under these circumstances and we had the blind up and were out of the area within a few hours. That afternoon we were back in the blind by 4.30pm. Sunset was at 6.15pm and the chances were that if he was going to return in this heat, he would only come in after dark, but I have learnt never to take anything for granted with these animals and I wanted to make sure we were waiting for him.

As dusk began to fall I heard leaves rustling off to the left of the blind – something was approaching. Previously when Clanton had hunted with us in Chiredzi, we had spent countless hours with a spotlight at Volume 4 Issue 4 AFRICAN EXPEDITION MAGAZINE | 65

night looking for a decent civet, but unfortunately came away empty handed. Now as we sat waiting, a large male civet stepped out into the clearing under the bait tree. Clanton immediately looked at me and I could see by the look in his eyes that he was very tempted. I quickly popped his bubble by shaking my head – we hadn’t done all this work to get second prize! The civet sniffed around for a few more minutes and then wandered off. The light was beginning to fade and suddenly - there he was! The tom had appeared as they often do, no noise, no indication of his arrival, just materialising at the base of the tree.

A quick nudge, but there was no need, Clanton had seen him and sat waiting for my signal. We waited for the leopard to climb the tree and start feeding. It was important not to botch up the proceedings by rushing the shot.

Everything had been set up to ensure a clear shot on the branch above the bait. The cat however had different ideas and hopped onto the branch on the opposite side. It was getting dark and the light was fading, but we could still see his silhouette clearly against the sky. In spite of this I decided to wait and indicated as much to Clanton. Eventually we heard rather than saw the cat jump onto the right branch and waited for him to start feeding properly. I flicked the light on. For a second or two the big cat’s eyes shone back at us as he glared in our direction, but he soon lost interest and put his head down again to concentrate on his meal. I tapped Clanton on the shoulder, an indication to shoot. The .338 Weatherby shattered the silence, the cat dropped out the tree as if pole axed, but leapt up and immediately charged off with a deep growl.

There was complete silence as we listened for any indication of the cat’s whereabouts – nothing. A quick discussion and Clanton assured me his shot place-

ment had been good. Strapping a powerful flashlight to the barrel of my rifle, we waited for Steven, my tracker to arrive. As soon as he did, we walked up to the base of the tree and quickly picked up the glint of fresh blood in the light. With Steven crouching down in front of us, he slowly lead us in the direction the cat had taken. It can be a little nerve racking following a wounded leopard at night because it is so difficult to see beyond the beam of light. The one big advantage however, is when the cat looks at you, his eyes become visible from a long way off and it was exactly this that alerted us to his presence as we followed the big tom. I had moved slightly ahead of the tracker, shining my light in the undergrowth when suddenly two bright green eyes reflected back at me. I immediately crouched down waiting for the cat to react to my presence - but there was nothing. After a short while I cautiously moved forward, but still nothing. The big old tom had succumbed to a well placed lung shot, but incredibly still had the strength to run off a 100 yards, turn around and face us before he died. Clanton had done his bit once again and finally had a nice big male leopard to add to his trophy room.

Clanton’s hunt continued to produce great results.

Another hyena was taken a few days later followed by a respectable 41” sable. We still had six days left in Kazuma without much else to hunt so we decided to look at the possibility of heading down to hunt the Chiredzi River Conservancy again. Clanton was looking for a hippo and Barry Style had mentioned that if we had some time on our hands, he would organise one for us. Once again everything worked like clockwork. Barry arrived to pick us up in his Cessna 206 from Victoria Falls airport the next morning and by that afternoon we were hunting across the other side of the country. Clanton was still very keen to secure

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a civet so every day we left camp with a light, staying out late and spotlighting on the way back. It wasn’t long before his trophy list began to grow again. One morning we flushed a small herd of bushpig and it didn’t take Clanton long to put one in the salt. After finding a suitable bull hippo along the Chiredzi River he was put to rest with a single brainshot. This was followed the next morning with a beautiful male bushbuck. The night hunts started to produce results as well. First an African wildcat was taken followed by a large male serval and as luck would have it Clanton finally took a nice big civet. A grysbok, klipspringer and another bushpig was added to the list and by this time we thought the hunt was all but over. When luck is on your side however, things often work out very different.

On the last morning of the hunt, Clanton and I were ambling along a bush track within the conservancy when we bumped into 3 buffalo dagga boys. Clanton

had already taken two good bulls with us on his previous hunt but one of these bulls was a beauty. The buffalo however took off and we thought that was the end of it. Back at camp for lunch, we mentioned the sighting to Barry and he told us to try and take one if we could as there was one left on quota and no other hunts booked for 2011. Clanton needed no other excuse and even though we thought we were pushing this luck business a little too far, decided to go back and look for them that afternoon. You guessed it!

Although they could have been anywhere, we found them feeding slowly along the edge of a small stream and out in the open. A short stalk followed and Clanton rapped up his 15 day elephant/sable hunt with yet another fine trophy.

Many hunters say that with hard work and perseverance, you make your own luck. I believe this to be true, but in Clanton’s case the scale was definitely tipped in his favour.

Peter has been hunting dangerous game throughout Zimbabwe as a fully qualified Professional hunter since 1987 and can be contacted at petergarvin14@gmail.com

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Help us stop those poaching bastards.

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The BorderLine Walk is in support of antipoaching efforts for Black Rhino in the Savè Valley. Initiated by Hunters for Zimbabwe, the walk will be 3066 kilometers long: 813 kilometers along the Botswana border, 797 km. along Zambia, 225 km. along South Africa, and finally 1231 km. along the Mozambique border. The BorderLine Walk will be widely covered by the media and progress will be published on the African Expedition Magazine and tracked on Google Earth.

The BorderLine walk will support anti-poaching efforts to prevent this from happening again: a young black rhino caught in a poacher’s snare. This baby died a few days after this photograph was taken.

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Support Hunters for Zimbabwe by buying David Hulme’s great new book, Shangaan Song. Proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to support the BorderLine Walk – a foot journey of approximately three thousand kilometers along Zimbabwe’s border. The BorderLine Walk is an initiative aimed at raising awareness for Hunters for Zimbabwe, an organization whose primary objective is the advancement of Zimbabwean people and wildlife.

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News courtesy www.sagoodnews.co.za

Africa - the good news

The good news from Africa

Waking Up the World Up to Business in the New Africa While Africa is on the move, most of the world slumbers. Why do I say this? In Charlotte, North Carolina, a “new” market for promoting business in Africa, I had the great opportunity to speak about the business potential in Africa on a local radio talk show with Vince Coakley. But I was shocked that the majority of people, who called in, were harsh in their perspectives on Africa, particularly South Africa. This woke me up to how much the world still needed to be awakened to business in the New Africa.

The callers saw no hope or light. They were mostly truthful about what they had to say about crime, corruption, and security in what they understood.

They weren’t vicious, but you could tell they actually believed or felt what they were saying.

I reminded the audience that US history wasn’t so great for human rights and politics in the 1800s. We had one of the bloodiest civil wars in history almost a hundred years into our history. And even though we are supposed to be a beacon for human rights today, we have a lot of problems here in the US. African democracies are at most 60 years old and places like DR Congo less than ten years. Countries in this stage of development will not have the institutional strength, or strong rule of law in general, as mature democracies yet they grow fast and provide opportunities unmatched elsewhere.

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The final point I made was that every country has its problems, but also has opportunities. It’s important to find what works for you in business and be open to possibilities.

This experience re-affirms my opening statement.

There is a New Africa, but most of the world is unaware and little is being done to wake them up to the full reality of the Africa of today and of the future.

You probably think that this article is about the callers and people like them, but it’s not. It’s about the millions of people who know something about the New Africa, but remain silent, passive, or accepting of what is said and propagated. Everyone should have a right to speak and to his or her opinion, but those opinions do not have to go unchallenged or probed.

We who know should be sharing about the things in Africa that do work and how it is progressing. While admitting that Africa has the highest rate of poverty and HIV/AIDs in the world, we should be pointing out that the rate of poverty has slowed and the number of new HIV/ AIDS cases is slowing compared to the growth of the continent’s population.

In business, we should be sharing about the low debt levels in many of the countries compared to the West and how investment risk in the West is rising.

Also, we should be sharing about the impact African innovation is having on the mobile sector around the world. While this is “old” news to many of us, it is

“new” news to most of the world.

It is not about create platforms to change the perception of Africa, even though more are needed. It is about individuals and organizations embedding Africa into normal, everyday, mainstream conversation.

If people are talking about interesting news, share a comparative or insightful perspective on what is happening in Africa.

If you are focusing on business and investment in Africa, here are a few tips I gave on “pitching” Africa when I spoke last year at the launch of one of our books at the World Bank: ●● Let Africa sell itself. ●● Watch the terms you use, e.g., wealth creation versus poverty reduction. ●● Be authentic – share realities, successes, and potential. ●● Place Africa in context of what is happening in other global regions. ●● Focus on Africa as an upcoming, emerging region, which already has close to 20 emerging economies. ●● Don’t sell Africa at the exclusion of other global regions, but as part of a global strategy – one of several regions a global business strategy should touch. ●● Explain how Africa can be used to expand markets and extend globally. ●● Show people who have a passion to make a difference in Africa how they can achieve this by supporting for-profit ventures, or marketbased social enterprises, which are more sustainable.

We also need to broaden our engagement. We need to move beyond circles that are familiar with Africa and get into mainstream business and social groups

and share about the continent. Go and plant seeds where conversation about Africa in terms of business and investment would be new.

Finally, I do have some good news to share about the close of the recent radio interview. Several callers actually shared positive perspectives.

One caller shared his experience about being in Cote d’Ivoire. He found the people to warm, welcoming, and hard-working. He said Cote d’Ivoirien pineapples were much better than Hawaiian, and if he had the money he would invest there.

This caller represents to me an untapped, deep spring of people that I know exists. We just need to reach them.

And concerning the rest of the world, it’s not up to the world to change its perception of Africa. It’s up to us to create a new perception of Africa.

Authors: Africa Good News Editor

Leveraging Zambia to Do Business in Africa Zambia is among the top African countries in which it is easier to do business, according to Greg Marchand, CEO of Gizmos Solutions, an IT consulting and engineering firm in Zambia. It is also expected to be one of the fastest growing countries in the world through 2015. For US firms, there is also the bonus of being able to trade in US dollars.

Zambia is a land-locked country with around 13 million people. Being land-locked presents challenges for supply chains, as it can be difficult and costly to get freight into the country. Since supply chains are a critical aspect of doing business, Marchand suggests using supply chains that have been developed by others. “Zambia was a colony of England and there’s still a lot of government, as well as economic ties. South Africa is a huge trading partner; China is a big trading partner; India is a big trading partner,” Volume 4 Issue 4 AFRICAN EXPEDITION MAGAZINE | 89

he says. “So, those supply chains have been more established. The more you shift between two locations, the more efficient you’re going to be. America doesn’t have a lot of trade with Africa right now and the majority of commerce between the United States and Africa is in the oil industry.”

The nature of Zambia’s geographic, but land-locked, location also presents a major opportunity, Marchand says, “We (Zambia) are actually surrounded by eight countries and we have a total of twelve borders to eight countries, which provides us with a unique opportunity to be a trade hub – for people to bring their products in and maybe add some value.”

Zambia is a member of the regional economic community – Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). Even though Zambia has 13 million people, it has access to a market size of over 250 million people in SADC. Besides being a geographically significant hub, Zambia is endowed with abundant minerals like copper, land, and water. China has taken advantage of this abundance to meet its demand for minerals due to growth in sectors like manufacturing. This is indicative of its investment in SADC countries – the largest investments in 2009 were in the resource-rich countries of Democratic Republic of Congo (~$228 million) and Zambia (~$112 million) according to the Ministry of Commerce in China.

Marchand also notes that the capital city of Lusaka is considered prime real estate, “Lusaka has been recognized in a recent Citi report as being one of the best investment locations for land in the world. This report basically outlined where good investors are putting their money and Lusaka is number two on the list…”

For US businesses, Marchand points out several opportunities specifically suited to American companies in Zambia and other parts of Africa, “If I look at the IT infrastructure sector, which is [what] I am in, we are in the fastest growing telecommunications market in the world. We have a +20% compound growth rate in cell phone subscribers. Other major G8 countries are building the IT backbone in Africa and that’s going to be something that’s going to be huge down the road…In the power sector, America has not been as much involved as they have been in the oil and gas extractive industry. Thirty percent of Africa has great power and the next 70 percent is going to be built by somebody,” he says. “We’re kind of missing that boat of developing the next generation of people who are into power generation in Africa. There are some long 90 | AFRICAN EXPEDITION MAGAZINE Volume 4 Issue 4

play, uptake opportunities for American companies to do generation and distribution.”

Yet there are other sectors growing and attractive to American companies interested in entering Zambia.

“There’s also a large opportunity in financial services – insurance as well as primary commercial banking,” Marchand says. “I would say an American firm might not want to come in and do retail, but definitely commercial trade, all sorts of commercial support finance; there are some very lucrative businesses in Africa and it’s what fuels the growth in the economy and there are ways to mitigate your risk.”

Zambia may present great opportunities, but there are still challenges and risks. Marchand advises, “… the first thing you can do is do your homework, do your research, figure out some key contacts, me being one of them; the reason I founded an American Chamber of Commerce in Zambia is to facilitate trade and investment with Zambia and the United States…The commercial services part of the US Embassy is also a good place to start. I know our economics and political officer (in Zambia) is extremely proactive.”

Also, play up the networks in your local area, which may connect you to Africa. For example, a significant number of Africans work and go to school outside of the continent, so university alumni organizations can prove to be useful in exploring business in Africa shares Marchand. The key is to find the network and contacts that can help you navigate and execute successfully in Africa.

Featured image is by Dr. Ferdinand Groeger.

Download radio interview from here.

New Home for Black Rhinos in Kenya The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), in partnership with the Kenya Wildlife Services, has completed the second, and final phase of its US$72 250 (R560 000) project to transport 21 black rhinos from the privately owned Solio Ranch and Mugie Rhino Sanctuary, both in the Rift Valley province, to Ruma National Park in the southwestern Nyanza province.

Home to a wide variety of birds and animals, including roan antelope which are found nowhere else in Kenya, the 120-square-kilometer Ruma National Park is managed by the Kenyan Wildlife Services (KWS) and was declared a rhino sanctuary at the end of 2011.

Another advantage is that it is free of tsetse fly, that

large biting insect that transmits diseases such as sleeping sickness.

While the move was underway, the country’s forestry and wildlife minister Noah Wekesa reaffirmed Kenya’s stance on poaching, saying: “I want to send a strong message to the poachers that they shall be dealt with severely according to the law.”

He then said that his ministry will review current penalties for those caught poaching, and if necessary would make them harsher.

The move was also done to help encourage tourism in western Kenya. While it was once normal to see several rhino at once on a game drive, that is no longer the case, and the mighty animals were last seen in the area more than 50 years ago.

Saving the black rhino Kenya’s black rhino (Diceros bicornis) population now numbers just 620, when a few decades ago it stood at over 20 000. The lowest numbers were seen in the mid-1980s, when just 300 individuals remained.

The country, which once had one of the largest rhino populations on the continent, is working tirelessly to help save the remaining individuals, and has seen its efforts rewarded with the doubling of the population of black rhinos in recent years.

The ever-present poaching situation is a serious threat to the goals of KWS to boost the numbers.

However, Kenya has still escaped relatively lightly compared to the poaching toll in other countries. Of the almost 500 rhino killed in Africa over the past five years, 70 died in Kenya. In South Africa, 52 animals have been poached in 2012 alone – around one every day.

Most poaching activity occurs in South Africa and Zimbabwe because of the bigger populations found there.

The greatest demand for rhino horn comes from Asian countries, whose citizens mistakenly believe it has near-miraculous medicinal properties, and Middle Eastern nations such as Yemen, where the horn is carved into a highly prized dagger handle.

The sophistication and the level of organisation of poachers and illegal traders has soared in recent years. Poachers are becoming almost military in the precision and speed of their operations and it has been noted that some former soldiers, with their combat training, have taken to poaching.

Various groups such as the WWF, the International Rhino Foundation, the African Rhino Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and Saving Rhinos, to name a few, as well as national wildlife authorities, are fighting a constant battle to protect the sought-after beasts.

Because of the poaching problem, KWS conducts a rhino census every year between July and October in the Tsaveo West Sanctuary. A few months after the census, which provides information on the number and distribution of black rhinos, the animals’ ears are notched to help with identification and tracking.

During the 2010 exercise, transmitters were also inserted into the rhino horns. Under sedation, the animal received the device, which was placed into a hole drilled into the horn. The hole was sealed and the animal was marked, allowed to recover and then released.

By Lyndon Jaftha

Harnessing the Wealth of Minerals in Poor Nations Developing countries with potential mineral riches have often fallen prey to corruption and mismanagement. As a result, they’ve failed to benefit from their natural resources and remained in poverty. Now, new guidelines have been drawn up to help such countries harness their mineral wealth.

The World Economic Forum and The Boston Consulting Group have identified six steps to help poor countries cash in on their mineral deposits. The recommendations are based on the advice of 400 experts from NGOs, governments and mining companies.

Learning from the past “Historically, there have been so many cases where countries, who have lots of minerals, have systematically not developed those correctly. They haven’t done them in a socially or economically, what we call, responsible manner,” said Alex Wong, World Economic Forum’s senior director.

He said the “six steps” or “building blocks” can help prevent history from repeating itself.

“What’s happening now with the commodity price cycle that we’re in and the emergence of several countries onto the global stage - such as Mongolia, Guinea, Peru – these are countries who are now, for the first time in a way, having the opportunity to develop their mineral resources and using it as a major Volume 4 Issue 4 AFRICAN EXPEDITION MAGAZINE | 91

way for their countries to grow economically. So, it’s actually an incredible moment where we don’t want to make the same mistakes that have been made in the past,” he said.

Poor, yet mineral rich, countries face a number of challenges in developing their extraction industries.

These include not having the expertise, skills or resources at hand to develop the industries. Another issue may be a failure to get local communities and civil society involved in the process. And often the negotiating process has not been transparent.

“So, people actually don’t understand what are the terms of the agreement. They have, therefore, mismatched expectations and lack of communication, which then obviously causes lots of tension and misunderstanding,” said Wong.

Doing what’s right Wong said the recommendations help create a climate of trust, which can lead to all the stakeholders benefiting from the mineral wealth.

“First of all, promoting capacity building and knowledge sharing. And that includes making sure everybody understands how to do it. How to develop these mineral resources in a responsible manner. Making sure people understand the costs and benefits associated. The second category of actions is around collaborative processes, processes both at the national level and at the local level. So that you have mechanisms and processes for people to be included in the discussions and have a feeling that they’re part of the negotiations and the outcomes,” he said.

The final category of recommendations concerns transparency and dispute resolution.

Wong cautioned there is not an immediate return on investment for mineral rich countries, as there may be for oil-rich nations.

In for the long-term “In mineral development, in particular, it’s especially challenging because governments don’t actually often get their revenue that comes from the process of extracting their minerals until a good 10 to 15 years later in some cases. And whereas oil is probably a little more immediate because you get stuff under the ground, you ship it out and the government’s seeing revenues,” he said.

Wong said there’s been a good initial response to the Framework for Advancing Responsible Mineral Development. It highlights 22 successful projects in such countries as Mongolia, Liberia, Ghana and 92 | AFRICAN EXPEDITION MAGAZINE Volume 4 Issue 4

Chile. He says a second initiative promoting responsible mineral extraction is the World Bank-led Extractives for Development initiative, or E4D.

By Joe DeCapua

South Africa Develops Hi-Tech Solution to Fix Roads South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has successfully piloted new road technology, specifically designed to improve the lifespan of roads that carry heavy traffic. If the technology is implemented nationally, it could mean the end of potholes on local roads.

Economic growth, higher traffic volumes and higher axle loads are some of the factors that have made it necessary to review how South Africa’s roads are built and maintained.

South Africa has a well developed and extensive road network of about 754 000 kilometres, of which over 70 000km are paved or surfaced roads.

HiMA technolog High-modulus asphalt (HiMA) technology, which can be used on main routes, high-volume urban roads and at airports, is now being considered for use in routine road design and construction in South Africa.

HiMA could become a cost effective, innovative solution to help meet the increased demands placed on the country’s road infrastructure.

HiMA is the South African name for an asphalt material type originally developed in France in the early 1990s. In France, the technology is now used extensively on main routes, airports and urban roads.

It is a composite material consisting of graded mineral aggregate blended with a hard bituminous binder.

It has improved resistance against permanent deformation and due to its high stiffness, provides better protection of underlying road layers. Its high binder content also makes it more durable.

Sustainable road maintenance A research project was established to investigate the feasibility of HiMA technology as a solution to sustainable road maintenance in the country.

It is a joint initiative of the CSIR and the Southern African Bitumen Association (Sabita).

Sabita represents various organisations involved in the manufacture and supply of bituminous road build-

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ing materials, construction, maintenance and design of roads.

explains the CSIR’s Dr Erik Denneman, who also heads up the longer-life roads project.

At the request of Sabita, the CSIR was asked to develop South African specifications for the design of HiMA mixes, using local components such as aggregate (crushed rock) and bitumen.

HiMA also decreases the life-cycle costs of roads, increases sustainability and decreases the use of nonrenewable materials such as aggregate and bitumen.

Bitumen is a binder used for asphalt and is derived from crude oil at refineries, together with other products such as fuel.

Testing the benefits The eThekwini municipality in Durban is the first road authority to implement the use of HiMA technology on a section of road at the entrance to the Durban harbour.

This road was the ideal trial site for HiMA technology as it’s a major access route to the harbour, and always in need of frequent maintenance. Paving of the HiMA layers on the road was completed in September last year.

The base layers were constructed using cost-effective road materials technology with improved performance to cater for the extreme volumes of heavy vehicles entering and leaving the harbour.

One of the HiMA mix designs used at the Durban harbour contained 20% reclaimed asphalt and could carry much higher traffic loads than traditional mixes.

The trial yielded positive results and eThekwini is looking to implement HiMA technology more widely within its municipal region.

Krishna Naidoo, senior manager of eThekwini’s road rehabilitation branch, says that the municipality is impressed with the results.

“We believe that HiMA offers a better solution, taking into account the challenges posed by the weather and high volumes of heavy, slow-moving traffic around the Durban harbour,” Naidoo says. “Any interruption of traffic in that area affects the national economy.”

If the harbour road requires less frequent rehabilitation, pollution generated by traffic jams caused by road repairs can also be reduced.

“The use of this technology in road construction leads to roads that last longer and need less maintenance, thus causing fewer delays for road users,”

Lifespan of roads Denneman says that HiMA is suitable for use in both new road construction projects and upgrading of existing roads.

“Roads lose strength over time due to traffic loads and this is why they need to be rehabilitated periodically,” he says.

He adds that HiMA can also be used to build ‘perpetual roads’. This is an innovative concept where roads are constructed to have a very high carrying capacity, using thick layers of high quality material.

Although this will cost more initially, in the long term the road would last longer and require less maintenance to the structural layer. Only the top layer would have to be replaced periodically.

“Over the life of the road, this will reduce road user delays considerably and increase the sustainable use of resources,” he says.

The durability of roads also depends on other factors such as the weather.

“As South Africa has a hot climate, it is important that the asphalt remains stable at high temperatures,” he says. On a hot day, the surface temperature of roads in South Africa can reach 60°C. Asphalt is a visco-elastic material, which means that its stiffness decreases at higher temperatures.

“One of the advantages of HiMA technology is that it has a stiffness at high temperatures that is significantly higher than that of conventional asphalt.”

Design guidelines for HiMA mixes The CSIR and Sabita have developed preliminary guidelines for the design of South African HiMA mixes and roads containing HiMA layers.

The guidelines will be incorporated into the updated, comprehensive South African Road Design Method undertaken by the CSIR and other organisations for the South African National Roads Agency.

By Wilma den Hartigh

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Hardwear for the bush

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Seeing is different than being told.

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.

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African Bush Cuisine

Courtesy Mama Africa’s Recipes at http://africas-best-recipes.blogspot.com/

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Don’t you just love it when justice is done: now we eat them!

Crocodile with Mango and Basil Sauce What you need: ●● 300gm crocodile tail or body fillet, cut into thin slices ●● 30gm peanut oil ●● 20gm basil leaves ●● 20gm parsley ●● 5gm chopped garlic ●● 20ml white wine vinegar ●● 200ml olive oil ●● 1 mango, stone removed ●● Salt and pepper How to prepare ●● Heat peanut oil in a frying pan, saute seasoned crocodile pieces for about 3 minutes then set aside and keep warm. ●● Blend basil, garlic, parsley, vinegar and olive oil in a food processor until smooth ●● Slice mango thinly and arrange on a plate. Place crocodile slices in the centre, drizzle basil sauce around the plate and garnish with fresh herbs Volume 4 Issue 4 AFRICAN EXPEDITION MAGAZINE | 103

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Make a Plan

CLICK HERE to buy your copy of Make a Plan now for only $8.50

Hints and advice are given in good faith to be of help in emergencies. The writer as well as the publisher, personnel and agents concerned does not accept any responsibility for any injury, accident or damages that might arise from the use of any of the hints.

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Soldering or welding in emergencies It happens. You are far from help and amenities and you urgently need to weld something that broke. Or the radiator of your vehicle leaks and the hole is too big to seal it with egg white or mustard powder Welding You can easily weld with 40 volt direct current and 120 ampere. You can also manage with 36 volt but 24 volt is the minimum, otherwise there will not be enough spark. You then need three or at least two 12 volt vehicle batteries that is connected in series to weld.

The problem is that 300 ampere is a little heavy and you can easily burn holes. The best will be to connect the batteries in series with galvanized wire, which will serve as resistance, to help confine the current. Just watch out, if the wire gets too hot, connect an- other wire in parallel. If you cannot remember, from school days, the difference between series and parallel ask your son.

To protect your eyes you can use two pairs of sunglasses together. It is not very comfortable but be wary for arc eyes – that is much more inconvenient. Now use the jumper leads of your vehicle as welding cables and clamps. As weld electrode you can use the carbon centre out of a torch battery. Sharpen the centre like a pencil and roll it in tinfoil (if need be out of a cigarette packet) and clamp it firm in the jaw of the one jumper lead. Then draw a spark with the carbon electrode to melt the area where you want to weld and then add extra metal in with wire that you fuse in (a coathanger or a piece of wire from a wire fence).

It helps, of course, if you have an old glow plug, a small roll of soldering, a couple of welding rods, and a piece of welding glass for eye protection in your toolbox. You already have galvanized wire (the fence next to the road).

You never know when you might need it.

Solder ●● Start a fire and heat a piece of metal to serve as soldering iron, A strong screwdriver or a rod with a flat point will also work. Still better is a diesel vehicles glow plug that you connect on the 12 volt battery, its point becomes perfectly warm for soldering work. ●● Scrape and rub the place thoroughly clean with sand or a piece of rock where you want to solder. A half a lemon or battery acid can also be used to clean the solder area of any remaining oil. ●● Inspect the joints of the radiator if there is not a little extra soldering that you can borrow or plunder, if need be, the necessary lead out of the contacts of light bulbs.

Dr Wallace Vosloo is an Engineer and Scientist by profession. His family has lived in Africa since 1696 and he has a deep love for the continent. He is a practical outdoorsman and loves traditional hunting, axe and knife throwing, longbow shooting, black powder rifle- and cannon shooting, salt and fresh water fly fishing and tracking. The art of survival is Wallace’s main field of interest and his passion is to transfer these old forgotten skills to young hunters.

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Your African safari is a unique experience.

Now you can document your hunt day by day and revisit those exciting times for years to come.

31 Full days of journaling space with vital information: ●● safari clothing ●● personal item checklists ●● health and first aid ●● mammal identification information with photographs, tracks, dung and SCI and Rowland Ward qualification minimums.

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Know how to administer CPR. Deal with dangerous animals up close.

Identify and treat bites from snakes, spiders and scorpions. Know the right emergency numbers to dial in an emergency – it’s all there.

A must-have item for every serious hunter.

Sturdy PlastiCoil binding for durability and easy opening, 110 pages, 6.0 x 9.0 in.

Full color covers and cream interior printed in black and white.

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John Eldredge

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True North Come home

Jesus came to reveal God to us. He is the defining word on God—on what the heart of God is truly like, on what God is up to in the world, and on what God is up to in your life. An intimate encounter with Jesus is the most transforming experience of human existence. To know him as he is, is to come home. To have his life, joy, love, and presence cannot be compared. A true knowledge of Jesus is our greatest need and our greatest happiness. To be mistaken about him is the saddest mistake of all.

The records of Christ are written so you can experience him as they did, this intimate connection with the Father and the Son. John says that you can enjoy the same friendship with Jesus that he knew. For this Jesus came.

So, if you do not know Jesus as a person, know his remarkable personality—playful, cunning, fierce, impatient with all that is religious, kind, creative, irreverent, funny—you have been cheated.

If you do not experience Jesus intimately, daily, in these very ways, if you do not know the comfort of his actual presence, do not hear his voice speaking to you personally—you have been robbed.

If you do not know the power of his indwelling life in you, shaping your personality, healing your brokenness, enabling you to live as he did—you have been plundered.

This is why we pray, Jesus, show me who you really are. I pray for the true you. I want the real you. I ask you for you. Spirit of God, free me in every way to know Jesus as he really is. Open my eyes to see him. Deliver me from everything false about Jesus and bring me what is true.

(Beautiful Outlaw, 21-23)