Canadian pays for hunt that never existed

A total of $45 000, or R820 000. This is how much a Canadian hunter is said to have lost on his 70th birthday as a present to himself after allegedly being swindled by the controversial hunting operator, Charoline Wepener.

Curt Thompson from White Horse in the Yukon district in northern Canada, is currently on a hunting trip in Mozambique with his life partner, Mary-Ellen Mason.

Thompson won an auction for a Cape buffalo hunt which was “sponsored” by Senga Senga.

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Thompson told Lowvelder that he first made contact with Wepener, who operates under the name Mozambique Senga Senga Hunting Safaris, in December last year, when he booked a trip to hunt in the country. In a follow-up deal he booked a backpack hunting trip for Monday July 1, 2024.

After his current hunting excursion, he would have flown to Johannesburg and then taken a flight back to the small Lichinga Airport in the Niassa Province of Mozambique.

In February, he made a cash deposit of $45 000 into Wepener’s personal account.

This was a package deal to hunt an elephant, leopard, kudu, zebra, crocodile and a sable antelope. However, he has been trying to get hold of Wepener with no success since April.

It was only a week ago that he found out that Wepener is reportedly no stranger allegedly selling apparent fake hunting excursions.

Lowvelder reported in February about a German hunter who was lucky to have an amount of R375 000 refunded after he had been “sold” a six-metre long crocodile to hunt.

According to Thompson, he has already appointed a private detective to assist him in laying fraud charges against Wepener.

Over the weekend, another victim of a similar swindle, Dylon Lencioni (29) from Great Falls, Montana in the United States, flew back home empty-handed after he had lost $19 000 (R320 000). He had arranged to hunt a buffalo, bushbuck, leopard, impala, nyala and a zebra.

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He also arrived at the Lichinga Airport only to discover that nobody was there to take him on his hunting trip. Lencioni tried in “vain to get hold of Wepener”. He decided to cut his losses and return home.

Efforts to track Wepener down for comment this week were unsuccessful and when Lowvelder visited her home in Barberton on Tuesday June 18, all was quiet. Wepener’s mother, Rachel Visagie, who is also involved in Gametech, a hunting outfit operated by Wepener, told other media outlets that she hasn’t had any contact with her daughter.

Neither Visagie nor her partner, Chris Geel, replied to messages sent by Lowvelder.

Sources in Barberton said they recently saw her driving around town in a family member’s bakkie.