Africa 101

My first safari was only a South African plains game hunt. I didn’t stalk buffalo in the long grass, stare down a charging elephant, or track a black-mane lion through the Kalahari sands, but the week I spent stalking kudu and tracking eland was one of the highlights of my life. The incredible variety of game and almost non-stop game sightings were like nothing I’d experienced. The warm South African hospitality, fine food, and incredible weather were icing on the cake. By the time I boarded the flight home from what I thought was an once-in-a-lifetime safari, I was already planning my next one.

I knew I had it bad when, a few months after my first safari, I started trying to figure out how to make my living in the hunting business. By the time I left for my second safari, I’d already sold my successful mortgage business and gone full-time into the booking business. The early years were lean ones to be sure, but I learned an awful lot about hunting in Africa and had a ton of fun along the way. The best part of it has been helping folks realize their dream of hunting in Africa.

Choosing a destination for your first safari can be a difficult decision. Identifying your priority species and budget will help narrow the choices considerably. After that, it’s a matter of weighing the pros and cons of each country to find the perfect hunt for you.

Common Plains Game
You can get a really good seven-day plains game hunt for $5,000-6,000. You’ll get four or five nice animals, stay in fabulous accommodations, and be treated like a king in the process. That incredible value is why so many first-timers start with a plains game safari.

You can hunt plains game across Africa, but the majority of hunters travel to southern Africa in pursuit of the more common and affordable plains game species. Zimbabwe is still a good plains game destination, but poaching and concerns about the stability of the government have kept many first-timers away. Botswana is primarily a dangerous game destination, but the Kalahari Desert and the ranches along its southern border in the Tuli Block are increasingly popular.

Great infrastructure, low population density, big hunting areas, and rich wildlife populations are just some of the reasons Namibia is one of the most popular plains game destinations in Africa. Visiting hunters also appreciate the fact that it’s easy to get to from Frankfurt or Johannesburg, and obtaining firearms permits upon arrival is fast and painless. But as hunter-friendly as Namibia is, it wouldn’t attract so many hunters were it not for its fantastic hunting.

When most hunters think of Namibia, they think of rapier-horned gemsbok and rolling, red sand dunes. That classic image is very much Namibia, but Namibia has a rich diversity of habitat, from the harsh Namib Desert to the brushy Nama Karoo. Native Namibian species like kudu, gemsbok, eland, blue wildebeest, red hartebeest, springbok, impala, and warthog thrive in their native environs, and outstanding trophies are taken across the country. Some species, like the Damara dik-dik, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, and black-faced impala, are uniquely Namibian.

Namibia has long been a favorite of safari hunters in search of affordable hunts and large, un-fenced ranches. Namibia is no longer cheap, but it’s still pretty darn affordable. High fences are starting to pop up, too, but they aren’t as prevalent as they are in South Africa, and the ranches are, on average, a bit bigger. The downside is few Namibian outfitters offer as many species as their South African competitors.

That incredible variety of game and a long-established hunting industry used to catering to American hunters is why South Africa is still the top destination for first-time bwanas. Hunters stay in everything from tented camps to genuine five-star lodges, with options to suit just about every taste and budget. It is very easy to get to South Africa from just about anywhere, and thanks to services that obtain your gun permits in advance for a nominal fee, getting in and out with your favorite rifle is downright easy.

One reason so many hunters return to South Africa time after time is the sheer variety of game. It is not uncommon for outfitters to offer as many as 40 species, most of which can be hunted from the main lodge. You may have to travel a bit to take them all, but with a little advance planning, you can take a veritable Noah’s Ark full of species without spending your entire safari watching Africa fly by through the windshield.

You can find hunting ranches all over South Africa, but most of the hunting takes place in four provinces. The Eastern Cape offers the greatest variety of game, with the East Cape kudu, Cape bushbuck, Cape grysbok, lechwe, bushpig, and caracal being some of the East Cape’s specialty species. The Limpopo Province is known for outsized kudu, blue wildebeest, warthog, bushbuck, and impala, while Natal is the province of choice for nyala, red duiker, and world-class Cape bushbuck. The Northwest Province is another popular destination, with large ranches and outstanding Kalahari species like kudu and gemsbok.

High fences are a fact of life in South Africa, but many outfitters have properties big enough that the fences are not a factor. And if the fences do bother you, some outfitters do offer fair-chase hunts on huge concessions without high fences.

Whether you’re outfitter’s property is high-fenced, low-fenced, or unfenced, rest assured that the reputable outfitters in Namibia and South Africa will do their damndest to make your first safari the hunt of a lifetime.

The Big Five
The Big Five consists of buffalo, rhino, elephant, leopard, and lion. If you dream of Africa, odds are at least one of them is on your wish list. I’ll break hunting opportunities for all of them down by country.

Botswana
Hunting in Botswana takes place primarily in outfitter-leased, government-controlled concessions. The most commonly-hunted dangerous game concessions are located in and around the Okavango Delta and the Chobe National Park.

Elephants abound in Botswana, with many of the biggest tuskers in modern Africa coming from the government concessions around the Okavango and Chobe. In those areas with little resident pressure and adequate water, buffalo, plains game, and big cat populations are high. Success rates and trophy quality for elephant, buffalo, and leopard are excellent in the better areas.

Unfortunately, the current administration in Botswana is not very high on hunting as a conservation tool. As a consequence, hunting of high-profile animals like lion and sitatunga are closed, and quotas for everything but elephants have been slashed. Hunt Botswana while you still can.

Mozambique
Mozambique’s varied habitats and vast hunting areas are home to four of the Big Five. Rhinos are long gone, but elephants are making a comeback, the buffalo population is healthy, and big cats thrive in the massive, game-rich concessions.

Buffalo are the most commonly pursued big game animal in Mozambique, but hunting methods vary greatly due to Mozambique’s diverse habitat. Many outfitters track buffalo as they do across Africa, but in wet areas like Coutada 10, hunters rely on Argos to traverse the giant swamps in search of the swooping cattle egrets that betray the buffalos’ presence as they gorge on bloated buffalo ticks. Success rates are very high in the better areas, and trophy quality is good.

Leopards are plentiful through most of Mozambique, and success rates are on par with baited hunts in other countries. Lions are good but difficult to hunt in most of Mozambique, though the better outfitters produce some outstanding cats each year. Elephant populations are strong, with a few elephants in northern and central Mozambique having outstanding ivory. Unfortunately, quotas are limited and Mozambique ivory may not be legally imported into the United States.  

Namibia
Namibia is not known for dangerous game, but the Caprivi Strip in far northern Namibia is home to huntable populations of buffalo, elephant, leopard, and lion. Success rates are good and trophy quality is fair, but it’s that classic, old-school feel that makes a tent camp-based safari in the Caprivi tough to beat.

Namibia’s best-kept secret, at least until recently, is outstanding leopard hunting. The entire country supports an outstanding leopard population, with ranch lands around the capital city producing some truly monstrous toms. Success rates, especially with the introduction of hound hunting, are also very high.

Unfortunately, as I write this, it looks like leopard hunting in Namibia will be shut down for the 2010 season while the Namibian government tries to sort out how they should adjust the permit system to account for the higher success rate of hound hunting.

South Africa
South Africa is primarily a plains game destination, but it’s the best place to hunt white rhinos with a gun or tranquilizer dart. South Africa also has excellent leopard populations, though permits are limited and South African cats are slippery after generations of persecution.

Most dangerous game hunting in South Africa takes place on ranches, but there are a few areas surrounding Kruger Park that hold huntable populations of buffalo, lion, and elephant. These hunts aren’t cheap, but they’re successful and trophy quality tends to be very high.

Tanzania
Tanzania has the classic, tented camps and white-jacketed camp attendants I always envisioned when I dreamt of Africa. It also has an incredible variety of plains game that can’t be hunted anywhere else. But dangerous game is Tanzania’s big draw.

Lion, leopard, buffalo and elephant are all available in Tanzania. Elephants through most of Tanzania are fair at best, but some parts of southern Tanzania produce some outstanding ivory. Leopards are plentiful, while lions are present in large numbers in the better areas. MGM-type lions are increasingly harder to come by, but I’d look at Rungwa in central Tanzania, Maswa in northern Tanzania, or Moyowasi in western Tanzania if a big lion were at the top of my wish list.

Human encroachment, poaching, and unscrupulous outfitters have adversely affected some hunting areas, but Tanzania still produces some truly monstrous buffalo. Certain Masailand concessions, Maswa, and Moyowasi would be my top picks for big dugga boys.

Zambia
The game management areas in the Kafue Plateau and Luangwa Valley are the main destinations for Zambia-bound big game hunters. Rhino are long gone and elephant are making a comeback, but they are not yet huntable. Big cats are a specialty of both areas, with stout-bodied, blocky-headed toms possible in many GMAs. Lion hunting is good in both areas, with the Kafue producing slightly better manes than the Luangwa Valley. Western Zambia also produces big-bodied leopards and some outstanding lions. In the north, Tondwa also has very good cat hunting.

Most of Zambia’s dangerous game areas boast excellent buffalo hunting. Populations, particularly in the Kafue and Luangwa Valley, are quite high, which gives visiting sportsmen lots of bulls to pick through. Trophy quality is very good, though you’ll have to work hard and need a bit of luck to pry a monster from the thick brush.

Zimbabwe
Great value is why Zimbabwe is the most popular dangerous game destination. Elephants are abundant across Zimbabwe and prices are reasonable. They vary according to the average trophy size in the area, with the least expensive trophy hunts costing less than $20,000. The best areas can produce ivory of 70 pounds or more, yet they are significantly less expensive than a Botswana hunt. Inexpensive hunts for tuskless cows are another draw.

Zimbabwe would not be my first pick for a lion safari, but they do shoot some nice lions there each year. Leopards are abundant, with the Lowveld area in the south producing the biggest toms.

Success rates are good with the best outfitters, but Zimbabwean cats are wily, so be prepared to hunt hard.

Buffalo are plentiful and affordable in Zimbabwe. Trophy quality is good in most of the dangerous game areas, though Zim wouldn’t be my first choice for a true monster bull. But buffalo hunting is all about the experience, and a classic, tracking hunt in Zimbabwe’s thick bush offers that in spades. I’ve enjoyed great buffalo hunts in Zimbabwe’s lowveld, Chirisa in the central midlands, and Chete in the Zambezi Valley, but Zimbabwe has an awful lot of good hunting areas. Pick an outfitter you trust and go with their recommendation.

Super Exotics
There’s an awful lot of Africa I didn’t cover, but this piece was aimed more at first-timers than Africa addicts. I haven’t forgotten about more out-of-the-way destinations like Ethiopia, the CAR, or Benin. Nor have I forgotten about super-exotic species like the elusive bongo, Lord Derby’s giant eland, or the mountain nyala. But those hunts are more like graduate work for the continent. Hopefully, newcomers will find this short primer helpful.

Greg Rodriguez is the owner/operator of Global Adventure Outfitters, Inc. For more information on Global Adventure Outfitters, please visit the company website or facebook business page. You can also follow Greg's adventures via his facebook fan page.