Hunting in the Selous - blocks?

Looking for some advice on hunting in the Selous.

If hunting cape buffalo and assorted plains game on a seven day licence in the Selous what is your opinion on the following blocks?

Selous:
MK1
R2 & R4
LU3



Thanks for any info you can provide. Replying to me by PM or email is also fine if you so desire.

Depending on time of year and weather conditions, MK1 is a very decent block. It borders the current Photo blocks in the selous and has good populations of plains game. R2 and R4 are also pretty good. Don't know much about LU3. For MK1 I would say early to Mid- August should be fine.

Good hunting!

I hunted MK1 in early September of 2002. It had good populations of plains game and average buffalo population. The concession holder was Intercon Adventure Safaris, Ltd. The camp was very basic and the camp staff was lousy. There was very limited refrigeration (no ice, no cold drinks). There was at least one other hunting party on that concession while we were there.

The train runs through MK1, so you can save on charter if you want. Just remember to get off at the Kinyanguru stop.

Regards,

Terry

That is the problem i outlined in the other thread "Mwanauta..." with concessionaires sub-leasing to 3rd parties. Intercon are another outfitter that subleases and like most others that do this, camps are managed by them who have little knowledge or means to do so properly.

Gentlemen,

Thankyou.

What is the terrain like in each block from your experience.

Open woodland, thick bush, riverine?

My only experience with the Selous is travelling West on the road through it on the way to Northern Malawi. I remember it being fairly open woodlands, but I do remember lots of elephant.

MK1 did not have a lot of high grass (unlike the Gonabisi Open Area across the river from MK1). It is mostly flat with the occasional small hill. It has a fairly thin riverine forest. Here are some pics of the terrain.

Anyone know what the terrain is like in R1?

I have hunted R1 about 11 years ago and it had great buffalo and plainsgame hunting then..It is hilly and flat where I was..At that time I believe the concession belonged to Christina and it was a great camp, staff and an excellent hunt...I was hunting with the Van Heerdens at that time.

I think we are hunting R2 this year with Pierre van Tonder...so will have a report in August.

Ray, is R2 where you shot the "Big Bull" on your web site????

Thanks for the comments Gentlemen. Thanks for the photos, Terry. Photos tell a thousand words.

Is R2 the same block as where Saeed and crew hunted with Van Tonder last year?

Hunt 101 is down the tubes, will post with new service.

Jim,

Do you recognize this place?



I should mention that I talked to a guy who hunted MK1 a few weeks after I did. His PH/outfitter was from Zimbabwe. They had trucked up all their camp equipment from ZIM (including fridge and freezer). They also brought some staff from ZIM. He had a better a experience than I did.

Regards,

Terry

The name is certainly familiar, but I got of the train on the north side of the tracks just at dark and headed for camp.

Our camp was on the Ruvu River and very comfortable. We had refrigeration and Ice. I believe the camp was Barry Ven Heerden's,

Jim,

What year was that? Did you cross a river to get to camp? Was your camp on the north or south side of the river? If you hunted MK1 you would have seen that station. There is only a couple of places to cross the railroad tracks and Kinyanguru is one of them. Did you ever see the railroad tracks while hunting? Barry Van Heerden had a camp in the Gonabisi in 2002, I spent a few days in his camp in the Gonabisi at the beginning of my safari.

You may have been hunting the Gonabisi instead of MK1. That last picture of yours looks more like the Gonabisi than MK1.

Regards,

Terry

jjs ----- What Block did we hunt with Pierre' this year. For some reason I cannot remember that after thinking at the time I would never forget it. Thanks in advance

Terry, the year was 2002. The PH told me would be hunting in MK1 and Gonabisi. We got off the train at the 5th stop which I was told was Kinyanguru, never saw the "station".

We did cross a river getting to camp, and I believe we were on the south side of the river. The other side of the river was a photo area.

Never did see the RR tracks while hunting.

Jim,

Sounds like you were in the Gonabisi. You would have been on the north side of river. South of the Gonabisi is KY1, the photo block. To the southeast of the Gonabisi (across the river) is MK1. If you hunted on MK1 you would have seen the railroad tracks (unless you just hunted the small strip of land south of the river and north of the railroad tracks).

Regards,

Terry

Terry,

Sure wish I had a good map of the area. Our camp was on a big turn on the Ruvu, and if I turn my "internal compass" a bit the picture matches your discription. We left camp and traveled north then east back to Dar, about a 10 hour drive.

Bottom line, camp was very good, staff was excellent, I harvested everything I went for, and had the opportunity to cull 4 Buff and 6 Wildebeast on my last day.

Jim,

Sounds like you had a great hunt and I know that the Gonabisi camp was better than the one in MK1.

Regards,

Terry

phurley:

I forgot as well...Possibly, Ray Atkinson will see this post and reply as to the area we hunted last year...I hope all is going well for you..

jjs

Terry

sounds like you know a lot about our areas specially MK1 and Gonabisi. Would you like to market them for us? actually we have additional blocks LU3, Irikishibor, Mto wa Mbu, R2 and R4. we are running the show at the moment building all the camps ourselves and avoiding subleasing to non expirenced camp builders and avoid problems like the one's you faced. please remain there are several more open dates if you are interested please get back to us.

Franklin T. Naivasha
Intercon Adventure Safaris Ltd,
JUED BLOCK PLOT No. 493;
ADJACENT TO SHOPPERS PLAZA;
OLD BAGAMOYO RD; MIKOCHENI;
P.O. BOX 2389 DAR ES SALAAM,
TANZANIA, EAST AFRICA
TEL; OFF:+255-22-2775454 FAX: +255-22-2775264,
MOBILE:+255-744 -323158, Email- intercon@ud.co.tz

Franklin,
Welcome to AR! It will be nice to have another member with direct knowledge about hunting in Tanzania. We have been trying to compile a list of who controls which blocks in Tanzania, and your post will certainly help. Of the blocks you control, can you tell us the hunting highlights of each?

MK1 or Gonabisi which hunting block is better for Buffalo Hunting ?!

Seloushunter

Nitro:

Why don't you book something in Masai? You could do a ten day there and shoot two buffalo for less than the Selous, and those are big buffalo. You don't need a charter, either.

Mk1 / Gonabisi 16 days 21 License for Sable / Eland / Buffalo / Hippo / Croc is this a good
area for this combination ?!

Seloushunter

Based on my limited experience, MK1 is better for buffalo than the Gonabisi. The Gonabisi is be better for plains game (except warthog).

When I was there, I was told there were no sable in MK1, not sure about the Gonabisi. I had sable on permit and never saw one. The Gonabisi is an Open Area (not an official part of the Selous) so there are villages in the Gonabisi and evidence of poaching. The Gonabisi is harder hunting than MK1, primarily because of the black cotton soil and (early in the season) the long grass. There is an area in the Gonabisi called "the blanket" which is a huge flat area of tall grass and black cotton soil that can swallow up herds of buffalo as if someone "threw a blanket over them".

When I was there, both the Gonabisi and MK1 were being rented out to numerous "suitcase" PHs, so there were several camps of hunters on both concessions. Each camp belonging to a different PH, not a lot of coordination or cooperation between camps.

If it were me, I would be looking at an outfitter that has exclusive control over the entire hunting block and who has put his own camp and staff in place. Be wary of some "sucitcase" PH who just flys into the concession only when he has a client and uses the leaseholder's camp and staff.

Regards,

Terry

Thanks for the useful information T.Carr .
What about hippo hunting on land in MK1 is there a big river ?!
Seloushunter

There is a river separating the two blocks (see the croc picture in one of my previous posts above). Don't know about hippo hunting on land, but there are hippo in the river.

Regards,

Terry

Anybody hunted LU3 Selous in the past ?!
How about Buffalo and general plainsgame there ?

r.
Seloushunter

Saeeds party hunted LU2 Lakula) last year, then moved to LU1 and/or Mahenge South...

R1, R2 and Lu3 are excellent blocks, at least the last time I hunted them they were.

The last time I hunted R1, and that was in about 1990 as I recall, it had the best plainsgame population, best damn Impala (I shot a almost 30"er there), and great buffalo..It should still be good...Most of the Selous is good, I have never had a bad hunt in the Selous.

The Masai can be fantastic, but it can also be terrible, depending on the concession, and weather conditions, time of year etc.

Which PH,Outfitter can arrange 2005 hunts in LU3 Selous ?!

r.
Seloushunter

I just had 2 clients return yesterday from the bush, R2, and they report 3 Buff each and tall grass about nose high. This info is from a early email from one of them and I will know more later.

--Cunningham--

What else shot your clients in R2.Lion,Leopard mayby Elephant...

r.
seloushunter

Nitrox are you only looking to hunt specifically in those Selous blocks?

If you're open to others, we own K1,K2 and LU5 all which are excellent for buff and plains game.

We have hunters in K1&K2 right now, they've already shot 1 lion, 2 leopard (one which was exceptionally large), a big croc, 5 buff and numerous plains game.

All the best,
Mohanjeet

Folks,

If you are still looking for a buffalo hunt for this year we still have some openings in MoBrar's K2 Oct.-Nov. These are prices that won't be seen again at $7500 ea. for a 7 day 2x1 buffalo. This price includes the charter and 1 buff. There are no other charges. A 1x1 or 10 day can be arranged also. Plains game available per trophy fee basis.

Regards,

Mark

JJS, Jim,
I shot the big buffalo on my web page in 2003, the first year Saeed hunted with us...That camp is across the river from Panos camp, on the Kilumbero River,next to Swanopole and fairly close to Cristinas Selous block as I recall..Ask Pierre when your over there, or maybe the Judge would know, he hunted next to it as I recall...????????The good buff I used to have on my web page was shot in R1 or R2, when Christina had it...I have hunted so many blocks it has become a blur..I have never hunted in a bad block in the Selous.

---Atkinson---

How about Pierres Safaris until now in R2.I wonder there are many big lions ?!

r.
seloushunter

Ray:

Before Pierre headed out to Tanzania I did speak with him about R2. Pierre mentioned that you had shot a Big Buff in R2 that was on your web site...so that must be it!

I am so ready to chase after those Buff!

JJS,
Yes I did but that Buff is no longer on the web page, He and I shot a bigger one on the Kilumbero in 2003 and thats the one that is now on my web page...The R2 bull is on my wall to be replace soon by the other one.

I thought Adam Clements had the LU5 concession?

I hope I'm right since I have a deposit on a hunt there in 2006!!!

What's the deal?