If you are interested in Tanzania,you may want to E-Mail Con Van Wyk at con@consaf.com. I have hunted the Selous with him. I am planning on hunting with him in October of 2005 for Lion and Buffalo.

When all was said and done, the total cost was a good as any hunt I had looked at. We harvested two Buffalo, Wildebeast, Hartebeast, Zebra and Impala.

We also have some good folks on this board that can set you up with a great hunt.

I have been counting the costs of what my hunt will run me and although I want a lion really bad, they are just to darn expensive. (I added up everything I could think of down to the last bullet, box, and board) I have come to accept that I may have to settle for a cape buffalo. (Yeah, like that's a terrible comprimse! ) Anyway, who have you guys booked your nyati hunts with? Do most of you use a booking agent, like Tony da Costa, Safari Outfitters, or one of the many agents that post here, or do you book direct with the PH? (Just out of curiosity, have any of you booked a buff hunt with Tony da Costa?) What are some good places to direct my focus on in which I could get a good quality hunt for buffalo and some plainsgame? I appreciate your input.

Sevens

Sevens
In your quest for a Lion have you considered cutting back on your plains game bag? I know that in ZIM the trophy fee for Lion is about the same as 3 or 4 plains game [depends on which plains game], but I know which I had rather hunt.

Hi Sevens,

I've currently have 2 open dates due to cancellations, which are now at a slightly discounted price. I've sent you an e-mail with details and if it's of interest please let me know.

They're a case of first come first served and I would expect them to sell fairly quickly.

Sevens,
you may also want to look at Miombo's website www.miombosafaris.com They have great buffalo areas in Selous, Rungwa and Kilombero and do run specials for buff. Their camps and standards are very good.

Plainsgame Safari ----- $350/day
Lion Safari ----------- $1000/day with 16-day minimum

How is cutting down on a few plainsgame trophies going to pay for a lion hunt?

The daily rates for lion is what makes it expensive. Most of the hunts advertised also have to be booked to include at least on of the other big five. I would like a lion, but I dont want to be in Africa for 2 weeks shoot only one animal. Buffalo is much cheaper than lion and I can shoot some plains game. I was looking more towards Zimbabwe. Do you think it will be safer in 2006? Thanks for the input.

Sevens

Probably not. .....but if you do choose Zim then I would suggest you make sure you use one of the old established companies and not a newcomer.

What about Zambia? Are they "stable"? It seems like a 10 day buffalo & plains game hunt could be done there for a reasonable price. Any thoughts?

Sevens

Sevens:

As a one time only hunter in Africa, I would like to remind you that a cat stalking a herd always picks out one animal-and goes for that animal only. In other words, concentration is really the name of the game. NE 450 No.2 is giving good advice. If it's lion you really want, then go for lion. I really can't imagine that you would find shooting a warthog or impala as a reasonable compromise against hunting LION. It happens that a Cape buffalo is one hell of an impressive trophy. He will also make you very nervous, indeed. I'm not saying that you shouldn't go for buff (he was my animal). I'm saying that if it really is lion that you want, then concentrate on him. I am sure that the outfitters in this forum could even set you up to hunt buff as well. No, I'm not saying that you have to break the bank. I'm saying that this is your first trip and you want a lion. Then go for lion. ( I will now draw a lot of flak, I suppose, but a lot of plains game are easy to shoot. Don't substitute them for the real reason you want to go to Africa)

Most hunters seem to pick Buffalo as their first Dangerous Game animal to hunt here in Africa. Prices are less expensive than the other of the Big 5 and they are bucketfulls of excitement.

Wherever you book, I suggest that you look for a good quality company rather than necessarily the least expensive. The forums currently (or recently) have posts from more than one disappointed hunter who went with unprofessional outfits and regretted it.

I guess the 2 best pieces of advice would be to check references carefully and insist on a detailed safari contract.

Sevens;

The post by Shakari also reminded me that you really do get what you pay for when you book to go to Africa. PLEASE be wary when you read of prices that look like a "steal". They are - only the "steal" may be from your wallet. Think about these factors - 1) How much the outfitter had to pay the local government to get a "concession' or "lease". (The local government isn't stupid and gets high prices for areas teeming with game) 2) what sort of equipment does the outfitter have? Does he have more than one truck? (In the States we refer to the one truck contractor) Don't think it's important? You will if that one truck breaks down on your 7-10 day hunt 3) Who, exactly is the PH? The outfitter with whom you booked is his employer and pays him. As in all walks of life, a good man is worth his pay. Don't you want your outfitter to have outbid the others in getting him - considering that the PH isn't a "guide" (like in the States) but is a bodyguard? 4) How about the thousand other little things that make life in the tropics, even in the bush, a little bit better? What are they? I could write a book about it but believe me, you do want those people to be there and help you to enjoy what should be the experience of a lifetime.

I am being very cautious and am not looking for the cheapest hunt I can find. I am trying my best to look at hunts offered by high quality outfitters. I have been looking for a 10 day hunt, but maybe I'm approaching this wrong. I want 10 days to safely secure my buffalo, and then have some time to shoot some plainsgame, but is 10 days needed? Can this be done on a 7 day hunt? For those of you who have done the buffalo/plains game hunt, what country did you go to?

Gerald, you bring up a good point to go for what I really want. You have a good analogy with the cat, but the cat does not always get its prey. A lion is my dream, but for the cost to get into an area with good success and get the one lion, I could go for a buffalo and a few other game species and still come out cheaper. What I want is to shoot one of the big five and then shoot some other animals. If I am going to go half way across the world, I want to shoot more than one animal. I will get my lion hunt one day though, but probably not this trip.

Sevens

Sevens:

Now I understand you more clearly. Now it would be my emphatic advice to go for buff and, yes, you can do 'plains game" as well. ( Impala and warthog are easy to shoot. Kudu is a difficult animal and sable is almost in the category of "exotic" game. Depending where you are, zebra (a very difficult animal to drop by the way)might be available and certainly spell AFRICA when you get the hide back home. I am certain that Cape buffalo will put the fear of god into you every bit as much as any other animal. (I was scared of elephant too at 75 feet but I had an agreement with the elephant. "You leave me alone and I'll leave you alone")

Sevens,
I know we discussed this on earlier threads,but the June 2004 issue of "The Hunting Report" has an article titled "New Threat to Lion Hunting". The article concerns upgrading lions to Appendix 1. Your lion hunt dream may stay a dream if the anti's have their way. I can't help notice how you keep coming back to lion hunting. It is obvious you have a strong desire for this hunt. I hope you get your chance to hunt this great animal.If there is any way you can manage the finances, now is the time. Who would have ever thought Desert Sheep would be running 50K to 60K in Mexico. Lion will either be off limits or the price will make the sheep hunts look like pocket change. I wish you the best of luck on whatever you decide.

In response to your Tony Dacosta question, my husband and I used him for leopard/plainsgame in 1994 and buffalo/sable/plainsgame in 1996. He and Sylvia are very nice people. When my husband booked his 2000 lion hunt,he wanted to hunt Chirisa in Zimbabwe.We used Safari Outfitters(very good people), as they represented HHK Safaris,who have the Chirisa concession.

Kathi

kathi@wldtravel.com

Kathi,

Yeah, I do keep coming back to lion and believe me, if I find a lion hunt that I can afford I will take it. I have a good friend, who is also a booking agent, who is helping to find a lion. Nyati is the hunt I'm looking at, but every price list and brochure I see, the lion is the first thing I look at. Only time will tell what hunt I go on. I think though, you will find I want to shoot just about anything and everything. I haven't been hunting that long, so I want to extend my trophy collection.

Sevens

Sevens,

Length of time required on a safari all depends on quality of hunting area, and to a lesser extent species sought. The area we use in the the Selous Reserve has 2 perennial rivers running through it and hence always holds good game populations......A 7 day licence in Tanzania allows you to take (all males):- 2 Buffalo, 2 Wildebeest, 1 Impala, 1 Warthog, 1 Zebra & 1 L. Hartebeest, and 7 days is plenty of time to do it.......we've never had a client fail on this.

If you want to extend to 10 days we allow you to do so and you only pay an additional daily rate which includes the additional government conservation fees.......but you don't NEED the extra 3 days.......but obviously the more time you spend in the bush, the nicer it is.

If you need to know what species occur on what licence you'll find the entire list on my website.

So what is the least expensive lion hunt that is worth going on? Most of the lion hunts I have seen are 21 days and are around 30K. Is this the going rate? Lucky for my family I have no desire to hunt lion. The other hunts I want to do keep us in poor enough shape. "D"

Damn, I really never considered it just "settling" for a buff. They are IMO one of the most action-packed hunts that are available to modern man. I've hunted leopard and will hunt elephant in July but I will hunt buff any chance I get, over and over again! Leopard hunting is a grind but tracking buff the right way is about as exciting as it gets!
I have also hunted on two safaris booked through Tony DaCosta and was pleased with both. They were exactly what he said they would be. Wouldn't hesitate to hunt with him again.

If you are looking for a lion hunt on a real wild lion, with a good chance of sucess, that isn't booked up to 2009 try Mugudumu safaris- the new Zim Parks subsiduary. All the PH's are parks staff - not the most experienced at dealing with clients to be sure but some, particularly Lovemore Mongwashu, the chief warden is very good on lions.

At present HHK are marketing the area on park's behalf, but if you are prepared to use a Parks PH then you can book direct with parks.

Igore the phone, email seems to be answered sometimes. Write to
Chief Warden
Parks & Wildlife Mgmt Authority
Box CY140
Causeway
Zimbabwe

or go to the African hunter website

African-hunter.com where parks advertise along with details of the PH's. (logo is a wtaerbucks head) Fax and e-mail are there.