A friend an I are thinking of a hunt in the spring of 2016 with Ian Blakeway of Venture South Outfitting in South Africa. It would be a free range hunt mainly for nyala and bushbuck. Have any of you done this hunt, and would you recommend Ian? Thanks.

I'm booked with Ian for late April to early May so I can't let you know until after that.

If you book the trip before me, don't shoot my Nyala.

Frank:

I will leave one almost as good as the one I shoot.

Dale

I hunted Bushpig and Reedbuck with Ian in 2014 and was more than pleased with his ability and service. I used him as an Outfitter for my 2015 Bushpig hunt and was also pleased with the arrangements he made for me.

I would recommend Ian without hesitation.

Ian is a good guy and I would recommend him. He buys animals from owners and resells the hunt for his profit. Nothing wrong with that and if all goes well everyone is happy. However whilst Ian is fine, the folks he buys hunts from may not be as was my experience in 2013. My two buffalo hunt was the shits and I called if off after the first day. Ian wanted to quit early on the first day. The gents Ian bought from sold him buff on a small enclosure but we were told not to shoot the buffalo with ear tags (!). After a month or two I received a refund but it was short 1000$. I was told this was due to exchange rates (?). So, I think you will have a good hunt with Ian, but I would ask him detailed questions about the folks he is buying the hunt from including the refund policy if it is not to your liking. Ian will have a loyalty to you and be responsible but the owners of the land/animals loyalty is to the money they earn. Last year Ian offered me an elephant hunt in Cameroon or CAR. I passed.
For what it's worth.
Cal
PS. Ian offered me a discount bush pig hunt the next year to make up for the lost 1000$ but it was not worth the time to me and cost of a ticket for the amount in question.

quote:

Originally posted by Dale:
A friend an I are thinking of a hunt in the spring of 2016 with Ian Blakeway of Venture South Outfitting in South Africa. It would be a free range hunt mainly for nyala and bushbuck. Have any of you done this hunt, and would you recommend Ian? Thanks.

where is the hunt location?

The location is along the Umkomazi River in southern Kwa-Zulu Natal. It is 60,000 hectares of free-range land.

quote:

Originally posted by Dale:
The location is along the Umkomazi River in southern Kwa-Zulu Natal. It is 60,000 hectares of free-range land.

Ooh-yeah!! I hunted Umkomazi valley... awesome place!!! Great nyala, kudu and bushbuck. I hunted with Crusader Safaris.

I would like to chip in.

The hunt with Cal was without a doubt the worst hunt of my career.
I can only thank Cal for realizing that I was not purposely trying to get him to hunt in what turned out to be nothing near the location we should have been hunting.
As mentioned I offered to call things off by 10 am on the first morning after realizing that the hunt was not as it had been sold. Cal, wanting to make the best of the bad situation, decided to go ahead with the hunt.

This hunt was sold on the basis that we would be hunting Richard Humes property. one that many know as an 8000ha property with excellent buffalo on. It turns out that this was not his property, but one that he had sold on with a group of young bulls on.

As discussed with Cal at the time this hunt was a cost price hunt and was done on this basis as Cal was filming the hunt and I would gain promotion from the publicity.
As you can imagine I wanted a quality experience for the filming and against my better judgement went with the reccomendation of an outfitter friend to hunt "Richards Property" unseen.

The funds for the hunt came into SA, the hunt was conducted at cost and all that was left was sent back to Cal. There was a massive fluctuation in the ZAR-USD rate at the time which left Cal about 10% short on the returned funds.

I did not have the money to pay Cal back so I offered him three options.
1. park the funds until the rates balance things out
2. use the funds at their original value on a later hunt
3. return the funds as they were at the time

Cal elected to have the funds returned.

I have always regretted the situation that transpired and have tried in vain a few times to find a way to make up with Cal. My biggest regret will always be the lost friendship as I feel that we really got on well and have a similar passion for big bores and big game.

I have moved on but not without learning a lesson.
As Frank and anyone else who has received a contract from me in recent times can attest there is now a currency clause to ensure that I don't end up in the same situation.

Here it is as it appears in my contract
Extreme Currency Fluctuations and Refund Policy
All funds are held in SA Rands, we cannot cover massive currency fluctuations on funds held with us and you have the right to leave the funds in SA until such time as the return rate matches the incoming rate.

Getting back to the area that I hunt Nyala in.
It is widely accepted as the best free range Nyala concession in SA and rightly so. It has been the hunting ground of my Family for the last 150 plus years and the farmers who carved out a living there have always preserved the game.

We have this year extended the area we hunt and the quota we have taken up. The farms that were once white owned have now been given over to the African communities that inhabit the area. We have effectively "leased" these farms back for wildlife conservation from their new owners. This has allowed the game to flourish and us to continue to expand our area of operation. This model works well and has allowed us to ensure top class trophy quality hunted in true free range areas.

I will be happy to answer any questions that may arise.
Thanks
Ian

Ian Blakeway
Owner
Venture South Outfitting
South Africa and Canada
+27 83 414 2446
ian@venturesouthoutfitting.com
www.venturesouthoutfitting.com
https://www.facebook.com/venturesouth

Ian:

Thanks for the reply. I was not concerned about Cal's reply, as it seems the situation was out of your control and Cal felt you dealt fairly to resolve it. I lived in Italy for 3 years in the 70s and worked in Brazil in the early 80s so I have had to deal with currency fluctuations. Luckily I was getting paid in dollars.

The most important thing is it sounds like you have great hunting for nyala and bushbuck.

Dale

Just do it Dale - Umkomaas is a great venue.

Thanks Dale

It was a bad situation but one that has become all too common with the instability of the South African economy.

I hope that Cal and I will some day share a campfire again. He is a great guy and one of the most knowledgeable when it comes to Double Rifles and African hunting.

I have replied to your mail.
Looking forward to hunting with you.
Ian

I look forward to hunting with you.

Ian which areas of the Umkomaas do you hunt? 60 000 hectares is a big block, is it the same area that Peter Flack hunted as shown in his Bushbuck hunting book? How many do you get on quota each year and how many do you take?

Manyathelo

Peter Flacks Nyala was taken on the same concession that I use as my primary location. 2 valleys over from the camp on the river that I use.

That concession is a total of 30 000ha in one continuous block on the Northern side of the Umkomazi River bridge.
It is interesting that I should have it as my primary hunting camp as my forefathers hunted Bushbuck in these valleys and had their camp about 500m diagonally across the river on the opposite bank on Fred Raws farm. Fred Grandson still owns the land today.

On the southern side are two new concessions that we have this year taken over. These areas have been hunted very little and we have seen 30" Nyala on them. We have high hopes of breaking the valley record of 32" in one of these valleys. I hunted these concessions about 10 years ago when they were still operated by the original settlers and they were good then.

I have a few bushbuck hanging in the house that were shot in these valleys by my Great Grandfather. I will get some good pictures and post them but they give an idea of the genetic quality that todays bushbuck come from.

If we continue to make these valleys pay we may eventually realise the dream that the original owners had when they started the Inhlanvini Valley Conservancy. They wanted to put 200 000ha of valley busveld under the hunting conservation blanket. Still a long way to go, but this land is most profitable as hunting ground and will always be.

Quotas:
at present I take off no more than 12 Trophy Nyala Bulls per year between the two concessions.
But we have a guideline that says we try not shoot anything under 28". This has kept the quality high and allows us to be spoiled for choice when it comes to Nyala. it is not uncommon to sit atop a valley glassing and see up to 15 Nyala Bulls of varying sizes within stalking range.

I hope to have a video of "The Valley" as we know it, edited soon to give you a better idea of the area. Its a magic place that has drawn hunters for over 100 years and will continue to do so for many more.

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Ian is a good guy and I would recommend him. He buys animals from owners and resells the hunt for his profit. Nothing wrong with that and if all goes well everyone is happy. However whilst Ian is fine, the folks he buys hunts from may not be as was my experience in 2013. My two buffalo hunt was the shits and I called if off after the first day. Ian wanted to quit early on the first day. The gents Ian bought from sold him buff on a small enclosure but we were told not to shoot the buffalo with ear tags (!). After a month or two I received a refund but it was short 1000$. I was told this was due to exchange rates (?). So, I think you will have a good hunt with Ian, but I would ask him detailed questions about the folks he is buying the hunt from including the refund policy if it is not to your liking. Ian will have a loyalty to you and be responsible but the owners of the land/animals loyalty is to the money they earn. Last year Ian offered me an elephant hunt in Cameroon or CAR. I passed.
For what it's worth.
Cal
PS. Ian offered me a discount bush pig hunt the next year to make up for the lost 1000$ but it was not worth the time to me and cost of a ticket for the amount in question.

Cal,

Thank you for posting this.

I am very sorry that you had a bad hunt, but it seems Ian had nothing to do that.

quote:

Originally posted by Hunting the Box H:

On the southern side are two new concessions that we have this year taken over. These areas have been hunted very little and we have seen 30" Nyala on them. We have high hopes of breaking the valley record of 32" in one of these valleys. I hunted these concessions about 10 years ago when they were still operated by the original settlers and they were good then.

Ian,

You've just set the goal for my hunt in April.



.

Looking forward to it Frank.
The Valley is always a great hunt, there is always something new waiting around the corner.
I hope we can find you that dream buck.

quote:

Originally posted by Hunting the Box H:

That concession is a total of 30 000ha in one continuous block on the Northern side of the Umkomazi River bridge.

Which bridge? The one below Songeni, above Kweletsheni, below Hela Hela or on R56 or R617?

Hi Frank
It is the R56 Bridge
I will try and get it on google earth and send you a link.

I am heading up there on Monday and will get you a few photos to look at. Its dry as hell at the moment but will try get you a few good pictures to look at.
Chat soon
Ian

G'day Ian,

Bit of a different question, but is it legal to hunt your area in January? Or would that be crazy even if legal? Do you guys hunt in the summer months?

Cheers,

Ben

Hey Ben
We can and do. The key is that you can only hunt properties that have a "Hunting Exemption Permit" in place that allows them to hunt outside of the regular seasons, or where a permit supersedes the normal seasons.

Yes we do hunt in January, but you better be ready to sweat. I imagine its not too different to the Outback, but the valleys get smoking hot.
Most land owners do like to give their game a "rest" during this period too.

All told though, you hunt much tougher conditions where you are and your snakes are much worse than ours so on the balance of things I think you would be just fine.

What you got in mind?
I hope it include the double

Hey, mate! Thinking about all those nyala and bushbuck - and kudu - you have running around over there... and thinking about bringing the little old Rigby for a run, now that I have proper Hornady brass for it. What are the chances of stalking to eighty metres or less in summer? And, mate, your snakes scare the shit out of me! But I'd still give it a red-hot go despite them! We have this anti-snake device where I live - the feral cane toad! Not many snakes left after munching on cane toads. Won't be able to do anything this January, but maybe the one after. Cheers, Ben

G'day Ben and Ian,

Glad you jumped on this thread Ben as I have been talking to Ian now, both before and after my last hunt in Namibia and Ian has been nothing but open and forthcoming with info!

Happy to see whatever pics you have of the place Ian. I'll cover more in my reply via email mate but my wife and I are keen.

Cheers,

Al Kidner. (on behalf of my new wife who is now a mad keen hunter!)

Ben - The Rigby will be at home in our bush and 80 yards is doable, especially in the summer as things get thick.
Biggest challenge in summer is the pepper ticks, but there are ways to manage them.

Our snakes are actually quite tame, you would need to stand on them to get a serious bite. Your chances of getting struck by lightning are far higher than getting bitten. I always tell people that if they get bitten by a snake they should go buy a lottery ticket as their number must be up.
I have seen a documentary on Cane toads, quite some nasty piece of work.

Let me know when you ready, we can hunt year round so you good to go most months of the year, just have to deal with whatever weather is doing the rounds at that time.

Any news on your new posting yet?

Al- Heading up to the hunting area tomorrow to do some scouting, will post a bunch of pics and a video in a few days to give you a better feel for the area.

Glad you and your better half are excited. Another hunting family is a great asset. If more guys got their wives and family into the field there would be a lot less of this anti hunting bull getting spread around.
Looking forward to meeting her.

Here is my wife Felicity with her first Gemsbok, i told her it was about time she filled the freezer. .223 with Hornady GMX. Broke the far shoulder and almost excited. Cut the top of the heart clean off.
I told her the 223 was actually a bit light if she wants to take Eland and Kudu next. So now she has a Tikka 3006 getting licensed for her next hunt.

Here is my son Josh with his Imapala Ram taken the same day.



Chat soon
Ian

Good stuff Ian, how old is your boy?

Love that you get your family involved, mate! Great photos, great animals!

I'm a bit of a sook when it comes to those little ticks... Might look more closely at a winter time hunt!

quote:

Originally posted by BenKK:
Love that you get your family involved, mate! Great photos, great animals!

I'm a bit of a sook when it comes to those little ticks... Might look more closely at a winter time hunt!

The only negative about my hunt in that region was the ticks - Not that they bothered me while I was there - but I was crook as a dog for a week when I got back home. I went in March when it is still quite damp, of course.

Hi Matt
He loves to hunt. Hes just turned 13 so starting to fit into the bigger rifles etc.

Im taking him out to sit on a bushpig bait this evening, so hopefully he can sit still long enough to nab a good pig.

Hes just about ready to head to boarding school. Will be going to my old college in Mooi River. Weston Agricultural College http://www.weston.co.za/ . Hes dead keen. They have a hunting and a fishing club and are a lot closer to the girls schools than where we currently live. Guess he has his priorities right.

Matt
Ticks are becoming a bigger problem.I have been partially laid up for nearly 2 years with recurring tick bite fever.
As it turns out though I had picked up European Spotted Fever on my travels but had suppressed it, along with a bunch of other nasties.
I got hammered by about 300 pepper ticks on a buffalo hunt and that set it all off. I was eventually diagnosed as having Lymes disease, but to be honest I dont really think anyone has a handle on what was actually going on.

I now use a great spray that works on your clothes for 90 days or 30 washes


I also wash top to toe each night with dog shampoo. Any one will do and make sure I dislodge any ticks that are on me.
Beyond that anything that looks like a tick bite and I go on to Doxy immediately for 7 days and do a heavy detox and help my liver.

Beyond that I just live as healthy as possible and cut sugar out of my deit. Feeling as healthy now as I ever have and live a much cleaner life as a result. Some say I should thank the ticks for getting me back on the straight and narrow. Im not convinced, but so far so good.

Some pictures of The Valley yesterday.
Its exceptionally dry.
But we are expecting t he first good showers over the weekend.


















Those young bulls were all around the lodge.
With Free Range hunting you expect lower game densities, especially in droughts, but these youngsters were all out in the middle of the day.
Just out of interest it was 24 deg Celcius up on the ridge and 30 deg celcius down in the valleys.

Ian when it comes to Bushbuck and Nyala that have small home ranges do you believe that Free Range really makes a difference?

Also how many Nyala bulls total on quota in the area per year and how many have been taken this year, 2015? Bushbuck? I would imagine that if it is 60 000 hectares it has a significant quota and with the game movement all the outfitters manage and agree on a single quota for the area; or is it done property by property?

Manyathelo

It can be argued that there should be no difference. That said I think it needs to be said that the real difference between this property and many others is simply that they are 100% self sustaining as well as Free Ranging.

Many smaller farms use the argument that it makes no difference, whilst buying up Nyala on auction and stocking the farm each year. This is not always the case, but if you do the math it becomes quite obvious that 1200ha cannot produce 20 trophy Nyala/Kudu per year.

Now if thats your cup of tea then I have no problem with it. Its your hunt.
That said, hunting large tracts of land without having to worry about where the boundary fence lies is on of the greatest experiences you can have.

With regards to setting quotas it is very much based on what we see year to year.

True free range, self sustaining populations of Nyala and Bushbuck are never as dense as those that you find on game farms. They are not protected to the same level and that is mainly on the nutritional side of the equation.
When it gets dry and the grass stops growing then many of these animals die.

Nyala vs Bushbuck

We have noticed a trend whereby the areas dominated by Nyala are often devoid of Bushbuck. The bushbuck also tend to prefer the thicker bush and river valleys. On smaller farms that are fenced with Nyala inside of them you often seen the bushbuck disappear from the farm entirely.

No on these large areas the Bushbuck simply move to a new area and inhabit it.

Qoutas:

Each area comes under the primary management of the farmer that leases it etc and he will deterime what quota he wants to take off as well as what type of hunting he s after trophy vs meat.

As outfitters for trophy hunting we will not hunt an area that has been shot out by meat hunters etc. So the market controls the quotas according to the man on the grounds view of what he wants to do.

There are 8 farmers that hold most of the land on lease as well as a few that have started buying up land again. There is also tribal land that is basically big chuncks of no mans land in the Umzimkhulu River valley. Thats rough country but holds good game populations.
Some of the farmers have started to fence their land for big 5 and have introduced buffalo to their properties.
I would guess that in 50 years from now we will see 20-30 000ha fenced with big 5 on it.
Unfortunately it will never be unfenced big 5 as there are a lot of people in these valleys and there would be a lot of conflict.
I think that will lead to a similar situation as the "great kruger" that just kept on growing.

Each year I am offered 12 Nyala Bulls between the concessions and I will generally sell a maximum of 5.
In years like last year when it was dry we voluntarily reduced the quota to give them a bit of breathing room.

We also have Nyala concessions in Northern KZN that we alternate between. This allows us to take pressure of of populations when needed.

If I was to compare game densities I would say that we have similar densities to Zimbabwe. All we are short of is big game to break the bush open.

Bushbuck
Bushbuck seen vs Bushbuck taken probably runs at about 60%. Often we cannot get the shooter to see the buck in his hiding place. That said, you are going to generally spend the last few days of your hunt getting 1 bushbuck vs taking Kudu and Nyala quite quickly in the beginning of the hunt.

If we are battling on Bushbuck we have a concession about an hour north where we also have free range bushbuck. Trophy quality there has been very good too.
Other species that we hunt that are free ranging are

Common Reedbuck
Mountain Reedbuck
Vaal Rhebuck
Red Duiker
Blue Duiker
Oribi
Common Duiker
Suni
Dik Dik
Blesbuck
Bushpig
Warthog
Eland
Zebra
Nyala
Bushbuck
Kudu
Impala
Baboon

We also have exotics that are free ranging.
Aoudad
Mouflon
Ibex
Tahr

If you are willing to spend the time to go after them it is possible to hunt these species 100% Free Range.
That said, you are going to work harder for them in general and you may go home empty handed on some species.

I hope that helps to better understand what is possible.

I think its also important to say a big Thank You to those who choose to hunt these concessions with us as they are giving these farms a new lease on life and preserving habitat that would otherwise be lost.

Thanks
Ian

I would like to thank everyone for the information they provided. My friend and I are in the process of booking a hunt with Ian for April 1-10, 2016.

quote:

Originally posted by Dale:
I would like to thank everyone for the information they provided. My friend and I are in the process of booking a hunt with Ian for April 1-10, 2016.

Dale, the first Nyala that Ian posted above is a monster, shoot it the second that you see it. Don't worry about leaving it for me.

quote:

Dale, the first Nyala that Ian posted above is a monster, shoot it the second that you see it. Don't worry about leaving it for me.

Here is a good place to start.

G'day again Ian,

Mate thanks very much for the time taken to post your thoughts and actions in regards to your hunting set up. To me, it speaks volumes...

Thanks also for the photos. It helps when planning a hunt ( like we are ) as well as show my wife what she is in store for seeing as she will be also hunting.

Will email you with some other questions mate. So far though... 2017 it is.

Thanks Al

Looking forward to hunting with you both.
Just out of interest the Warthog populations have exploded there the last year or two and we are literally counting 100 plus in a morning.
You will have plenty of targets of opportunity around, even during the middle of the day when the Nyala and Kudu get scarce.
I got within meters of a few groups of pigs last week. Had I planned a bit better I could have shot a few youngsters for the pot.
Might just go and do that this weekend. Nothing nicer than Warthog bangers.

Chat soon
Ian

All this talk is getting me hot for a plains game hunt in SA this June or July. I have a 1940s Rigby in .350 no2 box lock ejector that needs a field test. (Is it possible to hunt lion fairly in SA?)

I took a beautiful nyala outside of Greytown about 10 years ago and it was as fair chase as it gets--no fences to be seen.

Cal

Cal

That Rigby sounds like good medicine for a Kudu or Nyala.
There are some great places outside of Greytown, as a kid we used to go into the Umvoti on horseback and spend hours just exploring. Loaded with game too.

My first experience of Blue-Tick hounds was in that valley. Never would I have guessed how that breed of hound would shape my life in later years.

A lot of the area has now been fenced, poaching and landowner disputes etc seem to be the order of the day.

I have sent you an email.

Speaking of Blue-Ticks, here is a picture of my best hound. Chase.
This hound taught me how to hunt. What a machine.


Here is the last pig Chase and I hunted together. He died of a stomach complication a few weeks later. Only the best go young