Hello everyone

China Fleet Sailor had asked an excellent question about finding information on various Hunting Blocks in Africa. If everyone who has hunted a particular concession writes an honest assessment we could compile our own data base, so I have decided to give you my assessment of the two Usangu Safari hunting blocks in Tanzania where I hunted in 2004

Safari operator: Usangu Safaris. They manage and operate their own concessions and are Tanzanian nationals

Safari Area Hunted

1) Usangu Game Reserve, boarders the Ruaha National Park in South Central Tanzania. There are two camps in this reserve. A mountain camp and a second camp called Magimoto. I and two of my friends were in the Magimoto camp.

Lion: One lion was shot a week before we arrived there, it was a huge male with scant mane, I saw the skull.
A second pair of lions was seen by my friend one week into our safari. We baited it and a hunter on a lion safari in the mountain camp came down and shot the lion the next day. It was a beautiful lion with a good mane.

I saw lion signs a number of times but never saw or heard any lions myself.

Leopards: Plentiful

Buffalo: Some resident herds, most animals will come out of the national park and when they do you see herds of 200 animals. I saw a herd of 200-250 animals and my friend shot a good bull. I saw a number of groups all bulls had soft bosses. So you may encounter a large herd and find excellent animals or you may not see anything worth shooting. The best time for buffalo in this area is late in the year.

Sable: Plentiful their will be no problem getting a 40 plus animal we got 2 in our group.

Water buck: Plentiful, I shot a 31 inch

Crocodiles: limited, but all of us shot a crock, mine was 14 feet.

Hippo: No trophy males found. I was looking for one.
All minor antelopes, Burchells Zebra etc plentiful. Dik Dik Plentiful

2) Lake Natron Game controlled area. In the Masai grass land in the northern Tanzania.There are two camps in this area, we hunted the Mountain Camp.

Lion: None seen or heard, I don’t think there are any resident lions in this concession. Even if there are some this is not the area to hunt them.

Buffalo: In this concession there is a low mountain and there is a small but very hunt able population of buffalos. There are some excellent bulls here but the area has dense vegetation so visibility is a problem. Also because of the area only one hunter can go after the buffalo at one time.

Gerenuk: Very plentiful excellent trophy quality. I
Lesser Kudu: This is one of the best areas to hunt Lesser Kudu in Tanzania. If you want one you will get an excellent trophy in a few days. My friend shot a 31 inch Lesser Kudu the first day.

Grants and Thomson Gazelles: You just have to pick and choose the trophy size you want, the population and trophy quality was excellent.

Fringe eared Oryx: good population

Bushbuck: Plentiful, excellent trophies in the mountainous area of the hunting block.

All other Masai game plentiful and healthy.

Hope everyone else will add their personal assessments of the hunting blocks they have hunted in Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Regards
Aziz

Aziz,

2003, 2004 and 2005 I hunted in Tanzania.

In 2003 and 2004 I hunted with Pierre van Tonder, hunt booked with Ray Atkinson.

We hunted two seperate blocks, and apart from leoprad, lion and elephant, we got all the animals we had on license.

Both hunts were extremely well orgenized. The camps were first class, and the service puts any 5-star hotel to shame.

I know Pierre sub-leased these blocks for our hunts, as he did not own the huntging rights to them.

This year we hunted Mahenge North. Which was owned by someone, leased to a second party, who in turn leased it to us!!

This time the hunt was with my friend of many years, Alan Vincent.

Again, the hunt was extremely well orgenized, we got all the buffalo we had on license - 17. The lions and leopards evaded us again.

In Tanzania, leasing and sub-leasing is quite normal. And at the end of the day, the PH you hunt with can try all his best, and if the animals are not around that concession, you are not going to get any.

I have hunted several places in Zimbabwe. And on any given day we could see a large number of animals. If one day there is a little bit of rain, then for the next few days we could go on around the whole of the concession, and never lay an eye on a single animal.

This is what I call hunting. And those with a "shopping list" of grand trophies, better accept this fact, or go hunt on a fenced farm in South Africa.

Tanzania, 7 day Buffalo Safari, August 15 through 21, 2002.
Concession: Lokasali
Company: Bundu (Now owned by Adam Clements)
PH: Ridge Taylor (Deceased)

Overall impression: Outstanding

Game sought: Buffalo, Grant's Gazelle, E. African Impalla, Warthog, Whitebearded Wildebeast, Zebra, Coke's Hartebeest.

Animals Taken: Two Cape Buffalo, Zebra, Grants, Impala. Each of these species were plentiful.

Never saw a mature warthog, any wildebeast or hartebeest. The later two were in a different area of the concession.

Other animals seen: Giraffe, Fringed Eared Oryx, Ostrich, Monkeys.

Many large hard bossed buffalo found in pairs, small heards and two large heards - One of about 40 and another of over 60.

Recommendation: Book it, it is a top consideration.

quote:

This is what I call hunting. And those with a "shopping list" of grand trophies, better accept this fact, or go hunt on a fenced farm in South Africa

Undoubtedly this wise comment is directed towards my comment of Zero sucess on a booked DG hunt for the Kigosi with precisely the stated purpose of trying for 3 species.

While I think it is wounderful that Saeed can and does enjoy "the hunt" as he calls and sees it ,in the company of people that he values - Many I submit - are not quite there -yet.
The reasons are multiple as usual,
we dont have Saeeds trophy rooms - yet
we have possibly slightly limited funds and are trying to make the most of our trips with the money available
We might only want to shoot animals we treasure rather than what presents in front of a rifle
who knows
My point is that the premise of selection of area,timeslot and PH are valid for increasing once probability for success.In particular when the chosen PH has input and gives advice.

Wrong to some folks arguments,I believe hunting success is not only damned luck.

A bad area,a wrong timeslot will lead to vastly inferior results - If one desires chosen trophies.in africa as well as in any other situation.


Then of course one still has to deal with the issue of having done ones homework,and being switched to an area of totally different habitat and climate - all without consent etc.

Again,under Saeeds premise this is not a problem while one is in good company with good friends enjoying what presents.

So the selection of a particular area,time etc is really only for folks that in reality dont belong there but should better go to a zoo or SA with proper ticket and coupons.

I finally understand - maybe I have to learn this to be so

While the purpose of constructing a database is a good one to achieve this through this forum is inpracticle and will always be incomplete. It has been stated ad nauseam - there is nothing that can replace good research before booking a hunt.

Both of the posters above (Aziz and SBT)have been to those areas once at a given time. Areas change throughout the year and even over different years due to weather conditions, etc.

I believe one of the most important aspects to consider before booking anywhere is "Who ownb the hunting concession you are planning to go or have been offered to hutn in?". In general a concessionaire that sub-leases to 3rd or 4th parties has less control on what happens in it. It is quite easy to find out who has the right to what by contacting the various PH and Outfitters associations of each country.

Quota is another important aspect to consider. In Tz a concession with a high quota of general species should be double-checked! Even more so if that quota is being fulfilled on a yearly basis! Numvber of hunters being passed thorugh a cocnession in a season could also give some indication.

Photo gallery of past seasons showing trophy quality should be studied as well and asking questions about how recent some of the best trophies shown are should also be taken into account.

Outfitter and PH reputation is also extremely important and most of them are known to one or other (or else they would not have a good reputation I guess

Good hunting!

Bwanamich, thank you for your advice and insight. This was not meant to be a one time description of an area but a start, with updates on areas as other people hunt in them.

I completely agree with you that there is no substitute for research prior to booking a hunt and also choosing a respected outfitter, but one needs some information to start the process and it helps to have some description of an area from an independent source.

I hope more people will take the time and add to this data.

Regards
Aziz

Since it was my question that instigated this I'd like to thank Aziz for starting this thread. I realize that researching the PH/outfitter is important but it seems to me that knowing general information about hunting areas would be helpful.

I've never hunted Africa. Many of the places mentioned in the hunting reports aren't even places on a map. I have only a vague idea at best of where they might be. For instance, Saeed mentions hunting Mahenge North. Well, I read his report and he shows photos of fishmongers selling fish from the Kilombero river. While the administrative unit that comprises Mahenge North isn't on any map I have access to, a physical feature like a river I can find. Since there is no block number mentioned, I'm guessing that Mahenge North is a Game Control Area to the west of the Selous Reserve and just south of the Udzungwa Mountains National Park. Is that correct?

I haven't really been able to find much information on the Game Control Areas let alone where individual hunting blocks are located. The Tanzanian government sites don't have the info and the safari company sites aren't very helpful.

The photographic safari sites provide much more information about where their camps and game drives are conducted as well as seasonal animal movements. It would be nice if similar information was available about the hunting areas. Reading some of the hunting reports it's obvious that some blocks in the Selous are better than others depending on what you are hunting. Maki, for instance, hunted K4. He says that the trackers told him you won't see a sable there and that R1 is better. If you want elephant M1 is better.

That's good information. It would be great to know why. I would settle just to know just where K4, R1, and M1 are located (other than knowing they are somewhere in the Selous) and just how big they are. From the photographic safari sites I get the impression that the hunting blocks in the Selous are located in some sort of grid system south of the Great Ruaha and Rufiji river confluence but how it works I have not a clue.

Perhaps a database on AR is overly ambitious. Is there any independent source where we can find this basic sort of information about safari destinations? Or are we really totally reliant on the information provided by safari companies, either directly or via the references they choose to give us?

Here are several maps which show concessions in Africa MAPS

Regards,

Terry