I would like to get some advice for areas and outfitters for my next safari. It would be for 2011. My main goal and focus would be on Cape Buffalo. I would also like to add another main animal to the trip. I am trying to narrow it down between tuskless Elephant, Sable, or Hippo. I would also like the area to have good Kudu.

I was thinking about Zimbabwe as the destination. I have a few outfitters that I would like to talk to at SCI in Reno but would like more some suggestions. I would prefer to be able to do a road transfer from Harare or Vic. Falls instead of doing a plane charter into the bush.

Are there other countries that I should be looking at? Is 10-14 days hunting a reasonable amount of time?
Any other help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Greg

Andy Hunter of www.chipitanisafaris.com in a place like Sapi would be my pick for such a hunt.

Speak with both Mark and Wendell -they are both on this site and will offer great advise.

Visit the HHK Safaris booth in Reno or Dallas. They will have something of interest for you.

465H&H

I just finished a bull elephant hunt with Nixon Dzingai / SSG safaris. They are located next to Gonerezho National Park. My partner, H Kittle took two very nice buffalo and my son a very good Kudu. Nixon's prices seem more reasonable than most. It is an 8 hour drive from Harare.

There are no hippo and the area is not known for sable. The subject of tuskless never came up.

Thanks for all the responses and PM's. All day I have been checking out various websites and hunting reports. Alot of information to soak in but planning is half the fun.

Thanks,

Greg

cmsafaris.com

Talk to Buzz about buff and tuskless and toss in a side of tiger fishing. The tuskless hunt is awesome, scary as hell, but awesome.

I just completed a lion hunt with Andy Hunter in the Save', Zimbabwe. We hunted Senuko Ranch. While I was hunting lion I saw 40"+ buffalo. there were none left on guota so i was not able to hunt for them. They seem reasonably priced. Great plains game available to include Sable. Did not see any but we were not hunting them either.
Large leopard are availble also.My hunt report is on AR udner Lion and Fire in the Save' Good luck. Plans do not fail we just fail to plan.

Here are some things to consider.

Free ranging sable realistically only found in Zim, Zambia and Mozambique. You can find them in RSA and Namibia, but behind high fences.

Tuskless hunts, to my knowledge, only conducted in Zim. And it takes some time to find a mature TL cow without a dependent calf, so allow for that. Note, if you want to export any part of an elephant, forget Zambia and Moz.

Hippo and buffalo are not going to dictate the country or area, they are found in many places.

Kudu all over, but again it takes time to find a good one.

Reading between the lines, I think you are biting off a lot for a first hunt. Bear in mind, you can hunt PG for $300-400 a day. Don't pay $800-1200 a day to chase Kudu. My advice would be to do a 7 day PG hunt, followed by a 7 day buff hunt. You will save a lot of money vs. doing a 14 day Buff/PG hunt.

Mozambique will work for you if you want Buff, Sable and Hippo. Not prime Kudu country though.

Zim will work as well, and only Zim will work if you want TL Ele in the mix. Note, good PG hunting is hard to find in Zim these days. PG are thin on the ground even in the famous concessions. Lemco, Save are AOK.

Namibia could be a good option as well, very very good Kudu. Most don't know but you can arrange a PAC elephant in Namibia. You can do your PG/Sable hunt at a reasonable daily rate, followed by Buff/Hippo. Book early for DG in Nam, quotas are limited.

quote:

Originally posted by 465H&H:
Visit the HHK Safaris booth in Reno or Dallas. They will have something of interest for you.

465H&H

+1

I will be happy to visit about your hunt at our Chifuti safaris booth in Reno. We do require a charter flight, but the remoteness and number of buffalo is worth the effort.
Cheers

Greg:

My goals were very similar to yours - including the desire to avoid the cost of a charter flight (which we had used in 2007). We hunted Matetsi 4 in September 2008 on a 10-day safari, and it was a short hour or so drive from Victoria Falls. Matetsi is steeped in history and I took a great old dugga boy while my wife, on her first hunt of any kind, took a fine zebra stallion. Each day we saw many 40"+ sable, and there were kudu and elephant in abundance. Our PH was Mark DeWet, who is very familiar with this area and offers some great package deals that are hard to beat.

Mark is a superb PH, dedicated to both fair chase and a hunting approach reminiscent of safaris in the Golden Era. We stayed in Russ Broom's old farm house and occasionally in a spike camp on the border of the famed Hwange National Park. Mark is great company and we're already planning our third safari with him. Check out his website: www.markdewetsafaris.com

quote:

Originally posted by Russ Gould:
Free ranging sable realistically only found in Zim, Zambia and Mozambique. You can find them in RSA and Namibia, but behind high fences.

Russ:

Sable are fairly prolific in Tanz as well. In Rungwa and Kigosi you have big ones; in the Selous you can find Roosevelt sable.

Granted, it takes a 21 day license, but hey, Zambia isn't cheap either.

BigChev: I don't know what kind of kudu you have, but IMO, a big one is a stunning trophy, like a big elk. I always thought sable were cool, but I don't think they hold a candle to an ibex of the same length.

i've only chartered once in zim, rest has always been by road. that way i see lots of the country, people and things i wouldn't see by air, yes it does take a day or 2 longer, and yes it is much cheaper

Besides what others have offered there are lots of good outfits to choose from... B'vkenya Safaris, Chifuti, CMS and Martin Pieter's Safaris come to mind. I have hunted with each of these and can recommend. Check out there websites and decide if any are a good fit for you.

Thanks again for all the replies and Pm's. There is so much information out there. I originally had one day planned for Reno but Im trying to add another day. There are a bunch of good outfitters so far

I am leaning more towards a buffalo hunt with hippo and croc added. I dont want to go just to shoot a huge bag and not enjoy the time there. Save some other animals for another trip.

I wouldnt be opposed to a charter if need but it would be nice to have the extra money for trophy fees and like butchloc, I would enjoy seeing the country.

AnotherAZWriter-The kudu I shot was 50". It is a nice animal. To me they just say "Africa" and I would enjoy shooting another one.

Thanks,

Greg

Greg

Look us up in Dallas booth # 1848, and Reno booth #'s 3518/3617, we would be glad to put something together for a combination buffalo/ hippo/ croc out of our Omay concession on Lake Kariba, send me an email prior to the shows so that you can get an idea of what we are about.

Regards

Martin
martin@bulembisafaris.co.zw
www.martinpieterssafaris.com

Martins concessions have all the game you have mentioned and is a great Safari destination.
I'm hunting his area for the third time this April.

I hunted with Andy in 2008 and 2009. Both hunts were outstanding. We hunted both Chewore North and South. We took a record book leopard near the banks of the Zambezi River, nice klipspringers, a great old dagga boy, a 54 inch kudu, a 24 inch impala, zebra, hyena, and an old baboon. I am returning to hunt with Andy in 2011 and will bring a friend and his wife on their first safari. Thanks to Andy's professional knowledge my wife is hooked on Africa and the safari experience. Andy Hunter is one of the best but you had better be ready to truly hunt and track game.

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