Well we just returned from Reno, and I am still in awe of the whole convention. We broke down and bought a hunt in Northeast South Africa for plains game. What are the basic animals a person should plan on hunting. What is the weather like during the first week of July. What are some things I should do to prepare myself for the trip and the hunting. What are some interesting things for our wifes to do while we are hunting. I am full of so many other questions. Please just any suggestions you feel might help.

Thank you.

Congrats on booking your hunt! It certainly was a crowded convention, and a lot of the outfitters were near sold out before it even started. The custom gunmakers who usually run a 1 year backlog are now looking at a 2 year backlog. The economy must be doing something right!

As for RSA, I am sure there are some fellows here who can give you better info than me.

In preparation, I would read Tips and Packing List.

Regards,

Terry

You might think of a day or two on the Cape going in or out. There are wineries, parks, etc, that the women will like. (Never stopped there myself.)

Plan on spending a day or two doing Kreuger or Hluhluwe (bad spelling, I'm sure!). That will get your eyes tuned up and let the wives get some face time.

While you are hunting try to arrange for your wives to go "shopping and sight-seeing" with the rancher's wife or one of the outfits in the nearby town (Ellisras ?)

In RSA you just need to be able to walk and carry your rifle. Usually the stalks are short, but we did spend 3-4 long days tracking eland.

Have fun!

I would get a Cape Kudu, Bushbuck, Baboon, black and white springbuck. You can get a common, but they are normally smaller in RSA. Duiker and maybe a steenbock if you have a chance. If you see a good gemsbock I would get that along with a blesbock. When you are there spend some time trying to get a cape kudu over 45 inches, it sometimes takes some work, but they look great.
Budget is your main concern in RSA because there are a lot of animals, and outfitters are more than willing to help you spend your money.

Who did you book with and how long is the trip??

We booked with Jannie Otto Safari's. It sounds like we will be near the Pongola. Don't ask me where it is, I haven't a clue. We are on a 10 day safari. I am looking at shooting a baboon, cape kudu, warthog, blue wildebeast, zebra, an impala, and possibly a few smaller animals (Civet Cat, Caracal and vervet monkey)

uplandhunter

Congratulation that sounds a good time to hunt. If you are in fact huntin KNZ region then good forum guest Shakari (AKA Steve) will be able to enlighten you much better as that is his home regional area. In Limpopo Province where we are it has been raining cats & dogs lately so if the wet continues the bush might in fact still be green in May June, but one never knows with weather do we. Mind you KZN can have different weather compared to the Limpopo highveld region.

Anyhow have a wonderful time and wishing yourselves and families a wonderful time in RSA

Cheers, Peter

If you are near Pongola you will have a good chance at Nyala, bushbuck and perhaps red duiker too. Someone else posted Spring buck...you may have to take short trip north towards Vreyheid etc Perhaps SE Mpumalanga etc and there you can get a crack at Blesbuck and other typical open plains game.

Its a great area, I spent good deal of time there about 10 years ago and hunted a fair bit.

As Peter says, I know the Pongola region fairly well. They haven't had much rain there this year but pretty much all the hunting areas will have pumped waterholes there, so don't worry about it too much...... there's still time for more rain this year as well.

July might be coolish in the mornings & evenings, so take a jacket & long pants (or zip offs) with you. Daytime temperatures even in July should probably be around the mid to high 20s Centigrade.(at least)

Regarding the species you want: I'm sorry to tell you, you won't get a Cape Kudu down there as they don't (usually) occur. The good news is that you can expect to see a reasonable of Southern greater Kudu. Baboons aren't generally numerous in that area as a lot of sugar is grown in the region and the farmers try to keep baboon numbers down. The other species shouldn't pose a problem. The overall area generally has a good population of nyala as well.

Have a good hunt and I'm sure we're all looking forward to seeing your pictures of it later this year......