Other than the occasional thread, do I have the mistaken impression that Namibia is not nearly the place for elephant as Zim? Is it a matter of the hunting itself or that Zim just offers so many more opportunities? No doubt Zim is a hot topic these days but for a few extra shekels, Namibia seems like an excellent option for those apprehensive about going to Zim, can't afford Bots or Tanz, and don't want to mess around with US import issues with Zambia or Moz.

PWS,

You hit the nail on the head when you suggested that Zim offers more opportunities (and also a lesser cost).

Elephant hunting in Namibia is chiefly done in Bushmanland, now the Nyae-Nyae Communal Conservancy, in the northeast of the country on the Bots border, and in the Caprivi Strip. Now, only communal conservancies, such as the Salambala Conservancy, controlled by Vaughan Fulton, and the Kwando Conservancy, controlled by Alan Cilliers (see Mark H. Young's thread on this forum), may be hunted.

Hunting on government concessions has been closed for several years, owing to the MET's efforts to restructure the methodology for auctioning the concessions. That is set to change this year, when the government is set to auction its concessions in the Caprivi and elsewhere in the country.

So, for the past several years, elephant hunting opportunities in Namibia have not been as extensive as those in Zim or Bots or Tanz. But the Namibian elephant are the big-bodied, heavy ivoried Bots variety, and can be hunted for less money than they charge you in Bots and a lot less than in Tanz.

I have hunted elephant in Tanz, in the Selous, and in the Caprivi, and the ivory I saw in the Caprivi compared very favorably with that I saw in the Selous. It isn't quite as long, but it is generally easier to take a Namibian elephant of a good weight than it is to find a legal one in Tanz.

If I were to again decide to go after elephant only, or elephant and buff, I would definitely book a hunt in the Caprivi.

PWS - I hunted the West Caprivi Park twice in 2003, once for leopard/buffalo and again tracking hunt for lion/roan. We saw a lot of elephant and some very nice ones, as stated BIG bodied bulls with thick ivory. A few aggressive bull charges too. What is nice about the West Caprivi (besides the only inhabitants being the Sans/Bushman, or what's left of them), any maybe the other areas I don't know, is that tracking is easy in the sand and few of the ele are shot after being sighted from a vehicle. West Caprivi is rain sensitive, and as there is/was a 10km buffer zone from the Kwando River, late season can be hit or miss on game except perhaps the ele.

Here's a good map of the Conservancies in Namibia, may not be 100% current. Note that the West Caprivi is the long, thin green section separating Angola from Botswana.

http://www.irdnc.org.na/IMAGES/Conservancies_Aug03.jpg

Bill C

The Western Caprivi has now been divided into two areas. Kwando in the east and Buffalo in the west. They cover the whole strip between the Kwando to the Okavango rivers.

Mark

Really - then this is indeed a Gov't Park (the Caprivi Game Park, which they renamed to the Bwabwata), not a Conservancy per the other thread (confusing as I think there is a Kwandu Conservancy in East Caprivi). I believe that "the Strip" had been two areas before, but the western half was not hunted hard (problem is that there is limited water there).

Fritz Reinhard had the area closest to the Kwando for some 7-8 years, and is indeed where I hunted for 30-days in April and Oct of 04. Glad to see that it is open again, and hopefully they will be using some of the same local Bushman trackers as they know the area well and were a real treat to watch track.

Fritz's PH's took some nice bulls out of there over the years, and I have a few of the picts he had sent including a big one (91/86lbs) that was written up by Mike Wilmet in a story in SCI a few years ago (Jan/Feb 2003). If you want any info on the area, hunting, etc, let me know.

Regards, Bill


PS: here's a really good map:
http://www.orusovo.com/nammap/mapC.htm

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