DaveK

I hunted with HHK in Zimbabwe this June for 21 days.I had no problems. I spent 2 days in South Africa on the way in. The people in Zim were much nicer than the people in SA.

I was not "hustled" for money at the airport in Zim like I was in SA.

I killed 3 elephants, 2 cows and a bull, 2 buff and asorted plains game.

Gontact Graham and tell him what type of hunt you would like.

He will not steer you wrong.

A lot depends on whether you want to keep the trophies and on your budget.

If you want the tusks etc and a cheap hunt then you should consider Zimbabwe......but you need to appreciate the political situation.......whether the discounted price outweighs the political/human rights issues for you is something that only you can decide about.

If you're not bothered about keeping the trophies then you could think about Mozambique.......it's tough but good hunting, but the US F&WS don't issue import licences.

If you don't like the expenses of Namibia, you'll probably feel the same way about Botswana and Tanzania.....but both offer fantastic hunting. One problem with Botswana is that they have very limited quota's and you'll probably have to book a hunt now for 2006..........05 is mostly sold out.

The drawback with Tanzania is that they have a minimum size requirement on tusks.

If I were shopping for an elephant hunt and wasn't bothered about the cost I would rate the countries as follows.
1- Botswana
2- Tanzania
3- Mozambique
4- Zimbabwe

Shakari,



We all need to take your doomsday prophecies about Zimbabwe with a large grain of salt. If a client books with a legitimate operator in ZIM, he will have a great hunt, as has been proven by multiple AR forumites. But if he books with a land squatter or with a safari company from RSA engaged in poaching in ZIM, the client will regret his choice. I also wonder why you would be so concerned about human rights in Zimbabwe. Has the human rights situation interfered with any hunt you took there?



_____



DaveK,



The downsides of Tanzania are (1) extreme expense, and (2) lots of guys go home empty handed due to the minimum ivory size regulation.



For someone who really wants good ivory and wants to take it home, Botswana is probably the best bet, offering big ivory, reasonable prices and a high chance of success. For someone who has moderate ivory expectations and/or has a more limited budget, Zimbabwe is definitely the way to go, which a very high chance of success and medium ivory.



However, anyone booking a hunt in Zimbabwe needs to know that there have been South African safari companies operating illegal hunts (poaching) in Zimbabwe. The clients going on such illegal hunts, as well as others involved, can be prosecuted in the USA in federal court under the Lacey Act. Therefore anyone planning to hunt in Zimbabwe must be sure to book through a legitimate safari operator in Zimbabwe and use a professional hunter licensed in Zimbabwe. A list of licensed Zim PH's can be found here:



http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=africanhunting&Number=15545&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1



As for Mozambique, the cost of those hunts is extremely high considering that an American cannot bring the ivory home. While there is big ivory in Mozambique, paying a premium price for big ivory does not make much sense if you end up leaving the ivory there.



Good luck!

500grains,

I've never said you can't get a good hunt in Zim and if you read my previous posts you'll find I've often posted on the fact that there are some good outfitters there, such as HHK, John Sharp & Roger Whittal.......... I've also suggested that if a hunter books a hunt in Zim he (or she) needs to stick to the old established and reputable companies such as I've just mentioned.

But let's be honest, it cannot be denied that Zimbabwe has a long history of human rights abuses and political problems, (some) hunters have been forced off of their hunting areas and (some) hunters have also had problems getting their trophies out of the country. Bribery and corruption is rife even by African standards and it's getting worse by the day.

The Zim outfitters haven't cut their prices over recent years because they're full of the milk of human kindness, they've done it because they have to cut the prices to get the clients in. .........and the odds are that things will get a bloody sight worse before they get better..........I would personally say that it's more of an accurate prediction than a doomsday philosophy...... hunting in Zimbabwe now is to some extent a calulated risk.

If you don't believe me try a few searches on the net to see what kind of percentage of game populations have been lost there in the last few years, and while you're there take a look at the history of the elections etc.

As I said, there are still good hunting opportunities in Zim, but it's sensible for the hunter to be aware of the entire situation before booking a hunt there ....... especially (as you say) with regard to the Lacey Act.

........but Zimbabwe can hardly be described as the most stable of African countries at the moment can it?

Shakari,



Obviously Zim has its problems with the Marxist tendencies of its president and his land seizure policies. As far as the human rights situation, that really has nothing at all to do with having a successful hunt. Zim has corruption of course, but Zimbabweans are novices in the field of corruption compared to Tanzanian government officials. If you want to avoid corruption, do not do business in Tanzania. And regarding physical safety, Zim remains a very safe destination for hunters, while RSA is the most unsafe for a white foreigner (and probably for a white resident as well). You mentioned that some clients had difficulty getting their trophies out of Zim, but that is because they were not with a reputable company. Some clients also have difficulty getting their trophies out of RSA, such as those clients who shot leopards for which there were no CITES permits. (oops!)



If a person books with a reputable safari company in Zim, he can be assured of an excellent hunt and excellent value for his money.



It simply does no one in the safari industry any good to try to scare potential clients away from Zim with doomsday talk, so I think you should stop it. Frankly, it looks like a transparent attempt to solicit a new booking rather than frank and honest advice about where to hunt elephants. Perhaps you did not intend it as such, but I wanted to mention it since a number of your warnings about Zim come off the same way.



Best wishes.

lol, your avatar...

that's not a real zebra-mimicking caterpillar right?

Get in contact with Ganyana (he is a regular poster on AR) if you want to go to Zim. He can get you connected.

DaveK,

Read what 500grains has to say, I hunted Zim in June/July of this year and he is right on with his comments. There are too many forum members who run Zimbabwe down for questionable reasons. In sum IMHO Zimbabwe is the BEST place to hunt for your money, just make sure you have a reputable Zimbabwean outfitter and PH. Send me a PM if you would like to discuss further,

CFA

If you would like to re-read my post on this thread, you'll find I begin it by saying you'll probably get the cheapest hunt in Zim, but that the country does have it's problems......that statement is completely true.....as are all of the other statements I've made.

Nowhere have I made a sales pitch of any kind.

Many people will visit Africa a couple of times and then make the mistake of thinking they're an expert on the entire continent. I've kicked around Africa on and off for about 25 years and hunted (reasonably extensively) in about 6 of those countries (which is probably more experience than many) and still don't come close to knowing everything about individual countries, let alone the entire continent!

But I do live reasonably close to the Zim border, I do read the newspapers, I do see how many people (both black and white) have got the hell out of Zimbabwe and I do (personally) know Zim farmers who have lost ALL their properties and come here to start again.

As I also said, you'll get a good hunt in Zim if you go to the right people, (hell, I even named a few so how can that be a sales pitch? ) but it cannot be denied that the country has political problems which are getting worse as each year goes by.........and tourists of any kind need to be aware of that for their own peace of mind at least. I didn't mention Ganyana in my previous post, and I guess I should have done.

I'm not trying to get into a pissing contest about which country has more corruption than another, but when was the last time that a minister in Tanzania announced that a national park had now become his property and that he intended to run hunting there?......with no regard to quota etc......it happened in Hwange not so long ago. When was the last time that a Tanzanian head of Government encouraged the general population to sieze legally owned land by force if necessary?

So, let's hear what personal experience of individual African countries some of us have had?......how many days/weeks/months/years etc.

Steve,



I regret that you are putting your head in the sand on these issues. If you have done business in Tanzania, you surely have experienced the corruption. Why try to cover it up? And as for South Africa, I am sure you know the facts but prefer that they do not come to light because they are extremely embarassing for all of the ethical operators who are harmed by the dishonest actions of a few.



But ignoring the problem only makes it worse.



[An aside: I note but choose to ignore your tactic of attempting to discredit the message by attacking the messenger.]