I’m looking for three hunters to join me and some old time Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert outside of Ghanzi, Botswana to go hunting in June this year.

I used to live in Botswana and worked on several CBNRM (Community Based Natural Resource Management) projects. Since my return to the US in late 2005, I’m continuing to help the D’Kar Trust, one of the community trusts I consulted for, with a new project. The project is called TRAKS (Transferring Ancient Knowledge and Skills), the program will allow the old Bushmen who really hunted for survival to pass their knowledge on to younger Bushmen. The core idea is to put these rapidly disappearing individuals together with younger Bushmen who've never hunted and get them to hunt together. These teams would work as trackers and guides for international bow hunters and survival courses, plus conduct their own cull hunts using traditional methods. This project is vitally important to the Bushmen and all humans since the Bushmen’s hunter-gatherer culture is the foundation for all other cultures, and it’s rapidly fading. The Bushmen have few hunting opportunities so their unique and precious knowledge is not being passed on.

I’ll be going back to Botswana this summer to help implement the project. I’ll be spending several days meat hunting with the men at D’Kar Trust’s 18,500 acre Dqãe Qare Game Farm in July. I’m also hoping to get three bowhunters who’d like to spend 12 days trophy hunting with the men. The trip starts on June 16th and ends on the 27th. Included in the price of $5,500 is:

• All food, drinks, daily laundry, and accommodations
• 2 animals (trophy kudu and your choice of a blue wildebeest, red hartebeest, or gemsbok) with additional animals available at standard trophy fees
• Services of guide, trackers, and skinners
• Field prep of trophies and delivery to shipping agent in Maun.
• Transfers to and from airport in Maun

Also available at no added cost during the 12 days is a two day bushman survival experience. Stay in traditional huts and learn how to find food and water in the bush, tracking techniques, and bow and arrow making.

Anyone interested can email me at [EMAIL]peter@african-excursions.com [/EMAIL] or visit [URL=www.african-excursions.com/indexbow.htm ]www.african-excursions.com/indexbow.htm [/URL]

Thanks,

Peter Durkin

That's an amazing video link to Youtube on your website. Those Bushmen are incredible. Hope the project works out for you, sounds cool!

Peter,
If I were a bow hunter I'd join in a minute.

Welcome to the Board r&b61.

Regards, Tim

While I'd prefer to have bowhunters on this trip, gun hunters are welcome. Tracking and stalking are all the same with gun or bow, you just need to get closer with a bow. I'm also looking for 3 people to hunt with the same Bushmen again in the beginning of September but in combination with some fishing on the Okavango and camping in Moremi Game Reserve. It's on the website, just click on sporting safari

P Durkin,

I am a traditional bowhuner and would love to hunt with them. I like to stalk, but don't know the conditions are suitable to that. Have heard a lot about waterhole huntin which I don't like much. Any chance for an Eland? I have bowhunted one but would love to do it again.

Ddouble,

The terrain is a mixed shrub savannah with plenty of opportunities to track and stalk or spot and stalk. If you don’t want to hunt over a water hole, you don’t have to. Its tough hunting and some people would be disappointed to go so far and not get anything so there are two water holes on the farm and sitting by one increases one’s chances. It’s a personal choice.

As for eland, there are available on the main farm we hunt but there are several other farms we can hunt on and one has a ton of eland. You’ll be a hero if you take one of them with the Bushmen, it’s their favorite animal.

peter

there are some amasing offers on your web page, i wouldent be at all supprised if my first time in africa would be with you and your company.

another thing sprung to my eyes when looking at your homepage, the buying of a hunting farm could you please inform me of the price range on the farms, rough estimates will do.

best regards

peter

I’d like to put together a syndicate to buy a game farm then each member would get a prescribed amount of time and game on the farm. The overall startup cost would be around $1.25 million, so it would depend on the number of people in the syndicate, I’d say 6 max. I lived in Botswana and already have bought property there, so know the procedures for buy land there. Most land is tribally owned but there are some areas of freehold.

The operating expenses could be offset a bit by running some cattle. But I also have been in discussions with a guy who wants to set up small ostrich farming operations among the poorer people in Botswana for income generation. My wife and I have been involved in selling ostrich eggshell jewelry and other crafts made in Botswana as a way for the Bushmen and others to make some money. In fact the main reason we left Botswana to return to the States was to open a shop in Cold Spring, New York womensworkbw. The farm could possibly be set up as a non profit to foster the ostrich farming and then the costs would be tax deductible.