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I am planning a trip late in the year, end of October/beginning of November to hunt the Kwando River area of the Caprivi with Jamy Traut. My main focus is on sable, roan, red lechwe, buffalo, hippo, croc and leopard. I may have the opportunity for elephant and lion depending on the quota. Has anyone hunted in this area? What experiences have people had hunting in this area later in the year?
Any help would be appreciated.
Rich
I'll be in the same area with him in July for Buff and roan. Have had great references.
I also got great references and I am truly looking forward to it. Why did you decide to hunt in July? I am going later in the year because I was told the animals are more congregated in the area due to it being only one of the only places that has water left in the area. The buffalo and roan are there year round. The sable may be a little tougher I am told. Are you going to hunt Eden also?
Sorry for the late reply Rich. Having hunted Namibia previously and heard a great deal about Eden, I don't think finding game there will be a big hurdle. Jamy conducts his dangerous game hunts in the Caprivi and in Bushman Land - depending upon concentrations. Caprivi, in particular, offers the opportunity for roan. With regard to dangerous game, I am only interested in Buff this trip, so I expect we will go straight to the Caprivi upon arrival and stay there until we have him. We'll see if we run into a roan while hunting buff. We probably will then move back down to Eden for the remainder of the hunt. My two priorities after the buffalo are sable and eland and then whatever other plains game looks interesting. I'm always looking for a bigger kudu! Will be interested to hear how hot it is and if the rains have started if you are there as late as November. I hunted down near Omaruru in 08 during Aug and the weather was lovely - low eighties at noon and high thirties at midnight. Suspect early mornings in July will be really chilly.
I hunted in the eastern portions of the Caprivi in late November last year. I was a good bit further east than where you will be. The rains had already started and animals were no longer concentrated along the river (Chobe); however, we still managed to find all the game I was after except for kudu, which was a long shot anyway. I was hunting primarily plains game.
I had been in the same area in September but was not hunting. The rains had not started yet and the game was stacked up along the river on both the Namibia and Botswana sides as far as you could see.
Red Leg, did you happen to hunt with Nick Nolte? I was there in 07 with Nick? I took a leopard and plains game with him. If I make it to Eden, that would be great, but I have a large list of animals I want to take from the Caprivi. I hope the weather is not a factor. Jack Atcheson and Jamy told me the weather typically starts later in the month and the beginning of November should still be good. I expect it to be hot and the game concentrated. I can live with the heat. I hunted Zim last Oct/Nov and shot a monster elephant. The early mornings and late evenings were great and we took it easy mid day. I can hunt mid day also if it means we have a shot at big animals. Whatever conditions are out there, I will rise to the occasion.
Jorge, who did you hunt with? What animals did you take on the hunt? You say you mainly hunted plains game. Did you see large elephant, lion, and leopard? Where there Sable, Roan, Lechwe, and Tseesebe where you were hunting?
Yes Rich, I hunted with Nick in 08. Took my son, and we had a grand time concluding with taking a beautiful cat (finally got it from the taxidermist a few weeks ago). This whole leopard mess in Namibia is really putting Nick in a tough place. With a limit of only two permits, he has been trying to pick up some extra ones from other outfitters with only limited success. Of course, that will drive up the price. The bigger potential problem will be the apparent ban on night hunting. As you know, having been there, trying to get a cat to show up in shootable light in cattle country will be next to impossible.
Nick has a special gift with leopards, and if he can't offer them in any quantity then he and Isabelle become just another plains game outfit in Namibia in what is becoming a crowded market. There bookings for 10 are down over 50 percent which is really tough. Hard to imagine a better first safari location for many, but without the leopard potential it will be hard for them to separate themselves.
Nick is a great guy and a great PH. I really enjoyed hunting with him. I took my leopard on the last night there. He was not a huge trophy, but it was a great hunt. I know Nick and Isabelle just had another son, so I hope things work out well for them. Nicks talk of his days hunting the Caprivi is what got me excited to go this year. When I received an email from Jack about the opportunity to hunt the Caprivi, I called him immediately and booked the hunt. It sounds like a really incredible place and I am looking forward to my hunt as I am sure you are.
Didn't mean to imply mine was huge either - just a beautiful creature. We took it on the second to last night. I expect you feel like I do - that we earned them.
Hey Red Leg, I assume you are back from your trip. How was it? I would love to hear about it. I leave in about 6 weeks.
Check the article section. I posted a write up of the Caprivi trip. Fabulous experience!