First Trip - Where to?

Hi to all,
I am new to this forum and so far seems to be very well put together and extremely informative.

I am hoping to book a trip for some time mid next year but I am undecided on where to go?
I would love to take a buff but I dont think my budget will quite stretch that far.
South Africa seems much more affordable for the plains game type hunting I would most probably be chasing, but have heard that the hunting will be within confined/fenced areas or game reserves?
If this is the case where can you hunt without fences or totally wild?
My shortlist of species would be Eland, Kudu, bushbuck, wilderbeest, hyena, zebra & warthog.
How much time will I need?
How many trophies should I be expecting/budgeting for per day.
Is there any recommended outfitters I should be speaking to for the above species?

Thanks in advance and I look forward to your responses.

I recommend you book a plains game hunt in Zimbabwe...there are lots of places to go...but after reading your introductions...and the animals you are interested in hunting...I would go to Zimbabwe. Fences are a part of Africa...and if it's going to bother you go to Zimbabwe.

Best of luck!

Welcome to the forum!

1. Yes, most of South Africa is fenced. Namibia and Zimbabwe have some fenced hunting areas as well. What you must keep in mind is that these are enormous ranches. You are not hunting on a 240 acre fenced in farm like you might think in the US. These ranches are multi-thousand acres and well within "fair chase" as the animals can literally go anywhere.

2. If fences in any form bother you, then you better consider Tanzania, Botswana (outside Tuli block), Zimbabwe, or Mozambique. These places are generally much more expensive in total hunt costs. Daily rates will generally be higher in these areas.

3. Time - I would plan for a ten day hunt. Seriously. The flight over there is not cheap and you might as well make the most of it. So, 14 days in total (2 on each side of hunt for travel) and you are in pretty good shape.

4. Warning - Once you go to Africa, it will be damn near impossible to get it out of your system. Be ready to go back!!

If you have any other questions, ask away to anyone here or feel free to contact me anytime. Welcome aboard!

Thanks for the quick responses! Do you think its realistic to get the seven animals listed in the 10 day timeframe?

Originally Posted by pro12a

Thanks for the quick responses! Do you think its realistic to get the seven animals listed in the 10 day timeframe?

Depends on where you go and how lucky you are ! Hyena is the one you will need the biggest luck for as well as eland if you are going to do the hunt in Zimbabwe.

Leave hyena out of the picture and you have a good chance.

Hyena is going to send you to a D.G. area and will greatly increase over all price of your safari. If bushbuck is a must that will limit were you can go too.
Look around at the easten cape of RSA. there are unfenced huge propertys there. Also there are alot of places in Namibia that only have a 3' cattle fences just like you average fram here in the U.S. They wont have heyna and bushbuck but have other animals to keep you busy.

You can get 10+ animals in 10 days of hunting. But once you hunt in Africa, you will probably want to come back at a later date. Hyena will be hard to get...eland on foot can be difficult...and it depends on how picky you are on horn length. I would go to Africa just to enjoy your time there....express to the PH or outfitter what you are interested in hunting...but open your mind to possibly shooting a 30 in waterbuck or 24 in. impala if it walks in front of you....you can always come back for that one animal you didn't get on the last trip. There are so many animals...that it's hard to do just one trip.

If you are after a well priced Plains Game hunt for Eland , Kudu, Hyena, BushBuck, Bushpig, Zebra, Impala and WaterBuck in a truly wild area where big game abound, then it would be worth checking out Kambako African Safaris - Mozambique, Africa .
I have done three Safaris there with great results.
However, this is not the place to stack up huge numbers of trophy's in a short time but instead a great venue for a true Safari where you will have to hunt hard for ten to twelve days.

sent you a PM