SOUTH AFRICA: Kuche Safaris

[Roller]

My man. The criticisms are valid. But so are the praises. Give both the same respect.

I live in an upscale city in Alabama (oxymoron I know) meaning most everyone I know has the resources to do any hunt they want in Africa. I don’t know a soul who would take their first hunt to Africa in a remote camp and as the only hunter. My wife would never go to Africa hunting, and would have been adamantly against me doing that.

Now, “winning” a trip at a DU event and taking my 3 best friends to a large camp. A perfect first hunt in Africa.

I, like ruraldoc, have already booked my next hunt in Africa with a much smaller organization. No one here has said you should take every hunt at Kuche. But for a first hunt in Africa with friends, it was perfect and I can’t imagine being in a small camp in Namibia by myself would have been better.

I would challenge y’all to get your 3 best friends (the ones that say you’re crazy to go sleep in a tent in Zimbabwe) to go with you to Kuche for a week. Y’all will have a blast.

I’m sincerely glad that you had a good time. Roll Tide

 

[Daisy]

I’m sincerely glad that you had a good time. Roll Tide

Roll tide brother.

I’ve learned a lot here. Maybe I’ll be singing your tune after I’ve had some steak in smaller camps!

 

[Roller]

Roll tide brother.

I’ve learned a lot here. Maybe I’ll be singing your tune after I’ve had some steak in smaller camps!

Yes that burger is a gateway drug brother . You will see what I mean .

 

[Daisy]

Yes that burger is a gateway drug brother . You will see what I mean .

I can’t wait. It was a life changing experience for sure.

 

[Roller]

I can’t wait. It was a life changing experience for sure.

It was for all of us man. You see species you have never seen before in a landscape you have never been in before and you see the hand of God .

 

[Mike70560]

Pretty interesting that an outfitter gets such wildly differing reviews..

We probably see differing views more now than in the past to some degree due the amount of traffic on this site. We all like to voice our opinions.

No outfitter gets it right 100% of the time, it may not even be the outfitters fault but it happens. Two buddies I know made a buffalo hunt in Zimbabwe out of the same camp at the same time. One thought it was great, the other is probably still upset with the outfitter.

Right now there is some interesting things going on in Zambia with the closures of some areas and people getting their deposits refunded. A PH that is involved in this once stepped in a fiasco for me and saved the day, but is now getting raked off the coals on this issue. My opinion of him has always been good, some people right now don’t feel the same way.

My opinions have tempered with age and a little experience.

Never hunted with Kuche, or even in South Africa. He surely has introduced a lot of folks to Africa which is a good thing. The large camps and type of hunting is just not for me.

 

[Hunt anything]

I’m sincerely glad that you had a good time. Roll Tide

Lets not get carried away with the roll tide stuff. LOL

 

[Deepfork]

It’s difficult to not have disdain for outfitters that operate this way when you’ve had opportunity to see many different hunting operations. There are large, well run outfitters in South Africa that lease high quality reserves and only hunt from sustainable quotas, but they charge for it (and many cases deserve it). Then there are large hunt factory operations like kuche or huntershill that operate off high hunter volume at low cost and are merged with game farming industry to sustain the model. A small outfitter may not be able to lease the reserves a quality large outfitter can, but a small outfitter can hunt the same ranches a company like kuche hunts and hunt them well. I don’t see the advantage of hunting with a large outfitter operating on the high hunter volume model unless you really want to stay at a lodge with a large number of other hunters. The price is same large or small outfitter. The large number of hunters makes a lot of variables at camp and the PHs to accommodate that many hunters are another variable. If looking for a basic ranch hunt in Limpopo a small outfitter provides a consistent experience that a hunt volume outfitter just can’t.

You ARE making some incorrect assumptions about Kuche and their operation and presenting them as fact.

You have made multiple disparaging remarks directed towards those who you say blindly support Kuche safaries, implying if not directly saying they (ncluding myself) speak from ignorance. Here is one thing that is obvious, any compulsion some members may have to support Kuche is nothing compared to your need to bash them. The one costant any time Kuche Safaries is mentioned is you.

I will hunt with Kuche again, already have another hunt booked. It will be eight of us as it stands now, all members of my family, three generations of us. Kuche safaries is a family owned and run business. They are good people and work hard to take care of their clients. The base camp is also the family home and a working farm. Exactly the enviorment I want for my next trip to Africa, and I suspect we would have trouble finding another outfitter that could accomadate my clan.

I have not said, and I have not seen any one else who had a good experience with Kuche say they do not want to have a different experience hunting in Africa at some point. I have the bug, I will hunt with other outfitters, I will without a doubt also return to Kuche. No matter what else I do it wont change the fact that on our hunt last year we had a great time, met a lot of amazing people both kuche staff and other hunters and were taken care of very well. And that is what matters to me. I don't really care what you or others think hunting in Africa should be. I had a experience that was new and unique to me and it was a good one. Over half of the hunters we were with in the Kuche camps with during our time there were on their first hunting trip to Africa. But there were many, and a few notable exceptions. Believe it or not there were hunters I talked to in camp who had made many trips to Africa, hunted with many outfitters in several countries that keep coming back to Kuche.

Your statement above that Kucke is "merged" with the game farming industry to sustain their model is frankly BS. The animals on the game farms, hunting ranches or whatever you chose to call them which Kuche safaries hunts are managed to different degrees depending on the property and land owner. These are managed properties, high fence operations, I get that. But these are wild animals and self sustaining herds. I understand that many members here are not interested in what Kuche is offering. Thats fair. But everyone deserves to be able to decide for themselves based on facts, not pre concieved notions and individule bias.

 

[375Fox]

You ARE making some incorrect assumptions about Kuche and their operation and presenting them as fact.

You have made multiple disparaging remarks directed towards those who you say blindly support Kuche safaries, implying if not directly saying they (ncluding myself) speak from ignorance. Here is one thing that is obvious, any compulsion some members may have to support Kuche is nothing compared to your need to bash them. The one costant any time Kuche Safaries is mentioned is you.

I will hunt with Kuche again, already have another hunt booked. It will be eight of us as it stands now, all members of my family, three generations of us. Kuche safaries is a family owned and run business. They are good people and work hard to take care of their clients. The base camp is also the family home and a working farm. Exactly the enviorment I want for my next trip to Africa, and I suspect we would have trouble finding another outfitter that could accomadate my clan.

I have not said, and I have not seen any one else who had a good experience with Kuche say they do not want to have a different experience hunting in Africa at some point. I have the bug, I will hunt with other outfitters, I will without a doubt also return to Kuche. No matter what else I do it wont change the fact that on our hunt last year we had a great time, met a lot of amazing people both kuche staff and other hunters and were taken care of very well. And that is what matters to me. I don't really care what you or others think hunting in Africa should be. I had a experience that was new and unique to me and it was a good one. Over half of the hunters we were with in the Kuche camps with during our time there were on their first hunting trip to Africa. But there were many, and a few notable exceptions. Believe it or not there were hunters I talked to in camp who had made many trips to Africa, hunted with many outfitters in several countries that keep coming back to Kuche.

Your statement above that Kucke is "merged" with the game farming industry to sustain their model is frankly BS. The animals on the game farms, hunting ranches or whatever you chose to call them which Kuche safaries hunts are managed to different degrees depending on the property and land owner. These are managed properties, high fence operations, I get that. But these are wild animals and self sustaining herds. I understand that many members here are not interested in what Kuche is offering. Thats fair. But everyone deserves to be able to decide for themselves based on facts, not pre concieved notions and individule bias.

You are not doing the favors for kuche safaris you think you are with your posts. The information is out there if you’d like remove the emotion and do some critical thinking with the information provided. I’m glad you had a good first hunt. There are better options available for a second hunt.

 

[Deepfork]

You are not doing the favors for kuche safaris you think you are with your posts. The information is out there if you’d like remove the emotion and do some critical thinking with the information provided. I’m glad you had a good first hunt. There are better options available for a second hunt.

My emotional non critical thinking has served me well, thanks for the advise!

 

[sureshot375]

On your previous trip to Kuche, how many of your animals were shot from or near the truck?

Almost every hunting outfit in SA is a family operation.

The overwhelming majority of outfitters could accommodate 8 people.

If they told you all of their hunting was from “self sustaining” herds, they lied to you.

You ARE making some incorrect assumptions about Kuche and their operation and presenting them as fact.

You have made multiple disparaging remarks directed towards those who you say blindly support Kuche safaries, implying if not directly saying they (ncluding myself) speak from ignorance. Here is one thing that is obvious, any compulsion some members may have to support Kuche is nothing compared to your need to bash them. The one costant any time Kuche Safaries is mentioned is you.

I will hunt with Kuche again, already have another hunt booked. It will be eight of us as it stands now, all members of my family, three generations of us. Kuche safaries is a family owned and run business. They are good people and work hard to take care of their clients. The base camp is also the family home and a working farm. Exactly the enviorment I want for my next trip to Africa, and I suspect we would have trouble finding another outfitter that could accomadate my clan.

I have not said, and I have not seen any one else who had a good experience with Kuche say they do not want to have a different experience hunting in Africa at some point. I have the bug, I will hunt with other outfitters, I will without a doubt also return to Kuche. No matter what else I do it wont change the fact that on our hunt last year we had a great time, met a lot of amazing people both kuche staff and other hunters and were taken care of very well. And that is what matters to me. I don't really care what you or others think hunting in Africa should be. I had a experience that was new and unique to me and it was a good one. Over half of the hunters we were with in the Kuche camps with during our time there were on their first hunting trip to Africa. But there were many, and a few notable exceptions. Believe it or not there were hunters I talked to in camp who had made many trips to Africa, hunted with many outfitters in several countries that keep coming back to Kuche.

Your statement above that Kucke is "merged" with the game farming industry to sustain their model is frankly BS. The animals on the game farms, hunting ranches or whatever you chose to call them which Kuche safaries hunts are managed to different degrees depending on the property and land owner. These are managed properties, high fence operations, I get that. But these are wild animals and self sustaining herds. I understand that many members here are not interested in what Kuche is offering. Thats fair. But everyone deserves to be able to decide for themselves based on facts, not pre concieved notions and individule bias.

 

[Deepfork]

On your previous trip to Kuche, how many of your animals were shot from or near the truck?

Almost every hunting outfit in SA is a family operation.

The overwhelming majority of outfitters could accommodate 8 people.

If they told you all of their hunting was from “self sustaining” herds, they lied to you.

One animal from the truck. Near is subjective. I took nine animals all but two were spotted from the truck. Most were within A couple of hundred yards of the vehicle when we spotted them, generally at that point we would back out with the truck and work our way back in on foot. A couple of times I had my shot within a minute or two of leaving the truck but that was not generally the case. A couple of times we left the truck with plans to meet our tracker at a predetermined location with the vehicle after an hour or so, we walked a couple of miles at most on those occasions. My PH and I spent the better part of a afternoon on a rocky, brushy ridgeline trying to sneak up on a group of mountain zebras when we were at the Free State camp. I got on the sticks 3 times but never got the shot. That was the most time I spent away from the vehicle. The other guys all went on longer hikes and spent more time in the brush on foot than I did. I have a bad ankle that's limits me. Docs want to fuse it but I have not let them do it yet.

Interesting you say most outfitters can handle a large group. That may be, just not the impression most here give when talking about the number of hunters in Kuches camp.

 

[Ruraldoc]

On your previous trip to Kuche, how many of your animals were shot from or near the truck?

Almost every hunting outfit in SA is a family operation.

The overwhelming majority of outfitters could accommodate 8 people.

If they told you all of their hunting was from “self sustaining” herds, they lied to you.

I have noticed that the most ardent critics of Kuche have not been there.

And the most ardent supporters have been there personally.

 

[Daisy]

I tracked an eland 17 miles on foot In one day. Never did get it. That’s speaks well IMO. Walked almost 40 miles in a 5 day hunt.

 

[DonPablo]

I have noticed that the most ardent critics of Kuche have not been there.

And the most ardent supporters have been there personally.

I feel like mine was a fair assessment. I listed both the positive and the negative from my experience.

 

[bjh2oson]

I hunted with Kuche at the end of June/beginning of July and I will offer what my buddy and I experienced. I also got the hunt through DU so I got a pretty good price for our hunt.

We (myself, my wife, my buddy and his wife) enjoyed our hunt (for the most part) but as someone mentioned, this was our 1st time and we don't have anything to compare it to. I agree our PHs were great and I enjoyed the different properties we visited. Dinners were great and we definitely gained weight.

I will say that communication is not one of Koos's strengths. In fact, he does not allow his PHs to share contact info with the hunters. My guess is that since they do not all work exclusively for him, it prevents them from promoting other outfitters.

My buddy and his wife had this issue but our PHs stayed on site and they were able to resolve the issue the following day. We let them borrow our shower that night.

We are not rich and found the accommodations sufficient. We also visited the Free State camp and the accommodations were much nicer but there we stayed at a resort that Koos has access to. Our wives opted to go to the blind with us and loved it. I know there was talk of a spa while we were in the Free State but they never made any attempt to take advantage of it.

We enjoyed the breakfast and lunch but again, we're not very picky.

We stayed (while in the Limpopo camp) in a room attached to the breakfast room and didn't smell the shed. Maybe there are rooms closer. I don't know.

Did you get confirmation on this? After leaving, we suspected it. My PH was a senior there and I sat a different blind every day. Come to find out my buddy was stuck in the same blind every time (in Limpopo).

If you bowhunt with Kuche, reiterate to the PH when he picks you up that you're bowhunting. Koos somehow forgot that I was exclusively bowhunting and sent us to his Free State camp. Come to find out he's not set up for bowhunting there and they had to scramble to accommodate us. As a result we did not get to hunt the evening we arrived. He found us a property to hunt the next day and I took (what I consider) a nice kudu. The following day we left before sunup for his Limpopo camp 8 hours away. We arrived in time to hunt the evening and I took a gemsbok cow that was nice and long. Over the next three days I took each of the animals from my package (a warthog, impala and a wildebeest). My buddy took a kudu, a few blesbok and a wildebeest. Except for the blesbok, he shot his with a rifle on the last full day. He wanted to switch to rifle sooner but was not allowed. He also wanted to shoot a zebra but was told that one in particular was off-limits. I wasn't covered up in animals and every animal I shot was a challenge which made me all the more satisfied with my hunt.

Now, I will say this. At Kuche they usually do not allow you to hunt the day of departure. However, I explained to Koos that because of his mix-up we were only able to hunt three and a half days of a 5-day hunt. And so to make it right, he made an exception and allowed us to hunt the morning before leaving. I shot my wildebeest right away but my buddy and his PH were sent to a property and given the wrong combination. He didn't get much time to hunt by the time they got in and was so frustrated he gave up and left not long after that.

We did confirm that several PH's own the land they hunt on. 4/5 in our group were hunting on their ph's land. I am glad your experience was better than mine but this place just isnt for me.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I have noticed that the most ardent critics of Kuche have not been there.

And the most ardent supporters have been there personally.

Actually, it appears to me that the criticism and praises are balanced among those who have booked with Kuche. If anything maybe leaning a bit on the critical side.

I am not a critic of Kuche. That style of operation would not cut it for me no matter who is the operator or where they are operating. I like my hunting experience intimate and personal, not a factory assembly line or a massive costume ball. Not a criticism, just the way I am. I don't have a lot of sympathy for the bow hunters who are frustrated sitting in a Kuche blind the whole trip and only getting a few shots. That seems to be the typical scenario for North American bow hunting anyway. What did they expect? Most of the other complaints seem to be related to an operation that is just too big to be very personal.

 

[bjh2oson]

Do I think my outfitter is "the best"? I never looked at it that way. He was absolutely honest about what to expect,hard working, and delivered an exceptional experience.

And I am not a " cheap ass", but consider frugality a virtue. I have been on the site long enough to know that some people have nothing but distain for South African outfitters,especially the large ones.

My wife runs a large south Alabama hunting lodge, sometimes she has to field complaints that are very similar to the unfair things said about Kuche.

"I could smell the skinning shed" is a good one. What do you think it is supposed to smell like?

Or I thought I would be "the only one in camp", when it was made clear that the camp was built to accomidate a dozen or more hunters and that they did not have exclusive use of it.

Or " I didn't realize that bow hunters had a lower success rate than the rifle hunters in camp".

But like Kuche,they have many very satisfied clients who come back year after year.

I know some people dont like being called a cheap ass but at the end of the day this is absolutely one of the most inexpensive places you can go. The place itself is serviceable but not nice by any stretch. I'm not sure who thinks their breakfast or lunch was good but it is an opinion.. probably the kind of people who use bbq sauce on a 'prime' steak. Oh wait, the people who hunt here dont buy 'prime'... just kidding around here kind of.

As far as the skinning shed, i have been around animals, hunting, killing etc for a long time. The smell that comes with this does not typically bother me. When they have 10, 20, 30 animals a day coming through they should put more thought into where everything is processed. Again just one of those details that shows this place is low rent.

There is a huge difference between having low success as a bow hunter and setting someone up to at-least have a chance at success. If 40% of my hunt was wasted on places with poor management and setup then that is not my fault. This plays into the bigger issues here.. poor communication, jockeying for spots.. which ph's get the better spots etc, and having too many people in camp. (we had 20+ hunters our week)


We can go around and around but at the end of the day this is how my hunt went and its not the only one. If you have a limited amount of money and this is your only trip to Africa do you want to risk it with them? As a bow hunter and/or someone who enjoys nice places, stay away. Rifle- you will be fine most likely but i would do some research and find a better place

 

[Ruraldoc]

I know some people dont like being called a cheap ass but at the end of the day this is absolutely one of the most inexpensive places you can go. The place itself is serviceable but not nice by any stretch. I'm not sure who thinks their breakfast or lunch was good but it is an opinion.. probably the kind of people who use bbq sauce on a 'prime' steak. Oh wait, the people who hunt here dont buy 'prime'... just kidding around here kind of.

As far as the skinning shed, i have been around animals, hunting, killing etc for a long time. The smell that comes with this does not typically bother me. When they have 10, 20, 30 animals a day coming through they should put more thought into where everything is processed. Again just one of those details that shows this place is low rent.

There is a huge difference between having low success as a bow hunter and setting someone up to at-least have a chance at success. If 40% of my hunt was wasted on places with poor management and setup then that is not my fault. This plays into the bigger issues here.. poor communication, jockeying for spots.. which ph's get the better spots etc, and having too many people in camp. (we had 20+ hunters our week)


We can go around and around but at the end of the day this is how my hunt went and its not the only one. If you have a limited amount of money and this is your only trip to Africa do you want to risk it with them? As a bow hunter and/or someone who enjoys nice places, stay away. Rifle- you will be fine most likely but i would do some research and find a better place

My experience at Kuche was outstanding in every way. People can read my hunt report for details.

Nothing about my time there felt low rent. Not the service,the accomodations,the food or the hunting.

But I am no delicate flower easily upset. YMMV

 

[Ruraldoc]

My experience at Kuche was outstanding in every way. People can read my hunt report for details.

Nothing about my time there felt low rent. Not the service,the accomodations,the food our the hunting.

But I am no delicate flower easily upset. YMMV

For example.

Having passed on several fine gemsbuck on the second day of the hunt, I decided on day three that I really wanted one. The property where I saw the gemsbuck was no longer available to me. Not sure why,but it doesn't matter. I hunted gemsbuck on other properties but did not see another trophy male.

I'm sure this would have been a major issue to some people but I just rolled with it. While looking for another gemsbuck,I took a wonderful trophy waterbuck.

It pays to be flexible. A friend just returned from Zimbabwe,he paid a lot of money and did not get an opportunity at sable or eland. He took this in stride. Some people would still be seething.

My friend was also hunting buffalo,he didn't see one until the last afternoon of a 10 day hunt.

Because he had no opportunity at eland or sable,he was able to take two cape buffalo bulls out of a group of 5 dagga boys when he had only planned on taking one.

It pays to be willing to adapt to circumstances and not be always thin skinned,looking for a grievance when our expectations are not met.

Sorry you didn't get a kudu with your bow. I sincerely hope you get over it.