SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa "Open Zone" Bull Elephant Hunt - May 2026

Congratulations! Wonderful hunt with a wonderful caliber!

Nice! Congrats

Foxi said:

Waidmansheil.
Good stalk, good shooting.
I saw our member Valie Enslin from "thats Africa Safari"in the video.
He is a good comrade and a brilliant PH.
I' ve hunted with him severel times and also very successful.
In my Avartar you see his beautiful Verney Carron in .470 Nitro
Congrats.

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Thank you, Gunter, what a pleasure to hunt with you always. You are truly a dear friend of ours and we cannot wait to see you again in Africa but also when we come to Salzburg in Feb 2027.
Valie & Danielle

Great post Rod! congratulations yet again on a wonderful pursuit. You can be well proud of that shot. What a privilege to have shared your first African Adventure with you. It was a great hunt and I was very impressed by your shooting. We can't decide which is better, your shooting or your sense of humor. Great laughs were shared over a cold beer in camp. Overall, it was just a pleasure having you in camp and sharing this huge moment with you.
Thank you for trusting us as your Outfitter, we cannot wait to see you in Africa again.

Valie & Danielle

THAT'S AFRICA SAFARI said:

Great post Rod! congratulations yet again on a wonderful pursuit. You can be well proud of that shot. What a privilege to have shared your first African Adventure with you. It was a great hunt and I was very impressed by your shooting. We can't decide which is better, your shooting or your sense of humor. Great laughs were shared over a cold beer in camp. Overall, it was just a pleasure having you in camp and sharing this huge moment with you.
Thank you for trusting us as your Outfitter, we cannot wait to see you in Africa again.

Valie & Danielle

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G’day Valie and Danielle, thank you for your kind words and for making my week with you so special.

I can’t wait to return.

Cheers mate

Rod

Sir.
Well done! What a fantastic experience a truly memorable hunt I'm sure.
How many days did you hunt and were you able to get a few stalks in?
I will be hunting elephant in September same basic area. This will be my first elephant hunt so I've been gathering and listening to information from everyone who has done this hunt.
Also taking a 416 Rigby RSM.
Using African Sky also.
Any pearls of wisdom?
Thanks

Beautiful hunt. Congratulations! Thank you for posting the video and pictures of the missile. I wish you to be successful again and also enjoy yourself

Ironhorse375 said:

Sir.
Well done! What a fantastic experience a truly memorable hunt I'm sure.
How many days did you hunt and were you able to get a few stalks in?
I will be hunting elephant in September same basic area. This will be my first elephant hunt so I've been gathering and listening to information from everyone who has done this hunt.
Also taking a 416 Rigby RSM.
Using African Sky also.
Any pearls of wisdom?
Thanks

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G’day mate, you’ve picked a great spot to hunt. I couldn’t have wished for a better trip/hunt.

My trip had 7 days scheduled for hunting. I shot my elephant on the second day. Before I shot my elephant we had executed 5 or 6 other stalks in close on other bulls to assess size and to get me acclimatised to elephants. Those stalks were absolutely unreal. We got up real close to some bulls in some pretty thick bush. The good thing about that was that by the time I shot my bull I was pretty comfortable about being up close and confident that I knew where I would have to aim when the time came. I’m really pleased that Valie spent as much time as we did doing those stalks.
After I shot my bull there was plenty of hunting for plains game on offer at other concessions. I spent 2 days chasing a zebra. That was a lot harder than I thought it would be. It was a great experience. After that I elected to play tourist and Valie then did a great job of driving me around and showing me his glorious part of the world.

As to Africa Sky…. Perfect place to stay. Nice accommodation, great food and cold drinks. The rifle permit service that they offer worked without any issues.

As to your rifle….the 416 Rigby would be hard to beat. I used Woodleighs hydro’s in mine and I can’t think of anything better to use.

With airline travel in SA….make sure that you have a separate locked case for the ammunition. And make sure that the airline knows you are taking a firearm and ammunition. There is also a fee for that. I flew with SA Airlink within South Africa.

Good luck with your hunt. If you want to know anything else just ask…I’m happy to share.

Rod

deewayne2003 said:

Well done sir!

My first trip to Africa was in 24 and first African animal was a tuskless in Zimbabwe with my .470 and like you, with Woodleigh Hydros; I knew then it wouldn’t be my last either!

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I am hunting an elephant with That’s Africa in Moz along with a buff in 2028

.

Good for you mate & thank you for posting. Good shooting !

.

I’ve been sorting out photos from this hunt and….. I think this photo is pretty special. Well, it definitely is to me.

It was taken a couple of seconds after the bull dropped. Great memories.

Truly was a special moment and some great shooting to add.
Looking forward to creating some more special memories

R eight said:

With airline travel in SA….make sure that you have a separate locked case for the ammunition. And make sure that the airline knows you are taking a firearm and ammunition. There is also a fee for that. I flew with SA Airlink within South Africa.

Good luck with your hunt. If you want to know anything else just ask…I’m happy to share.

Rod

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Was Air Link easy to use for transporting your weapons and ammunition?
Do you still remember their prices?
Regards
Foxi

@Foxi, last year I used Air Link to fly to the Eastern Cape, and if I recall correctly, I think I paid something like $45 for the ammo. It's not that bad. The rifle and ammo are picked up at a different location, and the SAPS checks the serial number of the rifle when your case is registered.

Foxi said:

Was Air Link easy to use for transporting your weapons and ammunition?
Do you still remember their prices?
Regards
Foxi

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Yes, Air Link was easy to use when traveling with a rifle. The only unusual thing was that the ammunition had to be in a separate locked case. That is the ammunition was separate from my rifle case and my other hold baggage.
I also had to contact the Airline and get approval to carry the rifle. That approval I sought by email. Details were on their website. Was actually easier than I thought it would be.
As to cost I can’t remember exactly but about $50 USD for each flight. Payable at check-in.

It's a pretty simple process. Does take a little extra time, but not bad. I always thought it was as much about getting a little extra money out of you as it was about anything concerning safety.

And yes you are supposed to give them prior notice at least a few days ahead that you will be transporting rifles and ammunition. As mentioned it's simply done through email.