African Frontier Safaris
PH Jacques Van Rooyen
Dog Handler: Woutie Bennick
Wingshooting: Upland Birds and Waterfowl
GlenGuinea Lodge
Heilbron, Free State Province, RSA
August 15-18, 2026
Cameraman Ruan de Lange
Guns: The hunt included the use of a fairly new Beretta 686 Silver pigeon in 12g and ammo was also included. Finnochi shells.
Travel: ATL to JNB. Jacques picked us up on arrival, and we drove straight to the lodge (slightly <2hrs). Very convenient.
Overview:
Yes, I traveled to RSA for a 4 day bird hunt. Yes, I know thats a short time for a long distance. Yes, I know I should/could have stayed longer. Yes, I know there are closer places to hunt upland and waterfowl. Yes, I know its a long flight. Yes, I could have included some big game. Etc. etc. etc. I love bird hunting and I love Africa. I will not apologize for it. This trip was really wonderful.
So, I was looking for a good upland hunt this year out west. However, I saw a video of African Frontier Safaris/Jacques Van Rooyen on youtube and it looked incredible. I had heard Free State wingshooting was really good. So, I sent Jacques an email and we started a Whatsapp conversation. I did some further research and realized this guy was the real deal. Jacques' family has GlenGuinea Lodge in the Free State, a big game operation in Limpopo, and an operation for off-shore fishing near Bazaruto. ( https://www.africanfrontiersafaris.com/home-1 )
The cost of the flight notwithstanding, it was an incredible deal to bird hunt in the Freestate vs. what I've paid to hunt just upland birds or just waterfowl in SC/GA/AR/TN/WY/NE/ND/SD. With Jacques, I could do both and it was a better deal. Again, not really including flights...but I've got a heap of skymiles. I also liked that it was so close to JNB and did not necessitate an overnight at the airport on either end of the hunt. (We landed at 8pm in JNB, hunted the following morning. We also hunted the final day (ducks and upland) and got to the airport that night in time for a 10pm flight home.)
Finally, my wife/kids were delighted that my Africa trip this year had me leaving the house at 4:30pm on a Thursday and returning to the house on the following Wednesday by 11am.
One of my best friends from law school joined me and this was his first trip to the Dark Continent.
The whole experience was awesome. Jacques is a superb gentleman and great hunter. He was ably assisted by his dog trainer Woutie - a real character and passionate wingshooter. The dogs, they have about 6 GSPs, were well-trained and in great condition. He had a black lab for retrieving ducks that was also great.
GlenGuinea Lodge is brand new, just finished it in May, and really nice. They have only been at this commercial wingshooting for a couple years, but they are investing heavily into it and it shows. The food was really great and the drinks were freely flowing, including good Cape wine gathered from the Lodge's wine cellar. Jacques' lovely wife assists in the logistics of the operation. The chef, Maria, was fantastic. The rooms (I forgot to take pics) were super comfortable. Easily the nicest lodge I've stayed in while hunting. Full laundry service per usual and great cleaning staff.
The property itself is around 7,000 acres, but Jacques has rights to hunt a whole lot more than that. It is not high-fenced, but he did have a couple small enclosures within the farm where he breeds some game. Otherwise, it is a big commercial farm, corn, sunflowers, and cattle pasture with lots and lots hedgerows, contours (terracing), creeks, and occasional patch of trees. Beautiful rolling terrain that was reminiscent of eastern WY. Lots of wild, native plains game abounding.
The Hunt: I will divide this into two sections, Upland and Waterfowl
Upland
We hunted the four main species present: (1) Swainson's Spurfowl; (2) Orange River Francolin; (3) Common Quail; and (4) Helmeted Guineafowl. There were huge wild populations of all four species. The habitat he has is incredible. Huge crop fields surrounded and dissected by wide hedgerows and contours growing with native grasses/forbs. I dont know how many we killed of each species, but we flushed multiple coveys on every single walk. It was easily the finest upland hunting I've ever done and it was 100% wild birds. We also killed a ring necked dove that happened to fly by, missed a couple pigeon, and knocked out one scrub hare.
(l to r: two orange rivers, two swainsons, and one quail)
How about the hooks on this old Swainsons cock?
helmeted guineas
(5 swainsons with Aslan the GSP)
action shot of yours truly folding up a swainsons
3 orange river francolin, a quail, and a bonus scrub hare.
Several times while out upland hunting near small dams or creeks, we would jump ducks and they were fair game:
a couple yellow bills during an upland walk looking for quail
It was really awesome that while walking hedgerows bird hunting, we jumped an assortment of other game, including grey duiker, pigs (both warthog and bushpig are present in numbers), reedbuck, porcupine (very dangerous to the dogs as we sadly found out), mongoose, rabbits, caracal, etc. There is a ton of free range game on this farm.
One evening on the last walk, one of the GSPs (Deirdre) got nailed by a porcupine and a trip to the vet followed. They also lost a dog recently to a porcupine. After dark one night, we assisted in the liquidation of some porcupines with a 308 /thermal - that was fun.
It was awesome to have four distinct species - you never really knew what the dog was pointing at - and the liberal limit of 10 birds per gun per day made it a long day that demanded good shooting.
Waterfowl
This was a hell of a duck hunt. We were hunting the Vaal Dam about a hour away from the lodge. The Vaal Dam is one of the largest in RSA and provides water to Gauteng Province (JNB). We were hunting near where the Vaal River enters the dam in some flooded corn fields. Importantly, we were on a raised dyke so didn't need waiters or a boat. Easy, dry land hunting. Mainly pass shooting, but we had many groups try to land in our decoys.
Huge numbers of many, many species. We killed (to my recollection): Spurwing Geese, Egyptian Geese, Yellow Bills, Red-billed teal, Black Duck, White-faced whistler, and Cape Shoveler.
We hunted two mornings. There was a 10 bird per man limit per day. Had we hit all the times we shot, we'd have killed many, many multiples of that number.
Easily the most shooting I've ever done in a duck blind.
Egyptian Goose
Spurwings are enormous.
The spur
The team: Jacques, my friend Mark, me, Stefon an assistant, and Woutie the dog handler.
red-billed teal
On our second day of waterfowling, we settled into our blinds and the lab came over between my friend's feet and launched itself into a bush. It emerged with a serval cat in its jaws. What followed was a quick fight in which the lab prevailed without too much trouble. It was pretty intense and woke us up!
Interestingly enough, these birds were really relaxed. We got away with human and dog movement that would have spooked any mallard or pintail in the states. I guess that is also a reflection of the light hunting pressure.
Jacques and Woutie told us it was two their slowest mornings ever....Mark and I both had more shooting than we'd ever done anywhere else and, between us, we've hunted something like 10 different states for ducks.
Conclusion
This was an awesome trip. I could have stayed and hunted behind those German Shorthairs for a couple weeks. Jacques' farm is very impressive; and they obviously work hard on that habitat. Having wild birds in those numbers is impressive. As someone who manages our family place in SC for quail and turkeys, it is easy to recognize and appreciate the work they put in. Incredibly, they try and only flush a covey once per season - meaning they only hunt some fields/hedgerows once a year. It shows too. While the birds were hard to hunt, they weren't over-pressured. We also never saw any evidence of other hunters (such a old shell cases, etc.) This place is lightly hunted - speaking as someone who over-hunts his own place.
Our camera man, Ruan, is fairly new to the game, but he was hard-working and always ready for a shot - which is tough when videoing wingshooting - especially behind dogs. I will post the video here when it is finished.
I'm bringing home my best Swainson, my best Orange River, and a red-billed teal. Jacques hooked me up with a good bird taxidermist in RSA. Probably should do more, but I'll be back.
I really enjoyed the host and guides. Both Jacques and Woutie will be friends for life. This was my first trip to RSA and interacting with the Afrikaners. I like them immensely. Not much different than the folks I grew up with. Good natured and hospitable. Real hunters who enjoyed watching us shoot as much as we enjoyed shooting. They worked hard for us and we put in the miles together. (15.5 miles on foot on our busiest day afield). It is a turn-key operation. The fact that they provided everything (esp a good quality shotgun) was awesome.
Bottom line: if you want a quick trip to shoot wild birds in high numbers or if you want to add some bird hunting to the end of a safari elsewhere, you can't go wrong with Jacques Van Rooyen and GlenGuinea Lodge. I will be back, hopefully soon.
PH Jacques Van Rooyen
Dog Handler: Woutie Bennick
Wingshooting: Upland Birds and Waterfowl
GlenGuinea Lodge
Heilbron, Free State Province, RSA
August 15-18, 2026
Cameraman Ruan de Lange
Guns: The hunt included the use of a fairly new Beretta 686 Silver pigeon in 12g and ammo was also included. Finnochi shells.
Travel: ATL to JNB. Jacques picked us up on arrival, and we drove straight to the lodge (slightly <2hrs). Very convenient.
Overview:
Yes, I traveled to RSA for a 4 day bird hunt. Yes, I know thats a short time for a long distance. Yes, I know I should/could have stayed longer. Yes, I know there are closer places to hunt upland and waterfowl. Yes, I know its a long flight. Yes, I could have included some big game. Etc. etc. etc. I love bird hunting and I love Africa. I will not apologize for it. This trip was really wonderful.
So, I was looking for a good upland hunt this year out west. However, I saw a video of African Frontier Safaris/Jacques Van Rooyen on youtube and it looked incredible. I had heard Free State wingshooting was really good. So, I sent Jacques an email and we started a Whatsapp conversation. I did some further research and realized this guy was the real deal. Jacques' family has GlenGuinea Lodge in the Free State, a big game operation in Limpopo, and an operation for off-shore fishing near Bazaruto. ( https://www.africanfrontiersafaris.com/home-1 )
The cost of the flight notwithstanding, it was an incredible deal to bird hunt in the Freestate vs. what I've paid to hunt just upland birds or just waterfowl in SC/GA/AR/TN/WY/NE/ND/SD. With Jacques, I could do both and it was a better deal. Again, not really including flights...but I've got a heap of skymiles. I also liked that it was so close to JNB and did not necessitate an overnight at the airport on either end of the hunt. (We landed at 8pm in JNB, hunted the following morning. We also hunted the final day (ducks and upland) and got to the airport that night in time for a 10pm flight home.)
Finally, my wife/kids were delighted that my Africa trip this year had me leaving the house at 4:30pm on a Thursday and returning to the house on the following Wednesday by 11am.
One of my best friends from law school joined me and this was his first trip to the Dark Continent.
The whole experience was awesome. Jacques is a superb gentleman and great hunter. He was ably assisted by his dog trainer Woutie - a real character and passionate wingshooter. The dogs, they have about 6 GSPs, were well-trained and in great condition. He had a black lab for retrieving ducks that was also great.
GlenGuinea Lodge is brand new, just finished it in May, and really nice. They have only been at this commercial wingshooting for a couple years, but they are investing heavily into it and it shows. The food was really great and the drinks were freely flowing, including good Cape wine gathered from the Lodge's wine cellar. Jacques' lovely wife assists in the logistics of the operation. The chef, Maria, was fantastic. The rooms (I forgot to take pics) were super comfortable. Easily the nicest lodge I've stayed in while hunting. Full laundry service per usual and great cleaning staff.
The property itself is around 7,000 acres, but Jacques has rights to hunt a whole lot more than that. It is not high-fenced, but he did have a couple small enclosures within the farm where he breeds some game. Otherwise, it is a big commercial farm, corn, sunflowers, and cattle pasture with lots and lots hedgerows, contours (terracing), creeks, and occasional patch of trees. Beautiful rolling terrain that was reminiscent of eastern WY. Lots of wild, native plains game abounding.
The Hunt: I will divide this into two sections, Upland and Waterfowl
Upland
We hunted the four main species present: (1) Swainson's Spurfowl; (2) Orange River Francolin; (3) Common Quail; and (4) Helmeted Guineafowl. There were huge wild populations of all four species. The habitat he has is incredible. Huge crop fields surrounded and dissected by wide hedgerows and contours growing with native grasses/forbs. I dont know how many we killed of each species, but we flushed multiple coveys on every single walk. It was easily the finest upland hunting I've ever done and it was 100% wild birds. We also killed a ring necked dove that happened to fly by, missed a couple pigeon, and knocked out one scrub hare.
(l to r: two orange rivers, two swainsons, and one quail)
How about the hooks on this old Swainsons cock?
helmeted guineas
(5 swainsons with Aslan the GSP)
action shot of yours truly folding up a swainsons
3 orange river francolin, a quail, and a bonus scrub hare.
Several times while out upland hunting near small dams or creeks, we would jump ducks and they were fair game:
a couple yellow bills during an upland walk looking for quail
It was really awesome that while walking hedgerows bird hunting, we jumped an assortment of other game, including grey duiker, pigs (both warthog and bushpig are present in numbers), reedbuck, porcupine (very dangerous to the dogs as we sadly found out), mongoose, rabbits, caracal, etc. There is a ton of free range game on this farm.
One evening on the last walk, one of the GSPs (Deirdre) got nailed by a porcupine and a trip to the vet followed. They also lost a dog recently to a porcupine. After dark one night, we assisted in the liquidation of some porcupines with a 308 /thermal - that was fun.
It was awesome to have four distinct species - you never really knew what the dog was pointing at - and the liberal limit of 10 birds per gun per day made it a long day that demanded good shooting.
Waterfowl
This was a hell of a duck hunt. We were hunting the Vaal Dam about a hour away from the lodge. The Vaal Dam is one of the largest in RSA and provides water to Gauteng Province (JNB). We were hunting near where the Vaal River enters the dam in some flooded corn fields. Importantly, we were on a raised dyke so didn't need waiters or a boat. Easy, dry land hunting. Mainly pass shooting, but we had many groups try to land in our decoys.
Huge numbers of many, many species. We killed (to my recollection): Spurwing Geese, Egyptian Geese, Yellow Bills, Red-billed teal, Black Duck, White-faced whistler, and Cape Shoveler.
We hunted two mornings. There was a 10 bird per man limit per day. Had we hit all the times we shot, we'd have killed many, many multiples of that number.
Easily the most shooting I've ever done in a duck blind.
Egyptian Goose
Spurwings are enormous.
The spur
The team: Jacques, my friend Mark, me, Stefon an assistant, and Woutie the dog handler.
red-billed teal
On our second day of waterfowling, we settled into our blinds and the lab came over between my friend's feet and launched itself into a bush. It emerged with a serval cat in its jaws. What followed was a quick fight in which the lab prevailed without too much trouble. It was pretty intense and woke us up!
Interestingly enough, these birds were really relaxed. We got away with human and dog movement that would have spooked any mallard or pintail in the states. I guess that is also a reflection of the light hunting pressure.
Jacques and Woutie told us it was two their slowest mornings ever....Mark and I both had more shooting than we'd ever done anywhere else and, between us, we've hunted something like 10 different states for ducks.
Conclusion
This was an awesome trip. I could have stayed and hunted behind those German Shorthairs for a couple weeks. Jacques' farm is very impressive; and they obviously work hard on that habitat. Having wild birds in those numbers is impressive. As someone who manages our family place in SC for quail and turkeys, it is easy to recognize and appreciate the work they put in. Incredibly, they try and only flush a covey once per season - meaning they only hunt some fields/hedgerows once a year. It shows too. While the birds were hard to hunt, they weren't over-pressured. We also never saw any evidence of other hunters (such a old shell cases, etc.) This place is lightly hunted - speaking as someone who over-hunts his own place.
Our camera man, Ruan, is fairly new to the game, but he was hard-working and always ready for a shot - which is tough when videoing wingshooting - especially behind dogs. I will post the video here when it is finished.
I'm bringing home my best Swainson, my best Orange River, and a red-billed teal. Jacques hooked me up with a good bird taxidermist in RSA. Probably should do more, but I'll be back.
I really enjoyed the host and guides. Both Jacques and Woutie will be friends for life. This was my first trip to RSA and interacting with the Afrikaners. I like them immensely. Not much different than the folks I grew up with. Good natured and hospitable. Real hunters who enjoyed watching us shoot as much as we enjoyed shooting. They worked hard for us and we put in the miles together. (15.5 miles on foot on our busiest day afield). It is a turn-key operation. The fact that they provided everything (esp a good quality shotgun) was awesome.
Bottom line: if you want a quick trip to shoot wild birds in high numbers or if you want to add some bird hunting to the end of a safari elsewhere, you can't go wrong with Jacques Van Rooyen and GlenGuinea Lodge. I will be back, hopefully soon.
