Namibia free range plains game hunt

Bill Walker said:

Hey Travis, I highly Recommend ...........

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So, could you please spend some time and share a hunt report with us including the pictures of your trip.
Thanks

Red Leg said:

Lol. Have to give Kowas credit for digital situational awareness! They have generated what - four new members offering testimonials.

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I have invited them all to share a hunt report with pictures on these excellent hunts they had. Those are typically the more weighty recommendations. I look forward to seeing and believing.

@JGRaider do you think you are doing Kowas any favors by attacking another members reasonable recommendation?

Then going on slighting yet another Outfitter with second hand innuendo?

Facts suck sometimes.

Here is my buddy's 58.5" kudu bull taken on our last Kowas trip. I killed a 54" bull the year before this one.







Even had a pangolin come up to me and eat bugs off of my boots.....I had never even heard of this creature before.

What operator has the largest single, contiguous, hunting block in Namibia, that is low/no fenced (including no high fenced areas inside the boundary?

As for high-fenced, Etosha Hills Hunting claims 150,000 acres. Is that the largest contiguous high-fenced block?


BTW, these "conservancies" are very misleading as far as I can tell it is just the sum total of any number of smaller ranches that the outfitter has permission to hunt.

I had not read this post until today, but I will attest that Kowas’ footprint isn’t just digital. My hunting buddy and I -along with our wives- met Jacques and Elleni at their DSC booth this January. Within 10 minutes of leaving the booth, we were approached by two different couples- one in the parking garage as we were leaving- who saw the Kowas brochures we were carrying and both said we couldn’t miss with Kowas. They were both repeat customers.
Then that night at the AH dinner it happened again with several members who saw us visiting with Jacques and Elleni.
After several conversations with Ansie my hunting partner and I will be headed to Kowas in June 2019.
Don’t worry @BRICKBURN there will definitely be a hunt report after. And now that I’ve read so many it’ll be better than my first attempt on joining this August.

We also met with reps from Uhlenhorst, Nick Nolte, and Dirk de Bod. All seemed like first class places and I have read a lot about Dirk and all of it good (I believe Mr Boddington is a big fan)
Have fun planning and enjoy the hunt. And please post a report, reading as much as I can is all that’s going to keep me sane until June of next year.

JGRaider said:

Facts suck sometimes.

Here is my buddy's 58.5" kudu bull taken on our last Kowas trip. I killed a 54" bull the year before this one.







Even had a pangolin come up to me and eat bugs off of my boots.....I had never even heard of this creature before.

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Great experiences!

MAdcox said:

.........
After several conversations with Ansie my hunting partner and I will be headed to Kowas in June 2019.
Don’t worry @BRICKBURN there will definitely be a hunt report after. And now that I’ve read so many it’ll be better than my first attempt on joining this August.
......

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Awesome news. Can't wait to read it.

postoak said:

What operator has the largest single, contiguous, hunting block in Namibia, that is low/no fenced (including no high fenced areas inside the boundary?

As for high-fenced, Etosha Hills Hunting claims 150,000 acres. Is that the largest contiguous high-fenced block?


BTW, these "conservancies" are very misleading as far as I can tell it is just the sum total of any number of smaller ranches that the outfitter has permission to hunt.

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Erindi Private Reserve should be in contention.
70 719 hectares
174750.45 Acres

JGRaider said:

Facts suck sometimes.

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Proof is in the Kudu pictures not the other whinging and rumors.
Fact's would be nice.
Fact's? - Omujeve, blah, blah, blah. Second hand rumor and Libel.

@Red Leg suggesting a reputable agent for a reputable Outfitter and your blather that he is "whining"!?
Alzheimer's disconnect in your wiring?!

@Travis2282 Did you manage to meet up with someone you could hunt with at DSC?

BRICKBURN said:

Erindi Private Reserve should be in contention.
70 719 hectares
174750.45 Acres

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As far as I can tell they don't allow hunting.

postoak said:

What operator has the largest single, contiguous, hunting block in Namibia, that is low/no fenced (including no high fenced areas inside the boundary?

As for high-fenced, Etosha Hills Hunting claims 150,000 acres. Is that the largest contiguous high-fenced block?


BTW, these "conservancies" are very misleading as far as I can tell it is just the sum total of any number of smaller ranches that the outfitter has permission to hunt.

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I am sorry, but what is your definition of a conservancy? In my experience, and I admit it is just over the last decade hunting there - so I haven't begun to visit everywhere, a conservancy is typically created by a group of landowners - normally with contiguous property lines - who decide to manage their wildlife collectively. In South Africa, many are high fenced - in Namibia they are often low fence cattle or purely wildlife operations. The land owners work out a shooting plan for each species which assures sustainment of their collective resource and market that game to outfitters. Sometimes one outfitter controls all the game, but more typically a number access the conservancy depending upon the desires of their clients and the available "tags" or "permits". The outfitters buy X number of pick your species and will harvest those during the course of the season. It is a good deal for wildlife and great opportunity for hunters. What exactly is misleading about that?

Are they always contiguous? If not, that is misleading. But also, fencing up the land internally and restricting certain animals to certain areas is misleading. If I am told I am hunting a 200,000 acre conservancy and arrive to find that I'm hunting my sable in a 7000 acre high fenced area inside the conservancy, that is not desirable to me.

postoak said:

Are they always contiguous? If not, that is misleading. But also, fencing up the land internally and restricting certain animals to certain areas is misleading. If I am told I am hunting a 200,000 acre conservancy and arrive to find that I'm hunting my sable in a 7000 acre high fenced area inside the conservancy, that is not desirable to me.

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That could be - the game is a valuable resource - sable particularly so. But that is not what I was responding to. But as you note, it may well be that a conservancy has set aside an area for their selective management - particularly in an area where they do not occur naturally (most of Namibia and South Africa). I would have to agree with you in that I have would have no desire to hunt a sable under such conditions. It is why I have hunted mine twice in Mozambique and once in the Caprivi - both areas where they occur in their native wilderness environments. Free range conservancies work best for game native to the area. A great Namibian game animal which can be hunted in the conservancies is the Hartman Zebra. Behind a fence, he is just another striped donkey. In the conservancies near Omaruru around the Erongo Mountains he is one of the most challenging mountain game hunts on the planet. Another classic native animal which will make you work over a free range environment is the eland.

postoak said:

As far as I can tell they don't allow hunting.

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The day fees are around $20,000,000 Usd. I have no doubt there is some hunting. Just a little harder to access than most.

There are also laws regarding which species may be held and where. Some species are not indigenous to the area but have been introduced. They can not be allowed to run free, never mind controlling your investment.

The laws vary across provinces and countries.

Ladies & Gentlemen,

Kowas Hunting Safaris has been in the Outfitting Industry in Namibia for over 20 years. My father, Danie Strauss, the one who started the business has been on the Executive Committee of the Namibian Professional Hunting Association (NAPHA) for several years, he was the Vice-President and President of NAPHA a while back as well. When it comes to wildlife, nature and conservation you will not find a more passionate person than him. He is highly credible and he has a lot of respect in the hunting community in Namibia. He has ingrained his passion, fair chase principles and dedication towards conservation into his children, staff members and clients (which has turned into friends).

The Kowas Hunting Safaris slogan in the past was "Arrive as a Stranger, but Leave as a Friend"... Up to this day, this is what we strive to do. It is who we are. Full stop. Due to "someone" in the hunting industry copying our slogan, we decided to change our slogan to; "Ethical Hunting: Our Pride & Passion". It's fitting... Because, once again, it's who we are. It's what we stand for...

We have a great relationship with our clients... In reality they aren't clients anymore. They are friends.

There are a few things I would like to mention:
Comments regarding new members on this forum recommending Kowas Hunting Safaris... We asked our clients/friends to join the Africahunting.com forum, simply because many of our clients/friends has not even heard of it. We are promoting Africahunting.com, since we at Kowas Hunting Safaris believe that this forum is the GATEWAY to making well informed decisions, since the forum provides a wealth of information for everyone, on any topic. Being pro-Kowas is a bonus for us. We do not force any of our clients/friends to comment or post anything about Kowas Hunting Safaris. There is no benefit for them financially either. It's completely their choice. Kowas Hunting Safaris is not a new-kid-on-the-block, our credentials over the past 20 years speaks for itself.

I do hope that some of our clients/friends that has hunted with Kowas Hunting Safaris do a hunt report to share your experiences with others here at Africahunting.com...

Kowas Hunting Safaris for many years did not make use of a booking agent... But starting last year, we have one agent in USA.

Last but not least... Let me give you some insight on what is a CONSERVANCY in NAMIBIA:
There are two types - Communal Conservancy & Commercial/Free-hold Conservancy
- The word "Conservancy" has often been defined, and the following definition has been formulated by the Conservancies Association of Namibia:
"A Conservancy is a legally protected area of a group of bona fide land-occupiers practicing co-operative management based on:
(1) a sustainable utilization strategy,
(2) promoting conservation of natural resources and wildlife,
(3) striving to re-instate the original bio-diversity with the basic goal of sharing resources amongst all
members."

Communal Conservancy
- In 1996 an amendment was made to the Nature Conservation Ordinance of 1975, which devolved rights to communities over natural resources, which includes wildlife, and established rights for communities to set up tourism enterprises. These rights were to be exercised through communal conservancies.
- Usually these areas are where the tribes and villagers in Namibia still live naturally.
- Usually no fences at all.
- The Community set up an agreement with a Trophy Hunting Outfitter, where the specific Outfitter signs a contract with the community to hunt in that area for a period usually of 3-5 years, the Outfitter can usually build a camp/lodge in that area, and the community receives a quota from the Namibian Ministry of Environment & Tourism (which they hand over to the Outfitter that they have a contract with) which stipulates what can be hunted for each year.
- The Communal Conservancy is one large track of land, usually without fences.
- The benefits of the income from the hunting is shared between the outfitter and the community (as per contract agreement).
- The community receives the benefit of getting all the meat from the hunt, the Outfitter may usually just use enough for the camp/lodge.
- There are a lot more to it than that, but in simple terms...

Commercial/Free-hold Conservancy
- The first freehold conservancy on commercial farmland in Namibia was established in 1991, just a year after independence. Currently there are 21, covering just over 6% of Namibia’s land area. These are all voluntary associations, brought about by concern for the environment and the dedication of commercial farmers.
- Freehold conservancies are aggregations of private farms where land owners have come together to include conservation management in their land-use planning. Many of these farms concentrate on wildlife, with trophy hunting and tourism being important income streams.
- The main objective of most commercial conservancies in Namibia is to protect the naturally existing wildlife in the area.
- The Commercial Conservancies in Namibia consist of Private Land Owners, these land owners usually just have low fences since they usually farm with cattle or sheep, the join together to protect the wildlife.
- Usually the commercial conservancy is all land that joins each other.
- We, as Trophy Hunting Outfitters can apply and be approved to sign a contract with these commercial conservancies to be able to hunt on that land.
- In that manner, the conservancy members can receive a financial incentive in the form of the trophy fee and meat sales of the trophy harvested.
- If it pays it stays... Wildlife competes with the grazing of the cattle & sheep, if wildlife had no economic value, the private owners would have no incentive to protect the wildlife and would literally shoot them (that was the case in our area before 1991).
- These areas are all free range, since all the wildlife occurring in such areas can move freely between the low cattle & sheep fences.
- We at Kowas Hunting Safaris supports the Dordabis Conservancy, which is a Commercial Conservancy consisting of 17 Private Land Owners, adding up to an area of 400 000 acres, all continuous/adjoining area.

I hope some of this information is useful and helpful to understand the Namibian side of things...

My best,
Jacques

Yes Jacques, that was informative and useful. It is good to see that most conservancies are contiguous. However, I was speaking about conservancies in general, not just in Namibia. I don't know how many in RSA are contiguous. It could be most are -- I just don't know.

Thank you postoak,
I hope there will be an South African Outfitter that is willing to comment and inform us... It will be interesting!
BTW, good question.