Buffalo hunts in the Caprivi

ndumo HUNTING SAFARIS

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Another thread on buff hunting in South Africa got me thinking... most people don't realize that there are more than one way to hunt buffalo in the Caprivi.

When discussing buffalo hunts in the Caprivi, the mental image most hunters have is of seemingly endless floodplains of the Eastern Caprivi.

In fact, most buffalo hunted in Namibia are hunted on the floodplains of the Chobe river. Such hunts can be testing in the wetter months - similar to some Mozambique hunts - where the high water and the difficulty to move around in these wet, swampy areas are the main challenge.

As it dries up, moving around becomes easier, and the herds of buffalo can often be spotted a long way off, making stalking and approaching more difficult if you really want to get close to your quarry.

While a novel way of hunting buffalo, and something everyone should try at least once, we fortunately also have areas where you can do what I consider a classical tracking hunt for buffalo, on so called ‘dry’ concessions. On these hunts, the timeless classical way of looking for tracks and following your quarry into the thick bush is used. This is my favorite way to hunt buffalo, and the way we hunt most of our buffalo on our Caprivi areas. This also makes it easier to target bachelor herds of dagga boys, my preferred target.

Which would you prefer?
 
Another thread on buff hunting in South Africa got me thinking... most people don't realize that there are more than one way to hunt buffalo in the Caprivi.

When discussing buffalo hunts in the Caprivi, the mental image most hunters have is of seemingly endless floodplains of the Eastern Caprivi.

In fact, most buffalo hunted in Namibia are hunted on the floodplains of the Chobe river. Such hunts can be testing in the wetter months - similar to some Mozambique hunts - where the high water and the difficulty to move around in these wet, swampy areas are the main challenge.

As it dries up, moving around becomes easier, and the herds of buffalo can often be spotted a long way off, making stalking and approaching more difficult if you really want to get close to your quarry.

While a novel way of hunting buffalo, and something everyone should try at least once, we fortunately also have areas where you can do what I consider a classical tracking hunt for buffalo, on so called ‘dry’ concessions. On these hunts, the timeless classical way of looking for tracks and following your quarry into the thick bush is used. This is my favorite way to hunt buffalo, and the way we hunt most of our buffalo on our Caprivi areas. This also makes it easier to target bachelor herds of dagga boys, my preferred target.

Which would you prefer?

I’m with you on this. Congratulations and it’s great to read about your trip.
 
I like the thought of hunting through the marshy overgrown areas, like you described the floodplains of the Chobe river. The images of wading through the marsh, gun held high, boots slung around one's neck, is appealing. Perhaps until actually experienced? Lol

Do you have any pictures of your area?
 
Comparison pictures of both methods/locations in your areas would be quite interesting. When you get the time.
Thanks
 
Comparison pictures of both methods/locations in your areas would be quite interesting. When you get the time.
Thanks

+1 I am also very interested in this..
 
Comparison pictures of both methods/locations in your areas would be quite interesting. When you get the time.
Myself included, maybe my next excursion.
 
Here's a pic of the two latest bulls we hunted, in the bush (or dry) are and the floodplains respectively. I will upload more pictures in a short while.

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caprivi floodplains.JPG
 
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Sorry I took so long, but I really had to and dig for some pics to try and show the difference in areas... You would think I dont have a proper camera, but with mostly driving myself when we hunt, I had to resort to go and "borrow" some photos from a friend's Facebook page for the floodplains and resort to using mostly quickly snapped cell phone pics to show what our normal areas look like (with a few buffs standing around of course...)

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What a helmet head with worn down tips!
 
The bull with the bald face.......one old brute, great trophy!

At first I thought you were talking about the PH behind the buff.:D

Agree, the first buff is a fantastic trophy Karl.(y)
 
I hunted the flood plains of the Kwando in the same general area several years ago and took my best buffalo there. This was an August hunt, and though we waded a lot, I found the terrain and vegetation much more forgiving than the Zambezi Delta. For instance, for the most part we were wading through clear water and over hard bottoms. The occasional submerged elephant footprint added some damp drama, but we never had to contend with the saw grass and muck that covers much of the Delta. Don't get me wrong, plenty of tall grass, but the stuff out east will slice you to pieces. All in all an extremely interesting and enjoyable experience hunting buffalo. And with the closing of the Okavango, about the only way to now experience that specific environment. And agree with others - that first buff is an ancient old bruiser.
 

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