A very legitimate question...
This is a very legitimate question
Philip Glass, because there are indeed huge differences in how this all works. Here are a few examples:
Example #1: outfitter ABC state they hunt 60,000 acres. This is technically true, but in fact they own 0 acre and have 30 deals with small ranchers who own 2,000 acres each. In all likelihood, your 7 days hunt will be spend driving 3 to 6 hours on the highway everyday to and from one specific small property each day to hunt in a small enclosure one specific animal. This is probably not the hunt that most people would wish.
Example #2: outfitter DEF state that they hunt 30,000 acres. This is true, but they actually own 6 properties 5,000 acres each, that are not contiguous. This can be a very good hunt ... or not. Questions are warranted. 5,000 acres of dense bush is plenty to hunt on foot. Conversely, 5,000 acres of flat grassy low hills do not take much time to cover with a hunting vehicle.
Example #3: outfitter GHI specializes in Mountain Reedbuck and Vaal Rhebok and owns no property beside a lodge but state they hunt half a million acres. This can be true in the Karoo, Winterberg or Stormberg mountains, and it is likely to be free range hunting with 10 hours walking days on low fence properties covering an entire mountain. This is likely a great hunt, but with likely very low game population density. I personally love it, but many folks coming to Africa prefer to walk less and shoot more. To each their own.
Example #4: outfitter JKL owns 3,000 acres along XYZ National Park with which he shares a 2 miles unfenced border. Sure, game can walk back & forth between his property and the Park, and he technically hunts free ranging Park herds. This can be a fantastic hunt ... if outfitter JKL has on his property the only waterhole in a 15 miles radius on the Park side, but you better know exactly where the boundary line is and plan all your hunts according to it...
Etc. etc.
Size matters...
Based on limited personal experience in South Africa (Eastern Cape and Limpopo), my own personal judgment - for what it is worth! - is that:
- 2,000 acres is the strict minimum property size one should consider for hunting, and
only if 1) it is dense bush; 2) the hunt will be on foot; and 3) the hunt is short. After 2 to 3 days walking 2,000 acres you will likely know every stone on the property, and the reality is that most likely a fair number of animals on the property will not have been born on the property.
- 5,000 acres work just fine in dense bush and on foot for 3 to 4 days, and a well managed property can sustain a couple small breeding herds of classic plains game.
- 20,000 acres is a very practical property size in both dense and more open areas such as the Eastern Cape hillsides. You can hunt for 5 to 7 days on 20,000 acres without constantly hunting the same ground, and most animals on well managed and not over-hunted properties will be born on the property if it is not overgrazed and if it has a number of waterholes / water points.
- 50,000+ acres will provide conditions that approach free range hunting with self sustaining herds, and there will be a need to cull excess animals in well managed properties.
Huntershill...
As far as Huntershill is concerned, Greg Harvey owns 4 properties in the Eastern Cape:
- Huntershill, near Queenstown: we hunt 120,000 acres there. Greg directly owns 55,000 acres that are high fenced in order to retain ownership of the game. We hunt there 70 species, including some that are typically not native to the Eastern Cape. We also have a hunting agreement with the neighbor who owns 65,000+ acres that are only low fenced and on which we hunt free ranging game native to the Eastern Cape, primarily some outstanding Eastern Cape Kudu, Warthog, Duiker, Steenbok, etc.
- Huntershaven, near Cookhouse: Greg owns and we hunt 20,000 acres there. Huntershaven is located about 2 1/2 hours southwest from Huntershill.
- Comre Safaris, near Tarkastad: Greg owns and we hunt 22,000 acres there. Comre is located about 1 hour west from Huntershill.
- Rocklands, near Fort Beaufort: Greg owns and we hunt 6,000 acres there. Rocklands is located 2 hours south from Huntershill in the dense bush near the Katrivier.
- Additionally, we hunt free range Mountain Reedbuck and Vaal Rhebok near Graaff Reniet and Dordrecht on mountains that are likely in the hundreds of thousands acres each, or more... and we hunt free range Bushbuck along the Groot Visrivier in riparian areas and private farming areas that are several thousands acres each.
Because each property offers a different biotope and ecosystem, each property offers different hunting opportunities and different game, with some - but not full - overlap. For example, Huntershill has the best Kudu and hillsides game, but it is too high in altitude for Bushbuck. Conversely, Rocklands is lower and warmer, with dense bush, and is a great place for Warthog. Comre has fantastic Sable. Huntershaven is very wild. Riparian areas along the Groot Visrivier are Bushbuck paradise. Mountains around Graaff Reniet or Dordrecht are Vaal Rhebok heaven, etc.
The way we (and a few other outfitters who own or have access to large properties) do it, is that hunters can either spend their entire hunt based in one property, and never see a blacktop road in their entire time with us, or they can spend a few days based in several different places (each property has its own lodge) in order to experience different hunting areas and hunt different species.
Bottom line...
I guess that we could say that we hunt approximately 170,000 private acres, plus a couple hundred thousands high mountain acres, and it is technically true, but I prefer to say that we hunt 55,000 high fenced + 65,000 low fenced acres in Huntershill; 20,000 high fenced acres in Huntershaven; 22,000 high fenced acres in Comre; 6,000 high fenced acres in Rocklands; etc. because I believe that this is the reality of the hunting experience.
Indeed, there are no "million acres" concession in South Africa, and this is likely one of the reasons why a typical 10 day hunt in South Africa costs $10,000 as opposed to $40,000 in Tanzania, and it would be unrealistic to expect to shoehorn $40,000 expectations in a $10,000 package, but one can still have the experience of a lifetime hunting South Africa. NO, this will not be
Out of Africa's 1910's wild Africa, but this can still be an incredible hunting experience, if honest representations lead to realistic expectations.
The question
Philip Glass asks is a very legitimate question, and I would advise anyone going to hunt anywhere in South Africa to ask exactly this question, and a host of follow up questions as appropriate. The answers should not have to be pried out of the operators. If answers are not easily and candidly provided, I would consider it a red flag. It is critical for a successful hunting trip that reality matches expectations
