Least Known African Country That Allows Hunting?

[Daktari]

Hello, what in your opinion is the least known country in Africa that allows hunting? I'd love to find out about more opportunities in these lesser known destinations! My vote would go to Gabon for duiker hunting.

 

[mark-hunter]

Gabon, Chad, Uganda, one of our forum members recently hunted in Angola, I asked about it, he said he will write about it but never came back on this. (post war Angola is still engima for most of us, international hunters)
You may check west African countries, as well - keep in mind there may be French as official language

There are 12 African hunting countries, listed on African hunting countries portfolio of this forum.
But, when you read recent books by Craig Boddington, there is quite few more. (last book "From Cape to Kasserine", describes some of less known African hunting countries, for example - this would be a good starting point foryour reasearch)

Some of those countries are open for international hunting on occasion, sometimes closed due to political reasons.

However, going to less beaten track to unknown country, will also bring some risks.

First, lack of common knowledge - hard to find references of other international hunters, hard to find outfitters, hard to find english speaking outfitters, then what about taxidermy workshops, how to arrange the trophy shipment, hunting areas could be depleted due to poaching - can hapen in lack of proper starting reasearch, how to organize local charter flights if necessary, etc etc

As an idea it sounds very interesting, but actual hunt in such country could be very complicated exercise to say at least.

If you do not have first hand information from the ground, the best way is to contact a reputable international hunting agency, for this question.
Hunting consortium, is frequently recommended on this forum, they list 17 African countries as hunting destination. You may try to contact them. There could be few more of similar hunting agencies.

 

[Daktari]

Any idea what kind of game would be in Angola?

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Any idea what kind of game would be in Angola?

Here are some threads from a long time ago regarding Angola which you may be interested in:
- Hunting Angola The Long Awaited Reopening Announced: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/hunting-angola-the-long-awaited-reopening-announced.2041/
- LBG in Angola: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/lbg-in-angola.21555/
- Fishing in Angola: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/fishing-in-angola.439/

 

[375Fox]

Any idea what kind of game would be in Angola?

I hunted right along the border of Angola in the Caprivi. We saw red lechwe, reedbuck, roan, impala, duiker and others on the Angola side. In that area anything in Caprivi is on other side of border too.

 

[mark-hunter]

Giant sable is most notable species in Angola. I dont think / know is it / will it be huntable.

 

[rookhawk]

Isn't there also some hunting in Northern Africa? Ethiopia, etc?

Of course, Cameroon is off the beaten path and is a go-to for Bongo and forest buffalo.

Mozambique is a less common destination that has significant perils but also good game populations apparently.

Places that I've never heard about that surprise me that they are not on the list: Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi. Especially Malawi. Geographically it was part of the Northern Rhodesian territories at one point and you'd think if Zambia is good, Malawi would be good too.

 

[Wheels]

Places that I've never heard about that surprise me that they are not on the list: Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi. Especially Malawi. Geographically it was part of the Northern Rhodesian territories at one point and you'd think if Zambia is good, Malawi would be good too.

Not sure about hunting in Lesotho.

You can hunt in Swaziland. There are around a half dozen types of pg available from a few places.

There have been threads on Malawi. Don't think it is against the law to hunt there. The problem is there is no game. Malawi probably has the densest human population in Africa. At one point southern Malawi had great elephant and buff populations. Not sure when game became depleted, but it was probably between WWII and independence. When I was a youngster, friends from Malawi would come hunt with us in Tanzania. I believe the visitor license cost 50TZS in those days. (That visitor license may have only been available to Commonwealth members. Probably originated in the days of the Empire.) I don't remember everything on the nonresident license, but they usually shot buff, zebra, impala, warthog and went home with their vehicle overloaded. About the only thing I remember the friends having in Malawi around their place was leopard and maybe bushbuck.

 

[Dewald]

Isn't there also some hunting in Northern Africa? Ethiopia, etc?

Of course, Cameroon is off the beaten path and is a go-to for Bongo and forest buffalo.

Mozambique is a less common destination that has significant perils but also good game populations apparently.

Places that I've never heard about that surprise me that they are not on the list: Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi. Especially Malawi. Geographically it was part of the Northern Rhodesian territories at one point and you'd think if Zambia is good, Malawi would be good too.

Nassos and Jason Roussos from Ethiopian Rift Valley Safaris are well known for especially Mountain Nyala.

Swaziland has good hunting in the Big Bend area, and on its southern boundary with KZN around the Jozinin Dam, with healthy heards of elephant crossing regularly. Also good Nyala, koedoe, etc.

Lesotho doesnt allow hunting. They’ve killed everything around and are trying their best to do so in SA, along their borders. Dog poaching of eland, reedbuck, oribi and other species in the Drakensberg National Park is a big problem along the Lesotho border.

 

[IvW]

Not sure about hunting in Lesotho.

You can hunt in Swaziland. There are around a half dozen types of pg available from a few places.

There have been threads on Malawi. Don't think it is against the law to hunt there. The problem is there is no game. Malawi probably has the densest human population in Africa. At one point southern Malawi had great elephant and buff populations. Not sure when game became depleted, but it was probably between WWII and independence. When I was a youngster, friends from Malawi would come hunt with us in Tanzania. I believe the visitor license cost 50TZS in those days. (That visitor license may have only been available to Commonwealth members. Probably originated in the days of the Empire.) I don't remember everything on the nonresident license, but they usually shot buff, zebra, impala, warthog and went home with their vehicle overloaded. About the only thing I remember the friends having in Malawi around their place was leopard and maybe bushbuck.

There is F.... all to hunt in Lesotho.....all eaten up a long time ago.....unless stolen angora goats, sheep, or other livestock from SA farmers count, unfortunate realities of Africa .

 

[Hank2211]

Nassos and Jason Roussos from Ethiopian Rift Valley Safaris are well known for especially Mountain Nyala.

Ethiopia is a great place to hunt, although very expensive. They have a few endemic species, like mountain nyala and a couple of bushbuck subspecies (even baboon rarities!). Northern Operations is also an excellent outfitter.

You may check west African countries, as well - keep in mind there may be French as official language

You're right about the French, but almost everyone who comes into contact with hunters will speak English as well. Trackers and skinners might not, but that's the same just about everywhere. I don't think Burkina Faso is open for hunting (if it is, it's currently not very safe). But Benin is a wonderful place to hunt. Roan, Western savannah buffalo, Western hartebeest, harnessed bushbuck, Sing Sing waterbuck, kob, endless hippo, lots of game including little guys like oribi and red duiker. Atacora Safaris is a great outfitter there - Christophe Morio is one of their PH's - you won't find a better hunter or someone more fun to hunt with.

However, going to less beaten track to unknown country, will also bring some risks.

And some great rewards. Sleeping under the stars in Benin - as I imagine hunting would have been before or during the "Golden Age."

I know going to some of these places takes more time and often (but not always) costs more money, but if you want a true African hunting experience, you'll have to track bongo with pygmys in the steaming jungles of the Congo, or be unable to catch your breath as you climb above 9,000 feet in search of mountain nyala in Ethiopia, or sweat more than you thought possible as you track giant eland for days on the Cameroonian savannah, or fall asleep exhausted under the stars in Benin.

The rewards are great, and there is a good chance we may be the last generation to have the privilege.

 

[mark-hunter]

The rewards are great, and there is a good chance we may be the last generation to have the privilege.

Hank, thanks for comments.
And you are absolutely right with this thought. This is my thought as well, a sentence that I very frequently say to other hunters who consider hunting Africa, but never hunted there yet.

We are maybe the first generation of hunters where middle class can afford safari in Africa, and possibly we may be the last generation to have that privilege.

I was reading many reports, articles or books - about hunts in tropical rain forest, bongo, but the price is over my budget, on every offer I could find. Moreover, political situation, has worsened lately in some countries limiting options for hunting bongo.

The question, therefore which comes to mind is this.
From your experience, and all countries you have visited - which of the less visited hunting countries, could be more economic, and worth looking into? And which species could be hunted on lower budget level?
The motivation would be experience of hunt in African wilderness, not some specific species for trophy, just to hunt locally what is local species.

 

[LivingTheDream]

@mark-hunter you took the words right out on mouth when you said Gabon! I think there is a few rare duikers there. I think I read you could hunt Senegal but there wasn't really any game to hunt.

 

[sestoppelman]

Last year and this year have been years of several false starts for me, some my fault, some just unfortunate timing, and then Covid.
I had been planning to hunt Burkina Faso, then it went to crap with terror attacks. Switched attention to Benin, same thing on a lesser scale but almost all the troubles were in the hunting areas in the north that border B Faso! Hello!
Then I had thought to hunt Zambia, then thought better of it, (costs!). It would have been canceled anyway due to Covid.
And finally booked what I thought would be a great priced SA buffalo hunt, was really looking forward to it, and bam, Covic queered that too!
So unless and until things get back to some sort of semi normal, I aint going nowhere, and not booking trips 2-3 years out! I mean JHC I will be 67 years old tomorrow, sore knees, sore rotator cuff on my right arm, sore feet, half deaf and who knows what else?!?!?! Wife had a tooth pulled today and I mentioned something about using my boat more and her answer is "not me". What a shit year this is!!
THIS SOB cant get over fast enough to suit me!!!!!!!!! HAPPY F'ING BIRTHDAY!!!

 

[neckdeep]

I believe Benin is done, Christophe is no longer hunting there, may be other outfit's to hunt with but Atacora Safaris is no longer

 

[Hank2211]

I believe Benin is done, Christophe is no longer hunting there, may be other outfit's to hunt with but Atacora Safaris is no longer

When did that happen? Jean-Luc Damy, the owner, had just upgraded the camp a couple of years ago.

Are they still hunting Congo?

 

[Hank2211]

Hank, thanks for comments.
And you are absolutely right with this thought. This is my thought as well, a sentence that I very frequently say to other hunters who consider hunting Africa, but never hunted there yet.

We are maybe the first generation of hunters where middle class can afford safari in Africa, and possibly we may be the last generation to have that privilege.

I was reading many reports, articles or books - about hunts in tropical rain forest, bongo, but the price is over my budget, on every offer I could find. Moreover, political situation, has worsened lately in some countries limiting options for hunting bongo.

The question, therefore which comes to mind is this.
From your experience, and all countries you have visited - which of the less visited hunting countries, could be more economic, and worth looking into? And which species could be hunted on lower budget level?
The motivation would be experience of hunt in African wilderness, not some specific species for trophy, just to hunt locally what is local species.

Up until the above thread, I'd have said Benin. Totally wild, huge areas surrounding Penjari National Park, all free range. After I hunted there I wrote a report and compared Benin with South Africa in terms of cost, and I think demonstrated that Benin could be hunted for less than South Africa, depending on what you wanted to hunt.

If Atacora isn't hunting Benin any more, and someone equally competent hasn't taken their place, I'd have to give the question some thought. All of the other "wild" places I've visited have been pretty expensive when compared to southern Africa - although great value for money from my perspective.

I will say this - Ethiopia is the most expensive, and the least "wild" if by wild you mean getting away from people. You can't cram over 100MM people into such a small country and not have them everywhere. Cameroon is still wild - the jungle, like the savannah, goes on forever, but while it's a lot cheaper than Ethiopia, I wouldn't say it was inexpensive. I haven't been to Zambia or Tanzania, but they're pretty expensive as well.

As was said above, our generation has been pretty spoiled by the accessibility of hunting in southern Africa. Up until relatively recently, this was a rich man's game. The downside is that we've gotten used to massive densities of game at a reasonable price. It's hard - impossible actually - for operations in the middle of nowhere to compete with those prices.

 

[mark-hunter]

There is 56 African countries, 54 are members of UN.
So, possible hunting destinations are numerous. Yet, international hunting agents list cca only 17. (31%)

We should give a thought to each one of the 54 or 56, and make brain storming session to extract the best of our collective knowledge. This thread might be a good start.

 

[mark-hunter]

All of the other "wild" places I've visited have been pretty expensive when compared to southern Africa - although great value for money from my perspective.

My way of thinking has always been - everything is cheap if it can be bought for money. So, every hunter who has experienced Africa has invested wisely. However, financial realities, will keep us on different paths, and me - personally in constant search and lookout for wild places.

 

[Tra3]

@sestoppelman rough year indeed! Sorry to hear of the difficulties.
Since you have some extra time, I’m curious to know your response to where a guy should go for a more off the beaten path hunt?

and in case anyone was wondering, all birthdays are acceptably postponed due to covid.