HAHA! I have a buddy who has been over a few times as well as on guided hunts elsewhere.
He keeps telling me to " Leave a bill, not a will" LOL
Cat
African Hunting Safari
- Thread starter Frontman44
- Start date
He keeps telling me to " Leave a bill, not a will" LOL
Cat
I appreciate the advice. Being a full time carnivore about half the year, combined with a genuine curiosity about new life experiences, eating what I kill would be close to the top of my list of why I'd go. Right after "the hunt".
("Full time carnivore" meaning that I only eat meat, eggs, and water for a month or two in order to get swelling down and general health up.)
Crazy_Farmer
Regular
- Location
- Running Traffic, BC
my trip to zim, they were big on the "filets" tenderloins, but all they would call them in filets. Day one had some kudu ones from the previous hunter in camp.
turned out to be my only chance to eat kudu as the one I shot was eaten by lions and hyena in the night, from a brisket shoulder shot non vital.
Ate my impala for two days. and then when I shot my cape buff we had varying dishes each dinner. filets and sadza/guru this is shona for corn mealie and stomach lining tripe. I enjoyed but funny enough the meat tasted 'grassy' next night we had ox tail soup even!
Tholo is where I went for the plains game portion of my hunt. I hemmed and hawed about it before I booked, because I was a bit put off by the idea of hunting on a private fenced property for "captive" animals. But...the property itself is almost 300,000 acres...that's more than 450 square miles...and they also manage and have access to another 1million+ acres of land for hunting. You might see the occasional cattle fence when on the property, which is not even an inconvenience to game animals, but the exterior fence? You'll see it when you enter and when you leave, that's it. It never felt like anything resembling a "canned" hunt. The family that operates it has all the bugs worked out, they know what they are doing and they know how to provide the experience you want.
As an example, the owner had a large seacan that was extensively modified into a walk-in gun vault. I oohed and aahed over the assortment of fine firearms in there when I went in to select a shotgun for the day of wingshooting I did. The guns were available for client use, and I wanted to use my own rifle for hunting...but there was some tempting stuff in there...
Having said that...as unbelievably satisfying as that part of the hunt was, I'd have to say that overall I preferred the buff hunt I did on a conservancy in Namibia's Caprivi Strip. Probably saw less than 10% as many game animals, ran into some "unsavory" characters a couple times, visited a couple of native villages to collect intel, stayed in a classic tented camp (as opposed to Tholo's stone cottages), heard lions roar most evenings, rode in a mokoro dugout canoe in a crocodile-infested river, spent days hiking in ankle-deep up to crotch-deep flooded grassland, nearly got stuck in between the toes of a hippo we surprised at close range, and generally felt like I was in true wild Africa for every second of the week I spent there. Incredible experience.
Tholo felt like a luxury resort in the Muskokas, from which we drove each day to various nearby areas for hunting. If I were to go back to Africa with my wife or granddaughter, Tholo is absolutely where I'd head.
The Caprivi felt like a camp in a remote part of Alaska or the NWT (but with somebody to cook terrific meals and also do my laundry...); if I were alone again as I was for my safari, I would much prefer that experience.
At Tholo, you absolutely get to taste everything you shoot, if you want to...and, man, did I want to! My first meal when I arrived on the first day was mutton. Mutton!
I commented on it and was told that I could have or could avoid anything I wanted. They were quite proud of the quality of their beef, but I wouldn't know; we ate game that I had shot for every main course during my entire stay. At its worst (warthog, zebra) it was good; most of it, especially eland and gemsbok, was absolutely superb. In the Caprivi, the meat technically belonged to the inhabitants of a couple of villages located nearby. They of course allowed us to take all we wanted for a cookout that night. Biting into a perfectly-prepared rare steak from the buffalo that had inhabited my imagination for almost a half-century previous was practically a religious experience for me.
That was the only animal I shot during my week there. I had several opportunities to take others, including a sable and a waterbuck which were both very hard to pass up...but I had my buffalo goggles on and my wallet was getting pretty thin by that point. Beautiful! Your pics, both trophy shots and others, are fantastic.
I see you are a sufferer of BSEG (Big #### Eating Grin) syndrome, as am I. The only pics I have in which I am not smiling ear to ear are my buff pics. I was so overwhelmed by emotion at the realization that I had finally gone and done it that I simply couldn't smile; I was way beyond merely smiling.
In all the other I pics I look like a cat who had just found and eaten yet another canary...
My PH at Tholo, much younger than me, was amused and commented on my very first African kill, a gemsbok. It ran a short ways, we had to follow it, lost sight of it once or twice in the brush but the trail was easy even for me to follow. When we found it and I had put in a finisher, I walked up to it and he noticed that I carefully wiped my hand on my shirt before actually touching my first African trophy. I don't remember doing that, but I believe him.
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Crazy_Farmer
Regular
- Location
- Running Traffic, BC
sorry bad image, cropped from video of how we found it.
and the lions that ate/killed it. was a young male with about 5 females.
and the lions that ate/killed it. was a young male with about 5 females.
Crazy_Farmer
Regular
- Location
- Running Traffic, BC
well said!Tholo is where I went for the plains game portion of my hunt. I hemmed and hawed about it before I booked, because I was a bit put off by the idea of hunting on a private fenced property for "captive" animals. But...the property itself is almost 300,000 acres...that's more than 450 square miles...and they also manage and have access to another 1million+ acres of land for hunting. You might see the occasional cattle fence when on the property, which is not even an inconvenience to game animals, but the exterior fence? You'll see it when you enter and when you leave, that's it. It never felt like anything resembling a "canned" hunt. The family that operates it has all the bugs worked out, they know what they are doing and they know how to provide the experience you want.
As an example, the owner had a large seacan that was extensively modified into a walk-in gun vault. I oohed and aahed over the assortment of fine firearms in there when I went in to select a shotgun for the day of wingshooting I did. The guns were available for client use, and I wanted to use my own rifle for hunting...but there was some tempting stuff in there...
Having said that...as unbelievably satisfying as that part of the hunt was, I'd have to say that overall I preferred the buff hunt I did on a conservancy in Namibia's Caprivi Strip. Probably saw less than 10% as many game animals, ran into some "unsavory" characters a couple times, visited a couple of native villages to collect intel, stayed in a classic tented camp (as opposed to Tholo's stone cottages), heard lions roar most evenings, rode in a mokoro dugout canoe in a crocodile-infested river, spent days hiking in ankle-deep up to crotch-deep flooded grassland, nearly got stuck in between the toes of a hippo we surprised at close range, and generally felt like I was in true wild Africa for every second of the week I spent there. Incredible experience.
Tholo felt like a luxury resort in the Muskokas, from which we drove each day to various nearby areas for hunting. If I were to go back to Africa with my wife or granddaughter, Tholo is absolutely where I'd head.
The Caprivi felt like a camp in a remote part of Alaska or the NWT (but with somebody to cook terrific meals and also do my laundry...); if I were alone again as I was for my safari, I would much prefer that experience.
At Tholo, you absolutely get to taste everything you shoot, if you want to...and, man, did I want to! My first meal when I arrived on the first day was mutton. Mutton!
In the Caprivi, the meat technically belonged to the inhabitants of a couple of villages located nearby. They of course allowed us to take all we wanted for a cookout that night. Biting into a perfectly-prepared rare steak from the buffalo that had inhabited my imagination for almost a half-century previous was practically a religious experience for me.
i agree with your sentiments. solo, im more of a proper roughing it, tented safari. true old world or put some effort into it
Family wise Id do tholo like you said. well run and large enough that can satisfy most of our desire to not see fences.
Tholo is where I went for the plains game portion of my hunt. I hemmed and hawed about it before I booked, because I was a bit put off by the idea of hunting on a private fenced property for "captive" animals. But...the property itself is almost 300,000 acres...that's more than 450 square miles...and they also manage and have access to another 1million+ acres of land for hunting. You might see the occasional cattle fence when on the property, which is not even an inconvenience to game animals, but the exterior fence? You'll see it when you enter and when you leave, that's it. It never felt like anything resembling a "canned" hunt. The family that operates it has all the bugs worked out, they know what they are doing and they know how to provide the experience you want.
As an example, the owner had a large seacan that was extensively modified into a walk-in gun vault. I oohed and aahed over the assortment of fine firearms in there when I went in to select a shotgun for the day of wingshooting I did. The guns were available for client use, and I wanted to use my own rifle for hunting...but there was some tempting stuff in there...
Having said that...as unbelievably satisfying as that part of the hunt was, I'd have to say that overall I preferred the buff hunt I did on a conservancy in Namibia's Caprivi Strip. Probably saw less than 10% as many game animals, ran into some "unsavory" characters a couple times, visited a couple of native villages to collect intel, stayed in a classic tented camp (as opposed to Tholo's stone cottages), heard lions roar most evenings, rode in a mokoro dugout canoe in a crocodile-infested river, spent days hiking in ankle-deep up to crotch-deep flooded grassland, nearly got stuck in between the toes of a hippo we surprised at close range, and generally felt like I was in true wild Africa for every second of the week I spent there. Incredible experience.
Tholo felt like a luxury resort in the Muskokas, from which we drove each day to various nearby areas for hunting. If I were to go back to Africa with my wife or granddaughter, Tholo is absolutely where I'd head.
The Caprivi felt like a camp in a remote part of Alaska or the NWT (but with somebody to cook terrific meals and also do my laundry...); if I were alone again as I was for my safari, I would much prefer that experience.
At Tholo, you absolutely get to taste everything you shoot, if you want to...and, man, did I want to! My first meal when I arrived on the first day was mutton. Mutton!
In the Caprivi, the meat technically belonged to the inhabitants of a couple of villages located nearby. They of course allowed us to take all we wanted for a cookout that night. Biting into a perfectly-prepared rare steak from the buffalo that had inhabited my imagination for almost a half-century previous was practically a religious experience for me.
I'm not opposed to fences when there are huge areas involved. If it was 300 acres or something smaller, that would be a different story.
My wife wants to tag along. And although she's fairly adventurous, I don't think she'd appreciate anything like knee deep water trudging or meeting of unsavory fellows. I also broke my neck when I was 18 and even though it's slowly getting better by minute amounts every year, I don't think I'd want to "rough it" too much on a trip that is costing me that kind of money.
Do some research about the places you are thinking of going. Both the accommodations and the hunt itself can be as rough or as refined as you want them to be. The little cottage, which I had all to myself, at Tholo was by far the most decadent, luxurious accommodation I've ever encountered on a hunting trip. It was only a few minute's walk to the dining hall or the firepit where we spent most evenings. I had it all to myself, it was spotlessly clean, with a shower, toilet, electricity and a roofed verandah overlooking a private pond complete with hippos which had been trucked into the middle of the Kalahari for viewing at the pond. There was nighttime illumination at the pond and the animal viewing that could be done from the verandah, or even from the bedroom, was spectacular.
Some guests hunt entirely from the truck, driving all day and even shooting from the vehicle. I made it clear I wanted to spot and stalk and/or track, and that's what we did, walking many kilometers each day and being met by the truck at predetermined locations at day's end. This is the dry Kalahari, and most of the walking is very easy, very flat, very little need to bust brush. I also went on hands and knees on more than one occasion as we got close to a chosen critter. The best hunt was for Eland; we drove long distances, with the trackers stopping the truck when we cut a track they thought looked promising. We'd then get out and follow it on foot, sometimes for many hours...but apparently they also have guests who never leave the vehicle and shoot from the high seats at the back. Your PH will make sure you keep in mind that this is your hunt, your vacation, and things will be done your way.
The Caprivi was much rougher; walking in floodwater and mud for most of each day after driving through floodwater and mud to get to the chosen location. Each morning and evening we passed an area in which a cranky old bull elephant disuted our passage, chasing the vehicle several times. When we got to "his" spot, we always tried to locate him and thus take a route around the opposite end of the area, but sometimes it was a race; picture the Tyrannosaurus chasing the jeep in Jurassic Park...objects in mirror are closer than they appear.
But the camp, while tented rather than permanent, still had a dining tent serving phenomenal meals, and my private tent had an attached hot water shower and toilet, a fullsized bed with mattress, a couple comfortable chairs, a desk, and a wonderful view overlooking the Chobe river complete with lots of critters coming to water. To me, staying in a tented camp for that part of my trip was an essential, and yes, that's what convinced my wife she would not be going. Yes, I missed her while I was there. No, I didn't save any money by going alone; I just spent the extra on more days and more critters. No, I don't regret it.
Incidentally, the tented camps, where everything must be set up and moved each year and lugged into position for each season...are much more expensive than nice comfy lodges with permanent structures.
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I ALWAYS smile in my pics... heck, I am always thrilled and want to show it. I hate when guys try to look tough, or mean or indifferent... always seems mildly disrespectful to the animal and whole experience.Beautiful! Your pics, both trophy shots and others, are fantastic.
I see you are a sufferer of BSEG (Big #### Eating Grin) syndrome, as am I. The only pics I have in which I am not smiling ear to ear are my buff pics. I was so overwhelmed by emotion at the realization that I had finally gone and done it that I simply couldn't smile; I was way beyond merely smiling.
In all the other I pics I look like a cat who had just found and eaten yet another canary...
My PH at Tholo, much younger than me, was amused and commented on my very first African kill, a gemsbok. It ran a short ways, we had to follow it, lost sight of it once or twice in the brush but the trail was easy even for me to follow. When we found it and I had put in a finisher, I walked up to it and he noticed that I carefully wiped my hand on my shirt before actually touching my first African trophy. I don't remember doing that, but I believe him.
You don't even want to be on a fenced farm of 5000 - 1,0000 ha, IMO.
On this recent hunt we were hunting over a million acres... nobody seen anywhere on the miles and miles of landscape... that is what you want to experience on an African hunt. Personally, I am not even big on the campfire areas, like those found in Zimbabwe. Yes, the hunting can be good, but for me, I don't want to hunt around villages and be running across people tending cows or goats in the field... I want just country devoid of humans and filled with indigenous game.
This is what constituted the "bush camp" at our Kalahari area... lol.Do some research about the places you are thinking of going. Both the accommodations and the hunt itself can be as rough or as refined as you want them to be. The little cottage, which I had all to myself, at Tholo was by far the most decadent, luxurious accommodation I've ever encountered on a hunting trip. It was only a few minute's walk to the dining hall or the firepit where we spent most evenings. I had it all to myself, it was spotlessly clean, with a shower, toilet, electricity and a roofed verandah overlooking a private pond complete with hippos which had been trucked into the middle of the Kalahari for viewing at the pond. There was nighttime illumination at the pond and the animal viewing that could be done from the verandah, or even from the bedroom, was spectacular.
Some guests hunt entirely from the truck, driving all day and even shooting from the vehicle. I made it clear I wanted to spot and stalk and/or track, and that's what we did, walking many kilometers each day and being met by the truck at predetermined locations at day's end. This is the dry Kalahari, and most of the walking is very easy, very flat, very little need to bust brush. I also went on hands and knees on more than one occasion as we got close to a chosen critter. The best hunt was for Eland; we drove long distances, with the trackers stopping the truck when we cut a track they thought looked promising. We'd then get out and follow it on foot, sometimes for many hours...but apparently they also have guests who never leave the vehicle and shoot from the high seats at the back. Your PH will make sure you keep in mind that this is your hunt, your vacation, and things will be done your way.
The Caprivi was much rougher; walking in floodwater and mud for most of each day after driving through floodwater and mud to get to the chosen location. Each morning and evening we passed an area in which a cranky old bull elephant disuted our passage, chasing the vehicle several times. When we got to "his" spot, we always tried to locate him and thus take a route around the opposite end of the area, but sometimes it was a race; picture the Tyrannosaurus chasing the jeep in Jurassic Park...objects in mirror are closer than they appear.
Yes, I missed her while I was there. No, I didn't save any money by going alone; I just spent the extra on more days and more critters. No, I don't regret it.
Incidentally, the tented camps, where everything must be set up and moved each year and lugged into position for each season...are much more expensive than nice comfy lodges with permanent structures.
The view from my cottage patio;
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Crazy_Farmer
Regular
- Location
- Running Traffic, BC
Yep. I have one friend who went to SA on around 10-15k acres. He's a great hunter here in BC and done almost everything. Talked to him after his trip.
Laundry list of trophies all within a week. Drove around truck mostly. None and I mean none of the trophies mean anything to him. I hope he realized something that day.
I know everyone has differing budgets but for most Canadians, We are so used to massive open crown land and areas. You have to do your research and due diligence and make sure you're getting the hunt you want.
And agreed on campfire. Not my first choice, it's very wierd feeling having the image of an old world dark continent experience, and like you said. Someone grazing cattle in the middle of your hunt definitely a give and take. I know one outfitter in Zim, just snatched a safari area quota up Becuase all their clients had hunted their campfire area and they wanted to give them opportunity for a true experience. Fair enough.
Do some research about the places you are thinking of going. Both the accommodations and the hunt itself can be as rough or as refined as you want them to be. The little cottage, which I had all to myself, at Tholo was by far the most decadent, luxurious accommodation I've ever encountered on a hunting trip. It was only a few minute's walk to the dining hall or the firepit where we spent most evenings. I had it all to myself, it was spotlessly clean, with a shower, toilet, electricity and a roofed verandah overlooking a private pond complete with hippos which had been trucked into the middle of the Kalahari for viewing at the pond. There was nighttime illumination at the pond and the animal viewing that could be done from the verandah, or even from the bedroom, was spectacular.
Some guests hunt entirely from the truck, driving all day and even shooting from the vehicle. I made it clear I wanted to spot and stalk and/or track, and that's what we did, walking many kilometers each day and being met by the truck at predetermined locations at day's end. This is the dry Kalahari, and most of the walking is very easy, very flat, very little need to bust brush. I also went on hands and knees on more than one occasion as we got close to a chosen critter. The best hunt was for Eland; we drove long distances, with the trackers stopping the truck when we cut a track they thought looked promising. We'd then get out and follow it on foot, sometimes for many hours...but apparently they also have guests who never leave the vehicle and shoot from the high seats at the back. Your PH will make sure you keep in mind that this is your hunt, your vacation, and things will be done your way.
The Caprivi was much rougher; walking in floodwater and mud for most of each day after driving through floodwater and mud to get to the chosen location. Each morning and evening we passed an area in which a cranky old bull elephant disuted our passage, chasing the vehicle several times. When we got to "his" spot, we always tried to locate him and thus take a route around the opposite end of the area, but sometimes it was a race; picture the Tyrannosaurus chasing the jeep in Jurassic Park...objects in mirror are closer than they appear.
Yes, I missed her while I was there. No, I didn't save any money by going alone; I just spent the extra on more days and more critters. No, I don't regret it.
Incidentally, the tented camps, where everything must be set up and moved each year and lugged into position for each season...are much more expensive than nice comfy lodges with permanent structures.
Really good to know that you can somewhat dictate how you want your hunt to be. I'm not one who likes vehicle hunting. I'm more of a spot and stalk for sure.
I suppose hunting there in the large open area is the opposite of hunting on my land where average people can get lost on 80 acres of thick woods. Let alone 800. In any event I'm born and raised in the "bush" only now living in the city because of my wife. I prefer hunting/sleeping where there could be no one else in the province. The less contact I have with people, the better.
