northern province - now called LIMPOPO province

The Limpopo province stands proud as the hunting capital of South Africa with more than 4 million hectares of land dedicated to conserved ranches and reserves. A vast indigenous habitat, ranging from spectacular forests to rocky mountains and sandveld (sand bush) supports the incredible choice of species available to the hunter.

The area is known for the massive southern greater kudu it produces each season with a Top 10 trophy being within every hunter's reach. Southern impala, common waterbuck, blue wildebeest, klipspringer, Limpopo bushbuck and eland are found in abundance with excellent trophies recorded each season. Most ranches offer an exciting array of species selection and the province has many outfitters and hunters to choose from.

Leopard in the province are also exceptional but extremely wary due to pursuit by stock owners. Many ranches have resident rhino populations, some being excellent trophies.       

There is an old saying in the great Northwest Province: when men here are hungry for some vegetables, they go out and catch a chicken...

The Northwest province is perhaps one of South Africa's best kept hunting secrets due to its displacement from the rest of the country. It is a large province bordering Botswana and the sands of the Kalahari. Its Eastern reaches are relatively close to Johannesburg, a series of rough low-lying hillocks covered with acacia thorn and withaak trees. Best known for the fiercely independent Afrikaans farmers who have perfected the art of mampoer distillation and story-telling. The Southern Greater Kudu found here are amongst the biggest in the country.

It is home to the magnificent game reserves of Pilanesberg and Madikwe where controlled hunting is allowed in some sectors of the reserves. In South Africa, this is the closest one will get to hunting as it was 100 years ago, vast concessions with abundant varied wild game. Elephant, buffalo, leopard, lion, eland, sable, kudu and other plainsgame occur here as they did hundreds of years ago. Quotas are limited though and trophies are not always up to the standard found on private ranches.

As one moves west, the land becomes more unforgiving, the climate drier, the thorn scrub disperses and the wide open spaces more abundant. Some ranches have cleared much of the thicker thorn scrub away allowing easier hunting whilst others have been left to to grow wild. Wherever you hunt, species are abundant and rates are reasonable. In the past, the area was known for its black-maned Kalahari lion crossing from Botswana, however today they are few and restricted to the national reserves.

The province offers excellent Southern Greater Kudu, gemsbok, Cape Eland, Common Waterbuck, impala, Red Hartebeest and many other common plainsgame species as well as exotics like Addax and Scimitar Horned Oryx.

The major towns of the area are Mmabatho (only one served by SAA), Vryburg and Kuruman. For hunters it is most common to be collected or met by the outfitter in Johannesburg, Kimberley or Upington from where it is a couple of hours drive to the hunting ranches. 

Kwazulu-Natal and more specifically Zululand was once the hunting grounds of Africa's most famous and revered warrior, Shaka - King of the Zulu nation. The province has one of the most unique and varying terrains in South Africa, from the staggering snow tipped peaks of the Drakensberg to the humid lowlands of Zululand. Hunting occurs throughout the province but tends to be concentrated in the north-eastern parts where the temperatures are more humid.

Natal also holds some of the most sought after species in the country; nyala, red duiker, suni and common reedbuck abound in most parts of the province except the very highest peaks. The Hluhluwe and Umfolozi Reserves are today known for their single handed re-establishment of Africa's dwindling white and black rhino populations. For many years the Natal Parks Board was seen as the most innovative and forward thinking in the country and are today, reaping the long-term rewards. Their annual game auction is the biggest of its kind in Africa, if not the world.

Elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino are numerous but expensive and the usual collection of common plainsgame occur on most ranches. Decent kudu, bushbuck, waterbuck, impala and other trophies are common but the main quarry tends to be nyala. For the best nyala in South Africa it is necessary to visit Natal as they do not fare well in other parts of the country where they have been translocated.

Natal is a humid region and it is best to hunt here towards the end of winter (July, August, September) when temperatures are cooler and the brush is less abundant.

Major towns and cities are Durban and Richards Bay with regular air service. The towns of Pongola, Mkuze, Hluhluwe and Vryheid tend to have the highest concentrations of game ranches in close proximity.

Mpumalanga means "the place where the sun rises", and is perhaps blessed with the most favourable hunting species, terrain and climate. It holds the bulk of the Kruger National Park in what is known as the lowveld (lowlands) and the game reserves and ranches along its boundaries are the main attraction to the hunter.

Mpumalanga rates as one of the most scenic of all the regions in South Africa, with awesome views around the Drakensburg mountains and some of the largest planted forests in the world.

It is here that some of the best deals on Cape Buffalo, lion and elephant have been offered in the past years. Most of the common plains game are abundant on many game ranches across the province, from the boundaries of the Kruger Park to the peaks of the Drakensberg.

Price may tend to be higher here than in other more remote provinces, however it still remains one of the better places to hunt buffalo in the country.

The close proximity to Johannesburg make getting there easy and hassle-free. The major towns of the area are Nelspruit (regular flight service), Pilgrims Rest, Barberton, Piet Retief, Sabie and Lydenburg.

Birthplace of Nelson Mandela, the Eastern Cape is a large province with many fine ranches supporting a large variety of indigenous and introduced game. The province is divided into the coastal plain and the inland plateau, two greatly different habitats.

 The inland plateau forms part of the great expanse of the Karoo, a semi-desert arid hinterland home to vast herds of springbok and blesbok. The sparse vegetation and harsh weather dictate the occurrence of indigenous species in this region.

It seems the hardy springbok (common, black and white) is the most suitably adapted with the blesbok running a close second. Mountain reedbuck, Vaal rhebok, steenbok, east Cape greater kudu and caracal also occur as indigenous game.

The coastal belt features rolling hills of dense thorn and cactus bush with interwoven grassy patches. This is home to Cape bushbuck, east Cape greater kudu, Cape grysbok, blue duiker, caracal, bush duiker and the many angora wool goats (the predominant farming activity is sheep and goat raising).

In the early frontier days lion, elephant, buffalo, eland and a host of other plainsgame roamed the Eastern Cape but sadly, today their occurrence is due to their re-introduction rather than natural occurrence.

Game Ranches in the area offer many different species including: gemsbok, black and blue wildebeest, red lechwe, fallow deer, nyala, buffalo, lion, leopard, caracal, genet, impala, bontebok, red hartebeest, zebra and a host of others.

In addition, trophy fees and daily rates are probably the most favourable in the country. However, the hunting methods and areas do tend to leave one remembering that you are hunting on a ranch.

Major towns of the province are Port Elizabeth and East London which are served by South African Airways and other smaller airlines from Cape Town or Johannesburg. Other towns of importance are Graaf-Reinet, Cradock, Queenstown, King William's Town, Umtata and Aliwal North.

In most cases you will be required to take a connecting flight from your point of arrival (Cape Town or Johannesburg) to Port Elizabeth or East London where your outfitter will collect you.

The Free State was once the bastion of Afrikaaner nationalism, a land of vast grass-filled plains perfect for agriculture and stock farming. Eventually, as the soil leeched and the grass faded farmers realised it was time to return the land to its original inhabitants. 

The plains are now teeming with springbok, blesbok, Black Wildebeest, hartebeest, zebra, eland, gemsbok and more. The ranches are usually very large compared to bushveld areas, and despite the open vegetation, provide challenging hunting.

The plains are the home of the Black Wildebeest (the original gnu, named by the first British hunters), springbok and blesbok. Caracal, Small Spotted Cat and jackal are also common. Most ranches have a wide variety of species available and it is not uncommon to be able to shoot 2 or 3 trophies a day. The plains do however call for long range shots so a magnum of some kind is essential.

The major towns are Bloemfontein, Welkom and Bethlehem. The Free State is about half a days drive from Johannesburg and most hunters will use this as their starting point.

The Northern Cape is the largest province in South Africa, stretching from the barren plains of the Karoo in the south to the red sands of the Kalahari in the north. Across the middle, open grassland interspersed with acacia woodland allows classical savanna hunting on large tracts of ranchland.

Hunting is good all year round as the average rainfall is low. June to September are the best times with cold nights and clear crisp days.

The major towns of the area are the diamond town of Kimberley, Upington and De Aar which have regular air services. Due to its size, Cape Town or Johannesburg are close entry points to the Northern Cape.

Although the area is perfect for game ranching, it is only recently that more farmers are turning to game. This makes for reasonable trophy prices and daily rates in the province.

This is not traditionally a hunting or game ranching area and the reserves in the province do not hold the variety of species found elsewhere. The terrain is also restrictive, with Karoo scrub and mountain fynbos throughout most of the province which is not conducive to supporting grazing animals.

However the spectacular mountains and plains, often next to the ocean, are home to some of the more alert and hardy species of South Africa. The Vaal rhebuck, mountain reedbuck and klipspringer are abundant here. In the Karoo, springbok, blesbok and gemsbok are common. Also found here are the beautiful bontebok, almost shot to extinction in the early 1900s.

Ranches are more common on the Karoo plateau than in the coastal belt with a large variety of the common species available for hunting. Kudu, eland, Blue and Black Wildebeest, hartebeest and the smaller plainsgame are most common on the ranches in the Karoo whilst Vaal rhebuck are most common amidst the peaks separating the coastal belt.

Cape Town is of course the major city of the province with the smaller towns of George and Oudtshoorn also having regular air service. There seems to be more game ranches in the northern and eastern half of the province which gradually become less the nearer one gets to Cape Town.

Rates are reasonable as the province is not traditionally a ranching area. However, prices are on the increase and only the very remote ranches still offer a bargain.

This is the commercial and economic power house of South Africa with the large cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria its core. In most areas industrial and agricultural development blur the horizon and there are few places where virgin bush still survives. However, on the fringes of the province, especially in the northern and eastern regions, there are some fine game ranches with a variety of species including rhino.

Hunting is fairly easy as the terrain is flat and open, mostly grassland and well dispersed acacia thorn scrub.

In many cases hunting rates and trophy fees are reasonable as ranches mostly cater to local hunters -  meaning Rand-based fees.