| Africa! - no other continent quite holds the attention and sparks the imagination of hunters like Africa does, the proverbial 'heart of darkness'. For most of us the riches of gold and oil don't mean much anymore rather it is Africa's greatest resource, her wildlife, that draws us to her and pulls at that adventurous string in our souls! |
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More on Safari costs for 2008
As promised, I'm still on about the costs of an African hunt and hopefully my last newsletter shed some light on why safaris are so expensive at the moment.
I also did some other research and was stunned to see Canadian operators offering Moose and Elk hunts at prices which surpass that of Africa so it just reiterates my point - the dollar is in the dumps right now.
While this is sad news for Americans, I've noted an increase in enquiries from Canada, Australia and Europe. While some outfitters have started listing their prices in Euro's the majority are still listing dollar prices as are most of the wildlife authorities in Africa. So the tides have turned and now there are some good bargains to be had - if you're not earning a dollar salary that is!
HOWEVER I do have some good news and although you may think these prices are still out of reach, they are some of the lowest on the continent for the type of safari. You see, I recently had the fortune of meeting a safari operator in Zambia who recently acquired a hunting concession in the Luangwa Valley and he had missed the major sales conventions here in the US so he's looking to sell whatever he has.
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OK, the hunts I am listing below are for a concession in the southern Luangwa valley called Msoro Lupande which lies partly in the mighty Muchinga escarpment and then levels out into magnificent Miombo woodland with dambos and perennial rivers - about 7000 Sqkms in size. It has not been hunted much since it was designated a hunting area 3 years ago, primarily because the person who owned it did not understand the safari business and did not put any hunts through there . The first hunts were last year and saw 2 full classical hunts take place involving lion, leopard, elephant & buffalo as well as other plainsgame. Both hunters got a full bag with the lion being typical Luangwa bush manes, massive leopard and elephant in the 40-50 lbs class. The concession has excellent buffalo, roan, kudu, bushbuck, klipspringer, eland and some of the more common plains species.
I personally hunted this area about 9 years ago and it used to be the escarpment side of a concession called lower Lupande. Usually the concessions lying on the valley floor (such as lower lupande)are only hunted in close proximity to the river. Going into the escapement was a tough job and during a season we would only venture there once or twice a year. However often, and this applies to many of the Luangwa hunting concessions, the biggest trophies came out what we called 'the hills'.
While I have not hunted this area for the last 9 years, I am confident of good lion, leopard and buffalo as they are resident there and were shot last year. Honestly I believe that if a good PH went in there with a dedicated client, the result will be a very big lion and leopard.
That's why I have allocated 2 months of my season (which would otherwise have been spent hunting in north Luangwa) to this concession and am inviting interested hunters to contact me about this area. The dates are prime too, July thru August, the best cat hunting months in the valley. So you get my assurance as a PH that this area will produce, and I have a extensive reference list to put your mind at ease. These prices will only be available this year so it may be the time to do the classic african hunt.
IF this is out of your current budget don't fear, we have many plains game hunts available on game ranches throughout Zambia. You may ask why even consider a Zambian game ranch when South Africa and Namibia are cheaper? Well we have more impressive beasts than they do as well as most of their common ones as well and if you have a hankering for these spectacular antelope then without a doubt our prices are better.
We have many Sable bulls at our disposal, one impressive guy is around 47 inches and he has managed to evade hunters for a number of years now. He has a brother around 44" which is still a great sable so if you want a big boy then this is the time to do it. We differ from other operators in that we provide you with a full hunt and not just a day or two of shooting at a game ranch. Typically the ranches we hunt on are firstly large enough for a good number of other species then we also give you the option of transferring to any other ranch for additional species and a very popular add on wilderness hunt for the impressive Kafue Lechwe.
We take you out onto the Kafue flats, a vast wetland which harbors hundreds of Lechwe, we camp out in the open and then hunt on foot into the knee deep water after lechwe in excess of 30 inches. This wetland is also home to millions of waterfowl and great fun is had shooting over 9 different species of ducks and geese.
Msoro Lupande classic safaris 2008 |
HUNT THE BIG 4 on one hunt over 28 days!
Over 28 days you will pursue the BIG 4 - Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo and other plainsgame species in the hunting concession as well as species in other parts of Zambia if you desire.
One great option is that this concession allows 4 of the big 5 to be hunted in one 28 day safari, just like they did in the old days. We are setting up a classic old style tented 'mobile' camp for these hunts and hunting will be done mostly on foot due to the terrain. This is a great opportunity to experience the old ways of hunting at a decent price with an above average chance at success on all 4 beasts.
Price: $1650 per day
Email me NOW for hunt availability
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24 Day LION & LEOPARD hunt
The Zambian classic safari for the big cats and buffalo as well as the ability to add on days for Sitatunga, Lechwe or Sable
Price: from $1650 per day
Email me NOW for hunt availability |
21 Day LION hunt
On this hunt LION as your main purpose, with the opportunity to take all other species in the concession except leopard. Buffalo and other plains species like Roan and Kudu are available, as well as the ability to add on days for Sitatunga, Lechwe or Sable.
Price: from $1650 per day (if you add up everything that's a lion safari in Zambia for around $45,000 total!)
Email me NOW for hunt availability |
14 Day LEOPARD hunt
The most elusive cat hunt, with the opportunity to take all other plains species PLUS Buffalo, as well as the ability to add on days for Sitatunga, Lechwe or Sable
Price: from $1650 per day
Email me NOW for hunt availability |
2x1 10 day Sable hunt in Zambia - $12,900 per hunter (includes 10 full days hunting plus sable trophy fee) This ranch has a 47 inch Sable bull and a plus 44 inch bull, you will not find this anywhere else in this region. Other species also available at this ranch
7 day 2x1 plainsgame package hunt starts at $7,900 per hunter (includes 7 full hunting days plus trophy fees to share between 2 hunters for 1 Waterbuck, 1 Kudu, 2 zebra, 2 warthog, 2 reedbuck & 2 Impala) - this is great value hunting
Add a 2 day Kafue Lechwe hunt to any of the above packages for the true wilderness hunting experience as we camp out on the vast kafue flats and go after 30 inch plus lechwe bulls - $ 3,900
You may be wondering if I was talking BS about the wilderness rough hunts last week! Well not really but they are moving along slower than expected because of communication problems (can you believe in this day and age!). That's why I'm boarding a plane tomorrow for Zambia for about 10 days and will set up these much talked about expedition style trips which I personally enjoy so much. I'll be back with prices and logistics next week!
Email me for some great game ranch hunting ideas that reflect the real african hunting experience - EMAIL
Happy hunting
Pete Swanepoel jnr
SafariBwana LLC, 5250 Cherry Creek South Drive, Denver, CO, 80246 Tel: 720-277 1920 info@safaribwana.com |
