ZIMBABWE

GEOGRAPHY

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa. Most of the country is elevated on the central plateau stretching from the south west to the north west at altitudes of between 1 200 m and 1 600 m . The countries east is mountainous with Mt Inyangani as the highest point at 2 592 m.

About 20 % of the country consists of " lowveld " which is under 900 m. Victoria Falls , one of the worlds biggest and most spectacular waterfalls, are located in the countries north west along the Zambezi River

HUNTING IN ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwe is home to an Elephant population estimated to be in the region of 100 000 animals, with a threshold of half that amount, found mostly in the Hwange area and the Zambezi Valley.The hunting of Elephants , Lions and Leopards is permitted and tightly controlled.

Lions and Leopards are hunted exclusively with bait and are found in almost all areas. Zimbabwean Leopards are well known for their large size . There are also large herd of Buffalo in Zimbabwe and so it is possible to hunt 4 of the renowned " Big 5 " here.

In Zimbabwe much walking , stalking and hunting is done on foot but given the vastness of the areas we hunt , it is often necessary to travel by vehicle to get to the hunting spots or until fresh tracks are located. The hunting areas are not too rugged and while often a fair amount of walking is required for Elephant hunting, generally the hunting is not physically rigorous.

HUNTING SEASON

There is no defined hunting season in Zimbabwe however, due to the summer rains falling between November and April, most hunting is conducted between the months of May and October with June and July being the most popular months for hunting.

SPECIES LIST

DAY OF HUNTING

Baboon - Chacma

Buffalo - Cape

Bushbuck - Chobe

Bushpig

Caracal

Civet

Crocodile - Nile

Duiker - Grey

Eland - Livingstone

Elephant

Genet

Giraffe

Grysbok - Sharpes

Hippo

Honey Badger

Hyena - Spotted

Impala

Jackal - Black Backed

Jackal - Side Striped

Klipspringer

Kudu

Leopard

Lion

Monkey - Vervet

Porcupine

Reedbuck

Roan (on special request)

Sable

Serval

Steenbok

Waterbuck

Warthog

Wildcat - African

Wildebeest

Zebra - Burchells

Birds: Dove , Guinea fowl, Francolin and Sandgrouse

DAY OF HUNTING

04:00 - 05:30 -Wake up call .The wake up time depends on the season and how far from the camp one will be hunting that particular day. If some species of animals are found a distance from camp one would arise much earlier in order to cover distance and get to the hunting area early.

05:30 - Continental breakfast and coffee / tea

06:00 - After breakfast leave camp in Land Cruiser to the desired / planned area to hunt for the day . Hunting , depending on species will require walking , tracking, stalking and glassing.

Mid morning - Depending on the hunt that day , stop for the compulsory tea / coffee break in the bush.

Noon -Depending on the species being hunted , usually as it starts to get towards the middle of the day and warm , one returns to camp for lunch .

Some days a packed lunch is taken out in the morning enabling you to stay out all day . As it gets warm you will stop under a big shady tree for lunch and drinks.

If any animals are shot during the course of the day they are normally taken back to the camp where our skinners are available to skin the animals and prepare the trophies according to the hunters requirements.

After lunch - After the siesta in camp , or under the large Teak tree in the bush , tea and then one heads out to hunt for the afternoon .

End of Day - After hunting the afternoon , witness the sunset and around dusk time, we start the return to camp.

You will then have time to shower / refresh for the evening snacks and drinks around the fire before dinner.

Dinner follows with a three course meal and thereafter plans are made for the next day before retiring to bed.