2007 Africa Inspection Trip Caprivi Strip Namibia - Part 3

After the Kalahari I flew back to Jo'burg to catch a flight to Livingstone Zambia to head out to the Caprivi Strip in Namibia. I was really looking forward to this hunt because I have heard so many good things about the Caprivi Strip in general and this particular outfitter.

Given some past bad experiences with other outfitters, I proceed very cautiously with any outfitters/PH's who are new to me. This helps me to ensure that you will have a quality experience when you hunt with one of our outfitters. Reputation is important, however, it is not enough. That is why I personally inspect each new outfitter before agreeing to represent them.

Even though my expectations were high for this hunt and outfitter, they were exceeded. This area is almost one million acres and they are only taking 8 buffalo, 8 elephants and a small number of plains game species. This is barely scratching the surface of what they could take from this area. The result is that the trophy quality of all hunt-able species is excellent. I was able to take a beautiful kudu, and a very nice, old hard bossed buffalo bull. The kudu was over 58 inches and the buffalo was over 40 inches wide with 13 1/2 inch bosses. Two excellent trophies.















I saw thousands of buffalo in the 7 days that I was there including some very big, old hard bossed bulls. I also saw hundreds of elephants. Located along the Angola border, this area of the Caprivi is sparsely populated by humans and is well managed. There are some areas in the Caprivi that can't say that. It is important to be cautious when booking a hunt there so you don't end up hunting in the more heavily populated areas of the Caprivi where hunt quality and success rates are not as high as the less populated areas.

While hunting we were accompanied by a game scout from the local community management committee and he was quite helpful in all respects. This fellow was a skilled tracker and worked well with the outfitter's own trackers. I have been around some game scouts that are a hindrance, but this guy was an asset.

While I was in camp I was able to see ivory from previous hunts, they are averaging trophies of about 70 pounds. There are plenty of elephantsin this area and the trophies being taken can rival those of almost anywhere else in Africa today.

We will have a limited number of buffalo hunts in this area for 2008, a 7 day hunt will be approximately $13,000 US including the trophy fee for one buffalo. These are top quality hunts and your chances of taking a hard bossed, bull that scores very well are excellent. We have an interest list for 2008 buffalo and those on the list we be "first come first serve". On these hunts you will be the only hunter in camp unless you bring a companion and you'll hunt with the PH who owns the company and is personally responsible for the concession. So if you are interested you need to get on the list now, because we still don't know how many hunts we will have available.

We will also have a very limited number of elephant hunts available in 2008; these are 21 day hunts including the trophy fee for around $50,000 US. We have an interest list for these hunts as well. So if you are interested please let us know right away.

Since I had a few days to kill before heading back to the states a friend recommended that I do some tiger fishing on the Zambezi. This has always been a dream of mine so I jumped at the chance. My friend took me to this terrific lodge right on the banks of the river and I spent 2 days fishing.

It was an incredible way to end a long trip to Africa. The fishing was good although I didn't catch anything huge. The lodge was very nice with comfortable cabins and good food. I had such a good time that I am going to represent them. If you are interested in booking some tiger fishing let us know. It is very far up in Northern Namibia so you have to be prepared for some travel but a few days up there are worth it. Keep checking our website and sign up for our e-newsletter for more reports, hunt descriptions and pricing for 2008.