Gentlemen, this is an interesting thread but there are some misconceptions about a genuine Dry Land Hippo hunt. There are places where one can shoot a hippo out of the water, but he will likely be close to the water and maybe you catch him out of the water, maybe not. There are also places, yes in South Africa, where you may run into a situation where a hippo is either in an enclosed environment or recently released.
The truth is, it’s not that easy to find a true Dry Land hippo hunt, because there aren’t all that many areas where hippos live in the forest far from water. Tanzania has such places, specifically in the Selous Game Reserve. I believe but am not positive that the Niassa Game Reserve also has some dry land hippo hunting. There may be some in the Luangwa Valley but I’m fairly sure they’re all pretty closely associated with the Luangwa River. Other than the Selous, I don’t think there are many places where you can hunt a true Dry Land hippo.
Perhaps I’m splitting hairs but I don’t think all Dry Land hippo hunts are created equal. It’s more expensive to hunt them in the Selous but it’s a genuine hunt and, I believe, worth it.
