Eland hunting in a wilderness area for first safari

[375Fox]

Dande does not have a lot of PG but my understanding is that Nyakasanga does.

For someone on a budget though, not having unlimited opportunity at plainsgame might be a good thing. Dande definitely provides a really good opportunity for a quality buffalo hunt behind experienced trackers and several great PHs. Getting a bonus warthog or kudu is just that. The quality of the tracking teams and PH was probably my favorite aspect of my hunt there.

 

[WAB]

For someone on a budget though, not having unlimited opportunity at plainsgame might be a good thing. Dande definitely provides a really good opportunity for a quality buffalo hunt behind experienced trackers and several great PHs. Getting a bonus warthog or kudu is just that. The quality of the tracking teams and PH was probably my favorite aspect of my hunt there.

Agreed, my wife and I both took buffalo there on a great hunt with Len Taylor.

 

[Dinsdale]

For someone on a budget though, not having unlimited opportunity at plainsgame might be a good thing. Dande definitely provides a really good opportunity for a quality buffalo hunt behind experienced trackers and several great PHs. Getting a bonus warthog or kudu is just that. The quality of the tracking teams and PH was probably my favorite aspect of my hunt there.

When I hunted tuskless with Len on Dande we were wildly successful. Adding buffalo,hyena, bushbuck,warthog,impala,several baboons. Could have added zebra and kudu we had seen both; but I wanted to spend a day on Zambezi fishing for a day. It was crazy, every time we went to try for something, there it was. Never had a trip exactly like that were the stars just always aligned.

Discounted late season offer booked a month before I went. Who knew?

I hunted with Tinie Kok as PH last time in Dande. Scheduled PH couldn’t do hunt, so he drove 14 hrs strait to get to Pedza camp overnight; another good guy to hunt with as PH . Had an awesome time again with tuskless, and then spent the rest of the time after an add on buffalo. Seen less plains game, but we spent no time really looking. Did see good impala, klipspringer, zebra; I passed to stayed focused on a good buffalo; ran out of time. Seen a female color phase golden sable that was amazing; looked like a roan. Hell of a hunt.

Big fan of Dande and CMS; having Matambo camp on the Zambezi to add a few days fishing is just perfect for me.

 

[WAB]

When I hunted tuskless with Len on Dande we were wildly successful. Adding buffalo,hyena, bushbuck,warthog,impala,several baboons. Could have added zebra and kudu we had seen both; but I wanted to spend a day on Zambezi fishing for a day. It was crazy, every time we went to try for something, there it was. Never had a trip exactly like that were the stars just always aligned.

Discounted late season offer booked a month before I went. Who knew?

I hunted with Tinie Kok as PH last time in Dande. Scheduled PH couldn’t do hunt, so he drove 14 hrs strait to get to Pedza camp overnight; another good guy to hunt with as PH . Had an awesome time again with tuskless, and then spent the rest of the time after an add on buffalo. Seen less plains game, but we spent no time really looking. Did see good impala, klipspringer, zebra; I passed to stayed focused on a good buffalo; ran out of time. Seen a female color phase golden sable that was amazing; looked like a roan. Hell of a hunt.

Big fan of Dande and CMS; having Matambo camp on the Zambezi to add a few days fishing is just perfect for me.

Agreed. Dande is special and Len just seems to know how to make it happen!

 

[SETH RINGER]

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[Cme1983]

I wouldn’t consider Nyakasanga a place with a lot of plains game. I would however consider the plains game to be of high quality.

 

[fourfive8]

Lot of good suggestions posted. You mentioned eland and kudu and wilderness. Any conventional definition of wilderness in North America likely will not translate well to Africa. My best recommendation would be to consider a hunt for eland (and oryx and kudu of course) in the Kalahari behind San Bushmen trackers. Impossible to predict how a hunt will play out but usually goes something like..... slowly drive around looking for game to stalk or to cut fresh tracks. San trackers have eyesight like both microscopes and 8X spotting scopes. Occasionally can walk likely areas trying to do the same. For tracking hunt the key is finding tracks fresh enough to work. Start. Could be less than a mile or more than 10, ending in only hopeless outcome and prospect for another 10 or 20. You said you wanted a hunt For me, the eland tracking scenario IS a hunt! If you have read about hunting elephant in the old days.... miles and miles of tracking. Well this type hunt will come as close to that as any I can imagine. Good luck!

 

[Kelly G]

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[Red Leg]

Based on your first posting, I would absolutely give Jamy Traut a call or shoot him an email. https://jamyhunts.com/ He can set up exactly the sort of hunt you want in Namibia. Unlike most game ranches in South Africa where kudu have become a glamour species (you pay by the inch), your PH will be looking for the best free range animal he can get you in the time allotted. Your eland likely will be walked down on demanding hunt from a track found at dawn. Though I have not hunted with them, I am confident Khomas could do the same.

Both free range SCI gold medal class animals taken with Jamy Traut.

 

[CJW]

For 17k you could do easily do eland in the BVC and a touch more could get you a buffalo there as well.

 

[WAB]

Lot of good suggestions posted. You mentioned eland and kudu and wilderness. Any conventional definition of wilderness in North America likely will not translate well to Africa. My best recommendation would be to consider a hunt for eland (and oryx and kudu of course) in the Kalahari behind San Bushmen trackers. Impossible to predict how a hunt will play out but usually goes something like..... slowly drive around looking for game to stalk or to cut fresh tracks. San trackers have eyesight like both microscopes and 8X spotting scopes. Occasionally can walk likely areas trying to do the same. For tracking hunt the key is finding tracks fresh enough to work. Start. Could be less than a mile or more than 10, ending in only hopeless outcome and prospect for another 10 or 20. You said you wanted a hunt For me, the eland tracking scenario IS a hunt! If you have read about hunting elephant in the old days.... miles and miles of tracking. Well this type hunt will come as close to that as any I can imagine. Good luck!

Totally agree, a proper tracking hunt for eland is one of the greatest hunts I’ve done in Africa and the San are beyond belief in their abilities to follow an animal. I hesitate to even call it tracking because some of what I have witnessed goes way beyond the conventional definition of the word.

 

[Mauser3000]

Based on your first posting, I would absolutely give Jamy Traut a call or shoot him an email. https://jamyhunts.com/ He can set up exactly the sort of hunt you want in Namibia. Unlike most game ranches in South Africa where kudu have become a glamour species (you pay by the inch), your PH will be looking for the best free range animal he can get you in the time allotted. Your eland likely will be walked down on demanding hunt from a track found at dawn. Though I have not hunted with them, I am confident Khomas could do the same.

Both free range SCI gold medal class animals taken with Jamy Traut.

Red Leg,

Nice trophies and thank you for the input. I’ve been looking into Jamy Traut’s operation. Did you hunt at Panorama or Kaokoland? By the way that rifle looks great. Who built it? I like the receiver sight as a back up.

 

[revturbo9967]

I’m looking at Jamy too sometime in 25, maybe. Everyone who has hunted with them gives extremely positive reviews. I would hunt with them based on reviews alone. However, @375Fox has really messed up my plans on possibly returning to Africa after this season with a whole lot of Roe deer talk.

 

[Tra3]

+1 on Jamy Traut. The waterburg plateau is a great place to track eland. Kaokoland is also excellent and very remote.
I’d also check out Kou Kuas safaris (also in Namibia) I got to hunt their home base and their Bwabwata concession this summer. Both locations were impressive.
The above two groups work together and can put together quite an adventure.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

You can't- it was meant as kinda a joke with the hope you might go whole hog and take the bait .

Very nice plan thus far. I can also confirm the area of the Zambezi Valley I hunted was not a destination for eland or kudu, but mostly DG. Maybe southern areas of Zim like the Save' Valley?? @Kevin Peacocke any input for an eager chap?

Yes you will get great specimens of both in Save, speak to Dalton McClintock

 

[MarkCZ]

Lot of good suggestions posted. You mentioned eland and kudu and wilderness. Any conventional definition of wilderness in North America likely will not translate well to Africa. My best recommendation would be to consider a hunt for eland (and oryx and kudu of course) in the Kalahari behind San Bushmen trackers. Impossible to predict how a hunt will play out but usually goes something like..... slowly drive around looking for game to stalk or to cut fresh tracks. San trackers have eyesight like both microscopes and 8X spotting scopes. Occasionally can walk likely areas trying to do the same. For tracking hunt the key is finding tracks fresh enough to work. Start. Could be less than a mile or more than 10, ending in only hopeless outcome and prospect for another 10 or 20. You said you wanted a hunt For me, the eland tracking scenario IS a hunt! If you have read about hunting elephant in the old days.... miles and miles of tracking. Well this type hunt will come as close to that as any I can imagine. Good luck!

Lot of good suggestions posted. You mentioned eland and kudu and wilderness. Any conventional definition of wilderness in North America likely will not translate well to Africa. My best recommendation would be to consider a hunt for eland (and oryx and kudu of course) in the Kalahari behind San Bushmen trackers. Impossible to predict how a hunt will play out but usually goes something like..... slowly drive around looking for game to stalk or to cut fresh tracks. San trackers have eyesight like both microscopes and 8X spotting scopes. Occasionally can walk likely areas trying to do the same. For tracking hunt the key is finding tracks fresh enough to work. Start. Could be less than a mile or more than 10, ending in only hopeless outcome and prospect for another 10 or 20. You said you wanted a hunt For me, the eland tracking scenario IS a hunt! If you have read about hunting elephant in the old days.... miles and miles of tracking. Well this type hunt will come as close to that as any I can imagine. Good luck!

reminds me of my Eland hunt in Namibia with a San bushman. Spotted said Eland at 8 a.m. and took the shot at 5 p.m. finally got back to the lodge at 9 p.m. it was a privalige to watch the guy work.

 

[Borderer]

I would have a serious look at Coutada 9 with Western Safaris. They have some fantastic Kudu and Eland and in my opinion, it is a very well run operation in a wilderness area of Mozambique. A million acres unfenced and totally wild. My wife and I had a fantastic time with them last year.

I went there after a similar process to you of reading everything I could find for about 20 years. My biggest regret was not finding a way to go straight after college.

I went there after a personal recommendation from another of their clients and was worried that I had built it up to be much better than it would be but we were not disappointed at all.

Run by an exceptionally hospitable Zimbabwean family.

 

[spike.t]

Could probably sort you a buff hunt here in zambia for around that figure...contact me if you interested

 

[FlyGuy]

I’m kicking around a budget of about 17k for the hunt itself.

Also check out ARU in Namibia. Gysbert has an area or two up north for truly wild eland hunting. Very similar to hunting buff. Find a big bull’s tracks and follow them until you finally get a look at him or not.
It’s one of the best hunts, if not the best hunt for plains game in Namibia.

 

[WAB]

Also check out ARU in Namibia. Gysbert has an area or two up north for truly wild eland hunting. Very similar to hunting buff. Find a big bull’s tracks and follow them until you finally get a look at him or not.
It’s one of the best hunts, if not the best hunt for plains game in Namibia.

In my limited experience, I’ve walked further in a day tracking eland than buffalo. It is a truly great hunt. And when the shot comes they done give you much. You’d better bring your A game!

If budget wasn’t an issue I’d be looking to book a LDE hunt. However, I can stay in a private Villa in Italy with a PH and chef for a month for that price!