SOUTH AFRICA: Kuche Safaris

[Wishfulthinker580]

Pretty interesting that an outfitter gets such wildly differing reviews..

 

[bjh2oson]

Pretty interesting that an outfitter gets such wildly differing reviews..

I agree. Looking into it more i think in my case it involves not managing expectations. While i think i should have had more opportunities with my bow, they only said mid way through the hunt i should switch to a rifle.. now i know. They also told me a spot and stalk with a bow on an impala wouldnt happen.. but it did.. guess you never know. As 375Fox said, these guys really arent into the details. I think they are ok at best for a cheap hunt but it doesnt make sense to roll the dice with them if you cant go back. I feel for their ph's, they arent given the chance to maximize the experience for the clients.

 

[NTH]

I am thoroughly surprised with your experience with Kuche. I, and many others I know, had exceptional experiences with Kuche, and we are not “cheap asses” and we do care where we stay. I’m not here to defend Koos but just surprised in your experience. That being said I used a rifle and you can search for my report here on this page, but we had a friend that bow-hunted with Kuche and came back with only a few animals in that package. Simply for the fact of it being so dense and they had to hunt over water holes. So they were basically sitting in a blind all day just waiting for stuff to move. Sorry to read this lackluster review.

 

[RETD16]

I’m thinking of taking my Wife in May on our hunt. She’s not a hunter, but she does want to see the elephants and they offer an experience for that. But she’s not interested in going out hunting. I showed her the review above, and she was curious if there is anything to do? Shopping? Other experiences close by? Thanks for any info!!!

 

[Hunt anything]

I took my wife to the Eastern Cape back in 2018 and she won’t let me go back without her. She absolutely loved it. She doesn’t hunt but enjoyed looking at the animals and actually enjoyed the stalks looking for THE one we might shoot. The people in the camp made sure she didn’t get bored or hungry on the day or two she decided to sleep in.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I’m thinking of taking my Wife in May on our hunt. She’s not a hunter, but she does want to see the elephants and they offer an experience for that. But she’s not interested in going out hunting. I showed her the review above, and she was curious if there is anything to do? Shopping? Other experiences close by? Thanks for any info!!!

Cheryl at Two Waters Safaris will keep your wife busy. Elephants, cats, vineyards, tourist shops, nature hikes, etc. Hunting has been good for me too.

 

[Ruraldoc]

I hunted with Kuche Safaris this August. My hunt report is posted.

I enjoyed the simple Breakfasts and Lunches. The accommodations were clean and and comfortable. I was rifle hunting and took everything on my list.

Any issues were promptly handled by staff. I was in the room right next to the skinning barn and never smelled anything nasty.

There were bow hunters in camp with me and everyone I talked to got animals and had a good time.

It is not a luxury camp and is not represented as such.

My impression is that the experienced hunters with reasonable expectations in this camp do well.

I’m going back and I’m taking friends and family. Koos has many repeat clients who come year after year.

I also took my PH’s advice about hunting methods and it worked out well. And I sat in blinds over waterholes several times at midday and late evening. I had a blast in the same places where you were dissatisfied.
I knew from my research and talking to Koos it is possible to go home without a Kudu, I hunted hard all week and got one solid chance at a mature animal. I was using a rifle and made the shot. My kudu was a magnificent bull according to my PH.

 

[Ruraldoc]

Took a few other nice animals at Kuche. They are in my hunt report.

 

[sureshot375]

I agree. Looking into it more i think in my case it involves not managing expectations. While i think i should have had more opportunities with my bow, they only said mid way through the hunt i should switch to a rifle.. now i know. They also told me a spot and stalk with a bow on an impala wouldnt happen.. but it did.. guess you never know. As 375Fox said, these guys really arent into the details. I think they are ok at best for a cheap hunt but it doesnt make sense to roll the dice with them if you cant go back. I feel for their ph's, they arent given the chance to maximize the experience for the clients.

First off thank you for your report. I disagree about managing your expectations. I believe you had reasonable expectations, except for maybe expecting a little too much out of a 5 day hunt. The process of deciding who gets to hunt where and the fact that your PH got sent to a property he had never been on are both very valid complaints.

 

[sureshot375]

So part of the problem with all of these hunt report threads is that so many of the people don’t have significant experience hunting with other outfitters. Combine that with the fact they they are fed tons of BS from the outfitter, and a guy can be perfectly happy with a crappy safari. They have no frame of reference.

As exhibit A I give you these ladies who are Kuche Safari fans. They are clearly novice hunters despite being all dressed up for the part. They basically rode around and shot a bunch of semi tame animals off the truck. Not my cup of tea. There are several other videos on Facebook that show basically the same thing. No way would I book with Kuche.

Ladies Diesel Stalking at Kuche Safaris.

 

[Lee M]

Cheryl at Two Waters Safaris will keep your wife busy. Elephants, cats, vineyards, tourist shops, nature hikes, etc. Hunting has been good for me too.
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Your waterbuck and spring buck are outstanding

 

[375Fox]

So part of the problem with all of these hunt report threads is that so many of the people don’t have significant experience hunting with other outfitters. Combine that with the fact they they are fed tons of BS from the outfitter, and a guy can be perfectly happy with a crappy safari. They have no frame of reference.

As exhibit A I give you these ladies who are Kuche Safari fans. They are clearly novice hunters despite being all dressed up for the part. They basically rode around and shot a bunch of semi tame animals off the truck. Not my cup of tea. There are several other videos on Facebook that show basically the same thing. No way would I book with Kuche.

Ladies Diesel Stalking at Kuche Safaris.

That’s exactly what I see as well. One of the posters arguing most strongly for Kuche Safaris on parallel thread insists there is zero put and take on any property kuche safari hunts, but it took me 5 minutes to find a Facebook page selling buffalo bulls and sable bulls that posts trophy photos from animals hunted by Kuche safaris. Just the numbers of hunters alone combined with driving distance make clear the necessity of this to me to run a business like they do, but a first time South African hunter can only see what they see at time. It took me a lot of safaris to recognize the BS.

https://m.facebook.com/grootpan

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Your waterbuck and spring buck are outstanding

Thanks. It's a red lechwe not a waterbuck. Not a great ram but good enough.

 

[Frederik]

We have a restaurant close to where we stay most of the times we leave and had a wonderful meal and service and only once did I feel like it lacked the same quality and service.
Might have been a bad luck day.
We do still go out and eat there often and its still top of our list most of the times.

However reading most of the posts on here there are too many good and bad reports you either have a good trip or not there is no consistence.

Now if you would like a first trip safari and feel like the only client and still not overpay there are numerous outfitters on the forum who just are low key and dont go to the shows each year.
Take @Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS for example tucked away far north in the Limopo its wild enough to experience Africa and Limpopo and you will still not pay much more.

This forum has tons of info and experiences I can name other outfits but don't want to be biased and just to let you know I have never been to @Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS

You can read through my hunting reports but I am not a big fan of going to a hunting factory SA has much more to offer just do the research.
Its part of the reason why SA has such a bad reputation running 100 plus clients a year through the one camp. Give me a camp with a roaring fire and being surrounded with the people I want to be near too.

 

[Deepfork]

That’s exactly what I see as well. One of the posters arguing most strongly for Kuche Safaris on parallel thread insists there is zero put and take on any property kuche safari hunts, but it took me 5 minutes to find a Facebook page selling buffalo bulls and sable bulls that posts trophy photos from animals hunted by Kuche safaris. Just the numbers of hunters alone combined with driving distance make clear the necessity of this to me to run a business like they do, but a first time South African hunter can only see what they see at time. It took me a lot of safaris to recognize the BS.

https://m.facebook.com/grootpan

What is "put and take" hunting by your definition? That place did auction game animals. They also do (did) operate a "game farm" that allows hunting. I agree in this case it is logical to assume they were breeding game animals and releasing them to be hunted and Kuche took clients there.

Kuche is not operating a breeding operation. The animals I took would have cost more at auction than I paid in trophy fees.

 

[375Fox]

What is "put and take" hunting by your definition? That place did auction game animals. They also do (did) operate a "game farm" that allows hunting. I agree in this case it is logical to assume they were breeding game animals and releasing them to be hunted and Kuche took clients there.

Kuche is not operating a breeding operation. The animals I took would have cost more at auction than I paid in trophy fees.

Stocking trophies to be hunted because the hunting quota exceeds what can be naturally replaced. There are various degrees. I’m much more willing to tolerate stocking young bulls that grow on property than trophy bulls ready for harvest, but both are put and take to me, and have no interest in either.

 

[Ruraldoc]

The Buffalo that I killed at Kuche would cost more at auction than the entire cost of my hunt.

My Waterbuck may make the Roland Ward record book. My trophy fee was far less than auction value.

I saw female animals with young at their side on every property. I saw many immature males of various ages on every property.

The math for put and take doesn’t work for my experience at Kuche. The animals that I saw were spooky and clearly wild.

And I have been on a couple of dozen hunts in many places and own and manage hunting properties in Alabama. I am not a hunter without experience.

Some of the things said about Kuche are utterly unfair.

I am going back again. Some people who want to hunt wilderness areas or small operations where you are the only client in camp or places with very high levels of luxury are probably best served in other camps.

But if you want to have a good hunt with good food and accommodations at a reasonable price where it is absolutely possible to take very fine animals, Kuche is a very good place.

 

[Cam300]

The Buffalo that I killed at Kuche would cost more at auction than the entire cost of my hunt.

My Waterbuck may make the Roland Ward record book. My trophy fee was far less than auction value.

I saw female animals with young at their side on every property. I saw many immature males of various ages on every property.

The math for put and take doesn’t work for my experience at Kuche. The animals that I saw were spooky and clearly wild.

And I have been on a couple of dozen hunts in many places and own and manage hunting properties in Alabama. I am not a hunter without experience.

Some of the things said about Kuche are utterly unfair.

I am going back again. Some people who want to hunt wilderness areas or small operations where you are the only client in camp or places with very high levels of luxury are probably best served in other camps.

But if you want to have a good hunt with good food and accommodations at a reasonable price where it is absolutely possible to take very fine animals, Kuche is a very good place.

I’m not going to comment on Kuche, but I would encourage you to consider hunting a different area for the next trip. Africa is huge and seeing new country and experiencing new hunting methods is part of the fun. To each his own, just my 2 cents. I don’t think it’s a good move to go back to the same area over and over.

 

[375Fox]

The Buffalo that I killed at Kuche would cost more at auction than the entire cost of my hunt.

My Waterbuck may make the Roland Ward record book. My trophy fee was far less than auction value.

I saw female animals with young at their side on every property. I saw many immature males of various ages on every property.

The math for put and take doesn’t work for my experience at Kuche. The animals that I saw were spooky and clearly wild.

And I have been on a couple of dozen hunts in many places and own and manage hunting properties in Alabama. I am not a hunter without experience.

Some of the things said about Kuche are utterly unfair.

I am going back again. Some people who want to hunt wilderness areas or small operations where you are the only client in camp or places with very high levels of luxury are probably best served in other camps.

But if you want to have a good hunt with good food and accommodations at a reasonable price where it is absolutely possible to take very fine animals, Kuche is a very good place.

If a person is going to argue auction prices or trophy fees it’s everything I see wrong with that type of hunting. The wholesale prices for hunting buffalo bulls and hunting sable bulls are displayed in that link if you scroll down long enough. The values for the bulls reserved as future breeding stock for exceptional generics are something different than hunting bulls.

Some things that have been said may be unfair, but there have been many things said as well by those blindly defending their hunts that just don’t add up. You can’t compare African/South African operations if you’ve only been to one. Everyone thinks their first safari/outfitter is the best until they hunt somewhere new.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

If a person is going to argue auction prices or trophy fees it’s everything I see wrong with that type of hunting. The wholesale prices for hunting buffalo bulls and hunting sable bulls are displayed in that link if you scroll down long enough. The values for the bulls reserved as future breeding stock for exceptional generics are something different than hunting bulls.

Some things that have been said may be unfair, but there have been many things said as well by those blindly defending their hunts that just don’t add up. You can’t compare African/South African operations if you’ve only been to one. Everyone thinks their first safari/outfitter is the best until they hunt somewhere new.

Or perhaps the first operator just provided a glove-fit experience. What's the point of experimenting with other operators in other locations and running the risk of getting screwed? Maybe I'm just easy to please (frankly, I have NEVER heard anyone but me say that ... and only this one time). But a good time is worth repeating, especially when tens of thousands of dollars are at stake. As we have seen in this thread, it doesn't take much to sour some folks when there's that much money involved.