What Animals

[Neophyte]

Never been to Africa but planning a trip to South Africa in 2026 and a return trip in 2028.

The first trip is for PG. I’m really attracted to the spiral horn species so I want to concentrate on kudu, nyala, eland, and bushbuck with a zebra and maybe an impala or sable. I wouldn’t turn down a gemsbok or wildebeest either though.

So I’m thinking PG the first trip and cape buffalo the second trip. Thinking I’ll do euro mounts and maybe some hides. I figure I’ll do three trips before I retire then Africa is likely no more for me.

What other PG species should I consider? Cape Buffalo has always been the dream hunt for me. The spiral horns and Cape Buffalo, along with wildebeest and zebra are what I think of when I think of Africa.

 

[skydiver386]

I think the list you already have would make an exciting hunt for anyone. Some of the Tiny 10 like Steinbok, Duiker, etc. are unusual and very economical add ons to the species you already mentioned.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Look where the species you are after are endemic. Do some research and Plan accordingly.

How you hunt your list of species will be important.
Kudu, Eland and Gemsbok, Blue Wildebeest in Namibia and Botswana
Nyala and Bushbuck in Kwazulu Natal and EC
Buffalo, choose a spot with the kind of hunting you want to do. There are Buffalo all over the place.
Sable, natural area Zambia, Moz, then you can look at large areas in RSA with CAE's.

If you expect all of these species on one property you will severely impact your type of hunt.

Enjoy your research.

 

[BryceM]

Well, go ahead and plan, but leave yourself open to the whims of the veldt. Sometimes little happy accidents are a ton of fun.

 

[Firebird]

Hartebeest are commonly encountered and very interesting and duiker are cool little trophies. Blesbok is interesting. I would consider both wildebeests.

 

[Throwback]

All good advice so far and your list looks good (Kudu is a must). I would definitely take a Wildebeest. My son took a blesbok and we were pleasantly suprised at how fun it was to hunt, and a cool trophy. Cheap too. Hartebeest are in the same category for me.

Dont get me started on the tiny ten. That is a whole different fun addiction. You cant go wrong. Especially if you will go three times, you can get a ton of different animals if you want. cheers

 

[Red Leg]

Never been to Africa but planning a trip to South Africa in 2026 and a return trip in 2028.

The first trip is for PG. I’m really attracted to the spiral horn species so I want to concentrate on kudu, nyala, eland, and bushbuck with a zebra and maybe an impala or sable. I wouldn’t turn down a gemsbok or wildebeest either though.

So I’m thinking PG the first trip and cape buffalo the second trip. Thinking I’ll do euro mounts and maybe some hides. I figure I’ll do three trips before I retire then Africa is likely no more for me.

What other PG species should I consider? Cape Buffalo has always been the dream hunt for me. The spiral horns and Cape Buffalo, along with wildebeest and zebra are what I think of when I think of Africa.

Do you want to hunt the species that interest you in their native environment or on game ranch? That will determine a great deal about your choice of location. The latter can be done in the Hill Country of Texas. When I see a Lechwe on the wall, and the story begins "there I was in the Limpopo" then I go and find a drink.

 

[Firebird]

You should always be ready to take a good warthog-

 

[CJW]

Never been to Africa but planning a trip to South Africa in 2026 and a return trip in 2028.

The first trip is for PG. I’m really attracted to the spiral horn species so I want to concentrate on kudu, nyala, eland, and bushbuck with a zebra and maybe an impala or sable. I wouldn’t turn down a gemsbok or wildebeest either though.

So I’m thinking PG the first trip and cape buffalo the second trip. Thinking I’ll do euro mounts and maybe some hides. I figure I’ll do three trips before I retire then Africa is likely no more for me.

What other PG species should I consider? Cape Buffalo has always been the dream hunt for me. The spiral horns and Cape Buffalo, along with wildebeest and zebra are what I think of when I think of Africa.

Spend more time on this site and watching hunting vids and you'll easily start thinking of all of them as iconic animals of Africa and don't forget warthog.

You seem to have a good list going. Now is just to decide what size and location of property you wish to hunt.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Never been to Africa but planning a trip to South Africa in 2026 and a return trip in 2028.

The first trip is for PG. I’m really attracted to the spiral horn species so I want to concentrate on kudu, nyala, eland, and bushbuck with a zebra and maybe an impala or sable. I wouldn’t turn down a gemsbok or wildebeest either though.

So I’m thinking PG the first trip and cape buffalo the second trip. Thinking I’ll do euro mounts and maybe some hides. I figure I’ll do three trips before I retire then Africa is likely no more for me.

What other PG species should I consider? Cape Buffalo has always been the dream hunt for me. The spiral horns and Cape Buffalo, along with wildebeest and zebra are what I think of when I think of Africa.

You might want to start looking into what outfitter you would like to go with and see what animals they offer. Outside of some game farms in South Africa I can't think of anywhere you could shoot say gemsbok and nyala on the same hunt. I don't think their ranges overlap anywhere. In fact if you wanted to go to Zimbabwe, there are no gemsbok in huntible numbers anywhere in the country, however all of the spiral horns that you mentioned, plus zebra, wildebeest, waterbuck, sable etc. and of course buffalo are widely available. One thing though, many of these animals are on a quota. If you want one, you'll need to tell the outfitter ahead of time. Buffalo and sable are two of the tightly controlled ones. Many of the more common species just show up. On my last trip, I planned on taking an eland, but this huge waterbuck showed up first. Then I didn't want to spend the money for an eland. Sometimes you just have to take what Africa offers!

You might want to think about hunting buffalo on your first trip. It can be so exciting that you'll want to chase them again any time you go to Africa!

Start doing your research and contact outfitters to see who you like, and what they have to offer.

Good luck,

Doug

 

[358 Norma]

Don't wait to hunt Cape Buffalo! Go do it because you never know when your health could go Sourh on you! I think it's important to go after the dream animal first then go after the others as time and finances allow!

 

[375Fox]

You might consider asking what regions you should hunt instead of what species. Each region gives a different hunting experience. If I were only going to go on 3 African hunts on a limited budget. I’d hunt eastern cape for PG specifically kudu and bushbuck. Central Namibia for PG on second trip specifically kudu, gemsbok, eland. Zimbabwe for buffalo on third trip with a few added PG if opportunity is available. I had fun hunting Limpopo when I did, but I don’t think it gives an equal experience compared to other regions in Africa.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Where are you hunting? Is a specific animal more important or the hunt and experience?

Examples; Gemsbok are pretty common in Limpopo but aren’t exactly endemic to that area. Nyala are now common but traditionally inhabited wetter areas like Mozambique, KN, and the EC not Limpopo. Eland over water isn’t typically a challenging hunt, but on track is a vastly different experience.

I personally could never tire hunting Kudu and think they should be near the top of your list. Bushbuck is right there as well. They’re the whitetail of Africa. Wildebeest, Zebra, Impala, and Warthog are all species that I’d consider iconic for Africa. An animal not mentioned by you or anyone above that I think is one of the most underrated PG species is Waterbuck.

 

[Joey17]

Lot of good points made above. Many folks get caught up in specifics of areas - important, sure, but I think a good outfitter and PH have more impact on your hunt than whether you hunted 30k or 40k hectares.

Based on your list, I’m assuming you’re looking at SA. Honestly, IMO, don’t be concerned with what some high and mighty guy online says. SA is much more economical, go in with eyes wide open and have a blast.

One animal to potentially consider adding if you were going to SA or similar operation, would be a waterbuck. I think they are wildly underrated, and a big waterbuck is truly an incredible animal. I was very fortunate to get a very nice one and I am extremely excited about it still.

 

[375Fox]

Lot of good points made above. Many folks get caught up in specifics of areas - important, sure, but I think a good outfitter and PH have more impact on your hunt than whether you hunted 30k or 40k hectares.

Based on your list, I’m assuming you’re looking at SA. Honestly, IMO, don’t be concerned with what some high and mighty guy online says. SA is much more economical, go in with eyes wide open and have a blast.

One animal to potentially consider adding if you were going to SA or similar operation, would be a waterbuck. I think they are wildly underrated, and a big waterbuck is truly an incredible animal. I was very fortunate to get a very nice one and I am extremely excited about it still.

If you are going to talk honestly about South Africa it’s not a difference of hunting 30k or 40k hectares (100k acres). It’s a question of hunting a 3k acre, a 10k acre, or maybe a 25k acre property. The larger the property the smaller the pool of outfitters that have access to it and often charge significantly more. Most outfitters are hunting on farms 10k acres or less. They might have 100k acres total to hunt between all farms but very few have access to those type properties. There is a frequent attempt to seriously exaggerate property sizes. South Africa is very economical and provides a lot of opportunity, but presenting an image that’s different than fact isn’t helping anyone.