South Africa as a hunting destination

South Africa is one of the most sought after destination for traveling trophy hunters. And rightfully so, since the country offers so much to the visitor: a great variety of diverse habitats and landscapes on the southern tip of Africa; a selection of trophy animals which is second to none in the world; a highly developed professional hunting and game ranching industry as service providers; an excellent infrastructure; a wealth of other activities to complement hunting and last not least the cultural richness and hospitality of the Rainbow Nation.

The critical success factors for South Africa as a hunting destination are:

• The highly successful management by the conservation authorities in South Africa of National and Provincial Parks. With approximately 7 million hectares set aside and managed by the authorities, an enormous resource base of wild animals has been produced for distribution throughout the country.
• The above, together with the philosophy of sustainable use of our natural resources, has seen the development of some 9000 privately owned game farms covering 17 million hectares of land.
• The greatest variety of animals available for hunting in any one country in Africa.
• The high degree of professionalism set by the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (PHASA) and sound regulations controlling the professional hunting industry.

Hunting as a form of tourism contributes enormously to the economy of South Africa. Some 70,000 jobs have been created on game farms and directly from professional hunting. In the 2005 hunting season, 8000 clients, inclusive of non-hunters in each hunting group, hunted in South Africa, having a total of 58,341 hunting days. A total of 39,561 animals were hunted. This amounts to a total revenue from daily rates, animals hunted and taxidermy work of US$ 100 million (R650 million).

Hunting is available on private game ranches, and in controlled hunting areas in some provincial game reserves. The number of game on private land is an estimated two and a half times more than the game on public land.

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Hunting in South Africa is a great experience for any visiting hunter, novice or seasoned old-hand. Hunting in South Africa is big business and contributes significantly to the national economy.

Over 60 species are available for hunting in South Africa. This certainly is the highest number worldwide – and coupled with the fact that all of the Big Five (even the Classic Big Five, with the recent inclusion of the Black Rhinoceros) can be hunted, it makes South Africa the top hunting destination in Africa. !

Cape to Cairo conducts hunts mainly in the Limpopo Province and Waterberg area. 

LIMPOPO PROVINCE
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. Limpopo Province shares international borders with districts and provinces of three countries: Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The province is the link between South Africa and countries further a field in sub-Saharan Africa.

With in this area, lies the renowned “Bushveld”. The Bushveld is a sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa that encompasses most of Limpopo Province.

The elevation of this region varies from 750 to 1,400 meters and the annual rainfall varies from 350 mm in the west to 600 mm in parts of the northeast. Rainfall typically occurs in the summer and in the late afternoon thunder showers are fierce but short in duration, with lightning that creates a most spectacular display. Warm days and chilly evenings make April through September the best time of year to hunt.

This province creates an opportunity for a great, diverse hunting experience. The habitat can change from fairly open savannah to densely wooded hills. Further north the bushveld dries out into typical woodland dotted with Baobab trees. This habitat diversity has resulted in an amazingly rich mammal fauna. Most species can be hunted in this province although this is not always preferred. We travel to other provinces for selected species.

THE WATERBERG REGION
The Waterberg is an incredible conservancy within easy driving distance of Johannesburg, South Africa. Being a malaria free region, the Waterberg makes a natural choice for families hunting with younger children. The Waterberg is rich in archeological history and numerous artifacts have been found dating back to the Stone Ages and it was also an historical hunting ground of the San Bushmen.

MPUMALANGA PROVINCE
This hunt is conducted in areas that vary from a mountainous terrain in a subtropical climate in the areas surrounding Nelspruit to dryer Acacia bush veldt. Further east lays the Kruger National Park which is known for its photographic safari opportunities.

FREE STATE AND EASTERN CAPE
The Free State is a very characteristic flat, grassy area. There is a steady wind blowing. The vegetation and the landscape allows for primarily long distance shots (up to 300m). Flat shooting rifles from .270 to .300 are ideal.

The Eastern Cape consists of coastal forests through to semi desert plains and mountain ranges where there is a wide range of species available. Specific species such as Black wildebeest, Springbuck and Bontebok are available in these provinces.

Cape to Cairo has a concession between Frankfort and Vrede where we hunt for memorable trophies.

KWAZULU-NATAL
The vegetation is thick, tropical bushveld that demands a lot of stalking to hunt some of the more elusive species such as Nyala. The province stretches along the coast and this allows for rolling hills and beautiful coastal scenery. Species that are own to this province are the Nyala, Red Duiker and Livingstone Suni. Our concessions are in the Pongola area.