On safari with… Gary Duckworth
Q: Tell us about your family, how they originally got to Africa. A: My great-great grandfather came to South Africa around 1850. He was a doctor, and he married an Afrikaans Boer woman. My great-grandfather also married an Afrikaans Boer woman and they fought against...
August newsletter
Send in the clowns Not sure how they first got the reference to being clowns of the savanna, but some refer to them as such. The blue wildebeest is not high on the wish list of first timers, nor is it the most majestic. Yet, think about it, when it comes to Africa’s...
Fury at Bay
Hunters who have had the privilege to hunt leopard over hounds or over bait will know the anticipation and excitement of the hunt, from the day you book it, to the day you start hanging baits or dragging roads, through to the day you first lay eyes on your leopard....
Hunting Wildebeest in Africa
African Black Wildebeest The Black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) is sometimes referenced to as the white-tailed gnu. Its average weight runs between 250-425 pounds, and shoulder height is four feet. The overall length 65 inches to 90 inches. The black wildebeest has...
The Orange Grove Bushbuck
I met Sydney in Kentucky in 2020, just before Covid, and we immediately started talking about a family trip with her, her father and her boyfriend coming to Africa. It was planned for the end of 2020, but obviously Covid ruined our plans. One evening in early...
There is No Climate Emergency
Readers will have noticed a recent massive surge in alarming international news about the climate. This is an organised, contrived campaign to draw attention to the forthcoming United Nations climate conference to be held in Glasgow, Scotland in November. The UN...
Hunting Buff with Stephen Bann
While most folks spend a lifetime dreaming of hunting Cape buffalo, I was lucky enough to make that dream a reality. Cape Buffalo, known as The Black Death for their aggressive and angry nature, are one of the most dangerous big game animals not only in Africa, but in...
Taxidermist profile – Life Form Taxidermy
Established in 1981, Life-Form Taxidermy is a world-renowned studio, with a large, dedicated staff, providing top quality taxidermy and outstanding service. Our indigenous taxidermists specialize in African game and, coupled with their artistic talent and...
Highlights from John Sharp Safaris
Just a quick update to let you know what's been happening with me in the field. My first hunt of the year was a leopard hunt with Andy from North Dakota. We hunted on Malangani where I knew there was a huge leopard - we saw him in 2019 lying on a...
Motsomi’s happy customers
When we planned our 1st trip with Motsomi in 2018, we planned it as a once in a lifetime trip. Then we fell in love with SA and made lifelong friends. Our 2nd trip here with Motsomi may have even topped our 1st as we have already started planning our 3rd trip. Marco...
News from Bergzicht Game Lodge
Dear hunting friends, We’re halfway through 2021! And how exciting that this year has been a much nicer roller-coaster than last year. (We felt like saying good luck with the Thanksgiving and Christmas planning, but luckily there is more than enough time still left...
Hunting Zebra in Africa
Burchell’s Zebra The Burchell’s zebra Equus burchelli, is a southern subspecies of the plains zebra. It differs from that zebra by a number of features, most prominent being shadow stripes which are overlaid on the white stripes on the African zebra’s hindquarters....
UK Charity raises funds at expense of Africans
As the UK parliament consider bans on hunting trophy imports, community leaders representing millions of rural Africans have launched an official complaint against one of the key players in the campaign against trophy hunting. Representatives from communities of six...
First African Adventure
It starts like most adventures start - a thought in the back of your mind, a vision of adventure, the experience of a new culture, new people, and a different perspective of a sunset in a remote continent and different hemisphere. Such was the case when I began...
A West African Hunting Story
Suspicions arose when my French representative took me aside at Ouamou, our hunting camp in eastern Burkina Faso, strongly advising me to keep my firearm within reach at all times. I had just arrived with my last group of hunters after two months of back-to-back...
African Dawn Catalogue
An African Dawn is the promise of a new day. The first rays and warmth of sunshine, with the sounds of Africa’s bushveld coming alive. So, if you are reading this and dreaming of your next (or first) African safari, there is no time like the present to plan. And here...
June Newsletter
Dear African hunters, enthusiasts and outfitters Most deaths occur on the way down… That is if you’re on Everest. It’s to do with not enough understanding what the second half requires. When extreme fatigue sets in, not enough understanding of how this, along with...
Hunting bushbuck in Africa
The African bushbuck is divided into two species, the kewel (Tragelaphus scriptus) and the imbabala (Tragelaphus sylvaticus) The kewel’s distribution includes Senegal Ethiopia,Eritrea, and south to Angola…
Hunter’s Profile – Kelly Drolet
From what I remember and that which has been told to me by my parents and grand parents, it is obvious to me that my love for nature, the wilderness and the outdoor life is based on being raised on what would be defined as a very remote farm. We had limited access or...
The Outfitter. The PH. The Hunter. My Thoughts…
This article is not intended to offend anyone, but is merely an offer to inform - and possibly improve - the safari experience for clients, outfitters and professional hunters. I’ll begin by admitting that I am not an expert on anything other than my likes and dislikes...
Hunter’s profile – Conrad Miller
Tell us about your background… I was a 30-year-old cop when I went to Zimbabwe in 1998, leaving a wife, five year old daughter and a one year old son at home. I spent about half of my yearly cop salary on that 12-day buffalo/plains game hunt with the late great...
Hunting bushbuck in Africa
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The African bushbuck is divided into two species, the kewel (Tragelaphus scriptus) and the imbabala (Tragelaphus sylvaticus) The kewel’s distribution includes Senegal Ethiopia,Eritrea, and south to Angola and the Democratic Republic...
Taxidermist profile: Moredou Taxidermy
Contact: (Owner/Manage) Hilgard Kotze Physical Address: Farm Moredou , Schweizer – Reneke, North West Tel Office: 053 963 1444 Mobile: 082 784 5269 Contact Email: mortax@mailbox.co.za Website: moredoutaxidermy.com It is…
Taxidermist profile: Moredou Taxidermy
Contact: (Owner/Manage) Hilgard Kotze Physical Address: Farm Moredou , Schweizer – Reneke, North West Tel Office: 053 963 1444 Mobile: 082 784 5269 Contact Email: mortax@mailbox.co.za Website: moredoutaxidermy.com It is always a treat to be given a real surprise and...
African Parks keep moving steadily forward
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) African Parks has just released its 2020 Annual Report. By the close of 2020, AP had 19 parks under management in 11 countries, over 14.7 million hectares (56,757 square miles, covering ten of the 13 ecological biomes on mainland...
The Hunt Is On
As the world knows, 2020 was unlike any year ever before experienced—and that was true for life at Eastern Cape Bowhunting. When the government implemented the lockdown, we refocused our efforts on our hunting grounds, staff, facilities and animals to elevate every...
May 2021 Newsletter
I wanted to showcase the common eland (as opposed to the Giant, or Lord Derby) this month. When I sent the message to the African Dawn Outfitters asking them to send in pictures for this month’s issue, there was some push back. Isn’t the Lord Derby an eland said some?...
Taxidermist profile: Nico Van Rooyen Taxidermy
As second owner of Nico van Rooyen Taxidermy, from 1994, my beginnings in this artistic trade were based on a childhood in hunting and conservation, both in Tanzania and Germany, as well as a family background in art. A profession in taxidermy offered itself as a...
South African Government’s latest thinking on elephants, rhinos, lions and leopards
On 2 May 2021, South Africa's Minister for Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy, made public a massive report of 582 pages compiled by a so-called 'High-Level Panel', containing 18 goals and 60 recommendations. Most strategic planners will tell you that...
Hunt eland in Africa
The Livingstone eland, Taurotragus oryx livingstonei, is found in Angola, the northwest tip of Namibia, the Caprivi Strip (now Zambezi Region), Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. It has been introduced into South Africa where it’s not unusual to see it grazing alongside the common, or Cape eland. There are some visual differences between…