SOUTH AFRICA: 2023 Trip With Noorsveld Safaris In Eastern Cape

[MIAHunter125]

Just got back from our incredible 10-day safari in South Africa with Noorsveld Safaris in Jansenville. This was our first safari and we put in tons of research ahead of time to find just the right outfitter for us. After countless hours of researching and making calls, we got connected with the folks from Noorsveld via another member on here. After our first call with Izak we knew we had found the right place for us. This is a family run operation and they have been farming in the Jansenville area for 5+ generations. They know everyone and beyond their 10k acre hunting area they have access to countless more. We really wanted it to feel like a free-range, fair chase hunt. I understand that fences exist etc but their tough rugged terrain certainly wasnt like shooting a cow in a field as others had shared with me from some less than classy operations. Anyways our next call was to Gracy travel to sort out the flights, hotel, rifle permits. Gio was great and they got us all sorted out on paperwork. We all 3 took 300 win mag rifles.

Upon our arrival in Joberg someone from Gracy met us and expedited everything, literally strolled right through customs, got our bags, permits took like 15 mins and boom we were off to our hotel. We overnighted in Joberg and flew into Port Elizabeth on the next am. Izak met us at the airport and the adventure really began! We all instantly clicked with Izak as he listen to our 500 dumb American questions about the country, hunting,etc. We all had some good laughs and the 2hr drive to their farm was a breeze.

We sighted in our rifles that first night and got right after it hunting. The thing that stuck me was that this was the MOUNTAINS. Not a flat grassland but literally New Mexico/Arizona-style desert mountains. We hunted our asses off for the next 9 days and took some incredible trophies. Izak and Gert his brother guided us every step of the way and ALWAYS went the extra mile to get us the animals on our dream list. In total we took 17 animals over 10 days and it was something none of us will never forget. (3) Kudus, Sable, (2) Impala, Cape buff cow, (4) springbok, (2) Gemsbok, (2) Blesbok, (2) Zebra, Ostrich, and a couple of monkeys, we had a mix of everything. All of the hunting was done across a number of high and low fence properties they have exclusive access to, it truly felt like a free-range hunt. Every day was a challenge and the mountain terrain adds a whole different element to the hunt. We were fortunate enough to take some amazing animals on this trip and cannot wait to go back.

Noorsveld is a family-run business and they made us feel right at home. I can’t say enough good things about Izak and Gert who were our PHs along with the rest of the family who took care of us at their new lodge. They built the lodge a few years ago and the parents are cooking and taking care of you at the lodge. We shared so many laughs and good meals with these guys. I really could ramble on for hours about all the great stories from this trip!

As far as cost goes Im going to rate the value here as 10/10. Noorsveld prices are insanely competitive and when I spoke to other hunters on our flight back I was def shocked to hear they paid as much as 3x as much as we did. Izak waived our daily PH fees since we had a group of 3 and we only had to cover the trophy fees which are quite low. This trip is 10x an American Elk trip which would cost the same. Im still in shock of the overall value. Even a sable which people always say is so expensive was only $3500.

I attached some pics of the trophies we got. I have like 1k + photos so Im happy to share anything people would like to see about their operation. For anyone interested in more info about them Im happy to answer other questions too. I would HIGHLY recommend them whether it’s your first trip to Africa or your 20th. You will not regret it. we are already planning a trip next year with them... I think that says everything. We are ready to go back tomorrow and we were not ready to leave.
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[Firebird]

Thank you for posting-always love some pictures-

 

[cls]

Congratulations all around, glad you had a fun and successful first safari. Thanks for posting a write up with pictures.

 

[375Fox]

Looks like you a had a great experience for your first safari. The eastern cape provides a really good value for your dollar. I really enjoyed how undeveloped the eastern cape was compared to other areas.

Also, When you talk to other hunters on the flight you need to compare where they went to get a good price comparison. The eastern cape is really economical overall. A southern greater kudu from Limpopo is a lot more valuable than a true cape kudu from eastern cape because the trophy potential is so much more. Also Limpopo seems to be able to charge more because no additional flights from Johannesburg, easier to attract new clients. $3500 appears around market price for a trophy fee in RSA now for a good representative sable. Buffalo prices appear to vary widely. Booking as a large group helped you get better deals as well. Others hunters paying 3x the price is a lot, I could understand 50% more to double, but a lot of factors go into it. I’d generally choose eastern cape over Limpopo, but I think a person needs to choose the experience over the trophies especially on certain species.

 

[Nyati]

Congrats for a great hunt, and thanks for sharing !

 

[Mekaniks]

Awesome and congratulations. Thanks for sharing looks like you had a fantastic trip for sure

 

[MIAHunter125]

Looks like you a had a great experience for your first safari. The eastern cape provides a really good value for your dollar. I really enjoyed how undeveloped the eastern cape was compared to other areas.

Also, When you talk to other hunters on the flight you need to compare where they went to get a good price comparison. The eastern cape is really economical overall. A southern greater kudu from Limpopo is a lot more valuable than a true cape kudu from eastern cape because the trophy potential is so much more. Also Limpopo seems to be able to charge more because no additional flights from Johannesburg, easier to attract new clients. $3500 appears around market price for a trophy fee in RSA now for a good representative sable. Buffalo prices appear to vary widely. Booking as a large group helped you get better deals as well. Others hunters paying 3x the price is a lot, I could understand 50% more to double, but a lot of factors go into it. I’d generally choose eastern cape over Limpopo, but I think a person needs to choose the experience over the trophies especially on certain species.

I agree with you 100% that is more about the experience than the trophies themselves. There are certainly a lot of factors that play into the cost of things. The folks we had spoken with that paid crazy prices had been at an american ran camp in Limpopo so that was a big part of it Im sure. The more commercial operations are always going to cost more, someone has to cover those MKT and convention expenses. Overall I think we got a great experience and the value was certainly there compared to others.

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats and thanks for sharing!

 

[buck wild]

thanks for the report !

 

[Rare Breed]

Just got back from our incredible 10-day safari in South Africa with Noorsveld Safaris in Jansenville. This was our first safari and we put in tons of research ahead of time to find just the right outfitter for us. After countless hours of researching and making calls, we got connected with the folks from Noorsveld via another member on here. After our first call with Izak we knew we had found the right place for us. This is a family run operation and they have been farming in the Jansenville area for 5+ generations. They know everyone and beyond their 10k acre hunting area they have access to countless more. We really wanted it to feel like a free-range, fair chase hunt. I understand that fences exist etc but their tough rugged terrain certainly wasnt like shooting a cow in a field as others had shared with me from some less than classy operations. Anyways our next call was to Gracy travel to sort out the flights, hotel, rifle permits. Gio was great and they got us all sorted out on paperwork. We all 3 took 300 win mag rifles.

Upon our arrival in Joberg someone from Gracy met us and expedited everything, literally strolled right through customs, got our bags, permits took like 15 mins and boom we were off to our hotel. We overnighted in Joberg and flew into Port Elizabeth on the next am. Izak met us at the airport and the adventure really began! We all instantly clicked with Izak as he listen to our 500 dumb American questions about the country, hunting,etc. We all had some good laughs and the 2hr drive to their farm was a breeze.

We sighted in our rifles that first night and got right after it hunting. The thing that stuck me was that this was the MOUNTAINS. Not a flat grassland but literally New Mexico/Arizona-style desert mountains. We hunted our asses off for the next 9 days and took some incredible trophies. Izak and Gert his brother guided us every step of the way and ALWAYS went the extra mile to get us the animals on our dream list. In total we took 17 animals over 10 days and it was something none of us will never forget. (3) Kudus, Sable, (2) Impala, Cape buff cow, (4) springbok, (2) Gemsbok, (2) Blesbok, (2) Zebra, Ostrich, and a couple of monkeys, we had a mix of everything. All of the hunting was done across a number of high and low fence properties they have exclusive access to, it truly felt like a free-range hunt. Every day was a challenge and the mountain terrain adds a whole different element to the hunt. We were fortunate enough to take some amazing animals on this trip and cannot wait to go back.

Noorsveld is a family-run business and they made us feel right at home. I can’t say enough good things about Izak and Gert who were our PHs along with the rest of the family who took care of us at their new lodge. They built the lodge a few years ago and the parents are cooking and taking care of you at the lodge. We shared so many laughs and good meals with these guys. I really could ramble on for hours about all the great stories from this trip!

As far as cost goes Im going to rate the value here as 10/10. Noorsveld prices are insanely competitive and when I spoke to other hunters on our flight back I was def shocked to hear they paid as much as 3x as much as we did. Izak waived our daily PH fees since we had a group of 3 and we only had to cover the trophy fees which are quite low. This trip is 10x an American Elk trip which would cost the same. Im still in shock of the overall value. Even a sable which people always say is so expensive was only $3500.

I attached some pics of the trophies we got. I have like 1k + photos so Im happy to share anything people would like to see about their operation. For anyone interested in more info about them Im happy to answer other questions too. I would HIGHLY recommend them whether it’s your first trip to Africa or your 20th. You will not regret it. we are already planning a trip next year with them... I think that says everything. We are ready to go back tomorrow and we were not ready to leave.
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Great report. Nicely done! Congratulations!