South Africa vs. Namibia?

[Muskox]

My first Safari was in Namibia. My next safari will probably be in Zimbabwe, Zambia or Mozambique.

I'd look at Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. In the end it depends on what species you want.

Bots is slightly harder to get to, and slightly more expensive, and will be slightly more expensive to get your animals out. Saying that the quality is really high, and I don't know of anyone that has had a bad experience there. Same animal 20-30 species as Namibia to hunt more rural.

 

[WilhelmM]

My first Safari was in Namibia. My next safari will probably be in Zimbabwe, Zambia or Mozambique.

I'd look at Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. In the end it depends on what species you want.

Bots is slightly harder to get to, and slightly more expensive, and will be slightly more expensive to get your animals out. Saying that the quality is really high, and I don't know of anyone that has had a bad experience there. Same animal 20-30 species as Namibia to hunt more rural.

This is true. Botswana may be more expensive but the quality of the game, on average, is quite a bit higher than Namibia or SA. Most hunters that want to go to Botswana are after elephants, so it's a very species-specific location. If the moratorium on the lion is lifted then more hunters will be coming in.

 

[Biddleman]

Im glad someone mentioned Bots. Take a look at some of the operators who hunt mainly PG on their properties. Very large tracts of land. Fenced? Yes. Most are. But you will never know while hunting.

 

[Muskox]

There are 3 known big time Botswana Outfitters hunting near Maun;

1. Bokomoso
2. Tholo Safaris
3. Nkwe Safaris

There are others in the Tuli area, don't remember seeing any action from that lot in a while. I think these properties are quite a bit smaller. I have not researched it in a long time.

 

[Spear Safaris]

Hunter D, thank you for your questions.
In my opinion either or will offer what you are asking for. You will find both game fenced and free range in either country, just be carefull that you do not stare blindly into the size of the property only. 20 000 acres in desert country is not as large as it seems and 2 000 acres in thick Brush is much larger than it sounds.
I attach a short video clip on what you can expect in one of our RSA areas.
Good luck with your search.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I am new to this forum and new to learning about hunting in Africa. Me and a friend are interested in going to Africa to hunt and plan to bring our wives and possibly my 9 year old son. My two biggest concerns are as follows.
1. Safety
Safety on the hunt of course but also safety for female observers.
2. Hunt quality
If I understand correctly SA is more modern but also most if not all of SA is high fenced. I amhonestly struggling with the fence aspect of the hunt. While I realize most properties range in size and some even are very large the fence still bugs me. I am not critiquing anyone for their style of hunting but I have personal goals that I have for satisfaction. I am not wealthy and dint want to spend thousands of dollars only to be disappointed in the experience.

Is Namibia high fenced? Am I being to picky? Is it possible to have a the best of both worlds meaning hunting game rich environments in no fence areas at an affordable price while not compromising safety and somewhat modern facility's? We dont have to have 5 star accommodations by no means but something decent. I hope these are honest and fair questions that I am humbly asking.
Thanks in advance.

@Hunter_D
My wife and son came with me to Namibia with 2 other people. My son is a hunter wife as an observer.
We hunted with Osambahe Nord safaris run and owned by Harold and Liezel Jacobs. Yes there are fences but they are only old cattle fences and have game access every few hundred yards so basically open.
When doing my research on the game I wanted Namibia was far cheaper than SA.
The service and quality of animals we got at Harald and Liezels left nothing to be desired even for my non hunting wife.
If you are interested you can read my hunting report in this forum titled hunting Osambahe Nord safaris with Harald and Liezel.
My then 14 year old son with the Oryx he shot with his 308.
Bob

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

I was going to refrain from commenting on this post but feel that I need to add the following info in order to educate other hunters who might be busy planning their own safaris.
There seem to be a few people that had hunted South Africa once, and then hunted Namibia, and now proclaim which is better. Please don't paint the entire country with the same brush.
South Africa, has many different areas. The Eastern Cape alone, plays home to 5 of the 7 Biomes in the country. This means that you can effectively hunt 5 different types of vegetation and terrain in a single area.
Some of our areas has a "high" 7ft fence, some have a 4ft fence. I can guarantee you that Kudu clears this. I can guarantee you that Warthog, Duiker and Bushbuck all crawl under. When you are hunting natural concurring game on commercial cattle ranches, there will be fences. We have hunting areas ranging from 6000 - 60,000 acres. Some of the areas where we hunt Vaal Rhebuck, are conservancies ranging into the hundred of thousands of acres.
Please don't be that guy that proclaims himself an expert on a country, because you hunted an area once, and spent the whole day looking for game from a truck.

 

[TSALA HUNTING SAFARIS]

Excellent Discussion

Each country had it's positives and negatives and its more a case of comparing green apples with red apples in my opinion and the clients preferences.I do think both should be experience as the habitat differ and like Ernest said above a 10 000 acre SA bushveld property is plenty big and a 20 000 acre Nam arid property not so.

A fence is a fence if its hi or low.Gemsbuck , Springbuck, Wildbeest and some other plains game are all kept in by a low fence.Kudu , Eland jump a high fence with ease.

Most plains game don't traverse a big area and will stay close to water source and food , meaning on the bigger properties , fence or not , they would still be in the same area.Even old buffalo bulls would stay in a small area like Kruger Park if they have the necessities.

Regards

 

[TSALA HUNTING SAFARIS]

I was going to refrain from commenting on this post but feel that I need to add the following info in order to educate other hunters who might be busy planning their own safaris.
There seem to be a few people that had hunted South Africa once, and then hunted Namibia, and now proclaim which is better. Please don't paint the entire country with the same brush.
South Africa, has many different areas. The Eastern Cape alone, plays home to 5 of the 7 Biomes in the country. This means that you can effectively hunt 5 different types of vegetation and terrain in a single area.
Some of our areas has a "high" 7ft fence, some have a 4ft fence. I can guarantee you that Kudu clears this. I can guarantee you that Warthog, Duiker and Bushbuck all crawl under. When you are hunting natural concurring game on commercial cattle ranches, there will be fences. We have hunting areas ranging from 6000 - 60,000 acres. Some of the areas where we hunt Vaal Rhebuck, are conservancies ranging into the hundred of thousands of acres.
Please don't be that guy that proclaims himself an expert on a country, because you hunted an area once, and spent the whole day looking for game from a truck.

Spot on Marius!!!

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

I was going to refrain from commenting on this post but feel that I need to add the following info in order to educate other hunters who might be busy planning their own safaris.
There seem to be a few people that had hunted South Africa once, and then hunted Namibia, and now proclaim which is better. Please don't paint the entire country with the same brush.
South Africa, has many different areas. The Eastern Cape alone, plays home to 5 of the 7 Biomes in the country. This means that you can effectively hunt 5 different types of vegetation and terrain in a single area.
Some of our areas has a "high" 7ft fence, some have a 4ft fence. I can guarantee you that Kudu clears this. I can guarantee you that Warthog, Duiker and Bushbuck all crawl under. When you are hunting natural concurring game on commercial cattle ranches, there will be fences. We have hunting areas ranging from 6000 - 60,000 acres. Some of the areas where we hunt Vaal Rhebuck, are conservancies ranging into the hundred of thousands of acres.
Please don't be that guy that proclaims himself an expert on a country, because you hunted an area once, and spent the whole day looking for game from a truck.

too true

i was also biting my tongue here

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I really like this forum! It has made a newby feel welcomed and have already learned a lot of valuable info.
I guess I should have mentioned the animals desired. I dont know if the animals I want will be available in Nimibia or not.
Sable at the top of list then as follows
Kudu
Gemsbok
Red Hartabest
Impala
Springbok
Blesbok
There are other animals of interest but probably would have a hard time getting them all in one trip unless I had lots of money or hunted in a pen of which neither apply to me.
Second list includes
Wildebeest
Zebra
Waterbuck
Nyalya
I also want to say I have zero interest in hunting an animal born in captivity and released into where ever. Also no animals raised on a farm or in a pen, no ear tagged animals. Not judging anyone else but simply explaining my personal standard of satisfaction.

Thank you for all the replies and the PM's.

@Hunter_D
The properties we hunted you could fulfill all animals on your list
I am not saying Namibia is any better than south Africa but for my needs we were able to get prices in euro, pounds, U.S. dollars and most importantly Australian dollars. This is a big consideration with currency fluctuations.
No one else would give me prices in Aussie dollars.
You are also very lucky I was talking to the people taking care of our skins, they are now completely caught up with the 2020 hunts and looking forward to this year's hunters.
Check out Ingwe animal artistry on face book. Christian does beautiful work.
Bob

My son with his red heartebeast and top with his blesbuck ,Harald and one of our drivers.
Bob

 

[Zambezi]

To be frank, you can find the size property you want to hunt in both countries. Available species found on those properties will depend on location but I would say that SA has the edge in this regard as they are more intensive breeders and have generally higher stocking rate due to the vegetation density and rainfall. A more arid region will not be able to support the game numbers a "greener" area would... So ask yourself what is more important: 8 000ha with an 85% chance of a full bag in 10 days or a 20 000ha with a 60% chance of a full bag in 10 days. And as said before you'll struggle to notice the difference in size once you are slogging it on foot.

As for safety, the "tourist" spots are generally safe in SA but safer in Namibia.

Abundance and diversity of tourist spots and activities goes to South Africa.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Don’t feel bad you have the same questions as 90% of hunters contemplating Africa. So let me pose a question for you. How many acres would the property have to be for you not to worry about the fence? I have been hunting ranches lately with 75,000 to 100,000 acres. The fence on those properties is just a legal formality.
Do you know what an Africa game fence looks like? It would not hold my whitetail deer for more than a week!
In my experience on a typical game farm you can take 1-2 trophies a day. Completely free range places 1 trophy for every 3 days is how it’s been for me. It becomes a bang for the buck issue IMO.
Game ranches in RSA and Namibia are very safe. You have the same concerns there as here and that is car wrecks and maybe sprained ankles!
I hope you have fun planning your next safari. You are in the right place!
Philip

@phillip Glass
I was extremely lucky on my hunt. I got my Kudu and impala on the one day. I couldn't have been happier.
Bob

 

[mark-hunter]

@Hunter_D
I have copied your list, so my comments follow, for Namibia:
My comments are based on what I have seen, in free range and high fence.

Kudu - high fence and free range
Gemsbok - high fence - and free range
Red Hartabest - free range
Impala - high fence
Springbok - high fence
Blesbok - high fence

Wildebeest - black wildebeest is south african animal, in Namibia high fence.
Zebra - high fence and free range
Waterbuck - high fence and free range
Nyalya - Nyala is south african animal, in Namibia, only high fence

Sable, very valuable animal (up to 6k USD, introduced = farmers investment) , in Namibia, will be high fenced in central farm land. For free range Sable, need to go to Zambia, for example

To add few:
Leopard - jumps over any fence, consider free range
Warthog, digs under any fence, consider free range
Baboon - free range
Jackal - free range

During travel from Windhoek international airport, I have seen many animals along the road to the area Otjozondjupe (dozens of them).
Those are certainly free ranging animals:
Kudu, red hartebeest, warthog, waterbuck, baboon, oryx.
This should be some indicatation of what to look for.

My personal list to hunt free range animals, out of fence, in agreement with outfitter, if the aninlas are availabel in his area, is:
Kudu, Oryx, red hartebeest, warthog, jackal, baboon, Zebra (preferably Hartman Zebra).

 

[spike.t]

I really like this forum! It has made a newby feel welcomed and have already learned a lot of valuable info.
I guess I should have mentioned the animals desired. I dont know if the animals I want will be available in Nimibia or not.
Sable at the top of list then as follows
Kudu
Gemsbok
Red Hartabest
Impala
Springbok
Blesbok
There are other animals of interest but probably would have a hard time getting them all in one trip unless I had lots of money or hunted in a pen of which neither apply to me.
Second list includes
Wildebeest
Zebra
Waterbuck
Nyalya
I also want to say I have zero interest in hunting an animal born in captivity and released into where ever. Also no animals raised on a farm or in a pen, no ear tagged animals. Not judging anyone else but simply explaining my personal standard of satisfaction.

Thank you for all the replies and the PM's.

Wondering what you mean by animals raised on a farm....as game ranches also called farms....if that's your want then basically hardly anywhere in sa will qualify and neither will a lot in Namibia.....

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Wondering what you mean by animals raised on a farm....as game ranches also called farms....if that's your want then basically hardly anywhere in sa will qualify and neither will a lot in Namibia.....

This is a good point. Any large piece of land, our local lingo refers to as a farm. Just like we refer to a natural waterhole as a dam. Although, there is no dam wall construction, over here we refer to the body of water as a dam, with no reference to size. ( I'm referring to this, because I've had many humorous conversations with my American guests about this.)
Just because its a farm, doesn't mean animals are raised there for hunting. There is no raising happening here. Animals are born out there, and die out there, either by the hand of hunters, predators, poachers or natural causes.

 

[Hunter_D]

This is a good point. Any large piece of land, our local lingo refers to as a farm. Just like we refer to a natural waterhole as a dam. Although, there is no dam wall construction, over here we refer to the body of water as a dam, with no reference to size. ( I'm referring to this, because I've had many humorous conversations with my American guests about this.)
Just because its a farm, doesn't mean animals are raised there for hunting. There is no raising happening here. Animals are born out there, and die out there, either by the hand of hunters, predators, poachers or natural causes.

Thank you for clearing that up in regards to the lingo. I guess my point is I have read the word "breeders". I assume that meant animals bred in captivity and the offspring released into an enclosed area. If that is the case there is no area big enough for me to be interested in hunting as I dont consider the animals to be wild. If an animal is bred in captivity, put into a trailer, bought sold and delivered for the purpose of hunting I personaly dont consider that hunting, I consider that killing of livestock. If others do this that is entirely their right, its just not my cup of tea and I would not do it if it was free much less spend thousands of dollars to do it.
I remember going to South Dakota the pheasant capitol of the world and discovered that some of the outfitters were buying pen raises birds and putting them in wild just before hunters arrived. How disappointing that was. Here in the US there are commerical whitetail deer farms where if you have enough money you can kill giant bucks up to 300 inches. I wouldn't do it for free honestly. I would rather kill my smaller 130 inch deer in the wild.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Thank you for clearing that up in regards to the lingo. I guess my point is I have read the word "breeders". I assume that meant animals bred in captivity and the offspring released into an enclosed area. If that is the case there is no area big enough for me to be interested in hunting as I dont consider the animals to be wild. If an animal is bred in captivity, put into a trailer, bought sold and delivered for the purpose of hunting I personaly dont consider that hunting, I consider that killing of livestock. If others do this that is entirely their right, its just not my cup of tea and I would not do it if it was free much less spend thousands of dollars to do it.
I remember going to South Dakota the pheasant capitol of the world and discovered that some of the outfitters were buying pen raises birds and putting them in wild just before hunters arrived. How disappointing that was. Here in the US there are commerical whitetail deer farms where if you have enough money you can kill giant bucks up to 300 inches. I wouldn't do it for free honestly. I would rather kill my smaller 130 inch deer in the wild.

What you are describing here, is put and take. The terminology you are looking for, is that you should be looking at hunting self sustainable herds.

 

[Jörg Krüger]

This is a good point. Any large piece of land, our local lingo refers to as a farm. Just like we refer to a natural waterhole as a dam. Although, there is no dam wall construction, over here we refer to the body of water as a dam, with no reference to size. ( I'm referring to this, because I've had many humorous conversations with my American guests about this.)
Just because its a farm, doesn't mean animals are raised there for hunting. There is no raising happening here. Animals are born out there, and die out there, either by the hand of hunters, predators, poachers or natural causes.

We call them farms here no matter what. If it is livestock, its a farm. If it's corn etc, it's a farm.
Where as in America a Ranch is for livestock and farm is for vegan food.
Maby this is not known to hunters that have not been here.

 

[WilhelmM]

Thank you for clearing that up in regards to the lingo. I guess my point is I have read the word "breeders". I assume that meant animals bred in captivity and the offspring released into an enclosed area. If that is the case there is no area big enough for me to be interested in hunting as I dont consider the animals to be wild. If an animal is bred in captivity, put into a trailer, bought sold and delivered for the purpose of hunting I personaly dont consider that hunting, I consider that killing of livestock. If others do this that is entirely their right, its just not my cup of tea and I would not do it if it was free much less spend thousands of dollars to do it.
I remember going to South Dakota the pheasant capitol of the world and discovered that some of the outfitters were buying pen raises birds and putting them in wild just before hunters arrived. How disappointing that was. Here in the US there are commerical whitetail deer farms where if you have enough money you can kill giant bucks up to 300 inches. I wouldn't do it for free honestly. I would rather kill my smaller 130 inch deer in the wild.

You also have to remember that in most areas of SA, which aren't as remote as Namibia, these fences are quite literally required to protect the wildlife. The animals barely notice the fence at all. Even in free-roaming areas, nothing is limitless. There are still invisible barriers to where animals are protected as well as areas where the local population is free to start farming cattle.

The limited size for a high-fenced hunting area if it includes lion is around 17 000 acres. Canned hunting was banned in the 2000s.