Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Mozambique?

I have been asked to go with another hunter to Mozambique for a hunt. I do not have all the details yet but he told me the camp was on the Zambezi river. What is the best way to get to Mozambique? Thru Johannesburg? Thru Europe?

How was the hunting? We are looking at Buffalo, Hippo, Croc, Sable.

I will be getting more details soon before I make up my mind. I was just curious about past experiences in Mozambique. Thanks.

Details are important going to Moz. Pay attention to the advance visa requirements, they will let you wait in jail if your papers are out of order. Getting to camp can be a problem usually solved by a charter flight, so it is better to split the cost if you can. You can connect from Jo'burg. I have a friend who goes there every year to help an outfitter friend set up camp for the season, and that is how he goes. Hunting has been good there for my friend.

jim

In my opinion, the best way to get to Mozambique is on a charter flight from South Africa. I went through Byra (Sp?), and it was interestingly third-world, but not a big hassle. Do have all your paperwork in order though; they are not overwhelmingly flexible .

Which Coutada are you going to?

DN

In most instances the Safari Company PH charters into camp with you from Joberg..I know both of the companies I rep do that. I suspect you will find the hunting good with most safari companies there, but check them out as best you can prior to going is always good advise. Some of Mozambique is a swamp and mosquito infested hell.

Do you have any idea on the total cost of everything with those 4 animals is?

300magman,

I have hunted Mozambique extensively and still do about 5 trips there per year. Hunting in Mozambique is unique and a lot different from say the RSA and Namibia. For the most part it is hard hunting (as it should be) and one gets to experience real Africa.

As Ray has pointed out, it is very important to check out the Outfitters very carefully - as I've stated here before, Mozambique seems to attract more that its fair share of sharks - mostly because every 2nd RSA outfitter nowdays brags about "my concesssion in Moz" which is a bit suprising as there are +/- 13 official Coutadas or concessions - some of which do "subcontract" buff etc to other RSA Outfits which may contribute to confusion.

Here is an overview on hunting in Moz - long post but hope it helps put things in perspective - if you need more info on a particular area then let me know:

Mozambique is a fascinating country offering visitors a wide range of activities and experiences. Until the mid-1990s, however, it was known only to a handful of aid workers, staff of non-governmental organisations and South Africans who once regarded Mozambique as their holiday playground. When civil war broke out the stream of tourists dried up and the country became one of the world�s forgotten corners. Following the end of the civil war in 1992 and democratic elections two years later, an increasing number of tourists are visiting this gem of a country.

Geography

Situated on the east coast of southern Africa, Mozambique covers an area of 799 380 km2 . It ranks as the 15th in Africa in terms of size, and is slightly less than twice the size of the state of California, USA. A long, narrow country, it is bordered to the north by Tanzania, in the south by Swaziland and South Africa and by Zimbabwe in the west.

With an average altitude of 360m, it is relatively flat, with three distinct geographical regions. Covering about 44% of the country, the Planicie Mozambicana, or coastal plains below 200m are dominant in the south of Mozambique. In the west, the plains rise to the Pequenos Lbombos, a range of low mountains, while the coastal plains are punctuated by numerous lakes. North of the Rio Zambeze the coastal plains become narrower and are replaced by an upland region of planaltos or high plateaus, ranging from 200 to 1000m above sea level. The most extensive upland region, the Planalto Mozambicano, covers most of the Niassa province and extends in western Nampula and northwestern Zambezia provinces. Other upland regions are the Planalto de Chimoio in Manica province, the Planalto de Lichinga in Niassa province and the Planalto de Angonia and Planalto de Maraviua in northern Tete province.

Mozambique�s coastline stretches for 2515 km form the mouth of the Rio Rovuma to Ponta do Ouro. It is characterised by numerous sweeping bays fringed with mangrove swamps, headlands and several islands of the coast. Best known of them are the Ilha da Inhaca, and the Arquipelago do Bazaruto.

The country is dissected by 60 rivers; among them are the Rio Zambeze, which flows through Mozambique for 630 km and the Rio Limpopo. Other large rivers include the 650 km Rovuma, the Lugenda, Lurio, Save, Buzi and Incomati rivers.

Despite an abundance of rivers, there are only three large dams; Cahora Bassa, Chicamba, and the Massingir. The largest body of inland water, Lago Niassa leas in the northwest and forms the natural boundary with Malawi.

The vegetation of Mozambique is comprised of some 17 vegetation types. Along the coast the vegetation ranges from mangrove swamps and high dune forests to palm savannahs. Montane evergreen forests and montane grasslands occur at the upper elevations of high mountains notably in the Gorongoza region. In the arid Gaza province the vegetation is dominated by Mopani savannah, which also occurs over a large part of the Tete province along with Baobab savannahs.

Grasslands occur on alluvial soils in the lower reaches of the major rivers in the south and central areas; the most extensive area is the Marromeu floodplain grasslands in the Zambezi delta. Well over 50% of the country is, however, covered in Miombo woodlands.

Climate

Situated largely within the tropics, much of Mozambique enjoys a tropical subtropical climate. Three distinct climatic zones can be distinguished. The coastal belt and the northern provinces enjoy humid tropical climate while the interior has a dry tropical climate. The highlands climate is moderated by altitude and are generally more pleasant year round.

Most of the country�s rainfall is recorded from December to March as violent thunderstorms. The annual rainfall averages range from 400 � 600mm in the more arid regions to 1000 � 1400mm in the coastal and highland areas.

The summer months from November to April are characterised by warm temperatures and high humidity. Average annual temperatures range from 22 C to 26 c except in the upper Zambeze valley where temperatures readily exceed 30 C

Mozambique Eco-tourism

In recent years wildlife was, along with beaches, the most attractive source for tourism in Mozambique. Within eco-tourism development the main activities are rehabilitation, ecological monitoring, reserve management, community mobilization and awareness campaigns, concession development and joint management agreement promotions.

The National Tourism Policy of Mozambique aims to attract national and foreign tourists to benefit from the existing natural resources, as well as to encourage national and foreign investors to participate in the development of those resources. The underlying objectives are diverse and deal with aspects as job opportunities for Mozambicans and assurance of local communities participation as a way of guaranteeing their sustainable development. Further more it is a question of promoting the country's high quality of regional and internal tourism, as well as giving priority to national entrepreneurs within the tourism sector.

There are four national parks covering an area of 16 150 km2, namely: Gorongosa National Park; Zinave National Park; Banhine National Park; and Bazaruto National Park. According to the existing wildlife law, eco-tourism development within the national parks is limited to non-consumptive use of wildlife resources, such as game viewing and photographic safaris.

Wildlife services

Game reserves in Mozambique cover three provinces, namely: Niassa, Zambezia and Sofala, and extend over an area of 18 600 km2. Within the framework of the Agriculture and Fisheries Development Master Programme, investment from the private sector is being sought with the aim to rehabilitate these game reserves. Presently, two of the above areas are concerned - Niassa and Maputo.

Hunting areas, in turn, cover about 51 206 km2. Most of them are concentrated in four provinces: Manica (37%), Sofala (30%), Gaza (19.5%) and Inhambane (13%). There are 13 gazetted hunting areas in Mozambique ranging in size from 300 km2 to 12 300 km2, covering a total area of 59 700 km2.

Original Mozambique Coutadas (Hunting Concessions)

Designation Location / Province Area approx. (Km2)
Coutada 4 Manica 8.900
Coutada 5 Sofala 6.870
Coutada 6 Sofala 4.560
Coutada 7 Sofala 5.410
Coutada 8 Sofala 310
Coutada 9 Manica 4.330
Coutada 10 Sofala 2.010
Coutada 11 Sofala 1.930
Coutada 12 Sofala 2.960
Coutada 13 Manica 5.680
Coutada 14 Sofala 1.350
Coutada 15 Sofala 2.000
Coutada 16 Gaza 10.000

Notes:

1. Coutada 1 ceased to exist in 1969 and was zoned as "Zona de Vigil�ncia Especial" and incorporated into Parque Nacional da Gorongosa.
2. Coutada 17 ceased to exist in 1973 serves as the basis for the Parque Nacional do Banhine.

Yours truly enjoying a Moz single malt:


Typical terrain in the Delta:


Typical Moz Trophys:

300, I just returned from Moz 10 days ago. I flew to Joburg, to Harare,overnighted in Harare and caught a charter to northern Zim and crossed into to Moz through Kanyemba. I don't know how else you would do it if hunting that part of Moz (where Zim/Zam/Moz come together ).

Thanks for all the information. I will get more details on the trip in a few days. I do know now that a charter flight is involved, probably from johannesburg.

Peter: I am of the opinion that Mozambique will be the next Zimbabwe in terms of hunting opportunities at reasobable costs. The country's VERY large and witha prospering economy and tourist industry. I'm seriously considering there as my next destination and mark my words, in a few years time and provising the political situation remains stable, Angola will also bounce back. jorge

PeteV-

I think that's a picture of Nicki Atcheson who had a run in with a buff a couple of years ago.

Gdv

Well spotted!

She's quite a gal and keen on buffalo!

The pic of the delta terrain is the kind of country I love.

Gdv

I'm up for a Mozambique safari, and since I've hunted very successfully and joyously with Roger Whittall's outfit in Zimbabwe, I'd likely first turn my attention to hunting with them in Mozambique.

AD

I have some very good opportunities to work in Moz right now, however there have been some struggles and insane time delays to get the trophies home. Several hunter I have worked with now have waited more then 18 months to get the Buff, leopard, and sable trophies home. It's not the delay that made it so bad but the lack of communication which led to the worry they would never see them.

Moz has some issues with documentation and process of trophy export routines. I think this will work itself out as more people go, and they get skilled with the events needed to do this. There are two possible situations here. They will get better and it will become the "new Zim" in southern Africa. Or the reputation of disorder and chaos with trophies will prevail and hunters will choose to hunt elsewhere with less trophy risk.

Of the people I know personal who have gone only one would do it again. The others said the problems and organization was very bad. The fella that would go back just returned, and had no trouble at all. However he's not received his trophies back yet. I think Moz is the future for affordable big five hunts in Southern Africa. I also have no doubt that they will sort out the confusion over the documentaion they are seeing today.

My personal thoughts are that they had a big influx of hunters over the last two years with the Zim situation. I believe they were likley overwhelmed with work. I think it will grow into a very successful safari destination.

Allen-

ESP. You anticipated my thought and then question .

Gdv

AD-

Do you have a Moz safari planned now?

Gdv

I briefly looked into getting involved with a group to secure rights to an area in Moz but decided it was not worth the risk at this time. I too believe it does hold promise for the future as an option for DG. That is my hope at least. It does appear that the quota for game can vary widely between areas and I believe some of the operators are working together to swap hunts so they will be able to offer a better bag. I think cooperation between operators will go a long way in making the industry work in Moz. I would like to give Moz a try.

Gdv,

I'm hunting Zambia for 14 days next year for leopard, Cape buffalo, and plainsgame, and that safari is a booked and done deal.

For the following year, my conceptualized plan is to hunt RSA with a safari company I've wanted to hunt with in that country for quite some time. My goal is to finish collecting all remaining species of RSA game that I have not yet taken, which is mostly small antelope. I hope to have this one booked before the convention season begins.

After that, I'm looking to do either Mozambique, Botswana, Ethiopia, or revisit Namibia, especially if I can hunt the Caprivi Strip, which is another long-time goal I've had. I want to watch the goings on in those places a bit before I make a comittment to another safari, but I am open to discussions............

AD

AD

The Caprivi has about everything in the way of DG. According to my PH it is developing quite rapidly for the tourist trade with the eco-lodge thing. This is second hand info though.

I can tell you that I saw a lot of steenbok (sp?) and duiker where I hunted; I don't know if they were the Damaraland duiker; probably not although I'm not sure now as I think about it.

Zambia should be interesting!

Does your RSA company have buff in the same are as the pee-wees....?

Gdv

Yes, they can easily accomodate all Big-Five requirements, plus supply quality opportunities for all RSA plainsgame species. Everything's totally first-class, high-quality hunting in the best safari areas available, including national park areas with tented camps in some cases. RSA's list of huntable big game species is extensive, to say the least, but you can't hunt everything out of the same camp by any means.

The sad part is, hunting any of the Big-Five in RSA is very expensive. The only remaining reasonably-priced buffalo hunting destinations are Zimbabwe and Mozambique........

AD