Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa timing question

so ive got a decent paying job for here, able to easily take time off now unlike the papers where more than 5 days in a row was difficult so once again Africa may be in my grasp at some point in the not so distant future....but i do have a new problem....mostly hear bout guys heading over in May-August when its winter in the southern hemisphere, well thats construction season for Montana and since my job is inspecting road construction thats one time of year that is near impossible for me to go....is heading down during our winter(Nov-March) a possibility?

I understand it's really hot and more rain.
I hear September is a good time to go and cheaper flights.
Not so hot there yet.

I can only speak for Namibia but March is a great time of year to hunt there. The rainy season is December-February so March is very green and the waterholes are full. If I were you I would shoot for the last ten days of March. This is the time of year that I took my wife there on our honeymoon. Nights will be in the mid-50s with daytime temperatures in the mid-80s. You might see an occasional thunderstorm but the humidity is generally very low. The hunting conditions are very pleasant.

Cheers, RS

RS,
I've done quite a few safaris in November. It's not ideal, but you will still have a great trip. If you can keep it to early November, it will still be a blast. Stay away from January. Had the first safari for 2015 on 11 January and the first hunting day was 113Deg F.

Take Care,
Marius Goosen
KMG Hunting Safaris

I've hunted the Eastern Cape in March and it works. Do a little fishing for a day on the coast, and you get a great trip.

I personally like mid April-May for a couple of reasons...kudu will be in rut/starting to get interested faze, fantastic weather, and plane tickets are WAAAY cheaper. For instance, my round trip from Dallas to J'Burg late April is $960 rd trip on Delta.

You do realize Africa is a continent? That's like asking what the weather is like in North America in November. You could be up to your butt in snow in Alaska or hunt in a t shirt in Arizona.
Your best bet is to get hold of a couple of booking agents and ask them what they have available during the time you want to go. PM me if you would like some names.

What??? How did you score that? Al Queda discount???

noshit! wow!

Kudu get anxious following the impala rut in Late may and the first 10-14 days of June in the limpopo Province.

Other areas may be sooner or later. However for natural wild Kudu in the limpopo it's gonna be a raging Kudu Rut within a week of June first.

Laffin"!!!!! I told Delta I had a rather unassuming looking friend located in their hometown that was looking out for my best interests. I also told them that he would remind them of Dr. Phibes if he got pissed off enough.

well no chit hence my question given i know a fair number of guys here have went over...i was not asking what the conditions would be where, was asking if anyone had done one during the normal offseason somewhere over there cause i had no clue where to even start asking.....was curious if others had gone outside the normal winter(down there) hunting times.....i know the timing isnt ideal but was just curious if somewhere it was likely i could get an enjoyable trip during the off season when i could head down.....yes i realize it may be hotter than ideal but ill be out surveying and chit when its 100 here in the summer...

hell we have one contractor pushing for a mid March start date now...scheduling anything 6 months or more out at a time where its possible a contractor can be working up here is near impossible....i can do whatever in the hell i want as far as time off when the worst of the cold is here Dec- about now..

i did not ask if i would get perfect anything, just asked if it was likely i could do it if i tailored my expectations to the less than ideal conditions....

Dang!!! I've paid near that flying from Midland to Cody and back.

Is this recently?

I booked the flights about a month ago for the April 21-29 time frame. Maybe the cheap crude/fuel had something to do with it. I remember when checking flights, the Dallas-J'Burg deal was as cheap as the Atlanta to J'burg flight.

Hence my suggestion to get hold of a couple of booking agents. You will get a lot more info than "I went here then" you will find out what areas are doable depending on the game you are seeking. Just a suggestion. ...sheesh...

The end of March would be fine for SA, Namibia or Zim. In 2010 I hunted Zim the last two days of March into April. The weather was fine with only a few light showers. The biggest challenge was the length of the grass and the amount of foliage on the trees. It made for some fairly close shots though.

Mike

There is a guy that hangs around this forum that actually lives in Africa who could give input, but this is just fun watching you all argue with each other.

Just saying.

What is a natural wild Kudu? They're natural to the Eastern Cape also Jim. By means of migration.

Rattler:

Hunting in most of the Southern African countries have vary long formal seasons. Depending on the country, the formal season is only closed for a couple of months - mostly Nov-Dec through Feb-Mar. One of the main reasons is the game there keep their horns life long and secondly you can very successfully hunt them all season long and are not tied to a particular species "rut". The only thing you might miss out is hearing the snorting and grunting.

I would recommend you spend some time getting a firm and prioritized list of the species you want to hunt. Reason is most species have defined areas/countries they can be found. However, with modern game farming/game ranching and high fences you can also hunt pretty much anything anywhere depending on how much you are willing to pay - even Texas. With the above said, decide what kind of hunt (high fence or low fence or no fence) you want for the species your after.

Those two items above will drive pretty much the rest of your choices and the country and the area(s) within that country you'll need to hunt to fill your goals.

Biggest advantage of hunting outside of the "peak" tourist hunting season is much better airfare rates. Generally, if you can start your trip before mid April or after mid Sept you can save anywhere from 25-50% per ticket. The farther outside that peak travel time the greater the savings that can get you more days or more animals.

Downside is the weather can become less...cooperative depending on where you decide to go. By less cooperative I mean heat, humidity, rain, bugs and snakes.

I've been in Natal RSA (near Pangola) in mid Sep through mid Nov. Sep was great and by the time I left in Nov it was getting damn warm. The cleaning lady even found a 5' Egyptian cobra in my room after I left one morning hunting I never saw - thank god!!! The heat during the day is one thing, but lots of places there don't have A/C or might not even have ceiling fans and sleeping at night can become challenging more so than the daytime hunting. The rain started just before I left. The rain and getting wet wasn't a problem the LIGHTNING was and I live in FL!

My wife and I spend anywhere from 3-8 weeks in Namibia every year. Earliest we've been there has been the last half of May and the latest we've been there has been mid Oct. May was just after the "rainy season". Temps were warm but comfortable, Jun - Aug is generally shirtsleeves by mid day to late afternoon and light to heavy jackets early morning and late afternoon/evening. Sept is pretty much shirtsleeves all day and by Oct it was getting hot and very dry. The heat wasn't so bad as the 3-5% humidity and trying to stay ahead hydration wise.

One advantage of going early is you "might" and I do mean "might" have a better opportunity of the bigger animals - more so if you are hunting high fenced properties. One advantage in hunting late season is you "might" get a better rate/discount on a hunt and you have a better possibility of being offered extra animals that "might" be left on quota if your hunting on a concession and you "might" be able to pick-up or be offered deeply discounted culls on both concessions and private property. Lastly, again depending on the area, later season can tend to concentrate the animals closer to water sources as any naturally occurring springs, streams, waterholes start to dry up.

For me personally, I'd take late season over early season. More highly concentrated animals, lower airfare and possibility of culls. Unfortunately, the past couple of years we've been tied to going during the "peak" season because we've been taking nieces, nephews and friends with school age kids.

Bottomline - honestly, go whenever you can. Every season has it's good points and less good points (notice I didn't say bad). You'll have a great time.

Get serious. Have you forgotten where you are?