Newsletter 87

DEAR HUNTING FRIENDS

I hope this 87th edition of the Take Aim Safaris newsletter finds you well.

Since my last newsletter sent out in January 2022 clients of TAS have had early season hunting success in the Gonarezhou hunting areas Sengwe 1 and 2 plus Naivaisha, the early season movement was not as strong as it has been in previous years although some good bulls were hunted, my take on the revision of high vs low seasons has a lot to do with the high rainfall we are having year on year lately. Going back to 2007 when I started operating in the Gonarezhou hunting areas the rainfall was considerably less during the late part of the rainy season, now we have more and more late rain, even consistent flooding that keeps the Limpopo River full and flowing for many months of the year, that flooding stops the elephant and buffalo movement over/across the Limpopo from the Kruger National Park into the Sengwes, this is a new (to me) phenomenon, what I have noticed more and more is that the late season hunts on elephant and buffalo are getting better and better, many big bulls are being hunted late season, say from July to November before the rains start is the new prime time. Interesting, a changing world we are living in.

Corona and now the war in Europe have definitely affected our bookings, I suppose added to this is the fact that there have been no European hunting shows since 2020, even then those shows were not good as Corona hit us just after that, the bulk of my bookings, especially on elephant come from European clients, that said, we carry on… Hunters are resilient, those that want to hunt seem to make it here one way or another, when you do get here you will find a reliable partner in TAS ready to conduct your hunt.

Since January we have done the following hunts, including taking these two super dagga boys, a 60 pounder, a 50 pounder and a 40 pounder elephant:




I do have quota available on buffalo and elephant in the Gonarezhou hunting areas Sengwe 1 and 2, please contact me for more information. Our Matetsi hunts are about to start, look out for hunt updates from Matetsi and also further hunt updates from Gonarezhou hunting areas.

As for me I am currently based in Botswana developing the most beautiful game reserve and luxury hotel for German clients of mine, Lotsane Safaris, a truly amazing place that will be open for limited hunting in time to come, when that does happen I will update you.

To all our RSA clients that plan to attend Huntex next week, you will find TAS at Huntex where you can book your free range, fair chase buffalo, elephant, hippo and croc hunts with us for Sengwe 1 and 2 areas of Zimbabwe, 150 kms north east of Musina, come see us there or send me an email or whats app for more in +27-82-749-1747 as you may know Beit Bridge is now open for holiday travel.

Thanks for taking the time to read and share my newsletters with your hunting friends, Hunters, Agents, PH’s and Outfitters are all welcome to contact me for your Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe hunting requirements.

Hunters best wishes

Carl Knight

(JHB RSA)
Contact Number: 0027-82-749-1747
Email: carl@takeaimsafaris.com
Web: www.takeaimsafaris.com

Newsletter 86

DEAR HUNTING FRIENDS

I hope this 86th version of the Take Aim Safaris newsletter finds you well, may I also take this opportunity to wish you all a healthy, happy and prosperous 2022.

Since my last newsletter sent out in October 2021 we conducted two elephant and hippo hunts in the Gonarezhou safari areas Sengwe 1 and 2, both of those hunts were successful, here are the photos of the 60+ pounder and the 50+ pounder that were hunted during November and December, happy clients from Europe, thanks for the bookings.

Both of these hunts were guided by PH Nixon Dzingai, well done Nixon.

These concessions are getting better and better every year, the hunting quotas are so very low vs the elephant and buffalo populations that the quality of the hunts and the quality of the trophies are constantly getting better. This year will be the 5th year in a row that we have not increased our prices, in fact we are the best priced trophy elephant bull hunting operators in Africa (same goes for buffalo), to take advantage of this fact please book and hunt with us during this year as we will have a price increase towards the end of this year effective 2023 onwards.

As for the year ahead we do have a good amount of early season elephant and buffalo hunts in the Sengwe’s and Mahenye plus big cat, elephant and buffalo hunts in Matetsi that I will update you on as the season rolls out, my main reason for sending out this brief newsletter is to let you know that we are open and hunting, please email me all your hunt enquires for Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. We have a stunning game reserve in the Tuli Block of Botswana for plains game hunting, take a look at Lotsane, Botswana on my website.

Clients, Agents, PH’s, Outfitters and Operators please contact me for a quote on your upcoming hunts.

As always thanks for taking the time to read my newsletters and thanks for passing them onto your hunting friends.

Hunters best wishes.

Carl Knight

(JHB RSA)
Contact Number: 0027-82-749-1747
Email: carl@takeaimsafaris.com
Web: www.takeaimsafaris.com

Newsletter 85

DEAR HUNTING FRIENDS

I trust this 85th version of the Take Aim Safaris newsletter finds you well.

This is my 4th and final newsletter for 2021, that has been a cracker of a hunting year for TAS clients and partner Operators, in fact this year has been my highest pound average on elephant hunts ever, the quality of trophy elephant bulls being taken in our Gonarezhou concessions of Zimbabwe and our NG49 concessions of Botswana are simply put the best in Africa. With next year lined up to be another great hunting year please watch this space for our hunt updates and please contact me if you are interested in booking a hunt.

Our (SSG Safaris) Gonarezhou concession lease has recently been renewed for another 6 years, and my Operator partner in the NG 49 concession of Botswana has also just been given a 5-year lease… here we grow again.

Check it out here:
https://www.takeaimsafaris.co.za/botswana-hunting-areas/

Since my last newsletter that was sent out in June 2021 it has been a busy few months with TAS clients harvesting these wonderful trophies on top class fair chase hunts.

During the last few days, a client from Europe hunted this 89 and 83 pounder elephant bull in the Gonarezhou hunting area Chibedziwa with PH Zane Bronkhorst, also hunted with this hippo bull:

For those of you that believe that the early season elephants hunts are the only good ones in the Gonarezhou… You are wrong. In the nearly 15 years I have been operating in the Gonarezhou I can conclusively tell you that my clients have hunted this quality of elephant all year around consistently, the elephants here don’t magically disappear after April/May. In fact if I did the calculation we could easily find that the bigger bulls have been shot late season, the adjoining un-fenced National parks get dry late season, the bulls (elephant and buffalo) move into the hunting areas for food, it’s super simple to understand the movement patterns, important not to try and over think things, book and come hunting is the answer.

On a recent hunt conducted in the Matetsi ECA area of Zimbabwe a client from Europe harvested these excellent old bulls on his hunt that was also guided by PH Zane Bronkhorst who has become on of Zim’s top PH’s and a super nice guy to hunt with, well done Zane.

During the 2021 season I booked 3 leopard hunts, all 3 of those hunts were 100% successful (3/3), look at the size of the two Zim cats featured on this newsletter plus the 103 kg cat from Botswana that was featured on my last newsletter, all real monster tom cats:



On another recent hunt, this time in Naivaisha/Gonarezhou PH Lloyd Yeatman guided this client of mine from Europe on this very good leopard:

In the Matetsi ECA Steve Meyer and his team of PH’s guided a 4-hunter group from Europe on this buffalo hunt, all 4 hunters got their buffalo on their 8-day hunt plus a whole host of plains game:


During September I hunted the Zingela reserve in South Africa, I hunted with fellow PH Nico Van Der Merwe, I hunted my 14th buffalo, this 44-inch bull that we estimated at 12 years old, some plains game was also hunted, great place, great people:

Also during September a client of mine hunted Thabatholo in the Limpopo Province of RSA with PH Mark Dedekind, they hunted this 43-inch dagga boy, more great people and a special place to hunt:

As always thanks for taking the time to read my newsletters and pass them onto your hunting friends, if you are interested in a big game hunt in Zimbabwe, Botswana or South Africa for 2022 or beyond please contact me for more information. From my side, I have been super busy in Botswana where a client of mine has bought a beautiful property on the Limpopo River… Lotsane.. There will be limited hunting available on Lotsane in time to come, please watch this space for more information.

I plan to attend the Dortmund and Salzburg hunting shows during 2022 if all goes well and we are allowed to travel from Africa, if you wish to have a meeting with me to plan your Southern African hunt please meet at either of those shows, you can what app me on +27-82-749-1747 or email me on carl@takeimsafaris.com for more info.

I have a big 4 hunt starting in a few days with Nixon and an elephant hunt starting with Lloyd plus a few late season buffalo hunts, I will update you on those hunts early 2022.

Hunters, Agents, Outfitters, PH’s please contact me for all your big game hunting requirements.

Hunters best wishes.

Carl Knight

(JHB RSA)
Contact Number: 0027-82-749-1747
Email: carl@takeaimsafaris.com
Web: www.takeaimsafaris.com

Newsletter 84

DEAR HUNTING FRIENDS

I hope this 84th edition of the Take Aim Safaris newsletter finds you well.

Since our last newsletter that was send out at the start of May, our clients have done some really great hunts in Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

The safari industry is waking up from over a year of Covid slumber, hunters want to hunt, guides want to guide, now is a good time to book your hunt for this year of next. Please contact me for available quota, dates, and hunt pricing.

As mentioned on a previous newsletter, TAS has started to offer hunts in Botswana, in the NG 49 concession to be specific via a partnership agreement with the concession owner who is a TAS hunting client.

My last client to hunt Botswana (during June 2021) was a German client that booked to hunt a leopard and a trophy elephant bull, this client had previously failed on leopard hunts (not through TAS) and wanted to be as sure as possible that he would get his leopard this time, the client not only wanted a leopard but wanted a big old heavy cat, my recommendation was that he booked one of the two leopard permits that I had available in Botswana since there has been no hunting there for many years, the chances of success would be high. The result of his hunt was this superb 103 kg old tom cat, a great one to harvest, well done Lucas, Wolfgang and all concerned.

I do still have one tag left for the 2021 hunting season for leopard in Botswana, please let me know if you want this tag.  Also on my client’s wish list was a trophy elephant bull, this 70+ pounder ticked that box… Please contact me for your Botswana hunt bookings, the quality of elephant bulls that has been harvested in NG49 this year is simply amazing, if you want the photos of those bulls please let me know, I do have them. Prime time for big elephant in Botswana’s NG49 is April until September. I have quota on elephant, buffalo and leopard in Botswana.

This recent hunt in the Gonarezhou hunting concessions Sengwe 1 and 2 was guided by PH Simon Dzingai (in photo), clients from the USA hunted these 35 and 50 pounder elephant bulls plus this fantastic dagga boy buffalo, the Gonarezhou concessions are literally teaming with elephant and buffalo that are moving into the hunting areas from the adjoining Kruger National Park and Gonarezhou National Park, if you plan to hunt a trophy elephant bull and/or trophy buffalo bull in Zimbabwe then look no further than the Gonarezhou.

Well done on another great hunt Simon. Thanks to Barry Seabrook from Gunsmoke Safaris in Darwin, Australia for this booking.

This is what a dagga boy should look like in my view…

This recent buffalo and plains game hunt was conducted in South Africa, this client has booked with TAS ten times or more, well done on another great hunt Ernest and thanks for your ongoing support.


Also on a recent hunt in South Africa, Russian clients hunted these great animals, thanks Vladimir for another great booking.



On another recent hunt in South Africa, these proper old dagga boys, trophy warthogs and plains game were hunted, I have a good number of these dagga boys on quota in South Africa, if you are interested in buffalo and plains game hunting in South Africa please contact me.

A special thanks to PH’s Leo Van Rooyen and Werner Mulder for guiding this hunt.




Hunters, PH’s, Outfitters, Operators and Agents please contact me for all your hunting requirements in Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, I have dates and quota available on top quality hunts.

Thanks for taking the time to read my newsletters and for passing them onto your hunting friends.

Hunters best wishes.

Carl Knight

(JHB RSA)
Contact Number: 0027-82-749-1747
Email: carl@takeaimsafaris.com
Web: www.takeaimsafaris.com

 

Newsletter 83


DEAR HUNTING FRIENDS

I hope this 83rd edition of the Take Aim Safaris newsletter finds you well.

Since my last newsletter that was sent out on the 7th February 2021 Take Aim Safaris clients have done some great hunts in the Sengwe 1 and Sengwe 2 areas of Zimbabwe, these areas are real hotspots for trophy elephant bulls and trophy buffalo bulls, these hunting areas are ideally located in-between the Gonarezhou National Park to the North, the Kruger National Park to the South and Mozambique to the East, these concessions have proven themselves time and time again as the best of the best when it comes free range, fair chase hunting for trophy quality elephant and buffalo plus hippo and croc. Please see below for a map showing the location of these concessions in Zimbabwe.

In addition to the Sengwe concessions of the Gonarezhou I remain pleased to be able to offer my clients quality hunts in the Matetsi area of Zimbabwe that is excellent for big cats, elephant, buffalo and plains game, Matetsi can be located on the below map.

These are our recent hunt updates:

There are few hunting company’s in today’s Africa that are delivering results like these, if you want to hunt with professionals in the best areas available for the species you wish to hunt then please email me personally to discuss your hunt: carl@takeaimsafaris.com

In January we hosted Josef Thoma from Westfalia Jagdreisen (Germany) and his client on an elephant hunt, they hunted a 75 pounder that was featured in my last newsletter, in February we welcome Josef back into the Sengwe’s with another of his clients this time for trophy elephant and buffalo, following on from his early season success PH Nixon Dzingai guided the hunter on this magnificent +90 pounder (both tusks + 90 pounds each) elephant hunt and also this superb buffalo, well done Nixon on another record breaking bull and a great one to harvest.

During March we welcomed a client of Adler Tours (Germany) to hunt with us, also in the Sengwe’s, this was also an elephant and buffalo hunt, the hunt was again guided by PH Nixon Dzingai, the client was an experienced elephant hunter, the hunters had early success on their 15 day hunt managing to take this 55 pounder during the first few days of the hunt, followed on by this proper dagga boy buffalo that looks to be well over 10 years old to me, with quite a few days left on the hunt the client decided to upgrade his hunt and go for another elephant, that was a good decision on his part since the hunters managed to harvest this old bull 60+ pounder, well done Nixon and thanks Jens for the booking.

During April, we welcomed a client from France on his 3rd buffalo hunt with us in the Sengwe’s, this client is a buffalo hunter who has hunted many buffalos right across Africa for many years, he says that ours are the best concessions available in Africa for dagga boys, this is due in large to the fact that we have almost no lions in the southern section of our 300, 000 hectare concession on the Limpopo River adjoined to the Kruger National Park, this is dagga boy paradise where you will shoot your buffalo up close in the Jess bush along the river or in the beautiful fever tree forests.

This buffalo was shot at last light then recovered at night, no photos were possible, just the skull photo of this +14-year-old buffalo, with PH Simon Dzingai in photo, Simon guided the hunt.

My sons and I were also around in the lowveld and did some hunting at the same time, here are some photos from that hunt including this 60-inch kudu that my 11-year-old son shot with his 300 WM that he was given by a client of mine (Thanks Juan). We also hunted a great eland, nyala and zebra, loads of meat for our freezer this winter.


During April we welcomed a client from the USA into our Sengwe 2 camp, he hunted an elephant with PH Nixon Dzingai, the bull he hunted went 55 pounds per tusk, this has been a great season on elephant hunts to date, hunters that made the trip to Zimbabwe were well rewarded for their efforts:

Also during April another client from the USA hunted in the Lowveld, this time with PH Zane Bronkhorst, the client hunted this very nice and wide buffalo and this great hippo bull + huge river croc:

To my clients reading this: Are you interested in buying a game farm/a private hunting farm in South Africa? If you are interested now is a great time to buy, please contact me as I know of a great game farm that is for sale, a well-stocked game farm with buffalo and many other species, the farm is being sold out of a deceased estate and will sell at great value. Take Aim Safaris has many hunting clients that would support and make such a venture a huge success. Contact me if you are interested in more information regarding investing in a Game farm in South Africa, a private hunting farm/ranch.

Both South Africa and Zimbabwe are open for hunting, routing from Europe and USA to Southern Africa is pretty easy, many airlines are flying here, we arrange all the necessary Covid tests and all Covid protocols are followed.

Hunters, PH’s, Outfitters and Agents please contact me for all your South African and Zimbabwean hunting requirements, as you can see there is some movement coming back into the hunting industry, particularly in Zimbabwe, hunters wont/can’t sit at home forever, contact me and let’s get your hunt booked.

Hunters best wishes.

Carl Knight

(JHB RSA)
Contact Number: 0027-82-749-1747
Email: carl@takeaimsafaris.com
Web: www.takeaimsafaris.com

Newsletter 82

DEAR HUNTING FRIENDS

I hope this email finds you well and hopefully planning to get back to hunting again this year.

If you are considering a hunting trip to Zimbabwe, I do have dates available in our Gonarezhou concessions: Chitsa, Sengwe 1 and Sengwe 2 for big elephant and trophy buffalo + hippo, croc are plentiful and if you are lucky you will shoot a huge eland bull or nyala… The areas are well rested, the animal movement is fantastic.

In Matetsi/Zimbabwe I have quota available on the big cats: leopard and lion plus elephant bulls at unbeatable prices plus buffalo, sable, plains game, hippo and croc, please contact me for more information and for available dates and a chance to view the Victoria Falls in high water.

Please also contact me for all your South African hunting requirements, I do have rhino, buffalo, hippo, crocodile, elephant and plains game on quota and available in South Africa, dates are available.

Here are my recent hunt updates:

During January 2021 we welcomed an elephant hunter from Europe, he hunted with PH Nixon Dzingai in the Sengwe hunting areas of the Gonarezhou/Zimbabwe, the hunting was challenging as there was lots or rain around, the rivers were flooded and a mini cyclone passed over the area. In typical Nixon Dzingai and Simon Dzingai style they pushed on and worked hard managing to harvest this trophy elephant bull, our first elephant of the year, a super happy client that deserves this massive bull. A special thanks to Josef Thoma from Westfalia Jagdreisen in Germany for this hunt and for coming hunting with his client. In addition to this brute, the hunters saw a 90+ pounder that gave them the slip when the wind changed…. There is no better place in Africa to hunt these trophy elephant bulls, symmetrical long and thick tusks.

During November/December last year we welcomed hunters from Europe that also hunted in the Gonarezhou hunting areas Sengwe 1 and Sengwe 2 with PH’s Simon Dzingai and Nixon Dzingai, they hunted these 3 buffalos and this trophy elephant bull. Hunters, there is no better dagga boy hunt than these hunting areas, you will shoot your buffalo at between 5 and 50 meters in the Limpopo River jess bush or dry river bed, this is free range buffalo and elephant paradise, if you are looking for a well-priced fair play, straight business hunt or hunting Operator partner then look no further than Take Aim Safaris.

During December last year we welcomed a father and son from Europe on this rhino and plains game hunt in central South Africa, they hunted these wonderful plains game species and this rhino bull, I have a good number of rhino bulls available all of different horn length, both white and black rhino, over the years I have sold very many rhino hunts that have contributed a fortune towards rhino conservation, I can with confidence book you the right hunt, contact me for more info, rhino hunts are more affordable than you think.




Zimbabwe is open for hunting, to hunt in Zimbabwe you should travel directly to Zimbabwe with Ethiopian Airlines or Emirates Airlines not necessary to route via South Africa, there is no quarantine on arrival or departure, please arrive with a negative Covid test, we will arrange your departure test for you, it’s really a simple process and is hugely rewarding as the hunting is excellent and things are good here.

South Africa is also open for hunting, a few different airlines are flying here, I will meet you when you land and help you with all formalities, arrive with a Covid negative test and depart with one, there is no quarantine required on arrival or departure. You could also route to Zimbabwe via South Africa.

Clients, agents, Operators, Outfitters and PH’s please contact me for all your Zimbabwean and South African hunting requirements.

Hunters best wishes

Carl Knight

(JHB RSA)
Contact Number: 0027-82-749-1747
Email: carl@takeaimsafaris.com
Web: www.takeaimsafaris.com

Newsletter 81

DEAR HUNTING FRIENDS

I trust this 81st edition of the Take Aim Safaris newsletter finds you well.

Since my last newsletter in June we have done a few local hunter hunts in South Africa and also in Zimbabwe that I can update you on here, we have also started to welcome international clients back into Zimbabwe that opened on the 1st October for tourism including hunting, since then I have had a hunter from Germany arriving and I know of American hunters that are hunting with a friend of mine in Matetsi, things are moving along albeit slowly.

We sincerely hope that things normalize soon as 2020 has been a bumpy ride down here in Southern Africa, I can’t predict the future from a Covid perspective suffice to say that we are all healthy and well here and that you can travel here with the confidence that things are as they always have been in Africa, we know that before long you hunters will find a way to get here, when you do arrive we will be waiting for you.

Starting in Matetsi Zimbabwe PH Steve Meyer guided this local hunter hunt during August/September:

During September I hunted with local hunters in South Africa, I was assisted on the hunt by PH’s Mias Steyn and Bennie Breytenbaach we hunted some wonderful trophy bulls including this 44 inch buffalo, a 43 inch buffalo, a 48 inch sable and a great old white rhino bull, I have a few of these old rhino bulls available if there are any hunters reading this wanting to complete their big 5 let me know. I have lots of quota available on buffalo, sable, roan, elephant and general plains game in South Africa.





In October we welcomed a client from Germany into the Matetsi Safari area of Zimbabwe on an elephant hunt, the hunt was guided by PH Shawn Kelly, the hunters managed to hunt this very good old elephant bull that is estimated as a 70 pounder, a great old bull. Take a look at this buffalo that Shawn saw standing in the road one morning. Thanks to Adler Tours (Germany) for the booking.

Thanks for taking the time to read my newsletters and pass them onto your hunting friends, please let me know if you are interested in a hunt in South Africa or Zimbabwe in 2021 and we can work out a deal for you, easy booking terms are available. We are not increasing our prices for the 2021 season at all, you can view our 2021 pricelists for South Africa and Zimbabwe on our website www.takeaimsafaris.com

As for me I am getting ready to attend the hunting shows in the USA and Europe 2021 and I am bringing the best of African big game hunting with me.

Hunters best wishes

Carl Knight

(JHB RSA)
Contact Number: 0027-82-749-1747
Email: carl@takeaimsafaris.com
Web: www.takeaimsafaris.com

Newsletter 80

DEAR HUNTING FRIENDS

I hope this newsletter finds you well, a milestone newsletter for me as it’s my 80th one since I started Outfitting hunts in 2008, these newsletters have been hugely successful for me with over 3000 hunters on my subscribed list and growing all the time, thanks for the bookings, the compliments and the continued support.

Please read on for an important offer from DSC to PH’s and Outfitters.

Since my last newsletter that was sent out on the 18th March we had ongoing hunts at that time that I can update you on now prior to the Southern African Lockdowns that came into effect at the end of March and sadly remain in effect for now although I am happy to see and announce that the restrictions are slowly being lifted and that local hunter hunting is now allowed in Zimbabwe and also in South Africa.  To all our valued clients please look at the Emirates Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines routings to Zimbabwe, they do not fly via South Africa thus no need to watch the South African Lockdown restrictions in order to hunt in Zimbabwe.

On the Covid 19 note you can be sure that all precautionary measures are and will be in place in our hunting camps in both Matetsi and the Gonarezhou areas of Zimbabwe, besides that please consider that you will be hunting in very remote areas with low to no humans around and that we have not had a single case of Covid 19 within our staff compliment, neither in the Gonarezhou nor Matetsi.

ONTO RECENT HUNTS  

During March we welcomed back to the Gonarezhou hunting areas repeat clients from the USA on elephant hunts, the clients hunted with PH’s Nixon and Simon Dzingai and managed to harvest these two good bulls:

 

 

On another recent hunt prior to Lockdown we welcomed back a South African client on his 6th hunt with us in the Gonarezhou hunting areas Sengwe 1 and 2, this was a non-trophy non-export elephant bull and buffalo bull hunt, nice old dagga boy:

 

 

In South Africa I hunted with 4 clients that bought a big bag of game from us on our massive concession in central South Africa, I was assisted by RSA PH Bennie Breytenbaach. We hunted some great animals including this buffalo, sable, roan, bontebok, lechwe, kudus and took off a few broken horn animals. The zebras that you see are not burchells zebra they are Cape mountain zebra that are less commonly distributed across Southern Africa yet still occurring in great numbers.

Good to see the young hunters and lady hunters getting involved, including my own sons that are learning the family business:

 




 

Looking at these photos reminds me that there is truly no continent to hunt that is a strong as Africa, the species diversity combined with the wild animal numbers we have are just un-beatable the world over, wildlife truly is our wealth that has been so well protected and preserved that there has never been more wild animals in Southern Africa than there is today, thanks to conservationists that we hunters are proud to be a big part of.

Earlier in this newsletter I mentioned that there is an important offer available for African PH’s, Outfitters and Operators from DSC (Dallas Safari Club) that must be taken up.

I have been asked to distribute this offer by The Custodians Professional Hunting and Conservation organization that I am a member of  http://www.cphc-sa.co.za/ all Custodian members have been asked to distribute this information, not only me. Nor can I take credit for this initiative this is DSC, OPHAA and the Custodians in action.

I do want to say here that if you are a member of a professional hunting organization that precludes you (stops you/won’t let you join) from joining OPHAA then it falls on you to resign from that today and join the Custodians for the sake of your family and for the sake of your hunting crew and their family (read on below).

I have previously asked myself what do I get for my annual membership subscriptions?  I’m sure you have too, here is the answer:

This is a free offer that as I said you must take up, zero excuse not to do so. I don’t want to and am not going to get into mud singling matches here however if your PH organization won’t or can’t let you take up this FREE DSC offer then the question you must ask your leadership is why not and what viable similar alternative to this free insurance do they offer you? If you won’t listen to me and make the change then let your wife or parents read this please.

To my clients, industry friends and associates, I recommend that you all join The Custodians as they are part of the way forward in today’s Africa and need your help, it’s not expensive it’s a collective thing, you don’t need to be a PH to join, you do need to be a CONSERVATIONIST. Join and be part of the solution to the problems that face African wildlife and the hunting industry as a whole.

Contact Coira at The Custodians office to get the ball rolling: Admin@cphc-sa.co.za

April 2, 2020
Operators and Professional Hunting Associations of Africa
Via email to ceo@ophaa.org;chair@ophaa.org

DSC Frontline Foundation Article for Like Minded Industry Organizations’ Magazines/Newsletters
“A Message from the DSC Frontline Foundation”
by John Patterson, President

Six years ago DSC recognized that as a hunting organization whose members rely heavily on the services of professional outfitters and guides, there needed to be a way for DSC to financially support these professionals when they suffer disabling injuries while carrying out their professional duties or help their families in the case of a fatality.  DSC undAnchorerstood that due to the nature of their hazardous professions, and its inherent dangers, financial hardships were a grim reality if unexpected accidents, or tragedy befell these hard-working professionals. Compounding the severity of unexpected events, many have limited, or zero, access to either life or health insurance. Injuries, or in the worst case the death of the breadwinner, translates into complete loss of income, and families are now left without means to support or educate their children.

Understanding these needs, DSC created, and initially funded the DSC Frontline Foundation, whose sole mission is to provide financial support to professional hunters, outfitters, guides, and their staff who put their livelihood, and oftentimes their very lives, on the FRONTLINE of risk while serving the hunting community.  Over the past six years, Frontline has provided financial assistance to professional hunters, guides, game scouts, trackers and, recently included, anti-poaching personnel, and the families of those killed in the line of duty. This assistance has covered everything from search and recovery efforts, extraction from the point of injury, defraying medical expenses, loss of income, providing for children’s education, and when necessary, funeral expenses.

Any outfitter, PH, or guide who is a member of Operators and Professional Hunting Associations of Africa (“OPHAA”) is eligible for DSC Frontline Foundation assistance (this includes an outfitter’s staff who may not be OPHAA members). The only cost to you is simply the expense of maintaining your membership in OPHAA and the requirement that you be in good standing.

We urge you to keep in mind that the DSC Frontline Foundation was created for professionals like you, and it stands ready to support you. Do not hesitate to contact us when you have a qualifying need. We also urge you to promote membership in OPHAA to your friends in the professional hunting industry.  In addition to supporting OPHAA, mention the benefits Frontline provides that go along with membership. The small cost of a membership is the cheapest insurance they will ever have.

More information about the DSC Frontline Foundation, including eligibility requirements and how you can support this worthy cause, may be found at http://dscfrontlinefoundation.org/ or by contacting the DSC Frontline Foundation at the address or phone number below. DSC Frontline Foundation is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to the Foundation are deductible under Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.

DSC Frontline Foundation
13709 Gamma Road
Dallas, Texas 75244
(972) 980-9800

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I thought I may as well share this interesting article I came across on human/animal conflict in Zimbabwe for 2020 to date, please also follow the link for more info:

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HARARE, Zimbabwe

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/wild-animals-kill-more-people-than-covid-19-in-zimbabwe/1860688

Alberto Lunga is mourning the death of his uncle, who was trampled by an elephant on March 1 in Dingani village, a remote community 450 kilometres northwest of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare.

On the day, a herd of elephants got into the maize fields and damaged crops within a few minutes, prompting villagers to come out to scare them away.

“An agitated bull charged towards me and my uncle and we ran for our lives, however the elephant caught up with my uncle who was running slowly.

“The elephant hooked him with its trunk and threw him onto the tarred road two meters away. A speeding car was just passing at that moment and it hit my uncle, killing him on the spot,” Lunga narrated.

The elephant still went on to crash the lifeless body until it was tired, he said.

In a separate incident, Thomas Mupusa, 43, an employee of Zimbabwe National Railway (ZNR), was mauled by lions on May 5.

In Malonga village, which is very close to Dingani village, a baby dropped from her mother’s back was picked by some marauding lions. The mother was protecting her livestock in a farm.

“By the time help came the baby had died,” said Naison Shoko, a villager in Malonga.

Shoko added that the villages are on the boundary of Hwange National Park and are only separated by a tarred road.

Deaths and injuries due to wildlife attacks have been reported from areas close to Hwange National Park, Kariba town, Save Conservancy and Gonarezhou National Park.

Zimbabwe’s wildlife conservancies occupy 16% of the country’s total land since the wildlife population has increased exponentially.

Police issued a warning to the general public to be cautious after a truck driver was attacked by a lion in Kariba on May 26.

“A truck driver is receiving treatment at a local hospital after he was attacked by an elephant […] We urge members of the public to be observant to avoid attacks by wild animals,” said a statement issued by the police.

According to the police, wild animals have killed at least 24 people and injured 21 others in Zimbabwe since the start of this year.

Elephants, lions, buffalos, hippos, leopards and rhinos are said to be most dangerous animals in Zimbabwe.

The figures show that wild animals have killed more people in Zimbabwe than the novel coronavirus. The country has so far reported only four deaths from COVID-19.

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Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletters and pass them onto your hunting friends. I do have quota and dates available for all your South African and Zimbabwean hunts, please call me or send me an email and lets work through your enquiry. Clients, PH’s, Outfitters are all welcome to contact me. Please refer to my website www.takeaimsafaris.com to see camp photos, maps and read area information for all the concessions we hunt.

Book now to avoid the post Covid rush, I think we all know that this will pass soon.

Hunters best wishes

Carl Knight

(JHB RSA)
Contact Number: 0027-82-749-1747
Email: carl@takeaimsafaris.com
Web: www.takeaimsafaris.com

Newsletter 79

DEAR HUNTING FRIENDS

Welcome to this 79th edition of the Take Aim Safaris (TAS) newsletter, I hope it finds you well.

Since our last newsletter that was sent out in October 2019 TAS clients have done some great hunts including these buffalos and elephants that were recently hunted in Zimbabwe’s Sengwe 1, Sengwe 2 and Chitsa hunting areas that all border onto the Gonarezhou National Park in the South Eastern Lowveld of Zimbabwe, these are community owned safari areas that are adjoined to the GNP and/or the Kruger NP, these hunting areas are not located inside the park, they are on the unfenced outside boundary as is the case throughout Zimbabwe and Africa whereby safari areas are often adjoined to the NP’s, these safari areas serve as buffer areas between the park and poachers since safari operators have guests and anti-poaching staff in the field at all times, a successful collaboration.

Our Matetsi 2020 hunts have not started yet, our clients fist Matetsi hunt starts in April, watch this space for updates on elephant, buffalo, big cats and other hunts.

These Zimbabwean free range free roaming hunting areas are real big game hotspots that are completely unfenced wild big game safari areas.

Please read on for recent hunt information and photos.

This is a short update on the hunts that TAS offers in Zimbabwe and a  map below showing the locations of the hunting areas:

  • In the South Eastern Lowveld of Zimbabwe we offer hunts in the hunting areas that are open and adjoined to the Gonarezhou National Park and/or open and adjoined to Kruger National Park via the Limpopo river that is the International boundary between RSA and Zimbabwe, these hunting areas are: Mahenye, Chitsa, Naivaisha, Sengwe 1 and Sengwe 2 with possible combinations of some of these areas. There are 4 different hunting lodges available throughout these areas that have long been known as the Gonarezhou hunting areas, these are massive areas.

    These Gonarezhou hunting areas are famous for and remain excellent for trophy elephant bulls and trophy buffalo bulls, these areas rate amongst the top 3 areas in today’s Africa to hunt for these trophy elephant bulls. Also found here in good numbers are hippo and croc. The Sengwe 1 and 2 concessions are true wild dagga boy hunting areas in Zimbabwe that are situated along on the dry Limpopo River (pools of water exist), you can expect to hunt your dagga boy from a group of bulls in the riverine jess bush where they live on the Zim side, these are amongst the best remaining wild dagga boy hunts in Southern Africa. It’s great for me to be able to offer you a hunt in an area that produces free range bulls like this 45 inch classic looking bull with good hooks and great drop hunted a few days ago.

  • In Matetsi we offer hunts in: Matetsi ECA (Extended Conservation Area), in Matetsi Unit 1 and Matetsi Unit 5. I have been selling hunts in Matetsi for over 10 years and can with confidence tell you that Matetsi is a  5 STAR hunting destination in Southern Africa. Matetsi is in a word amazing yet affordable.

    Matetsi is fantastic for elephant, big cats and for buffalo, Matetsi is dry land hunting where massive body elephant bulls (Hwange/Chobe bulls) in the 35 to 45 pound tusk class are plentiful as are the massive herds of buffalo that are found in Matetsi this true wilderness safari area that is open to Hwange National Park and to Chobe NP/Botswana, the hunting areas and hunting lodges are a convenient 1 hour drive from Victoria Falls international Airport, no charter flights and no long road transfers are required to hunt Matetsi. See below for a map detailing the Matetsi safari Areas and the Matetsi ECA. The Victoria Falls, The Mighty Zambezi River and Lake Kariba are all big attractions as are the 5 star hotels in the Falls area.

    If you think Matetsi is overpriced or too expensive please look at our prices, we offer very good value for money hunts in these solid hunting areas.

  • TAS now offers Houseboat hunting on Lake Kariba, this is a new hunt that we are offering as of this year, whereby we hire the houseboat with all staff including cook and bar staff on a full board basis aboard. Your professional hunter will be on the boat with you, we are able to offer hippo, crocodile (big crocs) and depending on the length of the hunt we can offer elephant, buffalo and big cats. On long hunts we have a land based lodge that operates in conjunction with the houseboat. These houseboat hunts are a new venture (and what an amazing adventure) for me with a solid safari company that has years of experience there is nothing new about the team you will be hunting and fishing with on Lake Kariba. An amazing experience no doubt. Prices and information on our website www.takeaimsafaris.com or please send me an email for any enquiry, prime houseboat time is our African summer…. Binga and Lake Kariba hunts are not new to me, I have been selling hunts in Binga/Kariba for years, your hunt will be a good one.

  • Please refer to the map below this email to see the locations of the concessions we offer. You can view all camp pictures and read area information on our website.
  • If I my take a moment to congratulate my good friend Zimbabwean PH Simon Dzingai for being on the front page of the Jagen Weltweit Magazine (“Hunting Worldwide” a German Hunting Magazine) in Europe last month for his buffalo hunting skills and the strength of our buffalo hunting areas.

    For those of you that wish to read the article and/or the English translation please follow this link:

    13 SHOTS IN 8 HOURS

    My partnership with Nixon and Simon Dzingai has been (and remains) great for all concerned, these men are great representatives of Zimbabwe to the rest of the world and front runners of the Professional hunting and guiding industry, they hunt the areas they were born in for free range animals that they have lived with and amongst all their lives on community sharing projects. Well done Simon, you are becoming famous my friend.

  • A further congratulations to another of my partner PH’s and good friend South African PH Jono Joseph from JWK Safaris who was featured in the last edition of the SCI Magazine under the PH spotlight section, Jono was being acknowledged for his hard work and commitment to the industry and to the professional hunters association he represents. Furthermore Jono is a multiple award winning double rifle expert and an all-round good guy. Well done Jono. Here is the link: JONO SCI INTERVIEW.

Our hunting season has started well with these great hunts since our last newsletter, please follow these newsletters (6 per annum) for updates from our hunts throughout the year:

How about this season opening buffalo in Sengwe with PH Simon Dzingai… This +-12 year old 45 Inch old hard boss bull is a classic brute that ticks all the boxes if you ask me.

This 60 pounder elephant bull, a nice old bull with a massive body was hunted in the Chitsa concession North of the Gonarezhou during January 2020.

The nyala bull  was hunted on the same hunt by our lucky hunter from Europe.

This nice old hippo bull that was hunted on dry land and this 35 pounder elephant were hunted in the Sengwe and Chitsa hunting areas of the Gonarezhou with another hunter from Europe.

This buffalo bull was hunted in the Sengwe 1 area of Zimbabwe by a client recently, another nice hard top buffalo bull guided by PH Nixon Dzingai (in photo).

Hunters, PH’s, Outfitters, Agents and Valued Clients Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletters and pass them onto your hunting friends, if you are considering a hunt in Zimbabwe or South Africa please send me an email, I have the dates and the quota you need to make the hunt work. My buffalo and elephant hunt prices and areas are unbeatable, please send me an email for more information on top quality well priced big game hunts.

Hunters best wishes

Carl Knight

(JHB RSA)
Contact Number: 0027-82-749-1747
Email: carl@takeaimsafaris.com
Web: www.takeaimsafaris.com

Newsletter 78

DEAR HUNTING FRIENDS

Welcome to Take Aim Safaris newsletter # 78 that is our final newsletter for 2019. This has been a great year with lots of hunts having been conducted between our Zimbabwe and South Africa concessions with only two more hunts left for the year that are both to be conducted in the Gonarezhou area of Zimbabwe, that is unless we have any last minute bookings that we are open for…

Late season hunts are always very good hunts as game movement into the hunting areas is good at the end and start of the year. If you are interested in a hunt for this year or next then please get hold of me via email.

Our early season Gonarezhou elephant and buffalo hunts are popular hunts that are always well sold, that said we do have a few openings including February with quota available on trophy elephant bull and buffalo hunts, please contact me for more information.

Our 2020 pricelists are now available and have been uploaded onto our website, these pricelists now replace the 2019 pricelists there have been a few changes but for the most part the prices have not changed much, our hunts are well priced and offer great value for money. You can follow these links to our Gonarezhou and Matetsi ECA pricelists. These remain our main areas of operation

ZIMBABWE HUNTS

CLICK HERE FOR GONAREZHOU PRICE LIST

CLICK HERE FOR MATETSI ECA PRICE LIST

We believe that we have the best of Zimbabwe to offer you by offering these two concessions that are strong for big cats in Matetsi plus 35 pounder elephants and plenty of buffalo and plains game, in the Gonarezhou we offer trophy elephant bull hunts and dagga boy buffalo hunts plus hippo and croc are plentiful. These are free range fair chase hunting areas in the best hunting country in Africa: Zimbabwe. To see lodge photos and read area information plus see maps of the areas and maps showing where in Zimbabwe these areas are then please follow these links:

CLICK HERE FOR GONAREZHOU HUNTING AREA

CLICK HERE FOR MATETSI ECA HUNTING AREA

ELEPHANT AND BUFFALO HUNTING IN SOUTH AFRICA

I am excited about our new elephant hunting offer in South Africa in the Greater Kruger National Park area, American clients can import elephants hunted in South Africa into the USA which is good news for our USA clients besides that the Greater Kruger National Park hunting areas are very good hunting areas for those of you that want to hunt in South Africa and enjoy the high quality luxury lodges with very many elephants, buffalos and other game around please follow these links to see the pricelist, lodge photos and read area information:

CLICK HERE FOR GREATER KRUGER PARK AREA

CLICK HERE FOR GREATER KRUGER PARK PRICE LIST

NOW ONTO RECENT HUNTS

In the Gonarezhou we recently hosted a Father and Son from South Africa on buffalo hunts, the hunt was guided 2×1 by PH Simon Dzingai the clients managed these two very nice buffalos in and amongst excellent buffalo movement as we have in the Gonarezhou all year around, buffalo movement that is getting better and better each year:

Also on a recent hunt in the Gonarezhou, this time guided by PH Nixon Dzingai a client of ours from Mexico hunted this very nice old bull elephant:

During October in Matetsi clients from Europe hunted with PH’s Zane Bronkhorst and Adrian Van Heerden, I met these clients at the Salzburg hunting show this year where they told me they were planning to hunt in Tanzania for buffalo and plains game, I managed to convince them that Matetsi would be a great hunt and that they would enjoy not only Matetsi for hunting but also a few days at the Victoria Falls. The clients took my advice and booked Matetsi Zimbabwe instead of Tanzania. I met them at the airport in Johannesburg after the hunt on their way home where they immediately thanked me for the excellent hunt and the excellent advice, one of the hunters has booked again for 2020 to come back and hunt an elephant.

Experience counts hunters: After a lifetime hunting in Africa and nearly 15 years full time in this business and fast approaching 500 big game hunt bookings you can be sure I know where the target species are located and who the right team to get you in front of them is.

Here are the photos of this hunt:

As far as 2020 goes: Clients, PH’s, Outfitters and Agents please contact me for all your hunt requirements in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

A big thank you to everyone that has hunted with us this year and in the past and thank you to all of you that take the time to read my newsletters and pass them onto your hunting friends. I have attached to this newsletter our Gonarezhou 2020 buffalo hunt price and also our Matetsi 2020 elephant bull hunt price, prices on top quality hunts don’t get better than these prices.

Please contact me for any enquiries that you may have.

You will note on our Gonarezhou pricelist that we have introduced a non trophy (under 35 pounds) non export / cull hunt for elephant bulls, for those of you that want to hunt an elephant but don’t wont to export or can’t export the trophy, in addition to the hunt you will be a part of the post hunt meat distribution process to the local communities that are in need of the meat, this is the only elephant bull hunt that I know of for under 20.000 USD all inclusive.

I will be at the following hunting expos during 2020 please come and see me there to chat about and hopefully book your hunt:

  • SCI Expo in Reno USA stand 475 with JWK Safaris.
  • Jagd and Hund Expo in Dortmund Germany Hall 7 stand D28 Take Aim Safaris.
  • Die Hoje Jagd Expo in Salzburg Austria Hall 9 stand 513 with Adler Tours.
  • Huntex Expo in Johannesburg Hall 4 stand 416 Take Aim Safaris.

May I take this opportunity to wish you and all of yours all the best for the festive season ahead.

Hunters best wishes.

Carl Knight

(JHB RSA)
Contact Number: 0027-82-749-1747
Email: carl@takeaimsafaris.com
Web: www.takeaimsafaris.com