Newsletter 59
Dear Hunting Friends
I hope this newsletter finds you well.
Since my last newsletter on the 13th of September Take Aim Safaris has had some fantastic hunts in fact this newsletter is what I would call a “bumper issue” due to the number of hunts and the superb quality of the trophies taken. I could have sent out a newsletter in October but decided not to do so in order that I keep the reader content and interest level as high as possible. I hope you enjoy this newsletter and photos from the last two months hunts. Also attached are TAS 2017 pricelists.
I have just returned home to Johannesburg from 2 weeks in Zimbabwe where I was visiting with my partner Operators and PH’s plus visiting camps, seeing the movement in the hunting areas and I did some hunting myself as you will see below. What I can tell you is that things are going fantastically well from a hunting perspective in Zimbabwe, the camps are looking great in fact the Malipati, Sengwe 1 and 2 plus Naivaisha camps were all re-vamped this year and so are the hunting areas looking great. I saw very many buffalo, elephant and plains game.
Every time I visit the Gonarezhou National Park and the adjoining hunting areas where I offer hunts, I cannot help but ask/remind myself that in 35 years of hunting Southern Africa (I am 43 years old now) as a hunter and as a PH I have never hunted better areas than these, the Gonarezhou is real hunting in real hunting areas, this a tough man’s hunt in real Africa where nothing has changed for centuries.
I also visited Matetsi and again left very impressed with the area, the camps and the number of animals I saw, I like Matetsi very much, this is a wild hunting area with no fences where game movement from the adjoining Matetsi Units and Hwange National Park is excellent. Our main camp has WI-FI, the Victoria Falls are 30 minutes’ drive from camp so is Victoria Falls town making Matetsi a fantastic place for not only hunters on their own but also family hunts and large groups including non-hunters. The Matetsi location is logistically easy to hunt as you land at Victoria Falls and its 30 minutes’ drive to camp, no charter necessary. I saw hundreds of buffalo, loads of sable, loads of plains game etc. etc.
I drove home very impressed with Zimbabwe National Parks and the local people who have preserved, maintained and conserve not only the animals but also the National Parks areas. I have hunted Zimbabwe many times for many years, I sell hunts in the areas I do because I believe them to be the best package (including pricing) that Zimbabwe has to offer and yes I am bias but I have also visited or hunted 90% of the Zimbabwean hunting areas and could offer hunts anywhere but don’t, instead I focus on the Gonarezhou, Matetsi and Binga.
Anyhow I suggest that you come and see for yourself, you won’t be disappointed and will surely return.
Attached to this email are TAS 2017 pricelists, they are self-explanatory however it is important for me to mention the following changes:
- We (Nixon and I) have reduced our Gonarezhou buffalo hunt daily rates by 10% to 900 USD per day making us the best priced buffalo hunt in Zimbabwe that I know of, not only the best price but the best area to hunt dagga boys that I have seen. I am offering a 7 day 1 buffalo hunt @ 900 USD per day plus your buffalo @ 4.500 USD plus a few extra charges that are all standard to Zimbabwe as per the attached pricelist.
- I am offering a 10 day 2 buffalo Gonarezhou hunt also at 900 USD per day 1st buffalo 4.500 USD 2nd buffalo 4.500 USD guided 1×1 only. The Gonarezhou concessions get around 60 buffalo a year on quota, this year we shot 40 odd we could have shot the entire quota all if we had the bookings, next year we hope to do so. Buffalo movement into the Sengwe areas from the Kruger NP is unbelievable, buffalo movement from the Gonarezhou National Park into Malipati Safari area is equally as good especially dagga boys, there has never been a better time or price for you to come and hunt your buffalo. How many Outfitters are producing results like this and dropping prices? Scroll down.
- Our 2017 trophy elephant bull hunts in the Gonarezhou area remain the best priced trophy elephant bull hunts on the market, we are not increasing our elephant hunt prices from 2016 to 2017 at all. Look at this old bull Nixon Dzingai just hunted, this is what you will be looking for when you book with us. All our elephant hunts are minimum 10 days, you can/should book for longer especially if you are looking for the 70 pounder + bulls.
- A new offer for 2017 is a 7 day hippo and crocodile hunt in the Gonarezhou area @ 900 USD per day daily rate plus hippo @ 5.000 USD and crocodile @ 4.000 USD. Plus usual Zim extra charges as attached
- Our Matetsi & Binga 35 pounder elephant hunts are the best priced elephant bull hunts in Africa….. This year Steve Meyer shot a 50 pounder in Matetsi with a client of mine on a 25.000 USD elephant hunt. In fact this hunt has come down in price by 500 USD from 2016 to 2017.
- Take a serious look at our Matetsi pricelist that has been rehashed, the day fees have for the most part come down and so have the number of days required on most hunts. I am planning for big year in Matetsi 2017. We are serious about bookings and increasing our market share.
- Our Matetsi buffalo hunts have also been reduced in price and number of days required, we now offer a 7 day buffalo hunt in Matetsi @ 1.100 USD per day daily rate plus buffalo trophy fee 4.500 USD. Plus usual Zimbabwe extra charges as attached in the 2017 Matetsi pricelist. (We get a much lower annual buffalo hunting quota in Matetsi than in the Gonarezhou Safari areas)
- Our Matetsi sable hunts are also available now as 7 day hunts @ 1.100 USD per day plus sable trophy fee 4.500 USD. Plus usual Zimbabwe extra charges as attached. Down from a 10 day minimum in 2016.
- Another new offer for TAS and perhaps the hunting industry is a 10 day leopard hunt, yes a 10 day leopard hunt. We understand time constraints in the modern day and that not every hunter has 14 hunting days to hunt. We now offer a minimum 10 day leopard and plains game hunt @ 1.200 USD per day plus leopard trophy fee 4.500 USD in Matetsi and 5.000 USD in the Gonarezhou area. We offer a 4 day pre-bait option on this hunt @ 250 USD per day including bait. Plus usual Zim extras as per the attached pricelist.
- My South African pricelist remains unchanged from 2016 and is also attached.
I hope you like these offers, for more information please contact me. As always Agents, PH’s, Outfitters, Operators and Client enquiries are welcome.
Since my last newsletter clients that booked with me have done these hunts:
In the Sengwe 1 area of the Gonarezhou a client from Europe hunted this buffalo:
Also in the Sengwe area, this time Sengwe 2 a client from RSA hunted this buffalo, the photo is taken on the Zimbabwe side of the Limpopo River, in the background of the photo on the right hand side that is the Kruger National Park that you can see, we are open and un-fenced to the KNP, game movement is fantastic.
A father and son from Europe hunted these trophies in the Malipati Safari area & Chitsa area of the Gonarezhou, including this elephant bull that was killed in full charge in self-defence and this 44 inch buffalo:
Staying in the Malipati Safari area a client from the USA hunted this very good dagga boy with PH Simon Dzingai:
Here is my own buffalo that I hunted in the Sengwe 2 area of Zimbabwe on the 23rd of October 2016, my 9th buffalo:
On a recent Matetsi and Binga hunt a client from Europe managed this huge hippo bull and this sable:
On another Gonarezhou hunt this time in Naivaisha a client from Europe hunted this buffalo with PH Lloyd Yeatman: (what a boss on this bull)
Another client from Europe hunted the Gonarezhou Safari areas Malipati, Sengwe 1 and 2 with PH Nixon Dzingai and managed to hunt these very good trophies including this 67 pounder elephant bull that as you can see is very old and a perfect bull to hunt, combined with these perfect old dagga boys, perfect old nyala and other plains game make this a hunt of a lifetime:
Another European group I booked hunted with us in Matetsi and Binga, here are some of the photos from that hunt: (how about this very old klipspringer….. zoom in on him)
A big thanks to PH’s Adriaan Van Heerden, Steve Meyer and Talmage Alexander for this super hunt, very happy clients is what we do.
On another hunt this one conducted by PH Lloyd Yeatman in the Naivaisha concession of the Gonarezhou clients of mine from Europe managed to hunt this elephant bull and this hippo, other hunters in the same group shot 2 buffalo and 2 waterbuck but the phone photos I have from the PH are not of sufficient quality to post them on this newsletter or my website, I mention them as I want you to know there is great elephant, leopard, buffalo and plains game movement in the Naivaisha and Save areas that Lloyd hunts.
This will be the last newsletter I send out in 2016 unless we shoot ANOTHER 100 pounder during our remaining year end hunts, our last hunting day is 29th December this year. The remaining 2016 bookings are elephant hunts plus a few buffalo. I will update you on those hunts in January 2017 before the marketing shows.
Speaking of marketing shows you can visit me in Dortmund at the Jagd and Hund show in January/February 2017 Hall 7 stand D 28 as usual, in fact this is my 10th year in Dortmund… You can also visit me in Salzburg/Austria during February at the hunting show there, you will find me in the Mistral booth: www.mistral-jagd.at that is centre of the main hall.
In April I will be at Huntex in Johannesburg, find Take Aim Safaris in the hunting pavilion for the best big game hunting available in Africa today or call me and come and visit me at home in JHB.
What remains is for me to thank all my clients for the hunts this year and to thank you all for taking the time to read my newsletters, please pass them onto your hunting friends and please save these pricelists to your computer, I wish you all a fabulous festive season ahead and all the best for 2017 and of course I hope to see you at the shows or better yet in Africa on a hunt.
Hunters best wishes.
Carl Knight
Contact Number: 0027-82-749-1747
Email: carl@takeaimsafaris.com
Web: www.takeaimsafaris.com