Theunis Botha Big Game Safaris Special Packages
Driven / Dribe Jagt / Monterea Plains Game Hunts with Hounds.
UMKOMAAS VALLEY
The property consists of 12500 hectares (+/- 31 000 acres) of thornveld
savannah. The nearest town is that of Richmond. The terrain is very undulating,
with numerous drainages and hills, in fact, its safe to say that the country is
quite mountainous. There are 3 rivers on the property, the Umkomaas, Pateni
and Lufafa Rivers. It is absolutely beautiful country. In addition to this land, we
also have the hunting rights to a number of the neighboring farms, making the
area truly vast. The Umkomaas property is a game farm/ cattle ranch operation. The cattle are
critical to our operation in that not only do they form an important income resource, but they also help the game a lot in that they perform the role of bulk grazers and help to keep the bush open(a function performed by herds of Buffalo in the days of old). Also, by virtue of being dipped regularly, cattle help keep the game free of parasites, as Kwa-Zulu Natal is particularly bad for ticks. This reduces the mortality in both very young and very old game animals, and is very important to us.
This hunting area is unique in a lot of respects in that it is in very close proximity to Durban (1 hour away), making it ideally positioned for any party wishing to partake in non hunting relating activities on a day trip basis, but still wanting to enjoy the ambience of being on safari. Durban and its surrounding area has lots to offer, ranging from deep sea fishing to Ushaka Marine world, The Midlands Meander, numerous golf courses, restaurants, cultural villages etc. What further sets us apart is that we are the single biggest hunting block within the same proximity to any major city in South Africa. Surprisingly, given our close proximity to Durban, we are also a true free range, authentic hunting experience. The properties are not high fenced, allowing the game populations free passage of movement. The game species occurring here are those endemic to Kwazulu Natal. Given the very unfortunate trend of high fenced, canned hunting with introduced species that is so prevalent in South Africa today, the quality of hunting which we offer is something which we are very proud of. The free range hunting which we offer is definitely our strongest suit.
Driven hunts in this region is what we, our fathers, and grandfathers, grew up with. These hunts were predominantly for bushbuck and duiker. The terrain is extremely well suited to driven hunting using hounds and beaters, in fact, so much so that in some places this is the only method which works. Due to the mountainous terrain there is a lot of cross valley shooting and a flat shooting rifle is required as the shots can be very long. This does not however mean that all the shots will be long, as there will also be plenty of close range shooting to be had as well. This will purely depend of the individual guns position on that particular drive. If for instance, the gun is placed in a valley bottom, then shots will be close. Alternatively, if the gun is placed on a hillside overlooking a large valley the shots will be long. The species which we will be hunting will be Kudu, Nyala, Bushbuck, Impala, Grey duiker, Blue duiker, Zebra, Blesbuck, Warthog, Bushpig and Black wildebeest. The area produces some phenomenal trophies each year and we have excellent genetics for Kudu, Nyala, Bushbuck and Common reedbuck to mention a few. The most successful method to hunt Bushpig will be over baits. We will set these baits up and have them feeding for the hunt. Anyone wanting to shoot a pig in this fashion would need to be in the blind before dark, which would mean that they would probably require to cut the last driven hunt of the afternoon short in order to reach the hochsit in time.
The free range hunting aspect needs expanding on, in how it will impact on our driven hunt. Whereas we have healthy game populations, we obviously do not have the unsustainably high populations which are found on high fenced properties where game populations no longer have the ability to disperse due to the restrictions of the high fences. Our animals are wild and they move out of our area if they need to. I mention this to create the understanding that these are wild populations and that hunting these areas will not be the same as shooting reared pheasants where we can contain and produce game on demand. It is essential that our clients have an appreciation of the fact that these are wild populations which we will be hunting. Having said that, in the scope of our normal hunting activities, we run very high success rates which compare favorably to anywhere else in South Africa. The driven hunts of the past have also been very successful.
The Umkomaas valley hunt will form the bulk of the time spent on the safari. Within this area we will arrange a number of different beats, each in a different location. In addition to which, we will travel to two other regions on the safari. One for the Highveld/mountain species, and the other for Warthog. Both these venues are within one hour and thirty minutes of the Umkomaas area.
DRAKENSBERG
This is a hell of a good place to hunt, and there is lots of game. We will be hunting in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains, and in addition to very good hunting, the scenery is simply spectacular as you look onto the rugged peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains in the distance. The terrain here is very open and consists of extensive grasslands interspersed with montane forest nestled into the valleys. This area offers Cape Eland, Waterbuck, Black wildebeest, Red hartebeest, Common & white blesbuck, Springbok, Grey duiker, Common reedbuck, Mountain reedbuck, Vaal Rhebuck. The nearest town in Nottingham Road.
WARTHOG
There are fruit orchards outside of Howick which have very high warthog populations which are attracted to the abundance of food and green grass during the winter months, and whereas we have healthy warthog populations in the Umkomaas, they do not compare in either numbers or quality to these farms.
ACCOMMODATION
We have 5 lodges on our Umkomaas property, however none are big enough to singly accommodate a group of 20 people. We also use the Nkonka & Inkwazi lodges, each of which has 6 chalets and collectively, the two lodges can sleep around 30 people, we will put all our support staff in the other lodges.
CATERING
Driven hunts are festive occasions and we need to embrace the privilege of being able to partake in such a hunt. This will manifest itself in the evening meal, after the culmination of a day spent in the field, dinner will be a festive affair which will be celebrated in the boma, around the fire. Traditionally, the beaters will be included in this, as they will have worked very hard during the day in order to have produced the results. The terrain is very testing and these guys will have worked hard to ensure everyone’s successes. Lunch will be an “in the field affair”, with a formal table set. Breakfast will traditionally be a continental spread of breads, cereals, fruit, coffee, etc. we endeavor to utilize as much game meat possible in the meals, accompanied by a bouquet of excellent South African wines and malts.
RIFLES
There will be a requirement for both a flat shooting scoped rifle, as well as a fast handling rifle for close shots, as our area will require both depending entirely on the guns position. Any calibre from 7mm upwards will be suitable.
PRICES
Daily rate (excl 14% VAT):
Hunter (to be advised)
Non Hunter (to be advised)
Trophy fees (no VAT)
As per quotation
All Rights Reserved © 2009 - Theunis Botha Big Game Hounds - Big game hound Safaris