The hunting area is located in the southeastern lowveld of Zimbabwe and is comprised of 130,000 acres, which is included within the Save Valley Conservancy - the world’s largest private game reserve encompassing approximately 840,000 acres. The lands within the Save Valley Conservancy are virtually free of internal fencing and livestock was removed from the entire area in the early 1990’s. In recent years, the Conservancy has begun to remove the boundary fencing in order to allow game animals the freedom to move between the Conservancy and adjacent lands included within the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (which includes Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, Limpopo Park in Mozambique and Kruger National Park in South Africa).

Approximately 30,000 acres within the overall hunting area have been set aside exclusively for bow hunting since 1994 with waterhole hunting from tree stands and pit blinds combined with some of the best “stalking” bush in southern Africa.

Harare International Airport, Harare, Republic of Zimbabwe.

If anyone wishes to see Victoria falls on their way to their hunt in the Zambezi valley, they can fly commercially directly to Victoria Falls from Johannesburg. After your stay, we recommend that you take a commercial flight on to Harare, where you will be met by either your driver/PH or charter pilot.

Transportation to/from the hunting area can be arranged via air charter or vehicle from Harare International Airport. Air charter costs will vary based on the number of people traveling to/from camp and whether a single or twin-engine aircraft is required for the charter. Hunters can also be picked up in Harare and transported by vehicle to the hunting camp, which is approximately six hours south of Harare.

The client will be responsible for all transportation costs between Harare and the hunting area.

Once in the hunting concession, ground transportation consisting of a four wheel drive vehicle will be provided within the hunt area.

The camps in the hunting area include both traditional tented camps and more permanent thatched chalets. All camps have en-suite bathrooms and spectacular settings. Daily laundry service is provided as a courtesy for the guests.

Breakfast and dinner will be served each day and will include a selection of breads, meats, fruits and vegetables based on availability and individual preferences. Meats served during your stay will include a sampling of the local wild game and will be expertly prepared for your dining pleasure.

On most days, the hunting party will return to the ranch for lunch and an opportunity to rest during the middle of the day when most of the game animals are laying down in the thick jess. In those instances where the hunting party will stay out all day, packed lunches and drinks will be provided.

Alcoholic beverages will be provided in moderation and will include a selection of wines, domestic beer and a limited supply of distilled spirits. Those individuals wishing to imbibe a specific brand of American, Canadian or Scottish spirits would be advised to purchase a bottle in the duty free shops in transit to ensure that your preferred brand is available. Mineral waters are also provided.

Fair chase hunting utilizing spot and stalk techniques early and late in the day. Late morning and early afternoon periods may be spent sitting in blinds on waterholes or water troughs.

Cat hunting will involve baiting – once a bait has been hit, a blind will be built and the hunter will typically spend the early morning and late afternoon hours in the blind waiting for the cat to return to the bait to feed. In the Save Valley Conservancy, it is legal to hunt at night and cats are often taken after dark with artificial light.

Elephant and buffalo hunting will be conducted almost entirely by tracking, with the early morning hours spent cruising local roads within the concession looking for fresh tracks. Once a suitable track has been located, the hunting party will follow the track until the quarry has been located or the track become untenable.

Bow hunting is mostly conducted from blinds at waterholes. Spot and stalk techniques represent another option for the more adventurous hunter, but this technique is not as successful as hunting from blinds.

Baboon, blue wildebeest, bushbuck (Chobe and Limpopo), bushpig, cape buffalo (both sexes), caracal, civet, crocodile, elephant (trophy and tuskless), genet, giraffe, grysbok, hippo, impala, jackal, klipspringer, leopard, lion, Livingstone’s eland, nyala, sable, serval, southern bush duiker, southern greater kudu, warthog, waterbuck, wildcat and zebra.

The hunting season in Zimbabwe generally runs from March through December, with the optimum season being May through September.

Zimbabwe has established specific criteria concerning the minimum acceptable calibers for game species included in each of the following classes as follows:

• Class A: Including elephant, buffalo and hippo. A bullet with a diameter of at least 9.2mm and an energy level of 5,300 joules (3,910 ft/lbs) at the muzzle is necessary to hunt Class A species. A .375 H&H Magnum or 9.3x64 (or equivalent) are the minimum calibers recommended.
• Class B: Including lion, eland and giraffe. A bullet with a diameter of at least 7mm (.284 inch) and an energy level of 4,300 joules (3,170 ft/lbs) at the muzzle is necessary to hunt Class B species. The 7mm Remington Magnum loaded with a 175 grain bullet is the absolute minimum recommended.
• Class C: Including leopard, crocodile, hyena, kudu, sable, blue wildebeest, waterbuck, zebra, nyala, tsessebe, blesbok, hartebeest and gemsbok. A bullet with a diameter of at least 7mm (.284 inch) and an energy level of 3,000 joules (2,115 ft/lbs) at the muzzle is necessary to hunt Class C species. At a minimum, a 7x57 Mauser loaded with a 140 grain bullet is required.
• Class D: Including warthog, impala, reedbuck, sitatunga, bushpig, jackal and any small mammal under 56 pounds live weight not specifically listed above (including duiker, grysbok, steenbok, etc.). A bullet with a diameter of at least 5.56mm (.22 inch) and an energy level of 850 joules (630 ft/lbs) at the muzzle is necessary to hunt Class D species. This means that a .22 Hornet loaded with a 45 grain bullet is the minimum required.

For game animals in the Class B and C categories, we strongly recommend a .300 Winchester Magnum or equivalent if available - particularly for eland, giraffe, wildebeest and zebra. This caliber works equally well on all species included within Class C as well as the larger species included within Class D. The bullet selected should be a premium bonded core soft point. Specific recommendations can be made upon request. We would also recommend a variable power scope with a low power setting somewhere around 3X to 4X and a high power setting somewhere around 10X.

Much of the shooting will be done while standing utilizing shooting sticks – as is standard practice throughout Africa. We highly recommend that you obtain a pair of shooting sticks such as those offered by Long Grass Outfitters or African Sporting Creations and practice shooting from the standing position off of the sticks. Shots on dangerous game will often be close (less than 100 yards), while shots on some plains game species may exceed 200 yards, so you need to know the ballistics of your rifle and be comfortable shooting out to 200 yards. In other words, practice, practice, practice!

Be advised that semi-automatic and/or military-style rifles are generally not allowed in Africa.

A list of recommended clothing and equipment will be furnished upon booking. For initial hunt planning purposes, general recommendations can be made upon request.

Zimbabwe experiences a subtropical climate subject to altitudinal influences. As with the northern hemisphere, Zimbabwe experiences four distinct season as follows:

• a summer season that is warm and wet, running from November to March;
• a fall (transitional) season that runs from April to May;
• a cool, dry winter season that runs from May to August; and
• a warm, dry spring season that runs from August through October.

Average daytime temperatures in Harare range from 45°F to 70ºF in June and from 61°F to 81ºF in November. Depending upon the altitude, frost may occur between May and September, with the highest incidences of frost occurring in June and July. Frost occurs more frequently at mid and high elevations. The mid Zambezi valley and the southeastern lowveld of Zimbabwe are probably the only regions in the country that are frost free. As a consequence, a coat is recommended for the early morning and late evening hours in those concessions outside of the Zambezi valley.

It should be remembered that although Harare has daytime highs around 81°F, most of the hunting areas are at located at much lower elevations and temperatures can be considerably hotter as a result – with daytime temperatures potentially exceeding 100°F in October and November!

The rainy season begins in November and continues through March.

Take a small digital camera that you can carry in your shirt or vest pocket for your trophy photos and learn how to use the camera before your trip. I would also recommend taking a slightly larger camera such as the Canon PowerShot SX-1 IS or the PowerShot SX-10 IS, both of which have a 20X optical zoom (equal to a 560 mm telephoto lens) for shots of wildlife while you are driving around the bush or sitting at the waterhole. After four trips to Africa, I assure you that you won’t regret the investment and you will bring home outstanding photos of the African wildlife that the smaller cameras just don’t have the optical zoom to capture.

Hunting plains game within the Save Valley Conservancy is not especially demanding. The general terrain within the lowveld of Zimbabwe is fairly level, which is typical of the thorn bush savannah, with interspersed rocky kopjes throughout. These thorn bush savannahs are dissected by intermittent watercourses which often exhibit thick, brushy vegetation typical of these riverine (riparian) areas.

Dangerous game hunting including buffalo and elephant may involve considerable walking as one tracks herds and individual animals, so the hunter wishing to pursue these animals should be accustomed to walking long distances each day. Again, the terrain should not be overly challenging and the tracking process is typically slow and methodical up until the point that the quarry is sighted and then it may be necessary to move quickly in order to get into position for a shot. Make sure that your hunting boots are well broken in before your safari!

On a fitness scale of one to ten (with one being very poor physical condition and ten being excellent physical condition), I would only rate the physical level of this hunt at a four or five. So long as the hunter is able to walk reasonable distances with some climbing over or around the rocky kopjes, there should not be a problem from a physical standpoint.

Keep in mind that your Professional Hunter will be very happy to gear the pace of the hunt to fit your particular physical abilities – so don’t hesitate to advise if he is moving too fast, walking too far, etc. After all, it is your safari, so don’t be afraid to speak up and advise your PH of your expectations, physical abilities or physical limitations!