15-year-old Slade van Wyk, a South African teenager passionate about hunting and conservation, wrote this blog.
Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Slade, and his family are active game hunting enthusiasts who head to their game farm in Limpopo as often as possible to enjoy the outdoors or visit various game hunting destinations across South Africa to experience some enthralling game hunting adventures!
Relive this awe of a Kalahari hunting adventure through the eyes of a 15-year-old, and experience Africa at its best, with exceptional game hunting safaris, stunning views, breathtaking sunsets, and memorable African hunting species.
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Our Kalahari Hunting Adventure Begins
After waiting for a while for your game hunting adventure to arrive, you may be thinking that traveling won’t be the most exciting part of the trip. Still, once you’ve hit the road and are ready for your South African hunting trip, you will soon start to realize that traveling is an amazing part of the trip! The views you see on the way to your destination, from the appealing bright colors of the bush that glimmers from the mountains to the clear blue skies as you travel across the majestic countryside, prepare you for one of the best hunting adventures you will ever experience.
You are probably wondering, is it safe to travel to the Kalahari Desert for African plains game hunting? There may be a few obstacles that may occur but yes, it is indeed safe to travel to the Kalahari.
Challenges you may encounter when traveling:
- Many obstacles may occur while traveling, but a trick to remember is to leave early, as we did during our trip to the Kalahari with Game Hunting Safaris. We left early that morning to try to avoid traffic and to try to get to the location as early as possible to hunt for as long as we could!
- If you get there early like we did, you have plenty of time to unpack all of your belongings and still go to the range to set your rifles, as the drive may have affected them along the way.
- There are many pros(positives) and cons(negatives) of waking up to drive so early, the pros being that there is less traffic that may occur and you get to arrive at your location as early as possible which gives you plenty more time to do the tasks that would take a while out of your day a possibly cut your hunting time a bit less such as unpacking=, setting up camp and setting your rifle in.
- But if you are staying the night at a location that is closer such as a hotel, and the hunting location isn’t that far away, perhaps about 4-5 hours, then you don’t have to leave at such early hours unless, of course, you are hoping to get there early and avoid traffic!
- The cons (Negatives) are that there are many trucks on the roads at that time of the morning. If you leave early, you may still be tired from waking up so early and you may not be as alert as you should be while driving to your hunting safari destination.
- The decision is all in your hands! In my opinion, I prefer waking up early as there is less traffic, and you can get there early to start your exciting trip which, trust me, you spend a lot of the time while driving preparing yourself for the amazing hunt that lies ahead of you.
- Along the way, you would need to make a few stops at garage stations at various times for a refill of diesel, bathroom breaks, or food and drinks. There are many stops along the way, it all depends on which direction you are traveling from, but a common stop is Vryburg. This is a small town that has all the essentials that you may need such as food, drinks, petrol, and bathrooms, to get you on your way again, ready for your South African hunting trip!
What are the Roads like on a South African Hunting Trip?
While traveling on the main roads approaching your African hunt, the tar roads are a smooth drive with not many problems that may occur. As you approach your hunting destination there may be a few challenges along the way, as the road may become dirt roads which are dustier and even have large potholes that are sometimes quite difficult to avoid. Gravel or dirt roads have a lot more potholes compared to tar roads.
Driving this section of the road to the Kalahari hunting safari may feel as if you are driving on ice, and is not the easiest to maneuver, so take your time (rather safe than sorry!) and drive a reasonable speed not only to protect yourself and others in the vehicle but also all your provisions. The journey there may be a bit challenging at times, but it is certainly worth the effort.
The roads that are on the farm while African plains game hunting are flat and easy to drive on, with flat, smooth roads, spotting for animals while on your hunting adventure is a lot easier as you aren’t shaking around as much as if you were on an uneven terrain!
What to Pack for a Kalahari Experience: Prepare for Anything!
In preparation for such an amazing African hunt, the worst thing that could happen is if it is a hot summer’s day and you have packed the wrong clothes! Remember, that even in the hot summer months it gets cold in the Kalahari region at night and temperatures can drop quite substantially. We traveled to the Kalahari in July, South Africa’s winter, which ensured that we were off to a chilly start. Be prepared, that’s all that I can say!
In the cold temperatures in the Kalahari, you must pack a lot of warm clothes for the freezing nights such as:
- A beanie, gloves (especially if you are shooting)
- buff
- long pants
- and most importantly a thick coated jacket maybe even two for if you go night hunting.
During the day, even in the winter, the temperature rises and it can get extremely hot so you would want to pack:
- short pants
- short-sleeved shirt
- a hat to protect you from the sun, preferably a bucket hat if you didn’t pack any sunblock.
- You would also need to pack socks and a good pair of boots so that you can walk through the bush.
It is always a good idea to allow for the layering of clothes, where you can just take off a layer as the sun comes up and it gets hotter, and then when it starts getting cooler again, you can simply put on another jacket or pants to keep yourself warm.
Do you need Medication while African plains game hunting?
While in preparation for your hunt, you may also want to pack some medication, you may need to pack medication for if you get a headache due to the extreme heat, based on past personal experience, the last thing you want while searching/tracking or even waiting for an animal is for a headache to occur out of the blue.
Some other useful medications to include are:
- Some basic antiseptic ointment
- Plasters and a bandage
- Basic painkillers
- Some anti-nausea and anti-diarrhea medication
- Don’t forget to pack any chronic medication that you may need
Can you Fly to your African Hunt in the Kalahari region?
If you don’t want to drive there, you can also pay for a flight and luckily enough, if you go hunting on a farm near or in Vryburg, there is a landing strip in Vryburg where a charter plane can land.
Even though taking a plane might be a bit more expensive (depending on the number of people on the hunting safari and the amount of luggage) it is a quicker and less time-consuming choice. By far the easier of the two options between driving and flying, if this is an option, grab it with both hands!
Arrival at the Hunting Safari Camp
After countless hours of driving or flying to your South African hunting trip destination, I’m sure you would be very relieved that you have arrived safely.
After a quick look around to see the lay of the land, you first want to set up everything and get cracking with some hunts!
The camp where we stayed had everything you could need, a fire pit to build a nice hot fire, a place to cook your food, sleep, and most importantly a bathroom.
In my opinion, the fireplace is what helped the most, from the temperatures ranging from –12°C (10 degrees Fahrenheit) during the winter night to the hot days which can go all the way up to 40°C (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Heat on the winter days isn’t too bad, with temperatures ranging between 21-30 degrees Celsius (70-86 degrees Fahrenheit) which, considering that you are in the Kalahari, isn’t too bad.
The bathrooms weren’t 5 stars but, in that situation, 5-star isn’t necessary. It all depends on the location where you would like to go hunting and what you are happy with. Having been to this exact destination the year before, we were happy with the facilities.
That being said, many farms have amazing facilities which may be considered as 5 star, the choice is yours. The facilities while hunting in South Africa are truly impressive, from wooden built houses that blend in the bush during the gorgeous sunset, to even the dark-colored tents that are worth staying in.
It got so cold at some points during the hunting safari trip, in the early morning that it was warmer to sit in the car while on the way to your hunting location! On our hunting trip, we made a blind at the back of a cattle kraal where we put dead branches around the tree as coverage, but while being at the hide so early with a breeze coming from all directions you could feel the temperature drop per the minute, not fun at all! Throughout the day you can feel the temperature rising as the sun comes out and reveals the beautiful colors of the bush, making it a pleasure to enjoy a game hunting safari in the Kalahari.
The best part of the whole trip in my opinion is the hot fires in the evening as the sun goes down revealing one of the most amazing experiences that I have ever seen, and I hope you all will witness the same things I did on my trip while on your hunting adventure. It’s the little things that make it spectacular – don’t be scared to sit back and just enjoy the scenery, the wildlife, and the Kalahari as a whole, as you will go far to find another such scenic destination.
Our Hunting Safari
I can go on forever about the abundant wildlife and the hunting adventures we had in the Kalahari. From the iconic springbok to the elusive kudu, also known as the gray ghost, we had a very successful hunting safari! A friend also managed to target a jackal and we had a tremendous amount of fun targeting night critters in the Kalahari, especially springhares.
One of my family’s favorite African plains game species to hunt is most certainly the warthog. If you have never hunted this hog before, do yourself a favor and target this species for a fast-paced and exciting hunt!
Hunting in South Africa: A Privilege to Enjoy
In conclusion, while hunting in South Africa, the roads are indeed safe, and it is in fact quite fun to travel to your hunting location, as you get to see amazing views and talk to people who are accompanying you for this trip and prepare yourself for an amazing hunt that waits ahead.
If you have never been to South Africa or enjoyed the enthralling experience of an African hunt, do yourself a favor and find out more about this destination and what it has to offer. From African plains game as we concentrated on in the Kalahari to dangerous game hunting options, like the lion or Cape buffalo, South Africa is a great hunting destination.
Author: Slade van Wyk (15 years old)