10-Day Plains Game Extravaganza Hunting in South Africa
Booking Season: 2025
Hunt Difficulty: Moderate
Designed by Hunters, for Hunters
Comfortable safari chalets overlook the waters of Lake Kariba, providing spacious rooms, private facilities, excellent meals, and spectacular sunset views after each day's hunt. Designed for dangerous game hunters, camp offers a relaxed atmosphere where good food, experienced staff, and the wilderness setting make it easy to prepare for the next day's adventure.
The Sijarira concession combines rugged hills, rocky shorelines, river inlets, and vast stretches of Lake Kariba, creating ideal habitat for both hippo and giant Nile crocodiles. Hunting is conducted by boat and on foot through remote, lightly travelled country where every bay, estuary, and shoreline has the potential to hold mature dangerous game.
| Fence Type: | Free-range |
| Nearest Airport Name: | Victoria Falls Airport from Oliver Tambo |
| Transfer From Airport: | Yes |
This hippo and crocodile hunting safari in Zimbabwe takes place on the shores of Lake Kariba, one of Africa’s premier dangerous game hunting destinations. Combining dedicated hippo hunts and crocodile hunting safaris in a free-range environment, hunters have the opportunity to pursue exceptional trophies in a remote wilderness area renowned for large bull hippos and trophy Nile crocodiles.
For hunters seeking a professionally guided crocodile hunting safari in Zimbabwe or a challenging hippo hunt in Zimbabwe, Lake Kariba remains one of the finest dangerous game areas in Africa.
African Big Game Hunting safaris traditionally revolve around tracking animals across dry ground, reading spoor, and closing the distance on foot. A hippo and crocodile safari on Lake Kariba is different. Here, success is shaped by water, patience, and precise shot placement rather than covering long distances through the bush.
Although both species live in the same waterways, they demand completely different hunting strategies. Hippos require careful observation, an understanding of their daily movements, and the discipline to wait for the correct presentation before taking the shot. Nile crocodiles present an entirely different challenge, often spending hours basking motionless along the shoreline while hunters carefully judge the size of each bull before committing to a stalk.
Few dangerous game safaris offer such contrasting hunting styles in a single package. It is this combination of patient observation, careful decision-making, and the opportunity to pursue two of Africa's most formidable aquatic animals that has made Lake Kariba one of Zimbabwe's most respected dangerous game destinations.
Price: US$24,400 All-In
Duration: 10 Hunting Days / 11 Nights
Hunter Ratio: 1 Hunter : 1 Dangerous Game Professional Hunter
Species Included:
Observers Welcome: US$275 per person, per night
This dangerous game safari has been designed to include virtually every major hunting cost before you arrive in Zimbabwe, allowing you to focus entirely on the hunt.
Your package includes:
The following items remain the hunter's responsibility:
For many dangerous game hunters, completing Africa’s Dangerous 7 remains the ultimate hunting milestone, with hippo hunts and crocodile hunting safaris ranking among the most challenging pursuits on the continent. Often undertaken later in a hunter’s dangerous game career, these safaris demand patience, precise shot placement and the ability to hunt effectively in demanding aquatic environments.
A professionally guided crocodile hunting safari in Zimbabwe on Lake Kariba offers hunters the opportunity to pursue trophy Nile crocodiles and mature bull hippos in one of Africa’s most respected dangerous game hunting regions.
Kariba is the world’s largest artificial lake by volume and was filled between 1958 and 1963. Kariba boasts a length of more than 135 miles and a width exceeding 25 miles in certain areas. Kariba, based on volume is in fact the worlds largest manmade lake.
Kariba has many islands, including Maaze, Mashape and Chete to name but a few.
The lake is teaming with birdlife including Fish Eagles and Cormorants. Dangerous game animals such as Elephants, Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, and Cape Buffalo patrol the shorelines. Cheetah can no longer be legally hunted in Zimbabwe. Rhino, both Black and White have reduced over the years due to poaching, but with efforts and contributions made by international hunters, the tide is turning.
Gamefish, specifically Tigerfish which were indigenous to the Zambezi River system thrive on Kapenta which were introduced to Lake Kariba.
The quality of freshwater game fishing is off the charts!
Sijarira is a forestry area and is one of Zimbabwe’s most rugged concessions offering a wide variety of game hunting and fishing. Hunting is mainly by boat, vehicle or on foot. Being hilly and remote country, the area is not well developed in terms of roads and certain areas can only be accessed on foot.
Sijarira has high numbers of game and offers hunters some of the best Hippo and crocodile hunting in the world.
The hunting concession borders Lake Kariba shoreline for more than twenty-five miles.
If you want to hunt enormous bull Hippos covered in battle scars and huge Crocodiles where 15-foot plus is easily achievable, this is the hunt that you have been looking for.
Chalets are beautifully constructed out of natural thatch and materials, clean and spacious. The units are all free standing with central entertainment and lounging area with the most spectacular views of Lake Kariba.
This is the most perfect setting to enjoy magical African sunsets after a hard day’s hunting, of course with an ice-cold beverage in hand.
Hippo Hunts on Lake Kariba mostly use boats for transportation and the Hippo stalks will be conducted along the shorelines of Kariba. Your dangerous game professional hunter will be highly experienced and is very familiar with the waterways, shorelines and estuaries.
As the trophy Hippo may be taken on land or in the water, an in-depth understanding of Hippo Shot Placement is critical. A well-placed bullet into the brain will see the Hippo quietly slide under the water, ensuring a quick and humane kill. Hippo scull bones are incredibly thick protecting the brain. Hunters will have to patiently wait for the decomposition gasses in the stomach to ensure the Hippo floats to the surface. This process can take between an hour or four hours.
As the hunting area is just so large, boats are used to traverse the shorelines to spot a big Crocodiles sunning on the embankments.
Once a suitable Crocodile is identified, you will stalk to within shooting distance, which can range from between thirty yards to one hundred yards. With the Crocodiles acute senses, approaching the Crocodile undetected is a lot more challenging than many hunters realize. They have incredible vision, hearing and smell and can detect vibration in the ground through specialized sensory organs on their skin called “integumentary sensory organs”. Be prepared to walk in your socks.
When considering Crocodile Shot Placement, it is well advised to do extensive research. This Apex predator is a perfectly designed killing machine with a prehistoric golf ball sized brain focused purely on one thing: death and he is not too particular as to where the next meal comes from. A well-placed bullet needs to penetrate the brain and a second follow up directly into the spine. A third follow up bullet then needs to enter the vital organs.
A misplaced shot will see your trophy Crocodile slide back into the deep waters of Lake Kariba making a follow up, or recovery of the trophy exceptionally difficult, if not impossible.
As discussed in shot placement, the majority of kill shots are going to be focused on penetration the brain by breaking through the scull. A minimum caliber of a .375 with 300 grain tips capable of penetrating is required. Swift A Frame has some great varieties, are readily available and hold weight retention, but Hornady and many other manufactures produce high quality rounds which are more than suited.
High quality optics are required as shooting needs to execute with precision. If you planning to hunt a Hippo out of the water, larger calibers such as a .458, .416 and a suitable double will get the job done.
The Sijarira area of Zimbabwe offers some of the finest Hippo and Crocodile hunting safaris in Africa and as such, Quota is limited.
The point of entry for international hunters arriving in Africa is normally via Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Flights from OR Tambo to Victoria Falls International Airport leave daily and the flight takes two hours. Airlink is recommended as the flights are cost effective and on time.
A return ticket will cost between US$ 300 and US$ 450, depending on the season. Transfer from Victoria Falls International Airport to Sijarira is just more than 120 miles. Travel times will vary depending on the road conditions.
Some African safaris are about hunting as many species as possible. Others focus on pursuing a single iconic animal. This Lake Kariba safari sits comfortably between the two, offering the rare opportunity to hunt both a trophy Nile crocodile and a mature bull hippo in one of Africa's most respected dangerous game regions.
If your idea of a successful safari involves patient stalks along remote shorelines, careful shot placement, and hunting two of Africa's most formidable aquatic animals, this Zimbabwe safari deserves serious consideration. It is a hunt built on judgement, discipline, and earning every opportunity rather than simply covering ground.
Whether this is another chapter in a lifetime of dangerous game hunting or one of your first major African adventures, it's worth comparing this safari with our complete collection of Hunting Trips to find the destination that best matches your hunting goals. If you're still planning your budget, our guide to African Hunting Safari Prices explains what influences safari costs and what you can expect from different dangerous game destinations across Africa.
Please note that terms, conditions and price are subject to change without notice and rates at the time of the hunt will apply
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