10-Day Plains Game Extravaganza Hunting in South Africa
Booking Season: 2025
Hunt Difficulty: Moderate
Designed by Hunters, for Hunters
Stay in a comfortable lakeside safari lodge built from locally sourced materials, with en-suite rooms, hot showers, and excellent home-cooked meals prepared each day. Perched above the surrounding estuaries, the camp offers spectacular views across Lake Cahora Bassa and a peaceful retreat after long days on the water.
The hunt takes place along the vast shoreline of Lake Cahora Bassa, where rocky banks, secluded bays, flooded timber, and countless estuaries provide ideal habitat for giant Nile crocodiles. Hunting combines travel by speedboat with carefully planned stalks on foot through rugged lakeside terrain and granite koppies.
| Fence Type: | Free-range |
| Nearest Airport Name: | Tete Airport |
| Transfer From Airport: | Yes |
Hunt giant Nile crocodiles on Lake Cahora Bassa, one of Africa's premier destinations for trophy crocodile hunting. Stretching across the mighty Zambezi River, this vast wilderness is renowned for producing mature bulls measuring well over fourteen feet, offering hunters the opportunity to pursue one of the continent's most challenging and prehistoric dangerous game animals.
Unlike many Big Game Hunting safaris where success is measured by covering miles on foot, crocodile hunting is a lesson in patience. Hours may be spent studying the shoreline, judging mature bulls, and resisting the temptation to shoot the first impressive crocodile that appears on the bank. On Lake Cahora Bassa, the next bay or rocky point may hold an even larger trophy.
For hunters comparing Crocodile Hunting on Lake Cahora Bassa with other African safaris, Mozambique continues to stand out for its remote wilderness, healthy crocodile population, and realistic opportunity to pursue truly exceptional trophies. Learn more about Crocodile Hunting in Mozambique and discover why this legendary lake has earned its reputation among serious crocodile hunters from around the world.
Price: US$12,400 All-In
Duration: 5 Hunting Days / 7 Nights (+ 2 Travel Days)
Hunter Ratio: 1 Hunter : 1 Professional Hunter
Species Included:
Observers Welcome: US$250 per person, per day
Rifle Rental: US$250 plus ammunition
This all-inclusive crocodile safari has been designed to cover virtually every major hunting expense before you arrive in Mozambique, allowing you to focus entirely on the hunt.
Your package includes:
The following items remain the hunter's responsibility:
For hunters considering Hunting in Mozambique, few destinations have earned the reputation of Lake Cahora Bassa. Formed along the mighty Zambezi River in northwestern Mozambique, this immense lake stretches for more than 250 kilometres through remote wilderness, creating one of Africa's finest habitats for mature Nile crocodiles.
Its countless bays, rocky shorelines, flooded timber, islands, and sheltered estuaries provide everything a crocodile needs to thrive. Decades of abundant fish, limited hunting pressure, and vast territories have allowed many bulls to reach exceptional size, making Cahora Bassa one of the continent's premier crocodile hunting destinations.
Unlike smaller rivers where crocodiles may be concentrated into short stretches of water, Cahora Bassa offers an immense hunting area. Every day begins by exploring new sections of shoreline by boat, glassing sunning banks and quiet inlets before planning a careful stalk on foot. The sheer size of the concession means every day unfolds differently, and the next secluded bay or rocky shoreline could hold the giant crocodile you've travelled halfway around the world to hunt.
One of the greatest challenges in crocodile hunting is not making the shot, it's deciding whether the crocodile in front of you is the one you have travelled to Africa to hunt. Along the banks of Lake Cahora Bassa, hunters may see several mature bulls during the course of a safari, and the temptation to stalk the first impressive crocodile can be difficult to resist.
But on a lake known for producing giants, patience matters. A big crocodile can look enormous from the boat, especially when only part of the body is visible. Experienced Professional Hunters study the width of the head, the thickness of the neck, the depth of the body, and how much of the tail is visible before estimating the crocodile's true length. Years of experience allow them to judge subtle differences that most hunters simply cannot see.
Sometimes the right decision is to leave a perfectly respectable trophy lying on the bank and continue searching. That decision is never easy, particularly when you've travelled thousands of miles to be there, but the next bay, inlet, or rocky shoreline may hold the crocodile that turns an excellent safari into a once-in-a-lifetime trophy.
The lesson is simple: don't shoot the first crocodile you see just because it looks big. On Lake Cahora Bassa, patience is often rewarded.
After hours of searching, glassing distant shorelines, and quietly repositioning the boat, everything suddenly becomes very simple.
A mature crocodile is lying motionless on the bank. The wind is right and the range is good. .
Now comes the hardest part of the hunt.
Lake Cahora Bassa is enormous, so much of the day is spent moving between secluded bays, rocky points, and quiet estuaries by boat, searching for a mature bull basking along the shoreline. Once the right crocodile has been found, the engine is cut, voices drop to whispers, and the stalk begins. Depending on the terrain, hunters may climb rocky koppies for a better angle or carefully work their way along gullies and riverbanks. During the final approach, it's not uncommon to remove your boots and continue in your socks to avoid the sound of gravel beneath your feet.
Even then, the decision isn't always straightforward. A crocodile lying with much of its body or tail still in the water can appear considerably larger, or smaller, than it really is. Old bulls frequently carry damaged tails or scars from decades of territorial fights, making accurate trophy judgement even more challenging. This is where the experience of your Professional Hunter becomes invaluable.
Unlike buffalo, where a well-placed shot into the vitals often provides some margin for error, a crocodile offers almost none. The brain is remarkably small for such a large animal, and even a slight mistake can send a wounded crocodile sliding silently back into the water, disappearing beneath the surface forever.
That is why veteran Professional Hunters rarely rush the shot. They would rather wait another ten minutes for the crocodile to lift its head or change position than risk losing a truly exceptional trophy. Hunters who understand Crocodile Shot Placement quickly realise that patience is just as important as marksmanship.
The irony is that after spending an entire day searching for the right crocodile, the success of the safari may ultimately depend on a single shot lasting only a fraction of a second. On Lake Cahora Bassa, those final few moments are often the longest ten seconds of the entire hunt.
Your crocodile safari begins with an international flight to O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, followed by a scheduled flight to Tete in northwestern Mozambique. Jacques and his team will meet you on arrival, assist with firearm import formalities, and accompany you on the scenic four-hour drive to the shores of Lake Cahora Bassa.
From there, the adventure truly begins. After an overnight stay at the lakeside lodge, you'll travel by speedboat through the vast waters of Cahora Bassa to the remote hunting camp, where the next five days are spent exploring secluded bays and rocky shorelines in search of a giant Nile crocodile.
The hunting lodge is built from locally sourced materials and occupies an elevated position overlooking the surrounding estuaries and wilderness. Comfortable en-suite rooms, hot showers, and freshly prepared three-course meals provide everything needed after long days on the water, while the spectacular views across the lake remind you just how remote this part of Mozambique really is.
Wi-Fi is available when the camp generator is running during the mornings and evenings, although many hunters quickly discover that life on Lake Cahora Bassa is a welcome opportunity to disconnect from the outside world and immerse themselves completely in one of Africa's last great wilderness hunting destinations.
Not every hunter dreams of pursuing a giant Nile crocodile, but for those who do, few African safaris demand the same level of patience, discipline, and precision. Success on Lake Cahora Bassa is rarely measured by how many kilometres you walk or how quickly you find a crocodile. Instead, it comes from making the right decisions, waiting for the right opportunity, and placing one carefully considered shot when the moment finally arrives.
If that style of hunting appeals to you, this Mozambique safari deserves serious consideration. Whether you're planning your first dangerous game adventure or adding another remarkable trophy to your collection, take a look at our range of Hunting Trips to compare professionally guided safaris across Africa.
Before making your final decision, it's also worth understanding exactly what is included in different safari packages and how overall costs compare between destinations. Our guide to African Hunting Safari Prices explains the factors that influence safari pricing, helping you plan your next African hunting adventure with confidence.
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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