Zambezi Delta Buffalo — Mozambique

Length

7–10 days

Where

Mozambique

Party size

1-2 hunters

Season

June to November

Our premium buffalo safari. A 250,000-acre unfenced concession with camp on the banks of the Zambezi, flood-plain grass above head height, and bulls carrying the heaviest bosses in Southern Africa. The season runs June to November, opening once the flood water has drained enough to walk the ground. Usually a few days to find the right dagga boy, though it has come together on day one.

The season, and the two hunts inside it

The Delta floods annually and drains slowly, and the ground has to be walkable before anything can be hunted on it.

Hunting opens once the water drops and runs from June through November. The early months are wetter underfoot and the grass is higher; by the back end of the season the plain has been burnt and grazed down and you can see further. Both are good hunting and they are not the same hunt, so tell us which you would rather have.

What the hunting is actually like

Flat, wet, hot, and visibility measured in metres. You cut tracks at first light where herds crossed overnight and follow them on foot, sometimes a very long way, through floodplain grass that stands over your head in places.

The shot is usually close. Your professional hunter will be judging boss and age through a gap in the grass in a two-second window, and you will hear the herd long before you see any of it.

This is not a long-range proposition and it is not a comfortable one. It is the best buffalo hunting we have access to.

Who it suits, honestly

A hunter who has taken buffalo before and wants the harder version, and who is fit enough to walk all day in heat and humidity on soft ground.

If this would be your first buffalo, we will point you at our South African hunt instead. We would rather you came back for the Delta than booked it first and spent the week out of your depth.

Practical

Access is by light aircraft from Beira and a short drive. The charter is a real cost, quoted separately — factor it in when you compare this against anywhere else.

This is low-lying tropical floodplain. Malaria prophylaxis is not optional, and gaiters are worth packing.

What you would be hunting

Every animal below links to its own page, where the trophy judging, rifle and season are covered properly. The figures here are the same ones we would quote you in writing.

Also on this safari: Reedbuck. The exact list is built around what you want and what is on quota when you travel.

What is included

Your professional hunter, trackers and skinners, hunting vehicle and fuel, accommodation, all meals, laundry, standard drinks in camp, and field preparation of your trophies. We help arrange airport transfers, though the transport cost is for your account.

Not included: gratuities, trophy fees (including on any animal wounded but not recovered), dip and pack, shipping, taxidermy, charter flights, international flights and rifle rental. Each of these appears as its own line on your written proposal, so nothing arrives as a surprise. Full detail is on the what's included page.

On price

We do not publish prices. Trophy fees and government licence fees change annually, and a fourteen-day elephant hunt and a seven-day plains game safari are not comparable numbers. What we will do is send you a written proposal with the daily rate and every trophy fee itemised separately. Gratuities are never included and never expected; the tipping guide sets out sensible amounts if you would like to.

This is a starting point rather than a fixed menu. Most of our safaris end up as something between two of these.