Big Game Hunting  in Northern Rhodesia

A Guide for Hunters to Northern Rhodesia's Government-conducted Big Game Hunting Safari Scheme

Photographs taken on safari by Nigel Watt, and printed by the Government

 Printer, Lusaka.

Where in the vast African continent can the sportsman find, concentrated in one accessible area, almost every species of game familiar to students of books and motion pictures?

Where can the photographer, seeking 'shots' of wild life in the African bush, best and most easily train his camera?

The Luangwa Valley is said by hunters from all over the world to provide the best answer to these questions. Literally teeming with wild life of every description and deep in the Central African bush, it is sparsely populated by African natives, and consequently game is to be seen in profusion. It is a section of the Great Rift Valley which practically divides Africa in half from North to South. It is part of the Eastern Province of Northern Rhodesia, a British Protectorate bordered by Angola, the Belgian Congo, Tanganyika, Nyasaland, Portuguese East Africa and Southern Rhodesia.

The Northern Rhodesia Government evolved a scheme in 1950 to arrange conducted hunting parties in this Valley, and the plan which was put into operation then has proved to be tremendously successful, making a special appeal tosportsmen from the U.S.A., some of whom have made a return visit and have brought their friends. The best months for visiting the Government camps are during the dry season between July and November, when most of the other rivers, with the exception of the Luangwa River, dry up, so that the animals drift towards the water for the purpose of drinking and bathing. No rain occurs during this time, there is maximum sunshine, all roads and tracks are passable, and the long, dense grass has been thinned out by bush fires.

This Mecca of the hunter has a special appeal to the elephant or buffalo hunter, for whom Nature has in this case catered so amply that large herds roam in the vicinity of the camps, and frequently it is possible to secure a magnificent trophy during a morning’s trek through the bush. Attached to each party of four hunters—who may include also in their group two non-hunting observers (some bring their wives) is a White Hunter, also African Hunters, who have had years of experience, and who are provided by the Northern Rhodesia Government to supervise the parties.

It should be emphasised that rigid control of game must be exercised by the Government, and rigorous control of shooting also. In the past, lack of foresight has too often denuded the African plains of wild life, but the Government of Northern Rhodesia has no intention of permitting this state of affairs to occur in the Territory. The parties of hunters have been strictly limited, and in 1953 will be restricted to sixteen sportsmen, hunting in parties of four who will be conducted through the Luangwa Valley on safaris lasting eighteen days each. It has been established that, because the game is so concentrated, hunters can easily obtain all the trophies they require within that time and even less. Some of the hunters plan their itineraries so that the safari is an integral part of a larger tour which includes a visit to Europe or other countries in Africa.

SOME OF YOUR QUERIES ON THE SAFARI SCHEME ANSWERED

Question : How do I go about making arrangements for a trip—should I decide to go ?

Answer: Write direct to the Tourist Officer, Northern Rhodesia Government, P.O. Box 258, Livingstone. Or you may contact one of our agents in America. They are listed under “ Booking Procedure

Question : I am thinking of bringing my wife on the trip. I feel a little nervous about exposing a woman to bush life with all these animals roaming around.

Answer: There is no need to feel in any way diffident about taking your wife. Several women have taken part in previous hunting trips under this scheme—they are well looked after in camp and every safety precaution is observed in the field. A glance at the chapter on the camps shows that—so far as it is possible to do so without ruining the atmosphere of camp life—every comfort has been given attention. The risk of accident is far less than would be undertaken driving a car in New York or crossing a London Street.

Question: I am also a bit anxious about these tsetse flies and about malaria.

Answer : Tsetse fly may be annoying in some parts of game country, but except in a few restricted areas which are closed to the public, they are harmless to human beings. It should be emphasised that, of the many hunters who have visited the camps since the scheme started, none has suffered any ill-effects and the senior White Hunter, who has been in the bush for over twenty-five years, is hale and hearty. Mosquito nets are provided at the camp, and there is paludrin available. Daraprim is a new drug which is taken once only each week, and has been proved to be very effective as a prophylactic against malaria. In any case, even if one should be so unlucky as to contract malaria during this relatively short period in the bush, the cure is so short and complete these days that you need not worry further about that.

Question : How do I get to the hunting area from America ?

Answer: Most direct, and naturally the quickest way, is via Pan- American Airways to Johannesburg, where you connect with either British Overseas Airways Corporation Comet service or Central African Airways to Livingstone. There you are met by the Tourist Officer, who either takes you to your hotel or arranges transport. The Tourist Officer usually makes hotel reservations on your behalf also, and gives any advice regarding the purchase of last-minute items which you may require on the safari. Most hunters spend a few days at Livingstone before emplaning on the charter aircraft for the airstrip at Lundazi, largely because of its world-famous tourist attraction, the Victoria Falls, and also because it has a small Game Park and one of the finest hotels on the continent of Africa. The Zambezi provides good fishing, too, for those who would wish to have a few hours’ sport.

When they leave Livingstone and arrive finally at Lundazi—they leave at about 6.30 a.m. and arrive during the afternoon—they are met by one of the White Hunters and the remainder of the distance to the hunting camp is completed by road, approximately eighty miles.

Question : How many White Hunters are there for each party ?

Answer: One. And when a hunter goes out each morning, he is accompanied also by an African Game Guard called a “ fundi ”, who is invariably a trusted retainer of the Government Game Department with lengthy service, and who is a good shot with long experience gained in the normal course of his duties.

Question : What type of lighting is there in the camp ?

Answer : Pressure lamps which give a good, bright light. However, if you are thinking of bringing an electric razor the voltage is mostly 220-250 in hotels in Northern Rhodesia.

Question : How about laundering facilities ?

Answer : You may give your soiled linen to the African servants and collect them two hours later, perfectly clean and pressed. This applies also to washable outer garments.

CLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT

Hunters should realise fully before they leave for the hunting camp that they should be prepared for long treks over rough ground which has been heavily scarred by elephant and other game. The absolute must on these journeys is to have comfortable footwear. It is not enough to go out and purchase a brand new pair of expensive hunting boots and hope to get by; the main point is to ensure that they are comfortable—and that is why the suede bootees of the type illustrated are recommended, for these have been well-tried in Africa, and many of the white hunters and officials living in out-stations wear little else. Great stress is laid upon this question of footwear because some hunters fresh to Africa will insist upon arriving with boots which may carry all the recommendations of the best makers in America, but because in some cases they are new, the obvious occurs after two or three days, and the owners complain of blisters. If it be true that “ an army marches on its stomach ” it can also be said with equal veracity that the success and comfort of the big game hunter depend largely upon easy fitting footwear.

An approximate idea of the cost in Livingstone of some of the items is as follows:—

   Bush Hats with Pugree    17s.                 $2.39.

   Bush Tunics                 43s. to 62s.         $6.06 to $8.74.

   Khaki Drill Shorts                  25s.                 $3.52.

   Suede Bootees                   45s.                 $6.35.

   Khaki Woollen Stockings 9s. to 17s. 6rf. $1.27 to $2.46.

   Khaki Drill Trousers          40s. to 50s. $5.64 to $7.05.

which may be obtained from the following firms in Livingstone:

Messrs. R. F. Sutherland, Ltd., Messrs. “ Fix ” Outfitters, P.O. Box 167, P.O. Box 126, Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia.

Messrs. Bhukhan Bros., P.O. Box 99, Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia.

It is perhaps superfluous to add that no safari would be complete without a camera. A hunting knife, sweater and canvas shoes are also useful assets.

THE HUNTING CAMPS

Every year the Northern Rhodesia Game Department builds a series of camps close to the banks of the Luangwa River. The reason why this task is performed annually is due to the fact that the river, during the rainy season, overflows its banks and the old huts are destroyed. Thus, the hunters can be assured of a camp which has been freshly built only a short while prior to their arrival. The sites have been selected so as to be close to game and because of pleasant environment.

The accommodation is similar to the typical sketch plan and illustrations shown. Construction is of pole and mud with grass- thatched roof. There are strong doors to each rondavel (a South African term meaning a round hut or dwelling-place; construction is usually of clay brick) and there is wire mesh at the windows. Mosquito nets are part of the equipment provided, which includes camp beds and furniture which is rough, but adequate.

THE SAFARIS

Supervision of the safaris is the sole responsibility of a European Game Ranger of the Northern Rhodesia Government’s Game Department who acts as the White Hunter. He is assisted by four fundis, and four trained African skinners. The main duty of the fundi, or African Hunter, is to act as a guide in the bush, and track game (but not to shoot except in emergency) and clean the sportsmen’s rifles.

It is occasionally possible to arrange an individual “ ulendo ” (local vernacular meaning “ safari ” or “ journey ”) during which the kit is transported by numerous bearers in file through the bush, after the old hunting fashion, and where the time spent may vary according to the success of the trophy-hunters, but where camping is of an impromptu style. This appeals equally to the newcomer to big game hunting as to the veteran, and it can be arranged. The point to emphasise—and it cannot too strongly be stressed—is that elephant hunting is an extremely arduous sport which requires physical fitness, stamina and patience.

There are times when the hunter may shoot his elephant before breakfast—but on another occasion he may have to walk for the best part of the morning, for it is impossible to stalk buffalo or elephant in a jeep, and in any case, the terrain is such—most of it is savannah forest and scrub—that it would be impracticable to use transport. The true big game hunter finds that nine-tenths of the thrill of this sport is the exhilaration of following the fresh spoor, tracking down the animal and closing in for the kill.

CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION
Hunters participating in these inclusive safaris will be permitted duty free importation of sporting arms, cameras and binoculars, provided the serial numbers are notified in advance and provided a signed declaration is made at the conclusion of the safari that these are being re-exported. Duty will, however, be charged on ammunition expended in Northern Rhodesia.

INCLUSIVE FEE

The inclusive fee for eighteen days’ hunting is $1,500 (£520). Operating from the moment hunters leave Livingstone by air for the game camp, it therefore includes:

Air fare Livingstone-Lundazi and return.

Air freight of equipment on the same flight.

Insurance coverage in the air.

Motor transport to and from game camps.

Accommodation in game camps.

All catering charges and personal service on safari.

Services of Game Rangers, four Scouts and four Skinners.

All permits and licences.

Importation and re-exportation of arms and ammunition.

Field preparation of trophies. (See Trophies.)

For obvious reasons the fee does not include liquor consumed in camp. Nor, because of the impossibility of assessing beforehand the number, weight and value of trophies obtained by hunters, does it include the consignment of trophies to the hunter’s home country. Neither does it include such items as incidental arms permits, which must be taken out on arrival, or the odd breakfast or refreshment en route to and from the hunting area when the ’plane makes a brief halt for refuelling at Lusaka.

OBSERVERS

Reduced fees, at the rate of $750 (£260) are extended to a maximum of two hunters per party.

TROPHIES

Trained African skinners of the Northern Rhodesia Game Department accompany each party of hunters on their daily excursions in quest of game. When a kill is made, the skinners commence to make the preliminary preparations whicj will launch the trophies through the various phases of their journey to the taxidermist and eventually to the walls of the hunters trophy room at home. The restriction is due mainly to the fact that the

African staff are kept fully occupied with their duties, and as the removal of the heads and skins is such a tedious and highly skilful operation, it would not be in the interest of hunters to overload them with extra duties. After receiving field treatment, the skins and heads are sent to a forwarding agent at Fort Jameson. Messrs. C. B. Dodkins and Company, are the commercial forwarding agents who inspect thetrophies for signs of insects before final crating and transmission to the taxidermist selected by the hunter.

With regard to elephant tusks, the hunter may embark on the safari with a reasonable expectation of securing trophies in the region of 50-70 lb. in weight.

There are various formalities connected with the sending of the trophies. Mr. Dodkins attends personally to these. He also meets the hunters when they arrive at the airport at Fort Jameson on their way to and from the hunting camps, where a halt is made for refuelling. Any queries may then be dealt with. All trophies can be insured at the value required by the hunters, from Fort Jameson to their destination; they are then railed to Beira, where they are collected by shipping agents, and—dependent upon the state of shipping—they are normally aboard within fourteen to twenty-one days and on their way to their destination.

It should be emphasised most emphatically that the hunting safari fee of $1,500 does not cover the cost of sending the hunter’s trophies from Fort Jameson. For one reason, it is not possible to state categorically beforehand what sum of money will be involved in the transporting of any one hunter’s trophies; this is dependent upon their weight, number and the figures for which he desires to insure them. Therefore, in the interests of everyone, it has been decided that a deposit of £100 should be made and then the difference between this sum and the total cost of the sending of the trophies (which includes crating, expenses by road and rail to Beira, expenses of the shipping agents there, shipping to America—or alternatively railage to Messrs. Ivy, the taxidermist of Pretoria, South Africa) will be remitted to the hunters after the final accounting has been completed.

This deposit may be made either to the Northern Rhodesia Government through the Standard Bank, Livingstone, Barclays Bank (D.C. and O.), Fort Jameson, or with any overseas agent of either bank, or hunters may prefer to deal directly with Mr. Dodkins. Because of the initial costs associated with the preliminary arrangements the deposits must be received prior to the arrival of the hunters in Northern Rhodesia.

SHOOTING SCHEDULE

Each hunter will be permitted, under the Government safari scheme to shoot:

1 Elephant, 3 Buffalo, 1 Kudu, 1 Roan antelope, 1 Waterbuck, 1 Bushbuck, 1 Puku (Senga Kob), 2 Impala, 1 Cookson's wilderbeest, 1 Sharpe's Greysbok, 1 Oribi, 1 Duiker, 1 Klipspringer, 1 Zebra, 1 Lion, 1 Leopard, 1 Hyena, 2 Crocodile, 1 Warthog, (Bushpig, Baboon, Monkey - unlimited)

Cookson’s Wildebeeste and the Senga Kob are unique to Northern Rhodesia, and are found nowhere else in the world.

Rhinoceros, Eland and Sable Antelope may sometimes be seen and photographed but are protected from hunting Owing to their comparative scarcity.

An important point to remember on safari is that under the Game Ordinance an animal shot at and wounded is counted as a “ kill ”.

The Game Ranger will accompany each hunter in turn in the quest of elephant. Sportsmen are reminded that elephant hunting is the most arduous sport in the world, requiring physical fitness, stamina and patience.

CHOICE OF ARMS

All sportsmen should be armed with a minimum of two rifles, a heavy calibre (.404 or larger) and a light (.318 or smaller). Local stores do not stock ammunition for every known type of rifle, so that hunters are advised to provide themselves with the correct ammunition before leaving home, though Messrs. R. F. Sutherland Limited, P.O. Box 167, Livingstone, can supply shells for the popular types of British rifles. Also, an arrangement may be made with this company to rent shotguns or rifles for the period of the safari. Inquiries for renting, etc., should be made direct with them.

Should a hunter be unable to provide himself with a suitable heavy weapon, he will be able to hire one, but prior notification must be given (either to the agent undertaking the booking or to the Tourist Officer, Livingstone) of the intention to hire.

TRANSPORT AND BAGGAGE

Agents with whom clients entrust their bookings make full arrangements for the transport of themselves and their baggage to Northern Rhodesia. Livingstone is the point from which all safaris commence and hunters should therefore consign their heavy equipment (unless it accompanies them) in bond to the Tourist Officer, P.O. Box 258, Livingstone. It will be to the hunter’s advantage to ensure that such baggage consigned to the Tourist Officer reaches him not later than one month before the commencement of the safari.

The Tourist Officer will meet each hunter in person and arrange for him to make last-minute purchases, facilitate his passage through Customs and Immigration, release his equipment and see him aboard the charter aircraft bound for the Luangwa Valley.

SAFARI DATES

10th July—28th July.

3rd August—21st August.

27th August—14th September.

18th September—6th October.

Dates in the first column indicate departure from Livingstone; in the second column departure from the Luangwa Valley at the conclusion of the safari.

BOOKING PROCEDURE

Booking for these safaris may be made either direct with the Tourist Officer, Northern Rhodesia Government, P.O. Box 258, Livingstone; with the Commercial Liaison Officer, South African Railways and Harbours, 655 Madison Avenue, New York; or with any branch of Thos. Cook and Sons; Pan-American World Airways; or British Overseas Airways Corporation.

Advice about the safaris can also be obtained by prospective clients in the United Kingdom from The Commissioner for Northern Rhodesia, 57, Haymarket, London.

DEPOSITS

A definite booking made with any of the above-mentioned agents must be accompanied by a deposit of $300 or, in the case of hunters from sterling areas, 100 guineas. The balance of the fees is to be paid in full before the hunter’s departure from his home country. The Government of Northern Rhodesia reserves the right to retain the deposit in the event of cancellation by any prospective hunter.

INSURANCE COVERAGE

No liability can be accepted by the Northern Rhodesia Government for personal injury or loss of effects on safari. All hunters are expected to insure themselves if they desire coverage.

Comprehensive coverage for the charter flight between Livingstone and Lundazi and return has been arranged. The all-in cost of the safari includes the premium for these flights.

FISH AND BIRDS

All along the river are birds ranging in size from the small plovers to the huge spur-winged geese, and the graceful Egyptian geese, that are a joy to watch as well as succulent to eat. Game birds make a delightful change to the hunter’s table.

There are huge flocks of guinea fowl that tax the sportsman’s skill by getting up nearly out of range every time, and several species of francolin that rise with whirring start almost under the hunter’s feet and fly swiftly to the nearest thick grass.

Even the carrion birds, the vultures and the Marabou storks make interesting watching, as do the small ox-peckers that run along the backs and flanks of buffalo and the larger game, pecking parasites, and no herd of buffalo is complete without its accompanying flock of beautiful white egrets.

Fish appear on the menu of the hunter regularly and the keen fisherman can always borrow rods in camp. The most common fish are tilapia which run from 3-4 lb. and are delicious eating, tiger fish, a grand fighter, that go over 10 lb. and barbel which may reach 50 lb.