Hunting Packages Mozambique | Big Five

Do not bring

Waterproof boots - too large and heavy, noisy and bad for walking & stalking
Too many cool gadgets - they get in the way
Too much clothing - you won't use it, space & weight limits. You may be asked to leave some of it behind.

Personal things to bring

Camera and film
Binoculars
Sunscreen and Mosquito/bug repellent
Sun glasses
Pocket knife
Flashlight (with extra batteries)
Soft Rifle bag (We do have Bahati soft gun bags for sale.)

Note:

Please also remember that you cannot buy items like batteries or films for your camera in the "bush" - so please bring all that you need. Chargers must accept 230V AC input.

You will be picked up early the next morning – after breakfast - and taken to the local airport from where we will depart for Mozambique. The journey will take us via Polokwane in South Africa’s Limpopo province (where we quickly clear customs and immigration) to Beira in Mozambique, where we do the same into Mozambique.

After doing all of the formalities required by the officialdom, we take a short flight directly to the hunting area where we’ll be met by the PH’s and camp staff.

It has happened on the odd occasion, that fog or bad weather comes in over the hunting area during the late afternoon. Should this occur, we would need to spend the night at a hotel in Beira, and would then only fly into the hunting area early the following morning.

Then the games begin …

Transport Within the hunting area we make use of 4-wheel drive vehicles to locate game and to travel around. Sometimes while hunting buffalo, hippo and crocodile we make use of amphibious vehicles, inflatable boats and mokorro dug-out canoes to navigate the swamps and rivers.

Emergencies We almost always have aircraft on standby in the camp, but there are always satellite phones at hand in case of any emergency.

Hunting Results Even though we have excellent hunting grounds, good and modern equipment as well as well-trained and experienced professional hunters, trackers, and skinners - factors such as weather, wind, luck and the skill of the individual hunter will always influence the result and outcome. Hunting a wild area is not shopping. It is advisable to be in a reasonable physical condition and to have done some practice shooting, before leaving for the hunting grounds.

Visas and Passports A Visa for Mozambique is required by all foreign citizens. We take care of this for you at the airport during entry into Mozambique. All visitors arriving in Mozambique must have a passport which is valid for at least a further 6 months after the date of arrival in Mozambique and it needs to have a few empty pages.

Arrival On your arrival at Johannesburg International Airport in South Africa, a representative from Bahati Hunting Safaris will meet you at the airport. Once you have cleared customs, you have the option to visit a taxidermy company (if there is time) before being driven to the guest house/hotel in Pretoria where you stay the night. This allows a chance to freshen up, relax after the flight and have a relaxed dinner in the capital city.

We do it like this as there is simply not enough time to get to the hunting area in Mozambique before dark on the same day that you arrive in South Africa. It works and we are sticking with it.

HANDY INFORMATION

Hunting Seasons The hunting season in Mozambique is from June to November, while the South African season starts in March and ends in October.

Prior to arrival Clients must provide the following documentation at least 3 months prior to the hunt: 1 x Passport Photo, 1 x Copy of Passport and Rifle information (Make, Serial number and caliber) for each rifle. Make sure to verify that the rifle details are correct. Failure to do so could result in an unpleasant disruption of your hunt due to faulty permits.

Reasonable resolution scanned images are acceptable for all of these items. It speeds up the process as it can be e-mailed to us.

Camps The Bahati main camp has four spacious wooden cabins each with an en-suite, private bathroom with shower, flushing toilet and a hand basin – all with hot and cold running water. There are proper wooden beds in each cabin. There is also a large reed and thatch communal lounge-cum-dining room area, which has a well stocked refrigerator.

Fly camps have insect proof tents and camp mattresses.

Communication There is a resident satellite phone in camp and each hunting car is equipped with a satellite phone. These are for emergency communication and our daily telephone contact with our people in South Africa. Clients wishing to make use of a satellite phone are encouraged to bring their own. You will be given the satellite phone number in camp to leave back home in case of an emergency. Please do not ask us to use the camp satellite phones.

Vaccinations Please consult your own physician well in advance of the trip as there are many theories on the subject. It is however strongly recommended to start a preventive treatment program against malaria before departure, continue to take medication during the stay and a few weeks after the return, as prescribed. If you show flu-like symptoms a week or two after your return remind your doctor about the possibility of malaria. If the tests are negative and you do not get better – run the tests again. Malaria could be hard to detect sometimes.

Indemnity forms An Indemnity form will need to be signed and faxed through to us before arrival in the hunting camp. We will therefore mail you one, in our correspondence to you.

Currency Please bring US dollars in cash. Do not bring travellers' cheques. We also recommend that you bring a few some small notes, such as $1 and $5 notes, as these could be used for purchasing drinks at the airport if required.

Airport Taxes All tourists need to pay arrival and departure taxes at airports in Mozambique and South Africa. We take care of this for you.

Electricity 230 volt is available in the main camp and 24/12 volt in hunting vehicles.

Suggested clothing list

3 x long pants
2 x short pants
3 x long-sleeved shirts
2 x short-sleeved shirts
1 x hunting jacket (for the cool mornings)
1 x warm sweater
1 x Very light weight rain gear/coverall
2 x pair of well-worn light hunting shoes/boots (canvas or leather)
1 x pair of tennis shoes or slippers (to use in camp)
1 x wide brimmed hat
2 x set of light sleepwear

2 x T-shirts
6 x pairs of socks
Underwear

Note:

In terms of packing, you can wear long pants, a long sleeved shirt and the hunting jacket – saving a little space. We do sell olive green Bahati shirts, all sizes. (Let us know in advance whether you want any.)

Amount of luggage Please do not overdo it with the amount of luggage as you may be asked to leave some of it behind for the sake of safety by not overloading the aircraft. If you are unsure whether it’s too much – it probably is!

Weapons We recommend you to bring a medium calibre rifle (eg. a 300 calibre or larger) for plains game and cats. For thick-skinned game like buffalo and elephant, the minimum calibre allowed in Mozambique is .375. Many hunters find that .375 magnum is a very good all-round rifle, both for small and big game. The rifle should be transported on the airline in a solid hard case. We use soft rifle cases to protect your rifles during daily use while in the field and for transportation on the light aircraft. The hard case stays behind in South Africa and you can purchase a Bahati soft gun case when arriving here.

Bahati Hunting Safaris assists you with the importation of your rifles and you’ll be sent an e-mail setting out the procedures in good time.

The Hunt You will typically be woken up well before dawn and the hunt will normally last until sunset. A packed lunch is normally enjoyed in the field. The vehicle has a cool box with food and beverages. Game will normally be located from the vehicle, whereupon you will exit the vehicle and thereafter stalk the game on foot. The forest duikers are called in by the trackers and makes for a very exciting hunting experience. Hippo, Crocodile and Buffalo hunts … well, are very different, very close to nature and an experience you will never forget.

Trophies Trophies Your trophies will be field-prepared in the skinning shed near the main camp, ready for transportation to the Mozambican taxidermist - Trophys Export Mozambique (www.trophyexports.com) - who will prepare them for export as well as to obtain all of the required export permits. The trophies will be shipped to our nominated taxidermists in South Africa or anywhere in the world – the final destinations you prescribe. Our field preparation and care is of a very high standard. Bahati takes care of all formalities regarding the export of trophies. Please bear in mind that the Mozambique trophy export supply chain is slow, cumbersome and always in total disregard of your needs and ours – but it is improving. The dipping, packing and shipping is traditionally quoted for and charged separately. We are always investigating new avenues to make this part of your safari cheaper and faster, so things may change (for the better!) at any time.

Medication Even though the camp is reasonably well equipped with a First Aid Kit, we would still suggest that you bring any medication recommended by your own doctor. You may also want to include; tablets for headache and diarrhea, band aids, antibiotics, insect spray, talcum powder and eye drops. Be sure to bring some high factor sun screen, as well as a lip balm with high sun protection factor. A stick or spray to soothe itching after insect bites is also a good idea. (Take my word for it!)

Meals We supply good basic home cooked meals consisting mostly of venison meat, plus a starch, as well as some vegetables. Most of our food is flown in to the camp, so should you have any allergy to any foodstuffs, please let us know long in advance so that we can plan accordingly, and send in whatever is needed for you to the area when there is space available on one of the planes. The camp food is excellent.

Drinks We provide local Mozambican beers, South African wines and soft drinks in camp. Please note that if you require spirits that you will need to bring these yourself. Make sure to consult your travel agent to check on the latest duty-free allowances to bring alcohol through customs.

Clothing We recommend clothing in a dark green, dull green or dark khaki colours, preferably made of cotton or a similar fabric. It is absolutely not necessary to go out and buy new clothes. When you plan what you have to bring, please remember that there is daily laundry service in the camp – so do not bring too much clothes.

Luggage As you will be flying into the camp in a light aircraft, and there is only a limited amount of space available for luggage, as well as a limited amount of weight that can be safely carried in such an aircraft, we ask that you please pack your clothing into a soft tog-type bag. The weight of your luggage (excluding your rifles and ammunition) should not exceed 10 Kilograms. (22 pounds) If you happen to bring the incorrect bag size or too much luggage you could be asked to repack and leave some excess behind. Do not feel offended by it. We have spare bags on hand for this purpose.

Ammunition It is every hunter's nightmare to run out of ammunition in the middle of the hunt. It does happen now and again, and therefore we recommend you to bring sufficient. We recommend that half the heavy calibre ammunition be of the "soft” type for buffalo. Mozambique allows only 60 rounds per rifle. So if 60 rounds of heavy calibre are brought 20 should be solids. We are able to arrange for more rounds if you are concerned about running out.

Gratuities Naturally, the size of a tip is a personal matter but we get asked the same question every time without fail – how much is good? After many years and consultation with many clients, we have determined the following minimum tipping standards for PH’s, field staff and camp staff. (Yes, there are three different groups!) Please bring some cash dollars for this purpose. Tips serve as an incentive to make your stay a memorable one. Remember that these guys are committed to your safety and well-being and that they do this for a living. It is obviously in order to give gifts as well as money.

Luggage As you will be flying into the camp in a light aircraft, and there is only a limited amount of space available for luggage, as well as a limited amount of weight that can be safely carried in such an aircraft, we ask that you please pack your clothing into a soft tog-type bag. The weight of your luggage (excluding your rifles) should not exceed 10 Kilograms. (22 pounds)

After your Return We are always happy to hear from you, after you have returned home. It is of great importance for us to know if you enjoyed the hunting safari with us. This is the only way we can develop and possibly improve our hunting safari experience. Good or bad - please let us hear from you!

We hope that the above information answers some of the many questions, which you will naturally have before the trip. Should you need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us.