During the last 10 days of October, I hunted with six WTA clients and good friends for Cape buffalo and plains game in the famous Selous Game Reserve of Tanzania. The Selous is one of the wildest places left in Africa, covering 19,000 square miles and is designated as a UNSECO World Heritage Site. Our outfitter has been hunting some of the best blocks in the Selous since 1986 and has taken special care of his areas.
The trip was a bit like stepping back in time, as we stayed in a traditional bush camp with East Africa-style tents with the modern convenience of en suite restroom facilities. The camp has a thatched open-air eating area where we dined on game meat we harvested, and met each night around the fire to share stories of the day’s and past hunts. The camaraderie of a group on safari is a special thing, something to be experienced to fully understand.
We hunted mainly 2 hunters x 1 guide to share experiences, and it worked out great. Our days started with breakfast before good daylight and then we were out looking for game. The wildlife was prolific, and most of the hunting was done via spot and stalk, but my PH also was keen to track buffalo. The nice bull I took was shot after we had walked about five miles and tracked three dagga boys. We found them laid up during the mid-day heat, and I was able to get in close enough to take one with my double rifle.
On a 10-day hunt in Tanzania, a hunter has two buffalo and limited plains game on license. Each WTA hunter in our group took his two buffalo and plenty of unique plains game like Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, Niassa wildebeest, and others. We saw lion, leopard, elephant, croc, eland and hippo on a regular basis, and that is a tribute to the diversity of the Selous. We had two cameramen with us and the hunt was documented and will run on Dark and Dangerous on the Sportsman Channel next year.
For any hunter wanting to experience true wild Africa, the Selous should be high on the list. To see more on WTA’s Tanzania hunt offerings, visit these links:
WTA does a number of hosted group trips each year, and these trips are a great way to get together with a small group of like-minded hunters/fishermen and share camp (often at a special price), while having a WTA consultant along to look after many of the details. Many hunters may have friends who will travel to hunt with them for various reasons and hooking up with a WTA group can be the fix.
I have seen lots of lasting friendships come from these group hunts, and I personally met some of my closest friends on group trips like this. You can see all of our WTA-hosted trips listed on our site at We are adding to this list regularly, and you will currently find opportunities ranging from buffalo in Uganda to fishing in Alaska to moose in Alberta. Check them out, give us a call and join us on an adventure.
