African Hunting Testimonials

I would like to send a review of The Safari I took with my son Kyle at the Sondelani Ranch this past September. I booked the Safari through zimbabwehuntingsafari.com. The booking was simple and easy.

Gary Hopkins reached out to me and telephoned me on a Saturday morning. We chatted for over an hour about what I could expect. He also gave me the name of some people who had hunted with him in the past. The trip was booked, and we just had to wait for September to arrive. Crystal reached out on a regular basis to help make sure we did everything we needed to in order to make the trip flawless and it was.

We started our Journey in Alberta Canada and flew to Bulawayo Zimbabwe via Germany and Johannesburg South Africa. The travel time was around 36 hours total and we were very tired once we landed in Bulawayo. Gary had someone meet us to help get us through customs and once cleared Gary was on the other side of the door waiting to take us to camp.

We traveled around 220 km from the city to Sondelani. The drive was great we seen the country side and got on the way Gary spoke to the different sights we seen and talked about the hunting he has done along the way.

We arrived at Sondelani ranch and we were greeted by the staff. The staff greets you like you are family. The staff is top shelf and will go out of their way to make you feel welcome and comfortable. The accommodations remind me of places I have been in the Caribbean. The rooms are huge with very high thatched roofs that keeps you cool even on the hottest days. The place is kept spotless and they wash and fold your clothes every day. The food is like you would get at home apart from Wild game sampling from your hunting success. We wanted for nothing the whole time we were there.

Now let’s get to the hunting.

You start your day off about 5am with a hot breakfast and discuss the plan for the day.  Then it starts, you will engage game leaving the compound and it will be nonstop.  My primary goal was Buffalo and it was very difficult to stay focused on that when the opportunities are just overwhelming.

The hunting area will challenge the most seasoned hunter. We tracked Buffalo into the nastiest thickest bush you could imagine. You will sneak up on the Buffalo and need to be able to look through tiny holes in the bush in order to judge the animal.

It was everything that I was hoping it would be as I heard stories of shooting my Buffalo in an open area like shooting a cow in a field. I was not in the best shape that I should have been, and Gary and his team paced to my abilities. I got my Buffalo on the third day and it was full out adrenalin right up to the setting up of the Buffalo for pictures.

My next goal was a Kudu and it was crazy tough. I was able to take a nice Impala while we were hunting for the Kudu. We came across some Blue Wildebeest up on top of a mountain. My son decided to make the stalk and off they went, Gary my son and two trackers.

I watched as they climbed up the side trying to stay out of sight of the Wildebeest. They had to get up on top and crawl on their belly’s in order not to spook the animals. When they finally got into position Gary told my son that he would not have a lot of time in order to take the shot as he would spook the animals. Kyle got up and made a beautiful shot and took his first animal in Africa.

I was down at the bottom with one of the trackers and a whole bunch of Zebra ran right by the truck. We both looked at each other and laughed as my gun was up on top of the mountain.

We hunted hard for my Kudu and when I mean hard that is exactly that. They are a tough animal to see in the bush, I guess that’s why they are called the Grey ghost of Africa. We had a few sightings but nothing that we could be comfortable at taking a shot. While we were looking for my Kudu, I also wanted a Zebra and let me tell you that they are one tough animal to sneak up on.

Lots of sightings but very hard to sneak up on as they will hang around the Giraffe as they see everything lol.  We passed on Warthog, Giraffe, Impala, Wildebeest, Eland you name it as I wanted a Kudu. The very last day a beautiful bull gave me an opportunity and he was mine.

The last day of our trip Gary took us back to his home where his wife Crystal cooked us a beautiful breakfast and we had a pleasant visit. Gary then took us to the Taxidermist where we went over our trophy prep and made our plan. Gary then took us to the airport where he waited with us until we cleared customs and were on our way.

Sondelani in my opinion is the place to go if you want to hunt and hunt hard. The game is abundant, you will be alone and not encounter anyone else hunting. The staff will look after you and make sure you are very comfortable. Gary Hopkins and his trackers are machines, they will not stop until you get your opportunity.

It was one of the most professional hunts I have been on. Sondelani does not have some species such as Sable, Elephant, Lion etc. but Gary has that covered. He has prime areas like Malindi that you can book those animals and go back to Sondelani for the rest.  

Our experience was top shelf right from the very beginning. Gary and his wife Crystal go out of their way to make sure that you have a trip of a lifetime. Crystal will make sure you have all your ducks in a row so you can get there and get home.

Gary and his team will work their buts off for you on the hunt. I am planning another trip for 2020 and Sondelani is my main goal with Malindi in the mix for a Sable and maybe an Elephant.

I cannot recommend Gary enough, if you have a plan to hunt the Dark Continent do yourself a favor and take all the guess work out of it so you can concentrate on dreaming about the hunt. Gary and Crystal are the only ones that you need to call, tell them what your dream is and what your budget is, and I guarantee you they will put together a package and execute the plan flawlessly.

Sincerely,

Mike Elliott