Zimbabwe – Chirisa & Sengwa

Chirisa Safari Area – (300,000acres) and Sengwa Research (90,000 acres)

The Chirisa Safari Area and Sengwa Research Areas are two of Zimbabwe’s best known hunting concessions. Located in north-central Zimbabwe exactly half way between Harare and Victoria Falls, Chirisa and Sengwa offers traditional big game hunting of the highest order. With rolling plateaus, riverine floodplains. Mopane woodland, jesse bush and sandveld forests Chirisa and Sengwa are naturally home to a wide and diverse spectrum of wildlife from the diminutive sharpes grysbok to the African elephant. Large resident populations of buffalo, elephant and plains game make these combined areas one the best hunting blocks in Southern Africa.The camps within Chirisa are in close proximity to each other, in order to share storerooms and generator plants, however they are discretely sited so that none of the camps intrude on others privacy.

Ingwe Camp

Comprised of 4 double ‘A’ frame bedroom chalets, Ingwe Camp is the main camp to the area catering for up to 6 hunters or three couples. Overlooking the Sengwa River, game can be viewed daily from the verandah of your chalet grazing quietly on the floodplains below. Each chalet has two beds, a shower, flush toilet and basin. An overhead fan eases the heat during the warmer months. The rooms have electrical lighting and three pronged square plug sockets for plugging in battery chargers etc.There is a central dining/bar/lounge area with an outside fireplace. The gardens are lawned and well kept and a swimming pool completes an extremely comfortable safari camp.

Nyati Camp

Modeled after Ingwe Camp, Nyati camp comprises three A frame chalets all with shower, toilet and basin en-suite. Situated on a high plateau overlooking the Sengwa River and its floodplains, Nyati Camp offers panoramic views of the surrounding bush. Each room has an overhead fan and the central dining/lounge area and fireplace finish off a very comfortable camp in the heart of the African wilderness.

Swainsens Camp

Similar in design to Ingwe Camp, Swainsens Camp is situated on a rocky cliff overlooking the Mopani woodlands on the banks of the Sengwa River. The three ‘A’ frame chalets, although slightly smaller than the Ingwe chalets, have the same amenities – shower, basin, flush toilet, electricity and an overhead fan. Set amongst granite rocks, the well kept lawns are the playground of rock rabbits and squirrels which provide entertainment each morning and evening. Although there is no swimming pool, the central dining/bar area is large and comfortable. The outside fireplace is set on the edge of the cliff and must surely be one of the most scenic fireplaces in Africa.

Sengwa Camp

Located approximately 25 miles south west of the three main Chirisa camps, the Sengwa Research camp is located in the Sengwa Research section of the hunting block. The camp is an old game rangers house which we have upgraded into a safari lodge. Each room has a bathroom-en-suite, overhead fans and electricity from the main grid. The camp is very comfortable and ideally suited for wives or girlfriends.

Hunting in Chirisa

Elephant hunting in Chirisa and Sengwa is typical old school hunting requiring long walks tracking up bulls and many minutes spent scanning from strategic viewpoints. The area is home to a large resident population of elephant as well as migratory elephant moving in from the adjacent Chizarira National Park. Trophy bulls average in the 40 – 50 pound range with the occasional bull over 50 being taken each year. Tuskless elephant hunting is excellent and success on tuskless elephant is close to 100%. The best time of year to hunt elephant is early season – March – May when the bulls are crop raiding into the corn fields of the communal farming areas to the south and east of the concession, and late season October/November when the bulls are forced to move out of the National Park in search of food and water.

Buffalo hunting in Chirisa and Sengwa is very good, with over 4000 resident buffalo in the concession success rate on mature, representative bulls is very high and for the hunter who is prepared to put the time and hours into concentrating on buffalo, excellent trophy bulls in excess of 40 inches are not uncommon. The best time of year to hunt buffalo is in the drier months from June through October.

Lion hunting in Chirisa has of late been suspended by National Parks at the request of HHK Safaris, however we are harvesting one trophy lion in the Sengwa section in 2011. Traditionally Chirisa has been one of the best areas in Africa to hunt lion, mainly due to the high density of buffalo, zebra and waterbuck in the area, however the past three years has seen the lion population in the area radically reduce, we believe this has been the result of a disease and not over hunting as the off take of lion in the past 4 years has been very limited. It is encouraging to note that already, with two years of suspended hunting, the lions have started to recover and our PH’s and rangers are reporting lion sightings very regularly now with some trophy quality males being seen. Cat populations have an ability to recover very quickly as has been evidenced in the Zambezi Valley and Matetsi areas of Zimbabwe and we believe lion hunting in Chirisa will be opened up again within the next 2 to 3 years.

Leopard hunting in Chirisa and Sengwa is made more difficult by the fact that being National Parks Safari Areas, leopard hunting is restricted to daylight hunting hours only and this has reduced the success rate on leopard hunts to approximately 60%. There is no shortage of cats and three out of four baits hung up during the hunt will be eaten by a leopard. So for the purist hunters, intent on shooting leopard in daylight hours, Chirisa and Sengwa are as good as it gets when it comes to leopard hunting and success on a leopard hunt here is as rewarding as it can get.

Plains game hunting in Chirisa and Sengwa is typical of big game wilderness areas and cannot be compared to the more sterile hunting of private game ranches and conservancies surrounded by high fences. Hunting is therefore harder but ultimately more rewarding and excellent specimens of eland, kudu, bushbuck, impala, waterbuck, zebra and warthog are hunted each year. Other species such as reedbuck, grysbok, klipspringer, baboon, hyena and duiker are all found in good numbers and if targeted can be taken on the majority of safaris with no problem.

Trophy Fees

Important Note: We operate to strict quotas and cannot offer all species to every client, as such please ensure at the time of booking your safari, the specific species you want to hunt are available.

Additional Costs over and above trophy fees, daily rates and transfer costs