Africa's Trusted Outfitter Since 1999
Our Hunting Concessions
South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia
Online Support
info@kaiwhaisafaris.com
Free Call
(469)698-3030
Our Hunting Concessions
Online Support
Free Call
“Plains game” is a term that goes back to the earliest days of African safaris. While the name suggests animals found only on the open plains, these species actually inhabit almost every environment across Africa—from mountains and savannas to swamps, riverbeds, and thick bushveld.
In simple terms, plains game includes everything between Africa’s small game (birds, rodents, etc.) and the Dangerous Seven (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard, hippo, and crocodile).
It is also where almost every American hunter starts. A plains game safari is the most affordable, most varied and most forgiving introduction to Africa there is — and for a great many hunters it turns into the trip they repeat for the rest of their lives. This page covers what you can hunt with us, how the money works, what rifle to bring, and how your trophies get home.
The group is dominated by Africa’s diverse antelope species, which are sometimes categorized into groups such as the spiral-horns (kudu, nyala, eland, etc.) and the tiny ten (small forest and bush antelope). Plains game, however, also extends to species beyond antelope—such as giraffe, warthog, bushpig, baboon, and ostrich.
This incredible diversity ensures that every plains game safari offers a wide range of opportunities, no matter your hunting experience or preferences.
Across our concessions we offer 45 huntable species. What is on the ground depends on which country and which property you hunt, so here is the honest breakdown rather than one long list.
Gemsbok are the signature animal here. Kalahari bulls carry length that is hard to match anywhere else, and hunting them across open dune country is as honest as African hunting gets. Springbok run in real numbers, including all four colour variants. Kudu, eland, red hartebeest, blue and black wildebeest, steenbok and duiker round out the plains game, with sable, roan and nyala also on the reserve. This is also our malaria-free ground, which matters to a lot of families. See the Kalahari concession.
More than 30 plains game species on one property, alongside Cape buffalo, with a lodge that takes up to 40 guests. This is the easiest concession to combine a plains game hunt with something bigger, and the easiest for a group or a family travelling together. See the Pilanesberg concession.
Privately owned bushveld and semi-desert, two and a half hours from Windhoek, with a four-star lodge for twelve guests. Namibia adds semi-arid country to the mix, which changes both the look of the hunt and the species mix. See the Namibia plains game concession.
Zambia adds a different list again — sable, roan, Kafue lechwe, puku and oribi among others — on free-range miombo ground alongside the dangerous game. See the Zambia Miombo concession.
Tell us the three or four species you most want and we will tell you which concession gives you the best shot at all of them on one trip. That conversation is worth having before you book flights.
Many plains game species are abundant and affordable, making them a perfect starting point for any African safari.
For many hunters, plains game becomes the gateway to African hunting—an introduction that often turns into a lifelong passion.
Southern Africa is home to the highest variety and density of plains game species in the world. Nowhere else offers such an abundance of free-roaming antelope and other iconic species. This makes the region a true hunter’s paradise, with opportunities that range from quick, exciting hunts to carefully planned stalks for specific trophies.
Another advantage is that plains game hunting in Africa is surprisingly affordable. Many hunters are able to pursue five or six species (or more) during a single safari—often at a cost comparable to, or even less than, a guided elk hunt in the United States. And unlike a single-species trip, a plains game safari offers variety, excitement, and nonstop action.
This is the part that confuses most first-time American clients, because it does not work the way a guided hunt at home works. There is no single number. There are two, and they do different jobs.
We can quote you either a fixed package price, which wraps the days and a named list of animals into one figure you know before you fly, or daily rate plus trophy fees, where you choose species in the field and pay only for what you take.
We usually recommend the second, and the reason is simple honesty: no animal is ever guaranteed. We are very confident we will find what you came for, but confident is not the same as guaranteed, and paying à la carte means you never pay for an animal you did not take. Most of our returning hunters book this way. The full comparison is on our package hunts versus tailor-made safaris page.
We put this in writing because almost nobody else does: international flights and any charters between hunting areas, trophy fees for extra animals and for wounded animals, rifle hire and ammunition with a hired rifle, rifle permit fees, dip, pack, taxidermy and shipping, hotel nights either side of the safari, gratuities, alcohol, and extensions such as Cape Town or Victoria Falls.
Tell us the species, rough dates and how many are coming, and we send a written quote — itemised, in US dollars, usually within 24 hours, with nothing hidden at the bottom. See our hunting packages, and our tipping guidelines for the one cost hunters most often forget to budget for.
Our plains game safaris run a seven-day minimum, and seven to ten days is where most hunters land. In that time, taking five or six species is a realistic expectation rather than an optimistic one — plenty of hunters take more.
A sensible first safari looks something like this: a kudu and a gemsbok as the trophies you came for, then impala, springbok, warthog and blue wildebeest filling out the week around them. You hunt the prestige species hard and early, and take the abundant ones as they present themselves.
You can hunt one-on-one with your own professional hunter, or two-on-one if you are travelling with a hunting partner and happy to share — which costs less and works well for a father and son or two old friends. Non-hunting partners and children are welcome along on the hunt.
The most common and rewarding way to hunt plains game is the spot-and-stalk method. Together with your professional hunter (PH), you will:
If the first stalk doesn’t succeed, another attempt is made—often leading to success within just one or two stalks. This makes plains game hunting exciting, interactive, and highly rewarding.
You will shoot off sticks, standing. This is the single biggest practical difference from hunting at home, and the thing most American hunters wish they had practised. There are no treestands, no shooting houses and very few opportunities to get prone. Your PH carries three-legged sticks, sets them, and you shoot standing with the fore-end resting in the vee. It is steadier than it sounds and completely learnable — but learn it in your backyard, not on a kudu.
Expect shots between 80 and 200 yards. Bushveld hunting is close work; the Kalahari and the Namibian semi-desert open that up, and a longer shot is sometimes the only shot. If you want to hunt at genuine distance, that is a conversation to have in advance — see long range hunting. Bow hunters are welcome too, and hunt from blinds over water as well as by stalking.
Our hunting is conducted the way our Code of Hunting Ethics sets out: fair chase, in expansive free-range areas, with no caged or trapped animals, and every effort made to recover any wounded animal. More on the trucks themselves on our hunting vehicles page.
The short answer that surprises people: the rifle already in your safe is probably the right one. A .30-06 will take every plains game animal on this page and has done so for a century. A .300 Winchester Magnum, 7mm Remington Magnum, .308, .270 or .338 will all do the job in the hands of someone who shoots them well.
What matters far more than the headstamp:
If you would rather not fly with a firearm, rental rifles are available. For the temporary import paperwork, what the airlines want and how the process actually runs, see our Firearm Info page and the notes on flights and travelling to Africa. If you are new to all of this, our first time hunter packages build in coaching from firearm safety through to shot placement.
Our season runs March to October. The heart of it is the southern-hemisphere winter, roughly May through August, and that is when most hunters come for good reason: the grass is down, the bush has thinned, the game concentrates around water, and the days are comfortable to walk. Mornings can start close to freezing — see what to bring before you pack.
March, April, September and October are warmer and greener, quieter in camp, and often easier to book at short notice. Most hunters book six to twelve months ahead, and the best weeks of the winter go first.
This is the part first-time hunters worry about most, and it is more straightforward than it looks — but it does take patience.
Field preparation is included in your daily rate. Our skinners handle the capes and horns at camp. From there the trophies go to a dip-and-pack facility, which cleans and treats them to the standards required for export, and then to a shipping agent who handles the export and import documentation.
You then choose: have the work done in Africa and ship finished mounts home, or ship dipped and packed trophies to your own taxidermist in the States. Both are common. Neither is quick — budget the better part of a year from the day you fly home, sometimes longer.
Dip, pack, taxidermy and shipping are not included in the safari price, and are paid to those companies directly. Ask us for current contacts and a realistic cost estimate before you travel, so it is in your budget from the start rather than a surprise six months later.
Every animal taken is used. The majority of the meat is donated to the local communities around our concessions, which is a large part of why hunting has the support it does in the places we operate. It is written into our code of ethics and it is one of the more satisfying things to see first-hand. If you want the longer argument, we set it out on why hunting is so important to conservation.
With such variety and abundance, plains game hunting makes up the majority of all African safaris. Whether you’re new to Africa or a seasoned traveler, every hunt is unique and every trophy is earned.
It depends on your days and your species, so we quote rather than guess — itemised, in US dollars, usually within 24 hours. As a shape: many hunters take five or six species on a week-long safari for a total comparable to a guided elk hunt in the western United States.
Yes, for every animal on this page. Bring premium bonded or monolithic bullets rather than standard deer loads, and step up if eland is on your list.
Usually 80 to 200 yards, standing off three-legged sticks. Open Kalahari and Namibian country can stretch that.
Five or six species is realistic on a seven-day hunt. No animal is ever guaranteed, and we would rather say that plainly than sell you a number.
Our concessions run from 60,000 to 240,000 acres, and every hunt is spot-and-stalk on foot in country that size. Our code of ethics commits us to fair chase in expansive free-range areas, and to never hunting a caged or trapped animal.
Yes, and they are welcome on the hunt itself, not just at the lodge. See spouse programs and family hunting adventures.
Our Kalahari concession is malaria-free. Other areas vary by region and season — ask us about the specific dates and areas you are considering, and speak to your doctor.
May to August, the southern winter: thin bush, concentrated game and comfortable walking. Book six to twelve months out for those weeks.
Budget the better part of a year, sometimes longer. Field prep is included; dip, pack, taxidermy and shipping are separate and paid directly to those companies.
It is the right start for almost everybody, which is why the great majority of African safaris are plains game safaris. See our first time hunter packages.
Tell us the species you want, roughly when you would like to travel, and who is coming with you. We will tell you which concession fits, what it will cost, and what we honestly think your week should look like. A real person answers, and the first conversation costs nothing.
Ask about a plains game safari See our hunting packages Plains game photo gallery