The 2025 Hunting Season was another one for the books and included some great hunting but also the rekindling of old friendships and forging of new ones. All and all – a truly fantastic year here at CT Safaris!
The season began with the arrival of the Poulson family and their group from Utah and Arizona. Alan and Wade Poulson have been on four hunting safaris with us since their first trip in 2018. The Schulz family from Arizona (where Kurt and Stacey operate their own guiding service) joined the group. This was their first but definitely not last African safari as they’re already planning a return trip.
In 2025, Limpopo Province experienced higher than average rainfall, which occasionally interrupted hunting activities. Despite this, we bagged some excellent animals.
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Alan, Vicena and Weston Poulson with one of Wes’ first African animals – a Southern Impala.
The Schulz family (Kurt, Stacey and Samuel) with Sam’s Blue Wildebeest.
Alan with his Crocodile.
In early June, Simon from the UK returned for his second hunt with us, focusing on a Cape Buffalo cow. Dense bush conditions persisted due to late rains, but the hunt concluded successfully. Simon also hunted cull animals during his stay.
Jeff from Ohio visited, also for his second hunt with us, staying for 14 days, and we travelled to other areas to pursue species of interest.
Jeff with his Roan Antelope hunted in the North-West Province
Jim and Jen from Georgia, USA, returned for their third safari since 2018. Jim aimed to hunt a Kudu bull but instead harvested a Sable bull. After the hunt, we arranged for Jim and Jen to visit Victoria Falls where they had an excellent time.
A 44” Sable.
Gordon and Sheralyn from Nebraska, who first hunted with CT Safaris in 2013, returned after several visits in 2016, 2022, and 2024. Over their five total trips, they have hunted multiple species including Cape Buffalo (X2), Sable, Roan, Crocodile, Giraffe, and various plains game. This year, the focus was on hunting a male lion, which was completed successfully. Afterwards, we toured the Eastern Cape and the Garden Route..
Gordon’s Lion
In addition to touring the Garden Route, we also managed to get some hunting done down there.
At the 2024 Backwoods Hunting and Fishing Expo in Oklahoma City, Kevin and Michelle from Kansas enquired about a South African Cape Buffalo hunt. Kevin had previous hunting experience in Botswana (2021) and opted to return to South Africa for his next hunt – this time with CT Safaris. Due to dense bush from the late rains, hunting conditions were challenging, but ultimately successful.
As an interesting side-note…
Three years ago I was offered the rights to hunt a specific old Buffalo bull on one of my concessions as part of a fundraising effort for a local church and I accepted this offer. The plan was to hunt this old bull back in 2022 and I tried my level best to get my clients to connect with him – without success. Oddly, the bull would be seen occasionally – except when he was being hunted – when he would disappear without trace… Meanwhile, the Buffalo bull got a nickname – “Stumpy” – due to his worn-down horns and age. He had a tendency to look for trouble with younger bulls and get into fights with them. Sometimes he’d win these fights and kill them and sometimes he would lose without getting killed himself – withdrawing into the thick bush for months to lick his wounds…
Kevin and I made it our mission to hunt for “Stumpy” and Kevin was the lucky one to finally put Stumpy at rest.
Additional plains game hunting yielded a Gemsbok and Sable.
Kevin with “Stumpy”, a worn-down 13 year-old Buffalo Bull.
At the Southern Alberta Outdoors Show in Canada, Adam Gotmy and Andy Edeburn from Dirtnap TV arranged to film a hunt with CT Safaris. The ten-day visit resulted in harvesting fourteen animals using both archery and muzzleloader equipment. Here are some of the highlights:
Andy’s first ever African animal – a nice Mountain Reedbuck hunted with Bow-and-Arrow!
Impala with muzzleloader
Klipspringer with a bow – quite the achievement!
Common Springbok with bow-and-arrow – another significant feat!
Six episodes of Dirtnap TV documenting their African hunt will air on Wild TV from January 2026 onwards and also be available on their YouTube channel. Be sure to tune in to Wild TV or follow their adventures with us on Facebook and YouTube.
Bushbuck with muzzleloader
Baboons can become destructive animals and cause a lot of damage. This one will no longer…
Here’s what Adam Gotmy had to say about Dirtnap’s hunt with CT Safaris:
After a lot of consideration for our 2025 hunt we decided to book with CT Safaris. We needed the perfect partner to capture 6 episodes for or 6th season of Dirt Nap Tv. We needed to be 100% sure we were putting our name behind the best of the best.
CT Safaris did not disappoint.
From gourmet cuisine, to world class hunting and everything in between they knocked it out of the park. Not only did he leave with memories that will last a lifetime, but we left with a new friendship that will also last a life time. Book with confidence when looking for your next hunt. Book with Chris and the team at CT Safaris.