Tom Dreyer Safaris

With only a score of government Game Management Areas—plus a handful of private and tribal areas—Zambia’s hunting industry is not large, but she is an extremely important safari destination. Under-rated for excellent buffalo, she offers some of Africa’s best leopard hunting, highly successful for good free-range lion, plentiful Zambezi sitatunga, good sable and roan, a sleeper for big kudu, plentiful common game, plus an amazing list of indigenous rarities: Threevarieties of lechwe, awesome sitatunga, Crawshay’s waterbuck, puku, Cookson’s wildebeest, Sharpe’s grysbok, even a few blue and yellowback duikers in limited areas.

Starting in 1983, I’ve hunted in Zambia seven times, and she has been good to me: Best sable, Livingstone’s eland, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest; two of my best Cape buffaloes; all of her rarities, and more.

In July 2023 I spent several days with friends Tom Dreyer and Tom Jr., exploring an area theywere developing: Mubambe, a new tribal conservancy in northern Kafue. Gorgeous country, mostly miombo woodland, yet with vast floodplains and papyrus swamps. Like most wild country, it’s a tough area, animal density not high, but I saw awesome sable, magnificent lechwe, and perhaps the greatest density of sitatunga I’ve ever seen. Common game, of course, plus a surprising number of elephants, and plentiful sign of the great cats. The well-appointed, brand- new tent camp is beautiful…in the middle of nowhere.

When I was there, Mubambe was a work in progress…with much potential. Now, the ’24 season just concluded, veteran hunters and outfitters Tom and Tom Jr. report an excellent first season: Good buffalo and plains game, success on leopard. In Africa, genuinely new hunting areas are scarcer than unicorns. This area will profit—rapidly—from protection and management, but I’m delighted to see it living up to the promise that I was certain it had. Naturally, the Dreyers are hunting other good country in Zambia, plus Tanzania and South Africa…but I love their wild new country in northern Zambia. It’s a bold, backbreaking, and costly effort to pioneer new country, so my hat’s off to Tom Dreyer, his son, and their Zambian partners. Proud to have Tom Dreyer Safaris as a CBEO family member.