Johan Bezuidenhout
When you book a dangerous-game safari with me, you're not booking a brochure. You're booking the man who walks in front of you when it matters. I've spent over thirty years in the Zimbabwean bush, more than twenty-five of them as a licensed professional hunter, and I still believe the same thing I did as a barefoot farm kid with a rifle: the hunt is earned on foot, honestly, or it isn't worth having.
In his own words
My name is Johan Bezuidenhout. I was born in Kadoma, in the central part of Zimbabwe, and grew up on our family dairy farm outside Chegutu. From a very young age I was the one keeping the freezers full. I think I shot my first animal at about five or six years old, and I've had a gun in my hands ever since. I'd leave in the morning and my mother wouldn't see me until night, and then I'd take my dogs out and go hunting again. That's where my passion for hunting began.
As I got older, the neighbouring farmers started paying me to take care of the vermin, monkeys, baboons, bushpigs and the like, and that only grew my love for it. When I finished school I started my apprenticeship on a plains-game ranch with a man called Frik Muller, at Ngezi Safaris. But there was no dangerous game to learn there, so he sent me on to Ingwe Safaris, under Bill Bedford. I started there around 1993 and did my apprenticeship in an area called Dande, alongside some of the best professional hunters in the country at the time. To qualify I had to take three elephant, and after that I had my full licence. I've been a licensed professional hunter for over 25 years now, and more than 30 years hunting all told.
My favourite hunt is elephant. That's my passion, a hunt of its own, and to me the pinnacle of hunting. Probably the most ethical thing I've ever done was following a wounded elephant bull: we tracked him for three days, quite an effort, into a national park before we finally caught up with him. You don't leave a wounded animal, whatever it takes.
“Your hunt is earned on foot, honestly, or it isn't worth having.”
The team behind the hunt
IN THE FIELDA safari is only as good as the people running it. Johan hunts with the same trusted crew year after year, the men who read the ground, keep camp and get you home safe.
Johan's lead tracker, the eyes on every hunt, with 20+ years of tracking experience. He reads spoor, wind and sign the way most people read a road, and rarely loses a trail once it's found. He lives in the rural town of Dande.
Behind the wheel across the roughest ground in the concession, with 20+ years of experience. He keeps the truck moving, the camp supplied and every day on the road running smoothly. He lives in the rural town of Dande.
In their own words
REFERENCES · ON REQUESTJohan's clients come back, and they bring friends. Below are references from a returning client and from a fellow outfitter, a longer list of contactable hunters can be shared privately once a hunt is under discussion.
Three weeks in Zimbabwe with Johan was one of the most memorable trips we have ever taken. He is skilled, experienced and knowledgeable, but also patient, easy to be around, and genuinely enjoyable company in camp and in the field. As a non-hunter, I appreciated how willing he was to explain the bigger picture, hunting, conservation, and the role local communities play in living with wildlife. Johan has also assembled a great team; Admire, Philip and the crew were a big part of what made our time so special, and I always felt safe and welcomed. I would highly recommend Johan to anyone looking for an excellent PH in Zimbabwe.
Idaho, United States, Elephant safari
I have known Johan since the early 2000s, he was our main PH at Buffalo Trails and later at HHK Safaris, where he is still one of the top hunters today. In all those years we never had a bad reference out of his safaris. He is one of the best professional hunters in Africa: his knowledge is superb, and he is honest, straight, loyal and great fun in camp. His success rate on lion and leopard is close to 100%, and he knows elephant and buffalo hunting as well as anyone. So many of our clients rebooked just to hunt with him again. If you plan a safari in Zimbabwe, Johan is your PH, you will have a dream hunt.
Outfitter & Professional Hunter · FN Hunting, Austria & Hungary · Vice-President, IPHA
Common questions
Who is Johan Bezuidenhout?+
How experienced is Johan as a professional hunter?+
What does Johan specialise in?+
Is Johan a member of a recognised hunting body?+
What is Johan's approach to ethical hunting?+
The best way to know if we're a fit is to talk.
Tell me what you want out of a safari, the animal, the country, the kind of hunt you've always pictured, and I'll tell you honestly how we'd do it.
Johan takes on a limited number of hunts each season, some seasons are booked out a year or two in advance.