HUNT THE SUN

Mike Birch Safaris

There are so many great operators in Africa, the choices can be overwhelming. The good news: If you stick to CBEOs It’s impossible to make a bad decision. You can expect amazing camps, fantastic food, wonderful people, and lots of game. But if you’re looking for a different, intellectually in-depth safari experience, consider Hunt the Sun, Mike Birch Safaris.

Naturally, we expect our PHs to be experienced and knowledgeable, not only showing us the animals, but teaching us about the land, the habitat, the birds and flora along with the people and their culture. Often, it’s the little things that leave us with the best safari memories. Mike Birch and his amazing family are uniquely prepared to offer you a distinctly memorable safari. As well as an experienced PH, Mike Birch is a wildlife biologist by trade, with long experience in South Africa’s Nature Conservation department. His wife, Natalie, has a doctorate in rangeland ecology. Together, they bring unique perspective to their dinner table and warm campfire.

Hunt the Sun is based near Kimberley, on the eastern edge of vast Northern Cape Province, essentially the geographic center of South Africa, country of big wooded hills and grassy savannas, a uniquely beautiful part of South Africa. Their home is near some of the fiercest battlefields of the Anglo-Boer War. So, with my interests, highlights of my time at Hunt the Sun’s headquarters included walking Boer War trench lines and fortifications.

Not your interest? Not a problem! Mike, Natalie and their team specialize in providing the safari experience you’re looking for. You’ll take the animals you’re looking for, you’ll have a wonderful time, and you’ll meet local people and get a sense of their culture. In addition to the Northern Cape, excellent for a wide variety of plains and thorn-bush species, Mike Birch Safaris also operates in the Eastern Cape, offering all the East Cape specialties; and in Mpumalanga, a Big Five area bordering the vast Kruger National Park. Between the three areas, Hunt the Sun is able to offer the full range of South African species, making them a good choice for a first safari, for veterans looking for specialized species, and for hunters in search of dangerous game.

Always hunting ethically, by fair chase rules. To hunters, the game is important, of course, but at Hunt the Sun, it’s the experience that matters even more. I love the Birch family, and I’m so proud to have them as part of our CBEO extended family.