African Outfitter is an independent international bimonthly publication promoting
fair hunting and ethical business practices within the hunting industry.
From a hunting perspective, the preservation of biodiversity on the
African continent is the first and foremost priority. The emphasis
is however also on the sustainable utilisation of wildlife.

African Outfitter Back Issues: CONTENTS - August / September 2006 - (Vol 1/5)

The Kobus Schoeman Hunting Academy - by Mauritz Coetzee

Somehow it feels like yesterday since my first meeting with Kobus Schoeman. In reality it has been a full fifteen years of friendship which centred also on hunting and professional hunting schools.

And quite frankly, irrespective of a colourful career with Nature Conservation spanning 22 years in total, it is my humble opinion that Kobus really should have been involved in teaching or lecturing simply because he has an uncanny ability to convey knowledge.

Born on 24 April 1952, Kobus grew up in Bloemfontein and finished matric in 1969. After a brief period in the South African Police he decided to turn his attention to mining.

Because of a dream as a young boy of actually becoming involved in nature conservation he decided to join the Nature Conservation Department in 1976. Kobus ended up in the Klaserie area occupying the rank of nature conservation officer.

From this position he quickly moved through the ranking order of senior nature conservation officer, chief conservator to deputy director. With the promotion to deputy director he became the youngest person ever to occupy this position in the department.

Whilst in the Klaserie Kobus carried out a lot of culling/control work on elephant, rhino, hippo, buffalo, leopard and lion, thus gaining a clear understanding of what encountering dangerous game really meant.

After a transfer to Nelspruit Kobus became heavily involved in the creation of the Division for Special Investigations for Transvaal in 1980. For logistical reasons this department was situated in Bronkhorstspruit.

His ties with professional hunting go back to the year 1979 when Nature Conservation decided that the regulation of professional hunting has become unavoidable. After several meetings on an interprovincial level, legislation was promulgated for all the provinces. The formal testing of "aspirant professional" hunters really started in 1980, headed by Kobus and a selected team.

Based on his intimate knowledge of legislation pertaining to hunting and professional hunting, he attended countless hunting shows and conventions in Reno, Houston, Denver and also in Europe.

As outlined in African Outfitter (December/January 2006), the early years of training for a professional hunting license consisted of a man to man or woman testing situation. In those early years the name Kobus Schoeman became synonymous with professional hunting in South Africa.

From 1994 till 1999, Kobus was also involved with Ronnie Rowland's Bushman Trails Hunting Academy. In 1999 Kobus decided to resign from Nature Conservation, a decision which from a personal point of view, proved to be much more difficult than anticipated. The final chapter, however, in a very colourful and successful career, merely meant that he could apply his vast field of experience and memories in an already known territory, namely the training of professional hunters on a different level.

Apart from other activities, Kobus, Johan Calitz and Ronnie Rowland became partners in the presentation of a certificate in Advanced Professional Hunting in Botswana. This course actually implied thorough training in camp building, tracking dangerous game and the handling of back-up situations.

In 2003 the Kobus Schoeman Hunting Academy was launched as an independent professional hunting training entity. Kobus Schoeman's life, to a certain extent, has reached a logical stage – while he was initially involved in screening the early directors of professional hunting schools, he now headed his own academy.

Since early 2003 countless people, young and old, have successfully completed their training through the guidance supplied by Kobus. Together with Johan Calitz, Kobus also presents professional hunting training in the Free State where necessary.

This school is however totally separate from Kobus's own hunting academy. He was also the first to train aspirant professional hunters from other communities, also known as PDI's (previously disadvantaged individuals).

At this stage Kobus is only involved in professional hunting training in Limpopo Province and specific locations in Alldays, Mooketsi and Musina.

Apart from his involvement with the training of professional hunters, he is also very active in accompanying his own clients from abroad when hunting all game species, including dangerous game. Many of these hunts are done in conjunction with Johan Calitz Safaris in South Africa.

On 3 June 2005, I visited Kobus at his home in Bronkhorstspruit. We talked for nearly three hours, covering many topics with various degrees of intensity. Two aspects were discussed rather extensively. The first centred around the question whether professional hunters, in time, really get tired or fed-up with the job of being a professional hunter? This question is relevant if one considers the sometimes unrealistic expectations with which clients approach hunting when at a foreign destination. Add to this personality clashes between client and professional hunter/outfitter, agents who disappear with deposits paid as well as fierce competition between outfitters at foreign venues and shows, and it is only logical that a type of cynicism and disappointment will appear over time.

While Kobus agrees that these factors can detract from the true spirit of what hunting should really be, he maintains that a professional hunter should firmly plan and direct every hunt with each client. Planning and directing a hunter's hunt should, however, have an underlying principle. This principle is a sense of wonderment, even amazement, of being privileged to be in nature and experiencing what nature has to offer during every hunt. No individual can therefore say that he/she has experienced everything there is to find in nature. Boredom, in this sense, is therefore really self-induced.

As to the question on how well a 10-day course can prepare any individual for a career as a professional hunter, Kobus is convinced that as a director all the knowledge he can possibly convey, is humanly done within clearly defined parameters.

This implies knowledge that is relevant to the industry and that is people-oriented, and with a profound responsibility towards nature. In a nutshell – good hunting skills alone are often not enough. The able professional hunter is also, in more ways than is often understood, a good communicator.