Guys the Bug has Bitten

[postoak]

I think I'll forget about a moose or elk (or super-trophy white tail) hunt and go to Africa in 2010. :cool:

I need to keep this really low priced. For one thing, I'm not going to buy another rifle. I've read you can use a .270 WCF for plains game just fine. (Alternatively, I could borrow a rifle from the outfitter.)

I won't be able to afford to do any taxidermies.

I just checked RT airfare to Johannesburg and it's pretty good in June, about $1200.

I was thinking 7-10 days.

I've seen one outfitter who offers a deal like that but only 3 animals! That's not enough for me! If I do this, I would think more like 7-10 would be ideal.

Anyone have any advice?

What kind of tips do these guys expect. Are there any hidden costs?

[Bushman]

There are some guys from here that go every year and my fishing buddy has gone along a couple of times now. I've been over to his house and it looks like a museum with all those stuffed heads around, but being polite I agree this one or that one is very nice mount. The truth of the matter is that they have so many weird planes game animals over there that I really don't know what I'm looking at and some of them have horns no more attractive than your average milk cow.

What those guys do is fly to Africa a week early and get all their dental and hearing aid work done there. It is way less expensive than here and I know that those top end digital Belltone hearing aids were half the price of the same ones here which more than paid for the trip. The dog ate them when he had them on the night stand, but that's another story. Try keeping a straight face when you are being told that story.

They had a good time, but I was pretty put off by the "losing" of the luggage with all the high end optics in it.

It is big dollars to mount and ship the stuff back. At least with a moose or an elk you get to eat the critter. Where we hunted and camped in CO. in a wilderness area it was pretty inexpensive for a self guided hunt and we did get elk.

[postoak]

I think at my age, combined with the fact that I have no hunting buddies who I could count on going with me to Colorado for a self-guided hunt, because most of them, like me, usually, aren't willing to spend the money, that that type of hunt is out.

I think I could do a low-end African hunt for about $5,000, and that's for everything. I wouldn't have the taxidermy done, maybe have a skull or two shipped home. This would be for about 7 animals.

If my Browning A-bolt gets stolen, then I'll have an excuse to buy something else, like maybe a Savage 110 with the accutrigger.

[ktsafaris]

Hi there,

In response to your idea of hunting Africa next year there are a number of possibilities available.

Firstly most safari operators have packages available that can suit each individuals budget. The downturn of this though is that one has only a small selection of animals to choose from. However most safari operators including ourselves would happily tailor make a safari to suit your specific needs and budget.

Secondly if one has not hunted Africa before it is possible to put a hunt together of the more common species that do not carry a heavy price tag.

Thirdly, I noticed that you are looking at June next year. That is a good time to hunt however South Africa will be hosting the 2010 World Cup Soccer tournament over that period. This does not have a direct impact on the safari industry in any way but I cannot help wondering if air ticket prices will be higher over this period in time.

With the world wide recession affecting most industries, it is not uncommon for safari operators to put package specials together. We would rather try and sell a discounted hunt than nothing at all. As the season near end's and our safaris have been lower in number, we have put a few packages together, this has resulted in a flood of bookings that we did not expect.

A friendly bit of advice, is one needs to shop around. Some guys here seem to think that because the have made a name for themselves they can charge fees that are absorbent. This in turn gives the impression that all operators are the same. A discounted hunt does not mean that the standards of hunting or accommodation is lowered.

In closing, whatever your needs are I firmly believe that you being the customer, the safari operator should take into account your budget and make your hunt a memorable one.

Regards,
Kevin Thomas Safaris
www.ktsafaris.co.za
ktsenquiries@mweb.co.za

[postoak]

Thanks for the input, Kevin.

I've already priced airline fares on Expedia and Orbitz and they're quite reasonable, so far. Perhaps the key is to book early, which I would.

[postoak]

Well, looks like I am going to Africa unless something untoward happens to me in the meantime!

I've booked a 9 day hunt starting on May 12th, and sent in my deposit. Completely paid for my RT airfare to Johannesburg.

Bought a Ruger 77 Hawkeye SS in .35 Whelen and a Bushnell 3200 Elite 3 x 9 scope.

The rest is just details.

I'm hunting in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The two animals most important to me are the greater kudu and the blue wildebeest, but there are going to be others.

[Altjaeger]

Well, looks like I am going to Africa unless something untoward happens to me in the meantime!

I've booked a 9 day hunt starting on May 12th, and sent in my deposit. Completely paid for my RT airfare to Johannesburg.

Bought a Ruger 77 Hawkeye SS in .35 Whelen and a Bushnell 3200 Elite 3 x 9 scope.

The rest is just details.

I'm hunting in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The two animals most important to me are the greater kudu and the blue wildebeest, but there are going to be others.

A journey of a thousand miles....

Good luck.

[Bushman]

Congratulations on making it happen. I do like the looks of a greater kudu and they are kind of hard to get from what my safari buddies tell me. I like your choice of the .35 Whelen in that Ruger 77 too. My one buddy has so many African animals stuffed around his house that it actually diminishes any one of them from being a focal point in the room. Bordering on macabre if you know what I mean. I think if I were going, I would hunt longer for a superior animal and not just shoot down something because I could, but to each his own.

[Indy]

Limpopo is the best place for a first safari, in my opinion. On a nine day hunt you should have a very good chance of getting a good kudu and a blue wildebeeste. You could also probably take an impala, zebra, warthog, and gemsbok.

I got all of these plus blesbok. We stalked and almost got an eland and I spooked a red hartebeeste. I could have shot a giraffe but who needs one when the trophy fee is $2,500.

Hunt what you can, and try not to limit yourself. It may be the last time you go.

If you can't afford a lot of taxidermy, consider making skull mounts and storing the capes for later. Or make rugs. A zebra rug is really neat.

[Hi Ball]

Hello Indy, hey your flying kind of low these days to be over in this air space.:D Glad to see you made the trip ok.;)

I am keeping my fingers crossed for the following season, wanted a lion but those critters price is flying as high as those clouds you pilots get lost into.
So it will be buff & leopard with a pinch of plains game in Zim. :)

[Indy]

Yeah, I'm trying to decide what to do in 2010. I want to avoid RSA's airport during the soccer championships. Maybe another elephant or some PAC elephants. I would like to "have taken" lion and leopard but the former is pricey and I'm not into sitting motionless in blinds too much. Or maybe another buffalo. I'm not one of those people who has to fill out the whole collection (whoops, I don't have a hartebeeste yet). I also don't need any more trophies hanging on the wall.

[Hi Ball]

Indy that is what the wife stated to me, when I told her lets go to Africa for a hunt. "No more animals on the walls" was her reply. I agreed and told her I will take some of them down but the Buffalo is going downstairs with the Eland, Kudu, Zebra and Blue Wildebeast. This she said would be OK, just get them out of the living room and kitchen!!! So it is off to the races finding places for over 2 dozen mounts. I am not going to build a room, just to put mounted trophy's into. I am far past that stage in my life.:)

[Indy]

My problem will come when I retire. At work I have an office with high ceilings. I don't have high ones at home. In my office I have a kudu, a good gemsbok, and an Alaskan caribou. From bottom of chest to tip of antler the caribou is 52 inches high.