African Safari 2012 - The update thread

[rougheye]

This is a cool thread , Thanks Rob 

[Rob]

Thanks.  it is helping me keep my thoughts organized

Wow…  yesterday was a busy day.  I had to stay at work an extra 3 hours to make sure nothing dropped due to the time I spent trying to keep up on all the info about Africa.  The thread I started over on AR was honestly pretty discouraging.  In short:
1.    My list of requirements is too varied
2.   Friendships will be destroyed if we try to meet all these needs
3.   We should split up and go our separate ways and connect after the hunt
4.   Having one wife present on the trip will be awkward (I guess they run better in pairs??)
5.   Desert animals like Oryx are hard to mix in with other plains game species

BUT… I received private messages from at least 5 folks.  Everyone of them said that we need to go focus on the Save (pronounced Sauve-eh) in Zimbabwe.  We would need to pull Gembok from the list and replace Cape eland with Livingston Eland, but other than that, it will meet our split hunting needs.  I spent an hour on the phone with a guy who sets up folks to hunt the Save at the end of the day and I’m feeling pretty good about the whole deal.  I have an appointment to meet him in Reno to talk further.  

More later, but I think I have line of sight on a country and a region within that country for us to target!

[chrisb]

Which AR forum are you referring too?

[Rob]

Sorry:  AR = Accurate Reloading.  They are one of the best online resources for African hunting info.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums

[wa.hunter]

Rob just in case you are interested Seattle Puget Sound Chapter of SCI and Washington FNAWS puts on an event in Bellevue on Feb. 18th and 19th 2011 which should have 4 or 5 African exihibitors at the event whom donate hunts that you can pick up pretty cheap. Lots of years you can pick up a 7-10 day hunt with a couple of animals included for as little as $700.00 and add what ever else you want. Everything on these hunts are 5 star. I do not know a woman that would not like to go. Just in case you are interested. Alot of our membership has hunted with these guys and know them pretty well.

[ThePascoKid]

Last spring at the Tri-cities SCI banquet we bought a 7 day package for 2 hunters and 2 non-hunters to Limpopo for $3000 everything included and $1000 per hunter towards trophy fees. Includes to non hunting safari days for the wives.  We paid $3600 for 2 plane tickets.  We're heading there the last week in June, it's my first time and I'm stoked.

[twinners]

Awesome thread and holy crap on some of those taxidermy pieces!

[Ridgerunner]

Africa truely is an unbelievable place, have not hunted it but spent a little bit of time in Zambia.  Can't wait to go back and do some hunting that's for sure, enjoy the thread and what you are learning.  I'm planning on going back at some point in the future and doing some hunting, but first I want to chase those white sheep up north.  I suppose Africa is a little bit like sheep hunting, once you've tasted it, you are trying to figure out how to have it again, consider that a warning for all who want sheep tags, just stop putting in so the fever never sets in, you'll be better off......

[arees]

This is a great thread.  I have been to Africa twice and am looking to go back again.

This will be a good reference for people thinking of going.  I booked the first hunt without much prior research but still had a great time.  It was a plains game management hunt in Zimbabwe which made it relativly inexpensive.  It meant we could shoot lots of animals, but it would cost extra to shoot big ones or take the trophies home.  In the end I dropped the extra cash for a couple of trophies, but it is good to know that there are many different ways to reduce costs and still get the experience.

Taxidermy can add a lot to the costs of the trip so I usually just do skull mounts and spend the savings on more trophy fees...except the sable from my last trip.  Some things are worth the extra cost.

[Rob]

I thought about the auctions actually.  They really go for good prices.  The reason I have more or less ruled them out is that I am a little nervous to pick an auction with an outfitter I have not met or been able to research.  If I had 3-4 of these under my belt, then I'd be more likely to do it, but since this trip will only be #2 for me, and I need to balance the needs of several folks who want to go, I am not sure that I can afford the luxury of taking an inexpensive safari and rolling the dice on:
-no high fence
-DG and PG opportunities
-a place my buddies wife will be happy

I will say, that the trips offered end up going for a total steal!  I saw a 4 hunter trip with 3-4 animal trophies go for $2,000 at the National Turkey Federation dinner in Puyallup a while back.  who can pass up a 500 dollar trip to Africa!!

Taxidermy can indeed double the trip.  My taxidermy bill in 2008 was close to 9K.  but I did:
-a habitat display with a a full bodied mount on a warthog, meerkat, steenbok and guinea fowl (my tribute to Walt Disney…)
-a pedestal mount of a kudu
-a pedestal mount of a zebra
-A wall pedestal mount of an impala
-traditional shoulder mounts of my gemsbok, springbok and hartebeest.
-had the skin tanned of my ostrich to have it ready to be mounted at a later date
The nice thing about the way they treat the skulls in camp, they are pretty much ready to go for European mounts when they come back.  Here is a photo of my zebra and meerkat skulls.  They came over this way from Africa – the taxidermist and I did nothing to them so other than the dip and ship costs, and shipping, I paid no taxidermy fees for them.

I warned all my buddies – Africa is addictive and like no other place on earth.  The outfitter I spoke with earlier summed it up.  There is nothing like being out in the bush tracking a kudu only to come around the corner 20 yards away from an elephant. 

Namibia did not have elephants, rhinos, lions, hippos, crocs, etc.  So while the hunt was just amazing, I did not get to see that aspect of it.
I can’t wait to go to a place with all those classic animals running around wild!

Pasco kid – you are going to have a great time!

[steen]

If you are lookng for an outfitter our taxidermist has been quite a few times.  Wildlife Art is his business name up in Whatcom Co.  Gives you another option.  I sat in the outfitter's sales pitch but can't remember all the fees.  We figured 20K for the two of us.  At leaast I know it is a safe outfitter.

[runamuk]

I used to chat with a woman online who had successfully hunted the big 5 ....she had been many many times and said the same once you go you will want to go back.

[BlackRidge]

This is too cool Rob, glad someone here is taking advantage of these Safari's!

Just out of curiosity, do you have any interest in going after any of the 'Big 5' out there? Seems like the next logical step

Thanks for keeping us posted!!

[sakoshooter]

Just curious but $750.00 seems like a lot of money for a tip.  Are you figuring $100 per animal? How and why did you come up with that figure?

[Rob]

If you are looking for an outfitter our taxidermist has been quite a few times.  Wildlife Art is his business name up in Whatcom Co.  Gives you another option.  I sat in the outfitter's sales pitch but can't remember all the fees.  We figured 20K for the two of us.  At least I know it is a safe outfitter.

Thanks!  I feel I must either meet with the folks I plan to go with, or get a solid recommendation from someone I know who has used the outfitter so I'll keep this in my back pocket and if I don't get warm fuzzies after Reno, I'll reach out.

Regarding the big 5 (Leopard, Buffalo, Lion, Rhino, Elephant) or dangerous 6 (add hippo to the big 5):
-A great group of animals to be sure.
-I am in no financial position to pay for the Elephant, and especially the rhino hunt.
-I always said I was not really interested in cats but I am finding that changing for me.  I now know I would not pass on a Cougar, and I am liking the idea of leopard more and more.  Enough so that if Buff does not work out, I'll probably hunt Leopard instead.  Lions on the other hand are not big on my list.  Finding a good lion that was not pen raised and released at a reasonable price is quite difficult.  Those that are excellent trophies are sky high price wise.
-I do want a buff!
-Hippo would be totally cool as would Croc...

So in short, someday perhaps, but for now I have more than enough to keep me occupied in Africa so I'll pick and choose based on price and opportunity.

With regard to tip, it is a 10 day trip.  I calculated it based roughly on 10% of the daily rate plus trophy fees (Daily Rate estimate of 3,300 and a guess of 4,500 for trophy fees).  The tip is split between the cook, guide and trackers.