Hi,

I'm heading with my brother in law and a couple other guys to South Africa the third week of July.  We're going to what I believe is the Limpopo area.  I'm not going for large dangerous game, so I'll be using a .30-06 Remington 700.

I know the weather is expected to be in the low 60's for the highs each day.  I'm wondering if anyone with experience in that area and at that time of year would have suggestions for what to bring, such as what type of pants (are there thorns or briars?), shirts, etc, or any other necessary items.

Also, aside from animals, are there particular snakes or insects to watch out for?  

I'm really excited about this trip, and eager to learn as much as possible, so any other useful information would be great.  I'm not sure of the outfit we'll be with, but I'll post it when I find out.

Thorns everywhere. Black mambas were the snakes our guides worried about the most. They come at you and can rear up several feet to strike and the are fast. You are pretty safe in vehicles but once you hit the ground you become prey.

Pants....I wore a set of tan BDU stule pants ever day and they worked great. even just regular tan heavy duty pants work great no need for camo there.

Shirts I wore long sleves in either tan ro OD and they again worked fine.

I did take a short sleved shirt for the warmer days.

take a fleece. It gets cold in the morning and evenings.

I am gin gto the NW Province and Limpopo (2 safaris backto back) in June. I will tryt o leave  a few critters for ya.

What are you huning? and what load are you planning on using?

I'm not sure which game I'm going to go for yet.   have a good friend who had one of the most beautiful gun case I've ever seen made from an animal he took in the same region, so I'll be looking for something with a nice skin.  Of course, I'm kind of an opportunist, so some of it just may depend on what we come across.  AAs for loads, I don't know.  My brother in law has ammo with Nosler Partition bullets, but I'm not sure of the weight.  He's coming up in May for the Indy 500, and he's bringing the guns and some of the ammo for practice.

I'm looking at some light weight hiking boots, kind of military style.  but would snake boots be a good idea?  It sounds like those snakes would just hit you higher than the boots.  

Is  a good survival knife recommended?

You do not need a "survival knife". Hunting in most of SA is done from lodges. YOu use the Landcruiser to scout for game then bail out and stalk. Farthest I ever got from the truck wasa  couple miles. Light daypack and a water bladder. I carried a small Spyderco and only neeeded it once to cut something.

The PH's don't wear snake boots.

You should really be deciding what you want to hunt now so taht yourpH can be scouting for them before you get there and can better putyou on trophy animals.

As for the guns sounds like  you need to get out and practice. In the Limpopo the shots ar emostly under 200 yards and most will be shorter than that.

The twothings you need to really work on is shooting skills from the sticks, Of hand, kneeling forget bench shootign tiis worthless.

That and getin shape. Ther ecan be a LOt of hiking on a stalk.

Yeah, we'll be practicing quite a bit.  I've nailed a small hog in the neck at about 200 yards with a .308 in Texas shooting with sticks, so I'm confident that with practice with the .30-06, I can become proficient.  What kind of boots did you wear?  Are the light high ankle military style hikers good?

I'm also wide open to suggestion on animals.  I don't really know much about them.  I'll be doing quite a bit of research beforehand.

I wore standard GI Desert Combat boots because they are broken in and comfortable. Any good hiking or hunting boot will do.

Post the link of your PH's website and give me an idea of budget and I will tell you what my choices would be. I already have 17 heads of African game on my wall but I will post what I would take for a first time hunt.

Great!  I'll get it as soon as I can reach my B in law.  I'm going to go ahead and get some hiking boots and will wear them in until the trip.

We're hunting with Eland Safaris, arranged through Explore Adventures.  We'll be right near the border with Botswana.  Across the border in Botswana is the Limpopo Limpadi Game and Wilderness Reserve.  The website for Eland Safaris is here:  Eland Safaris

I'm still learning and exploring the game, but almost for certain I'm going to want to get an impala, a warthog, and a baboon.  I'm still looking at what I can fit into my budget.  

From the pics, it looks like a nice outfit.  Then again, I have nothing to compare it to.

It looks like we'll be flying from Houston to Frankfurt, then to Johannesburg.  Of course, I'll be flying from Indianapolis and joining the party in Houston.

We're doing a conference call with them on April 22, where they'll be discussing what we need to bring and answering questions.

I'll post more as I learn more.  I'm probably going to read a couple of good books about hunting in S. Africa before we go.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

First of all not sure why you are going through frankfurt as the fastest and easiest way to Joberg is out of atlanta on Delta/

I am going to assume a budget for the animals of $6000 and you can adjust as necessary.

Kudu             2250
Steenbuck      350 (Trust mne do a full body mount)
Warthog          400
Impala              400
Gemsbuck     1250
Zebra             1250
Blesbuck           500
A Baboon while cool is sometimes on the CITES list and therefore a hassle and they dotn make that good a mounts FYI.

Figure another 4k for taxidermy and shipping and 500 for a tip and you should be GTG.



I will be hunting in two places the first safari will be near rustenburg NW of Joberg which is where i hunted in 2011. then straight off to Groblersdahl which is about 2 hours south of where you will be.

Read but learn to judge trophys. a Kudu is not trophy quality till it is 2 1/2 turns. Impals not tillthe horns are straight up in the vertical. Zebra look for the least shadow striping possible.  www.accuratereloading.com is chock full of good info. get teh books from kevin robinson from Safari Press on shot placement. Read boddington and others. Check yoru library for african hunting books and read them all. go to yoru Zoo and look at the african display animans and talk to the zoo folks on what a mature male looks like. A lot of PH's try to pawn off immature males on new hunters. In fact the Kudu on page one of his photo gallery I woudl nto have shot ona dare he needs to grow a few mroe years to even score 50" let alone 55"+.

the only thing that worries me is that thier hunting ares is only 5000 acres. that is a small high fence operation by african standards.


If for some reason you don't like what you hear i can reccomend several other outfits there that will give you great service and good hunting areas.

Frankfurt was apparently about $2k cheaper per guy for business class.  My B in L is using frequent flyer miles and I don't think he can use them on Delta, anyway.  I'm more or less hitch hiking here, so I don't get to be too involved in the planning.  Just the hunting.

I don't have any choice with the outfit, either.  It is bought and paid for, as in a gift, except 1/2 airfare and the first grand of trophy fees.  I'll be taking your advice and learning as much as possible, though.  I'm going to be rather picky because my budget is a bit tighter than what you assume.  (I've got 9 kids and a public educator salary.  Fortunately, my wife understands this will likely be a once in a lifetime trip for me, and she won't begrudge me for spending at least a few thousand.)  My B in L, however, has deep enough pockets to take what he wants, so what I learn will hopefully benefit him, too.

I really appreciate the guidance!  Btw, the gemsbuck is really striking to me.  I might have to focus in on one of these.  

PM me some budget numbers and i will try and help you out.

Cut thte one I gave you in half and do Kudu, Warthog and Gemsbuck.

Theya re the most striking for the wall.

And of you do european mpounts (bleached skull and horns) it cuts the taxidermy costs dramaticly and you can shoot more.

You might want to inquire about taking DL from ATL to Joburg.

If the departure times are the same as they were in Oct 2010 the jet lag is almost nil as you depart at ~ 2000 local and arrive at approximately 1700 local and by the time you get through passport control, customs, and get a ride, you are more than ready for a hotel bed.

I don't know what it looks like going through Frankfurt, but, the European flights usually entail an afternoon departure from the states and an early morning arrival.  From Frankfurt to Joburg is probably another 10 odd hours of flying.  Even through the DL flight is stupid long, you get it all out of the way in one whack.

If y'all are gonna roll in business then it might not be as big a deal, just something to consider.

Please, oh please, post some photos when you get back.  My wife and I did a photo safari for our honeymoon in Botswana and I want to go back so bad it hurts.  No snickering, we planned the whole thing in the span of about six and a half months and it was a spectacular success in my eyes.  That being said, I must live vicariously through others until I get the chance to go kill some plains game.

Sorry for the delayed response, guys.  My mother and father are both in their 80's and they've been pretty healthy until now.  My mom went into the hospital with a mystery infection, and she's in stable, but rough shape.  My dad has a very weak heart, and worrying about mom put stress on him, and he had a heart attack this morning.  We were sure we lost him, but somehow, he's hanging on and actually in good spirits.  To say it has been rough would be an understatement.

I haven't been able to think much about Africa, but I do know that my brother in law is working on the travel arrangements to see if we can do the direct flight from Atlanta and still get as good a deal.  To be honest, I hope he can work it out, but I really don't care because I'm still pinching myself that I get to go at all.  I'm tickled to be in business class, too.  Everyone else there will see me and wonder who let me out of steerage.  I'm 6'5" tall and rode 12 hours to China once in a sardine can, and somehow survived.  This will be gravy.

I'll take a shit load of pictures, that's for sure.  I'll take so many that just by blind luck I should get a couple of really good ones.  

I'll post up when I have time to focus on the trip again, but right now, between shuttling back and forth taking care of my parents, my kids, and praying a lot, I've had to put it all on hold.  

One great thing today was to see that my dad has no fear at all about dying.  He told my mom he's going to take her out to dinner in a week or so, but that if he doesn't, he knows she'll be ok and he'll meet her on the other side.  He's very strong in his faith, and confident in her strength to handle it.  I've always thought he was an amazing guy, but watching him look death in the eye with such grace, poise, and selflessness was just over the top.  On top of that, he hasn't lost his sense of humor.

I'm exhausted.  I'll check in as soon as I get a chance to breathe.  Thanks again for all the suggestions and help.  I've got a feeling that this trip might become much more important as a diversion from grief.  I don't know how my Dad can go very long in the shape he's in.

I grew up in the Dendron/ Vivo are of Limpopo - about 100km's from Louis Trichaardt - at the very tip of the Soutpansberg. Depending on the weather of the day (it can vary) I'd suggest a good pair of hiking boots and some thick, rip-stop type pants - like BDU's. The only snake you really need to be worried about, will be adders - and the boot should stop most of them. There really aren't that many big ones left in the wild - at least there wasn't on our property. The mamba's are there and the pants should stop most of them, but quite honestly I wouldn't even worry about snakes in July.
Thorns are everywhere. Little paper looking ones that grow in huge patches and the long white thorns with the black tips. That's why you wear the rip-stop type pants, but a pair of rugby shorts and sneakers pulled me through the first 20 years of my life in that area
Don't worry about the knife, etc. A good knife is always a good idea, but you won't need it.
30-06 is a fine caliber for that area. Enjoy the hunt and enjoy the quiet. The place has a feel all its own. You will be changed :D

Might as well start budgeting for a second trip.  It gets in your head.

Well, I lost both my parents this week.  Mom passed on Tuesday afternoon, and Dad passed on Thursday morning.  It's been a whirlwind, and very tough to take.  They were married 62 years.  They were amazing parents, and I'm blessed to have been their son.

On top of that, my Mom's younger brother died last night.  Our family is strong, but we're reeling at the sudden and devastating situation.

I'll get back to planning this trip and asking questions later.  There's lots on the plate right now, and I've also got to take time to grieve.  

Keep posting any thoughts or suggestions, as I'll try and check back in whenever I have a minute to myself and the desire to check back.  

Thanks.

Sorry to hear of your loss

Sorry to hear of your loss!

Thanks, guys.  Aside from work, which has been intense, we've been wrapping up my parents' estate.  Thankfully, my Dad was a real planner and had most things organized to a very high degree.  He was a first rate engineer with GM (Allison) for 45 years, so it is no surprise.  He really had my mom set up nicely, had she survived him.  Fortunately, he taught his kids well, on that count, too.  

Well, we're a little less than 2 weeks away!  I've pretty much got everything I need.  All that's left to do is a typhoid shot.  We spoke to the folks that run the ranch, and they seem like really great people.  We've got one more conference call just to make sure everything is in order.

I'm pretty excited about the aircraft we're flying.  We're going from Houston to London in a new 787 Dreamliner, and the rest of the legs will be in the big A380.  We're flying business class, so I won't have my 6'5" frame tied in knots when we get there.  From the reviews I read, the 787 is really a Cadillac.

We've got almost 9 hours to kill in Frankfurt.  Any suggestions of where to eat or what to do to kill some time?  We're likely to hire a driver and at least go somewhere nice to eat and have a couple German beers.  I'll also be looking for a place to buy some Cuban cigars to smoke while we're down there.  Maybe I can find them at the airport in SA?

I'm going to keep a journal, so that we can put together a photo book and tell the story of our trip.  

Very sorry to read about losing your parents......keep them close in memories and go enjoy your hunt without reservation...sounds like that's what your parents would want you to do.

As for the hunt...
30-06 is perfect for plains game.
Prepare for the mornings and evenings to be chilly...take stuff for layering.
Pack a little folder in your check-in bags if you feel the need to have a knife.
The game I would take if you are more limited would be a Kudu, male warthog, impala and a zebra.  Nothing like a zebra rug.  I am also very fond of my red hartebeest and blesbok.  I have all head mounts and the zebra rug and they all look awesome.  Also think about saving the warthog skull.  Use repro tusks for your head mount since they could split or have issues down the road and use them in the skull for a display piece on a shelf or something.  If you are lucky enough to come across a jackal, nail it and save the skull and hide for tanning.  I didn't save the hide for some stupid reason and I am still pissed about it 6 years later.

Also think about scrimping and saving some more and foregoing something else in the near future so you can kill more stuff and have them done as head mounts.  They will be a great source of pride and memories forever.  

Also think about having them done in the states vs. having them finished down there.  It will be more expensive to have them done here but it will be cheaper to ship everything back here unfinished so it will not be that much more.  Plus, if there are any issues down the road they are "under warranty" and easier to get fixed thru the original taxidermist.  

Prepare to want to go back as soon as you get home

PICS Dammit!  UPDATE NEEDED OP!


I need to get a fix.  I trying to avoid booking another hunt by living vicariously through others.

I'm working on pix.  I left my camera on the plane in London on the way to SA, so I had to rely on the other guys for pics.  They haven't sent them to me yet.  I'll post some from my cell phone, when I get a chance.

Sorry, I've just been swamped at work since my return.  I'll update when I can.  The trip was awesome and we ate just about everything imaginable.  Those Barnes bullets are just devastating from that .30/06, too!

would love to go on a safari

That sucks.  I am still waiting on pics from a guide that I didn't have time to take when I went last year.

It is something for which it is well worth saving.

 

Not to mention Plains Game hunts can be found for cheaper than the cost to shoot one trophy Elk in the US on a guided hunt.

This^^^^^

Bang for buck, a nice plains game hunt is a great value for what you get