Ok folks, there a lot of us here who have never (and probably won't either but still aspire to) head out on a safari, but we still have lots of questions.

Where are the most popular destinations?  How long do you usually stay?  What sort of game is available in the various locales, and what do you do with the animals you take?  Do they get processed for the locals, and you keep the hide and head?  Do you send the whole animal to the taxidermist to make into a mount?  A mixture of both?

What about bird hunting?

What is the typical safari day like?  How many people are there?

I hear the word "safari" and have this somewhat image of the stereotypical Southern gentlemen stalking his latest quarry with a local guide, or of the noble Englishman and his hunting party, with thier large bore doubles chasing down an elephant?

I hate to bring up money, but how much does a "beginners" safari cost?  

I'd like to see this turn into sort of a safari FAQ for those of us who have no clue what a safari is like.

Where are the most popular destinations? For the working man it would be Republic of South Africa or Namibia. For Bankers, lawyers, and corp. executives, Tanzania, and Botswana.How long do you usually stay? A short hunt would be five days of hunting, average is ten days, and some are twenty one days or longer. Dangerous game hunts usually require booking twenty one days.What sort of game is available in the various locales, and what do you do with the animals you take? Plains game includes everything except Elephant, Rino, Leopard, Lion, and Cape Buffalo which are considered dangerous game. All meat is the property of the outfitter who sells it on the local market. Hide, skulls, and horns are the trophy taken by the hunter.Do they get processed for the locals, and you keep the hide and head? Do you send the whole animal to the taxidermist to make into a mount? A mixture of both?You can have your trophies processed in Africa and shipped finished to you or you can have the raw skulls and capes shipped to a taxi in the U.S. for mounting.

What about bird hunting? YES YES YES!!!

What is the typical safari day like? How many people are there?It depends on whether you are in a tent camp or staying in a lodge. Typical day starts by getting up before dawn, loading up into a truck and driving to the hunting area. Drive or walk to glassing areas and spend time looking for game or start walking and looking for tracks. When game is spotted or tracks found start walking. If you are old or fat or old and fat the PH will try and get you close to the game in the truck and encourage you to shoot from the truck. What happens in Africa stays in Africa  Typical hunting party includes you, the PH, the head tracker, the second tracker, and sometimes a game scout. The game scout works for the government and wears a military uniform and carries an FAL. He does not do any work and is there only to keep an eye on things. He usually gets some of the meat.

I hear the word "safari" and have this somewhat image of the stereotypical Southern gentlemen stalking his latest quarry with a local guide, or of the noble Englishman and his hunting party, with thier large bore doubles chasing down an elephant?Go to Accuratereloading.com and look at the photos in the hunt reports from Africa for an idea of what the typical safari hunter looks like. They are just ordinary folks. Most wear the same outfits that they would wear on a Texas hog hunt. I have never seen a pith helmet, safari jacket or monocle, although I have thought of dressing that way for the first meeting with a PH just to freak him out.

I hate to bring up money, but how much does a "beginners" safari cost? Some where around $15,000 for a plains game hunt.

I'd like to see this turn into sort of a safari FAQ for those of us who have no clue what a safari is like.Ask away. There are a few guys here who have seen the elephant.

This was my experience in Africa



I like getting the chance to post that in case someone missed it.


Headless has got a pretty good head on himself.

He hit the nail right on the "head".

Here are my last two. Namibia and RSA

forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6321043/m/960106405?r=960106405#960106405

forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1411043/m/786101041?r=786101041#786101041

Originally Posted By Headless_T_Gunner: Here are my last two. Namibia and RSA forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6321043/m/960106405?r=960106405#960106405 forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1411043/m/786101041?r=786101041#786101041

That's awesome.

The second link has mostly dead photo links. I hope you can geet those back up. I would love to see them.

When I posted the link they were all there and now they are gone from Photobucket. If they don't come back I will post some photos from that hunt on a thread here and include some from Zimbabwe.

There is a good story that goes with some of these photos. I really wanted to kill a bushbuck on this trip. The PH said that they were so spooky that we needed to leave one of the trackers and my wife in camp to cut down on the noise. Not that my wife  or the second tracker were noisy but fewer people make less noise. So the PH, the tracker, and me set out one evening and stalked along the river looking for a bushbuck. I got one. The animal with the spots. Shortly after we left, my wife said that staying in camp was bullshit and she told the second tracker, the one with the Akeem Olajiouwan t-shirt, to get his stuff and lets go for a walk in the opposite direction along the river. He did what he was told. They saw a warthog and my wife got a bullet into it but it took off down a tunnel in the riverine jungle. Olajiouwan, or "Stinky" as we called him, got down on hands and knees and started into the brush tunnel following the blood trail. My wife was right behind him with her rifle. It was nearly dark when they found the warthog dead and Olajiouwan dragged it out of the brush. It was totally dark when they got back to camp.

Awesome pics.

Awesome!  Thank you very much.  I'm sure I'll have more questions, and I hope some others will too.

Beautiful animals by the way.

Man, that scenery is awesome.  The lodge looks sweet too!

There is quite a bit of difference in African safaris and the cost will frequently reflect that. The most affordable hunts are generally called "ranch hunts" (almost all of them in the RSA) where the property is for the most part fenced and the landowner is able to supplement the game population by buying more as needed. Some ranch properties are huge and some aren't. Unlike in the US, the landowner owns the game on his property. Since the RSA was largely settled by Europeans that subsequently bought and divided up the land for cattle and farming operations, essentially all of the dangerous game was killed off except for in areas that are now national parks. There are a few safari operators in the RSA that have properties that ajoin their great national parks, which still offer dangerous game hunting.  Ranch hunts usually have nice lodges since they can be maintained on private property.
If you move north from the RSA into areas that received less outside development, you'll begin to have a better chance to hunt free-roaming animals and have truly fair-chase hunts. However, it is usually the revenue from the safari industry that provides the anti-poaching efforts in these countries. In spots without such, game populations are terribly low.
Zimbabwe, with its Mugabe-generated economic collapse, still benefits from its once superior game management and PH training. Large sections were set aside for wildlife protection, though poaching is a huge and growing issue. Because of the uncertainty in making long-term plans there, the industry is operating at much lower capacity than other countries, which makes the cost of some of the hunting there the best bargain on the continent.
Botswana had some outstanding areas for hunting, particularly the Okavango Delta, and the allowable number of species that can be taken each year on concessions is low, which makes hunting costs there very high. They should be taking many more elephants than they are, as is also the case for Zimbabwe, but the chance for a monster tusker is better there than any country. They have only recently started back their lion hunting and the allocations are very low, which again makes their costs the highest in Africa.
If you’re looking for “a Hemmingway safari”, look no further than Tanzania. It’s what is generally called “East Africa” and has huge concessions for its hunters. Many are a million or more acres that you’ll have all to yourself and you can basically hunt in whatever direction that you’d like without concern for running into a property line. It’s all wide open, fair chase, and the beauty is stunning. In the north and NE part of the county is Masailand.  Interaction with the Masai is awesome and you’ll get to hunt species found no where else, such as lesser kudu, fringe-eared oryx, Thompson’s gazelle, Grant’s gazelle, gerenuk, and white-bearded wildebeest.  There is currently a lot of concern about some recently announced changes in trophy fees and concession costs, but the overall cost of operating a safari in these remote locales is high and the proposed changes will make dangerous hunting in TZ significantly higher.
Zambia and Mozambique offer some good hunting, with the latter being a destination that should be better in 5-10 years or so. The industry is much smaller in these than the other countries mentioned.
If you want to see huge numbers of animals and species, you’ll need to visit a country that has a vibrant safari industry. In those countries that succumbed to outside political pressure or other influences, outside of parks, extensive game populations are basically gone (see Kenya, West Africa, ect). Even in 2006 there was a regional conference of countries in Africa discussing ways to improve lion populations. Do you know the end result was after hearing all of the scientific comments and research? Allow more lion hunting. Only with such do the lions have value and can avoid the local stigma of being a pest and threat that must be eliminated.
If you like African animals, thank a safari hunter.

Springhill


Beautiful pics.

Awesome trophies.


Where was the leopard killed?

When were you there?

Thanks for sharing those pics.

Originally Posted By krpind: Springhill Beautiful pics. Awesome trophies. Where was the leopard killed? When were you there? Thanks for sharing those pics.

Thanks, and we did have fun chasing that stuff around and making those pics!
As for the leopard, that hunt was in Moyowosi in Tanzania in July 2005.  As with every animal taken, there's a good story there. We had been setting baits around for a couple of days (both lion and leopard set-ups--which are different). We were checking a lion bait one morning and found nothing. Later that day we checked it again and saw a good leopard had been there after we left.  We built a blind so we could hunt him the next morning. While in the blind a lion showed up and was sitting just outside the blind--maybe 5 feet from me--grunting and rumbling. It was my first encounter with such so I was nervous. I didn’t know at the time but my PH could tell it was a lioness. After she left we quit hunting that leopard as it would not come back after a lion had taken over the bait.
Not too far away we had a leopard bait set up. We were checking it one morning and saw it had not been hit. Later that afternoon we stopped by it again only to see a nice male leopard had hit after we had left. Hmmmm...Could there be a pattern here?
We decided to build a blind to hunt it the next morning. We got in there before sunrise and waited. Unbeknownst to the leopard, we had instructed our trackers to drive the Land Cruiser up about 45 minutes after sunrise and for them to ignore us and get out and check the bait. They then did just that and then left. 15 minutes later we heard the distinct sound of a leopard moving through the long grass. With almost a single bound it leaped the 15'-18' into the tree and was on the limb that was holding the smelly bait. My son's .300WM was prepositioned through a hole in the blind so that it was aimed directly at the leopard. He put the crosshairs on its shoulder and fired. The leopard went down and into the brush. We didn't know if it was dead or not but my son felt good about the shot.
Tracking a wounded leopard is one of the most dangerous things on a safari. They will lie in wait and pounce on you with speed that can be indefensible. Letting a client get chewed up or killed isn't good for business so you'll always have your PH and the trackers take the lead when following blood. We had good blood to track, but in July things are still green from the seasonal rains that ended a month before. It was thick in there.
I had my double rifle out and everyone else was armed. Tensions were high when I heard the first sound of glee as a tracker had spotted the leopard dead in the dense brush. Soon there was a feeling of jubilation as one of Africa's most challenging species was ours!
Everyone in our group wanted to get in the pictures that followed. We had all morning and no one wanted such a special occasion to end. It was time to go back to camp and show the dozen or so in the camp staff that remained there to cook, clean, and skin the results of the great hunt.
Lions and leopards are terrifying to the locals. Killing one is always a momentous occasion and many traditions soon follow. We were driving back to camp when the PH stopped the vehicle and the trackers and game scout began cutting greenery. They were putting things in the grill of the Cruiser and making other sorts of ornaments. Next thing I knew they were lauding my son with decorations and cheers. Songs erupted and the horn was blowing and keeping the beat. As we neared the camp the whole crew met us in jubilation carrying sticks and shrubbery over their heads. My son was helped out of the car like a hero as he was placed in a chair and paraded all around as traditional songs and chants were sung to him in praise. It was a stunning sight and one that neither of us will ever forget. It was a Leopard Celebration in East Africa's finest form and I got the whole thing on video.
Believe me; a safari in Africa is so much more than simply pulling a trigger!

Wow.

That is a great story.

I would love to be able to watch the ceromony honoring the slayer of the cat.

I bet that made you an extremely proud parent.

Originally Posted By krpind: Wow. That is a great story. I would love to be able to watch the ceromony honoring the slayer of the cat. I bet that made you an extremely proud parent.

Want to see it?? Well, the video quality isn't very good as I didn't upload it with the right connections, but you can still get a good idea of what the Leopard Celebration was like by watching it HERE.  Let me know what ya think.

WOW !!! That was great. Thanks for posting the pictures.

Originally Posted By Headless_T_Gunner: WOW !!! That was great. Thanks for posting the pictures.

Thanks! I got to looking at all your great pics and started digging through a few of mine. I hope I didn't overdo it as I could have posted a lot more!   As you know, once you've experienced Africa you never get it out of your mind. You don't meet many people that only go once. As David Petzer said:

"...and sof if you meet a hunter that who has been to Africa, and he tells you what he has seen and one, watch his eyes as he talks for they will not see you. They will see sunrises ans sunsets such as you cannot imagine, and a land and a way of life that is fast vanishing. And he will always tell you of how he plans to go back."

Springhill, I'm having a problem watching that vid on my home computer.

I will try it out at the office Mon.

I'm looking forward to it.

Originally Posted By krpind: Springhill, I'm having a problem watching that vid on my home computer. I will try it out at the office Mon. I'm looking forward to it.

If you can get it working for you I'll show you a link to a lesser kudu hunt we did. It's pretty cool, too.

Springhill.......do you want to adopt a son????!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the pics!

It's only been a year but I am dying to go back to Africa!