South Africa hunt

Anybody been?

I'm going in August. Any advice?

I went but it was 20 yrs ago. My experience and/or advice may not be revelent anymore.

My friend went several years ago and had a great time. He was warned to never eat or drink anything after the locals because many of them had HIV. Can't say if its true or not, but that is what the lodge owners told them.

Practice and practice some more from shooting sticks, against trees, in crook of trees , etc.
More ammo used now, less used on hunt and no regrets.
I'm sure alot of time and money on the line.
Enjoy your hunt.
Sarge

My daughter and her husband went this past June. They had a great time and a great hunt. A lot of waterhole hunting and some spot and stalk - not a lot of tracking. The safari camps are more civilized than most countries to the north with heat and air, wifi, and probably even swimming pools. Almost all land in SA is high fenced. Depending on your views, you may have to request a different property to hunt on if the fences seem kind of close. If you are using your own firearm, I would book my personal travel and gun travel through a travel agent recognized for that. If you have problems in SA - bribery is appreciated.

lol at bribery. I was hit up at check in at the Johannesburg airport by a customs guy. I gave him 5 bucks and no more problems. Joberg is a crime ridden cesspool but the rest of the country is very interesting.
Take a heavy shirt for early morning and to protect against thorns. Lots of things there to hurt you. Take antibiotics and your other medication in original containers. Good sunglasses are a necessity. Comfortable broken in walking boots that are lightweight. As stated practice with shooting sticks.
Take lots of pictures and make notes. You will see more game the first day than in years here. Listen to your PH. Get a book on where to shoot your target animal, their vital organs can be located differently than you are used to. Have extra funds available to pay for unexpected targets of opportunity. You might see a world class leopard sunning itself. I passed on a bushbuck and nyala because they weren’t on my list and have regretted it ever since. Observe everything and have fun. You will love it.

If I remember right James has been to Africa hunting so you could try to PM him he may have some insight.

Yes - be prepared for targets of opportunity. Much cheaper to just pay extra trophy fee than another round trip airfare and daily rate.

Drink bottled water and drink lots of it! You probably won't sweat but between the flying and heat drink more than usual. Dont eat raw fruits, sunscreen, have fun blah blah :-) Oh, and be prepared to have your #2 schedule super messed up

We are leaving for a hunt over there on July 20 this year. Never been there before. Was shocked at the airfare.

I've been there on 8 different safariis! PM me with questions if you would like...

Pete

I've been over there a couple times.

My advice is.
Plan on shooting more than you planned on. You'll need $$$$ and probably someone back home to wire you even more money.
Start taking a Pepto Bismol tablet every morning when you start your trip. Don't skip any days on the Pepto.
The flight over and back is brutal. 17 to 21 hours depending where you're flying from, and probably on an Airbus(flying cattle car). They'll show you some European movies on the flight and feed you some kind of Euro food, like cold Mackerel sandwiches. Take something to snack on. Or better yet, take two of the mini whiskies and a sleeping pill and miss most of the flight.
If you are taking your spouse along, and I recommend that you do, then plan to spend a couple days in Kruger Park. Five days in the park is even better.
If you are planning on taking the Malaria pills, then take them early in the morning. They will cause you to have nightmares and you need all day to get them thru your system before you try to sleep. We also found that taking them with some peanut butter in the morning helped. Or, don't take the pills and just wait until you get Malaria and then take the shot.
If you are traveling over around Kwa Zulu Natal and get yourself a dose of the local tick fever, then Tetracycline is the only thing that will save your life. You won't know that you've got the fever until you get home and American doctors will shoot you full of all kinds of drugs that will only postpone your death. Tetracycline is the one you want.
You should check with your local CDC office to see what shots they recommend before traveling over. They'll probably recommend a Yellow Fever shot. Take the shot. Yellow fever is nothing to play with.
The last thing is that a lot of the locals, and I do mean a lot, are HIV infected. A lot of them will have other infections too, like Tuberculosis. So, keep your horse in the barn and watch who's second hand air that you're breathing.

Also, if you get a chance at a night hunt, do it. Lots of critters moving around after dark that you won't see in the daylight.

Most of the animals you need to shoot much more forward than anything you'd shoot at in North America. A shoulder shot like you'd do on a deer here, may be too far back on a lot of those animals. Africans rules are that if you drew blood, then you bought it. Paying trophy fees on wounded animals is zero fun. Shoot them a little forward.

Another last thought is have most of your taxidermy work done there. Especially things like zebra skin rugs and stuff. You won't have to pay a dipping fee on anything that you have taxidermied in Africa. Raw skins shipped back for taxidermy here will set you back on the dipping fees. Those guys mount a lot of stuff and can access tanning chemicals that are better than the watered down American versions. You'll get better work, done cheaper there, than you can get at home.

Take some time to look at the stars at night. You'll be looking off of a side of the planet that you've never seen before and it's all different. Sitting and studying the Southern Cross was something like a Biblical experience for me.

You'll be planning your next trip back on your homebound flight. Once the Dark Continent gets into your blood, you'll never be the same again. Good luck on the hunt.

Ive never been there. But Ive heard that you might be pressured to take a questionable shot; if you wound it, you pay for it.

I hunted in S. Africa and Zambia in 2016, and it was the best vacation I ever had.

Fly Emirates Airlines if you can. Much better accommodations and service than domestic airlines.

You will see huntable game animals every day, and you never know which species. It's hard to resist if you see a trophy specimen besides those you plan to hunt. Be prepared to shoot and pay more than you planned.

At night I liked to sit at the campfire smoking a cigar and looking at the Southern Cross. The nights are cold, btw.

Practice shooting from sticks. That's how they shoot at game in Africa. I had trouble with it at first.

Jim