Planning a trip to Africa! Need advise on everything I need to pack! tripod, pack, clothing

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rjefferies

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Looking at going to Africa on a hunting trip. Will hunting mostly plains game, gemsbok, springbok, warthog, kudu, oryx, impala.

Looking for first hand advise on a good shooting tripod, shooting bipod, Clothing, Pack.

Not looking to break the bank anymore than I am, but also want to get some quality stuff. I watch EE like a hawk so hoping to find some deals on used equipment. If anyone has anything used they want to sell let me know! Thanks for any advise!
 
You won't need a tripod or bipod, your PH will have those available to you... unless you want to practice off them before you go. Most safari outfitters offer a daily laundry service, so you don't need to pack a lot of clothing either. A light day pack that can carry a couple items will be fine, pack items may be a light jacket, rain gear, binos (but those will mostly be around your neck), a Nalgene waterbottle. Depending on when and where you go, you may need sunscreen and/or bug juice. You will likely have a tracker and skinner, so a knife is optional. Don't forget small gifts for the PH/Tracker/Guide and staff and enough cash to tip all around. Mostly, just be proficient with whatever rifle or bow you plan on bringing. Remember that the costs add up, so if money is a concern, be conservative on your harvest list... if money is of no concern, then you can be opportunistic as you hunt.
 
In a typical Africa trip bring half as much clothing, 1/4 as much ammo and about 4 rimes as much cash as you think. And don’t smile at the local girls ever. Trust me even if they are wearing police uniforms trust me on that one.

Just joking on the first two, twice the money should be enough. 1 tenth of the ammo you are allowed to fly will kill a ####load of game, but theres always the worry of a scope that shifted bad, and since if you’re like me and need two rifles to cross a dirt road you’re back to wanting tl take the max. Always struggling with airline limits, and because one’s your gun case the other one gets heavy fast. Fly in clothes you can hunt in, and use your carry on for your optics and a more a more or less change of clothes. Wear your boots because you don’t want to lose them and you don’t want to weigh them. If you are travelling with another person, split your ammo between each other because if either of you lose that bag, both of you will still have hallf of their ammo.

Other than that, theres nothing else to know. If you showed up with the clothes on your back and no gun they’d fix you up. Those professional hunters while not perfect are pretty damn good at what they do.

Remember to have some fun, and post pictures😂 Accept that with the amount of things going on; not everything will go according to plan and there is a big chance that you are going to change your mind about a few things yourself.
 
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Practice shooting off of sticks, 3 changes of clothes, one change of clothes in your carryon, Binoculars, leatherman for pulling thorns out of you boots. Short gaiters to keep seeds out of your boots. Take the rifle you shoot best with anything 7-08 and up will do for plains game you mentioned. Keep an open mind things happen so be flexible. I’ve been on 14 Safaris and never had a bad time overall. And eat lots of Biltong it’s their answe to jerky and is very good.
 
Pack light. Make sure your vaccinations are up to date. Bring some doxycycline and make sure you start taking it before you fly out. Be respectful and polite to the locals. Many Africans are well educated (Kenya has a higher literacy rate than the US) and lots of travelers tend to treat them unequally.
 
Good advice above, above all pack light and bring extra cash. There is no getting around the fact that tips are really part of the true cost and not optional if you want to be socially acceptable. You can thank USA tipping culture for that custom. Hunting camp staff are normally not paid very much for wages, and your tip at the end of the hunt makes a great deal of difference in their lives. You don't need to carry much on your person while hunting. Over six safaris I've never carried a bipod or other rest, the PH or trackers carry those. Learn to shoot quickly and accurately from a tall ( standing height) wooden home made bipod at home before your trip, but use the one they provide. Shots won't typically be very long. 200 M or much less in most cases. The trackers usually wear a backpack and can carry a water bottle for you and can stow your jacket when you take it off as the morning warms. A Leatherman or similar multi-tool is more useful than a hunting knife. Most camps have full time skinners and you'd just get in their way by getting your hands dirty. The thorns have to be experienced to be believed. I can't wear shorts in Africa. I'd like to be cooler and enjoy the freedom of movement, but the thorns eat up my lily white Canadian legs. The picture of my legs below is from one afternoon of stalking giraffe in Namibia. The big ones can go through your boot soles, the small hooked ones tear your clothes and your skin. Tough cotton / canvas clothes works much better than lightweight synthetic because of the hooked thorns slide off better.

All i carry on my person while hunting in Africa are rifle w/sling and binoculars, the above mentioned Leatherman, ammo pouch, a lighter, a small pocket flashlight or head lamp, and a lens cloth/hanky. Lately my cell phone serves as a camera. A big camera with telephoto lens, and a few more optional items are left in a day pack stowed in the bakkie.
 

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Longwalker said:
Good advice above, above all pack light and bring extra cash. There is no getting around the fact that tips are really part of the true cost and not optional if you want to be socially acceptable. You can thank USA tipping culture for that fact. Hunting camp staff are normally not paid very much for wages, and your tip at the end of the hunt makes a great deal of difference in their lives. You don't need to carry much on your person while hunting. Over six safaris I've never carried a bipod or other rest, the PH or trackers carry those. Learn to shoot quickly and accurately from a tall ( standing height) wooden home made bipod at home before your trip, but use the one they provide. Shots won't typically be very long. 200 M or much less in most cases. The trackers usually wear a backpack and can carry a water bottle for you and can stow your jacket when you take it off as the morning warms. A Leatherman or similar multi-tool is more useful than a hunting knife. Most camps have full time skinners and you'd just get in their way by getting your hands dirty. The thorns have to be experienced to be believed. I can't wear shorts in Africa. I'd like to be cooler and enjoy the freedom of movement, but the thorns eat up my lily white Canadian legs. The picture of my legs below is from one afternoon of stalking giraffe in Namibia. The big ones can go through your boot soles, the small hooked ones tear your clothes and your skin. Tough cotton / canvas clothes works much better than lightweight synthetic because of the hooked thorns slide off better.

All i carry on my person while hunting in Africa are rifle w/sling and binoculars, the above mentioned Leatherman, ammo pouch, a lighter, a small pocket flashlight or head lamp, and a lens cloth/hanky. Lately my cell phone serves as a camera. A big camera with telephoto lens, and a few more optional items are left in a day pack stowed in the bakkie.
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HOLY moly!
 
This is helping so much!! Any recommendations on clothing? or even a brand?? Just wondering if the $600 kuiu clothing is worth it for africa.
 
Synthetic $600 Kuiu camo clothing would be one of the worst possible choices for Africa. You don't need fancy clothing. And it's generally best to avoid camo patterns, which some governments and police services associate with terrorists, bandits, and poachers. Dark to mid tone solid earth colours or greens are best. Light colours and blue should be avoided. Avoid light colours because they are easy for animals to see in the bush and avoid blue because it attracts Tsetse flies. I like cotton canvas. Cotton can be ironed, which may be important. Avoid straight synthetic nylon or polyester material, which is noisy, sweaty and snags on thorns. I bought some good serviceable shirts and pants at Mark's in Canadian tire before my last trip to Mozambique. In some regions of Africa there is a fly that lays eggs in damp clothing, and the eggs hatch a day or two later and larvae burrow into your skin. So use the camp's daily laundry service, they will wash, dry and iron your clothes which eliminates that possible unpleasantness. Pack only what you wear on the plane and two more complete changes of shirts and pants with a couple days extra underwear and socks and a light sweater and/or jacket for the cool mornings and evenings. That's it.
 
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Went to Africa last year. I had taxidermy done there and shipped air freight to Calgary in March. I’m happy to break down those costs if you’d like.
 
joshw5144 said:
Went to Africa last year. I had taxidermy done there and shipped air freight to Calgary in March. I’m happy to break down those costs if you’d like.
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That would be awesome! Any advice you have regarding gear/clothing/stuff you didnt have/do/donts would be greatly appreciated
 
Sure, as far as clothing and gear: we packed way too much. Take a good hunting outfit and 1-2 evening outfits. Laundry is done daily, and well done. Jeans and a sweatshirt were perfect. It’s cooler than I thought it would be at night. For hunting wear, I took a pair of Sitka pants and a long sleeve shirt. A light jacket that I got rid of as the day warmed up. Good boots and a pair of gloves. A good pair of binos were the best thing we took. There is a lot to see even when not hunting.

I didn’t take my own rifle as our travel took us through Switzerland and Germany and I didn’t want to deal with it.

Can’t speak to the big cities as we were in and out of Johannesburg so quick it didn’t matter, but everywhere else we went the people were awesome. Everyone friendly and helpful.

Find some non hunting activities to do as the hunting can go quick, therefore without something to fill the day you’re left adding animals which runs the cost up quick.

I took a kudu, sable, Nyla and a zebra. I did all euro mounts and flat skins. Taxidermy in SA was $2000 usd. $1094 usd for air freight. $569 Canadian for brokerage. So roughly $4700 cad. Obviously that can fluctuate wildly based on # of animals and type of mounts, but that’s my numbers. All those costs were split up so it’s not a hit all at once.

The food is awesome. We made sure to eat some of each animal and they were all delicious, zebra was my favorite which surprised me. We also went into town for a couple dinners. Very very cost effective so don’t be shy to venture away from the included food at your lodge.

can’t think of much else to add but any other questions, fire away.
 
I over packed as well. I pretty much would wear a t shirt under my long sleeve shirt every morning until hot enough. Wore green carhart jeans and my hiking boots. Laundry done when we would get back everyday.

Laughed so hard first day as my PH is wearing a winter jacket and the tracker and skinner is in insulated coveralls when we got in their land cruiser. It was likely 18-20 degrees. My dad and I didn't even have a jacket 🤣🤣
 
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