Planning to go to Africa

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MetricMan

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Two of my sons and I are planning a plains game hunting trip to Africa. Wow, are there ever a lot of outfitters out there. I ran across a couple at the Calgary gun show and was wondering if anyone here has ever dealt with them. They are Extreme Outdoor Safaris and Pringles Legendary Outfitters.
Choices of countries are South Africa or Namibia.
 
Never heard of them but I've hunted with Shona Hunting Adventures in Namibia and Wintershoek in South Africa. I'm going in 5 days for Leopard with Leopard Legends in Namibia. All 3 go to the African Hunting Events show at the Carraige house in Calgary. Shona and Winterhoek where excellent to hunt with. Leopard Legends has a very good name, TJ Swanky hunted with him for a episode of Wild TV last year and wrote a good report on Accuarte Reloading
 
Tootabi safaris- Wintershoek safaris - Blaauwkrantz Safariis, are all great - depending on where in SA you want to hunt.

Bos en Dal Safaris out of Botswana are a great option

Orpa Safaris - Namibia, with Dirk and Thea Smit is also one to think about
 
What is it you would like to go for can dictate where one might want to go. Some animals are better in certain areas. Some are high fence. Some are high fence areas that are so large you would not know it. many variables. Time, dollars, location. I can go to a high fence area and nail a whopper of a nyala but instead am doing a free range hunt this winter so will be content with a good representation or having the fact I've just spent two weeks tracking and being in the field. It's all up to your imagination and how big your wallet is. For some it is the most magical place on the planet for others it's just a place to hunt. Enjoy every second of it and savour the experience. You won't regret it
 
I hunted 10 days with Kowas Safaris in 2013. They are located about 1 1/2 hours southeast of Windhoek, Namibia. Seven of us went (4 hunters), and there was not one complaint. The Strauss family, and their staff run an excellent lodge. PM me if you are looking for any additional info.

http://www.kowasadventure.com/
 
Have hunted three times now in the Eastern Cape with Pierre Moolman of Sun Africa Safaris (w. w. w. sun-africa.co.za) and will be doing so again in the future. He's another PH and outfitter you can't possibly go wrong with.
 
Thanks for all the info guys.

We plan on going for kudu, gemsbok, waterbuck, impala and warthog. Should be typical bush veldt fare. Not looking to be included in Rowland Ward or SCI, so should make things easier. Boys would like very nice accommodations. I'd sleep in a tree, what do I care, I'd be hunting in Africa! Would like to spend at least 16 days in country, maybe do some wing shooting if time permits.
 
Wing shooting is great and affordable also. I know ardent took a fine double. To pot a few birds. The more guns you take in the more it costs to come out. There is always the option of the camp shottie it could be a fine double or a clapped out rig. Ammo is another point. You have weight to worry about. Buy the shot shells in country. Personally I don't like the taste of guinea or Egyptian goose but franks and sand grouse are good eating. Your days will be action packed and specifically added a day to wing shoot. From your list of animals RSA might save you quite a few dollars over Namibia. Though Namibia is a great place to hunt but your looking at extra flights. Take a look at cruiser safari. Very much a class act at very reasonable prices. Door to door service 5 star all the way or trophy safari if you want to hunt the highlands. About the only thing that will change your hunt is your budget. Regardless of where you hunt, hell its Africa you will love every second and will be figuring when you can get back
 
It really depends on what kind of experience you want. Primo accommodations, plentiful game, easy hunting and fine food? RSA or Namibia. But, having done both, if you want a real hunt, in the wild, being bolted awake in your tent by the sound of some animal losing his #### and working hard for your trophies, then you really should be looking elsewhere. I won't run down the hunting in RSA or Namibia, but after you've been into a place like the Zambezi Valley or Northern Mozambique, the tamer places are never quite as appealing. We used to do fly in hunts on the barrens when I was in my late teens and just being out there away from everyone and everything was an awesome experience. You won't have it so rough in Africa (unless you really got into the ugly stuff like Cameroon or you do the "spike camp" thing) but it will be an unparalleled experience.

I can't imagine going on a hunt and sleeping inside a building with doors and glass windows when I could be in a tent with nothing but the material between me and the rest of the world.
 
Likewise, I hope to go to Namibia with my two sons. I enjoy all the research that goes into planning a trip, and came to the conclusion that there are a lot of good outfitters to choose from. It comes down to your budget, type of hunting you like to do, the species of animals you want to hunt, high fence or no, etc..... My first hunt was in the Eastern Cape with Lalapa Safaris,(high fenced) I really enjoyed it, but I definitely see the allure of doing a hunt in a remote area like BUM is promoting - just not on my first time to Africa!
I'm not familiar with either of the outfitters you are considering, but I've found a lot off helpful information on another forum:

http://www.africahunting.com/community/

Good Luck with your quest.
 
JHC-II... Just a FYI.
I can fly from Toronto to Frankfurt, and then get a direct flight from Frankfurt to Windhoek. That would be the same travel time as going to RSA, and in Namibia you fill out a one page document to enter the country with your firearms.
 
BigUglyMan said:
It really depends on what kind of experience you want. Primo accommodations, plentiful game, easy hunting and fine food? RSA or Namibia. But, having done both, if you want a real hunt, in the wild, being bolted awake in your tent by the sound of some animal losing his #### and working hard for your trophies, then you really should be looking elsewhere. I won't run down the hunting in RSA or Namibia, but after you've been into a place like the Zambezi Valley or Northern Mozambique, the tamer places are never quite as appealing. We used to do fly in hunts on the barrens when I was in my late teens and just being out there away from everyone and everything was an awesome experience. You won't have it so rough in Africa (unless you really got into the ugly stuff like Cameroon or you do the "spike camp" thing) but it will be an unparalleled experience.

I can't imagine going on a hunt and sleeping inside a building with doors and glass windows when I could be in a tent with nothing but the material between me and the rest of the world.
Click to expand...

BUM one another question will be about the use of their own firearms or not ... ?

there is some places in Namibia far from the farms that are really good for hunting.
 
BigUglyMan said:
It really depends on what kind of experience you want. Primo accommodations, plentiful game, easy hunting and fine food? RSA or Namibia. But, having done both, if you want a real hunt, in the wild, being bolted awake in your tent by the sound of some animal losing his #### and working hard for your trophies, then you really should be looking elsewhere. I won't run down the hunting in RSA or Namibia, but after you've been into a place like the Zambezi Valley or Northern Mozambique, the tamer places are never quite as appealing. We used to do fly in hunts on the barrens when I was in my late teens and just being out there away from everyone and everything was an awesome experience. You won't have it so rough in Africa (unless you really got into the ugly stuff like Cameroon or you do the "spike camp" thing) but it will be an unparalleled experience.

I can't imagine going on a hunt and sleeping inside a building with doors and glass windows when I could be in a tent with nothing but the material between me and the rest of the world.
Click to expand...

Yep, do you want a vacation or a hunt? Good chance of coming back empty handed on much of one's anticipated bag on a proper hunt. I've done it both ways and prefer the hunt, the last RSA area I hunted despite being utterly enormous had power poles and a line running through it. Most places in my beloved South Africa will be tourist hunting, there are notable exceptions as where JHC-II and Neo speak of, but the price climbs rapidly the more genuine the experience. You would do well to shop Zimbabwe, a lot less shooting, a lot more walking, and a lot more experience depending where you go. You'd be glad you did when you look back on the experience, and BUM nailed it, many a strange sound will wake one in their tent in Zim. In South Africa, I've even had air conditioning in my hunting accommodation. Nothing wrong with that, it was absurdly relaxing, but just get a good idea what experience you're after.
 
A hunt is definitely what we're after. Not likely to stay in a 5 star resort, that's for sure! If you are going to hunt, especially in Africa, it has to be as authentic as possible. A stay in a lavish resort just wouldn't sit right. A cold beer at the end of the day would be great though! A spike camp is on the other end of the spectrum, and on I'm not sure of. I have stayed in a number of spike camps out hunting here in Alberta, and frankly I rather enjoy it. But probably not in Africa. Not this trip anyway.
We also plan on taking our own firearms. Not decided on what to take yet. Battery 1 consists of a 9.3x64, a 9.3x62 and a 9.3x74R. A bit heavy for plains game, but why not? Battery 2 consists of a 8x64S, a 8x57S and a 7x57. 200gr Partitions for the 8mm's, and 175gr Partitions for the 7mm. Considering taking my 16ga sxs for wing shooting, but may just borrow (or rent) shotguns from the outfitter.
 
Just be prepared most of South Africa, at least the operations you'll run into at shows, are fully high fence and you'll be driving through hours of farms that appear straight out of Lethbridge, mines, and all sorts of heavy human activity. It is not the Africa most picture, it's also completely enjoyable. You'll land in an airport that make any of Canada's international terminals look dated, drive massive highways through suburbia, see appalling poverty, all that stuff. Zimbabwe you'll walk across cracked, baking tarmac to a quonset from the 40's with pinholes of sunlight coming through, go through a highly casual customs set up in said barn, then drive road where you swerve around the fallen street lights that haven't been lit in a decade or two. You'll sleep in a canvas wall tent after an extremely long drive, hear sounds you'll never hear anywhere else, and set off into one of the last great corners of the world the next day. You'll pay two or three times as much as a South Africa package, bag less, you may or may not get your trophies home, and see and experience much more. Just my small change. You and the boys will have a ball in South Africa too mind you, but it's the same deal and feel as an all inclusive resort in Mexico with staff you'll enjoy more, and a quainter scale. We'd struggle to write a typical, "Bento Box B Lunch Combo" South African plains game hunt into the life story, but Zimbabwe, or Mozambique, and a few places in Namibia and elsewhere belong there. You would not regret the extra expense and TIA frustrations.
 
Hey Ardent, I know for a fact it will reach 60 deg C in that quonset in Harare in mid Oct..............:d:eek:

OP......be aware you can only take 5Kg of ammo each on any airline now-a-days and the odds of finding 16 ga shotshells in southern Africa are slim, in any quantity anyway. 12 ga is the way to go and buy shells there, or have your PH put in a stock for you ahead of time. The dove and sand grouse shooting in Zim is a riot, the sand grouse are like trying to shoot tiny F15s on a Mach 2 strafing run at 10 feet over the trees. They will test your shotgunning skills like no other bird I have shot, they make teal look like slow moving B52s. We also managed to waste a couple boxes of shot shells trying to shoot bats one evening.........50 or so shots..........1 bat........not to economically feasible !!! Spent a late afternoon shooting doves off some sort of grain field just outside Bulawayo, endless action and lots of fun, shot 100 or more doves in an hour and a half. Burned through a lot of shells but I was running about 75-80% so it wasn't too bad.
 
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As mentioned by Neo, you can't go wrong with a first-time plains game hunt with Pierre Moolman from Sun-Africa hunting safaris.

We've been there three times with friends (2007, 2011 and 2013) and the are simply wonderful to hunt with. A family operation that really takes you under their wing and provides you with an authentic South African hunting experience.

Your accommodations will be clean and comfortable, the food is fantastic (you will eat what you kill together with wonderful local cuisine. We ate our suppers together with Pierre and his wife, Annalie, much like you'd have a Sunday dinner with family). Very down-to-earth people.

The quality of the hunting is excellent, in large part due to the access that Pierre has to some truly huge concessions. Recently, they've been guiding the guys from "The Hunting Chronicles" and you can see videos of their hunts with Pierre on Wild TV and Youtube. Some pretty neat stuff.

Check it out.

If you're looking for something more reminiscent of old Africa, consider Shawn Buffee Safaris, hunting out of the Bubye Valley Conservancy in Zimbabwe. That place is like going through a time portal into Africa of half a century ago. Fantastic hunting and an experience of a lifetime (but you'll want to do it more than once...)
 
Hmmmmm - Zimbawe eh?


Zimbabwe Betrayed

All the world leaders stood with pride, On that day that Rhodesia died.

They congratulated themselves on a job well done,As Zimbabwe was born with the rising sun.

And the drums beat so very loud, As Mugabe addressed the eager crowd. He said we've won our freedom today, He said I'm president and I'm here to stay, And he made wild promises about the way,That Zimbabwe would change on it's first day.

Towns were renamed and streets were too,Every time an African leader passed through.

And the cheering of the crowd as they danced in delight,As Mugabe lit the heroes acre light.

Mercedes were ordered they couldn't have enough,They knew they deserved them the fight had been tough,The West would pay for them so they didn't need to worry, The aid was pouring in they had to spend it in a hurry.

Mugabe was important now, he'd even met the Queen,And of the whole world there was little left unseen. But still Mugabe felt ill at ease,What if someone else his power did seize.

The Matabele leaders had to go first, It was for their blood that Mugabe did thirst.

And the whites that remained were a thorn in his side, What to do about them he needed to decide.

But what had actually changed in the ordinary mans lives? As a future for their children they did strive.

Inflation had spiralled out of control,And on these people it took its toll. And when there was a rumbling of discontent,It was always the army that in he sent, He silenced the people who didn't agree, That he'd done a good job since Zimbabwe was free.

He had to find someone else to blame, So he started his land seizure game, So he's kicked the white farmers off the land, So many farms now idle they stand.

Farm workers jobs have all gone now, And they wonder how they'll make a living somehow.

And now as children starve and die,The people of Zimbabwe hang their heads and cry.

Elections were held but what a farce,The results were in before the first vote was cast.

And as food aid continues to pour in, Mugabe commits the ultimate sin.

For as people get to the front of the queue,They have to prove that to Mugabe they're true. For if they don't have a ZANU PF card. Then its empty handed that they leave the yard.

And the leaders of the world stand by and sigh, As they see the people of Zimbabwe die.

Why can't they admit that they made a mistake,Why can't they do something for Zimbabwe 's sake.

And I wonder what stories the old people tell, Of the time before they were living in hell. Of a time when work was plentiful, And the children were happy and their bellies were full. Of days before they lived under a dictator so cruel, In the days before they fought for Majority Rule.
 
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Yeah, that's a bit of a black eye. But the hunting is great. And if it causes agita, there is always Mozambique. Of course, that's just a different bunch of communists throwing out a different bunch of "occupiers", but the cape buffalo and elephant don't know any better.

Has anyone seen if the elephant prices have dropped since the FWS started rogering our American cousins?
 
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