We're off to South Africa in 5 days - any advice?

One more thing, prioritize your animals in a list of most important to least, to you. Make sure your PH knows this list or you're likely to find yourself spending hunting time on animals low on your list but high on the PHs list. If you are unhappy with some aspect (the lunches packed, in my case) speak up right away and don't just keep quiet and bear it. This is your hunt and you have final say on everything, except safety issues. I spent several days hunting buffalo in the Congo until I realized that we would not see any sitatunga, buffalo hunting and repriortized my PH on sitatunga. At least that way I never saw either one. LOL
 
Call your credit card and let them know you are traveling.
It might be late advise for the OP but having extra credit cards is a good idea, sometimes ours don't work there.
Cash is king and travelers cheques are a pain to cash in SA.
 
^^^^^ good advice when travelling. I called my credit cards and banks for the debit cards as well. It was a good thing I also brought an extra credit card as I had problems with my main card and had to revert to the spare card until I could call them and sort it out.
 
Ardent said:
-Don't accept help finding the firearms office, it's maybe 100 yards off to your right when you enter the main terminal from the baggage area, and clearly signed.

-Don't pay a bribe for "safe passage" of your firearms, especially if approached by a person of questionable ###. Never could tell if he/she was male or female in several meetings, but always whispered to polite threat. I lost $20 first time over, and it made no difference not paying later. There's hell to pay with their police if they screw with your guns.
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Ha, it cost me $40 for the police officer to "find" my gun in the back room. Gave him $20, he came back, said no luck, asked for name,etc. again, gave him another $20, lo and behold out comes my gun case. :)
That was a while back when the firearms office was in a nook upstairs. A porter took me there, without him it would have been difficult to find, well worth the $5. Evidently things have changed in the last 20 years.

And to the OP, if you have a layover in Johannesburg, don't go sightseeing unless it's with someone you know and trust that's familiar with the city.
 
Funny stuff I've been to the small room upstairs, it's still there as of a year ago, had to go there when departing last time and they checked serial numbers and ammo quantity leaving. You're right, I think a porter pointed me there too. I just had a really sour taste when a porter threw his hands up when I gave him too much money for nothing. Told him where he could go and haven't enjoyed the service since.
 
mossyhorns said:
^^^^^ good advice when travelling. I called my credit cards and banks for the debit cards as well. It was a good thing I also brought an extra credit card as I had problems with my main card and had to revert to the spare card until I could call them and sort it out.
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Your debit card will work at ABSA Bank, it's a division of Barkley's Bank of the UK. It will even give you your account balance, but it will be in Rand.
Good idea to call your credit card company, I had a hard time getting mine to work buying my wife some diamond earings, I work for the Bank in a Senior capacity and I had to get on the phone.
 
Better to have a "good" point and shoot camera in your shirt pocket than a really good camera in its own carrying case. I have a good Canon but by the time you take it out and get it going it can be too late. By all means take both a good SLR style camera for when you have time to use it properly, but the new point and shoots have their place too!
 
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