Has anyone on this forum hunted with this operator? Any info would be appreciated!!!

Hawkeye47

my friend and i got ripped off by him. he had a $500 administratiopn charge we didnt have in our package. charged us for a day we werent there. charged me for a dip and packing for an animal i didnt get. the land they had was almost hunted out, had very friendly p.h.es though. i would save your money. try john x, he is not much more in cost for his tropheys and runs a great operation. al

Hawkeye47,

I do not want to hijack this thread, but there is one alarm bell ringing. So lets examine the tone of this ringing a bit. At the same time we might just give some advice to other to possibly prevent the experience reported by al telford.

Al, sorry to hear of your problems. Would you, as a service to the hunting community who reads this thread, please provide some additional input by replying to a few simple questions? I’m quite sure that your replies will be able to help many hunters [as clients of not only Bushveld Valley Safaris, but many other Hunting Outfitters] from experiencing a nightmare similar to that described in your posting. It will also lend substantiation to your warning that Hawkeye47, and by implication others, should steer away from doing business with Valley Bushveld Safaris.

1. Did Valley Bushveld Safaris present you with two copies of a Remuneration Agreement (RA) for signature before the hunt? This RA is nothing other than a hunt contract on which all services offered, the costs and prices are spelled out. The reply to this is a simple “Yes” or “No”.
2. Were you presented with an itemized bill, that show an item "administration charge ... $ 500" that was not reflected in the RA at the end of the hunt?
3. The detail about the day for which you “...werent even there...” needs some more detail to fully understand. Was an extra day simply added? Were you away from the hunting area for one day? What was the situation? You simply do not give enough detail (for me) to evaluate the statement properly, please elaborate.

If they did not present you with, and insist that you sign two copies of an RA – they acted illegally. The Eastern Cape [I assume that is where you hunted- but every single other Province adheres to the same policy] Regulations very clearly spell out that the signing of such a RA before the onset of the hunt is a requirement. Mr. Jaap Pienaar, the designated Eastern Cape Nature Conservation Officer responsible for Hunting Outfitters and Professional Hunting & Hunters, at jaap.pienaar@deaet.ecape.gov.za would like to hear the facts. NOTE It is not you that acted unlawfully and you will not be prosecuted, but Valley Bushveld Safaris may [IMHO should!] be prosecuted.

To all foreign hunters intending to hunt in South Africa: Insist, no matter how much you trust the people involved, with your chosen Hunting Outfitter that you want to sign a RA before the hunt – it is a regulatory requirement! No signed RA = Illegal Hunt. PERIOD!

If there was indeed a signed RA in place , the proof of al telford’s statement that the ‘administration charge’ was not in the package can be very easily shown by Al blocking out personal details, scanning the rest of the document and posting it here as a picture. But to really show ‘guilt’ on the side of Valley Bushveld Safaris it will also require a copy of an itemized bill presented at the end of the safari that shows an item as “administration charge of $ 500” that was not reflected in the RA. Remember Valley Bushveld Safaris cannot claim that their web page or any other pre-hunt correspondence mentions clearly that the "administration charge" is NOT included in the package. It might be true that their pre-booking cirrespondence with you clearly state that such a charge is to be added to the hunt package, however if is not on a signed RA they cannot charge you for it. They may only charge for it if it is clearly stated in the RA that there is to be such a charge that is not included in the normal package fee!

Just incidentally, PHASA’s web based List of Members now show a certain G C Scholtz form Valley Bushveld Safaris as a FULL MEMBER. They may also like to know about any possible misconduct by a member. But do not expect much help from them – they are after all in the first place there to act in the interest of their members, and not to help disgruntled clients of their members.

To all intending to hunt anywhere with anyone in South Africa I repeat:

NO SIGNED RA = ILLEGAL HUNT! No arguments. No if's and buts - simply illegal! An offence committed by the HO, and not the client. A question: Do you really want to hunt with a Hunting Outfitter that does not even care to adhere to the simple Regulatory requirement to have a signed RA in place before the onset of the hunt? What do you think he will care for about the legality of your other actions? Or the actions of his PH's? Or the proper paperwork being in place for trophy export? I advise to insist on a signed RA, and stear clear if the HO refuses to honor this valid request or dodges the issue. Do not do business with such a HO!

Signing a RA has absolutely nothing to do with trust between the intended client and the Hunting Outfitter, it is an inarguable regulatory requirement! Period!

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

+1
We got great hunting in SA and a lot of interesting people in the industry.We need to protect it and ourselves from the inevitable unscrupulous operators, no fingers pointed at anyone in particular here. But the facts are important.
2 sides to every coin etc

P.S Al welcome to the forum