My son just won 2 free Tickets with American Airlines to anywhere in the world. He wants the 2 of us to go on safari.

The issue is that he has to book the flight in 30 days. So we have to get this booked right away. One question I have is do hunts usually start on certain days of the week or are safari operators flexible when you arrive? We could book the flight to Namibia or South Africa and then plan around that arrival with our hunt.

Now the main question.

I would appreciate any recommendations on a plains game hunt based on one you've taken. I'm not sure yet if we're going for 7 or 10 days.

I've seen a number of packages and that may be most affordable for us.

I would appreciate any recommendations/advise you would offer, either on this forum or by sending me an email to: larryrichardson404@gmail.com

i haven't been, but seems that since you will only owe baggage fees on the airfare I would take as much time as you can, even if you only hunt for 7 days stay in country for 10, 14+ days (if you can afford time off work) so you can make the most of the free airfare

personally I want to go to Namibia for the truly wild vs high fence, but a large enough high fence may be better this year with the drought in namibia, but others will be able to tell you if it's just some parts of the country that are affected or if it's the whole country that is being affected

PM sent

This is a WIDE open question and a great problem to have...so to speak.
You will get a flood of advice because of the broadness of the request.
1) decide what your Hunt Budget is. The dollar is very strong right now and generally South Africa and Namibia offer slightly lower cost and higher variety
2) narrow down what species/animals you REALLY want most. This will effect area and quality
3) what type of terrain do you most enjoy? Want to see a more "wild" Africa? Then lean towards Zimbabwe, Moz, or Zambia. Namibia is great, but resembles much of the American a West or Texas a little bit with thorn bush . South Afric has the most variety and terrain
4) does it bother you to hunt behind a high fence? Many areas of "high fence" in South Africa and Namibia are MASSIVE. Some are relatively small. It is almost a misnomer in South Africa when in a place that may be 40,000 acres or more.

All that said you will likely wind up in South Africa BUT do not discount plains game rich areas where you can and will see the Big 5 like Zim or Moz in places like the Save Valley or Coutada 9 (and others). They all offer very Rich experiences.

Good Luck

Are those tickets just were AA flies or does it include One World too?

Assuming its one world, you will be flying into JNB. Based on that South Africa would be your best bet. You will have to buy some internal SA flights but they are not bad.

Next you need to decide if you want a Management or Trophy hunt and then what you want to spend. Right now where I hunted this August Kalahari Rangers has a Management hunt list on Safari Confidential.com for a very reasonable price (Euros).

If you are ok with high fence, I would look into Limcroma Safaris in SA.
Land in JoBurg from Atlanta, spend the night there and next morn its a three hour ride to camp.
The camps they have are first class. The variety of animals is very good.
Prices and competitive.
I went there twice with archery equipment.
If you have any specific questions PM me.

Tholo in Botswana

PM Sent!

I can recommend Jimbah Safaris who hunt in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

I've hunted with them several times and there are a few hunt reports shown on their web site!

They are a small, personal outfitter who pride themselves on their service and the quality of the hunt! [contrary to rumor and opinion all hunting in South Africa is NOT high fenced!]

Check out their site!

Les Howell

AA does not go to too many places in Africa.
May want to consider Argentina or Europe.

And every client that has flown AA has had gun problems. They try to route you through heathrow or some other european capital and that's where the problem arises.

Another vote for Tholo in Botswana. Huge area, good variety and quality animals.

Thanks everyone for replying to my request.

I think I have responded to everyone that sent me a PM and checked out the hunting companies that were recommended.

Still checking on the American Airlines situation in regards to traveling with our rifles.

Larry

Kowa's in Namibia would be hard to beat. A number of us here on AR have been there, multiple times. PM me if interested.

I would highly recommend Bubye Valley Conservancy. You will be among the big five every day. That makes the experience so much better. One other is in the SAVE with either the Duckworths or the Whittals, I think Buzz has an area there also. You can not go wrong with either of those three. It cost a little more, but it is well worth it.

PM sent.
I forgot to add that I can send pic's of animals that I have taken to give you an idea of quality, but you didn't say what species you were interested in.

Another vote for Tholo. AA does not have a presence in Africa unless it is with their One World partners. Then you will probably be going through London Heathrow on BA with the associated problems. Since your tickets are free, it might behoove you to contact Travel with Guns for their expert advice.

Gras Ranch Namibia.

quote:

Originally posted by hikerbum:
Gras Ranch Namibia.

I hunted there on my first safari...can't go wrong with Jannie/Errol.

If you're interested in SA I would recommend Ezulu/Swartkei, the Price brothers run a top notch outfit. Wintershoek is one of the best as well...

Hunted RSA last year with Theo Demarillac Safaris, and it exceeded my expectations. High fence, but very large area. Brush thick, with animals very wild, and they will hunt your way. I insisted on walk and stalk, with absolutely no shooting from the truck. Walked many miles, and ultimately got my Kudu, Gemsbok, Nyala, Bushbuck, and Impala. Awesome food, comfortable camp, exceptional trophy prep, gorgeous scenery.

If you are connecting to BA in London then rifles are definitely out. AA clearly states that they won't transport guns to UK. My preferred outfitter in SA is flexible and doesn't charge for loaner guns.

I sent you a PM with who i hunted with in south africa in the KZN area.

http://www.spiralhorn.co.za

Good hunting in South Africa..

He also has a block in Zambia that has good plains game...

If you are not tight for time, then I strongly suggest that you spend a few days doing some tourist stuff before your hunt starts. This will let your bio clock adjust and give your bags time to catch up if, as so often happens, they are delayed. It does not add much to the cost, you can get by on $100 per day if you are careful. There are so many things to do and see in each country. For example:

Namibia: Etosha
Zim: Vic Falls
RSA: Cape Town, Battlefields, Garden Route, Kruger Park (or Umfolozi)
Botswana: Okavango Delta

You could also do a couple days bird hunting or fishing in any of these countries.

If AA does route you through Europe, why not take a few days to see the sights? London is not a bad place to spend a couple of days.

Seven full days hunting is enough. Ten days is the most you will need for PG. Try to avoid "tarmac safaris" where they shuttle you around from place to place. And note many parts of Southern Africa are experiencing extreme drought conditions so pick your destination with that in mind. Hunting emaciated animals that are being fed hay is a bit of a downer.

Shoot the species that are found in the area you want to hunt. Don't insist on impossible combinations of species. For example, you won't find Gemsbok and Nyala in the same place unless it's a zoo. The species that are plentiful locally will be the best value for money.

Don't mount everything you shoot. Photos are all you need, or a Euro mount. If you get a near record trophy, or if you have a particularly memorable hunt, go ahead and have that particular trophy mounted.

South Africa is the easiest destination to get into/out of and you don't need to charter a private plane to get to camp. Although if AA pays for it, going to Botswana or Zim or Namibia is an extra hop but not too bad.

Your best bet for a first time hunt is a fenced ranch, provided it's on the large side. You will take a variety of species and will take some nice trophies. Free range and gov't concessions are not the most productive plains game hunts.

Anyway, nice problem to have.

Hello Irich:

I have to agree with L Howell in so far as Jimbah Safaris is concerned. I have hunted twice with them. Owen is an excellent host/outfitter/PH. He has access to incredible land in the Eastern Cape of RSA. He is the kind of PH that could take a bunch of guys or your family on safari. A class act.

Feel free to PM for details. Good luck.

Regards,
RCG

quote:

Originally posted by Bama15:
I would highly recommend Bubye Valley Conservancy. You will be among the big five every day. That makes the experience so much better. One other is in the SAVE with either the Duckworths or the Whittals, I think Buzz has an area there also. You can not go wrong with either of those three. It cost a little more, but it is well worth it.

^^^^
This 100%. I've hunted both areas for plains game and they are superb!

I sent you a PM.

quote:

Originally posted by Bama15:
I would highly recommend Bubye Valley Conservancy. You will be among the big five every day. That makes the experience so much better. One other is in the SAVE with either the Duckworths or the Whittals, I think Buzz has an area there also. You can not go wrong with either of those three. It cost a little more, but it is well worth it.

I haven't hunted in the areas or with the operations mentioned above, but I do think a plains game hunt in an area with big five animals would make it a much more enjoyable experience. There's nothing quite like sneaking up on elephants or Cape Buffalo, whether you are hunting them or not.

PM sent Larry
Cheers

I have not been there but Tholo in Botswana looks unbelievable!

I really liked Botswana during my visit 2 years ago though I did not hunt.

I highly recommend Mayogi Safari's in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. PM inbound

NAMIBIA! No question as I think, as a country, it represents the best plains game deal on the continent. I would go with Westfalen Safaris.

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Kowa's in Namibia would be hard to beat. A number of us here on AR have been there, multiple times. PM me if interested.

I can also highly reccommend Kowas in Namibia after hunting there this May. An A-1 outfit in every way and great ethical hunting.

Another 100% rec for Kowas Safaris Namibia. Been there multiple times myself, can't recommend highly enough. You can meet them face to face at DSC in January if you want to.