Good day!

I have been fortunate enough to have done a plains game hunt in South Africa last year. Now I feel the need to plan my next trip! A few weeks ago, I was planning on just going back to SA with my ol' PH and just do a quick, cheap hunt, just to get me back to Africa. Now I am leaning towards putting it off a few more years to save money for buffalo and PG.

Due to budget and my wife's "schedule", it may be all the way out to 2010 to get a great hunt planned and the money gathered up to pay for it.

I think a hunt in the neighborhood of 10-14 days is the direction I am going. I am trying to decide if two buffalo and few PG animals is the route I want or if one buffalo and a number of PG animals is the ticket.

I would really like to take giraffe, eland, kudu, warthog, impala. I also have a list of other PG animals I want, but their priority is less than these. Hippo would also be a nice addition.

So, how does a fella figure out where to go and what all to hunt?

How many PG animals are too many to add to a buffalo hunt, and therefore how many PG animals can I realistically expect to hunt?

Looking for guidance!

Trapdoor,
I agree with your decision, hold your return till you are able to do something different.
It seems Zim will be agood option for you, some areas with plenty of PG like the ones you mention and the buff will be a little more affordable than in Tanz.

Zambia can be also a good place for hippo, buff and PG.

L

Concur on Zim if buffalo & plains game is your choice. Also for leopard. But who knows where Zim will be then. Hopefully that ape mugabe will be gone, but I'm also betting on Mozambique to be "the" place in the future. Lots of investment capital going in there and it's a HUGE country. jorge

If you're seriously looking at 2010 or so, it's far too early to decide on a country..... anything can happen to any African country in the interim......so I'd suggest you hold fire on that decision.

As to species, you can never hunt enough Buffalo - two is better than one and three is better than two..... and so on. The plains game you can take as you go along.

Tanzania also offers a 16 day licence which also allows for a Hippo - so that might also be an option you'd like to consider..... but even that might have changed by the time you come over here.

I am in a similiar situation exept doing my second Safari in Sept 2007-Back to Namibia for more PG and Tanzania for two Buff as well. Just about went to Zim but the state of the nation made wives and partner too nervous-maybe for number three-Leopard and Sable!!!

Thanks for the replies!

I understand that current situations may not be current when I am ready to go. I am just trying to figure out how to deceifer all the information I am looking at to point me in a direction that will allow me to combine as many of the PG animals that I want into the same hunt, or if I need to dedicate a buffalo hunt mainly just to buffalo, and do the PG seperately.

I want a great hunt, but don't know what will spread me too thin, as I am unaware of the demands that hunting buffalo will place on the PG animals...

Trapdoor,

I understand your situation. Actually, we are in the same boat. I think what I'm going to do is just do a PG only for my next safari, which will probably be Namibia for species like kudu, oryx, red hertebeest and some of the common small guys they ahve there. Then on the third safari I'll head over strickly with buffalo as the primary followed by other PG, and possibly leopard as well. Realistically, I'm probably looking at 2009 or 2010 for my second safari.

Best of luck to you!

Trapdoor,

Next trip planning - is it cool or what? God help me, it is half the fun!

I got back from Zim in '04 and started working on a Namibia gig. But in the category of "I'd rather be lucky than good" - I had a golden opportunity to get airfare to the dark continent (business class no less) paid by my employer as an add-on to a business trip. I saved my employer several thousand and managed to fit in South Africa. I was very lucky in having a booking agent who could work me in very last minute.

All of which is to say, for flexibility sake, plan and work toward a dream trip (I would think a buff, 2-3 primary PG and 2-3 "backup PG in case things go extremely well" would fit the bill", but also have something maybe a touch lesser "spur of the moment" plan should destiny work in your favor.

Best,
Jeff

Borrow the money and go now. You never know what's around the corner in your personal life.

You can borrow money, but you can't borrow time. Go now.

Since I was a kid, pre-teen, I've been reading hunting books and magazines. That was what led me to Alaska. That was also made me go after Nyala and Sable on my first African hunt, instead of Cape Buffalo (couldn't afford it all). I had read Elgin Gates' tale of hunting his Nyala in Mozambique and seeing the picture of that magnificent animal left me in awe.

Have you dreams of where the trail should take you? I have since reading those tales. Inspiration, I guess. I loved the Zim hunt, had a great outfitter, fantastic PH and crew, and got opportunites on amazing animals. But, being a sheep hunter at heart and having read Gates' "The Legend of Chapinchingal" (sp?), the Roosevelt Bros "East of the Sun West of the Moon", Roy Chapman Andrews "Across Mongolian Plains", I've a burning desire to hunt Marco Polo Sheep (can't afford Altai Argali right now), so I guess that will be my next trip. Figure to return to Africa after that.

Dreams, passion, inspiration all guide my hunting trips. What hunt keeps you awake at night or fills your dreams?

There are five basic hunts that you need to work through, in order of increasing cost.

1. Cheap package hunt for PG in SA - Impala, Warthog, Wildebeest, Kudu, etc.
2. Kalahari Species in Bots or Nam (Eland, Oryx, Springbok, Zebra..)
3. Nyala and/or Bushbuck plus small antelope in Zululand plus Red/Blue/Gray duiker, Steenbok, maybe bushpig
4. Leopard and/or Buffalo plus Sable in Zim
5. Elephant and/or Lion

When you get to step five, you can say you have hunted Africa!

Nos 1,2,3, are in the wrong order! they should all come after No4!

I cant imagine going to Africa to hunt and not takeing a Cape Buffalo! That is always my first priority.

On my first trip, I told the PH at the airport where he picked me up. The plains game can wait, I want to concintrate on my Buffalo first, even if I don't get any of the others available! He then promptly took me down river to shoot a 28" Hippo! Then an Impala, on the way to an area where there were two or three thousand Buffalo. I put my Buffalo in the salt the first day of hunting, and spent the rest of my time takeing the plains game, and takeing pictures ! If I had to choose, the buffalo would have been all I took!

quote:

5. Elephant and/or Lion
When you get to step five, you can say you have hunted Africa!

Russ Gould

There are a lot of people who have never come to No 5, and never will, unless they win the lottery, and I think they can say they've hunted Africa! The above quote is like saying a person who has hunted all his life in North America, but hasn't taken a brown bear, hasn't hunted North America.

I have been to Africa twice now & planning for another trip in 07. I'll have to throw in here w/ Mac. My first trip was for PG to get my feet wet. I went to Moz. in 04 for buffalo & now that's hunting in Africa. So next trip I am planning again for bufalo & PG as it comes.

quote:

Originally posted by DennisHP:
Borrow the money and go now. You never know what's around the corner in your personal life.

I have read this a million times, but in my opinion it is bad advice. Being in a debt position when life takes a turn for the worst is how you die poor. If you have to borrow money for any hunt, you really can't afford it. And how much do you borrow? Borrow 60k for lion hunt? I suppose lots of folks do it when they buy a Jaguar, but they aren't too smart in my book either.

So after having gone once with borrowed money, why not again? Where do you draw the line? This thinking leads to a huge debt position and lack of flexibility in one's life if you are thrown a curve ball.

Yes, your personal life might take a turn for the worst, but in what way? Loss of a job? Divorce and ensuing child support payments? Bad health? Loss of eyesight? Half the fun of any hunt is in planning the next trip, so if I somewhow did become incapacitated I am not sure I would be more happy having taken that hunt - after all, I can't go again. It would be bittersweet knowing I would never get to go back to Africa. If I knew I could not hunt in a year or two, I would give it up today.

I saved for my first safari. Once I returned, I realized I could save that much every month. I started investing it in a portfolio I called the Hunt Fund. My goal was to create an investment portfolio outside of any retirement plan/fund that would generate enough cash to buy a PG hunt every year. I have long since eclipsed that goal.

Ironically, that saving mentality allowed me the very flexibility I needed when circumstances in my life changed. My job was eliminated, but I had a few other "job" options, one of which was staying with my current employer. I elected to start my own software business, which was hugely profitable from day one. Had I spent every dollar I ever made on hunting, I would never have been able to do this - I would have been forced to take a job to pay the bills for the last safari. Today, I can go on any hunt I choose and not have to save years into the future.

My rule of thumb is this: if you spend more than 5% (I prefer 1%) of your net worth on a hunt, you are spending too much. Your total net worth should never go down on a year over year basis if you go on a major hunt. If you follow these rules, you will always be able to mount a major expedition (or more) every year (I didn't say safari, because I do like to hunt other places besides Africa).

Just my two cents...

One other thing: totally agree with Mac - a guy who goes on a PG hunt and therefore has not shot an elephant just hasn't hunted elephants - but he has hunted Africa.

I saved for fourteen years for my first hunt. That was fourteen years of anticipation. I changed what to hunt at least once a week. It took another trip through my books and magazines, and endless hours of dreaming. I'm almost glad it took that long. What to hunt in 2010 will give you a lot of great nights laying awake. Africa is a big place. It is changing every day. But, gee if a person could hunt buffalo, and leopard and kudu, and sable, and get to track a few elephant, and .... You have a great problem!

Trapdoor,

John AKA AnotherAZWriter gave you some great financial advise and it was kind of along the lines of what my financial adviser tells me. I have no arguement with it accept it doesn't fit most people's lifestyle. You can borrow money for hunting and pay it back. I did it 3 times and it worked out fine. You just have to pay it back before you go on another hunt. So if you are willing to go to Africa less often you can do it by borrowing the cash and perhaps having a little grander safari.

The drawback to saving your pennies for years to go on safari is the price will be higher once you've saved and you'll have to wait even longer after you've saved the money to get prime dates.

We are booking '09 right now and a lot of the '08 quota is gone in prime areas. So my advise is pick the aniamls you want and start your research. When you find what looks good make a minimum deposit at least 2 years out. Often you will owe nothing more until January of the year you hunt. So you've secured your daily fees at the present rate, secured your dates and quota and you still have lots of time to save for the balance of the safari. Remember in most cases the deposit is only on the daily fees and not the whole safari. Therefore a $20,000 safari that has $10,000 in daily fees could be booked in most cases for 25% or $2500 down if it was for 2 years in advance.

Mark

In my opinion, it's biting off far too much to take buffalo and more than one or two species of plains game on the same hunt. Taking a good buffalo invariably takes many days of dedicated pursuit. Plains game hunting can be a distraction and a source of "punchlist stress" on a buff hunt. You will be pressured to shoot ANY kudu when you have spent the first 7 days of your 10 day hunt after buffalo and have five more species on your list. Hunting should not be a hurried undertaking. You can take one or maybe two species with your buffalo, esp. those that are geographically limited so you might not get another chance at them. Hence Sable with Buff in Zim (or you might substitute Lechwe for example if you are doing your buff hunt in the Okavango). But don't sign up for a buffalo hunt thinking you are also going to take half a dozen or more PG trophies. It's much more pleasurable and memorable to pace yourself, going back several times at intervals of a couple of years to work through all the different types of hunt, than it is to try to shoot them all in one 21 day hunt where you may have to relocate more than once to get into the right habitat. Africa is a continent with very diverse topography, climate, flora and fauna. Don't try to do it all in one or two hunts! Variety is the spice of life.

Regarding the order of proceedings, there are good reasons to hunt PG first and buffalo later. Not the least of which you should be comfortable and have some experience with "African Style" hunting (tracker, PH with you; shooting from sticks; seeing through brush; handling a big stick etc.) before you take on an adversary that will try to kill you or your PH if you don't get it right the first time. (From the perspective of a PH, there's nothing more scary than corpulent newbie getting off the plane with his shiny new Weatherby babbling about 40 inch buffalo). Then there's also the aspect of deferred gratification. There's a reason why we eat our starters before the main course. I can think of some other analogies but you get the idea. One last consideration is the benefit of knowing and "bonding" with your PH on a PG hunt before the two of you charge off after bigger stuff. Hunting DG, esp. buffalo, can be tough, hot, and exhausting. Much better to do it with someone who knows your capability and with whom you have some rapport.

Regarding the cost of hunting of elephant, it is now a lot cheaper to hunt elephant than it has been for a long time. We do a PAC hunt for $5K all in. Your basic buffalo hunt starts around $7.5K. And elephant, being the most intelligent and imposing of the African mammals, are rightly the consummate trophy at the top of the hierarchy of hunts. I stand by my opinion that an elephant hunt is a worthwhile and affordable "ultimate hunt", even for those with modest pocketbooks.

Lion, on the other hand, are now VERY expensive so I see this as an option for those who can afford it. Most would rather revisit some of the other species than spend $30-40K on a lion hunt, and I think that's sensible.

I also don't think leopard are a must-do species. Hunting leopard is even more demanding and frustrating than hunting buffalo, and spending endless hours in a blind is not for everyone. I do recommend the "hot pursuit" hunt, but again, this is a very specialized hunt.

That leaves PG, Buffalo, and Elephant as a complete and balanced meal...spread out over several years to allow the African experience to be savored fully.

And for those take umbrage at my statement that you haven't hunted Africa until you get your elephant, all I can say is "chill out guys". Ever heard of a figure of speech? Just so you know, it's OK with me if you pass yourself off as an old Africa hand after your first ranch hunt in RSA or Namibia.

One last comment, if I may. Guys, let's move past those silly and annoying icons. They are, in many cases, the internet equivalent of vulgar hand signs and making faces. Adolescent stuff.