I am planning to take my son to Africa for a Plains game hunt in the summer of 2007 after he finishes High School.
Namibia or RSA What are your thoughts?
We are interested in Kudu, Gemsbuck, maybe Wildebeest and Hartebeest, Impala and?or Springbuck.

I have heard great reports of hunting in Namibia, in particular for mountain Zebra, Kudu and Gemsbok.
Adam C.

Either will do. I have shot record book animals of all of those you are looking to take in South Africa, but Namibia boasts as good of animals. Contact AR member Brad Rolston for info. on South Africa at rolston585ae@iafrica.com

There are animals in SA that you can't get in Namibia. On the other hand, Namibia has huge properties to hunt at reasonable rates.

Try to find Gemsbuck in SA for $400 or Hartmann's Mt. Zebra for $700 or even a Kudu for $800 is scarce in SA.

Namibia can provide hunting on large properties at very reasonable rates.

I would strongly consider Namibia.

martinsbns,

You will be able to find all of your game in Namibia or RSA. I have hunted both countries and each has its pluses and minuses. And both countries are enjoyable.

For the game you mention, I beleive that Namibia has the better fit. You can find some very large open ranches where these animals are in good quantity and I beleive, as a general statement, that you will find the pricing somewhat better in Namibia.

The downside of Namibia is that variety of game is somewhat limited when compared to RSA. But with your wish list, that really doesn't come into play.

When you do sign up for your hunt, may I suggest a 2 or 3 day tour of the country you choose,as well as the hunting. It will add tremendously to the overall hunt/travel experience.

Good Hunting,
BigBullet

My dad and I went to Namibia last summer for our first trip. We have been on hunting trips in North America, but this one was the best experience we've had together hunting or fishing. We hunted with Jan Visser at Klawerburg Ranch, food was great and he had a huge expanse of land. Check out his website and see what you think. There are several other outfits also in Namibia. I'll be going back to hunt there within the next couple of years.
Good luck with your hunt!
Chuck
http://www.namibiahunting.net/

I was in Namibia last May. Fantastic country. Check out Gras Ranch. They have over 90,000 acres and very nice trophies.

http://www.zingelasafaris.com/ this is the link

If you are on a limited budget, I recommend RSA due to the fact the is usually an extra airfare from RSA to Nambia, since the flights I have seen you most likely will have to go thru RSA. Also, you may have to spend a night in RSA both coming on going. This obviously adds extra expense to your trip that could be spent on trophy fees.

Also, if you have to spend the night in RSA, that means you have to go thru the hassle of checking guns thru in two different countries.

RSA definitely has the quality animals that are on your wish list.

quote:

Originally posted by David Culpepper:
If you are on a limited budget, I recommend RSA due to the fact the is usually an extra airfare from RSA to Nambia, since the flights I have seen you most likely will have to go thru RSA. Also, you may have to spend a night in RSA both coming on going. This obviously adds extra expense to your trip that could be spent on trophy fees.

Also, if you have to spend the night in RSA, that means you have to go thru the hassle of checking guns thru in two different countries.

RSA definitely has the quality animals that are on your wish list.

You can book a flight direct to Windhoek and bypass RSA. I am flying to Frankfort on Lufthansa then taking Air Namibia direct to Windhoek.

quote:

You can book a flight direct to Windhoek and bypass RSA. I am flying to Frankfort on Lufthansa then taking Air Namibia direct to Windhoek.

I thought that Lufthansa banned guns on thier flights?

I think if you shop around you'll find that even with the extra airfare Namibia will probably be cheaper but not by much over RSA. I'm looking into the same thing for next year.

Martin

I am facing a similar question. I have finally talked my close friend into going to Africa in 2008 for his 60th birthday. What we would really love to hunt is Buffalo, but my friend probably can't swing that, so we are considering plainsgame. I'm leaning towards Namibia because the ranches seem to be larger with fewer fences. I don't have a real moral issue with hunting inside a fence, so long as it is large enough, but I prefer to hunt animals that are there because they wandered there themselves or God put them there.

TerryR

Hunt in the northern part of Namibia. It is wilder more open country reminiscent of east Africa. I would contact Wendell Reich about Vaughan Fulton Safaris.

quote:

Originally posted by LJS:
Hunt in the northern part of Namibia. It is wilder more open country reminiscent of east Africa. I would contact Wendell Reich about Vaughan Fulton Safaris.

We did a thread about Namibia on the Hunting Report board a short while back that you may find helpful. Here is the link.

Good luck and enjoy the search and planning!

Edited: To clarify what I should have meant to say in the first place!

quote:

Originally posted by Ivan:

quote:

You can book a flight direct to Windhoek and bypass RSA. I am flying to Frankfort on Lufthansa then taking Air Namibia direct to Windhoek.

I thought that Lufthansa banned guns on thier flights?

Ivan,

They did not ban guns, but they did ban trophy transport. Here is a link to an earlier thread.

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tp.../182104283#182104283

Don't let Namibia's limited menu and it's recent rise in popularity fool you.

The place is almost twice as big as Texas and any ranch will have more species than you kind find and shoot in 7-10 days.

The mountain zebra will be the hardest thing you take. Baboon will come unless your in the Kalahar. You will also shoot more for less in Namibia.

The add on price of flying to Namibia will be counter balanced heavily by the difference in price.

Most South African outfitters charge $350-600 a day. Namibian outfitters are $150-400.

Here are some average animal prices for both countries.

Kudu N-750 RSA-1300
Gemsbok N-500 RSA 1100
R Hartebeaste N-500 RSA 800
Blesbok N-400 RSA-400
Warthog N-400 RSA-250
MT zebra N-750 RSA 900
B Zebra N-750 RSA 750
Impala N-450 RSA-275
Springbok both $275
Steinbok both $200
Black Wildebeast N-1200 RSA-800
Blue Wildebeast N-850 RSA-850
Giraffe N-1400 RSA 2750

You will find some higher and lower but this is the averages of the spread sheet I am working on.

I looked at 20 different RSA outfitters and 10 in Namibia. For a 10 day 10 animal hunt Namibia averages to be cheaper for the same or similar animals by a minimum of $2000.

Extra flight, extra days hoteling or flying .You must add these cost into Namibia, Also If you lose a day or two, this maybe a problem.After the long flight from the states another plane ride would not be fun. You may need a rest. But as stated above the daily rates and trophy fees can be cheaper in Namibia. Extra flights increase chance for baggage loss, And another airport check of firearms maybe needed(going thru RSA or Europe).Either place will certainly be worth it.

quote:

Originally posted by martinbns:
We are interested in Kudu, Gemsbuck, maybe Wildebeest and Hartebeest, Impala and?or Springbuck.

It really depends on the species you'd like to hunt. Some of the species you mention are fine for Namibia (Kudu, Gemsbok, Hartebeast, Springbok), others you might struggle to find in Namibia (Wildebeast, Impala). But then again, unless you go to the dryer parts of RSA, you'll really only find species like Gemsbok as introduced species on fenced areas.

Either country can be great for plainsgame hunting. The more lush parts of South Africa probably have more of a variety of game, but as many have pointed out above, Namibia will probably have enough species to keep you occupied. On top of that, it is probably easier to find really large, unfenced areas to hunt in Namibia. Perhaps more of the "real Africa" feel...

- mike

I saw all of the species mentioned above in Namibia, and took all except Wildebeest and Impala. $8000 including airfare.

Another vote for Namibia. I was in a similar predicament around this time last year and after asking everyone I knew for advice those that had experience in bothe countries all favored Namibia. Where I went was on a ranch of some 70,000 acres which host all of the animals you are after and many more. Had an excellent time there. Here is there websaite address if you're interested www.janoelofsesafaris.com

7mm. guy

You may want to talk to John Lasala, of African Huning adventures http://www.africanhuntingadventures.com/ I hunted South Africa with him and had excellent results.

He is a square shooter and will discuss the merits of his hunts in Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Camaroon, Zimbabwe, and will soon have hunts in Mozambique.

Just a quick note on layovers, we only had a 3 hours layover in Jo burg and then on to Windhoek. We checked our guns all the way through from Atlanta flying SA Air.

There is absolulty no reason to fly through South Africa when travelling to Namibia. I would go through London or Frankfurt everytime.

I'm with D99, except for London. Stay away from London, Frankfurt is better