Just received my trophies from Ace Taxidermy in Warmbaths (Bela Bela), RSA yesterday. Cleared customs at Calgary myself with no hassles. Opened up the crate last night and found everything in order...no damage, etc. A couple salted capes that were supposed to be included in the shipment were missing in action, but other than that all is well. The shoulder mounts and skulls all look pretty good to me. Will be able to get a better look once I get them on a wall, but that may have to wait as I depart for Tanz in just 8.5 days!

Since a thread like this is NFG without pictures , here ya go..















Cheers,
Canuck

Canuck, how did you manage to get ahead of me?
Mine are close to being done. Waiting on the paperwork. I hope to get them later this month.

Bragger, not for your beautiful trophies but your departure for the Selous!
Congratulations on both accounts!

quote:

Canuck, how did you manage to get ahead of me?

I kept up the e-mails, faxes, phone calls etc. I did not want the trophies to arrive while I was in Tanzania (there I go bragging again! )...you never know what kind of issues might come up if Canadian Customs, Wildlife Enforcement and Canadian Food Inspection Agency has too long to think about it!! (BTW, clearing customs was a cinch...all these guys and gals involved were really helpful) Plus, I didn't want to incure storage fees, as apparently they add up quick.

Cheers,
Canuck

Very nice! I love the warthog skull on the pedestal........

quote:

I love the warthog skull on the pedestal........

Me too. It was actually the "trophy" (don't like that term much) that I wanted the most! It turned out great. The pedestal is quite cool. I should post a pic of how it actually works...it slides up into the skull. Looking forward to JJHACK's comments, as I know he is a warthog nut.

Cheers,
Canuck

Those look great!

Mine are with Safari Air and should have been shipped a few days ago, but with all the problems at Heathrow we decided to wait a few days for things to get back to normal...

Regards,

Pete

Canuck, who shipped them for you and what was the approx. price? Our stuff from SA should be done in the next 2months or so and I am starting to look at my options. Calgary wouldn't be too bad of a drive, was Edmonton an option for you? Thanks

Travis,

Safari Air Cargo did the shipping. It was not cheap...about $1850 USD. There are cheaper options...check out the Canada Forum under Canadian Firearms Export permit requirements. Canuck32 and I digressed into trophy shipments and his experiences.

I used Calgary cuz its only a 4 hour drive. I didn't consider Edmonton as its just another 2.5 hours on the road for me now (if I was still in the Peace I would have looked into it). I also cleared trophies in Calgary in 2002 and it was no hassle (as have a few of my friends). Went extremely smoothly by calling and arranging all the inspections in advance (albeit on short notice as well). If you decide to use Calgary, PM me when the time gets close, and I send you everything I know on it (all the contact names and numbers, etc). I am back from Tanz (oops, I did it again!) in the third week of Sept.

Cheers,
Canuck

Nice mounts.

Glad to hear nothing was damaged.

Kyler

quote:

Glad to hear nothing was damaged.

It amazes me, actually. You cannot stay on the surface of this planet and get further away from where I am sitting, than where these trophies came from. How one can get a number of items, that are almost as fragile as eggs, from there to here without the slightest scratch is almost unfathomable to me.

I will undoubtedly cause more damage to them in the course of putting them on my wall, or taking them down to our next big game banquet just a few blocks down the road.

Cheers,
Canuck

The warthog are huge and the Kudu has out-turned horns at the tip...that's very unusual and a sign of full maturity, although it's genetic. Some kudu die of old age without the tips turning out.

I see you have figured out the economics of having taxidermy done in Africa!

They look great Canuck !
I also like the warthog on the pedestal....

Still got another six months until I can fuss around with my Pumbaa but it´s worth waiting for.

Nice Trophies, especially the Warthogs, very nice.
Good luck on your next trip.