Myself, my wife, my sister and her husband are thinking of a plains game hunt. My sister and I would be the hunters, the others observers. It appears that Namibia may be a good place for an affordable plains game trip. Can anyone recommend a good outfit to talk with? Bear in mind that I have never been to Africa, so the outfit should be able to advise/assist in the permitting process, etc.

I apologize if this topic has been "done to death," any advice appreciated. Thanks.

It has been done to death, but that's okay. I heartily recommend Vaughan Fulton's Classic Safaris. My dad and I hunted with him for our first safari in 2004 with Vaughan and had the time of our lives. Do a search here and in the hunting reports forum and you'll find a lot of good information on Vaughan (and other good outfitters).

Another vote for Vaughan. I hunted with him for plainsgame this last September and had a wonderful time. Vaughan is an excellent PH: very conscientious, hard-working and pleasant to be around. He has a tented camp on a communal concession in the Namib desert and access to private land for plainsgame, as well as communal concessions in the Caprivi for dangerous game. If you are interested in hearing more, please feel free to PM me.

quote:

Originally posted by Eric308:
Myself, my wife, my sister and her husband are thinking of a plains game hunt. My sister and I would be the hunters, the others observers. It appears that Namibia may be a good place for an affordable plains game trip. Can anyone recommend a good outfit to talk with? Bear in mind that I have never been to Africa, so the outfit should be able to advise/assist in the permitting process, etc.

I apologize if this topic has been "done to death," any advice appreciated. Thanks.

This was mi first trip in Africa,(Namibia)

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/...4176#648104176

Take a look at:http://www.zingelasafaris.com/

For more info contact to Errol Lambrescht

Eric, you have a PM

Namibia is the right place. Red tape is almost non-existent. Prices are the most favorable on the continent. There are hundreds of guides and game farms. My guess is that 90% of them are satisfactory, and many of those are excellent. The challenge is to avoid the 10% that are not in that category, and hopefully locate one of those that is better than average.

First, decide what it is that you want to hunt and what style hunting fits you best. Assuming you are only interested in "non-dangerous" game (and there's plenty of that to entertain you on a first hunt), here's the question to answer:

Do you perfer brushy country and close shooting, possibly from a blind; or do you prefer more open country and longer shots, possibly hunting from a truck?

If the former, then you want to go toward the North from Windhoek. The game farms are smaller there (but still large by standards anywhere else) and the slightly wetter climate makes for more brush. The north also supports a few more of the "wetter" species such as impala and eland.

If the latter, then look South. The dry, open South, perched on a plateau between the Namib and the Kalahari, has vast expanses of open plains and very large farms. Shots are longish, but you see vast amounts of game. I like the open country hunting better, so I chose Nomtsas Farms http://www.namhunt.de/en/huntstart.html
and there was nothing about our hunt that could have possibly been better -- you can find my report here on AR. I will definately go back and use Nomtsas again.

But I'm sure the North is also nice and will suffice.

Another vote for Vaughan - I have made two trips with him and consider him and patrica friends-that says it all!!! PM me for the details or phone

My Brother and I hunted Namibia on our first trip to Africa. We hunted with C.E.C Safaris and highly recommend them. Both Cornelius and Elaine are PH's. Try their web sight which is www.cecsafaris.com. They are both very patient with first time hunters.

Eric,
Yet another vote for Vaughan, I hunted with Classic Safaris in the conservancy area in July of this year. My PH was Helgaard van der Vyver. I had a great time and hunting in the conservancy, it was exactly what I was looking for. It is actually 2 conservancies adjoining and totals 2,250,000 acres. It is remote and you must cover a lot of territory in this deserty country. The tent camp was well done and I am sure will be improved as this was the first year in these conservancies. The area kinda surrounds Brandenberg mountain, itself an interesting place. Vaughan's folks were top notch, both in the field and in the office. I booked through Wendell Reich and recommend him as well as Steve Turner with Gracy Travel. If you decide you want a ranch hunt, you might check with Helgaard (www.huntingnamibia.de/) as he manages a large, remote ranch about 50-60 miles south of Omaruru (another little town is closer, can't remember its name). Helgaard and his wife Christine were great to be with.

Check with Aspen Ann, I booked with Sebra Safris through her this past year, and had a great free range hunt. Also she has another in Namibia called Shona Safaris, I saw their new lodge, and met Johan while I was at Sebra. If I was looking for a real nice lodge I would give them a consideration.

Namibia is the perfect place for you to go. I went there first in 1995. I have been to Africa 14 times and am going back to Namibia next July. Vaughan(Classic Safaris) and Elaine and Cornie(CEC Safaris) are very close personal friends. Both operations will give you a tremendous hunt. However depending on when you want to go you might have some trouble finding a spot with Vaughan. His operation has grown tremendously and now has bookings several years in advance.

Mike

I always recommend Janneman Brand @ Kahalari Safari. They run a first rate operation abolut 70mi south of Gobabis

I highly recommend Kowas Safaris. My wife enjoyed our trip as much as I. We're going back in June.

http://www.kowasadventure.com/index.htm

Danie and Ansie are special people

We used Col. Bill for Namibia. Great job. www.fairchaseltd.com Lots of great hunts there and a great place to start for Africa.

Congratulations, you are about to enjoy one of the most memorable experiences of your lifetime.

You can get a lot of your questions answered by reading the "Tips and Travel Advice" blurb on our website. It's directed at first time hunters. You will find the link here

Tips and Travel Advice

This deals with all aspects of a first time safari and is not specific to Namibia. However, Namibia is an excellent choice.

I can also highly recommend this outfit:

www.sebrahunt.com

I'll second Grafton. I tkk a 40+ Gemsbok bull, and a 52" Kudu with them this past May.

I was going to go with Shona Hunting Adventures, but due to health reasons had to cancel my trip.
After reading a lot of good posts on the forum I contacted Johann and he was very help full with arranging my trip as well as providing me with all the info I needed.
I think his agent on this side is Ann from Aspenhill Adventures
I also contacted some of his references and they had nothing bad to say.
This would have been my first trip to Africa and I know exactly how you feel.
I would highly recommend contacting Johann.
www.shona-adventures.com