I would like to hear opinions on side trips while on a hunting safari. Have you done them before or after the hunt and why would you choose one over the other?

If you can spend a few days in a game park before the start of your hunting safari it will give you an opportunity to accustom your eye to spotting the game of Africa. This ability will help immensely and allow you to enjoy your hunting safari more, IMO. And you will get some great pics.

If you are anywhere near Victoria Falls, it is definitely worth two nights stay. I recommend staying at the old Victoria Falls Hotel. There are newer lodges but none with the old time flavor and staff welcomes hunters with their firearms.

Jim,

No matter where you hunt you can easily make a side trip to see parks and other points of interest. Just to mention a few Etosha in Namibia, Kruger in RSA, North and South Luangwa Parks in Zambia, Vic Falls and the amazing Nogorongoro Crater, Taragire Park and the Serengeti in Tanzania are all worthwhile and could be highlights of your total trip. All these destinations can be arranged easily and offer very wild expereinces with extremely comfy accommodations.

Mark

Frostbit,

The She-Wolf and I always try to take in "something extra" while in Africa...it always broadens the overall experience. Whether you make the side trip before or after seems to me to be more a matter of scheduling convenience...

I'll second Lionhunter's recommendation of Vic Falls and the old Vic Falls Hotel, a little bit of remaining colonial Africa...likewise the parks.

If you can make it down to Capetown, the wine country around Franzhoek (sp?) and Stellenbosch is beautiful. A trip down to Cape Point along the coast past Hout Bay is usually great for a little whale watching, not to mention the breathtaking scenery.

This coming April we're hoping to bounce over to view the ruins at Great Zimbabwe (immediately after we find a bull ele with outsize dentition, of course!).

Enjoy!

Mark

Thanks Mark,

I was more interested in the before the hunt or after the hunt discussion and why the choices.

Jim

I am to pumped to hunt to do a trip before,I think I would explode ...

But have done 3 after and one during(broke up a long hunt).

If you any interest in photography;it is hard to get shots while hunting.You just don't have the time when the light is best morning and evening.

And you've gone all that way,nice to see something other than a camp,no matter now nice it is......

Highly recommend Etosha







Dan

Side trips are a definant must do. Why spend K$ and not learn more about the country you are in.

Vic Falls and Cape Town are also must sees. Even just driving aimlessly around the country you are in, staying at small towns (dorps) and meeting the locals at pubs and B&B's can have benefits. I was offered the chance to shoot Springbok for free at Victoria West by the local B&B owner, but the 'Minister for War & Finance' said NO.

On our last trip we took the kids to see Rorkes Drift and Isandalhwana in Zululand, the location for the movies Zulu and Rorkes Drift. They ended up being more interested in that than Sun City which was a total tourist trap.

Great stuff.

Jim,

Before or after is a good question. After allows a wind down after the actual hunting at a more leisurely pace than the hunt. For people wanting some familiarization with animals and terrain before the actual hunt the game parks are wonderful. Either way if you are in Africa make the most of it.

Mark

My problem is getting enough time to go. If I have three extra days for a side trip I'd rather spend that three days hunting. Twice I have gotten good trophies on the last day of a hunt.

If my wife were with me, I might change my opinion. bBt her idea of roughing it is staying in a Holiday Inn, so she doesn't go along.

quote:

Originally posted by Indy:
My problem is getting enough time to go. If I have three extra days for a side trip I'd rather spend that three days hunting. Twice I have gotten good trophies on the last day of a hunt.

If my wife were with me, I might change my opinion. bBt her idea of roughing it is staying in a Holiday Inn, so she doesn't go along.

My wife is very low maintenance so that is not an issue. We lived in bush Alaska for 8 years and it was she who always wanted to see the next bend in the river. She wasn't shy about digging the skiff off a few gravel bars when Captain Nemo made the wrong read on the river.

Side trips are great. There are some pretty fantastic things to see in Africa outside of hunting. Just be sure to get and understand the pricing of each one before you go.

Side trips can vary from a few hundred a day to a few thousand. Do not leave this to the discretion and judgement of someone else.

...and don't forget to take an open mind or you may as well stay home...

quote:

Originally posted by Code4:
...and don't forget to take an open mind or you may as well stay home...

Pretty much true of anything I would say.

Fishing Charter with me......and some sight seeing in the PArks while we're fishing....

IT never stops does it? Hunting fishing, fishing hunting....

Good point about fishing raised there.

Africa has some terrific fishing and it's too often ignored. You can do anything from trout to croc, to big game fishing here and as an aside, I've had a few e-mails from East Africa lately telling me they're currently having their best ever season up there. One boat in a recent competition averaged something like 10 fish per day (can't remember if that was per boat or per rod) over the few days of competition, but either way, it's helluva good!

That must be why the Billfish was so quite at Sodwana?! They have all gone to Swahili land! Kenya at the moment is hot, very hot! The size are not that big, but there are Marlin being caught by most charters every day.

I do the whole 9 yards thing. Spearfishing, flyfishing, carp fishing, deep sea game fishing, deep sea reef fishing....

Any case to get back to the point, Frostbit, most of our hottest fishing spots are in nature conservation areas. Like the St. Lucia Wetland park, Jozini (tigerfish) and Loskop (tilapia and big catfish) where you can enjoy the fishing and wildlife at the same time.

quote:

Originally posted by infinito:
I do the whole 9 yards thing. Spearfishing, flyfishing, carp fishing, deep sea game fishing, deep sea reef fishing....

I don't do anything that involves my putting my head underwater and trying to breathe, but I do the rest........ don't know if I have a favourite but if I had to restrict myself to just two methods, it'd probably be flyfishing for trout and croc fishing.

We have quite a lot of decent flyfishing in my area, but I don't really get enough time to do as much of it as I'd like. - Im lucky to have the White River 200 yards from the house, so do get down there for the odd evening on the bass.

Personally I've always regreted that when I drove from Kwazulu-Natal to Kimberley in the RSA, without knowing it, I drove right by some key events in the Zulu War. I found that out after the hunt was over and I was waiting in the JHB airport and picked up a book on the subject.

Try to study the history of the area you'll be hunting BEFORE you fly to Africa. You may find some really interesting side trips.

If you like horse back riding, virtually every country in Africa has horse safaris. They are basically photo safaris from the back of a horse. I have ridden quite a bit in the Tuli area of Botswana with Limpopo Valley Horse Safaris and have taken several charges from elephant while on horseback, fast exciting gallops with various plains game animals and have bumped lions twice along with quite a few leopard. Luckily, the cats don't like the horses and take off quick (at least in the daylight).

As far as before or after, my choice is before. As stated previously, if you go to a game park, it gives you a chance to get your eyes adjusted to spotting game and if you have a good guide or driver, they can point out what makes one animal a better trophy than the next so you can appreciate the animals more when you are on safari (you can also discuss shot placement if you are out of earshot of any bunnyhuggers). Also, if you have any luggage hassles, doing the side trip before may let your bags, guns, ammo, etc catch up to you before the hunt begins. Another matter for those of us on the left coast is that the before side trip helps you adjust to the 11 hour time change. And just one last point, there are incredible sights to see in any African country and your better half is that much more likely to let you return if you're not just hunting.
That being said, a few days on the beach afterwards don't hurt either

Personally I like to take a couple of days at the beginning to get my clock/body right and if possible do a day of game viewing to "get my game eyes on." Anything more than that prior to the hunt is spent thinking about the hunting and chomping at the bit to get on with it.

After the hunt is the time side trips with a little more r&r included as you're more relaxed and it is a nice finish to the trip. If you're doing a 28 day hunt, taking a few days in the middle just to change things up I think would be okay. JMO

When I took my Wife we stopped in Vic Falls and had a great time. When by myself or with another hunter we went straight into the bush.

Good day

I have been discussing this thread with my good friend Don Adams. Don was telling me what a great time he and his wife, Bridget, had at Chilo Lodge on the lower Save River, when they visited Humani as guests of Roger Whittall Safaris last year. Chilo was recommended to Don and Bridget by Roger, and they included it in their post-hunt sightseeing trip. Here is what Don says about Chilo:

'Apart from a very well serviced and strategically placed lodge on the river, they offer a trip across the Save on a small hand poled boat. N/P staff meet you and provide a Landrover etc to take you into the Gona-re-Zhou N/P.
Here you can look down into the very boabab tree in which Shradreck hid himself and his ill-gotten ivory, you can sit on the edge of the Tambohorta Pan and view huge numbers of grazing Buffalo, lots of Elephant, and even the odd Nyala. There are many other species to be seen.
A fantastic experience, just sitting there in the evening and watching the wild animals doing their thing.
Bridget and I thought it was a really great spot and would visit it again without a second thought. Well worth considering if in that part of the country and have a day or two to spare, it is serviced with a bush airstrip.'

So there you have it from a very reliable source, not just from your own 'pro-Zim biased' bush journalist! For those of you who are still prepared to brave the despotic regime and cholera etc, and hunt with us here in Zim, Chilo is the place to go on your side trip.

Dave