Gentlemen:
I have noticed, over the past decade and a half, of PHs and their increasing dependence on cell phones. In 2003 a Zim PH, Evans Mkanza, was on his cell constantly during the day when hunting and at camp in the evening. In the years that followed the PHs seem to spend more and more time on the phone both for entertainment and business. (I mean it's more than the occasional call to the Mrs. to say she is missed and loved).

A friend just returned from a buffalo hunt. His PH was with his phone 24-7. At dinner, around the camp fire, driving, hunting, etc. On my last few hunts it is never ending. The phone is by the PH during dinner. We don't have a conversation around the traditional fire in the am or pm as he is on the damn phone. When I speak he will answer but I am definitely interrupting something more important. The cell is plugged in to the car and is eyed when driving. The phone rings when tracking. I was admonished for stepping on leaves and cracking a branch: "Can you hear yourself?" he said. Shortly afterward the phone rang and he booked a leopard hunt while tracking.

Don't get me wrong--I like and trust my PH. Perhaps I'm annoyed at all the phone usage as I see it so much in the schools and colleges. But, I ask, has it gone too far?

What are your experiences with PHs and their phones?
Just wonderin'.
Cal

My one and only was Tholo.

My PH made a single call as we left the airport and I didn't see a cell phone until the last day.

It was nice.

I am on my cell phone 24/7 - mainly for work. I never talk only text and use work related apps and ar.

In Africa I always have my phone with me - my camera, compass, altimeter, flash light in a emergency, my step counter, trail cam reader, phone in a emergency - outside us I run it on airline mode.

I have little issues with my ph having their phone on them. Their use is again judgement.

If one does not like cell phones say it - you are paying $1k a day to hunt. Your ph will understand you cell phone use requests.

For me if my ph has a cell phone and access to internet - it is more likely I be asking him often to check stuff for me.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Gentlemen:
I have noticed, over the past decade and a half, of PHs and their increasing dependence on cell phones. In 2003 a Zim PH, Evans Mkanza, was on his cell constantly during the day when hunting and at camp in the evening. In the years that followed the PHs seem to spend more and more time on the phone both for entertainment and business. (I mean it's more than the occasional call to the Mrs. to say she is missed and loved).

A friend just returned from a buffalo hunt. His PH was with his phone 24-7. At dinner, around the camp fire, driving, hunting, etc. On my last few hunts it is never ending. The phone is by the PH during dinner. We don't have a conversation around the traditional fire in the am or pm as he is on the damn phone. When I speak he will answer but I am definitely interrupting something more important. The cell is plugged in to the car and is eyed when driving. The phone rings when tracking. I was admonished for stepping on leaves and cracking a branch: "Can you hear yourself?" he said. Shortly afterward the phone rang and he booked a leopard hunt while tracking.

Don't get me wrong--I like and trust my PH. Perhaps I'm annoyed at all the phone usage as I see it so much in the schools and colleges. But, I ask, has it gone too far?

What are your experiences with PHs and their phones?
Just wonderin'.
Cal

You should have made it clear from day one that this sort of behavior will not be tolerated.

Anyone wants to use a phone on safari - whether cell phone or satellite phone, should do so on his own time at camp.

They should be used as aerial targets.

I am probably the Lone Ranger but in this day and age I fully expect it. I am pretty much on mine non-stop for everything and would expect my PH to be no different. On a recent safari we were texting, emailing and talking and didn't miss a beat. I thought we multi-tasked very well. I cannot go on a vacation and not have constant access. I can even log onto my server at work from my phone. I just look at it as part of the deal.

Cal,here 10km away from communauties the cell phone coverage is nil ... pretty sure the same way in Alaska ...

sat phone are good for emergency not for chat ...

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
They should be used as aerial targets.

+1

I think if the PH's phone went off on a stalk I would make an excuse that my rifle needed to be resighted, "may I borrow your phone please"!

What Saeed said. I would love to come back from the Bush to find North Korea under new management or zombies (more than usual) running amok in Washington. The idea is to get AWAY.

In today's life one cannot go without a cell phone especially in the business world - BUT there is something like respect. Use your phone away from conversations and only for limited periods.

I hate a cell phone, but I need it for my work. I made rules for myself and I stick to it. Clients pay for my services and I must give them the attention and time they deserve and they must allow me to attend to my business.

quote:

You should have made it clear from day one that this sort of behavior will not be tolerated.

Anyone wants to use a phone on safari - whether cell phone or satellite phone, should do so on his own time at camp.

+1

In the vehicle I carry a Thuraya - only to be used in case of an emergency.

Short and sporadic calls to the family while client/s busy showering prior to drinks and dinner.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

You should have made it clear from day one that this sort of behavior will not be tolerated.

Anyone wants to use a phone on safari - whether cell phone or satellite phone, should do so on his own time at camp.

+1

In the vehicle I carry a Thuraya - only to be used in case of an emergency.

Short and sporadic calls to the family while client/s busy showering prior to drinks and dinner.

Exactly!

We had one of the young men with us in South Africa constantly on the phone.

I told him the story of Walter having a radio with him in Zimbabwe.

He kept telling us all the sordid news from all over the world.

I told him to listen to his radio as he wished, but keep the news to himself.

He kept relaying the news to us, which no one wanted to hear.

Next day his radio refused to work!

Permanently

Next morning, the young man left his phone in camp, as apparently he talked to Walter, and Walter him told "Saeed does not joke about certain things"!

All one has to do make sure people understand him

I have not experienced it to that level.

So far everyone has been respectful and used common sense in its use.

One thing I think we as clients don't do well enough. Is to communicate what we expect out of the hunt we are paying for.

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Gentlemen:
I have noticed, over the past decade and a half, of PHs and their increasing dependence on cell phones. In 2003 a Zim PH, Evans Mkanza, was on his cell constantly during the day when hunting and at camp in the evening. In the years that followed the PHs seem to spend more and more time on the phone both for entertainment and business. (I mean it's more than the occasional call to the Mrs. to say she is missed and loved).

A friend just returned from a buffalo hunt. His PH was with his phone 24-7. At dinner, around the camp fire, driving, hunting, etc. On my last few hunts it is never ending. The phone is by the PH during dinner. We don't have a conversation around the traditional fire in the am or pm as he is on the damn phone. When I speak he will answer but I am definitely interrupting something more important. The cell is plugged in to the car and is eyed when driving. The phone rings when tracking. I was admonished for stepping on leaves and cracking a branch: "Can you hear yourself?" he said. Shortly afterward the phone rang and he booked a leopard hunt while tracking.

Don't get me wrong--I like and trust my PH. Perhaps I'm annoyed at all the phone usage as I see it so much in the schools and colleges. But, I ask, has it gone too far?

What are your experiences with PHs and their phones?

Just wonderin'.
Cal

I feel the same way. I like to sit around the campfire with a drink and talk about the days hunt and what's planned for the following day.

When I am hunting I don't want to be connected to the world. When I get home I will deal with any problems then. I love just hunting and not dealing with all the BS back home.

I remember sitting in a blind for Bushpig, the "PH" was on his phone texting his latest girlfriend I presume. The pig came past the blind snuffling down to the baited area when his phone began to ring which scared the thing away, it was a very quiet 3 hour ride back to camp.Never got the pig on that hunt.

Yup, I hate the things.

I use them as a necessary tool during my work but detest them otherwise.

To watch a table of people seated at a restaurant hardly look up all meal as they deal with their social media is all so normal now days. They are probably texting each other rather than talk.

Last hunt in Namibia I was handed a young PH at short notice, excellent in the bush but every time we climbed a feature to glass for game he would be on that phone.
Marry that with a poor grasp of English it was a somewhat tarnished experience.

Never had it happen with my Zim PH;s

Cheers
Stu

Agree with Cal and Samir. I carry a sat phone and have enough minutes to let the PH and videographer use it every other night or so after dinner. They have always been respectful and appreciative. Let's us concentrate on enjoying ourselves.

In my experience it is the curse of the modern era. Last year in over 3 months in various camps, I had numerous clients query me, in confidence, about the various PH's and their cell phone use. I understand the business aspect, but in the past office managers handled that sort of thing. Today everyone wants to be "involved". The sharing of really stupid FB posts, videos, and related dung is an affront to the paying client IMHO. Clients want the "bush" experience. Conversation, fires, comaraderie, real or imagined, and the sharing of stories. Today it is short hunts, volume of clients, and a McDonalds Menu of choices to fit everyman, and largely it is accepted by those that pay for the experience. When clients no longer tolerate this behavior it will clearly separate the African experience into two distinct classes of service. Digital soap box now relinquished to the next worthy speaker, bnesides my cell phone is ringing...

Ngruma:
Thanks for these good thoughts.
After seeing my PHs face in his cell I just went to bed early. If I came to the area an hour later for a drink or snack, he was still there with his phone. How did the world survive without them for uncounted centuries?
I guess it is another sign of the times.
Cal

I was a shoot when the iPhone first came out. One of the guests was on his phone constantly. The host - a very larger than life gentleman - asked to have a look at it during elvenses. He threw it in the air and gave it one barrel.. Ooops was his only comment

Was your friend sleeping with the PH? How else could he have known that he was on his phone 24/7. He also seemed to get the job done or are you more upset that you can't post on AR while hunting due to no WIFI. Thanks for ruining my chances of him looking for my wounded Giraffe.

I had a PH's phone ring while we were hunting!!! He forgot to put it on Vibrate!!!

quote:

Originally posted by #1 of 13:
Was your friend sleeping with the PH? How else could he have known that he was on his phone 24/7. He also seemed to get the job done or are you more upset that you can't post on AR while hunting due to no WIFI. Thanks for ruining my chances of him looking for my wounded Giraffe.

How can he look for your wounded giraffe if it was not your hunt??

On my last safari, we had to backtrack a few miles (in the truck thankfully) to locate the scout's cell phone which he lost during a break.

Not really a big deal, but cell phones do interfere with the "magic" of being way back in the thornbush IMO.

They are here to stay however, and for a PH, who spends so much time out in the bush, they can be forgiven IMO for checking in with family (as well as setting up logistics for the next client, etc).

JMO.

BH63

OK so it's pretty simple: no cell phone while hunting on foot. Period. This applies to the entire hunting party. A violation ruins that hunt and is deducted from the bill in half day segments.

If he wants/needs to use it while driving or in camp that's fine. Preferably not during meals. If he uses it so much that his company is obnoxious, no tip, esp. when he is the only company in camp.

Those are my rules. If you don't like them then refuse my deposit.

What Saeed said two posts back! It's YOUR HUNT. If a PH wants to conduct business, then have a booking agent, their spouse or a business manager handlr things when you, as the PH, are hunting with a paying client. Personally, my i-phone is in "airplane mode" while hunting in Africa and is used for pictures only. If WiFi is available back in camp then I use it. Otherwise it's just an expensive camera, and I make sure that while I'm hunting that it does not interfere with my hunt. And neither should anyone else's phone (PH, trackers, skinners, game scout, etc.) interfere with your hunt while you are out hunting. Just my two centavos worth.

While we are on cell phones, here is a true story of our friend Walter.

Walter is a very hard man to understand, and this story will demonstrate this fact.

Where we hunt, there is no cell reception at all.

I use my cell phone at Dar airport to call home, switch it off, and it remains off until we are back in Darbafter the safari.

Walter was in the truck with us, and we just came back after an unsuccessful chase of something.

The boys in the back of the truck were busy looking for something in the bed of the truck.

I said "what are you lot looking for?"

Walter "Non of your business."

Everyone started laughing, and Inheard the word "SIM card " Being mentioned.

I said "what SIM card have you lost now?"

Walter "You don't listen! I said it is non of your business "

Well, it transpired that Walter has lost his SIM card!

It is bad enough taking your cell phone out hunting, when there is no cell reception. But Walter went an extra step, by taking the SIM card out of his phone???

I said " Why did you take the SIM card out of the phone?"

Walter "I do NOT know! But I did"

I said "Why did you bring the cell phone here anyway?"

Walter "You see what I mean? You and your endless questions!"

Today is a perfect of example of how much I use my phone. I have it with me most of the time when I am at work. I use it to take photos of safety deficiencies and then email them to myself on my work computer to write safety reports.

On average I spend about 10-20 minutes on it during an inspection day.

Wife usually calls me once, or I call her when I am leaving and ask if she needs anything at the store.

I get email at work and at home on four different computers. I don't gawk at my phone for facebook or anything like that.

I don't log into AR or Facebook while I am on my mobile phone at all. I don't even bank with it.

Mostly it is a shitty camera and a phone and that is it. I only have it set up to receive email so I can email work photos to work.

My wife doesn't use hers for anything other than directions and as a phone and occasionally as a camera.

I bought her a $800 box camera she uses for 99% of her photos.

We met her cousin and his new wife in Heidlberg a few months ago. These people are the same age as us 37-45ish, and they never put their phones down. On them the whole trip. I am not sure what they saw of Europe. That and they took photos of every stinking plate of food that came out, and every beer. It was really stupid.

This stupid lady even interupted a conversation to call some third party to small talk.

I have had enough of the damn things. I don't see the novelty and I don't get it.

If you are a service provider or do some kind of sales job, maybe you need it that much. If not, what the hell good is it for you to spend your entire day on the phone.

Saeed and BWW: It's so sad to see everyone so glued to their phones that they miss out on what really should matter, but it's true.
Saeed: Still waiting on your book of Walterisms! It would be a best seller here on AR and beyond!

quote:

Originally posted by Barry Groulx:
What Saeed said. I would love to come back from the Bush to find North Korea under new management or zombies (more than usual) running amok in Washington. The idea is to get AWAY.

+1 more

Today I got the THURAYA SATSLEEVE HOTSPOT.

It is a little contraption that connects to your phone wirelessly, and you can make satellite calls.

I put it outside, and connected it to my iPhone.

A friend came over, he is not very tech savvy.

I said "I got a modification to my iPhone that I can make satellite calls through it while hunting"

"REALLY?"

"Yes. Look I will call you right now. Watch"

I dialed his number from my iPhone, using the app.

His phone rings, and he sees a satellite number.

I said "Answer it!"

He did, and we talked.

After he had left, I got several calls asking me how to do it from other people!

No one had caught on to it yet!

I am going to try it in Tanzania this year instead of a normal satellite phone.

Saeed, do you just buy minutes for it from the provider?

Haven't read every response, but I can honestly say, other than two hunts in RSA many moons ago I have NEVER been in a place that there was cell service, while in the bush.

I have a sat phone that I phone home with every couple days to check on the family.

Steve

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
What Saeed said two posts back! It's YOUR HUNT. If a PH wants to conduct business, then have a booking agent, their spouse or a business manager handlr things when you, as the PH, are hunting with a paying client. Personally, my i-phone is in "airplane mode" while hunting in Africa and is used for pictures only. If WiFi is available back in camp then I use it. Otherwise it's just an expensive camera, and I make sure that while I'm hunting that it does not interfere with my hunt. And neither should anyone else's phone (PH, trackers, skinners, game scout, etc.) interfere with your hunt while you are out hunting. Just my two centavos worth.

my cell phone was on airplane mode during my hunts. A simple fix for a PH who is on his phone is to tell him at the first instance that his tip goes down with each call or text.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
What Saeed said two posts back! It's YOUR HUNT. If a PH wants to conduct business, then have a booking agent, their spouse or a business manager handlr things when you, as the PH, are hunting with a paying client. Personally, my i-phone is in "airplane mode" while hunting in Africa and is used for pictures only. If WiFi is available back in camp then I use it. Otherwise it's just an expensive camera, and I make sure that while I'm hunting that it does not interfere with my hunt. And neither should anyone else's phone (PH, trackers, skinners, game scout, etc.) interfere with your hunt while you are out hunting. Just my two centavos worth.

Although I agree somewhat in principle, if the PH has a sick child, I will certainly not begrudge him a few cell phone calls to check on the child.

BH63

On my last hunt my ph would only use his phone while driving back to camp at the end of the day(dark). Yes, texting and driving.

Smart phones are a modern tool.

A very powerful, easy and useful tool.

I use mine quite often as a hunting tool.

quote:

Originally posted by Dutch44:
Saeed, do you just buy minutes for it from the provider?

There are two ways of doing it.

Post paid, which means you pay a small monthly fee, like $15 a month, and get billed for any calls you make.

Or, pre-paid.

I have pre paid minutes on this one. I do have a normal sat phone which I have a contract on as post paid.

No dog in this fight, really, just a question...for all those who use them for business, or help with whatever you are doing at the moment, be it hunting, driving, walking, etc. etc., how in the world did anyone succeed in any of the endeavors they use cell phones for now before the advent of cell phones?