Just got my heads & skins back from Lifeform by ocean vessel a few weeks ago...MUCH cheaper and same 15 month wait. 285 lb. crate & everything in fine shape. Seems to be the current trend due to high jet fuel costs...

Anyone else have a similar story?

RH,
Where did you hunt, and what did you bring back? If you don't mind, how much was the shipping?
I am getting my work done in Namibia, 10 mounted heads, and I don't even want to think about what it's going to cost me.

I just picked up my trophies in Anchorage this week. They were shipped air from Windhoek.
9 mounted heads, 4 skull mounts, 4 tanned hides, chargeable weight 680#. Total shipping cost from Windhoek was $4253.
Freight from taxidermist to Windhoek, vet fees, broker charges, crateing etc was $866
Grand total-$5119.
Shipped Delta from Frankfurt to Anchorage. Time enroute from FRA. to ANC. was 11 days.
The price of hunting just went up!

my last shipment had 4 big crates in it. Took about 1/4 of a truck. Air freight was 9000 and sea freight was 3000. Got here in 30 days, and everything came through fine.

TJ,

Did you pay a broker to pick up your animals? We were directed to hire a broker or our animals would not be cleared and shipped back. We got Gary at Alpha to pick them up. Total of 17 animals with capes and hides. $1,900 from Windhoek.

No, I accepted my own shipment. They were not shipped back.
I did a lot of research on CDC, USFWS, Customs and Ag. Dept. Most of them don't know their own regulations. I had to find them on their site then direct them to where it was at.
We had mounted 2 warthogs and 1 mounted baboon skull. Both were packaged seperately. If they are fully chemically treated and ready for exhibition, no further permits are necessary.
I had the USFWS form 3-177 filled out before hand.
Were your heads mounted?
Who was your broker in Namibia?
Who was the airline and what was the route?
I've still got 3 mounted heads and 2 skull mounts in Namibia.
At these prices, I won't be shipping many trophies home.
Thanks.

The crates were cardboard, held together by plastic straps. There was damage and loss.
1. Hartebeest skull mount was broken.
2. Springbok skull missing.
3. Warthog tusks missing.
4. Warthog jaw broken and a piece missing.
I'm dealing with the broker for insurance payment now.
The trophies were delivered to Delta on Oct. 11, arrived in Anchorage Oct. 25.
I'll never use Delta again.

I had a big crate (4'x'4'x8') 600 lbs shipped from RSA (Lifeform Taxidermy) ocean freight for 2100 total Brokered by Fauna and Flora. 4 shoulder mounts, 4 european mounts, a zebra pedestal and a double impala pedestal. Very happy with the whole process.

My last shipment is four crates at 1,001 pounds, and a lot of cubes! This is two hunts in Zim, tasidermy done by Taxidermy Enterprises.

I checked out sea freight after the air estimate arrived. Since I am on the Left Coast of the USA, the established sea routes didn't help too much as they come to the East Coast.

As a matter of fact I ust got a call from Hecny that the shipment will be trucked down from LA this week. The shipping, etc. was just under $4,000 by air.

jim

I was quoted , truck freight from Windhoek to Capetown, $1455. Ocean freight from Capetown to Seattle $1020, weight 291 Kilo grams. I then have to get them from Seattle to Anchorage.

Jim:
What airline did you use?

ddoes anybody use ocean freight for raw hides and sculls? Flora and Fauna advertizes completed taxidermy only.

My son and I had 8 animals total all flat skins and skull mounts: SGKudu, Blue Wildebeest, 2 Impala, Limpopo Bushbuck, Warthog, Zebra & Baboon. Ocean freight was $580.00 through Fauna & Flora from Joburg. Freight from NY harbor to my home in Ohio was $275.00. Crate is made of plywood and 1 x 3's with long wood screws, arrived undamaged. I had asked that none of the skins be trimmed, AT ALL. Lifeform Taxidermy trimmed the one skin I wanted most, the bushbuck, head and feet missing, but is making good by sending me another full skin "Lutanned" for a full mount at some later date. It won't be the same, but don't know what else to do... Both of the impala and the kudu were caped for shoulder mounts and the backskins for all three were chrome tanned. The zebra my son shot was a huge stallion: the skin measures 12 ft. from tip of nose to tip of tail, and over 8 ft. from ankle to ankle.

quote:

Originally posted by RHSim:
Just got my heads & skins back from Lifeform by ocean vessel a few weeks ago...MUCH cheaper and same 15 month wait. 285 lb. crate & everything in fine shape. Seems to be the current trend due to high jet fuel costs...

Anyone else have a similar story?

Zimbabwe. Not being on the coast and landlocked, has anyone tried ocean freight out of Zim through one of the other countries such as SA?

On another note, what do you all think of this....I just got my bill from the tax in Namibia, and there is a charge for $1,000 for packing. I do not remember discussing this, and it does seem like alot of money for cardboard and bubble-wrap on top of over $5,000 for my work. Does this seem reasonable or customary, I am tempted to tell them to keep it all if they insist on the charge since I didn't pay for it all yet. It dosent seem right, but I would like some imput before I call them.

You can tell them to keep your mounts, but you do lose a lot of mounted animals, it would be a shame. I get everything shipped through NYC with just capes and skulls, and I have never had a problem. I use taxidermists in the US always, and Mounts have always been ok.

If everyone just took 8 X 10" photographs of there animals instead of getting them mounted, they would have enough money for another plains game safari. Shit, I would have enough for a buff hunt..... Plus no one would be worrying about these problems.

Amen to the 8 x 10's...

My next (3rd) trip I'll do just that...my house is already got enough skulls, skins and mounts for a lifetime.

That is, unless I take an exceptional animal that would improve things a bit...

I agree 100%, should I have to pay this extra charge, or is this just an added on rip-off??

...added-on ripoff gets my vote.

Mine came in a helluva wood crate with everything boxed and inner-packed, all packing cost was in the original estimate, crating cost was included...

$1,000 buys one hell of a crate...

RHSim,
Did they take any extra precaution to ensure that the humidity does not affect the mounts. I am curious about it as I think the freight costs is far to expensive. My biggest worry is the affects of the high humidity

Jaco,

Everything was inner-wrapped in clear plastic...if that means anything. That damn plastic wrap was a pain in the a** to get off...

I am currently awaiting the arrival of my shipment from Jo'burg. I am getting the cape and horns from both a gemsbok and blackwildebeest, along with a skull and horns from a blesbok. I'm also getting several tails and skull from a jackal.

The total cost using airfreight, from Jo'burg to Omaha, NE was $498.99. This was thru Safari Air Cargo in RSA and Flora and Fauna in New York. I don't know if that's a good price or not, although I feared that it might be worse.

TJ,

My PH used Pam Foerster at international air cargo servies out of Windhoek. Her email is pam-iacs@mweb.com.na We didn't have any trophies mounted. We had 2 kudu skull/horns and capes, 4 oryx skull/horns and hides, 2 hartebeest skull/horns and capes, 2 springboks skull/horns capes, 2 zebra hides, 1 blesbok skull/horns cape, 4 warthogs tusks/skulls. As far as I understand they were on Swiss air from Windhoek to L.A. L.A to Seattle, then to Anchorage. Gary from Alpha picked them up for us from Anchorage. Total cost was $1,920. We were happy. We had a problem with my fathers zebra as it was a Burchell's and the form stated Hartmanns. It was confiscated, but Pam got the proper paperwork DHL'd back to us and the Fish and Wildlife accepted the corrected form and we got the zebra. Can't say enough about Pam, I think she is highly recommended in Namibia.

I want to have my stuff shipped Ocean Freight from Namibia to New York, however John Meehan at Flora&Fauna related that this was not possible. Can anyone recommend a shipping company, since I do not want to pay for air.

Northway:
Do you remember the weight of your shipment?

Has anyone used Maple Freight to ship by sea? Our trophies are ready to ship from Taxidermy Enterprises in Zim and I need to decide if its coming by sea or air.

This airfreight and customs clearing thing is getting to be a blackhole. My suggestion is to go ocean cargo after using airfreight four times. On most bills you will see that the actual airfreight isnt as much as the addons made by the shipping and recieving gestapos. If you do your homework there are some new companys out there that wont rip you off.

RHSim:

I shot a Cape buff in Zimbabwe in 1993 on May 11 of that year. My buff was in the hands of the Pennsylvania (US) taxidermist before Thanksgiving of that year - and I had been making worried calls to my outfitter about "Where's my buff?" You mention a usual "15 month wait". Hasn't something gone really wrong here? I mean, in 12 years time, you now wait over a year? Is the answer to get the trophy mounted in Africa and then shipped home? JUst my thoughts.

Jerry- I have done it both ways. Am now waiting for trophies to be shipped from Moz to Zim, then here-what a cluster! I do think that if you use the African side for completed work that the turn around time is lessened. It seems that from some operators that dip and ship clients go to the absolute rear in priority.Have any readers had ocean freight to the west coast, say, Seattle?

Wolfgar, who is your tex in Namibia?

I used Outjuwarongo taxidermy.otjtaxi@africaonline.com.na.
Prices about 1/3 of USA. Just got quote from IFN for shipping Namibia to New York for $5100 air, for 1,750 kilo's. They combined our party's trophys as one shippment.