Focus: Please share with me how your African adventure(s) have been "life changing" for better or worst.....Thanks

This will be my first trip tot he Dark Continent

Once the trip is cemented, I will share the who, what, where......Damn, I am pumped

quote:

Originally posted by cavu67:
Focus: Please share with me how your African adventure(s) have been "life changing" for better or worst.....Thanks

This will be my first trip tot he Dark Continent

Once the trip is cemented, I will share the who, what, where......Damn, I am pumped

After that !!! You will not more worry about die someday, and for other side, you star to think what next???
Africa for the Hunter A UNIQUE LIFETIME EXPERIENCE!!!! Good Luck and Enjoy it

ca,

The grass is greener, the sky is bluer, birds singing is,....

Ok, scratch all of that. I live in Alaska, it's November and none of that is true since I got back from my first safari in October.

But for me, my first trip was a mind altering experience. Before I went to Zimbabwe I was thinking of another Brooks Range sheep hunt, tag applications for deer in the Kaibab, Nevada, Oregon, perhaps some goat hunting on Kodiak, black bears in the Interior,......All that is out the window now.

I waited about a week after I got home before I started seriously asking questions about my next safari. I am now booked for August '09, Mokore again this time for Leopard, Buffalo, Sable and Plains game.

For me the first safari changed my priorities. If there is an unfortunate side to this it's that now I'm going to be inclined to budget more conservatively so I can hunt Africa again and again instead of buying another gun, more reloading equipment, etc,.. Now I need trophy fee money.

cavu67, take the wife with you if possible and you will never have a problem getting the green light to go back.

cavu67,

Safari has gotten me focused on what is really important to me as far as my recreation goes and what I'm going to spend my disposable income on. I guestion how every purchase will effect my next safari.

Safari is so much more than just hunting a buffalo, elephant or whatever that all other hunting for me just pales in comparison.

Your in for a real adventure.

Mark

I suggest that you go to Dallas Safari Club convention this year. If you spend some time with the 200 or so AR'philes, you'll get the opportunity to learn exactly what you want out of your first trip. (Note, I say "first trip" because you'll have many more!)

Africa is huge. From Atlanta, Dakar is just half way to Cape Town. Every country that promotes hunting has its own special experience to offer. Some countries are always hot, this year it snowed in J'burg. Is a high-fenced ranch what you want for your experience, a place with lots of villages and native culture, or the void-of-folks, Selous?

Dangerous game or just PG for a starter? Do you want to take some side trips like Vic Falls or the Wine Country of RSA...?

I want to encourage you to begin keeping a record for the "anticipation" is half the fun. Start a diary and take notes of little stuff like choosing boots, getting your shots, friends you meet.... and that's before you're gear in the well. If you keep your thoughts by writing them down, you'll treasure them.

Bring a lot of $ and bullets/arrows. If you like it, take it, or you'll regret it. Take a look at all the animals that you can hunt in the area you will be going. I guarantee all the animals you think are really “ugly†will become beautiful when you see them.

My one regret was not shooting a 54 inch Kudu because I thought we might see one bigger. He was at 50 yards and did not know we where there. It was the second day on the hunt. My PH was telling me – shoot – shoot – shoot. My father has a large East African Kudu and I wanted something bigger. I regret it every time I think about my trip. He was a beautiful animal (long, thick and wide). Even if it did not tape out at over 52 inches I know that I would have been happy.

Here is picture of my Dad’s

http://www.safarilist.com/east_african_greater_kudu.html

I spent my two last days going back after him. Never got another chance.

Judge G nailed it. The only thing he left out is that Africa is sort of like eating Lay's Potato Chips, nobody can go just once. I have been three times and am planning to return next year. My wife frequently complains that "your heart and head are in Africa". Guilty as charged.

I am not an expert, but here's my two cents...
The variety of game in South Africa alone is mind boggling. A lot of the locals that I have met concentrate their hunting on the species they enjoy the most. Hunting Bushbuck and Impala is different than Wildebeest and Warthog. I have applied the methods I have learned hunting similar species in the USA.
You will get the most hunting for your dollar in southern africa than anywhere else in the world, I use the cost of southern africa hunting as a benchmark to hunts elsewhere worldwide.
The hunting is laid back and relaxing, I would encourage you to get as involved in every aspect of the hunt as you want to. Don't worry about getting in the PH, trackers or skinners way, after all it's your dime. My last trip we were driving down the road and went by a beautiful piece of property and I told my PH I wanted to hunt there, he pulled off the road and called the farmer on his cell and we spent the day chasing Impala through the bush.
The USA and the RSA's history is very similar in alot of regards, it's an interesting topic to discuss at the campfire.
Mark Young couldn't have put it better, you will end up saving every dollar towards your next safari!!
Elkfitter also agree, take your wife along. Mine had a ball observing and hanging out with the PH's wife and kids.
African hunters enjoy sharing their knowledge of where to hunt which is something I find US hunters are hesitant to do.
Before my first african trip, I had a basement full of guns and reloading gear. Like Scott King I sold most of it and now just have the basic african safari gear, it's changed my priorities.
I took my 14 and 16 year old boys last month and the 16 year old is going to work for our PH next summer, he is going to spend 3 weeks with him before our Zim safari on August 7. African hunting has influenced them at an early age.
I hope you make the trip, if your really serious join the SCI chapter in your area.

quote:

Originally posted by cavu67:
Focus: Please share with me how your African adventure(s) have been "life changing" for better or worst.....Thanks

This will be my first trip to the Dark Continent

Once the trip is cemented, I will share the who, what, where......Damn, I am pumped

--------------------------
"Genetic memory," Richard Leakey said succinctly. "That’s your answer. There’s no basis in science. But people come here from China, people come from Japan, people come from America, and the vast majority of people who come here feel something they feel nowhere else. It’s not just the wildlife. It’s the place. If, as I believe, it is a memory, almost a familiarity, it is very primitive. It is the capacity homing pigeons have, salmon have, to recognize, to go back. You feel it’s home. It feels right to be here. The feel of the air. Everything. And yet geneticists say there is not a shred of evidence. So how does it work? What is the genetic basis for instinct? What enables a swallow to find Capistrano?"

Memory doesn't die. Not completely. Memory lives on in our genes. Chromosomes are long sentences written in code. One sentence says: "I will have blue eyes." One says: "I will be 6 feet 3 1/2 inches tall, no more, no less, no matter what." One says: "I will be right-handed."

And one says: "I once lived on an African plain."

--- Aaron Latham, THE FROZEN LEOPARD
--------------------------

Cheers!
-Bob F.

God I hate you.... Your going a full year before I do. LOL

Best of luck and good wishes.

quote:

Originally posted by BFaucett:

quote:

Originally posted by cavu67:
Focus: Please share with me how your African adventure(s) have been "life changing" for better or worst.....Thanks

This will be my first trip to the Dark Continent

Once the trip is cemented, I will share the who, what, where......Damn, I am pumped

--------------------------
"Genetic memory," Richard Leakey said succinctly. "That’s your answer. There’s no basis in science. But people come here from China, people come from Japan, people come from America, and the vast majority of people who come here feel something they feel nowhere else. It’s not just the wildlife. It’s the place. If, as I believe, it is a memory, almost a familiarity, it is very primitive. It is the capacity homing pigeons have, salmon have, to recognize, to go back. You feel it’s home. It feels right to be here. The feel of the air. Everything. And yet geneticists say there is not a shred of evidence. So how does it work? What is the genetic basis for instinct? What enables a swallow to find Capistrano?"

Memory doesn't die. Not completely. Memory lives on in our genes. Chromosomes are long sentences written in code. One sentence says: "I will have blue eyes." One says: "I will be 6 feet 3 1/2 inches tall, no more, no less, no matter what." One says: "I will be right-handed."

And one says: "I once lived on an African plain."

--- Aaron Latham, THE FROZEN LEOPARD
--------------------------

Cheers!
-Bob F.

I can not explain it any better. Only one thing to add, if at all possible make your Safari one to Tanzania, a tented camp in the Selous......

I have hunted South Africa, a great hunt with great people. I have hunted the Selous, a total adventure I will never forget, an adventure I am sure my family and friends are sick of hearing about, an adventure I think about daily, and what I hope will be never ending.

As far as the "life changing" part, my first safari has reshaped how I think of spending money. I now want to spend to "do things" instead of "buy things".

I too am headed for my first african safari next summer. I've got the hunt booked and the flights paid for. While I would love to go for buffalo, I'm taking my son on a plains game hunt. Just the planning has consumed me for the past 8 months. I don't think my wife ever had a clue what this entailed when she gave me the "green light". And I'm hooked bad. I'm already planning and saving for my buffalo hunt. Just trying to decide if I can sail it buy the wife in 09, or likely 2010. Damn that sounds a long way off. Have fun in the details (just don't obscess as much as I have). Rich.

Thank you all for sharing your POV.

Judge G, I am booked for the Dallas Safari Club and will be staying at the comfort inn. MJINES is my mentor....very fortunate to have him

Good idea about the diary...consider that one done BTW, is that an A-4 in your pic? Navy pilot?

Thank you all for sharing...

I Just got the OK from my wife as well. She is going with me as that is the best way to get to go back. I want her to love it as much as I do.

quote:

Originally posted by cable68:
As far as the "life changing" part, my first safari has reshaped how I think of spending money. I now want to spend to "do things" instead of "buy things".

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:
.....For me the first safari changed my priorities. If there is an unfortunate side to this it's that now I'm going to be inclined to budget more conservatively so I can hunt Africa again and again instead of buying another gun, more reloading equipment, etc,.. Now I need trophy fee money.

I agree with you too!!!

quote:

Originally posted by cavu67:
Thank you all for sharing your POV.

Judge G, I am booked for the Dallas Safari Club and will be staying at the comfort inn. MJINES is my mentor....very fortunate to have him

Good idea about the diary...consider that one done BTW, is that an A-4 in your pic? Navy pilot?

Thank you all for sharing...

In a place far, far away, long, long ago... I flew A-4's as a Marine.

I'll see you in Dallas!

Safari has to be experienced. It is worth the considerable expense and trouble, in fact I think it is one of the few things that is worth more than the money spent. Taking your wife is a great idea because she will also enjoy the unique adventure. That also makes it much easier to then take another safari and pay for the trophies. Just beware that Africa will dominate your thoughts both before you go and after. In fact, you will most likely have a stronger desire to go on your second safari than the first.

my wife was supposed to go on my first safari but got food poisoning 2 days before departure , then insisted that i go anyway. when there, i realized that RSA was a country i could feel comfortable living in part of the year after i retired and took my wife back the next year on safari to see if she agreed. long story short, she did and we found a hunting property we liked, put in an offer and were in escrow to buy it. 2 weeks later, found out i have terminal lymphoma with only 2-3 more years to live. the seller was gracious enough to refund my deposit and wish me luck. bottom line- africa will infect your soul with an insatiable desire to see one more sunset, smell one more mopane campfire, hear one more lourie say"go away" and watch one more buffalo stare at you "like you owe him money".

quote:

Originally posted by cable68:
As far as the "life changing" part, my first safari has reshaped how I think of spending money. I now want to spend to "do things" instead of "buy things".

That is the story of many of us here!

I too made a decision some time ago after looking in the gun safe and around the house, garage and shed at all of the "stuff" laying around. I asked myself whether I wanted to continue to accumulate stuff that my wife wondered what any of it even was...or do I want to trade stuff for memories? I went for the memories and have never regretted it. You will amaze yourself at what monies can be had by carefully selling all of your junk...especially your good junk!