I'm considering a trip to Namibia in 2007 and/or 2008 and have a few questions:

1. The trophy fees seem more reasonable than some other places. Are there additional taxes, fees, etc. that run the tabs up more than in say South Africa?

2. What is the best route/airline to use. It would be nice to avoid gun unfriendly Amsterdam if possible. I would also like to avoid Air France.

3. If there is a safari company you no longer care to do business with in Namibia, I would welcome details or at least the name of the company so I can avoid it. Likewise, if there is a good company, I would like to know about that as well.

4. Any other pitfalls it would be nice to know about?

There should not be any extra charges, other than the extra for the flight from JBerg to Winchoeck. I would definitely go Namibia rather than RSA, no fences and very good quality of game, plus you can hunt the hartmans mountain zebra. I hunted with a group called De Keiller two or three years ago and had a great hunt. At the time the daily rate was $200 and trophy fees reasonable. This group also has a US agent which helps eliminate many problems.

I went on my first safari this year in Namibia.

There were no hidden costs or fees -- I signed for a package deal and added one animal for a reasonable trophy fee.

Since I'm on the east coast, Gracy Travel recommended taking the SAA flight from Dulles to Johannesberg. At the time (January) they said they recommended a Frankfurt route to clients from the western U.S.

Information on my trip with Okatjuru Safaris (www.okatjuru.com) is posted in the Hunting Reports forum.

There is a VAT on the daily rate so you should inquire whether it is included in the quoted rate or not. The trophy fees can vary, but are generally reasonable.

I just came back from a hunt with Vaughn Fulton's Classic Safaris, and he runs a first class operation. He offers a variety of hunts from plains game to elephant. Email me if you'd like his email address. Kudude

I hunted Namibia for the first time this year on a large farm NE of Windhoek. Hunting there was a pleasure, infrastructure in good shape,unlike Zim. In many ways was it was like hunting in rural New Mexico or West Texas. Everyone was friendly, no problems. I flew from Chicago to Frankfurt and then to Windhoek. The layover in Frankfurt is long inbound, due to the way the flight scheduling falls, but you pick up some time returning. I would definitely pick Namibia over South Africa for a plains hunt, Namibia seems more open and less crowded. Feel free to PM me if you want some more info. You will have a great time. Good Luck, Russ Green.

I'll second everything that Russ said. I did the same route but used Delta/Air Namibia, hunted in some of the same reasons, spent a little time fishing on the coast too. All in all, a perfect trip.

The long lay over in Frankfurt is a pain but you are pretty much done with jet lag by the time you arrive in Windhoek.

Brent

I did the flight from Atlanta, it was long, uncomfortable and the seats were small but most of the people on the plane were going hunting so the company was wonderful. No problems in SA for transfer to Namibia from Delta to SA Air, as long as we stayed in the international area. I also found Namibia and the folks there to be wonderful. I hunted the central and northern areas, both on multiple low fenced ranches. Prices were as promised.
Two suggestions, take a few days to go sight seeing and take a second, small, digital camera and give it to your PH to take candid shots of you during the safari.

dittos on what Kudude said.

I'm also a first-timer who is planning Namibia in 2007. I found a wealth of information on the Namibian Tourist Board website. The most useful thing was a comprehensive list of licensed hunting farms (a couple of hundred or so). Most of them have email addresses and many have websites.

Visiting the websites gives the impression that their daily rates and trophy fees are mostly pretty similar (and reasonable), although I'm sure that the quality of the hunting experience varies, which is why references are so important. A few companies are significantly more expensive, but they appear to cater to those who prefer to go where they're not bothered with persons of lesser economic circumstances. Whatever my economic circumstances might be, I'm not interested in such companies.

Overall, Namibia projects a somewhat hunter-friendly, non-exploitative atmosphere (at least in cyberspace) compared to other African countries. It is definately less expensive in terms of daily rates and trophy fees than South Africa, and gives the impression of being less "canned" than high-fenced S.A. game farms.

Like Grumulkin, I'd appreciate comments from those who have been.

A comment about flying via Frankfurt:

I went via Frankfurt and when I got in, I went to the Holiday Inn Express near the airport. I got a few hours of great sleep, took a bath, and got a great meal at a genuine German Gasthaus down the road across from the hotel about 200yds. (Its the place on the left, not the Italian place on the right.) Came back, emailed the states, took another bath, and went to the plane. All for 59Euros. It was worth every penny. It was the first of five mini-vacations I had on my trip.

Going through Frankfurt meant I checked my guns in Atlanta and picked them up in Windhoek.

I did not have to mess with Joburg or RSA weapons transfers.

And the time in the air was about 10 hours to Frankfurt and 10 more to Windhoek. That ain't bad. Kudude

quote:

Originally posted by kudude:
A comment about flying via Frankfurt:

And the time in the air was about 10 hours to Frankfurt and 10 more to Windhoek. That ain't bad. Kudude

What airline(s)?

What was the ticket price?

I don't know what Kudude paid, but I paid $2500 for a trip in August (peak season). Both halves of the flight worked out to $1250.


Delta to Air Namib. They have baggage handling agreements which means I never had to worry about firearms from Omaha to Windhoek. Coming back was a bit different as we were forced to go through customs in Atlanta and the recheck.

Brent

Lufthansa and Air Nimibia. Price was about $2500. One treat was Air Malaysia flew the leg for AN on the return flight and it was the best flight I have had on any airline in 10 years. Service was great and the A/C was 747-400. I had the whole center row to myself and slept whenever I wanted. Same with Lufthansa to ATL, but it was an Airbus w/ Racaro seats. Very uncomfortable to sleep on. Kudude

SAA has gotten better -more leg room. PM me for info on the fringe Kalahari.

Loved hunting in Namibia last year. Plannning next hunt as a split RSA/Zim only for different animals. Would otherwise return to Namibia again, and probably will someday.

Just got back from a great Namibian hunt for plains game and leopard (with Dirk Rohrmann) and I agree with most of what has been already said. Very reasonable trophy fees without hidden costs (and hunts not caged/staged), good quality trophies (at least where I hunted), and no customs or "anti-gun stuff" after checking thru to Windhoek. Agree too with flying via Frankfurt and taking a snooze there at the Hotel and next time, on the way back, I will do likewise. The only problem I had was on the way back on Delta at JFK. They run their operation there like a 3rd world flea market, and it was hot, dirty, crowded, and unpleasant with rude people (and Delta employees), and they lost my bags and rifle for several days. Oh well.

But you'll like Namibia, and I look forward to returning there.