Zambia looks like it would be an awesome place to hunt, but I would have to think that charters add some more cost and making Zambia one of the more expensive places to hunt.

phoenixdawg,

No is the easy answer and often you can drive to hunting areas or combine driving with an inexpensive commuter flight. Having said that Zambia has some of the worst roads in Africa making a drive to camp a grueling affair for some. I prefer driving but it is not for everyone.

Mark

Mark

Thanks for the response, I think Zambia is very intriguing, but I would sure rather spend money on trophy fees vs. charter flights.

Phoenixdawg,

I'm with you but if you do book Zambia you need to consider that a charter can sometimes be the cheapest way to go. If you can share the flight in both directions which Laura DuPlooy/ Muchinga Adventures is a wizard at arranging it can be cheaper than the drive.

Mark

phoenixdawg,

Obviously you can get a vehicle to any hunting area in Zambia (at least I haven't heard of any real foot safaris lately). It comes down to prefference and company policy. I hunted with Muchinga last Sept. and they didn't drive clients to their Luangwa concessions out of fear that a client will eventually get hurt. They seem to have a supply truck get into a wreck every year on that road. Seems like a sound policy in this case. If you have enough time in country that you can be a bit flexible, your outfitter might be able to arrange for you to share flights. By doing this, Laura DuPlooy saved me about the trophy fee on a sitatounga or roan compared to what the full cost of my charters would have been had they not been shared.

Dean

Mark is 100% correct, the charter is the only way to go. Laura will share your unused seats with other hunters and supply runs driving the cost way down.

Our charter worked out to cost less than $100 per person more than it would have cost us to fly commercial to Mfuwe from Lusaka and then drive 6 hours. We spent a pleasant hour or so on the charter with a 20 min drive to camp versus what would have been an entire day otherwise. We also avoided the shitty and dangerous roads.

Andy

Drook was lucky, most trips Laura as advertised can get you combined, but if your dates are inflexible as mine tend to be I would rather spend two extra days hunting than driving. The duPlooys Tondwa concession is a 1000k charter or drive to Kasama (extreme northeast Zambia up by DRC and Tanz.) then 250 MORE miles of bone jarring rutted road. But at the end of the journey lies the Garden of Eden. and 100% success on sitatunga. I doubt anybody in Africa can claim that.
Chipolopolo

If you hunt the Upper, or Lower Lupande concessions in the Luangwa Valley you can fly commercial into Mfuwe, from Lusaka for pick up, with less than 20 miles on a fairly good road.

It is possible to drive but whether the company will offer that as an option is entirely another matter. Generally the cost and time spent of sending a cruiser all the way into town and then driving back makes chartering the best option.

Depends which side of Zambia you go. I hunted with ProHunt Zambia over on the Kafue National Park side and it was a 5 hour or so drive out of Lusaka.

The (charter plane) is a reasonable option provided that there are say upwards of two within the hunting or safari group.

I will do a brief calculation which gives our guests a general overview ....

Using our private ranch as an example, this is not necessary typical BUT a guideline ...

We generally either pre-book/pay the private charter on behalf of the client, and add on a small fee to cover our costs, OR we can put the client in direct contact themselves with the charter company and they book direct, we dont mind, and often in fact suggest the client book direct to get the best price offer.

At present the (estimate one-way) from Livingstone to Ngoma bush strip is a one hour flight, costing around $1000+ ... Therefore with 4pax that is $250 each, not bad at all, or $500 if two-pax. The cost esculates when there is only one passenger.

It is a bit more cost effective to do (back to back flights) whereby one group goes in and another group departs that same trip, the problem to arrange logistically back to back is difficult for small operators such as ourselves whom need a day or two (break between hunts) to restock and tidy up before the next hunt begins.

If clients were to use ourselves to drive them into the ranch it is not straighforward for ourselves as we are about 7-hours driving from the ranch to Livingstone, then an overnight and seven hours drive back to take the hunters in. Then same after the hunt is over, one trip out an overnight and then the trip back to the ranch. So is effect we have used up 4-days to do both trips.

So if we budget or work on the non-hunting rate of $200/day for say one hunter alone, that is 4 x 200 = $800 for the drive out overnight pickup and return to the ranch, then the same again after the hunt. There is no real easy or cost effective option eith with the charter or drive in, if for one hunter alone as we still have to cover for the two overnights for our driver/guide as well.

Possibly a hire vehicle and self drive may be an option, but it is still a logistics nightmre to find our ranch with the myriad of bush roads and tracks to access the property. GPS way points are a help and stopping continually along the way to get tribesmen to direct can at times send you in the wrong direction

So from the outfitters point of view and the clients cost, there is not an easy option really, although a drive does give you a nice insight into bush and tribal life in Africa

Any other suggestions or recommendations welcome

Cheers, Peter

quote:

Originally posted by G L Krause:
Depends which side of Zambia you go. I hunted with ProHunt Zambia over on the Kafue National Park side and it was a 5 hour or so drive out of Lusaka.

Did you hunt with richard or andrew