Just got back from 10 days in Chirisa/Zim, where we took 3 Buff bulls, 1 Buff cow for Parks rations, and 1 mgmt bull Elephant.

Since we were there in Feb, there have been some changes.

1. Rifle case checked all the way to HRE on DL/SAA somehow ended up in baggage claim at JNB whence it was taken to the SAPS office at JNB despite my protest. Regular bag did not show in baggage claim, it went plane to plane. But I had to go through customs, ID the rifle case at SAPS, and then get the special security co. to go fetch it and recheck it. I did not need a permit for SA but had I not been on the 'case', the guns would surely have missed the connection.

2. Clients ignored my instructions to check bags all the way to HRE so all their bags ended up in baggage claim at JNB. (That's how I discovered my rifle case had been offloaded.) The SAA transfer desk people were able to reroute their regular bags to HRE remotely but rifles went to SAPS on the other side of customs. Clients had to clear customs, get SA transit permits (SAPS 520), then recheck at the regular check-in with SAA for final leg to HRE. They made the connection with minutes to spare. Bags showed up in HRE. Bribes all round.

3. On the way back, bags were checked in HRE with SAA all the way thru to final; they showed up in ATL where we cleared customs and then rechecked. ATL customs is checking serial nos against 4453s (taking their sweet time about it so allow 3 hours to connect).

4. TSA will open all bags containing ammo, both directions. If you lock your ammo bag, or put it in a locked box (as required), and go to the gate without opening the bag/lockbox for TSA, TSA will have you called back to departure checkin even if that means missing your flight from the US. In PDX, that meant having to deal with 2 sets of TSAs, one set for the rifle, another set for the regular baggage containing ammo. I recommend putting ammo in rifle case when leaving USA. Returning, SAA will force you to put ammo in separate case when leaving Zim. (When connecting via a domestic airport in SA, they want the ammo in the rifle case for the domestic leg, and in a separate case for the international leg!!) Make sure TSA can get into your ammo case, otherwise they will cut the lock and sometimes damage your luggage.

5. Zim is now requiring clients to have their NP11 form stamped by immigration on the way in. That means your outfitter/PH has to get these forms (triplicate) to you before arrival. In our case, the person who met us handed us the forms and we went back through immigration to get them stamped. You can't hunt in many concessions without this form properly stamped by immigration, they won't issue the TR2. Immigration retains a copy. This form is used to make sure the outfitters are declaring the foreign currency upon completion of the hunt.

6. We had to pay a fee to Parks "enter" the safari area. This came to $23 for a 10 day hunt.

7. We found a new place to overnight in HRE ... Flame Lodge ... $30 pp for airport transfer, $70 for bed & breakfast. That's about half the "going" rate and good value. Email them at flame@africaonline.co.za

8. Premier lounge at JNB is still closed down.

9. Flight HRE to JNB now leaves at 12H30. Get to airport v. early, as the check in is done by hand, the computers don't work most of the time.

10. Zims are hungry for US dollars ... and not shy about tips. Trackers $25 per day, driver $15 per day. Camp staff collectively $80 per day. PH recommendation.

11. Mood is positive in Zim even though politics are SNAFU. Day before we left, armory in Bulawayo was robbed. Not sure what this portends. Could be a gov't ploy to arrest the opposition (or worse). Apparently the ZANU-PF people want to go back to the Zim $! MDC opposes.

12. Poaching is getting worse in the hunting areas. We found several snares, one with an eland in death throes, saw a buff and a kudu cow running around with wire adornments, also one water hole was poisoned and the culprit was caught red-handed. A PH was knocked down by a cow buff wearing a snare while tracking elephant. Appie killed the buff before it could kill the PH.

13. Binga is pretty much hunted/poached out. Russ Broom has sold that operation to another operator. Chirisa has plenty of ele and buff; impala, warthog, duiker, baboon, hyena and bushbuck are huntable; kudu (bulls) and eland are scarce. Decent elephant bulls 50 lbs plus are very hard to come by. Some heavier bulls were taken this season in Chirisa but all of those had one heavy tusk and one broken tusk. Tuskless cows are relatively easy to find.

14. Hornady 375 cal DGX bullets, both the "old" and the "new" version, are too soft for buff hunting in 375 H&H. One failed to penetrate an impala diagonally, another opened up very fast on a buff frontal with no major bone hit. They may work OK in 375 Flanged or 2.5" express.

Russ,
Been told by many Zimbabweans that booking bags direct through Jo'Burg onto Harare is asking for trouble and was recommended to re check them in at Jo'Burg.
I found this out the hard way last year.

That's too bad about Binga. I hunted there a couple years ago. Do you know who was it sold to?

Russ,

Thanks for the heads up on the order of the day for travel to Zim. Obviously things are quite dynamic in customs and or firearms control and the manner of enforcement. Our very own Gov't. is just as fickle in this regard as any other.

One good thing about having your firearms go thru SAPS is simply to verify that they did make the crossing, the same is true if you book your bag to JNB, then rebook to HRE. Otherwise one can't know where the item went missing.

Please don't think I'm being critical of your very good report but one other point is that $80 is absurd for a daily tip for camp staff in the world's worst economy. You may rest assured the outfitter pays less than half as much.(much less!)


Adrian

Russ,

Thanks for the Chirisa update, one of my favorite places in the world.

Our experience with TSA was a little different. We left Chicago O'Hare on October 7th for Ethiopia. At check-in my husband told them he had a locked metal box containing ammunition in one of our suitcases. TSA put all our luggage through the x-ray machine and said have a nice flight. No bag was opened.

Coming home through Washington Dulles, Customs did not want the rifle case opened. They checked the serial number from the 4457 and sent us on our way. At TSA, my husband once again told them about the ammo and they put all the luggage through the x-ray and off we went. No bags were opened.

Regarding tips, I was shocked when we asked about tipping the staff and our PH said it was not necessary. He said these hunts cost a lot of money and he pays the staff well. After arguing with the PH he said a maximum of $200-$300 for the entire camp was more than enough.

Congratulations on a good hunt.

Well there were at least 8 camp staff (cook, cook's assistant, laundry guy, fire and garden guy, waiter, skinner, and a couple of others that I never figured out). There were 4 of us in camp (2 vehicles/PHs) so it worked out to $200 each for the 10 days for camp staff. One hunter would be expected to pay a less. The camp mgr lets the cook distribute the money, but I could not confirm that the money was fully disbursed. However, I checked with the trackers and driver, and they got all the money we put into the pot. I don't have any reason to believe that any of the camp staff money was hijacked.

We discussed the apparently rich tip situation with one PH, he states that everything is quite expensive in Zim in USD. This will probabaly abate as supply steps up and competition kicks in.

If you have the time on the ground at JNB, it's probably safer to claim and recheck bags. Or fly SAA all the way. The one client that did so had no problems, his rifle was not offloaded to baggage claim (at least I don't think I saw it there) and all his bags arrived at HRE.

The problem is there appears to be no good process for transferring rifles from one carrier to another at JNB. They are automatically offloaded to baggage claim whence they are automatically relocated to SAPS.

The HHK people in Zim confirm that more often than not, clients arrivnig on the late flight from JNB receive some or all of their bags the next day at HRE at noon. And in those cases, theft is almost a sure thing. For this reason, I now travel with "Fort Knox", an ancient Hartmann steamer trunk with a double lock.

One last point. HHK seems to have a habit of dumping other hunters on your camp without your prior knowledge. When booking with them, it's a good idea to make it very clear that you don't want to share camp. In our case, it was only the last night, but in the case of another (Spanish) client of mine, there were French clients in camp the whole duration. I will make sure this does not happen again.

During our recent (mid Oct) passage through JNB for an archery hunt --out of Bulawayo only by pure luck did we avert disaster -- my hunting partners bow case (checked from Dallas to JNB) we found two carousels over from where we were picking up his bags sitting on the floor -- just happened to walk by it and saw it setting there -- no clue as to why it was there.
My bags were supposed to be checked from Denver through to Bulawayo -- just happened to see my bowcase setting on cart with several other "cases" simply went over and picked it off without any question or otherwise -- we narrowly averted disaster by stupid luck . I am totally in the dark as to why our bow cases were where they were – but we luckily stumbled on them and re-checked them the next day.
Biggest tussle I had was with the TSA agent in ATL – re-checking my bow case on to Denver. For reasons totally beyond comprehension – the TSA agent (female) completely emptied my bow case and looked at every part and parcel – literally—and then simply walked away and told me to go ahead and repack the case. A Delta agent was standing there watching with total disbelief and apologized profusely but was without any explanation. My only thought is that she was trying to verify that my bow was unloaded – very aggravating to be harassed by these idiots that simply are clueless beyond comprehension.

Yes, there's got to be an alternative to zippered bags as the Africans have all figured out how to get in and out of the zippered bags, steal what they want, and then make it look like nothing was ever opened. They have it down to a science. Any suggestions besides the steamer trunk? Plastic wrap should be offered at all US Airports for international destinations, but it is not, and it's too late to get it once you are already in JoBurg unless you pull your bag and it hasn't been rifled through already and you get it plastic wrapped for your final destination.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Yes, there's got to be an alternative to zippered bags as the Africans have all figured out how to get in and out of the zippered bags, steal what they want, and then make it look like nothing was ever opened. They have it down to a science. Any suggestions besides the steamer trunk? Plastic wrap should be offered at all US Airports for international destinations, but it is not, and it's too late to get it once you are already in JoBurg unless you pull your bag and it hasn't been rifled through already and you get it plastic wrapped for your final destination.

I just bought and took on my last trip a "Storm" hard case -- there are several to choose from and I think Pelican and Hardigg/ Storm are now one company. I went to the hard case for the reason you noted as I can lock it plus knocking around in the back of a safari truck in route to camp with the occasionl drum of fuel can cause issue with your "stuff".
I bought the Storm/Hardigg case in bright yellow to easily identify and am very happy with it.
G

I bought a tufpac case in Dallas this year- very happy with it- three times somebdoy in jo'burg has tried to get into it and failed.

Plastic wrap? don't bother- they simply cut it open in section 'A' for a security inspection ( and leave a little note telling you it was an authorised inspection) and then it gets ripped off in section 'B'....

Maybe times are a changing; but, customs has always checked my serial no's upon returning conus via dulles; and we always check our bags and firearms through to zim and back:knock wood all firearms have always made the trip. tipping, we always allow between 1200-1500 for the gang regardless of the length or sucess of the hunt. TSA has never queried my ammo going-sometimes have carried it in the rifle case and sometime in baggage and I leave excess ammo with the ph upon completion of the hunt. have not been accross the pond this year-trying for mid Dec. It may have changed since 2008

Yes, I had someone try and cut the webbing strap on my TuffPak this last time through Vic Falls and Jo'burg, but they didn't make it. I've stitched it up tight, but I might have to have it replaced eventually. I am going to jettison zippered bags, if possible, except for carry-ons, for any African travel because of the rampant theft with the zippered bags. Thanks for the suggestions.

Maybe one of you guys can post some links to some good Luggage outfits that you've used in lieu of Zippered cases. Thanks! jorge

Jorge --- I would suggest going to the Storm Hardigg web site ---http://www.stormcase.com/---and selecting one that meets your needs -- I wanted a case of significant color (yellow) to easily spot it and call attention to it -- the other requirement was to keep the OA dimensions below the airline requirement of 62" -- thus I chose the Storm model 2750 in yellow -- I then simply did a Google search and found several internet vendors for price comparison. I am very happy with this case.
G

One of the issues with the hard cases is weight. The lightest case of suitable size I saw on the Storm site was 15 lbs. The 2750 is 18 or so.

Yep -- wt is an issue ---but I was able to take everything I wanted and or needed and still keep in under the 50lb airline limit -- one may have to give up bit on wt to have secure (lockable) and moisture proof luggage -- and as I recall my rolling duffle is only a couple pounds lighter --

thanks! looks like a grat product. jorge

Say again- Tuffpac...under 10lbs...and jo'urg airport proof.

also, being classed as 'oversized' it gets special care even when I am not carrying a firearm-

Is there any other way to get to HRE besides going through bloody South Africa?

Yup- Ethiopian

Less BS and most of the air crew are ex Rhodesian or SA airforce. I belive one of the piolots got into trouble for side slipping a 777 in to save time/fuel etc in the USA...you can do that in a canberra but not in US Airspace in a passenger jet Boing moved their main Africa service centre from Harare to Ethiopia more than 15 years ago... Downside is only three flights per week.

quote:

Say again- Tuffpac...under 10lbs...and jo'urg airport proof.

Ganyana --- check your scales or ?? -- but just weighed my tuffpac -- 18lbs-10 oz

Guys,

I absolutely understand the security concerns spawning the use of hard cases for safari luggage. So how do you address getting the hard case into a charter plane? The pilots hate rigid luggage and they cut back on the amount of gear that can be taken.

Mark

Mark:

An option would be to pack a very lightweight nylon duffle bag in the hard case, then transfer the gear to it and leave the hard case with the charter company while hunting.

RCG

WOW We must have had a great deal of luck or God was watching us last month!

We checked our luggage at Newark (Liberty International) and never saw it again until we and it arrived in Bulawayo. Traveled on Lufthansa through Frankfurt and Jo'berg to Bulawayo.

Our ammo was in soft sided luggage and somewhere along the lines the locks were cut off the bags to inspect them but everything was there when we arrived.

Our rifles - a total of 4 - two each along with boots and clothing were in two Tuffpaks. Inspected by TSA in Newark (that's another story but quite minor compared to yours)and never opened again as far as I can tell until we opened them for serial number and ammo check in Bulawayo airport.

That is an absolute nightmare and I am thrilled/relieved we didn't go through anything like that.

RCG: +1

Nylon self-repairing zippers seem to be the problem on soft luggage and some hardsides as well. These zippers can be opened using a ballpoint pen and then re-sealed by simply sliding the zipper down and back.

I have been using the Filson duffles, both with wheels and without, for more than a dozen safaris since 1994 without any issues. Filson uses heavy duty BRASS zippers and they seem to prevent the forced opening and then re-sealing of the bags. i have not personally heard of anyone suffering pilferage from a Filson bag, unless the bag was completely destroyed or slit open with a knife.

I also use a TuffPak for my rifles and gear.

Mark,

I agree with what you say about hard sided cases and charter flights. I have left my Tuff Pac in Harare 3 times now in order to take more supplies with us on the charter plane.

No big deal, we just pick it up on the way out. But it only works if you are leaving from the same city.

BigB

quote:

Originally posted by RCG:
Mark:

An option would be to pack a very lightweight nylon duffle bag in the hard case, then transfer the gear to it and leave the hard case with the charter company while hunting.

RCG

I second the motion as that is exactly what I have done on several Alaskan float plane trips -- where the bags had to be itty bitty in size
I also agree with Lion Hntr -- Filson makes great stuff and the bags with metalic zippers are vastly better. One of the reasons I went with the hard plastic is that last year I rode in a safari truck that was also carrying two drums of diesel to camp -- which were leaking -- my bag only got part of the results but how would you like to hunt for several weeks with that diesel aroma about you?-----thus the hard sided water proof case was added to my gear.

Hmmmm! This is something to consider not only for the security aspect but keeping your gear or fragile curios etc from being squashed. As RCG suggested a light weight duffel such as a nylon sea bag might just be the trick if transferring to a charter which of course is not always necessary.

Mark

I was at the outlet mall yesterday and checked with the Samsonite outlet about hard sided luggage. I found just exactly what I was looking for-hard sided rolling luggage with NO ZIPPERS! It weighs a little bit more than the soft sided stuff, but it has no outside zippers, has a combination TSA approved lock, a great handle (actually two different ones-one for rolling and one for carrying if you choose to do so), four great wheels that roll smoothly and in any direction you're headed, and plenty of room to pack what you need in there coming and going. Put your stuff in a soft side bag inside, pull it out and away you go! The zippered bags are history with me for African travel, except with my carry-on bag.

THat is a great idea. This is what's so great about this place. Sooner or later somebody will always come up with a solution! jorge

It was my understanding that Russ Broom only sold his Kabuba area as Zanu wanted part ownership in his company. This is how he got around not giving them a partnership. He still has Songo and Sengwa Mouth. This was as of Sept 1 this year when we hunted with Rory. It was not that much of a loss as Kabuba though beautiful has to many people. Im glad we hunted it in 1997.

quote:

Originally posted by Ganyana:
Yup- Ethiopian

I belive one of the piolots got into trouble for side slipping a 777 in to save time/fuel etc in the USA...you can do that in a canberra but not in US Airspace in a passenger jet

Whaaaat.....I've never seen the no slipping FAR before.

Hi Kathi [... and Rick!] Long - time - no - hear ??
How you doing.? I jhave only just learned how to drive this thing called accurate reloading !
Yes, Chirisa is one of my favourite places too......... as long as one was sharing it with good people !
Cheers Terry

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
Russ,

Thanks for the Chirisa update, one of my favorite places in the world.

Our experience with TSA was a little different. We left Chicago O'Hare on October 7th for Ethiopia. At check-in my husband told them he had a locked metal box containing ammunition in one of our suitcases. TSA put all our luggage through the x-ray machine and said have a nice flight. No bag was opened.

Coming home through Washington Dulles, Customs did not want the rifle case opened. They checked the serial number from the 4457 and sent us on our way. At TSA, my husband once again told them about the ammo and they put all the luggage through the x-ray and off we went. No bags were opened.

Regarding tips, I was shocked when we asked about tipping the staff and our PH said it was not necessary. He said these hunts cost a lot of money and he pays the staff well. After arguing with the PH he said a maximum of $200-$300 for the entire camp was more than enough.

Congratulations on a good hunt.