My best friend is going to the Save Conservancy in May to shoot a leopard and I'm going to watch.
Would you retrieve you rifle in jnb and take it to the Afton House and recheck it the next day or just pick it up in Bulawayo.(assuming it was checked thru to Bulawayo from Atlanta) I'm not sure I trust these guys overnight.

If one is overnighting , I think the bags must be retrieved. No chance I would leave mine overnight.

Claim your baggage and take it to Afton house then recheck in the morning.

quote:

Originally posted by Bama15:
Claim your baggage and take it to Afton house then recheck in the morning.

+2. And, what Larry said as well!

The only time I did not retrieve my bags was when I had missed an SAA connecting flight to Harare due to delays at Dulles. My bags all stayed in transit, I spent the night at Afton and caught a flight the next morning..

I was surprised when I got to the international transfer desk and was told my bags would remain in transit - I expected to spend half the night trying to get paperwork done LOL!

Understand this worked ONLY because I was flying SAA the entire way..

I was definitely nervous though!!!

Retrieve all of your baggage in ORT if you can set it up that way. Lots of sticky fingers there, I have two knives still residing in RSA to prove it. But like others have said, you are obligated to pick up guns.

Is there a specific reason for the overnight in SA. Works better if you finish all your air travel in one lump.
Outfitter gave me this advice in 2004, been following it ever since

Keith

I believe things have gotten better. I will now be flying Qatar air from Atlanta thru Doha thru to Bulawayo with 4 hour sit in Doha and 7 hours in Jnb with bags and rifles checked thru.
Emirates was my first choice but they don't fly from Atl and don't seem interested in doing a connection to Bulawayo if one connected to Jfk.
Does anyone care to share impressions on flying Qatar? Thanks Guys

I flew Qatar w/o rifles in May. DFW/DOHA/JNB/ overnight African Sky and airlinK to Bulawayo. Qatar Business class was outstanding. AirlinK was Airlink! GETTING COVID “shot” in Joburg was a disaster but worked out.

Enjoy Qatar. Oh, they did not fly Bulawayo in May.

quote:

Originally posted by Dulcinea:
Is there a specific reason for the overnight in SA. Works better if you finish all your air travel in one lump.
Outfitter gave me this advice in 2004, been following it ever since

Keith

I have done it both ways. I have come to realize that your flight get in late afternoon, and after clearing customs and rechecking you have a late flight and a later arrival time. I do not like getting into camp at 1AM after a very long trip.

So after landing in Joberg, I over night, have good night sleep after a long flight. Get up in the AM and have a nice breakfast and head to the airport for checkin. So you will check in for a mid to late morning flight, you arrive at your destination after lunch and make camp late afternoon. (depending on your drive).

I flew Qatar w/o rifles in May. DFW/DOHA/JNB/ overnight African Sky and airlinK to Bulawayo. Qatar Business class was outstanding. AirlinK was Airlink! GETTING COVID “shot” in Joburg was a disaster but worked out.

Enjoy Qatar. Oh, they did not fly Bulawayo in May.

I flew Qatar w/o rifles in May. DFW/DOHA/JNB/ overnight African Sky and airlinK to Bulawayo. Qatar Business class was outstanding. AirlinK was Airlink! GETTING COVID “shot” in Joburg was a disaster but worked out.

Enjoy Qatar. Oh, they did not fly Bulawayo in May.

I flew LAX/DOHA/JNB-BUQ last Sept. Qatar did a good job. Rifle transport was pre-approved & super smooth.

HOWEVER, HUGE NOTICE: Airlink charges a separate fee to cart rifles from JNB-BUQ and back. They do not mention this anywhere. Even though you are pre-cleared to carry rifles on Qatar, it's not part of your ticket fee with Airlink.

I sat in front of their damn counter in JNB for six f*&king hours and nobody mentioned it. I had no idea about the fee, Kathi (agent) had no idea about it. So I get to BUQ and my f*&king rifles don't show up. After roughly an hour, little guy behind the counter tells me it's because I didn't pay a $40 fee. Long story, but I missed day 1 of my leopard hunt. Obviously, I would have been elated to pay $40 vs. burning a day rate & having to book a hotel for the night. The fee turned into $80 on the way back (they said $40 per rifle). So plan ahead for them to fleece you and you won't lose a hunt day in the bargain!