Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa TIPPING AT JOHANNESBURG AIRPORT ???!!!!!!!!

As a outfitter from the eastern cape ,with my clients having to use the in house security company upstairs at the toilet office with black tiles,sounds horrible but thats where they are.
Please do not tip these individuals ,get there names rather and please let me know,THEY ARE NOT POLICE SO DONT BE WORRIED,JUST REPORT THEM .
They make threats of not putting your rifle on the plane ect,if they dont it costs the airways allot of money to deliver them the next day,the airways have been made aware of the situation and monitoring it.
If you use Bruce from gracey travel ,he is worthy of a little tip as he does a fantastic job as does Afton house,sad that loui has passed away from a long struggle against cancer,
annelise is excellent.

Are there no hunters that have had a problem here??????

They will hound you to no end. Spend the extra money and hire a greeter like Air 2000 or Optima and your problems go away. jorge

I agree or use bruce from gracey travel or afton

Bruce is great. He deserves a good tip!

My PH, Stan Burger, met me coming out the first available spot and took us through the whole process. Everyone we encountered with Stan met us with bowing and scraping, or near enough. Not the hint of an issue anywhere.

I guess his treatment made a difference... .

Dennis

He really does. The guy seemed to appear out of nowhere, at just the right time, to lend a hand. Gracey has a good man. Bruce is the main reason, we will use them again, next year.

Jeff

it is what it is does it suck yeah!!!! but after all money spent another 20 to 50 bucks would kill you i would have peace of mind when you get off the plane back home and your case is there than trying to get it back from about 7000 miles so suck it up and take it we have no choice

have worked with Bruce several times, he is quick and manages all of the issues. you may get pressed in several places for tips that were not warranted, just ignore the beggars. Afton house and Bruce are a good team

does Bruce work for Afton House AND Gracey travel??

+1 for Air 2000, we went thru in 20 minutes while others had been waiting for over 2 hours to get their guns. Worth the $100 plus FedEx fee to send paperwork ahead.

Had that experience leaving J'berg airport. Went through the ticket counter then took the rifles in a Tuff-Pak to a little office around to the right and behind the ticketing area IIRC.

Couple of guys (I hesitate to use the word "uppity" in this context but uppity is about the best way to describe the attitude) made veiled threats that my rifles had a slim to none chance of getting on the plane unless money changed hands.

Fortunately JJHack walked in about that time and talked to them in Afrikaans. I only know about four words of Afrikaans but an attitude of "in no uncertain terms" translates from any language. No money was needed but being my first time through and not knowing the score, if he had not been there I probably would have caved and given them their bribe.

Bruce used to work for Afton House - now he works for Gracey.

Had the pleasure of meeting both Bruce, Chris, and Debbie from Gracy Travel in Jo'burg. Chris personally went thru SAPS w/ me both on arrival in Jo'burg and departure to Windhoek the next AM. They even traveled to the Africa Sky Guest House and had supper w/ us and two other groups of hunters and had a great visit. I had to laugh because there were 2 elderly gentlemen checking in by themselves in front of me. They got worked over pretty good and the "police" had extracted a $50 dollar bill from them before they got out of there. When Chris walked in, greeted them both by name, they're whole attitude changed and I was out of there in 2 min. w/ my $$ still in my pocket.

drew and the others couldn't be more correct about using an expediting service.

I used Afton House (RIP Louis). Annelise was outstanding in getting my paperwork hanlded as was the young man (her son-in-law whose name elludes me right now) she sent to greet me. He handled the SAPS officers and the security folks, all the while keeping the predatory pests in the airport from becoming an issue. If you have a good outfitter, they will do the same on the return leg.

I just returned from an African Safari and traveled thru Johannesburg. I used a service called Rifle Permits (www.riflepermits.com). The gentleman's name is Henry Durrheim and the process was flawless. Henry met me at the airport and literally walked me through the whole thing. He met me back at the airport for the return flight, and again, it was flawless. Highly recommended!

Another vote for Air 2000. I flew into Jo-berg, and caught a domestic connect flight to Port Elizabeth. A representative from Air 2000 met me when I got off the plane, helped me with baggage, helped me through customs (I was in and out while other hunters were still waiting in line!) and then escorted me from the international terminal to the domestic terminal. What a great service for a small price. All paperwork is done ahead of time.

Then, on the return trip 2 weeks later, I flew from Port Elizabeth back to Jo-berg. Air 2000 was there again, helped with baggage again, and escorted me back to the international terminal. Well worth the money, if your PH/Outfitter cannot meet you in Jo-berg because you have a connecting flight.

Have some kind of plan-whether it be your outfitter or a company like Air 2000, to help you get through the red tape. I would not want to be standing in the long line without an advocate of some kind.

Manny

I can only second what Manny said. I would not want to navigate the gauntlet of thieves and rip off artists that prey on arrivals at O.R Tambo airport without the services of an advocate, even if I was traveling without firearms. I have been twice and used the services of Air 2000 both times, and my experiences mirror those of Manny. I am going back in October, and Air 2000 will be my go to guys again. A very small price to pay to go through that process without any issues.