Has anyone used or know about this Safari company?
If you are reffering to the Steyn family in Zimbabwe, the fact that I will no longer book for them should tell you something. If it is a different Co. then I have no firsthand knowledge. What are you looking to hunt for?
I want to make sure that everyone here knows that I am NOT making a judgement call on the safari company that Hogjaws is reffering to, yet. Steyn is a fairly common name in the region and I need to know the first names fo the Steyn family that is offering this hunt and the region they operate out of etc. to know if he is talking about the same people that I no longer deal with. Hogjaws sent me an e-mail which I replied to and I am awaiting his further info before I say anything more. It may very well be that the Steyn safari Co he is reffering to has nothing to do with the Co that I am talking about.
If you are talking about the Steyn Safaris in Barberton, RSA, I have hunted with them twice (2002 and 2003). IMHO they are a first rate group of people who treat you like a friend, not just a business client.
Based upon my two experiences, once you pay the agreed upon safari price, your money is no longer any good in RSA.
They will pick you up at the airport and return you to the airport. They will loan you rifles and gear if needed at no charge.
They always tell me to stay with them in their home at no charge whenever I arrive a day or two early for the safari.
I've killed a nice buffalo bull with them in RSA and a 60lbs a side bull elephant in Zimbabwe.
Abie and his father Teanie (not to mention their wives Giselle and Daisy) are some of the nicest and hardworking people I have ever met.
Please PM me if you are interested in more details of my hunts and experiences with Abie and Teanie.
Buffhunter,
That's the group my bro in law booked with. I do not think he got a very good deal. He paid $3,000 for 4 people, 10 days, no animals at the auction. I looked up their rates on their webpage, and they offer better package deals (4 critters for $4,800)..
Anyway, I am still researching this outfit before I make any commitment.
I will either go with this deal, or hunt caribou next year with my daughter (she's 11 now, and a real tiger!).
Hogja(Hogjaws is me name, eatin is me game)
I think you're reading the $$$$ wrong. They get $400 a day for each hunter when hunting 2 people per Pro Hunter so 4 people for be $4,000 each or $16,000 total....quite a bit more than the $3,000 he paid.
Was this an auction hunt for SCI or something? I'm not sure how that works, but it might be a good price depending upon how many PHs there are for each hunter (provided all 4 are hunters) and the type of game hunted (dangerous game generally have a higher daily rate than plains game, due to the additional risks, etc).
Then again, if the Safari company "donates" the hunt as a service to the organization, the price the hunt "auctioned" for is basically a function of the bidders competing against each other, and may not be the best price the Safari company could offer.
You might want to e-mail Abie to get some details on the hunt and what animals will be available.
Having hunted Africa twice, I personally would rather go back there again and kill another buff, rather then shoot a thousand caribou (a polar bear or brown bear would be tempting though), but that's just me (there is something about listening to lions grunting at night and coming upon their tracks the next day that makes you know, "that you aren't in Kansas anymore?".
If you really wanted to give your daughter a treat, maybe you should consider taking her with you to RSA?
(Abie has actually had a female client kill a cape buffalo with a bow.)
BTW: In the JAN 2006 issue of Sports Afield, Craig Boddington has an article on "big cats" in which he starts out by relating a hunt with Abie after a wounded leopard. It's an interesting read!
Good luck with your decision, and I know you'll have fun no matter what you decidd.
I just looked at the webpage. This is NOT the same outfit that I quit working with. I have no experience with them. They are most likely a good outfit.
Everyon,
Thanks for the replies and all the information. Your input has helpedme. Now I still have to decide if I will spend the $$$'s for this.
Hogjaws