Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa April 2019 Hunt in the Eastern Cape with Hotfire Safaris

I sure had fun in 2014 at Hotfire. The Outfitter/PH, Patrick Fletcher seems almost more excited than I am. He has become a good friend.

12 hunting days.

Primary is nyala, waterbuck, eland, bushbuck, fallow deer. Common duiker, Barbary sheep, red lecwhe are maybes.

Who knows? I guess the wallet and my mobility will determine exactly what is on the menu.

Airline tickets and overnight hotel in Johannesburg booked. Flying KLM to Joburg and SA to East London. Staying at City Lodge.

Rifle permits is next on the agenda. Canadian Export Permit, Netherland Transit Permit, SAPS.

I will use Air 2000/Hunters Support again for SAPS. They will also do the VIP Meet N Greet, and provide a driver on my return overlay in Joburg. Want to go to Cambanos and Son again. Best souvenir store I have ever seen.

When I was at Hotfire back in 2013 as a guest of a neighbouring outfitter I was fortunate to kill a very nice Kudu, and we saw a nyala that would make anyone very happy. Patrick seems like a nice guy, and his facilities top quality. I doubt you could do better anywhere else. Happy hunting!

I remember your post about your kudu hunt on Hotfire. Old Ray looked exhausted. Very nice kudu. Hotfire seems to grow them very well.

Good Luck, great times

Enjoy your hunt.

I applied for my permit to temporarily export my rifle from Canada. When I get that, I can apply for the transit permit through the Netherlands and SAPS in South Africa.

Two more sleeps. Just about everything is ready to pack up. Gear is all laid out.

Good luck and don't forget to post pictures!

Awesome! Enjoy the Eastern Cape. Looking forward to the photos.

I'm not sure about AB's travel arrangements, but he oughta be making it there today, maybe. I know it took me 2 days to get to the middle east, so I'm guessing it will take about that same time to get there.

Someone with more experience (and that is anyone that's been to Africa) sound out and explain to us novices the trials and tribulations of getting from this part of the world to the hunting area.

oldman3; my perspectives are biased towards travel from western Canada so there may be some stuff which is not relevant to you. I will address flying into RSA as that is where AB2506 is headed to.

Travel is easy. Calgary to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Johannesburg both flights are in the 8-9 hour range. A 3 hour layover in Amsterdam is just enough time to deplane, grab a sandwich, walk across the airport clear security and "replane". Overnight is Jberg and a short flight to the Eastern Cape the next day.

Without a shadow of a doubt use a meet and greet service in the Jberg airport. Money well spent. They will also deal with your permit for bringing a gun into RSA. They will make sure to get you to wherever you are staying before your flight out the next day (if you have one). There is a very nice hotel right in the JBerg airport.

There are a few travels agents who specialize in hunting travel, use one.

Read and fully understand the rules for flying wth gun and ammo it varies bit from airline to airline. Some airlines require a form be filled out prior to flying.

We need a Canadian export permit to get our guns into Africa, this doubles as our proof of ownership when returning to Canada, I'm sure y'all south of the 49th have a form with a similar function.

A form is need to transit the Netherlands with a firearm. Applied for via email or fax.

Germany is easy to transit with a firearm, England is a pain and expensive to transit with a firearm. Other countries I have no experience.

Carry multiple copies of all of your required forms. Nothing makes a nervous, inexperienced low level airline or government employee feel better about dealing with your guns than being able to have a handful of official looking papers. They may not need the documents but it is so much easier to pass them an envelope with your forms than to try and educate them on how things work. Your job is to get to Africa hunt and have a good time not educate the ignorant.

Book your flights early and look for the "good seats" KLM has several levels of upgraded coach, the window seat next to the emergency exit at the front of coach has enough leg room for an NBA player and more shoulder room than regular coach seats. On an 8-9 hour flight being jammed into a tiny seat is a guarantee of misery.

Wear compression socks and take a few baby aspirin before each flight. Walk as much as you can before each flight. Try to have one of your two flights be an overnight flight, on my return flights I like to leave africa in the late afternoon or evening so I am sleeping when my body wants me to. Talk to your doctor about using an anti anxiety drug as a sleep aid, if you need to wake up and function it is easier to do so from an anti-anxiety drug than a sleeping pill. If you are drugging for sleep no booze.

Using a method of a couple of hours walking around the airport and an anti-anxeity drug I was able to sleep 7 1/2 hurst's of the flight from Berg to Amsterdam.

Have your ammunition in a locked box which is strong enough to travel outside your suitcase as that is way it must travel in RSA and quite likely how it will leave RSA even though that is not the way it should leave RSA.

The "this is Africa" TIA is quite true, rules changes, people make up their own rules, they may not understand the rules. Stay calm, smile and trust in your meet and greet people to get you to and from.

Please let me know if you have questions not answered.

Final words; go to Africa hunt and enjoy. Lots of picture, skull mounts and tanned hides use the big money you would spend on shoulder mounts on more days hunting and trophy fees.

All the best.

GRF

GRF,
You've pretty much hit the nail on the head. The only change that I would recommend, is not to fly through Amsterdam.Rather stick to either London,Frankfurt or Munich. Amsterdam is not very firearm friendly, as well as that you can't fly through there with broad heads, should you be a bow hunter.Apart from that, I think you've nailed it.



Should you require any travel assistance, our Canadian Agents can help from the flights, right down to the firearm paperwork on the Canadian side. Please feel free to drop me a PM.

Thanks GRF, you pretty much nailed it.

Oldman, I did arrive in East London at noon on the 9th. After picking up a few things, including a lime milkshake ( don't knock it until you try it - delicious!) We were on our way to Hotfire which is close to Cathcart.

The journey is about 2 hrs. It is evident South Africa is changing. The differences are subtle, but noticeable. Much more beggars than 2014. Now before some of you start slagging the RSA, there are many more beggars in Calgary than 5 years ago and judging by postings on 24hrcampfire, it us not uncommon across North America. It safe to say that societies are degenerating around the world. There is evidence of land transfers, but at least in the Eastern Cape, it is not land seizures, but purchases. Personally, I don't get it, but I'm not from here.

The country is beautiful. At least in the circumstances I experience, i love this country, every Hunter should hunt in Africa and the RSA is most definitely Africa. Don't ever doubt that.

Upon arrival, I met the new staff, Lee the cook and her partner Ronald. They are good company and the food is good. I talked way too long, organized some gear, showered and finally tried to sleep at 2AM. I Skyped my eldest daughter and wife who had went to Coronation for Abby's first job interview as a registered nurse. It's a 3hr drive to Coronation, they were in Red Deer having supper on the way home. She's not sure she can live in Coronation, interview went well.

Other staff I had met before, Allman the tracker, Ayanda the camp maitre ( just an aside, Patrick hired Ayanda because any man whose cars transmission fails on a remote road, he drops the transmission, deduces what the problem is, hitchhikes to town, gets the parts, hitchhikes back, rebuilds the transmission, reinstalls it, all on the side of the road, no hoist, amazing. He is a jack of all trades.) Whake, general labourer.

Up at 6 for brekky. Rifle zero checked and right after I was almost shooting a very nice nyala. Patrick decided he needed another year or two to be Hotfire mature. He looked good to me! Right after a nice duiker ran in front of us. That's the first I have ever seen the whole animal, usually I just see their ass as they're diving back into cover, never to be seen again. This guy is in trouble if he stops. The nyala is held in reserve, JIC.

I saw everything this operation has to offer except zebra and mountain reedbuck and waterbuck.. Saw nyala, kudu, impala, blesbok, red hartebeest, blue wildebeest, common duiker. I may be missing something. Saw a tortoise!

Nyala and waterbuck are the current priorities.

It is about 10C warmer than when I visited in May last time. After the winter cold we had, it is borderline obnoxious. Taking a siesta right now, waiting for cooler temps.

These tents are wonderful, enjoying a nice breeze right now.

KMG, I have to respectively disagree about KLM. No one gets us here faster than KLM, 22hrs. I hate waiting in airports. The Dutch permit is free and easily done, just as the Canadian Export Permit. City Lodge meets my needs. Anne from Air 2000 Hunters Support is the ticket for meet and greet and SAPS preapproved permits. Aipero has been with the company over 12 years, he knows everyone at the airport, no hassle with their help. Also KLM has good aircraft, great entertainment, seriously professional staff, pretty good food.

We'll see what happens this afternoon, I'll keep you posted as I can. Will try to get some photos up. I think my camera can talk to my tablet.

Marius; very useful information about no broad heads when transmitting the Netherlands.

Thanks for the update AB2506, say hi to Patrick for me, looking forward to pictures.

[align:left][/align]Nothing of size presented itself until late when an old wide broomed impala presented itself at 180 yds. We were slIghtly above it. I was able to lay across a rock and use the bipod for a very steady rest. Those impala are high strung. I'm surprised he ran any distance before bleeding out.



Very hot this afternoon, humid too. 26C? Thankfully it clouded over and a breeze came up. A shower is going to feel great.

Great to hear there has been improvements. Keep posting the photos. My main season starts down that side next Sunday, all the way to end October. That part if the world got some good rain. It was getting desperate for a while. Very nice Impala, well done.

Finally, a nyala! This heat has been kicking our behind.

AB2506; dude no picture of Nyala? I hope you are too exhausted from successful hunts to have the energy to post

Camera is not talking to tablet. Makes photos difficult.

Have added: waterbuck, eland and red lecwhe, fallow deer.

Heat has broken, but it is pretty much full moon.

GRF, Patrick says you should come and make your own photos!

It has been a great time. I want a bushbuck and wouldn't mind a duiker if I could find one.