Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa First Safari advice!

Heading to the Eastern Cape next June for my first Safari and have some questions and hope u fellas may be able to answer. I really want to take my own guns and plan on using an outfit over there called RiflePermits. Lots of stuff needed and seems to be worth it but really have no clue what is involved and how hard it is. Also plan on using a travel agent. Either Travel With Gun(TWG), Travel Express or Gracy travel. Is it worth the travel agency? Recommendations?

Also wanted to ask about Tips. What is acceptable on say an 8k safari for the outfitter? Do u tip Skinners, trackers, cooks, cleaning/laundry ladies?

Shipping trophies home? Plan on having my taxidermist here I’ve used for 30 years doing the mounts. Do u use a shipping agency to get hides/horns back home? Just get pack/dip? Get stuff tanned?

Appreciate the time and patience in reading and thank u guys in advance for any insight and advice!

Oh yeah should include my list of trophies I would like and guns I plan on taking.
Kudu, Nyala, Gemsbuck, Waterbuck, Blue Wildebeest, and Zebra

Rem 700 custom 6.5Prc with either 127LRX or 124 Hammer Hunters and a Sako Custom Deluxe 375H&H shooting 270gr Hammer Shock Hammers. The 6.5 will have a TBAC Ultra 7 on it.

Thanks Roy Schmidt

You're on the right track. The travel agents you've mentioned are most definitely the way to go for first timers. Same with RiflePermits.

If you're particularly in luv with your rifles then consider adding firearm insurance. Just ask the travel agent.

Ah, tipping. Easy to go down the rabbit hole on that. I suggest first taking a look at AfricaHunting Tipping Guide

My Wall of Dead is full and I haven't brought trophies home in a long time, I just have pics taken for the 8x10 glossies, so I really don't know the current costs for trophy shipping.

Your trophy list looks great, except if you come across an awesome Warthog take it! Pretty sure you'll be the only one on your street with a Warthog mount

Sounds like you're on the right track. The agents you mention are well known. If you go with Gracy they will take care of the rifle permits. I recommend paying for the meet and greet service in Johannesburg as it makes processing your rifles and going through customs much easier and faster.

Take pictures and leave the animals there.

Mine heads have been in a storage unit for 25 years. My wife doesn't like dead animals on the walls and my kids don't want them. It cost a lot of $$ to get them from the field to the wall 33 years ago and prices probably haven't gone down since then.

You're getting very good advice so far.

Make sure that you get your proper America firearm export permits in place.

If you're flying through Europe, you may require a permit (eg Netherlands (easy to fill out yourself, no charge)).

I whole heartedly agree with using a travel agent. They are worth their weight in gold if things go south. They also have access to flights we do not.

I also whole heartedly agree with using a meet and greet service (often booked though the same folks that do your rifle permits) I have used Air 2000 Hunter's Support for permits, meet and greet and tour guides/drivers around Johannesburg. Anne Gaines-Burrill has taken very good care of me. Well worth the price. Met at the gate, taken through immigration, bags gathered, taken to the police station to get the rifle/permits inspected. Then to the City Lodge. The next morning they pick me up and take me over to the police station to have the rifle booked in. Thence to security check in. On the way back, much the same thing. Nary a problem in the airport.

If you have to stay overnight in Joburg, the City Lodge is across the street from the airport. After 22.5 hours of travel, the last thing I want is a bus ride to a hotel or lodge, just get me to my room.

You have hired staff to assist in the airport or for permits. Let them talk to the police or gate attendants. They know what they are doing and can speak in Xhosa if required.

My last trip I used African Hunting Gazzette https://africanhuntinggazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Taxidermy-Trophy-Shipping-%E2%80%93-Your-Choices_13_05_2022.pdf for shipping the hides and euro heads home.

I live in Canada and it was easy to import the heads myself.

I recommend following the above mentioned Africa Hunting Tipping Guide. I've used it's advise both times and so far the outfitter has advised that the tips were well received. Follow the directions of your outfitter. He may want the tips given to him to be banked for the staff. If you give the tips direct to the staff, they may go on a bender until they run out of money. Meanwhile the outfitter is short of staff for the next hunt.

Have fun!

+1 on the warthog

Take money, you may want to add an animal --or 2

My advise is to focus on your primary animal and hold out for a good one. Rushing around filling up a list isn't nearly as fun as actually hunting. All the places I've hunted have taken credit cards although it was a pain at the one because we needed to drive into town.

First off, call your farm and speak with them. Make a list of question in advance. They'll know who you should use for shipping. My farm actually preferred I pay with a personal check...who would have thought.

Tipping is dangerous and you can actually kill the help. Yep, give the wrong guy cash and he's off to get aids. My PH told me who I could give cash and who he would need to hold the money for them. I gave away just about all of my clothes. I gave a pair of Carhart jeans to an old bushman that made him so happy you wouldn't believe. Gave a fleece jacket to my tracker and he was beaming.

I liked to tip the gals heavily, my thinking being they are the wives and will most likely spend the money wisely.

Don't give them quality knives, they get lots of knives, and the hard steel makes it nearly impossible for them to sharpen.

Every piece of advise given above is spot on.

1.) Fly direct and not thru Europe to RSA. It is not worth the hassle going thru Shipol in Amsterdam or chaning airports in Paris from CDG to Orley and it SURE isn't a good idea to ever go thru London.

Delta has a new service that includes Cape Town and Jburg. If you must over night in JoBerg, City Lodge and use Gracey Travel. TWG has a great rep, I just haven't used them.

2.) Two pair of pants for the field and two to lounge around in. Two shirts for the field and 3 for casual. 3 pairs of socks. Boots and casual shoes. They will do laundry every day if you need. Old saying, take 1/2 the gear and twice the cash and thank us later.

3.) I ask my PH what total for staff tips usually runs, and I give it to the PH to pass out. He knows what the pecking order is. Better not upset that. Africa isn't egalitarian. Tipping the PH has had endless threads on it. 15-20% of the daily rate is fair if he takes care of you. Daily rates in RSA and Namibia are very reasonable compared to Zambia and Tanz etc., so use your discretion.


Something else I've done on a safari in Tanzania where the outfitter had this long ass list of everybody and their mother that needed $50-$100 bucks that I thought was long and excessive is I handed the PH a wad of cash that I had set aside for HIS tip and that of the staff and said "I've had a great hunt. This is all of my cash. YOU decide who gets what and you get the rest."

I was not concerned that he would stiff the staff, as he needs to take of them.

Taxidermy - Your PH should be able to sort that out for you. Salt dip and packing usually has a fixed price on your safari sheet. Once you've done a bunch of safaris, you will run out of wall space (my current dilemma) and stop taking mounts. I do get joy looking at my mounts and it allows me to relievethe experience again and again, but I could have afforded twice the hunts without the taxidermy bill. Just saying.

Enjoy! I envy you the thrill of anticipation for your first safari.

1/2 the clothes and twice the money. Remember that and you'll be just fine.

I like that.

I’m starting to finalize booking a hunt and that makes a whole lot of real world sense.

I just returned from south africa last thursday. i may can answer a few of your questions.

Flying with rifles did not seem like it would be too much of a hassle. I was spooked off from flying with them, however, the process to take bows was easy. Word to the wise is to have your paperwork pretyped and it would probably go through easily. Do not attempt to fly weapons through London.

Tip wise, ours was suggested $1000-1500 based on a week. We also tipped skinners around 20-30 per animal (your trophies are in their hands), cooks (fantastic food) and cleaning service people.

We flew from Nashville, TN to Atlanta, GA to Johannesburg, S. Africa. ON the way back, we went through London before Atlanta and back to Nashville. Will have to check your bags through customs on the way back in and then recheck to your destination. Rifles cases need to be hard plastic or better yet aluminum. Wheels preferred. Double locked. You will have to declare them and they will run a test to ensure you dont have explosive residue.

Remember, they are in the opposite season as we are. We are in summer now and they are in the winter. Temperatures were 45* to 75* while we were there.
Pack accordingly but light. If you have any gifts or nice newer clothing, the skinners and trackers love gifts and will love you for whatever you give them.

Alot of the places lure you in with entry level animals and then dangle more expensive animals in front of you while hunting. Take your pricelist with you. I cannot recommend a safari enough. Ours was great.

Some good advise above.

1. I use Gracy travel and use the VIP service fro meet and greet and SA520.
2. City Lodge is a good place to stay if you have connections and are not being picked up at the airport.
3. Have your Taxidermist provide you shipping tags. They usually will suggest a dip and pack that they have arrangements.
4. Find an importer, I use coppersmith however there are some others. have your paperwork completed before you leave and then cut them in on all e mails.
5. Have a tentative list of animals to go after. do some research to know what a nice trophy looks like. a spike white tail and a 5 by 5 white tail are huge in difference. Some places will put you on an animal and want you to shoot the first one you come across. I my first trip I think it was day 3 before I shot an animal. We did a lot of looking and sizing up game. We would walk up to small ones and a few larger ones, however they were not the caliber we were looking for. Look at SCI scoring for Gold and that is what you should use for a base and however, you are looking for better unless maybe you want the very oldest trophy that you can find.
6. Most places will show you many animals that are not on your list. make sure you know the price on what you are shooting. if you are on a place that markets trophies by the inch. be extra careful in shooting.
7. Take a lot of pictures and then some more. You may find out that you may be leaving them there. Dip and pack plus shipping may cost as much as your safari.
8. clothing is take less and a nice jacket and gloves. I have been there hunting when it snowed on us.

I see a lot of interesting information and found only one fault on the first article on tipping. It was written Dec 1, 2008.

Paul B.

Great info above. For your first trip over it is best to rely on the experts to guide you through the rifle permitting process. Also, limit the number of airline connections especially between the US and Africa. This will make your life much easier and a lot less stressful.

To the point of tipping - this is always a very sticky subject. Some PH's get pretty agro about tipping and expect you to do so. Here are a few points to consider:

1. The average hunting staff member makes between $120 to $140 USD a month.
2. The apprentice PH and/or master hunter makes about $460 USD a month.
3. Few if any European hunters tip. So American hunters are their bread and butter or more to the point - ATM.
4. Paying staff in USD makes it difficult to impossible to convert to Rand. (Zimbabwe is the exception here)
5. Many outfitters keep the tips and pay out at the end of the year. This is largely due to the fact that staff tends to run off after they get a fist full of bucks. (And some outfitters simply keep all the staff tips.)
6. Most of the time, things like watches, cheap cell phones, air time, clothing, binos, knives, etc makes for better staff tips.
7. For PHs cameras, ammo, scopes, binos, etc makes a good thank you. If you know your PH, you can always enquire if there is anything they may need before you leave. They are always looking for something. In 30 years of hunting in Africa I've taken reamers, reloading dies, scopes, cameras, boots, you name it, over for gifts.
8. Remember, above all else, tipping is NOT mandatory and never feel pressured to do so. You will not be treated any differently during your hunt. However, some PHs will remember your lack of appreciation if you hunt with them again. But if you find an exceptional staff member, a gift is always welcome.

And just a word of caution on transiting Tambo - Baggage theft is still an issue so use a non-zippered hard-sided suitcase. Do not dress up in your brand new hunting ensemble. Sport shirt or t-shirt and jeans are preferable. In other words, don't look like a clueless American tourist as you will attract the wrong kind of attention. And if anyone offers to help you, offer directions, get a taxi, or carry your bags just consider your stuff gone.

And learn a little Afrikaans - Fúkoff should be the first word you learn as you will use it often.

Smart move using a rifle permit service, and meet and greet. Smart move using a well known travel agent such as those mentioned. I asked safari owner to figure tip amounts according to how pleased i was. Worked great. I use hard sided luggage that I can lock. I think it's much more safe than a duffel bag type deal. Looks like your choices of rifles are great to me.

Good luck, you're going to have a blast. Warning, hunting kudu bulls is very addicting.

Some great advice. May I second a few things that are more important than they seem.

- Tags from your taxidermist to tag horns. Big help to everyone. Coppersmith has worked well for me.

As far as PH's trying to bait and switch animals, while that may occasionally happen, let me throw this in.

You're hunting the Eastern cape. Gemsbok, black wildebeest, springbok, blesbok are karoo animals, and have been introduced in the EC. Don't be surprised if the trophy fee on any introduced animal higher than in native rage. This is especially true if you tell your PH in the Eastern Cape you want a sable. Sable are not native. They are pricey in Zimbabwe and Zambia, and introduced into RSA, are more so. You aren't getting ripped off per se, it's not cheap to buy these animals and introduce them and there is a limited supply. Cape buffalo in RSA is pricey, but the daily rate is 1/3 or less of Sam bit or Tanzania where buffalo are plentiful. There is a trade off.

Don't be afraid to extend your stay 2-3 days if you travel with your wife to see the Garden Route and see some game preserves and the coast and eat great seafood and sip a little fine South African wine. Don't know when you'll get back. What is an extra 3 days for a lifetime memory with your spouse?

I see that tips and gifts are being chatted about.

I usually ask the PH what he may want me to bring him over and or what would be nice for the help.

1. Clothing is always nice, make sure it is long sleeve and darker colors, medium and large are good sizes to take along. I have found out that Socks are something that is wanted. I usually take about 8 to 10 pair of socks along.
2. I have taken shoes in the past when the PH indicated that the tracker could use a new pair of hiking boots/shoes.
3. Candy and gum are a hit with the crew. I take a 1 pound bags for the workers that I expect to be around and a couple extra bags for the PH.
4. Knives, as mentioned, nice knives are a good addition for the crew and I pack 3 to 4 nice quality knives and a sharpener for each knife to pass out.
5. For the women in camp, I have found that they like a nice bar soap and pack a few bars for each of them. That goes a long ways and I give it to them early and you are treated much better during your stay. It is like night and day difference.

Money wise for the tips: Some PH's request that you give each member the same otherwise it causes internal issues. Plus, I have the currency for the country to pass out for the tips. I go to the local bank and order in what I think I will need.
1 lead tracker is about $10 USD a day
2. Skinner If you are stacking the shed then it is $10 USD a day. You have to understand that you could shoot 2 to 3 (or more) different animals in a day. The most that I have killed on one trip was 28 animals a mix of trophies and culls for in coming leopard hunters.
3. Housekeeping is $5 to $10 USD a day
4. Chef depending on meals is $5 - $10 USD a day.

PH this is your call, however is 10% of your daily fees. And if you are obtaining great trophies the tip is better.

As others have indicated, I usually will leave most of my clothing, shoes and jackets with the crew.

Some excellent advice above! I’ve only been twice, so don’t have the experience level of some of the other responders but do have some advice. My hunting was primarily on private, low-fenced farms in South Africa the majority of which also ran livestock. My PH/Outfitter had a number of Boer goats on his farm. He told me a story about a former client who wanted to shoot one of the goats. While it didn’t offend the PH, it did make him scratch his head a bit and also wonder about the client. I would recommend that you not shoot the livestock.

Roy

I don't often join in on the conversation, but since I've been to Africa 9 times including 3 to the East Cape, here's some thoughts.

1. I've been snowed on twice including last August. Bring more cold weather clothes than you think you need. This year in June it rained, so light rain gear. Its rocky mountains so bring boots.
2. Put the 375 back in the gun safe and bring a fast 30cal. Your 6.5 PRC is not equal to my 300WSM with at 200gr ELD-X @ 2900fps. Unless you're shooting buffalo, 375 is the wrong caliber. When you need to shoot the zebra at 350 yards, the more horsepower the better. But take 2 guns.
3. Ask your PH or outfitter what he thinks of your bullet choice. If he's not 100% certain they work, bring 1/2 your ammo with your bullet, 1/2 with his selection. Never heard a PH badmouth Nosler Partition, Accubond, or any Swift bullet. Most of the guys want bonded lead. GMX or Barnes if your shooting high velocity like your PRC. But don't bet a $15,000 trip on something you read reports about on the internet. I've killed over 150 animals with Accubond, my first choice.
4. My travel agent is an Africa/Argentina specialist from Houston. She has hunters in and out of Africa year-round. If something changes, she knows what did, and how to accommodate or fix it. I pay her about $100 per trip. Use a travel agent. I went last May/June, yes only 45 days ago. Delta to JoBerg, arrive late and overnight at City Lodge which is inside the airport. $110 includes buffet breakfast. Used Rifle Permits, preapproved permits and carried our luggage to hotel, then fetched us next morning and walk us to Airlink baggage counter. Airlink is the biggest problem you will have. Always screwing up, but not any other airline option that carries guns. They will add fees for each leg that cost more than your ticket. Get your agent to book all this as one ticket if possible.
5. As for payments, ask your Outfitter if you can do wire transfers. Do not carry cash. Once we get all Americans to stop carrying cash, crime rates against Americans will plummet. For safety, do not leave the JoBerg airport. Pay any deposits in advance by wire, pay the remaining amount when you return home via wire. Think about this, guys. Would you do business with an American who asked you to bring $10,000 in cash? I never would. Reputable outfitters run all their money via the bank. The local staff are not allowed to have US Dollars, so pay your outfitter the tips and he will distribute. If you can't trust him, get another outfitter. I use Crusaders. Andrew won't accept cash, his PHs say they always get the tip that I send to Andrew.
6. Buy a set of shooting sticks and practice alot befor you go. Learn to set the gun on the sticks and get your shot off in less than 10 seconds. In Africa 10 seconds on the sticks is a long time. That's what every PH says to me - you Americans take too long to shoot! They want it done in 5 seconds. Practice standing, sitting, and prone. I shot a blesbuck at 470 yards prone from the edge of the dirt road, gun on a tall sandbag. Not bad for a 30-06 165gr Swift Scirrocco and 3.5X10 VX3 with duplex reticle. Jut aim at the top of the horns and squeeze. . .
7 I use rangefinding binoculars, then give them to the PH if he doesn't have them. I want to be looking through the scope when he tells me the range. Bring good optics and scope mounts. I find putting two guns in my SKB case is easier if the scopes come off. I use both Picattiny Rail with Warne rings and Talley detachable, remember to carry you wrenches with you. You always sight in again once you arrive so resetting zero is not a big deal.

When you go on your trip, try to have fun.