My son & I are going on a 7 day safari for plains game in South Africa. I understand that "tipping" is customary for good service. My question is "who gets tipped in addition to the PH and what is the amount". I realize this is a personal issue but I would like have some knowledge of the practice. Thank you for your time and effort addressing my question.
With all due respect to the 24 Hour Campfire I will direct you to:
https://www.africahunting.com/threads/tipping-guide.183/Tipping is very personal and usually generates a bit of heated debate.
I have been both guide and guided, I tip for honest effort and tend to tip well. For a guide who really works hard and is straight up with me I have tipped above the stated guideline. Do what your conscience dictates.
Talk to your PH and get his perspective on tipping his staff. Bring a few gifts upfront for the staff, it really helps with breaking the ice and letting them know you will take care of them in the end. The staff work for tips and a few gifts up front really helps. For the ladies we head to a western store and buy silk bandannas, the ladies just love them.
Where are you hunting is South Africa? What game is on the wish list?
IF this goes as many pages as it did on AR, this will be a hoot....pass the popcorn please!
I tip when I receive good service. My problem in a hunt in Africa is who should get tips. Here is a list you may or may not have thought about.
professional hunter
outfitter in camp
cook
dish washer
laundry person
house keeper
driver who picks you up/delivers you at the airport
tracker(s)
perhaps 3-4 Skinners
camp organizer
The list seems endless perhaps but that is one of the real questions I have. I have seen African TV shows that have upwards of 4-5 additional hands assisting with the actual hunt. Perhaps every day it is a different bunch of guys. Do each person get tips? Do I leave a tip for the hunt with the PH and hope that it gets distributed fairly? What to do? I would appreciate JJHack adding his 2cents to this topic.
I have gotten to know my PH well. He lets me know who should be tipped and how much. Although I trust him to distribute it, he prefers I do so with his help, on the last day. Service in camp and in the field has always been great and his suggestions on tips have always been reasonable.
Thanks to all of you who have taken the time and effort to respond to this post. I have received enough information to get "a handle" on this issue. The other thread was very complete. Thanks again.
I never expected to hunt in Africa; but, this opportunity "fell into my lap" and it is a bucket list trip for me.
A little trick is to give the head tracker a little something right around the first animal; or the first one that needed to be tracked. There's a definite power structure involved and if you get him on your side early you'll notice that everyone starts snapping to attention shortly after that. That position has a lot of clout.
After two trips to Africa (three separate safaris), and probably my last, I will add this. We, as hunters, do not always see all the people behind the scenes.
I would consider myself a generous tipper for exceptional service, but I rely on the Outfitter/Ph to do the distribution as they see fit. That being said, I always let the most visible people know that I appreciate their efforts, if indeed, that is the case.
Some PHs, maids, chefs and drivers have benefited from their efforts. That is just me.
donsm70
I have a friend that told me this weekend about one of his tipping experiences....
On his first trip to Africa, after the first animal was killed, he tipped the head tracker......
They did not see him again for two days...
After two trips to Africa (three separate safaris), and probably my last, I will add this. We, as hunters, do not always see all the people behind the scenes.
I would consider myself a generous tipper for exceptional service, but I rely on the Outfitter/Ph to do the distribution as they see fit. That being said, I always let the most visible people know that I appreciate their efforts, if indeed, that is the case.
Some PHs, maids, chefs and drivers have benefited from their efforts. That is just me.
donsm70
Agree 100% Tipping in the middle of a hunt makes no sense at all to me.
The PH that I hunted with told me--the tracker and the staff do not work here for tips, you tip them as you see fit.
I did that, with staff and the PH
I gave the maid $20 on the 1st day. I gave the tracker/driver $25 on the 1st day. Things went great from there on out. Anything my wife or I wanted was no problem. That was in 2002---probably needs to be a little more now. I also gave them American money----they seemed to like that alot. Outfitter/guide wanted me to change US into Rand at the airport. I'm guessing maybe a tax deal. Tip the cook on day one also. Benefits are real tasty.
My son & I are going on a 7 day safari for plains game in South Africa. I understand that "tipping" is customary for good service. My question is "who gets tipped in addition to the PH and what is the amount". I realize this is a personal issue but I would like have some knowledge of the practice. Thank you for your time and effort addressing my question.
Ask your PH what is customary, and you can decide after that.
If you go to other threads on this topic, you will find I have some strong opinions about it. I like to tip the PH well for a safari gone well, but I do not expect that I spend hundreds of $US to fully support his entire network. My daily fees should cover the use of the staff. When $50/month is good month for somebody living in the bush in Zambia or Tanz, I balk at coughing up $200 for each staff member, as was once suggested for a 12 day hunt.. Trackers, skinners and cooks at usually at the top of the totem pole and get beter tips, others fall down the line.
If you are a smoker, cigarettes passed around judiciously are very welcome. I suppose even if you don't smoke, you can pass them around.
I hunted with an outfitter that mainly serves European hunters. They don't tip. The amount that he recommended to tip the PH, Tracker, Driver, Cook, etc was a fraction of what is suggested on AfricaHunting.com. They were extremely happy for the tip. And I was happy for not tipping another safari.
I just got back from a bonefishing trip in the Bahamas. It was a lodge that I had never visited before, but it was recommended by some friends. I had a very nice time and left a very generous tip. I had an idea what I was going to give, but I asked a few other guests what they were planning to leave. I got a pretty wide assortment of answers, especially from two German guests. I think this is something that is a lot bigger issue for us, than for the recipients of the tip. I have a feeling that they're happy to get just about anything.
This is not quite the same thing, but I read a funny magazine article about giving gifts to your girlfriend with the title, "Give her everything, or give her nothing, in the end it doesn't really matter". The point was basically, if she thinks you're a jerk, the size of the gift isn't going to change that. If she thinks you're terrific, again the size of gift isn't really going to change that, so in end, give her everything or give her nothing, it doesn't really matter. Or, another way of looking at is that the size of the gift really only matters to you.
I have a hard time believing that if you were a jerk in camp, that the large tip you leave would make up for it. All they'll remember is that they were happy to see you go. I think people appreciate receiving something, but I don't think that the US concept of tipping is the world standard. Maybe a reasonable amount would be 10%-15% of the daily rate at the end of the trip.
My staff is fully paid without tips. This is the norm in every camp I have owned, managed, or worked for in my career.
Some outfitters prefer the staff tip go to them to disperse, not the directly to the staff members, the one exception is the cook and the PH. They will be back to work every day. Many of the staff are ready to work until they are paid and disappear for a few days or weeks to spend the money. They are needed in camp and then with a pocket full of cash they vanish. Once replaced a week later the original staff shows back up to find they have been replaced. Simple enough fix, beat the new employee to near death or actually kill them and there is another spot open on the roster to get your old job back.
Truth is stranger than fiction! I loaded a young black Zimbabwean to the bed of the truck finding him stone dead in the road. His ears looked to have been bitten or chewed off and his face swollen nearly beyond recognition. Police said they would come fetch the body and ask around for the culprit. Not typically a very deep meaningful process. Mostly viewed as just checking the box on the process. About 9PM the local SAPs show and off load the body to the trunk of their cruiser. Low and behold a loud moaning sound comes from the trunk and the guy is actually still clinging to life! Hours after we found the lifeless, skull bashed, in no heartbeat dead body!
The lack of empathy or concern was stunning in that they said Might as well be dead by the time we make it to the hospital he will be. Left him in the trunk and drove off. It's clearly not the American standards of procedure!
This is simply one example of how tipping etiquette is important to follow. As far as how much..... well that's up to you. I have over 25 years seem PG tips range from 250-1500 for a 9-14 day trip. DG trips 500-2000 plus. I've had 20-30 hunters completely stiff the entire staff not believing in tipping. So I suppose the average is zero to 2000 for a 10 day to 2 week hunt. Overall I would say, and this is just me and my long experience in this, not the.... be all,... end all answer. The staff will be fine sharing about 1/2 of the amount you give the PH. The cook receiving about 1/2 of that balance. Or a 1/4 of the PH tip.
Example: 400 to PH, 200 for all staff of which 100 is for the cook and 100 shared for the remaining staff. I'm not suggesting these actual dollar numbers, simply using them as an example. Another critical reason the Outfitter may ask for the staff tip money. Speaking from first hand experience. Indiginous staff knows about tips, no secret. Many of my farm workers want client interfacing positions for this reason. Unfortunately, the best worker for irrigation and truck repair cannot be made a house boy, tracker, or skinner just because he wants a position of being tipped. My operations would struggle horribly if I put the most qualified workers in positions they could not do properly.
Having the hunting clients give the employer( outfitter) the tips to spread around including those behind the scenes staff members keeps life here much better for us. The best guys at doing fence repair and managing animals in the field are not always suited to client interface. Many don't speak clear or even any English or have the common hygene, or responsibility of clean uniforms needed to be around the clients. Yet they can fix almost anything on the property when needed.
There is so much more to running a Safari camp and business then the romantic vision many have of a Professional Hunter. During my career there were certainly days of pride and pure joy for my choice of living. However, there were ten times as many days of just plain annoying and stressful crap to deal with. The Tips we received did make a difference to us. Most PH's would never share the amount of behind the scenes issues our clients never knew was going on. Thank goodness for Afrikaans in our camps!
My staff is fully paid without tips. This is the norm in every camp I have owned, managed, or worked for in my career.
Some outfitters prefer the staff tip go to them to disperse, not the directly to the staff members, the one exception is the cook and the PH. They will be back to work every day. Many of the staff are ready to work until they are paid and disappear for a few days or weeks to spend the money. They are needed in camp and then with a pocket full of cash they vanish. Once replaced a week later the original staff shows back up to find they have been replaced. Simple enough fix, beat the new employee to near death or actually kill them and there is another spot open on the roster to get your old job back.
Truth is stranger than fiction! I loaded a young black Zimbabwean to the bed of the truck finding him stone dead in the road. His ears looked to have been bitten or chewed off and his face swollen nearly beyond recognition. Police said they would come fetch the body and ask around for the culprit. Not typically a very deep meaningful process. Mostly viewed as just checking the box on the process. About 9PM the local SAPs show and off load the body to the trunk of their cruiser. Low and behold a loud moaning sound comes from the trunk and the guy is actually still clinging to life! Hours after we found the lifeless, skull bashed, in no heartbeat dead body!
The lack of empathy or concern was stunning in that they said Might as well be dead by the time we make it to the hospital he will be. Left him in the trunk and drove off. It's clearly not the American standards of procedure!
This is simply one example of how tipping etiquette is important to follow. As far as how much..... well that's up to you. I have over 25 years seem PG tips range from 250-1500 for a 9-14 day trip. DG trips 500-2000 plus. I've had 20-30 hunters completely stiff the entire staff not believing in tipping. So I suppose the average is zero to 2000 for a 10 day to 2 week hunt. Overall I would say, and this is just me and my long experience in this, not the.... be all,... end all answer. The staff will be fine sharing about 1/2 of the amount you give the PH. The cook receiving about 1/2 of that balance. Or a 1/4 of the PH tip.
Example: 400 to PH, 200 for all staff of which 100 is for the cook and 100 shared for the remaining staff. I'm not suggesting these actual dollar numbers, simply using them as an example. Another critical reason the Outfitter may ask for the staff tip money. Speaking from first hand experience. Indiginous staff knows about tips, no secret. Many of my farm workers want client interfacing positions for this reason. Unfortunately, the best worker for irrigation and truck repair cannot be made a house boy, tracker, or skinner just because he wants a position of being tipped. My operations would struggle horribly if I put the most qualified workers in positions they could not do properly.
Having the hunting clients give the employer( outfitter) the tips to spread around including those behind the scenes staff members keeps life here much better for us. The best guys at doing fence repair and managing animals in the field are not always suited to client interface. Many don't speak clear or even any English or have the common hygene, or responsibility of clean uniforms needed to be around the clients. Yet they can fix almost anything on the property when needed.
There is so much more to running a Safari camp and business then the romantic vision many have of a Professional Hunter. During my career there were certainly days of pride and pure joy for my choice of living. However, there were ten times as many days of just plain annoying and stressful crap to deal with. The Tips we received did make a difference to us. Most PH's would never share the amount of behind the scenes issues our clients never knew was going on. Thank goodness for Afrikaans in our camps!
Spot on.