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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781466940604 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Trafford Publishing |
| Publication date: | 06/19/2012 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 132 |
| File size: | 4 MB |
Read an Excerpt
Planning An African Safari
For The Everyday Working ManBy Kerry Thomas
Trafford Publishing
Copyright © 2012 Kerry ThomasAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4669-4059-8
Chapter One
Where Do You Want to Hunt?
Now that we understand the "why we hunt," let's discuss the "where in Africa do you want to hunt." There are many different countries in Africa to choose from—South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, etc. Each country has a variety of big game species to choose from, many of which will overlap while others will be exclusive to a particular area. If there is a particular animal that you are after, you should take the time find out where that animal is most commonly found. Let's take the bongo for example. It's generally only found deep in the forest areas of Central Africa. So if there is an outfitter offering you a free-range bongo hunt in southern Namibia, that should raise a red flag with you. He may only have a couple that he bought for you and one other client to shoot. Beware of this guy. He is probably trying to pull a fast one on you.
But our focus here is mainly in the pursuit of plains game found in South Africa. The availability of most any game animal can be found in South Africa.
Next we'll talk about the size of the concessions. The size of the concessions in South Africa will vary widely. Concessions are similar to what we call a hunting lease here in the States. Generally, the areas will range from five thousand to well over twenty-five thousand acres. With that being said, you will want to hunt an area that is at least ten thousand acres. Personally, I would look for a twenty thousand–acre property as a minimum. There are outfitters that will advertise that they have twenty thousand, forty thousand, or even one hundred thousand–plus acres to hunt on. Ask questions. Find out if it is all one area or will you be spreading your hunting over several small properties. They tend to mislead their hunt services as being conducted on one large hunting area when actually it is on four or five smaller ones. Make sure you ask questions. There will be occasions that you will be hunting in several areas depending on the game you're after. This is a normal practice: you just know up front before you go what you are getting.
Bear in mind that pretty much all concessions in South Africa are going to be high fenced. On a good concession, the only fence you should come in contact with is the main gate when you enter. Although most people don't want to hunt in a fence, a twenty-five thousand–acre game ranch covers over thirty-eight square miles. Many of the game species may only range about four to five square miles; therefore, many of them may never know that the fences exists. You can easily hunt for a week and never see the fence.
You don't want to be involved in what is known as a "goats in gates hunt." You are not hunting on a real game ranch. You are hunting on farm that has wildlife on it. You will be driving through cattle and sheep camps. That is not fun, and that is not why you go to Africa.
Most of the hunting in South Africa occurs in the northern areas of the Limpopo Province and the eastern part of the country. These areas are rich in game, and the hunting industry is strong. Most of the southern part of South Africa will not give you the landscape that you would expect of Africa.
Chapter Two
What Are the Animals You Want to Take?
The different styles of hunting can vary worldwide. But hunting is still hunting when properly done in a manner that gives the prey a fighting chance. There are basically two types of safari hunts in Africa. Your choices are either plains game or dangerous game.
Dangerous game consists of the elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, and buffalo, better known as the big five. Also added to the list should be the hippo and crocodile. Countries such as Botswana, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are a better choice for hunting the big five species due to the availability of enormous government-owned hunting areas. Animals here will mostly be free ranging and very much wild. The hunting of any of theses animals will be very expensive in comparison to the hunting of plains game. Most first-time game safari goers will be after a plains game hunt. To give you an idea, a leopard hunt will be in the $12,000 range and up. A lion will be in the $20,000 range and up. For that type of money, you could hunt a truckload of plains game.
Some of Africa's most sought-after plains game consists of the following: kudu, with its beautiful long spiraling horns; the eland, the largest of the African antelope; nyala, with it's unique markings; waterbuck, with long sweeping horns; blue and black wildebeest, also know as the clowns of the plains due to their constant frolicking display. Gemsboks are one of the staple symbols of Africa with its very long and very sharp three-foot long horns and no hunts complete without an impala.
Others included will be the sable, roan, bushbuck, red hartebeest, blesbuck,reedbuck,duikers,grysbok,klipspringersteenbok,Hartmann's and Burchell's zebra, bushpig, giraffe, vervet monkey, baboon, warthog. Africa has several small cat species that can be hunted such as the African wildcat, civet, serval, and caracal.
Most decent properties will have a minimum of about fifteen or more different species available to hunt. Again, not all species will be on one property, so some travel between properties may be required to hunt the particular ones that you're after.
The quality of trophy in which you desire should be addressed next. For some, such as myself, any respectable representation of the hunted species is a trophy. Now that's not to say I don't want a monster kudu trophy hanging on my wall. I believe that if you go to Africa with the focus of only shooting an animal that is a record book trophy you will not have a good trip. If you have chosen a PH or "professional hunter" well, he will not let you shoot an inferior animal. A PH's worst nightmare is a hunter showing up with a gun in one hand and a record book in the other, expecting or rather demanding to shoot the biggest horns in Africa. This type of hunter may see a lot of animals, but if the PH has any doubt at all that it may not meet the client's demands, he will pass on it. Since the hunter has made it clear that he wants a specific size trophy, the PH probably won't want to take a chance. For example, I've seen a hunter show up and demand a twenty-eight-inch impala and nothing less. During the course of the hunt, the hunter may pass up several good twenty-six to twenty-seven inchers, only to have to settle for a twenty-five inches on the last day rather than go home empty-handed. Remember that if the PH is having a good time hunting with you and you are having a good time hunting with him, it will seem like you are hunting with an old friend. He may be inclined to go the extra mile for you on doing the little things that otherwise may have been overlooked. If you come across as an arrogant and demanding person, your PH may see you as more of a chore to be around rather than a pleasure to hunt with. At that point, you are just another client that must be dealt with. Don't be the person that shows up bragging about how good of a shot you are. The PH doesn't want to hear it. He has had hundreds of hunters before you that have all sang the same song. So have honest expectations and be honest with the PH. You will have a good trip if you do that.
What are the numbers of trophies animals on quota? Game ranches in South Africa take animals off according to a quota system. Once a year, they will use helicopters to fly over or use other means to count the animals that they have on the property. They may count 150 kudu bulls but determine that there are, say, fifty-five bulls that are mature enough to shoot. Of the fifty-five bulls, they may only allow five to be taken off the property this hunting season. Once those five are taken off, no others will be allowed until after the game count next year and a new quota has been established. By doing this, the quality of trophy animal is kept high. This is done for all species on the game ranch. Not only do you continue to get high quality mature animals, you also maintain good management numbers that keep overpopulation down.
Chapter Three
How Long Should You Hunt?
The average hunt will usually be eight, ten, or fourteen days. The length of the hunt will be determined on the number of animals that you want to take. As a general rule of thumb, you should allow at least one day per animal that you want to hunt. There may be a day or two that you will be able to get more than one animal in a day but don't count on it. You will see a lot of animals. Some of them will be too small while others may have a broken horn tip from fighting. Your PH and trackers will do their jobs by taking the time to look them over, making sure they're worthy of a stalk and a shot. Keep in mind that you may have to make several attempted stalks before you close the deal. You may be slipping in on a zebra stallion when a bedded down impala that you never saw blows at you, sending the zebra over the next ridge. Some outfitters will require a minimum number of days of hunting depending on what you are hunting. Most all dangerous game hunts will require a minimum of twelve days, generally speaking. Some dangerous game such as elephant may be as much as twenty-one days. A plains game hunt will sometimes have a ten-day hunt requirement on it, depending on the species you are after. For example, an outfitter might not let you hunt a sable on a ten-day hunt. They would normally want fourteen days to hunt a sable bull. One reason for this is to allow time for looking over all the different animals you will encounter. Another reason is the part of the value that the outfitter has attached to the animal. Something else to consider is that on a ten-day hunt, you will be gone from home for approximately fourteen days. There is a day and a half of travel at the beginning of you trip and a half of a day in camp depending on the distance from airport to camp. The same applies when you leave South Africa. Be sure you understand this. So unless you plan with your PH specifically for travel days in the beginning and end your ten-day hunt will only be about nine days. By this, I mean the day of arrival and the day of departure are considered half days on your hunt even though you may not hunt at all. This is a small but commonly overlooked detail. My suggestion is to plan for as long of a hunt as you can afford. My theory behind this is that this safari will be the hunt of a lifetime, and you may only be able to do it one time. So you should plan as though you may never go back. I'll touch on more on why you should think this way later.
If you bag all your animals before your hunt is over, make prior plans with your PH for a plan B for a sightseeing, maybe get some fishing in on your trip or check out one of the national parks. Or simply spend your last days taking in the camp property taking photos or relaxing. These are moments you will reflect on for years to come after the hunt is over. So take my advice and soak them up.
Chapter Four
How Do You Pick Your PH?
APH is a "professional hunter." He is the person that takes you out on your hunt every day and is the one who takes care of your day-to-day needs while in his care on the safari. He is not there to do your hunt for you. He is there to assist you in finding what you are looking for and to make sure the laws are abided by. He will be your companion for the duration of your stay in the safari and will get you in position on a good animal. Making the shot is still on your shoulders. If there is a problem that needs to be addressed, talk to him. If for example you don't smoke and one of the trackers lights up a cigarette on the back of the truck, talk to him. Don't wait until a little problem festers into a bigger issue before saying something.
The outfitter is the person that owns the safari company and often the property on which the hunt is conducted. He will either conduct the hunts himself or hire another PH to run them for him. In some cases, the PH may also be the outfitter. Obviously, word of mouth is the very best way to find a PH. If you know of anyone that has ever gone on a safari, that is the first place to start. I've never met a hunter that did not want to talk about his exploits on the Dark Continent. Here are a few questions you can ask. He can let you know if his PH was worth hunting with or not. Ask him what he hunted. What was the quality of the trophies that he took? How much game did he see? What were the camp conditions like? How well was he treated by the staff? How was the food in camp? Did he do everything that he promised he would do? Remember, it is up to you to ask the questions. By asking lots of questions, you will quickly be able to see if the person that you are talking to is on their game or is just blowing smoke in your face.
Another way to go would be the hunter's shows. The hunter's shows are great places to meet outfitters from all over the world. The Dallas Safari Club and Safari Club International are probably two of the best conventions to attend. There, you can talk face to face with the person that you will actually be hunting with and see videos and photos of prior hunts as well as pick up brochures so that you can later compare them to one another. You should never go to the show looking to book a hunt right then and there with an outfitter or PH that you just met. Remember, you should be on a fact-finding mission. Some outfitters will offer you a special show deal for a safari that is only good if you book it right this moment and is withdrawn if you walk away. You should walk away from this outfitter. No respectable outfitter would use this used car salesman's angle to try to get you to book a hunt. There are just too many variables that have to be worked out before you should commit to a hunt. Take you time and ask lots of questions. In the end, you will get what you pay for.
Now we look at taking the Internet route. This is where the research begins to get thick. The Internet search engines can yield a massive amount of results. Where do you start? One problem with using the Internet only is that you don't get to meet the outfitter face to face. You are just going by what's on the site. You can and should research the area that they are in and see if they fit the bill for what you are after. See if there are references available. You should not get blinded by a dazzling website during your search. Check prices, location, travel time to camp, available game, and so on. International phone calls can be expensive, and then there's a time zone difference from about six to ten hours. So you should e-mail any questions you have. Also, you need to start a spreadsheet. Place the outfitter's list that you are looking at across the top. Place the species you want going down the side. This way, you can compare apples to apples on the price of each animal and have a running total at the bottom. If you are not very computer savvy, this can also be done on a pad of paper. Keep in mind that different areas may warrant a difference in price. This is due to the availability of the animals in the region and quality of animals to be found there. Try to weigh these into your decision. Don't forget it's the details that will make or break your trip. The more research that's done, the less there is left to chance.
What are the characteristics of a good PH? You should expect your PH to be able to answer all your basic questions and request without any problems. He should offer up references readily and not hesitate in doing so. He should be a member of the Professional Hunters' Association of South Africa or the International Professional Hunters Association. Does he ask you what you are looking for in a safari in reference to trophy quality, accommodations, or expectations of the safari experience itself? He should let you know up front that, for example, "Yes, we do have caracal cats but the odds of getting one will be slim. Or we may have to do some traveling to another property to get your gemsbok."
Is he the kind of person you would be able to virtually live with for ten or twelve days? If you get a funny vibes during a visit, a hunting show could spell disaster in the bush. Follow your gut instinct on this. His primary focus should be on making sure that you are taken care of and not just trying to get your money.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Planning An African Safari by Kerry Thomas Copyright © 2012 by Kerry Thomas. Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword....................xiPreface....................xv
Acknowledgments....................xvii
Deciding to Go to Africa....................xix
Chapter 1. Where Do You Want to Hunt?....................1
Chapter 2. What Are the Animals You Want to Take?....................5
Chapter 3. How Long Should You Hunt?....................9
Chapter 4. How Do You Pick Your PH?....................13
Chapter 5. 1-1 or 2-1 Hunts....................19
Chapter 6. Outfitter's Questionnaire....................21
Chapter 7. Safari Hunting and Fees....................23
Chapter 8. Time of Year to Go....................31
Chapter 9. Bow versus Rifle....................35
Chapter 10. Taxidermy: US versus Africa....................39
Chapter 11. Medicines and Vaccinations....................45
Chapter 12. Flight Options to South Africa....................49
Chapter 13. A Few Things You Should Consider....................53
Chapter 14. Guns for Africa....................59
Chapter 15. Customs Forms and Rifle Permit....................65
Chapter 16. Proper Shot Placement on African Animals....................69
Chapter 17. What Do You Need to Pack for Your Safari?....................73
Chapter 18. Your Arrival in the Country....................77
Chapter 19. What to Expect in Camp....................81
Chapter 20. A Typical Hunting Day....................85
Chapter 21. After the Animal Is Down....................89
Chapter 22. Care of Your Trophies....................93
Chapter 23. Activities after the Hunt....................95
Chapter 24. It's All about the Money....................99
Thoughts on the African Safari....................103
Safari Planning Checklist....................105
About the Author....................107