This is definitely the year to hunt Africa

I have been in the booking business since dirt was invented and I have never seen prices and bargains like I have this year...The economic crunch has certainly hit Africa...I have so many bargain hunts this year and my email is clogged with emails from Safari companies competing with each other. I am not the only one that has these great offers either.

Many of my hunts, as well as others are listed here on this hunting forum under GREAT DEALS on Hunts.

2009 is the year to go and save a bundle of your hard earned money, hunts are averaging about half price.

That implies that there is a bad time to go to Africa! :D

The flip side is that I was talking to a PH and I asked him how business was. He is booked up for 09 but 2010 is dead. In his words "I may have to get a real job" and everyone who calls wants a "deal"

He is holding his prices at 2007 levels and he just doesn't have a lot of wiggle room.

Definitely a bad time to get rich as a PH.

Dangit Ray....You got to quit putting this stuff up here. :D

I'm thinking leopard in the future though. :)

I wonder what will happen if the economy gets worse and it could very easily under the present administrations over spending and borrowing of money..if so that will reflect on Africa and many Safari Companies will fold..

What then? Will Africas hunting become the property of a the state with black officials doing the PHing, it wouldn't surprise me. Greed and a disrespect for the game and dishonest managment will take over.. The bush meat market is allready rampant in some countries and near the towns. Chinoyi comes to mind, once the mecca for big Kudu and Sable, but not anymore..The more I see in Africa the more I am inclined to retire.

Just surmising as to what could happen, not saying it will, but I have seen so much change in Africa in my lifetime that its hard to believe, I remember the beautiful So. Africa with white washed houses and flower gardens and the towns were clean enough to eat off the streets, Not so today it more resembles a slum. I listened to all the old time Africans scoff at my predictions of the future that, in fact, came about. Will the trend continue?

I hope the economy turns around for us and for those hard working PHs and the great Safari Companies that have been so honest and determined over the last several years, they have toughed it out and been through many hardships and hung on, but they cannot survive in a continued depressed nation..

I sure hope it doesn't head that way. I'm just getting warmed up! I honestly would hate to see many safari companies fold. If african governments took over the hunting...we would all be in trouble. I hope you are just overly cautious Ray. If not, i will be extremely let down as i have plans for hunting Africa well into the future.

The way things are going, many companies will fold and the cheap deals you are seeing now are a sign of outfitters taking drastic measures to simply stay in business... it cannot hold for long on these terms and with less money for hunting fundamentals, such as community involvement and development and conservation measures in the form of anti-poaching and awareness campaigns, the deals will die-out with the wildlife and their habitats. Just a sad reality of the economics in hunting!

The only good that may come out of this crisis is that the people involved in the industry for the wrong reasons will be naturally weeded out as there is no profits involved in hunting at the moment - i have run many seasons at a financial loss, but for Tanzania in particular, 2007 & 2009 are probably the worst seasons financially. If this goes on, the dread of surrendering areas back to the government will happen and has already started in Tanzania! Once that happens, you can forget about the area maintaining its sustainability! The game will be poached and habitat degraded by encroachment and illegal harvests. The simple fact that our governments do not have the funds to manage areas on their own accord will guarantee this undesired scenario.

I accept these are very TOUGH times, and many a temptation are out there due to the difficulties, but at what cost!??? Wildlife and hunting is never about the short term - real hunters and conservationists are in it for the long term - when i got my first buff and my first lion -i swore that i would do everything to ensure my son would too - in the meantime i have fought the challenges and made that dream possible for many a hunter all over the world - it all comes at a price though - cheap deals do not last long enough for future generations to enjoy them - unless we surrender all that is wild to the game ranching system. Works for some and i have nothing against it, but doesn't work for me!

Ray, your concerns are REAL and Tom, yours FEARS are valid - so what are the solutions then? I don't have one for Africa - but i am doing my bit for the turf that i am responsible for and i aint selling my soul to economics. Hopeless Romantic? One could say so... But however i am judged, there will be only happy hunters in appreciation of the truly wild and real Africa, which is also not for everyone and i appreciate that too. At the end of the day, i don't sell animals - i share hunting opportunities and experience wilderness with people who have that desire. It just costs money these days people!

Lastly, there will always be hunting opportunities in Africa for our generation and maybe the next five or more, but it will only be available at higher and higher prices in future as the areas that will remain will most likely only be managed through people who can afford to pay for their management costs, which i do not see getting lower.

To end on a good note, there are numerous people out there who are doing the right things and fighting for the sake of hunting, wildlife and wild habitats and making huge personal sacrifices to overcome challenges such as the present economic hurdles, political pressures, population pressures etc. There is HOPE and the fight is ALIVE. Hunting in Africa has many allies and is a force of hope for wildlife and wild habitats too.

Ryan,
Great post with great insight, and I reward you with all my soul for your integrity and sense of justice. What more can I say, other than my respect for you just jumped about 100 notches.

Ryan, That's poetry my friend. I can't find any words to follow that up. Thank you.

Wow, Shallom, you have a real gift with words, that was such an excellent post!!!

I am glad to find support and solidarity in my principles - one of my motivations is knowing that there are like-minded people like you with similar principles and desire for the greater good. Knowing that our effort is appreciated makes the sweat and blood worthwhile... and hearing that lion roar on my first night out in the Kilombero Valley, followed a short while later by that other one across the stream - now THAT my friends is poetry! Can't wait! Roaring lions, sawing leopards, screaming elephants, snorting buffaloes, grunting hippos, barking bushbucks, whistling pukus and the rest of the bush symphony - the wilderness awaits! The senses awaken... You gotta love life! Cheers everyone - make sure you get a dose of the wild side sometime before the year ends. For sanity sake and rekindling the spirit of life. Happy Hunting - get close & shoot well.

Shallom, not only a poet but a composer too??? Or would that be a conductor? You know when most people use those terms, "blood and sweat" they can't really back it up, but in your case...:sweat: