Planning first trip to Africa

Hello, looking into going to africa in the next few years not to sure where to start.Will be looking to hunt plains game. Would like to know about best areas? Good outfitters? And best time of year to go? Any and all help appreciated.
I would like to hunt Kudu,Gemsbok,Red Hartebeest,Black Wildebeest,Blue Wildebeest,Impala,Blesbok and possibly Nyala and Eland. (Not looking to get all of these animals, just some that intrest me)
spend around $7000-$8000, not including airfare.
No specific country as of yet hoping to get some info on the the pros and cons of each country in africa.


Looking into 10 day hunt, and my father and mother, as well as my girlfriend and I will be going. (Women are not hunting, and dont really want anything to do with the hunting). I have looked into a few companies so far. Crusier safaris, Eulalie,Limcroma. Any thoughts on these outfitters?

I would be happy to help you. Are you a bowhunter? Rifle? Blackpowder? Are you looking for 2011?

Rifle, and 2012

With the list of animals you would like to take you will probably need to hunt South Africa to find them all in one place. There are a lot of good outfitters in South Africa but use caution and check a lot of references. You might also consider Namibia but it might be difficult to find a place that has all of the species you mention. I have found the lodges to be a bit nicer and with more amenities in South Africa and that helps make it more fun for the non-hunters. But these are generalizations and of course there are exceptions in both countries.

As far as time of the year goes it depends on what you prefer, April and May means the animals have not been hunted much but there is more cover to hide in. June July considered by many to be prime time means higher air fare and can be very cold at this time. August and September (my favorite time), starting to warm up and most of the leaves have fallen and this makes game easier to see.

Doing the research and talking to outfitters is part of the fun. Take your time and talk to a lot of previous clients and you should have a great time.

Originally Posted by mountain hunter

Hello, looking into going to africa in the next few years not to sure where to start.Will be looking to hunt plains game. Would like to know about best areas? Good outfitters? And best time of year to go? Any and all help appreciated.
I would like to hunt Kudu,Gemsbok,Red Hartebeest,Black Wildebeest,Blue Wildebeest,Impala,Blesbok and possibly Nyala and Eland. (Not looking to get all of these animals, just some that intrest me)
spend around $7000-$8000, not including airfa
No specific country as of yet hoping to get some info on the the pros and cons of each country in africa.


looking into 10 day hunt, and my father and mother, as well as my girlfriend and I will be going. (Women are not hunting, and dont really want anything to do with the hunting). I have looked into a few companies so far. Crusier safaris, Eulalie,Limcroma. Any thoughts on these outfitters?

Well I think coming here is a great place to start. When considering the species in your list you need to understand that like in the U.S. it's kind of broken up by the country and more specifically what region of the country. For instance if you were coming to the U.S. to hunt, you'd most likely end up in two different parts of the country if you were wanting to hunt trophy elk and trophy whitetail deer. They simply for the most part do not reside in the same area.

With this in mind, Black Wildebeest, Blesbok and Gemsbok are the animals that stand out to me on your list. They tend to be more in desert like terrain. While you can find these along with Kudu, the Kudu may tend to be smaller than say in the Limpopo area of South Africa where Gemsbok are not as common and Black Wildebeest I think are non-existant. The flip side of this is that The Kruger National Park is in Limpopo and I think is well worth the visit for some non-hunting days.

This said, I think I'd break it down by where the best areas of any country for all of the animals on your list is. From there decide which of the animals means the most to you for your hunt and go to the appropriate place.

I went on what my first safari this past July. At the last moment after my wife and I returned from our photo tour in Kruger, I found out that my outfitter had to cancel my hunt. I posted here on AH literally in the middle of the night the problem I was having. Louis at Spiral Horn Safaris (a site sponsor) contacted me early in the morning to try and work out a safari. The call came in moments after I had re-booked with an acquaintance of my original outfitter. But Louis will be remembered and considered for his concern for me when I start looking to do another safari. You might want to contact him.

The outfit I went with can be researched here: wagner

I also highly recommend them. A great lodge, great hunting and close to Kruger NP.

Having done a few hunts with my wife - who does hunt - but sometimes wants a bit of time off, I can recommend two operators:
Badger Bush Lodge --- www.badgerbushlodge.co.za (speak to Jacque or Laurie)
Kusini Hunting --- www.kusinisafaris.com (speak to John Faul) - you'll see lots of pictures of me on the Kusini website as I have done a lot of hunting with John. We hunt 1 x 1 like good mates and he shot his amazing blue wildebeest pictured on his site with my .300 Weatherby on a recent safari.

Badger Bush has a beautiful lodge with expansive lawn, pool, bar, etc. So you can laze about and enjoy a resort style holiday if that's what you like.

I have hunted with John Faul of Kusini a number of times and in addition to some great hunting opportunities, he has organised both day and much longer trips for my wife, children and friends. Pilanesberg, Sun City, Durban, Cape Town. While hunting for 2 weeks in Zim he had the family looked after and organised flight and accommodation and a PH as their full time guide. Good for the wife and kids - and kept my mind at ease while I focused on the hunting.

Enjoy the planning and look after the girls - they are the key to your future hunting in Africa!!

Hi Mountain Hunter,

It is of at most importance to plan your trip and make sure that the outfit u is going to use is trust worthy. There are a lot of good outfits out there. To help you make your choice on an outfit will be to contact references that can be found on their websites. It will be difficult to hunt all the animals on your list in one area. The best time to come to Africa is from April to October.

Good luck with the planning of your hunt!

I will send you a private message.

Do yourself a favour and book with Eulalie. Isan is an excelent ph and the trophy quality is exceptional. For there are other activities for the ladies such as elephant safaris and the such. Isan is a family friend and i can assure you that a hunt with him will create memories that will last forever.

just a suggestion

Welcome to African Hunting,IMHO I would join a local SCI chapter for starters and start your research as your animal list is quite broad.I just returned from 3 weeks in Namibia in September,my wife is an amateur photographer this was her 1st time to Africa and she took 4000 photos, yes thats 4000 photos.I hunted also and will be posting with in a week on this site.I 've hunted May thru September and it didn't matter all hunting was good.I was in 100 degrees in Sept at 5200 ft and been in a snow storm in May in the Eastern Cape,take your pick.You might consider hunting then renting a vehical to travel the country side .Lots of options and this forum is a good site .

Mountain hunter,

PM send

Mt Hunter
I received a notice that you sent a pm,I never got it,want to try again?

Hi,

I agree that South Africa would probably be the best place to hunt given your requirements - family obligations & species you want to hunt. Should you consider it, then you would get very helpfull info from the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa website - PHASA.

All outfitters will do their best to give you your monies worth. You need to decide what your requirements are -almost all property where game is hunted is fenced. Therefore it would be important to know how big the one specific area is in which your outfitter would hunt and if he is going to let you hunt different areas for the different species and how far apart they are. Travelling time takes up a lot of a safari. To my mind the less fences you see, the better. Also try to cut on travelling time - ask how far apart are the hunting concessions, get details and check for yourself on a map. Also ask about your PH's experience. Some are passionate and others do it for the money - big difference.

Let me know if you require any other info.

Charlie

It think magnum gave you really excellent advice!

Animals like certain habitats better than others....plus it's great to hunt game in their native habitat!

Dear Mountain Hunter:

Ed here from EAI Outdoors. Sorry for the late reply to your post but I have been off the grid doing some personal hunting. We have all the species that you are looking for on our hunting lands in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. I think that you will find this to be the best area for your first hunt and also the most cost effective. Please call me or send me your personal email and I will send you a list of recent hunter so you can learn more about us. We are able to make all air arrangements as well as any other services that you will need. Please note I am only a phone call away if you have any questions. For the ladies we can offer a lot. Unlike many operations in the north and Namibia we are not in a completely isolated area. We have plenty for them to do during the day such as shopping, horse riding and horse safari, a great spa in Port Alfred, musuems, photo safari in Addo Elephant park, and even tandem sky diving!
We also can have them spend say 5 days in Cape Town with our private female guide were they can see the sights and visit the wine country etc and then join the hunters for a few days of game viewing. We will customize this any way you require. Looking forward to hearing from you!

ED

Dear Mountain Hunter

I have mailed you a private message with regards to introducing Osonjiva Hunting Safaris in Namibia. We have all the species mentioned on Osonjiva.

Regards

Sylvia