First African hunting trip?

Im curious if anyone can recomend when and where to go for a first safari? I am thinking I want Kudu and Zebra and a few others but not really set on what. Any advice?

Meat78

Welcome to AH.

Look into the outfitters section and review PH's - outfitters for Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa.

What length of safari are you looking at 7 - 10 or 14 days?

Kudu and Zebra will be found at all 3 of these countries plus others.

What will be you additional animals that you would like to add? That will help members to narrow down your area for a great safari.

Originally Posted by Meat78

Im curious if anyone can recomend when and where to go for a first safari? I am thinking I want Kudu and Zebra and a few others but not really set on what. Any advice?

Im looking for a 7-10 day trip with probably a non hunting companion (the girlfriend wants to come, but not sure if she wants to hunt) As for the other species, just plains game, hopefully total of 5-7 animals and preferably critters that are a lot of fun (not real certain as to what types). I have been born and raised hunting Alberta whitetails and mule deer and want somewhat of a change and a fun hunt. This will be the girlfriend's first experience hunting.

Bow or rifle?

Welcome also.

Thank you. It would be a Rifle hunt. I was also wondering if a .270 would be a decent rifle as well as a heavier 30 or 33 caliber to go with it?

Originally Posted by Meat78

Thank you. It would be a Rifle hunt. I was also wondering if a .270 would be a decent rifle as well as a heavier 30 or 33 caliber to go with it?

First off welcome to another Albertan, we are really starting to class this site up!!!

.270 should be fine for what you are after. Last year we killed animals up to the size of Blue Wildebeest with one and had great one shot success. It would be good to plan on taking a backup rifle as well anyway so a 30 or .338 would be great as well.

In order of expense South Africa and Namibia are close and the cheapest followed by Zimbabwe and then the big bucks countries like Mozambique, Tanzania, etc. In terms of hunt experience Namibia is cheap and has alot of low fence and wilderness areas as well as some High fence operations, it has a good variety of game but not as much as South Africa. South Africa is probably the cheapest with the widest variety of game available and there is some low fence but it is primarily a high fence country. Zimbabwe is hit and miss game wise but if you do your homework there are some great areas and lots of wilderness as well as some high fence. The rest of Africa is almost all wilderness hunting but comes at a steep price.

Most people end up in either South Africa or Namibia for their first safari and I would reccomend one of them. If you want to add Cape Buffalo then definitely give Zimbabwe a hard look though. I am off for my 2nd South African hunt in less than a month.

Try Cruser Safaris. I will be going there Friday for a 10 day hunt.


Hunting Safaris; South Africa, Limpopo Province. Hunting African game.

Jim

Welcome to AH Meat78! there are a hunderds of places to go in Africa and all of them good ones, the animals you listed can be found all over Africa but my favorite is South Africa try Spiral Horn Safaris, Koedoeberg Safaris or the one I'm going back to this year Huntershill Safaris the Wife went with me in 2010 as a non hunter and liked it so much she turned down a 14 day tour in China to go back there and hunt herself this year. Take a look under Hunting Deals to find some great offers as well. Good Luck with your planning and if you have any questions just ask away the members here will do their best to answer them for you.

First welcome to AH! Great advice so far. Namibia and south Africa are the two top spots to go for first timers. Check out the outfitters sec as mentioned. And look for references.

I'm going to Namibia for my first safari this May on a ten day hunt. I also hope for a Kudu but I will be on a day rate and will take the best animals availabe. My wife is also going as an observor at 150 dollars a day she could'nt stay in our hometown motel and buy three meals for that. Lenny

Originally Posted by Meat78

Im curious if anyone can recomend when and where to go for a first safari? I am thinking I want Kudu and Zebra and a few others but not really set on what. Any advice?

Welcome to AH Meat,

That has to be the most open ended one in a little while.

It is all here. Start looking at offers and reports.

From your subsequent post I see you are another Canadian.

One more 270 lover. Load it up and shoot straight. Good bullets though.



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Leeukop
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Koedoeberg

I always forget a few ... and One that excluded Canadians from their contest.

hello fellow canuck went on my first trip last september .270 is fine, load it with premium bullets I used a 308 no problems, namibia was my country of choice.
lots of info here enjoy the site all questions can be answered here.

terry

Welcome to the Forum Meat 78!

Please don't hesitate to contact us if we can be of help in any way?

Best Regards
Louis van Bergen

Welcome to the forum Meat78. Planning your first safari is a lot of fun but can be a daunting task aswell. I would suggest talk to a couple of outfitters and look at hunt reports on different sites and then go with someone you feel comfortable with and who you get along with well.

We are all here to help and make sure your first trip to one of the best hunting destinations in the world is not your last.....

Please do not hesitate to contact us at Hartzview with any questions you might have, we are always more than willing to help out.

Good luck!

Best regards,

Jacques

Originally Posted by BRICKBURN

I always forget a few ... and One that excluded Canadians from their contest.

LOL, my thoughts exactly. We always seem to get the short end of the stick contest wise.

I wholeheartedly reccoment Chris Troskie of CT safaris in South Africa. That is where I am headed for the 2nd time in May. He hunts a mix of low and high fence with excellent success.

Welcome to AH Forum!
As a first timer the planning can seem daunting but it is actually half the fun of the hunt. There are some specifics you need to be aware of on the travel and gun imports but study will make them clear. I would like to suggest you read my current post "Just Back from Namib with Jamy traut Safaris". I have detailed exactly what is required when you get to South Africa or Namibia with your weapons. Hopefully it will be of some help to you.
As to where to go? South Africa is the easiest to get to (especially if you pick a place with in 2 or 3 hours of Jo'burg) and possibly cheaper in the long run because of that. As my last trip 1 week ago was my 5th, I can recommend a couple of SA outfits. Sadaka Safaris is about a 2 hr drive from the airport. I went there last year with 4 other first timers all of whom are rebooking again because they had so much fun. Another SA outfit to consider is Xomaqua Safaris. Both searchable on the net. Xomaqua is a little futher from Jo'berg but a fine outfit to hunt with. Please do your research before booking and understand that South Africa is set up for a lot of high fence hunting but usually on very big properties. Not the small places we see in the USA for high fence hunting. You still have to hunt them even if there is a fence somewhere distant. Understand that if it wasn't for high fence properties there probably wouldn't be the hunting industry or animals in SA that you see today. If you want to travel a little further go to Namibia. This is the least populated country in all of the African continent. Miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles of bush country. The animal species are somewhat more limited but for your fist plains game hunt it will not be a problem. Kudu, zebra (both kinds), blesbuck, black and blue wildebeest, heartebeest, springbok, eland, steenbuck, impala (limited), gemsbuck (by the hundreds) and others are all there. My recomendation is jamy Traut Safaris at the Panorama Camp (please read my report). You can't go wrong there. Your "friend" will love it. You have no idea what you are in for as far a service goes when on a good safari today. You sleep on clean sheets, you have a full en suite bathing facility, laundry is done every day (don't pack too many clothes, you or she won't need them), you eat with crystal and linen every meal (no sitting on a cold log in the snow eating beans out of a can), you have a chef preparing the meals and you shoot and take pictures, everything else is done for you.
You will find all the help you need right here on this forum. Many of the commentators have much more experience than I do so ask away on all your questions. This is the best forum I have ever seen on any subject. These folks are here to help you enjoy your first safari. Read all you can here on preparations. Lots of good info available. Search my name 'cliffy" for a couple of other articles on how to do things. Just remember-
IF YOU GO ONCE-YOU WILL RETURN-DEAL WITH IT!

Originally Posted by Cliffy

no sitting on a cold log in the snow eating beans out of a can

Cliffy, you make it sound like a bad thing LOL! I love beans in the snow. Being catered to in africa is pretty good too though

Originally Posted by Cliffy

This is the best forum I have ever seen on any subject.

X2 Good bunch on here and alot of combined experience thats for sure. This site sure helped me with my 1st time, and continues to do so all the time.

Welcom Meat,

A lot of good advise and I will concur with what most have said, SA and Namibia is a great place to start. Do yourself a favor and check out the outfitters on this site, they are all a great group of guys, and I am sure that any one of them would do a great job for you. I personally have hunted with Koedoeberg and Willem and his crew did a great job for me. Again though after becoming more involved in this site (AH) I would advise you to contact at least 6 outfitters and talk to them about the species you desire, and the best time to hunt with them. I hunted in June, the SA's though that it was cold, I just thought it was funny, I wore shorts in the evening and they wore jackets around the fire...My opinion is there is no wrong time to hunt anything, especially Africa, would love to hunt there every day.

Hey Meat 78,
Welcome to the forum.

Best Regards
Marius Goosen

I was to the area Cliffy talks about in his last trip to Africa in 2008...it's a fantastic area to hunt in Namibia. Namibia is a great place to hunt. That being said there are plenty of places in RSA to hunt. Hunting nyala in KZN with Chris Troskie (CT Safaris) or Leeukop Safaris sounds fun. The Limpopo Province with Spiral Horn Safari for big kudu, eland, etc. would be fun. Then, there is the East Cape of RSA with lots of game!!!