Newbie to Africa Hunting

Hello all. I am planning a trip to South Africa early 2012 and joined this site to obtain information. I will apologize in advance for my lack of knowledge and questions I may ask that have already been answered before. I live near Baton Rouge, LA and primarily hunt whitetail deer all over the midwest US and LA. I am looking forward to hunting Kudu, Gemsbock, Blue wildebeest, and Impala next year!!!

Welcome to AH! We were all new at one time in our hunting career.

My first choice for what animals you are looking for in Spiral Horn Safari in the Limpopo Province. But there are some other excellent operations too. Hartzview Hunting Safari, CT Safari, KMG Hunting Safaris, Savanna Hunting Safari.

I will say there are some good outfitters in Namibia and Botswana that will fit your needs too. Mark Young on here represents a few outfitters that fit your needs.

Ask any ???'s you want too!

Welcome to AH...

From the sounds of things you already have a safari booked to South Africa if you are going in early 2012...

Who are you going with?

In the outfitter section of AH you will be able to read reports on PH and outfitters...from around Africa...

Look at web locations for PH and they will have useful information on clothing and what to bring...

Gifts and Tips have been covered and you can do an advanced search by using the slot to the top right...type in the key word or words and review the Forums....

Go to Long Grass and look at there planning guide as it is very help full to put a check list together...Practice shooting off of shooting sticks before you head over there...

Have a great camera and plenty of chips and take all the picture you can handle and then take some more...

above all else ask a question and you will receive a rainbow of answers to weed through to obtain what you want...

Don't do it, don't go, it will ruin your life, it will change all of your priorities. It could lead to divorce, bankruptcy, mental health issues with compulsive thinking. Oh, wait a minute, that's me.

Seriously, welcome to the forum, there is a wealth of information here. I just did my first trip in May and if I didn't have such a great wife all of the above would be true. My hunt was totally incredible as everyone who had been there assured me it would. I hope your hunt is at least half as good as mine, you won't regret it. I'm already booked again for next year and then I'm planning to try Namibia.

Best wishes, ask lots of questions.

Thanks for the replies. I have been soaking in all the information on the site. It is great!! i haven't booked my trip yet but I am leaning towards an outfitter in Limpopo area. They have reasonable prices and good reviews. I also like their website. There is a wealth of info and shows competence to cater to my needs. However, I am still shopping around and still trying to decide exactly when to go... There are limited availabilities with this outfitter and only have slots for March and October of 2012. Are these months okay to hunt??? I assume it will be hot. I am use to heat being from the south. i just want a good hunting experience.

Welcome to the forum! October can be pretty warm, being almost summer down there. March might be a little warm but wetter than the summer months likely. The prime months are May thru August with July being the dead of winter in RSA and nights and mornings often quite cool and frost not that unusual. Going in our spring makes flying a little easier as the planes are not as full and goofy High School and College kids not out yet running around airports making a general nuisance of themselves.

Originally Posted by 8upwithit

Thanks for the replies. I have been soaking in all the information on the site. It is great!! i haven't booked my trip yet but I am leaning towards an outfitter in Limpopo area. They have reasonable prices and good reviews. I also like their website. There is a wealth of info and shows competence to cater to my needs. However, I am still shopping around and still trying to decide exactly when to go... There are limited availabilities with this outfitter and only have slots for March and October of 2012. Are these months okay to hunt??? I assume it will be hot. I am use to heat being from the south. i just want a good hunting experience.

Welcome to the forum! Since you're in Louisiana I would recommend before you book a safari to wait until January and take a trip to Dallas for the annual Dallas Safari Club convention. Cruising the websites of the various operators is a great way to start your research, but meeting them in person is even better.

Welcome to AH 8upwithit!!! No need to apologize the only dumb question is the one not ask, You have come to the right place to get your answers better to ask here then to get there and not know. Good luck in your planning thats half the fun.

Welcome to the forum AH 8upwithit, take October, a little warm, but the grass is low and the planes are not full.

Welcome to AH 8upwithit!

Hi 8upwithit,

Welcome to the forum! You have certainly come to the right place to get all the info you need to plan a successful trip. Glad to have you onboard!

Best Regards
Marius Goosen
KMG Hunting Safaris

Having been now 4 times with the 5th in the offing- I can say this--- Go once and you WILL go again!
I also echo the Dallas Safari Club show idea (see some of my previous posts) That's how I have done it 3 times and all perfect trips. Get to know the PH you're going to actually hunt with at the show and it makes thing a lot better than the unknown. No dumb questions here but have fun in the planning that's half the fun.