ZIMBABWE: African Trails Safaris & PH Shingi - Don't Let The Website Fool You!

Why is it they an every time someone posts a negative review people feel the need to argue with them? Even if I disagree with their review I view it as just consider it a data point.

Even the beating outfitters and PH have someone that has a bad experience. Just chalk it up to a data point and consider all available information.

I find it a unique thing about this site that any bad review gets and immediate questioning of the poster. They had a bad experience, it may or may not be their fault but consider it in totality of information and move on.

That “hunt” with ATS sucked. Glad your hunt in the BVC with Martin Peters worked out well. My first safari was there in 2013. A special place.

yukonspirit said:

That the Matetsi ECA area is heavily poached was recently confirmed to me by two other PH’s that have hunted most of their lives in Zimbabwe.

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I hunted in the Matetsi area earlier this year for elephant, I have no idea what block or area, but in 55 hours of riding in the hunting vehicle and 25 miles of walking, I saw exactly 1 duiker and 6 baboons.

Andrew62 said:

I hunted in the Matetsi area earlier this year for elephant, I have no idea what block or area, but in 55 hours of riding in the hunting vehicle and 25 miles of walking, I saw exactly 1 duiker and 6 baboons.

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sent you a pm, curious who you hunted with. Don't want to take over this post!

yukonspirit said:

Here are my answers Mtn_Infantry:

• I wasn’t familiar with the Zimbabwe permitting system, i.e. how permits are allocated. I assumed that since Elephant Trails stated they had permits for that area, that things would be ok. The Florida owner had stated, referring to Unit 5, “since we go often, they grant us more priority than to other outfitters”. So he made it sound that he was one of the preferred outfitters for that area…
• Again, as in (1), due to lack of familiarity with the Zim permitting system, I assumed that it was a special price to fill his spots. Thoughts about “undercutting concession holders” never occurred to me..
• No, and looking back, I sure wished I had done more research. Live and learn.
• Same as (4).
• Same as (3,4).

These are all good questions, and it is good to emphasize how important it is to do one’s homework.

I did more research for my subsequent hunt in the Bubye Valley Conservancy, from which I just returned a few weeks ago. This turned out to be a fantastic hunt made possible by Martin Pieters. The PH was Chap Esterhuizen; couldn’t have wished for a more fun, kind, professional PH. Now that I have dealt with these guys, I know I will be in good hands for future hunts in Zimbabwe!

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Glad your follow-on hunt worked out. Unfortunately you learned a tough lesson, and hopefully other AH members can learn from your mishap. The BVC is a great area and permitting there/quota is done a bit different than the concession and safari areas in Zimbabwe.

I'd encourage you to do A LOT of research on any hunt you're looking into, but especially ones outside the country. If you're using a booking agent or booking through someone, make sure you do your due diligence. I always ask if they've hunted with the outfitter in that area, how long ago, how many clients they've sent to that outfitter to hunt in that area, etc. There are only a handful of booking agents I'd trust when booking a hunt. Below is an example

@Green Chile and I were discussing a potential Muskox and Caribou Hunt last year and I found several dozen booking agents offering them at a variety of prices, as well as a few outfitters. With a little bit of work I was able to trace back each booking agent to the different outfitters they were working with. I think it boiled down to 7 or 8 different outfitters (between direct and agents) and a majority of the "agents" were working with the same couple outfitters. Each agent offered different prices and almost all at an inflated cost compared to what the outfitter quoted me. The couple of agents I'd trust were were the only ones inline with the outfitters direct prices

I would like to share my personal experience of hunting with Shingi last year. As he was working as a freelancer for another outfitter at the time, I cannot comment on the organisational aspects. Not everything went as agreed or promised for us either, even the most fundamental things. But that was entirely the fault of the outfitter.
Nevertheless, I am attaching part of a post I wrote here on AH some time ago:
"Our PH was Shingi, and he was really cool. Whether for me as a complete beginner in Africa, or for my friend Roman, who has been hunting all over the world for a long time....He was always smiling and enjoying everything, a very positive person."

I know that everyone has different ideas, requirements and expectations. I was satisfied with Shingi and his entire team, and I would go hunting with them again.

For more details, feel free to read my report on AH or take a look at our video on YouTube.

yukonspirit said:

Yes, Martin was the one who told me later that they must have lied to me about having permits available for that good unit next to Hwange Park. Chap Esterhuizen who guided me in the Bubye told me some more about these outfits as well. Having had such a wonderful hunt with Chap I can now laugh it off, but I wanted to post this story so that other wannabe buffalo hunters can avoid these situations.

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I am pleased to hear that this bad experience has been smoothed over by Martin and Chap. I've been in camp with both of them. I'm sure Chap had you laughing all the time!

Jäger_Ivo said:

I would like to share my personal experience of hunting with Shingi last year. As he was working as a freelancer for another outfitter at the time, I cannot comment on the organisational aspects. Not everything went as agreed or promised for us either, even the most fundamental things. But that was entirely the fault of the outfitter.
Nevertheless, I am attaching part of a post I wrote here on AH some time ago:
"Our PH was Shingi, and he was really cool. Whether for me as a complete beginner in Africa, or for my friend Roman, who has been hunting all over the world for a long time....He was always smiling and enjoying everything, a very positive person."

I know that everyone has different ideas, requirements and expectations. I was satisfied with Shingi and his entire team, and I would go hunting with them again.

For more details, feel free to read my report on AH or take a look at our video on YouTube.

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I am glad you had a good hunt. And under those circumstances I would have enjoyed my hunt too. But keep in mind your hunt occurred in 2024 and in (a) good block(s), apparently bordering the park. The abundance of game that you describe is in stark contrast to what I experienced in Matetsi ECA. This year Shingi and my outfitter were not allowed to hunt in a block bordering Hwange Park (unit 5)(but the outfitter booked me there anyway...) which had similar game densities to what you describe, according to someone who hunted there last year. Instead they had to make do with a poor communal area. Perhaps that affected Shingi’s mood; how could he be happy when the outlook for his career appeared dismal…But if I was a guide and miserable, I wouldn’t take it out on my client!

johnjiao said:

I think luck still plays a major role, whether it's choosing an outfitter or going hunting.

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A very large portion of that "luck" can be negated by due diligence. Do your research. Check with all (recent) references. Ask those who have been there and done that. As much as these adventures cost...ANYONE...who makes a decision based mainly on cost, or a "deal"... does so at their own peril.
Best
Spike

yukonspirit said:

I am glad you had a good hunt. And under those circumstances I would have enjoyed my hunt too. But keep in mind your hunt occurred in 2024 and in (a) good block(s), apparently bordering the park. The abundance of game that you describe is in stark contrast to what I experienced in Matetsi ECA. This year Shingi and my outfitter were not allowed to hunt in a block bordering Hwange Park (unit 5)(but the outfitter booked me there anyway...) which had similar game densities to what you describe, according to someone who hunted there last year. Instead they had to make do with a poor communal area. Perhaps that affected Shingi’s mood; how could he be happy when the outlook for his career appeared dismal…But if I was a guide and miserable, I wouldn’t take it out on my client!

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@yukonspirit: I am glad things did eventually work out for you. It is very tough when you haven't been somewhere and are not familiar with the area, permits, etc. When I was dealing with the Florida partner, I did my best to reach out here on AH when I had concerns. I will say I was very disappointed with BYH. Elephant Trails had previously been suspended from the platform, and re-instated. After I sent BYH the documentation from Elephant Trails and chat history, they were suspended again, but re-instated within about a week. It seems as if they continue to be a problem. BYH should do a much better job of vetting.

I messaged with several people, including @Jäger_Ivo and @375Fox. I owe a huge thank you to 375Fox. He took the time to reach out to me and offer his advice, which was invaluable. Because of the advise of the membership here, I went a different route and it worked out well.

Good Luck in the the future!

At a recent local SCI dinner, I spotted an auction hunt with Elephant Trails Safaris for a 12 day 2X1 Trophy Elephant hunt. Units 3, 4, and 5. Price was $15,000 for each ele + $1,500 TRASH Hunting/Export permit.

When I started to investigate, the first thing that cam up was this thread.

There was also an auction hunt with Elephant Trails Safaris for a Buff hunt, Matetsi concession, $12,000, plus $1,500 export permit, extra days @ $1,400 per night.

Something smelled fishy right off the bat, so I passed, and neither hunt had any bidders.

Once again, this website and it's experienced members have proven to be a most valuable asset when considering an outfitter.

Glad to hear that my report made you steer away from that outfit. Can't recommend Martin Pieters and the PH's he surrounds himself with enough. They made my second buffalo hunt in Zimbabwe, that time in the Bubye River Conservancy, the hunt of a lifetime! Good luck to you.

mark-hunter said:

I have a question?
I went to check this outfitters web pages.
I noticed in pricing, that "all animals on the list is considered dangerous game".
Then of course, every day is on DG day rate, regardless of the animals hunted.

I wonder where this comes from? Plains game = Dangerous game? Just marketing strategy or something else?

Here is screenshot from said pages:

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@mark-hunter, The asters represent the DG animals. Guess the typist missed putting an asters by Hippo and Croc, or they don't consider hippo and croc as DG. LOL.

At those trophy fees, I would have looked more into setting up a hunt with this outfitter as the trophy fees resemble RSA trophy fees than some of the Zimbabwe outfitters trophy fee sheets I've looked at in the past.

@yukonspirit, Thanks for the heads up on this bad outfitter.