What cost in African Safaris is sustainable?

Rare Breed · Apr 10, 2026

Inkgardener said:
Wow, airfare has gone up more than expected in the past six months. Just for my wife to come along and sit in the camp adds $2500-3500 just in airfare, and I'm not sure she would be interested in just sitting there.

For the wife and I, the scenic (48 hour) Doha route is $4200ish plus the flight from JNB to PLZ would be taxing on one's mentality. ATL to JNB is $6300 using Delta, but 20ish hours. I haven't even figured the JNB to PLZ trip yet.

These prices cut into the under $10k trip significantly when you add up everything else, and I'm of course not counting trophies.

Does anyone else have much luck leaving the wife at home?

Absolutely!!! Just tell her there are Teetse Flies that will chase your land cruiser by the millions…she does not need to know there are none in that area of SA

gram2117 · Apr 10, 2026

WyoBull said:
Today, the taxidermy and getting it shipped to you is where you are going to spend a lot of money. I am done with the taxidermy unless I would decide to do a european mount. Today, photos are just fine for me and the memories.
You could easily do all you want on your list plus some for under $10K I think.

Couldn't agree with this statement anymore. The taxidermy and shipping can easily double the cost of a safari. At this point in my life I am out of room for mounts and will just take pictures of my trophies.

bakerb · Apr 10, 2026

I’m about to the point of no taxidermy and shipping. It just has gotten insane.

I love my mounts. And just got a leopard mounted from Soucy, but the costs are getting hard to justify. Shipping in. Coppersmith to clear and ship to taxidermist. Taxidermy has gone way up. Etc.

I’m booked for buffalo in zim in August, and I honestly don’t know if I’ll go a shoulder mount. Maybe just a euro. Plus I’m about out of room in my main room.

I have a buddy who hunts a TON. Doesn’t do taxidermy at all. Saves all his money for hunts and airfare

Art Lambart II · Apr 10, 2026

In 2024 I was bitten by the DG bug and my safaris are now 15K+. In 2027 I'm taking the family to SA and I'm hoping to keep the total cost between 40-45K.

Muskox · Apr 10, 2026

Rare Breed said:
Absolutely!!! Just tell her there are Teetse Flies that will chase your land cruiser by the millions…she does not need to know there are none in that area of SA

I took her to both Jagd and Hund and a West Texas SCI. She has met all the beautiful women in the booths and spoke to all of them about hunts. She is not a hunter, and out of our 4 daughters only one has any interest at this point.

She has been on enough European hunts with me to know that it is kind of a shit show to go on a hunt and not be a hunter, even though we live in Europe and she can paddle her own canoe (she speaks more languages than I do). Even in Slovenia and Austria when I am gone at 4 am, and back in the room by 8 for a whole day of fun, only to leave again at 4pm and be gone until 8 or 10. They just don't care for it as a family.

Africa on my own is the way it is going to be, it is just easier. It's also cheaper.

A friend of mine is married to lady hunter, he is a LTC in the Air Force. They don't normally hunt together, usually they hunt with two different guides. It never fails, her guide finds her the super trophy and she shot a 8000 Euro fallow buck in Romania. The weight was over 6kilos. Their last hunt, he ended up shooting a fox as she had blown the entire budget.

I am glad I am not married to a hunter, my wife has her own hobbies and it is yoga and pilates with all these other women her age.

mark-hunter · Apr 12, 2026

samson7x said:
What drives the cheaper rates found in Eastern Cape?

Game ranching on privately owned land, built infrastructure, large competition, standardization of operations, advertising, marketing and supporting industry (shipping of trophies, taxidermy, airports).
Today it is tourist friendly country, with acceptable pricing for blue collar class.
Very unique hunting opportunities, unlike anywhere in the world,

Game ranching was first introduced, with friendly legislative to property owners, and the rest developed in last few decades.

From starting animal fund in entire South Africa of about 500.000 heads then, today they manage about 20.000.000 heads of all species together. Probably South Africa has the largest huntable big game bio diversity on the continent, and in the world.
This is as close to hunting paradise, as it gets.

When there is plenty, the prices go down.

It is not perfect as it sounds, because some bad practices developed as well, like put and take, fencing, etc

But while this forum holds great collective knowledge and maintain the culture of information sharing, not all international hunters are so well informed nor they are members of this forum, and they find this very attractive.

South Africa very often becomes first choice and first destination for many hunters - and add to this, developed advertising system globally, hunting shows, internet, documentaries etc.

So it is combination of game ranching, affordable pricing plus good marketing.

What cost in African Safaris is sustainable?

What kind of number would you have to be at for kudu, oryx, zebra, springbok and warthog or similar

below $10,000 fair dinky deal

$10,000- 15,000 eh only money

$15,000-25,000

$25,000-50,000 Texas game ranch prices almost

$50,000- and up, fully Texas game ranch prices

Rare Breed

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Art Lambart II

Muskox

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