SOUTH AFRICA: Use Extreme Caution With Motshwere Safaris And Preymestos Dip & Pack

Well i am finally able to restart this thread after the outfitter forced me to remove my previous post in order to refund money for the Taxidermy Fiasco.

For those of you new to this situation i hunted with Motshwere Safari's in late April into May of 2024, i know, against some of the advice previously discussed on this forum. I had hunted with them a few years prior, and it was a good experience so despite some of the criticism they were receiving i elected to take my entire family over there for an adventure. In a 15 day safari, the group of 8 of us hunted a total of 31 animals, so from that perspective an ok trip. What i wasn't aware of was that their business model had changed pretty significantly since my previous visit. In the first visit i left feeling like a friend, the second i was absolutely just a customer. Dont care what anyone says, they are a volume based put and take operation. We ended up hunting with a foul mouthed young PH, which i promptly messaged the owner about once returning home. I may have said something while there, but was worried that there wouldn't be another PH available, another couple that had traveled with us ended up hunting with a tracker for their entire hunt. Fast forward to the last day at camp and its time to settle the bill, 11,000 dollars for dip and pack, 354 per animal, significantly higher than the first trip, and lets be honest, robbery in the dip and pack world. I reluctantly settled the bill and upon returning home inquired on taxidermy services as i was already heavily invested. There wasnt a ton more of an investment to switch to completed taxidermy so i agreed to let Preymestos dip and pack and Taxidermy complete the taxidermy. They are on the Motshwere property and are directly associated with Motshwere safaris, regardless of what anyone says.

A month or 2 goes by and i get an email that a family members dip and pack was ready to ship, well, it was supposed to be completed taxidermy. I gave them the benefit of the doubt as i had changed the initial plan once returning home. Red flags were flying but i was confident that things would end up ok. Well, boy was i wrong. around 22 months into the process, after no communication from Preymestos, i reached out requesting a refund for the amount of 11000 dollars, the amount intitially paid. There was lots of back and forth, and as you can see in the attachment above, the outfitter agreed to refund my money. It's important to note that i had also requested photo proof that all animals were still in acceptable shape because Motshwere had agreed to cover the cost to get Dip and Packed animals to the USA, and my only expense would be the importer and ground freight. I only received pictures of 7 of the 31 animals which left me feeling uneasy about the condition that anything would be in even if i did receive it. On 5/5/2026, as negotiations were still underway, i received a message from Motshwere stating "To resolve this matter, we have made the decision to issue a full refund of the $11,000 paid. I will personally oversee this process to ensure it is concluded promptly."

So 2 years, little to no communication, and an 11,000 dollar refund later, i'm out 31 animals that should have become part of my collection. This wasn't your average run of the mill plains game safari, this hunt inlcuded Buffalo, Lechwe, Kings Wildebeest, The completion of my spiral slam, honey badger, caracal, several animals that were harvested because of opportunity. Now, a Motshwere lurker may chime in and let all of you know that i have been told that all the animals are in good condition and ready to ship, which is true, i have been told that. But, That said, that has never been proven to me and after a 24 month fiasco, i have concerns, which i feel are warranted.

So in Summary, I'm in no place to tell someone where to or who to hunt with, i have only hunted Africa 3 times myself. Although I'm no expert, i would strongly suggest doing research and you will likely conclude that Motshwere Safaris and Preymestos Dip and Pack won't be the best way to spend your hard earned money. Many many members here have incredibly valuable information to share and most of the information is because of verified experiences so trust what you are reading. Africa can be one of the greastest experiences of you do your homework, on the contrary, it can also be one of the worst if you're looking for a bargain. 29,950 dollars later, i learned my lesson the hard way!

It was a rough deal, from what I see. Sorry to hear that.

Overall, the operator has shown some honesty by refunding 11k.
This in general, is significant and correct gesture.

There have been much worse outcomes of bad safari on this forum on occasion.

Now about trackers.

I dont know if this particular operation is family run or not.
But in family run operations, this does happen.

The property expands in lodging capacity, increase number of games, or get new hunting areas, but the family members to guide as PH are still limited in numbers and sometimes they avoid to outsource PH.

Yes, it is not supposed to happen like that.

But, if a tracker is good, and good in English, I enjoy that experience as well.
Basically, PH is the guy who runs PR, and communication with clients. He has his narrative, which in the picture that he paints, is perfect safari life.

Trackers do not have that type of vision, or PR skills, and whenever I have bonded with tracker, I heard all other types of camp stories. (the real african stories)
With good tracker, estimate of age and size of trophy, should be as good as PH estimate. So, it is not the question.

And I like DYI hunts.
On classic African safari for foreigner this is almost impossible to hunt alone.
So, hunting withtracker is as close to DYI as it can get.

Finally, on put and take.
I am not an expert on African game management program, and game ranching, but I am using following as measuring stick:

My hunting club area is 5000 hectars (12.355 Acres), from that size of area, of total free range and no fence, game managment plan gives us maybe 90 heads of game per year, both sexes, and distrubuted in three age groups.
So, trophy size male animals are about 15%. 15% of 90 heads, is less then 15 trophy animals on 5000 hectars of free range.

(main species that we manage are three: european boar, red deer, and roe deer, and we take total 90 heads per year on 5000 hectars)

Now, if you get that size of area in South Africa, how many trophy heads, on 15 to 25 species you can get? The animals in general are bigger, and consume more resources then european game animals.
I think that 300 of trophy mature older male animals is already way too much. 100 is pushing. Restocking must be made.

There is always some annual replenishment of animal or trophy fund, the rancher must do, to keep business profitable, and keep quality gene pool.

And most probably, he will need to make do with resources replacement.
Food, water wells, salt licks.

PH and outfitter will not advertise that, but it is part of business.
Good PR will never allow clients even to think of that, and narrative, camp fire stories, marketing and advertising will be adjusted.

Lower PR, or no PR skills at all, or make blatant put and take operations and gennie gets out of bottle, and outfitter gets bad report and reputation.

So, you have experienced the bad part of the industry, in a situation where you expected more. Even worse, you experienced this with family group.
Once again, I am sorry to hear that.

There is a link on some podcast about put and take situation in south africa. Somebody already linked it on the forum sometime ago. South African proffesional, speaks:

Mark, I agree that getting some type of reimbursement from the people at Motshwere is a win, many situations certainly end up much worse than mine did!

I appreciate the information on put and take. I understand that for many, especially volume based operations, this is a necessity, many farms just don't have the carrying capacity to handle large herds and still offer a full bag hunt to hunters.

Overall this was a tough situation, one that i honestly never saw coming. Things happen, business models change, staff rotates, all the things that can make situations tough. For me, the one thing that is inexcusable is the lack of communication. With effective communication, most situations can find a mutual outcome. To fail in the communication department is unacceptable to me and i would believe that many others feel the same way in that regard.

Outdoorbound said:

For me, the one thing that is inexcusable is the lack of communication. With effective communication, most situations can find a mutual outcome. To fail in the communication department is unacceptable to me and i would believe that many others feel the same way in that regard.

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This one is essential!
I absolutely agree with you!

Sorry for your troubles. It’s crap like this that gives outfitters a bad name.

Certainly lots more to the story here but just put a condensed version together so people are aware that there may be some struggles. I am aware that i am not the only one that has had problems with these 2 businesses so wanted to make sure that if anyone was searching, this would come up. To anyone considering their services, feel free to reach out directly, i could go in for quite some time covering dozens of emails and loads of detail pertaining to the situation. Many who read this will know that Motshere offers some great pricing but buyer beware! Spend the extra money and enjoy Africa with a reputable outfitter, i can promise you, the extra money will be very well spent!

Thanks for providing this as a caution to others. I do hope that you have good photos in lieu of the missing taxidermy.

You can get the same type of hunting experience on a Texas game ranch without the hassle of travel, shipping, dip/pack and taxidermy. Somewhat more expensive but is it really?

Or, go to wild Africa.

Is it legal to hunt with a tracker and no PH in SA?....it's not here.....

spike.t said:

Is it legal to hunt with a tracker and no PH in SA?....it's not here.....

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How many hunters have ever asked to see their PH’s license? Also South Africa has very easy process to get a PH license. A “tracker” could easily have a PH license (but I’d suspect otherwise).

It is never legal in SA for foreigners to hunt without a PH.

Every time I read a thread like this I am so glad I found @GAME 4 AFRICA SAFARIS (while acknowleding there are a lot of other good sponsors on here). And I am super glad that my dip and pack was done by Greg and Lauriston Taxidermy.

375Fox said:

How many hunters have ever asked to see their PH’s license? Also South Africa has very easy process to get a PH license. A “tracker” could easily have a PH license (but I’d suspect otherwise).

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Well you ain't getting your trophies out of here unless all info of animals etc taken ,..where taken.. and clients name and info isn't in the phs nat parks issued book...with his name and ph license number included in it.....and for animals taken on a game ranch, our info including certificate of ownership number , and our outfitter license number

spike.t said:

Well you ain't getting your trophies out of here unless all info of animals etc taken ,..where taken.. and clients name and info isn't in the phs nat parks issued book...with his name and ph license number included in it.....and for animals taken on a game ranch, our info including certificate of ownership number , and our outfitter license number

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Zambia is a small hunting industry. I don’t doubt everything is above board. South Africa is a different situation. Pretty easy to manipulate paperwork on a fenced game farm that’s identical to 100 others. Pretty easy to find someone with a PH license to sign off as well.