A couple of Qs for the veterans

Sideshow said:

There’s a hunting video from Dalton and York and one of them think it’s Dalton was in a leg brace from a snake bite.

Click to expand...

I think he broke his leg when jumping to avoid the snake.

358 Norma said:

I think he broke his leg when jumping to avoid the snake.

Click to expand...

Ohoo Even worse you can’t run away!

I just returned from my first trip on Monday 06/29/26. 10 day hunt in the Limpopo region. We saw 2 Black Mambas and a python. All were seen from the truck and spotted by our trackers. They seem similar to our snakes in the southeast. It was cold in the morning but warmed up quickly and the snakes would come out to warm themselves on the rocks. Your wife will do just fine. My wife went with us every day and when she needed to go, she would just excuse herself behind some bushes or trees.

BeeMaa said:

Snakes - If you go to RSA sometime from May to September (winter in the southern hemisphere) it will minimize the chances of an encounter. Chances aren't zero, but much better with the colder weather.

Field bathroom for the ladies - My bride has been able to find a suitable place and squat, but she's also accustomed to this. Another option is a "she wee" that makes standing up and peeing easier for women when squatting isn't an option. Available on Amazon for $10. My wife has used it, but it's just one more thing to pack when we prefer to travel light and she's OK with the squat. FYI - I have yet to find a PH or bakkie that isn't equipped with toilet paper.


View attachment 773488

Click to expand...

When I packed the John Muir Trail I a couple gals that swore by their “Go Girl” which essentially works like the above and allows them to pee standing if desired.

I just took my 13yo daughter in May 2025, and we did South Africa since it was easier for her first trip. Now she’s used to squatting wherever having hiked and hunted all over Alaska…but also very afraid of snakes and spiders. Your PH will help make sure everyone including the misses is comfy. If away from lodge but close to the truck, easiest is to go to the back of the cruiser and pee in the road, guys to the front of the truck for privacy. The road way or even bigger trail is great for them since less chances of ticks jumping aboard. Depending on the time of year and where in SA, ticks and especially pepper ticks can prove super thick. Permethrin sprayed on your socks, pants and shirt will typically kill the ticks before they can climb up to your waste band but still need to pay attention where you go waving your bare ass and nether regions around. Every blade of grass can have bunches of them on it. So areas where grass is beaten down or vacant is where she’d want to squat.

The 10 days my daughter was afield she never had an issue finding appropriate places to go with privacy and other than all the dead ticks we brushed off every day, neither of us ever got a single tick bite.

ElevenBravo said:

The Mrs. is getting into the spirit of things but has asked me a couple of questions that I can't answer so I'll leave it to the old timers who have done it before:

1) Apparently SA has a lot of snakes, many of which are venomous. What is the likelihood of encountering something like a mamba, puff adder, or cobra? Are snakeproof gaiters recommended? We ran into a water moccasin last year while hog hunting in Texas. I blew it apart with my 45-70, which she found amusing getting rained on with snake bits but afterwards started getting a little anxious about running into another one.

2) A question probably better suited for the women of the forum, but what do you do when you gotta go while out in the field?

Click to expand...

1) Depends where you go and when. My girlfriend in (1) trip to RSA and (1) to Mozambique has yet to experience a snake. Seen their tracks but never seen one. For me, those are the only trips I’ve been on where a snake wasn’t encountered, even if it was only while driving.

2) On both trips if she had to go into the bush she went. She threw a small role of TP in a backpack with her camera, meds, bug net, water bottle etc. It’s likely an over kill while in RSA because you’ll likely never far enough from camp that she couldn’t hold it. In somewhere remote or wild where you might be several hours away in one direction it’s a different story.

Baby wipes are one of the essential items for me in Africa. I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many times I’ve shit in the bush. There’s always a pack in my cargo pocket and water bottle in my back pocket if I’m off the truck.

1 trip 1 horned adder in the Kalahari, in August. Reminded me of a sidewinder.


May I never see any others.

ElevenBravo said:

The Mrs. is getting into the spirit of things but has asked me a couple of questions that I can't answer so I'll leave it to the old timers who have done it before:

1) Apparently SA has a lot of snakes, many of which are venomous. What is the likelihood of encountering something like a mamba, puff adder, or cobra? Are snakeproof gaiters recommended? We ran into a water moccasin last year while hog hunting in Texas. I blew it apart with my 45-70, which she found amusing getting rained on with snake bits but afterwards started getting a little anxious about running into another one.

2) A question probably better suited for the women of the forum, but what do you do when you gotta go while out in the field?

Click to expand...

Incorrect. Southern Africa does not have a lot os snakes. Most hunters never see one and I was just watching a video with a highly experience PH and even he said he rarely sees a snake. Unfounded fear please forget about it.
Yes the ladies have to pop a squat on safari. Part of the adventure

BlueFlyer said:

The snakes we get down under are deadlier than anything you will get in Africa. In the warmer months I wear snake proof gaiters. Where I am at that time I don't have 30min to get to get to treatment. With Eastern Browns that is all you have.
As for when nature calls, it is more a matter of pride than function - you just have to suck it up princess!

Click to expand...

@BlueFlyer
In my over 50 years in the bush I have come across I think 3 snakes. The biggest being a tiger snake but the mates 12 bore sorted it out. The other was a king brown and the last was a red bellied black. So I feel safe just wearing shorts in summer in our bush. They are more afraid of you people say but I don't know how to tell when a snake is scared.
I can tell when I am. I start trying to pick both feet up at once in some sort of crazy dance.
Bob

Bob Nelson 35Whelen said:

In my over 50 years in the bush I have come across I think 3 snakes.

Click to expand...

Spraying blackberries last year I stood on 3 snakes. 2 Eastern browns and 1 red belly. So maybe I am in a snake hot spot. Luckily they are more focused on escaping than biting so far. As soon as they start wiping around my foot I am spraying them with the Blackberry spray. But I also wear heavy trousers and "snake proof" gaiters.
If you are slowly stalking, then I guess they have time to get out of your way.

BlueFlyer said:

Spraying blackberries last year I stood on 3 snakes. 2 Eastern browns and 1 red belly. So maybe I am in a snake hot spot. Luckily they are more focused on escaping than biting so far. As soon as they start wiping around my foot I am spraying them with the Blackberry spray. But I also wear heavy trousers and "snake proof" gaiters.
If you are slowly stalking, then I guess they have time to get out of your way.

Click to expand...

@BlueFlyer
Picked buckets full of blackberry as kids for mum to make pies and jam. In all those years never saw one. That was in NSW around Wagga and the surrounding areas.
Bob

Never see a snake in the bush in all these years.

Real danger from snakes? Who knows? “Nanner nanner nanner, our snakes are more poisonous than your snakes.” Hah! I would avoid any poisonous snake- Asia, Africa, Australia, America and poisonous sea snakes can be found anywhere in warm areas of Pacific and Indian oceans.

RSA? As has been posted, they can be everywhere or nowhere. Very uncommon to see many or have a problem. Just follow others in single file as is customary. Follow your PH, staff or tracker when deviating from single file group. Look down and go slow. No need for such fear to ruin a trip.