SOUTH AFRICA: Zingela-Limpopo Safaris - How Poor Management Ruined An Otherwise Promising Safari

Tiger2001 said:
"That night at campfire he was back on his phone constantly texting. Fine ... except when the lodge owner's wife had to keep getting up for wood to feed the fire."

And what do you do in this case? You don't return to give them your business and you warn your friends and members of this forum of your personal experience so all know what could happen if they book with that outfitter.
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That PH was a fill-in temp. My regular guy had taken a job leading the hunting operation at another very large resort. Another regular PH had married a vet in another district and relocated. And the third PH, a fine young man who owned a huge sheep farm in the mountains and who I had hunted with previously, was supposed to take me but a wealthy former client showed up at the last minute with niece and asked for B. The operator ASKED if I would agree to switch PHs. What was I going to say? I could hunt most of those familiar properties by myself if it was legal. The guy turned out to be a dud for many other reasons. But I tried not to let it get in the way of enjoying otherwise good hunting and a very pleasant lodge experience. He was sorted out at settlement time. Others have asked privately if I could recommend the outfitter and I do ... but they should insist that they do not hunt with that PH.
 
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mark-hunter said:
This is very good overview bringing first hand new light to the outfitter, from a new forum member.
Welcome to the forum!
(y)

Some questions.
The hunt: did you collect all the trophies as per plan?
Did overall experience reflect on tipping, later?

Same question to @Tiger2001[/USE
[/QUOTE]
I got 3 out of 4...actually 2 of 3 and then added another because I couldn't get the 2nd buffalo in the time alotted. Tipping was fine...my PH got a good bump in my opinion.
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I've been sitting on this and decided to post anyways. I think the author had some unrealistic expectations like; the welcome sign, paying for in transit meals, PH's hanging with hunters after hunt, who was fetching firewood....The sharing of the camp with other hunters seems to be the only legitimate thing IMO, and that's a big deal. The part that's really missing for me is the quality of the hunt as that is what is most important. I personally have little regard for anything else as I am there to hunt and my primary expectation is quality ground, quality animals and 100% effort in the field. Every thing else is just a benefit with little meaning to me and the people I hunt with.

To the author; I'm not trying to be adversarial nor am I discounting your opinion and feedback. I'm just voicing that some people have different expectations.
 
When I have to pee and the driver says NO, that's the end of the feeling good about the trip and a portend of things to come.
trperk1 said:
I've been sitting on this and decided to post anyways. I think the author had some unrealistic expectations like; the welcome sign, paying for in transit meals, PH's hanging with hunters after hunt, who was fetching firewood....The sharing of the camp with other hunters seems to be the only legitimate thing IMO, and that's a big deal. The part that's really missing for me is the quality of the hunt as that is what is most important. I personally have little regard for anything else as I am there to hunt and my primary expectation is quality ground, quality animals and 100% effort in the field. Every thing else is just a benefit with little meaning to me and the people I hunt with.

To the author; I'm not trying to be adversarial nor am I discounting your opinion and feedback. I'm just voicing that fsome people have different expectations.
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You forgot about not wanting to stop for a bathroom break and some chow on a five and a half hour drive squashed with others in a pickup truck. Bless you if you can hold it that long. SOP for my ten hunts was the outfitter or driver paying for chow on one of those breaks. In fact when we were on the road, I offered to pay and was refused every time. Regardless of the animals, in my book, any hunt that starts off on the wrong foot portends the remainder of it. YMMV.
 
Hogpatrol said:
SOP for my ten hunts was the outfitter or driver paying for chow on one of those breaks. In fact when we were on the road, I offered to pay and was refused every time. Regardless of the animals, in my book, any hunt that starts off on the wrong foot portends the remainder of it.
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I have the same experience, and attitude!
 
At the end of the day, the clients left profoundly dissatisfied. Unless their expectations were grossly unrealistic, that’s a real problem. I’ve hunted Africa three times, Mexico once, Idaho once, half a dozen long range fishing trips out of San Diego, chartered in Cabo, and done a Canadian fly in trip and never experienced anything even close to this dissatisfying.

The Idaho trip even had new owners, as the outfitter sold the business between the time I booked and the date of the trip. The new owner didn’t have complete records of my booking, but honored everything based solely on my word. That was Heaven’s Gate, in Riggins, and I obviously can’t recommend them highly enough.

That’s how to run a real business.
 
Mark458 said:
It's amazing how far some good PR can go. Had the the guy been polite, accommodating and spent $15 on lunch the whole trajectory of the hunt may have been different. The most important things are often free.
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Yes in part but I am not going to let a hunt go south because the Manager balked at paying for our breakfast (and his) at a Wimpy of all places. No it went south when I arrived at camp to find they had booked another party for the week after assuring me that would not happen. And I found out later from the PH that "D" (Dawie) did this intentionally when the other PH called him last minute and asked to be squeezed in with his American client. That PH and Dawie go back a long way and that PH brings a lot of $$ to Zingela. So for Dawie (again, from the PH telling me this) it was a no brainer to let the PH and his client join for the week. Regardless of what was promised to my group. THAT is why things went south.
 
Sabre said:
One time I was on a guided hunt out west where meals and lodging were supposed to be included. The night I got my animal the outfitter and guides went to a local party and ditched all the hunters. Didn't really say anything to us. We found out later in the day. The nearby town, everything was shut down except a gas station. So we got to eat unsavory gas station food. It was a pretty expensive hunt, so it was frustrating. Also, it's a weird thing to do on a night when the hunters, guides, and outfitter should be celebrating success together.
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As someone who has & still guides, but mostly now I supervise the camp, any guide(s) who bailed on hunters at camp would not be hired back. I am sorry you had that experience, which is absolutely unacceptable, and hope you gave feedback.
 
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