Andre Botes with Black Buff Safaris

csmcclain

csmcclain

AH veteran
Joined
Feb 16, 2024
Messages
176
Reaction score
402
Media
7
Hunting reports
Africa
1
Hunted
South Africa & United States (Colorado, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, & Wyoming)
Starting to talk to various DG outfits in Zim to look for a trip I’m planning in 2029 (unless a hell of a cancellation deal comes up). I’m planning to exclusively speak with outfits spoken well of by members and/or are sponsors on AH, especially as I know that Zim has a reputation of sketchy fly-by-night outfitters.

I keep seeing this guy Andre Botes with Black Buff Safaris advertised on different groups - no big deal, and I haven’t been paying attention to his stuff (just like I don’t pay attention to other outfits I don’t hear a lot about). That was the case until I met a booking agent who works with him. The unfortunate thing is that this gentleman had just recently purchased the entire booking company, and he had not hunted with every outfitter himself, so he had no comment on Botes’ operation. Afterwards, I looked into it, and he hunts all over RSA, plus Moz and Zim with some good deals in there if judging on pricing alone, which I will not be.

I’m curious if anyone has experience with him or Black Buff Safaris. Some of these trip prices aren’t unreasonably low, but they are undercutting the market a fair amount. Then again, you often get what you pay for.

Alternatively, if no one has experience, I’ll start a gofundme and you can all donate to send me there and investigate :ROFLMAO:
 
Some questions for your research.
Who is the licensed Outfitter in Zimbabwe and Mozambique?

(Black Buff Safaris website is housed in RSA as is the phone number.)

Good luck with your search.
 
especially as I know that Zim has a reputation of sketchy fly-by-night outfitters

Perhaps you can expand on this ....... most Zimbabwean outfitters I have dealt with have been top notch & 110 %. Maybe you have just had bac luck ?!

Seriously interested why you post this comment ----

Cheers

.
 
Charlie64 said:
especially as I know that Zim has a reputation of sketchy fly-by-night outfitters

Perhaps you can expand on this ....... most Zimbabwean outfitters I have dealt with have been top notch & 110 %. Maybe you have just had bac luck ?!

Seriously interested why you post this comment ----

Cheers

.
Click to expand...
I have heard this from multiple sources. I don’t mean this in a way that there aren’t a lot of good ones (or even that most aren’t good), but rather that there are some bad apples that ruin it for everyone. But the same can be said for anywhere.
 
I don’t know any sketchy outfitters in Zim. Not that there aren’t, but I don’t know them. No way I would risk my safari on an unknown quantity, when there are plenty of choices that we know to be top rate.

I realize that makes it hard for other guys (outfitters) to get into the game, but they’re not doing it on my nickel. :cool:
 
I know nothing about the specific outfitter you asked about. However, If you want to avoid problems in Zimbabwe you don’t hunt there with South African PHs. There are a few that take their clients to proper areas and professional outfitters. Most are trying hard to hold onto their relatively inexperienced client base after their first plains game safari. They partner with black PHs who don’t have the financial ability to secure quality areas or hunt private property taken during land seizures with questionable ownership. There aren’t really sketchy fly by night outfitters in Zimbabwe in proper areas, but there are some very sketchy deals offered by South Africans that can’t legally act as a PH or outfitter there.

As a general comment also, if I am going to hunt a particular country. I’ll hunt with PHs that hunt full seasons there. Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania has resident PHs. Places like Mozambique and Cameroon will have foreign PHs come in. There are almost no resident PHs. However, I’m really unimpressed by this common model where a South African plains game PH offers hunting in multiple African countries. A hunter wouldn’t book a Texas whitetail guide to hunt Elk in Wyoming once a year. I can’t understand why so many think it’s acceptable in Africa.
 
csmcclain said:
I’m planning to exclusively speak with outfits spoken well of by members and/or are sponsors on AH, especially as I know that Zim has a reputation of sketchy fly-by-night outfitters.
Click to expand...
I have no knowledge of the outfit about which you are asking, but they do match the description of every sketchy South African outfitter who “arranges” hunts in other countries. Is he asking to come along as an “observer” to pay all the “fees”?
 
Or you could check out a booking agent like Neal and Brownlee, LLC. They book hunts worldwide and vet all the outfitters listed in their listings. I have used them myself, saves a lot of money and time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

... and 1182 more.
Total: 219,483 (members: 1,232, guests: 218,251)

Forum statistics

Threads
69,453
Messages
1,547,801
Members
162,029
Latest member
StaciaShan
 

 

 

Proudly sponsored by

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

N
Nomosendero wrote on gregrn43's profile.
Between Blak Rock and Pocahontas, I did not want to say that on the forum. That's a nice Cat!
•••
curt672
curt672 wrote on WoodencrossIII's profile.
just making sure my message went threw
•••
30-06Ken
30-06Ken wrote on ftothfadd's profile.
I'll take the Vortex scope cover you have listed in the Pay it Forward thread.

Ken [redacted]
•••
Scott CWO
Scott CWO wrote on mark-hunter's profile.
Hi Mark. My email is [redacted]
•••
T
TheRookie
Selling real estate in dchum’s head
•••

Share this page

 
Top