SOUTH AFRICA: Shingani - Scam Outfitter

I guess I am not explaining myself clearly regarding my hunt with Rynu. I do not mean to imply that he is a licensed, working PH. Our hunt together was for me to see how much the boy has grown….and for his old man Riaan to brag about how well his oldest son can hunt! Guess I should have left the boy out of my initial comment. I was only trying to help make the point that I am a close personal friend to Riaan and that we have been hunting together for a long time. If he were indeed a “Scam outfitter” as suggested by Mr. gobble50 then I think I would have been taken at least once over the years.

I believe the burden here is on Mr. gobble50 to provide additional info. He joined the forum simply to slander Shingani Safaris and has not made a single post since. Jerome Philippe indicated that he asked for additional details from him yet no such info has been provided. Once Riaan was notified of the accusations he took to time to develop a response and offered to send references to anyone who would like to see them. He also provided a list of know industry professionals that have hunted with Shingani. Despite all this it appears some here follow the “Guilty until proven innocent” theory. Maybe it is my fault….seems like things went south once I jumped in….if that is the case then shame on me. I don’t feel that it is appropriate for me to discuss the details of the situation. That is up to Riaan to decided. We he returns from his hunt in Zimbabwe maybe he will provide the name of the accuser. In the mean time I think the comments above made by Big5 are very pertinent here.

I look forward to hearing more details from gobble50.

Cheers,

Roscoe

Roscoe I agree with you 100 percent. Riaan is a great father, husband, friend and good Christian. I have know him and his famlily for over 6 years and i can saw the pleasure is all mine. I have never meet anyone who works as hard as he does to ensure that his clients are successful and have a great trip. Its amazing at how one person can ink a few slanderous words and people start judging the person. Riaan did a show with the BBC and if you saw it he turned the reports ideas from non hunter to hunter. I think that speaks for itself. Something he would tell you is all the hate emails and phone calls he received from non hunters over that TV show. I have also had Rynu "guide" me on a hunt on thier on personal property and I cannot tell you how much I enjoy being in the family style atmosphere. He loves his kids and his children adore him. So if anyone has doubts about Shingani Safaris they should do the creditable and respectable thing and call his references and hear his side before we pass judgment.

Just my two cents worth.

Jim

Apache

I hunted with Shingani Safaris in July of 2009. I found their accomodations fantastic. The room was a little cold at night for my wife though. The food was excellent. The hunting was fantastic. Our group of eight shot everything they wanted and more. I can not speak highly enough of Riaan's in house staff, relatives, and PH's. The PH I spent the most time with was Couis?. He could not have been more freindly, helpfull, and showed true professionalism the entire time we hunted with with him. He even let me and my wife use his prized 308 to shoot several of our animals.


Email me if you need a reference.

fisher3df@yahoo.com

Jerome,

Being new to AfricaHunting.com I just rummaged through some of the listings, especially this one being it was a clear slam on an outfitter. Lots of legitimate statements here, bringing questions to the table.

Just wanted to write and say I'm impressed with the fact that you stepped into the fray here and went so far as to contact both parties involved in order to afford each an opportunity to comment. You've earned points in my book for being so attentive and concerned over fairness to everyone involved.

I hope to learn more about Africanskyhunting. Everything tells me they're a top notch outfit, including someone I know who went and had a great time. My only issue is, as I have continued conducting research, I've noticed one consistant thing. Their prices are higher than everyone else's, and by a far margin. If money were no object, I'd look no further. However, any trip to Africa, no matter what the deal, is going to be a bit of an investment and will take me several years to save up for. So, while I'm very impressed, I'm wondering if they are really any better than the others I'm seeing (better hunting grounds, better trophies, etc.) or if they are simply charging what they can get.

Notably, their daily rates are at least $50 per day more than the others, and their trophy fees tend to be a lot more on most animals.

ILCAPO, I appreciate your comments, it is only fair to give both party an opportunity to have their say. AH members have also in the past taken upon themselves to contact an outfitter in question to make them aware of a poor hunting report on their operation, which I think is great and would only encourage.

Interesting that a new member did go through the entire posts.
I think people jumping on the band wagon initially is out of sincere empathy.
I think it is also rooted in the basic major fear of being taken advantage of in a new situation. It has happened, it can happen and misunderstandings do occur and there are malevolent individuals, etc.

But, when people enter into a new adventure in which they have no experience they are genuinely concerned about being scammed and would like to try to avoid the experience.

This site has always been an excellent demonstration of a reasonable process to get at the facts and welcomes and encourages thoughtful opinion.

Keep it up Jerome and members.

BRICKBURN,

You're right on the mark. I am one to do my homework conducting due diligence to avoid scams. It's in my nature, and has been ingrained into me due to my line of work. Looking through the outfitter listings this one stuck out due to the term "SCAM." I read through the comments and was very impressed that Jerome stepped in to ensure the accused party was aware of the slam. This did, in fact, change the nature of the discussion and in the end I think we can all see this complaining party is a lone voice in a sea of praise. Strong medicine for false accusations!

And as some of the later comments suggest, this was actually a "positive" experience for the outfitter because 1) he's gotten huge exposure to people who would otherwise probably not be aware of his existance (me included), and 2) the credibility of the accuser has pretty much been destroyed. So, in the end, it's a plus-plus for Shingani Outfitters.

As I noted, I'm new to the idea of hunting in Africa. Being driven to it considering the now HUGE expense of hunting so much as a single animal here in North America. The only draw back is not being able to bring home any meat. Having compared prices, I believe at least one good hunt in Africa is in order. However, even a great deal is a bit of an investment. Africanskyhunting is clearly a great outfit, as a friend assures me, but I've found in further research that they're very high priced in comparison to other outfitters. So, I'm still looking, and I try to determine the cost I'm having to budget for. No matter what outfitter I use, it's going to take a couple years to save up. I also need an outfitter who, like ASH, offers non-hunting excursions, such as photographic safaris at Kruger NP or elsewhere. I'm hoping to get a fellow hunter to go, but at the very least, my wife will be there for what will be a vacation for the both of us. So, side trips to the Cape and/or perhaps Victoria Falls will also be in order. I'm looking for an outfit that can accomodate for this (i.e., my guns are going to need to be laid up somewhere in the interim).

I see the site appears to be exactly as you say, and excellent place for facts and thoughtful opinion.

With the internet, you have to be wary of the one making posts..."Mr. gobble50"

Their have seen anti gun advocates who try to blend themselves in to the shooting-hunting forms and try to pit one against another.

I belong to other shooting forms and have seen this before, usually a negative post and then you will not hear from the poster again...but in looking at this topic questions were asked first and then with no response from Mr. Gobble50 it followed patterns that i have seen before...

We were fortunate that we did not have anyone with an axe to grind with Shingani Safaris to add fuel to the fire with this posting...

I do believe that...JM2C

Understand. And I'm sure you're right about anti-gun types trying to "blend in." There is NOTHING the radical left is not willing to do to accomplish their mission, which is to destroy the liberties of others and impose their beloved socialist state. I'm forced to think of the "society" represented in the movie DEMOLITION MAN, which was made out to be a comedy, but it's actually tragically becoming reality in the USA. I did not serve over 20 years as a naval officer just to be my country become a socialist dictatorship, run by a bunch of anti-gun, anti-hunting, control every aspect of your life "progressives."

Then again, this might have simply been some schmuck that gets kicks out of stirring up trouble. He (she) really has no excuse for not responding being Jerome contacted both parties. I've found the forum to be fascinating and very imformative. I've been inundated with emails from both hunters and outfitters with advice and offers. Lots of information to work from in planning a trip.

Shingani Safaris seems like an up and above board operation. Glad to see he has loyal supporters.

You have to be careful whenever you book a hunt. I am a booking agent and I hunted with an outfitter in 2010 in Natal. I worked with this outfitter all year, we did an outdoor show together and were in process of a partnership. Everything fell through when i learned this person was telling me a multitude of lies. I have not received my trophies, nor do I know if and when I will. He has not turned in proper paperwork to Taxidermist and makes excuses why he has not. The bad thing is that he has told me that the trophies shipped and that he had paid for them. He has told the taxidermist that I have not paid him. Regardless I have had to hire an attorney to help me handle this situation. Thus always make sure you check out all references. Check with Nature Conservation, PHASA and SCI for information before you pay an outfitter. There are lots of reputable outfitters out there, and a few bad apples that ruin it for the rest.

Sorry to hear about your troubles 1stClassAfrica.

I wish more people would publish their hunting stories with information....we only learn from others.

1stClassAfrica said:

You have to be careful whenever you book a hunt. I am a booking agent and I hunted with an outfitter in 2010 in Natal. I worked with this outfitter all year, we did an outdoor show together and were in process of a partnership. Everything fell through when i learned this person was telling me a multitude of lies. I have not received my trophies, nor do I know if and when I will. He has not turned in proper paperwork to Taxidermist and makes excuses why he has not. The bad thing is that he has told me that the trophies shipped and that he had paid for them. He has told the taxidermist that I have not paid him. Regardless I have had to hire an attorney to help me handle this situation. Thus always make sure you check out all references. Check with Nature Conservation, PHASA and SCI for information before you pay an outfitter. There are lots of reputable outfitters out there, and a few bad apples that ruin it for the rest.

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1stClass,

Could i ask which outfitter you used? I'm based in Natal, and am just interested in which you refer to

i hunted with Terblanche Safaris.

there are always 2 sides to every story. some people cant be satisfied no matter what.

Hi my name is Dries and I am baas303. I am not hiding anything and I am not ashamed of my name ( for incase somebody thinks That I am here as a hit and runner ) I really enjoy this thread as I believe others as well. Please tell us how this story ends.
Shoot straight
Dries

Jerome, any feedback on this story ?
Cheers
Dries

Dries, Nothing!