Family Safari Questions...

Backcountryj.laf

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Family Safari

Good morning from Canada.

I’m looking to plan my first safari in July or august of 2022. I would like to bring my young family with me and I have a lot of questions. Perhaps I’m searching for a ghost but this seems to be the place to help me find it. I’ve been doing some research and finding that for every answer I have more questions. Here are a few of the most important questions I have right now.

1). What regions of South Africa would provide for exceptional hunting opportunities but also provide the opportunity for family adventures; beaches, parks, fishing, ect. Safety is paramount.

2). I understand that South Africa has a lot of introduced species and I would like to take some of those but I want to actually hunt for them not shoot them from a truck. I want as authentic an experience as I possibly can, knowing full well that there will be high fenced and introduced animals. I am used to hunting the mountains of Alberta. What regions of Africa should I be looking at to provide a great hunting experience?

3). The animals currently on my list are in order of importance; gemsbok, sable (I understand this may feel artificial anywhere in South Africa, kudu, springbuck, zebra, impala, warthog. What would be the best way to negotiate prices? Should I look to hunt different species in different areas? Should I plan on modifying my list to provide a better hunting experience.

thank you for your time and responses.
 
I will reply to what I know:

- Shooting from car, do not worry about. You may go by bakkie, 4wd, but once the animals are sighted you will stalk. Shooting from car is not standard for south africa, nor Namibia.

- Regarding negotiating the prices, first go to deals and offer section of the forum and get familar with pricing. You can make your own thread, asking for safari you just described, sponsors will contact you..

- Your timing is good, for safari in 2022, and to negotiate the price now, you may get a good deal, with some agreed deposit in advance..

- Regarding species to hunt, discuss in detail with outiftters what they would reccomend. I would not push for species in various distant hunting areas, not to loose time driving there, but choose outfitter who can have acceptable species within his property, or close by. The keyword is communication, and ask what is not clear. Outfitters, sponsors of this forum will gladly communicate with you.

Welcome to the forum!
 
Welcome to AH !
 
Welcome to AH.
 
Welcome aboard. Sounds like the Eastern Cape would be a good choice for hunting and family outings. There is a lot to see and do around the southern tip of RSA.Take the Garden Route, visit Kimberly diamond mine, fishing off the coast, beaches, shopping, Addo Elephant Park.
 
Welcome to AH Backcountryj.laf!
 
Most folks hunt in RSA winter time, which make beaches cold. Unless you are willing to do a lot of flying around RSA, the Western Cape would be your best bet for what you are looking for combining family and hunting. And you can get flights into Cape Town avoiding JNB.

If you are looking for large "farm" the Northern Cape has those and its remote Flights to Kimberly and Sishen (but not from CPT).
 
Backcountryj.laf, welcome to the AH forum! Hope you can find what you are looking for. I’m certain some of the outfitters on here will be seeing this and replying.
 
I will reply to what I know:

- Shooting from car, do not worry about. You may go by bakkie, 4wd, but once the animals are sighted you will stalk. Shooting from car is not standard for south africa, nor Namibia.
You dont have to look far on YouTube to see this happening. Most reputable outfitters dont do this and want you to actually hunt for your animals, but express to anyone you're looking to book with your desire to work for the animals and have a fair chase experience, even if its behind a fence.
 
We are based in the North West Province, but offer hunting excursions through out South Africa and its neighboring countries, as do most outfitters. If there is a outfitter you know or have seen that you like, enquire with them first, as they would most likely be able to accommodate you in different provinces. With what you have described, I would say your best bet would be to look at the Eastern Cape. The Eastern Cape is a province in South Africa which is well known for its hunting. You are most likely to get a connecting flight from Johannesburg to either Port Elizabeth (P.E.) or Port Alfred. From there you would be collected by your Outfitter and transferred to your hunting location. Port Elizabeth is a larger city, giving you plenty of opportunity to do things with your family, however I do recommend at least looking into the following, your Outfitter should easily be able to either take you or arrange a outing to these places:
Addo National Park - https://www.sanparks.org/parks/addo/
Kragga Kamma Game Park - https://www.kraggakamma.co.za/
Shamwari Game Reserve - https://www.shamwari.com/
The Kids might enjoy visiting the penguins at SANCCOB - https://sanccob.co.za/
those are just a few options, but there is plenty more to do.

Hunting in the eastern cape varies from flat areas to mountainous regions. you should feel right at home. Due to the size of the properties, you would most likely do spot and stalk hunting from a vehicle as is the case in the whole of South Africa and Africa as a whole really. This method allows us to cover more ground. Although most hunting vehicles are equipped with shooting benches, most outfitter's and Professional Hunters would not entertain the idea of shooting of the truck, this is usually reserved for people who have medical constraints, prohibiting them from continuously walking/stalking and so on.

The outfitter will arrange your hunt and ensure that it is legal, ethical and logistically orchestrated however, it is your PH that will provide you with the actual hunting experience. Sometimes you will have an Outfitter as your PH too or you will be hunting with a PH that is contracted by the Outfitter, either case should have no bearing on your decision, but it would be good for you to know before hand who you would be hunting with and the capabilities and experience of the Professional Hunter.
 
I think 80% of outfitters in South Africa or Namibia could easily put together a quality family safari for you. My vote for South Africa though would go to eastern cape. I hunted there in March 2020. Scenery and areas were beautiful, the coastal property we hunted had miles of coastline and he organizes shark fishing right on the beach on the property now. Eastern cape value for the experience and cost I think is unbeatable also. You asked about South Africa, but have you considered Namibia? Much less people and larger properties and also much better hunting for gemsbok there. Shark fishing can easily be organized there as well or a visit to etosha national park. Both countries will be equally safe with a quality outfitter, but I feel safer in Namibia. For negotiating costs, simply send an outfitter your goals, days, animals and they will send you a custom package quote. An important thing you should ask outfitters is how many other guests will be hunting at same time and decide what is and isn’t acceptable to you for what you want.
 
Welcome aboard Backcountryj.laf. There are lots of Outfitter/Sponsors of AH that can accommodate your wishes. Using one of them would be your best bet. Why, because they are vetted on a regular basis and have got to deliver. You won't be doing any shooting off a truck, but rather you will need a very comfortable pair of hunting boots. Stalks will often be measured in KM or miles. South Africa has a number of large Parks where the animals roam freely, killing what they need to for survival. Depending on the age and understanding of your youngsters watching one animal kill and eat another may be a bit much. Start your planning by making a spreadsheet showing / comparing the offers. Open communication will eliminate any real surprises and or disappointments.
 
Welcome to AH. If you have an interest in Botswana we can certainly help. We hunt massive areas and all of our game is naturally occurring. It is one of the safest countries in Africa, so no issue for your family. Would be happy to work something out if your interested.
 
Welcome welcome welcome

Seems to me what you are looking for should be fairly easily taken care of
 
Family Safari

Good morning from Canada.

I’m looking to plan my first safari in July or august of 2022. I would like to bring my young family with me and I have a lot of questions. Perhaps I’m searching for a ghost but this seems to be the place to help me find it. I’ve been doing some research and finding that for every answer I have more questions. Here are a few of the most important questions I have right now.

1). What regions of South Africa would provide for exceptional hunting opportunities but also provide the opportunity for family adventures; beaches, parks, fishing, ect. Safety is paramount.

2). I understand that South Africa has a lot of introduced species and I would like to take some of those but I want to actually hunt for them not shoot them from a truck. I want as authentic an experience as I possibly can, knowing full well that there will be high fenced and introduced animals. I am used to hunting the mountains of Alberta. What regions of Africa should I be looking at to provide a great hunting experience?

3). The animals currently on my list are in order of importance; gemsbok, sable (I understand this may feel artificial anywhere in South Africa, kudu, springbuck, zebra, impala, warthog. What would be the best way to negotiate prices? Should I look to hunt different species in different areas? Should I plan on modifying my list to provide a better hunting experience.

thank you for your time and responses.
Welcome to the forum sir. Please drop me a PM, and I will be happy to present you with some options.
All the best with your research.

Take Care,
Marius Goosen
 
So much information here already. I’m finding it very interesting that so many have suggested the eastern cape. This is a wonderful start for me to begin my research. What is it about the eastern cape that makes you all think it would be a good fit?
I’m definitely not opposed to hunting. Another country in Africa as long as it would provide the experience I’m looking for. In fact I would possibly entertain the idea of spending 5-7 days at a few different locations or countries.
 
Welcome to AH from a fellow Canuck, Eastern Cape would probably cover you off. Lots of reputable outfitters on here that would be more than willing to help you out.
 
What is it about the eastern cape that makes you all think it would be a good fit?
I’ve only been to eastern cape once but I really want to go again. I feel Limpopo is almost getting too developed, lots of towns and people, paved highways, traffic, smaller properties and fencing, and much more intensive game farming. From what I saw in eastern cape it was much less developed. Much larger distances between towns, less paved roads, different terrains only couple hours apart, larger properties and less game farming. Pricing seems much better overall compared to other areas as well, I really thought it was one of the best values for the experience available. I was really impressed with how beautiful it was too. There are a lot of good reports on good outfitters in eastern cape on here, but here is mine from March. It’s a long report, but just a quick scroll through the photos will explain better than my words.
 

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