First Safari - What would you do different?

[Hunter-Habib]

1. Rift Valley in Kenya, 1974.

2. I accidentally wounded a cow Cape buffalo because my bullet (a solid) completely passed through my intended target animal (a bull) and hit her. In modern times, I would be far more cautious about what’s behind my target animal and I would never use a solid bullet on a Cape buffalo ever again. I also lost a lion over bait because my bullet (one of those beastly Winchester Silver Tips) completely broke apart without penetrating four inches of lion chestal muscle. My white hunter spoored the wounded lion and finished him off during the next day when he charged. In modern times, I would much prefer a Nosler AccuBond bullet.

3. I’d recommend Cape buffalo, eland, kudu, impala, bushbuck & warthog for the first timer. Also Guinea fowl & crested francolin if (like me) they enjoy wing shooting.

Some photographs from my first Safari.

 

[3chunter]

It’s was awesome! My second trip was even more awesome.
I passed on a many duiker that were shooters and killed my list and then went for duiker very last day and didn’t see one.
Also saw a giant steenbok that we should have just drove by and came back to stalk but he wasn’t on my list either and it was early on in hunt and we were hunting kudu. It was trophy of lifetime type steenbok.
My advice: bring a few more thousand dollars extra so you can be flexible on game. It will 100% help the trip and greatly improve your experience.
And Do not go less than 8 days, 10 full days minimum if you can.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

My first safari was Namibia in 2007. If I could have changed anything, it would have been 20 years earlier!

My current thoughts are, now that I'm retired and have plenty of time, go for longer periods. Air travel is a pain and is expensive, so I will go to Africa less frequently, but hunt longer. I spent all of July last year in Namibia and loved it. In 2-3 years, will do something similar. Hopefully with some of my kids and grandkids.

 

[Arty0802]

I am new to the site. Signed up a bit ago but only recently started to really pay attention to the wealth of information available here. I am trying to make notes and retain as much useful information as possible for my 2027 trip.

One thing I keep reading is that people keep saying dont get taxidermy . This I just cannot wrap my head around. I am hoping to get a few shoulder mounts, skull mounts, rug, and maybe even a full body mount if I can get a nice Nyala. I just couldnt imagine not having some trophies. More than likely I will end up saying...well I should have listened to them. But for now I must have a few African trophies.

I think the sensible middle ground would be to prioritize what animals/specimens would be worth the shoulder mounts, etc. I also agree with you that no taxidermy just wouldn't do it for me. I like to look around my home and see the memories. But I think the point a lot of the other members are making is that it will start to add up if not regulated. At the end of the day, do what makes you happy!

 

[Elkeater]

I had a great first safari in 2024. I got lucky. I hadn’t even considered going to Africa and then my brother and SIL bought an auction hunt and invited us. Had no idea who we were even going with or where they were. Again got very lucky and our trip turned out great. Comfortable accommodations, our PH meshed well with our group and took great care of my kids and was very patient with them. Food was good simple home cooked meals. And we took all the animals in our package as well a several add ons at fair prices. Again I got lucky.

Knowing what I know now I would go with one of our site sponsors most likely and have a much better idea of what’s going on. I would take my own rifle instead of renting, I would get a little less taxidermy because this isn’t going to be my one and done. I have to go back. I would have shot the baboon and the zebra that i passed on.

 

[Philip Glass]

1.What was your first Safari experience like? 2.What would you do different?
3.What would you recommend for the first time safari planner?

My first Safari wasn’t a disaster, but it could’ve been better.

A good friend of mine hunted with Cristo Kaiser at Unico Safaris. I met Cristo in 2006 and spent some time with him here in the states. He was a great guy, very charismatic, and pleasure to be around. After talking a while with Christo and planning my first Safari, I booked with him for September 2007. Sadly, Christo got killed by an elephant in May 2007 just before my hunt.

This changed everything about my hunt. I ended up hunting with a young PH at Unico, not likely a regular, and had a bad experience with him and had to switch to another PH to finish my Safari the way that I would feel good about it.

It didn’t help that I wasn’t completely prepared and more dependent on Christo and our plans. My inexperience, and not sticking to my gut feeling, led to having to shoot a second Kudu to get a mature bull.

I almost considered not taking my second Safari due to my first experience. I lurked here for quite a while before joining AH and I’m glad I finally joined.

Having access to AfricaHunting.com and all the collective resources here, including the members input on actual firsthand experience with Safari hunting, changed my perspective. This site provides a huge advantage for any hunter planning their first Safari.

There was enough information here for me to take a chance on another Safari and I’m sure glad I did!

I have to think a bit as it was 1997 when I went on my first safari. I needed wool socks because I got blisters with my Justin work boots and cotton socks! Ranging and dialing was not a thing back then but it would have been nice. My trusty .30-06 was plenty of gun but at 400yd it drops a bit!

 

[dogcat1]

As to taxidermy, you can expect to pay $2500 or more to ship the hides/horns back to the USA. More likely $5k.
Each head will cost $1000 to mount and get to you.
So, if cash is no big deal, go with a lot of heads.

Twenty years after my first safari, I am now getting rid of my mounts via the auction process. I expect to get about $50 per head. I enjoyed owning them and the memories but I spend about $100k on taxidermy/shipping/moving them, etc. I can afford it, but be aware, the cost never really stops.

 

[Badjer]

There are many things I didn't like from my first safari. However; being a member of this forum and reading others posts over the last 4 1/2 years has made me want to try again.
One thing I should have done different was to have my trophies dipped and packed rather than mounted in Africa.
I only have two animals left that I want capes from so taxidermy will be less of a headache going forward.

 

[rookhawk]

1.What was your first Safari experience like?
2.What would you do different?
3.What would you recommend for the first time safari planner?

My first Safari wasn’t a disaster, but it could’ve been better.

A good friend of mine hunted with Cristo Kaiser at Unico Safaris. I met Cristo in 2006 and spent some time with him here in the states. He was a great guy, very charismatic, and pleasure to be around. After talking a while with Christo and planning my first Safari, I booked with him for September 2007. Sadly, Christo got killed by an elephant in May 2007 just before my hunt.

This changed everything about my hunt. I ended up hunting with a young PH at Unico, not likely a regular, and had a bad experience with him and had to switch to another PH to finish my Safari the way that I would feel good about it.

It didn’t help that I wasn’t completely prepared and more dependent on Christo and our plans. My inexperience, and not sticking to my gut feeling, led to having to shoot a second Kudu to get a mature bull.

I almost considered not taking my second Safari due to my first experience. I lurked here for quite a while before joining AH and I’m glad I finally joined.

Having access to AfricaHunting.com and all the collective resources here, including the members input on actual firsthand experience with Safari hunting, changed my perspective. This site provides a huge advantage for any hunter planning their first Safari.

There was enough information here for me to take a chance on another Safari and I’m sure glad I did!

I made a mistake on mine because I listened to what the PH could provide, rather than what I could afford.

Normally, I paint a picture in my mind of the finest possible good/service/experience that can possibly be fathomed. I then decide what I'm willing to give up for practicality and cost efficacy.

Had I done that, I would have realized I could have done a Dangerous Game hunt in the same area for a mere $3000 more. I could have stayed another 3-5 days for a mere $1000 more. That was very stupid.

I particularly disagree with people that have the mindset of "baby steps", "start with a smaller/cheaper X". It's my life, my time, my money, I don't like this warped mindset of forcing myself to do hard-knocks and suffering. As a wildly exaggerated analogy, its telling Bill Gates his first sportscar should be a chevy impala, not a ferrari. <- I don't think he needs to "put in his dues".

Buy the best hunt you can afford within your budget in the wildest area you can afford within your budget. For me, Zimbabwe DG hunts are my financial sweetspot because I expect more than RSA can provide and I cannot afford Tanzania. I'm happy with my compromise between those extremes, but I regret that I got talked into a "starter hunt" when my lost wages and time away from work were far more painful to me than spending a few thousand more for a far better hunt.

 

[Charlie64]

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Having been born in Nairobi & with an uncle that was a game warden within the Game Department, I suppose my first safari was as an infant observer along with my two cousins. From a very early age the three of us would accompany the grown ups into the bush for long weekends or longer holidays. I remember to this day how camp would be set up with two sleeping tents & a mess tent in the middle & half a dozen staff, busying themselves around the camp with cooking & cleaning & tending the fire. When the grown ups sat by the fire after dinner with large glasses of brandy & soda, we three children we packed into the rear of one of the Landys with old grey woollen blankets & the spare tires as pillows! & a couple of Alsatian dogs named Nyeusi & Fiki (which I guess would have been short for Rafiki). Fun days where we proved that you could go three or four days in the bush without a shower or bath & survive! A long time ago but the memories are still clear.

The first safari where I actually carried a rifle & I was the one to call the shots (so to speak) was many years later with my wife in South Africa. Looking back, I would not have changed anything other than maybe a couple more days. It was the first of many & hopefully still many to come.

I do less taxidermy nowadays, mainly because I have become more selective on what we have mounted. Yet to me taxidermy, whether a shoulder mount or a Euro skull mount, is an integral part of the whole thing, if that makes sense.

Our youngest is a keen hunter too & he too was thrown into the back of a Landy at around the age of six when we relocated to RSA & used to go hunting every other weekend in winter. He shot his first buck at the age of 6 & has carried on hunting with a passion since.

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[Tundra Tiger]

1. Beyond my wildest hopes, and I had really lofty expectations.

2. Add more days? Otherwise not a thing. Maybe have shot that eland on day one, but then I wouldn't have had the crazy experience with my blue wildebeest.

3. Use this site to select a first trip outfitter. Talking with site members about site sponsors makes it relatively goof proof, IMHO.

 

[SETH RINGER]

MY FIRST, GUESS I GOT LUCKY. BOOKED IN 2000 BEFORE I HAD BEEN TO A CONVENTION BUT HAD FIGURED OUT WWW. PLANNED IT OUT FOR 2002.
UPPER DECK CATTLE CLASS ON A SOUTH AFRICA AIRLINES FLIGHT FFL TO CPT TO SPEND MY 40TH BDAY. ON TO ANT AFRICA SAFARIS IN LIMPOPO TO DO OUR HUNT (THINK HE IS JUST DOING HORSEBACK/PHOTO TYPE SAFARIS NOW).
LIFE CHANGING EXPERIANCE. BEST OF TIMES. WIFE LOVED IT (HAD TO CONVINCE HER SHE WAS NOT AN AFRICAN PRINCESS AFTER WE GOT BACK). WISH I HAD MORE $$ AT THE TIME FOR TROPHYS BUT TOOK KUDU, WARTHOG, IMPALA, ZEBRA, AND TRACKED ELAND FOR MILES.
SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN "ONCE IN A LIFE TIME" AND IT WAS BUT LIFE CONTINUES AND I'M THINKING ONE MORE WITH KIDS, GRNDKIDS, AND GREAT GRANDKIDS.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

my first trip was kind of ok, but quite a few things I was not happy about but not knowing anything about going I have learned so much. First thing I wish I had found this site before I booked my trip with some other guys I had not meet before. Well, live and learn, going this Sept for my trip number 4 and still learning. one thing for sure I hope my body can hold up for more more trips.

 

[Rare Breed]

Also, it's you're much more likely to enjoy yourself if you "click" with your PH. That's why speaking to them at one of the hunting shows is such a win.

In my first safari I wish I had been more flexible with the animals I took. Still regret passing up a monster Water buck on my first hunt!!!

 

[Betterinthebush]

In my first safari I wish I had been more flexible with the animals I took. Still regret passing up a monster Water buck on my first hunt!!!

Was your first a PG or DG?

 

[Safari Dave]

I think a first safari to South Africa for PG is the correct approach.

In some countries, you have to get permits in advance and might not even see the animal for which you have a permit. (It's happened to me)

On most South African safaris, the landowner owns the game, so you can, usually, take a really nice animal, if the opportunity presents itself, and pass on smaller animals without incurring the cost of a pre-purchased permit.


This type of safari lets one experience Africa, without the concern of being off-grid, using satellite phones, or an inReach, or paying for Global Rescue.


(Of course, if you are already experienced in doing wilderness hunts then this wouldn't be as much a concern)




On the second (and subsequent hunts), I would go for "wild Africa."


Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, etc.

 

[Betterinthebush]

Well said, @Safari Dave

 

[Russ16]

I think a first safari to South Africa for PG is the correct approach.

In some countries, you have to get permits in advance and might not even see the animal for which you have a permit. (It's happened to me)

On most South African safaris, the landowner owns the game, so you can, usually, take a really nice animal, if the opportunity presents itself, and pass on smaller animals without incurring the cost of a pre-purchased permit.


This type of safari lets one experience Africa, without the concern of being off-grid, using satellite phones, or an inReach, or paying for Global Rescue.


(Of course, if you are already experienced in doing wilderness hunts then this wouldn't be as much a concern)




On the second (and subsequent hunts), I would go for "wild Africa."


Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, etc.

On the other hand bent off grid and needing a sat phone is the reason I want to go. That and I prefer the risk of coming home empty handed.

That’s why I’ve held off going until I could afford wild Africa.

But as I’ve said before where I’m hunting so at least as important to me as what I’m hunting.

 

[Safari Dave]

Oh, I get it completely.

I'm actually "wired" the same way, but most folks with wife, kids, elderly parents, etc. find a great deal of comfort in being connected to home, if a situation arises.

 

[BryceM]

I would learn to really shoot from the sticks before my first safari instead of between my second and third. It wasn't a disaster, but it's more fun to do a thing correctly.

I would relax more. I had a bad case of the "get-it-all-done-in-one-trip" disease. Stuff like flat tires and little detours for random errands really bothered me. It's Africa. Part of the charm is that the darndest things happen when you least expect them. Go with it.

Trust the PH. It's his country, and he knows what he's doing.

Take fewer clothes. You're not likely to have tea with the queen.

Don't neglect the "lesser" trophies. Klipspringer hunts and springbok hunts can be extremely fun!

If the PH is excited about an animal, don't ask a lot of questions. Shoot the thing! It might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Learn the names of everyone. Almost everyone there is busting their hump to help you have a good time.

Listen to the birds. Look at the bugs. Explore the stars. One of my favorite memories is being stuck after dark at the top of a mountain ridge in the Khomas Hochland of Namibia. We were in a cruiser with a sick radiator and it took the boys more than an hour to run some water up to us. It was impossibly dark. I grew up in the rural Rockies, but never in my life have I seen stars like that. There wasn't a drop of man-made light anywhere. Night noises in Africa are cool!

Go for a night drive or a night hunt. It's an entirely different place.

If you can afford it, and hunting big cats, elephants, or certain rare antelope is important to you, get it done. You never know what might happen with the political landscape. Even little changes can put things out of reach price-wise. Animal epidemics happen. If one or two countries close to hunting, prices jump quickly. You never know when your health runs out either.

Try everything on the plate. It's amazingly fun to let people know that zebra tastes better than crocodile, and crocodile is better than giraffe.