Greetings from Houston Texas & Heading to Africa

Patrick Darby

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It's official, I am going hunting in Africa!

I was the high bidder at a charity auction for a trip with Kuche Safaris back in May of this year and it didn't take me long to find AfricaHunting.com. This site is a wealth of knowledge and has been extremely helpful, insightful, entertaining, informative and a great way to kill time at the office.

I didn’t know a thing about Kuche Safaris when I bought the package but after doing a little digging on AH I was able to get in contact with a couple of hunters who had experience with Kuche and helped put my mind at ease with positive reviews. Kuche is located near Lephalale in the Limpopo province of South Africa. While it might not be the nicest, biggest, or best outfitter it will hopefully serve as a great first time safari.

While this will be my first time to Africa I was lucky enough to be raised with a great deal of exposure to hunting and fishing. I shot my first whitetail deer when I was 7 with the barrel on the .222 resting on my father's shoulder and have been hooked ever since. I am passionate about the outdoors and hunt every chance I get but I have to admit saltwater fishing on the Texas Coast is how I spend most of my time outdoors.

My wife is far from and avid outdoorsman but she refuses to be left at home and will be joining me on this great adventure. She is ultra competitive and she tends to shoot the BB gun better than me, time to work her up to a 30-06 to take some plains game. Personally I will be shooting my Weatherby Vanguard 300 Win. Mag.

It became very real yesterday when I bought our plane tickets for June 2020 using Travel Express on the recommendation of AH. Lori has been extremely helpful and I highly recommend working with her. We will be flying Delta because I wanted to maximize my time in Africa by minimizing travel time, only 20H 45M from Houston to Johannesburg.

We will spend a full 7 days of hunting with Kuche, the package includes an Impala, Blesbuck, Warthog, and Widebeest for each of us. While I know I should take what Africa offers I am thinking about making a few changes to the list: Warthog, Springbuck, Impala, Burchell's Zebra, Porcupine, and Cape Kudu and/or Gemsbuck.

To make the cost for the trip a little more palatable for my wife we decided to extend the trip and spend 3 full days down in Cape Town to tour some vineyards and do some touristy stuff. I have a buddy who worked for Backroads/Semester at Sea in Cape Town and has sourced me with several things to do and places to eat, but I am open to suggestions.

For me the research and preparation of a trip is half the fun so I look forward to spending many hours on this site and appreciate all the information I receive. I will be sure and keep everyone posted along the way and provide my knowledge when applicable.
 
Welcome aboard Pat. There are a lot of AH members in the Houston area. Have you tried contacting any of them yet? This is one site where you can develop "virtual" friends in a relatively short time. A couple of my Houston based buddies are leaving for Zimbabwe this coming Monday with Cape Buffalo and eland on the menu. Several manufacturers make rifles specifically designed for women. So unless your 300 WM fits her perfectly, you might want to check into it.
 
Welcome to AH and good luck on your trip! Looking forward to reading the hunt report!!
 
Welcome aboard, and best of luck!!
 
Welcome to AH Patrick! Great intro. Have fun preparing for your hunt.
 
Welcome to AH Patrick !
 
Hello and welcome!
 
Welcome to AH sir! I hope you and the wife enjoy the hunt and side trips.
 
Giday and welcome to the A H forums Pat
 
Welcome, enjoy the journey and make sure you take a journal so you can do up a report for us when you return.
 
Patrick - welcome to AH, we look forward to helping you with your trip!
 
Welcome to AH, Patrick!
 
Welcome to our forum Patrick and good luck on your first African hunt! You will love it.
 
Welcome to AH from Sugar Land!
 
Welcome aboard neighbor!

Reading your post sure reminded me of 5 years ago, when I was putting together the first trip over for my wife and I. We both have very fond memories of the trip and while my wife is not joining me Monday for the trip to Zim (this one is a little too "wild" for her), I honestly believe she would love to do another more civilized PG hunt one day.

Glad you are soaking it all in and enjoying the trip, long before the plane ride starts!

Don't hesitate to pump the forum members for info, if you cannot find what you need via search.


Tim
 
Welcome! I’m certain the research will make your trip even more fun. I did for me.

I’m with @Shootist43 you should consider getting your wife her own rifle. That also might get her more involved in the hunting side of things. (Because there will be more than one trip...)

As for your list, It will change, and change, and then when there, just listen to your PH.
 
Welcome to AH. As you’ve already found out, there are a lot of people on this forum that can help you with anything concerning African hunting.
Congratulations on your first safari. My wife went with me on my first safari. She doesn’t hunt but had a great time just viewing the animals.
 
Welcome to AH!
 
Awesome introduction and bio if you will. Your trip will be fabulous and your experience life changing. Africa will do that to you. Hunting will do that to you as you well know. Blessings fora wonderful trip, and welcome to the AH community!
 

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