I guess I might be getting old, but...

It is a rude trend, and getting worse all the time. Even dangerous, as some are talking on their phones and texting while driving, which by the way is illegal in my country.

I do take my phone to Africa, just to be in touch in case of an emergency and to reassure my wife every now and then that i´m still alive.
 
It seems to be the way the world is headed. One of my grandsons is addicted to Fortnight. In an attempt to correct this, I gave him a rod and reel and some tackle for Christmas. Not sure it will work, though. My granddaughters think I'm crazy because I seldom turn my cell phone on. Growing up we had one phone and it was a party line. Sitting around the fire telling stories (and some lies) is a big part of hunting for me. Just gettin old I guess.
old???i look at it as ageing,like fine wine,gurgle,gurgle,aaaahhh.
 
I have a smart phone and the damn thing is smarter than I am. I use it as a phone only. No facebook or any of that garbage. I have it in my pocket when I hunt only to take pics of the animal. I use it at night as an alarm clock, otherwise it's off. Aggravates me to no end when I'm around my grandkids. They don't talk to anyone, got their faces stuck in those things.

I may be showing my age because when I was a kid we didn't have a phone til I was in High School and it was a rotary with a 3 digit number on a party line. Not even a phone booth in town. We talked to each other face to face or actually wrote letters, well, certain notes, in school, that were surreptitiously transferred to one another. Nowadays young folk can hardly speak intelligibly and cursive is beyond comprehension. Some call it progress but I have to wonder sometimes.

Ah, yes. Life was so simple way back then. I guess just because we didn't know any better.
 
Good day guys,

I am a young but not so young anymore outfitter. I completely agree with you guys, I am on my phone a lot too if I am not hunting, mostly for business. I also do take my phone with me when we hunt but also mostly for when radios are not working and I might need to call if there is any coverage... As a outfitter it is becoming a real problem finding younger generation PH's that would not be on their phones constantly while being in camp with clients or hunting! I am not saying all of them, but it is definitely becoming a bigger problem everyday in our industry. SO I would not say it is because your getting old sir, it is a modern day problem in my opinion.

My new rules in camp is that PH's or any staff can do their work / social media surfing after clients went to bed at night..... If I catch them on their phones it will be locked up until the next day like you would punish a young kid.... hahaha But it seems to be working!

After all coming to Africa is all about sharing a camp fire and stories of future and past safaris..... In my opinion that is what build half of the memories on a safari!

All my best,

Jacques
 
After all coming to Africa is all about sharing a camp fire and stories of future and past safaris..... In my opinion that is what build half of the memories on a safari!

All my best,

Jacques


Absolutely correct, sir.
 
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I'm guilty. I take my phone with me to Africa. I sell on a few forums and need to know their status and answer questions.
 
It just occurred to me that in following this thread I have my nose stuck in a "device" LOL.
 
I’m not a phone guy. Unless I leave the house,I seldom have it on me. On my most recent safari, wi-fi was spotty, only available in one corner of the dinning area. I FaceTimed my wife three times, to check on her (heath issue) and to let her know I wasn’t stomped by a rhino, more than anything else. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have used my phone.
I’d rather listen to the jackals than play with my phone.
 
I've had had several PHs in hides with me that were on their phones a lot, it's like they really don't want to be there it's just a job. If they find it too boring to sit in a hide they should find other employment! I'm the last dinosaur as I don't have a cell phone, just a home phone with a answering machine.
 
I have a smart phone and the damn thing is smarter than I am. I use it as a phone only. No facebook or any of that garbage. I have it in my pocket when I hunt only to take pics of the animal. I use it at night as an alarm clock, otherwise it's off. Aggravates me to no end when I'm around my grandkids. They don't talk to anyone, got their faces stuck in those things.

I may be showing my age because when I was a kid we didn't have a phone til I was in High School and it was a rotary with a 3 digit number on a party line. Not even a phone booth in town. We talked to each other face to face or actually wrote letters, well, certain notes, in school, that were surreptitiously transferred to one another. Nowadays young folk can hardly speak intelligibly and cursive is beyond comprehension. Some call it progress but I have to wonder sometimes.

Ah, yes. Life was so simple way back then. I guess just because we didn't know any better.
perhaps if we new,we wouldnt of advanced as fast and far as we did.
 
I can say that I take my phone with me but it is turned off. I have such great luck that I would probably turn the stupid thing on and it would ding ding ding just as something that I really wanted to shoot came into the hide. I admit it is easy to use it for taking after the hunt photographs to send to family and such, but sure would have hated missing one of my animals last year. Badabing badaboom!!!! Too bad, so sad.
 
I recently found myself on a remote hunting trip with 6 younger fellows all of them 20 or 30 something. The days were short, the weather was pretty crappy, we didn't get to hunt the first 2 days and that left us with a lot of down time. It used to be that we would pass the time sitting around drinking coffee, sharing stories and getting to know each other a bit better. But on this particular hunt there happened to be wi-fi in camp and all those young guys wanted to do was sit around and stare at their cell phones, catch up on Facebook and God only knows what else. It was like pulling teeth just trying to get their attention long enough to get them to the table for meals and as soon as they were finished eating they went right back into the sitting room and got right back on their phones. I might be showing my age but if that's the way things are going to be from now on I'm damn glad that I grew up without the internet and cell phones. Have any of you other older fellows ever experienced anything like this? Is this the new norm?
@jduckhunter
Fortunately when I hunt with my 15 year old internet connected son he wants to go to places where we don't have phone or internet access. His reason I get to much of it at school and home I need a break from it all. Yeah no electronic devices while away but as soon as he get access again it's straight back on it posting his trip.
I have told him at home if he gets sick of it it has an off button. Just the thought of that tho is akin to taking his life away. God knows how he would contact his mate a few steers away without it. His legs only seem to work out bush, to walk a kilometre to see his friend NO WAY. Walk 20 kilometers hunting let's go dad. Go figure.
Bo
 
I’ll have to admit my last two trips I was on the internet almost nightly or mid day break trying to keep you guys up to date on my hunt. Next trip there will be no internet service at the Limpopo tent camp, so you will have to wait until I get back to the airport in Joberg before my report.

But jduckhunter, it even seems like the PHes are communicating a lot on their phones. Partly keeping up with their families and partly communicating with other PHes.

I’ll have to admit I’ve had internet connections with business for over 30 years. It is highly addictive.

It was pretty nice back in the day with a simpler life. My parents when growing up didn’t have indoor plumbing and had to hand pump their water. Not sure I’d want to go that far back in the past(n):rolleyes:!!!
@Ridgewalker
I would prefer you to have fun on your hunt and read it after your hunt. I will just have to wait iu a bit longer but so what. Time on the phone or computer instead of hunting, socializing at camp is time you can't get back.
My phone stayed on flight mode the entire time I was away. It was only used as a camera and a n alarm clock.
Bob
 
It is a rude trend, and getting worse all the time. Even dangerous, as some are talking on their phones and texting while driving, which by the way is illegal in my country.

I do take my phone to Africa, just to be in touch in case of an emergency and to reassure my wife every now and then that i´m still alive.
@Nyati
I couldn't imagine anything worse than lining up for a shot on the trophy of a lifetime and the phone in your shirt pocket rings.
Bob
 
at 81 my wife and i still use land line phones,one step above the dial model.how i ever learned how to use a computer ill never know.i doubt i could even dial 911 on a smart phone and will never try.we are quite happy with our out dated life style,life together is good.
 
at 81 my wife and i still use land line phones,one step above the dial model.how i ever learned how to use a computer ill never know.i doubt i could even dial 911 on a smart phone and will never try.we are quite happy with our out dated life style,life together is good.
But you’re a great shot!
 
I agree fully with Jduckhunter - what is the purpose of going to the bush and going hunting if u going to be on your PC or smart phone most of the time . The reason I hunt is to get into the bush and enjoy nature without all the technological distractions . Like most these days I also have a job in which I am reliant on my PC and cell phone , but when I go to the bush my PC does not go with and my cell phone is only used in emergencies and to make contact with my wife once in while if the signal allows it .
I cannot think of anything that makes less sense than sitting around a bushveld fire and one is preoccupied with ones cell phone . I also think it is bad manners to be on ones cell phone when in good company and u could be having great conversation instead .
I have taught my kids to appreciate nature and hopefully in the coming years I will be able to play a part in teaching my grandkids about what is important , and I can promise u it will not include PCs , cell phones , TVs and video Games .
One of my pet hates is going to the Kruger Park ( or any bush destination for that matter ) and having to put up with TVs and radios in the camps - if a person wants to watch TV or make a noise with no respect for nature then why not just stay at home ?
Apart from the technology issues I also cannot understand why some "hunters" go hunting but they are drunk most of the time , the first night normally being the worst .
Maybe I am also getting old , but I prefer the "old school" ways and the old traditions , it allows one to appreciate what is important - nature , good company , ethical hunting and a fair chase ! ( Just my opinion )
 
I recently found myself on a remote hunting trip with 6 younger fellows all of them 20 or 30 something. The days were short, the weather was pretty crappy, we didn't get to hunt the first 2 days and that left us with a lot of down time. It used to be that we would pass the time sitting around drinking coffee, sharing stories and getting to know each other a bit better. But on this particular hunt there happened to be wi-fi in camp and all those young guys wanted to do was sit around and stare at their cell phones, catch up on Facebook and God only knows what else. It was like pulling teeth just trying to get their attention long enough to get them to the table for meals and as soon as they were finished eating they went right back into the sitting room and got right back on their phones. I might be showing my age but if that's the way things are going to be from now on I'm damn glad that I grew up without the internet and cell phones. Have any of you other older fellows ever experienced anything like this? Is this the new norm?
Unfortunately, you are absolutely correct. The whole reason I hunt and fish is to get away from it all. I understand the importance of being "connected" in the event of an emergency, etc., but what is the point of going on a trip if you are going to be doing something you could be doing from your couch?

One of the best lessons that was ever told to me was along these lines. It was February of 2001. My mother was involved in the pharmaceutical industry. Specifically, it was a small chain that focused on homeopathic remedies and such, with prescriptions being a last resort. At any rate, they also had a compounding pharmacy. Something like 95% of medicines, pharmaceuticals and otherwise, have their origin in the tropics. Every other year, my mother would lead a trip to the Peruvian Amazon to speak with medicine men, shamans, and the like. This was to see what sorts of plants they used for particular ailments. It eventually turned into a publicity stunt, and one year they even had a PBS film crew come along. To this day, you can sometimes see it on TV.

Anyhow, in 2001, I had the opportunity to tag along. Our guide, Julio, was of a tribe that did not have an official name. Missionaries found his family when he was a young teenager, and eventually Julio went to the city of Iquitos for a formal education.

And now the point of this wordy reply. We were on either the Amazon or Rio Napo, and were watching the pink river dolphins. Many of the group were observing these unique creatures through their viewfinders, trying to document this experience on film. After several minutes of this, Julio very kindly, yet firmly, advised against trying to take photos. Instead, he insisted that we take in the moment. Enjoy it. Savor it. Instead of being so focused on snapping the perfect shot. As he put it, if we wanted a picture, we could look in a book, or in a Natural Geographic (with the internet not being what it is today). There are professional photographers that spend thousands of hours trying to get the perfect shot. The moments we were there with the dolphins were fleeting, so we should just take it in and make the memories.

That was a very poignant lesson for me as a 15 year old boy. Perhaps it is part of the reason my head is always in the clouds. Just observing, reflecting, and dreaming.

Speaking of dreaming...

We were also rocked awake one night by the bellowing, guttural roar of none other than Panthera onca. I have never had a more visceral experience. Suddenly the mosquito nets in which we were sleeping seemed quite...inadequate. To live in the days when one could hunt these powerful cats! See, there I go, dreaming, scheming, and wishing again...
 
My first several African safaris we had short wave radio in camp which we only used for necessities or emergencies and survived just fine. For example, my first Zambia Safari was forty days and as i recall sent a couple telegraph messages during that period. Theses days, a hundred safaris later, I have a satellite phone And check in occasionally. Must confess the world seems to get along without me.
 
That reminds me of a funny scene when I was hunting with Barry Style at Kazuma in 2015. I never saw Barry use his phone, and there was no real internet service at the camp, but occasionally--like once every four or five days--we would come to a tall hill where the phones could get sporadic service, and the younger trackers and driver (Mbuti, Steven, and the game game scout whose name I swear was Tarzan) would all break out their phones. I don't remember seeing Kennedy, the older, senior tracker, use his phone, if he had one. I also saw the younger guys climb a ladder next to a very tall tree at camp in order to get a cell phone signal. I guess young guys and technology have a special affinity for each other, even in the bush.
 

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