I don't know if Martin's concept was to offer a reduced-price DG hunt or not. Many jumped to that conclusion, but that was not stated in the original thread.
My most enjoyable hunts have been self-guided caribou hunts in Alaska. We get a small group of friends, round up all our camping and cooking supplies, and hire a float plane to drop us off on a lake above the Brooks Range and pick us up a week later. Aside from the flight in and out, you are responsible for all aspects of the hunt how far to hike and in what direction, the stalk, the animal, the shot, skinning and deboning, packing the meat back to camp, trophy prep and care, cooking .... The things that can be controlled all rest on you. When it fails, dig around in your bag for a mirror if you want to complain; but when it all comes together and you succeed, it's a great sense of accomplishment.
This is the type of hunting that comes to my mind when someone says "self-guided" and it's easy to envision doing it when you're hunting a member of the deer family, on barren ground tundra where you can see for miles, and the only potential danger may be an unlikely encounter with a grizzly. I have a hard time imagining this style of hunting (what I consider "self-guided") being suitable for the vast majority of hunters who travel to Africa in pursuit of dangerous game. There are certainly those clients who are very capable of hunting DG on their own. I'm not one of them. If the concept is to have a Zim PH in the area for legal reasons, but for the most part allow the client to hunt on their own, you best be very selective with the clients. It could be rough on your reputation if something goes wrong ....
In my opinion, a more appropriate approach that would be suitable to a broader group of clients would be, as you say, a spike camp in a remote area. The Zim PH is still with the client at all times, and there is a tracker or two. The overall staff, however, is very small and the client is much more involved in setting up camp, cooking, skinning, packing and planning the day's hunt. The camp is small, relying mainly on wood fires for cooking, lighting and heating water. It's not really "self-guided" but it offers the client an opportunity to thoroughly hunt a remote area that may otherwise be impractical to hunt from a main camp that has generator power and en suite facilities. Hopefully the trophy potential is greater due to the remoteness of the location. The hunt would more closely resemble those that were written of decades ago, and the client would likely feel a greater sense of accomplishment after having contributed more than a trigger jerk (sorry, I meant pull). April 15?
