Tipping Guide

[TERMINATOR]

Sometimes, one of our members makes a lot of biltong for himself and hand outs. I take very little, a fillet from the bigger animals or an impala leg. I would like to set up better to be able to make sausage and smoked cuts, then I will keep more. You normally pay the outfitter for the meat you take, but it is very reasonable.

Thanks

Sounds like fun! If I was local I would do the same.

So it is confirmed then that even on local hunts the outfitter/concession holder owns the meat shot even if they are willing to sell some to the hunter at a reasonable rate.

And I will stand by my statement that it is pretty non-typical for a hunter to travel to a country in Africa to hunt and bring meat home.

 

[rookhawk]

So it is confirmed then that even on local hunts the outfitter/concession holder owns the meat shot even if they are willing to sell some to the hunter at a reasonable rate.

It is not confirmed. Please see my post above. Three of the Zim hunts I've done out of more than ten, I owned the meat outright. (No, I didn't not take it home. The PH's crew got half for biltong, we ate a lot of it at camp, and the remainder went to the PH for feeding family and feeding fishing clients)

The ZimParks safari area hunts are all "you pay us, you kill it, you keep it" arrangements.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

@Kevin Peacocke a bit of a tangent, but have you looked at the Zimparks auction hunts? They have dilapidated camps to pitch tents and you get the land access, plus a set quota. Some of those hunts can be a deal for locals, especially if you're doing non-DG where you aren't required to have a PH if I remember correctly. In the past I saw Sapi "Fish Camps" go for $4000-$5000 for 10-14 days inclusive of 2 impala and 1 hippo for camp meat. In similar price ranges the Tuli Circle would have a 6-8 animal package for 10 days. You keep all the meat.

The only gotcha is if you don't harvest the animal, no refunds. Its all a prepaid bag. And if you're the first guys in, you may spend days repairing roads and cutting back jess for the cruisers. Definitely a neat hunt for the locals.

I did three of them over the years. I liked the scenic beauty, I did not like the lack of anti-poaching or the impossibility of pre-scouting. The PH if one is used at all has 24-48 hours access at camp to setup before the clock starts running. Not a lot of time. Would be great for a bunch of families as a holiday though.

@rookhawk I haven't done one yet, but it is on the cards. Some friends are on one of these parks hunts in the Tuli this year and it cost about what you said. The challenge with this sort of set up is processing the carcasses, you set up your own skinning shed and need to either make biltong right there or take a fridge truck. Apart from the PH you would need a camp staff of maybe three people, it is quite an undertaking. Fun though.

 

[rookhawk]

@rookhawk I haven't done one yet, but it is on the cards. Some friends are on one of these parks hunts in the Tuli this year and it cost about what you said. The challenge with this sort of set up is processing the carcasses, you set up your own skinning shed and need to either make biltong right there or take a fridge truck. Apart from the PH you would need a camp staff of maybe three people, it is quite an undertaking. Fun though.

You’re correct. We had lots of generators and deep freezers. At Tuli one of the three camps has a decent skinning shed (North Camp or Pakkenham Camp)

The really big issue at Tuli is these well designed plots to bring in freezers via truck can get foiled as you try to cross the Shashe river, about 1km, and sometimes its flowing! I assume if you hunt late season you’ll only have to contend with getting stuck in sand rather than getting whisked away to be found somewhere down the Limpopo!

The camps at Sapi in the Valley were better. They had those charcoal lined chain link cold rooms. Meat could be kept in them without spoiling for longer.

The bigger question is how much game would you have to kill to result in any leftover meat and Biltong to bring home? If I was invited the answer would be a tremendous amount.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

Reach out to Marius @KMG Hunting Safaris
He will take great care of you

Also some countries and locations you are not allowed to shoot females and generally I wouldn’t

But Gemsbok the females score higher than the males and in Namibia it is more common to take females than males and the females dominate the record books even if you don’t care about record books

But just be aware that your PH was probably following the law or the requirements of the place you were hunting.

if I had been told that up front about no females I would feel different but nothing was said about it, funny though the animal I was told to shoot did turn out to be a pregnant female

 

[mdsalern]

I was in hospitality for 24 years. First in restaurants, then in casinos. The tipping mentality has changed drastically over that time. Tipping plummeted in 2008 and has been steadily downward since. One of the casinos I worked for changed their model this year. They charge more and give a guaranteed wage, instead of relying upon tips.

 

[Red Leg]

Excellent information.
I can not expect to bring meat home to the USA but others can and do. It just never entered my mind others can and do take meat with them.

Local hunters who have arranged a meat hunt can - pretty much a South African thing. But that cost is essentially rolled up in their cost for taking a non-trophy animal.

The real windfalls are Americans doing cull hunts. These are animals that have to be taken anyway and will be sold for meat or utilized by the staff. Getting someone to pay for the opportunity is pure bonus.

 

[Woodcarver]

This thread has been educational. Having not been to Africa yet, the question of tipping is definitely one I want guidance on. My only international destinations have been Mexico and Bonaire; two very different cultures in regards to tipping.
Mexico, tipping is the norm, but tips tend to be small; a dollar to five still goes a long ways. Unless you're tipping a professional, in my case, dive masters, instructors and boat crews. Those tended to be more along the lines of 10%+-. Cumulatively, a (nice) dinner tip could easily reach 20% as each of the people who were involved were tipped directly. I learned that was the only way to make sure each received any part of the tip. I also saw that tips were absolutely appreciated and recognized as a direct thank you for excellent service, another reason to give it directly.
Bonaire, a Dutch governed island, tipping is slowly becoming more common due to the American influence I'd wager. But a 10% tip is considered very generous there still. But when the service is exceptional, so should the tip be. Even the fairly stoic (not all) Dutch servers were appreciative of a tip for good service.
Based on what I've read to this point, 10%+- the cost of hunt seems to be a good starting point. Regardless of whether the PH is an owner/operator or a contractor, their service as the PH is what matters in regards to a tip. Tipping to me is saying thanks for really good service. It seems appropriate to say thanks when someone has provided good service, in any country.

 

[VertigoBE]

I’ve made some comments in this thread a while ago. It definitely opened my eyes on the practice of tipping, which is nonexistent in Belgium.

Last year during my first safari, I received indications from the outfitter on the tips. For my next safari I plan on giving between 10-20% of the trophy fees depending on the quality, divided over the PH/Tracker/skinner. And a % of the daily rate to be divided over the camp personnel.

I hope to be doing right by that logic.

 

[DieJager]

I’ve made some comments in this thread a while ago. It definitely opened my eyes on the practice of tipping, which is nonexistent in Belgium.

This ^

I see a lot of frustrated comments directed at us Europeans but for us Europeans it is a big learning curve. I followed the guidelines by Jerome and contacted my outfitter who to tip etc. And still there are different opinions as it should be but painting all of us from the "Old continent" as cheap and out of touch is too harsh.

Some remarks on this thread are not helpful for us to figure out what to do. Without this thread I probably did not know tipping was a big thing. Let's help eachother instead of calling names etc.

 

[grand veneur]

I am very disappointed with the reaction of some members.

It should be clear to every educated person that we live in different cultural circles and that is why some things are understood completely differently and are therefore not used. That but doesn't mean that one are not ready to do it, if the arguments are right.

Believing that one are right in his world and that others have to do the same is a very bad attitude.

It makes very little sense to continue discussing on this forum on such a basis, because it will further also become apparent that the concepts of hunting in Africa in general are far from being the same between the two main cultural circles that are arguing here.

 

[grand veneur]

Thank you for all these kindly reactions of my post !

I knew that it would bring you a lot of joy. Have fun !

 

[Flewis]

The safari world may be smaller and more communicative than we think. If i had a grand adventure i would rather have a reputation of a good generous client than a bad skinflint. So err on the high side. May want to go back again……and again.

Hunted sa for 7 days, three in the group. Each got 3000 dollars each( ph ). Tracker got 400. Campstaff as per ph. 10 or so boxes of ammo, new binos and new boots. Yes we were very pleased

 

[375Fox]

Hunted sa for 7 days, three in the group. Each got 3000 dollars each( ph ). Tracker got 400. Campstaff as per ph. 10 or so boxes of ammo, new binos and new boots. Yes we were very pleased

I fully believe in tipping but I’d like some context on this. Paying $3000/PH tip on a 7 days RSA plains game hunt is over the top in nearly every case plus all the extras. It would be on the high end for a dangerous game hunt too. They were definitely happy.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I fully believe in tipping but I’d like some context on this. Paying $3000/PH tip on a 7 days RSA plains game hunt is over the top in nearly every case plus all the extras. It would be on the high end for a dangerous game hunt too. They were definitely happy.

+1. On my first and only 10 day African PG hunt this past June, I tipped my PH $1K (plus a pair of lower end Leupold binocs), the tracker got $100 (two days he wasn't with us), and the camp staff $500 ($50/day). These were the guidelines posted by the Safari venue. I don't mind paying more, but not knowing WHAT to pay, I demurred to their tipping schedule? Everybody seemed more than happy with my tips. Oh, and day ten, we didn't hunt as my animal "package" was filled.

 

[IronRanger]

I understand the guide line given at the start of the thread might have changed (10$/day for trackers) as inflation has hit. But is the tip to the PH 5 to 8% simethink that neefs to be adjusted? Seeing above 10% or more was a surprise?

 

[mark-hunter]

Average guide in my country, works for 50 eur per day. How much to tip, in that case?

 

[Scott CWO]

This ^

I see a lot of frustrated comments directed at us Europeans but for us Europeans it is a big learning curve. I followed the guidelines by Jerome and contacted my outfitter who to tip etc. And still there are different opinions as it should be but painting all of us from the "Old continent" as cheap and out of touch is too harsh.

Some remarks on this thread are not helpful for us to figure out what to do. Without this thread I probably did not know tipping was a big thing. Let's help eachother instead of calling names etc.

@DieJager you seem to be adjusting to other cultures. My complaint is about some European hunters who simply refuse to adjust to another culture. Like I mentioned, it is Africa being visited, not Europe.

 

[Scott CWO]

I am very disappointed with the reaction of some members.

It should be clear to every educated person that we live in different cultural circles and that is why some things are understood completely differently and are therefore not used. That but doesn't mean that one are not ready to do it, if the arguments are right.

Believing that one are right in his world and that others have to do the same is a very bad attitude.

It makes very little sense to continue discussing on this forum on such a basis, because it will further also become apparent that the concepts of hunting in Africa in general are far from being the same between the two main cultural circles that are arguing here.

And I have been very disappointed with people that refuse to adjust to another culture and think that a $20 tip for a poor tracker is enough because a policeman in Zimbabwe only makes $200 per month. I don’t take advantage of someone’s poverty for my own pocketbook.

 

[WAB]

And I have been very disappointed with people that refuse to adjust to another culture and think that a $20 tip for a poor tracker is enough because a policeman in Zimbabwe only makes $200 per month. I don’t take advantage of someone’s poverty for my own pocketbook.

I agree Scott. You have an opportunity to show your appreciation and make a real difference in someone’s life. I tip generously and I take practical presents that they can use. These folks treat us like royalty and work hard in the process. Let’s give a little back.