WANTED: A Family Trip To South Africa

MallardSX2

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So I am in the process of setting up a family trip to South Africa.

It would include 4 Hunters and 3 observers (2 adult women and 1 Child).

My wife would like to shoot a Zebra with her bow and I have looked at countless options. One of which was a 50 animal hunt. I think that hunting 5-7 animals a piece would be great.

We would like to go in the summer while my daughter is out of school but I dont know what time of the year people really hunt over there.

We are pretty simple people and would just like to go over there for about 7 days of hunting and enjoy ourselves and have lots of opportunity.

We would like to do a bow/gun hunt but it appears that a lot of the cheaper hunts are mostly rifle.

Any ideas on where to start?

To be honest, its all a bit overwhelming.




I appreciate any feedback.

Gary
 
Last edited:
Hi Gary,
Welcome to the forum. It will be our pleasure to present you with some options on a possible trip for you and your family. We also have a few bow blinds where the Zebra frequent. I would certainly pay attention to the time of year and moon phase, should you wish to connect with a Zebra with the bow.
Please let me know if we can assist in any way further.

You are welcome to shoot me a PM right here on the forum, or drop me an email at info@huntsafaris.co.za

Take Care,
Marius Goosen
 
Hi Gary,

There's a ton of information on this site.. dont let it all overwhelm you though.. learning and planning is a big part of the fun for most of us here... there are lots of people that I am sure will be willing to chime in and help out..

The type of hunt you are looking to do with your family is almost exactly what I have already booked for 2020 with Bos en Dal.. Im just bringing over a group of US Military veterans and their wives (family of a different sort).. We have 4x hunters and 3x observers that will be in camp for a week.. Each hunter is planning on taking 3x animals (all plains game).. @Bos en Dal Safaris can easily accommodate your group (Gerrit is already accommodating mine.. which is the same size and roughly the same make up.. with similar animals planned to be hunted)..

My biggest recommendation is just to be sure your outfitter not only has the lodging space for your group, but also has ample enough property, that is also segregated enough to allow 4x hunters to all be out hunting at once safely without constantly bumping into each other...

Too big can also be a hassle IMO (although it really just depends on your tastes and personality).. for a family or group hunt, I prefer the week(s) to be an intimate affair.. I generally want the lodge/camp to myself.. especially if kids are going to be around.. the vast majority of hunters that I have shared camp with around the globe are good/decent people.. but.. there is always a chance you get the odd jerk or guy that cant control his liquor in camp.. which is easy enough to deal with if its just you and your wife or you and a buddy.. but not so easy to tolerate or deal with when you have child accompanying you..

Obviously I am a bit biased (Gerrit is a dear personal friend).. but I think @Bos en Dal Safaris is about perfect for the sort of hunt you are trying to plan... plenty of property to support 4 hunters without any problems at all.. with a lodge that is big enough to support a party of 7... while at the same time small enough to offer a close family experience, and a guarantee that there will be no one else in camp except your family while you are there..

Youre also looking at a very short drive up from Johannesburg (roughly 2 hours).. which is very welcomed by everyone after the long, tiring flights required to get across the atlantic and into Africa.. and in a location that makes non hunting related family excursions very easy to do (a wonderful predator park is just a short drive away.. as is an elephant sanctuary.. a huge curio shopping area with hundreds of shops.. day spas.. etc.. are all very close and convienient.. if you have a significant number of observers along.. these sorts of things might be of interest..

With my group that is going over in July 2020, we plan on hunting hard for 4 days.. but also plan on spending a day doing non hunting activities and give the non hunting wives something fun to do like pet a mature lion, or ride an elephant, etc..

Hunt report from my last trip over (July 2019) can be found here: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/south-africa-awesome-buffalo-with-bos-en-dal.51607/
 
Thank you for the replies everyone! Some good valid points here!
 
Which area would you like to go to? South Africa is a big place with a lot of diverse habitats. I love the East Cape or EC for its variety of landscapes and animals. However for lots of smaller critters and especially predators, as well as bigger kudu and blue wildebeest, tough to beat Limpopo. However Limpopo is a bit less diverse in habitat plus I feel there are more non hunting options in the EC.

In Limpopo I really like Bossie of @Limpopo Big Game Safaris. We just get along well and a ton of fun. In the EC he works with Marius of @KMG Hunting Safaris. I've never had the pleasure of hunting with Marius but he is a heck of a good guy full of energy and has a great reputation.

My first outfitter in Africa was Andrew Pringle of Crusader Safaris. Top notch and specialized in no high fence hunting or all free range. There are low cattle and sheep/goat fences but that is South Africa. He has several diverse camps and I would highly recommend planning to stay at at least 2. You can start at his home base and in the rolling hills and branch out to the Cowey region which is wetter/jungle like. And be sure to spend a couple days in the Karoo.

We rented a car, more SUV but only fwd. Drove up the Coast to see the penguins, and did the Garden route to Cape Town. Flew home from there. Look up my hunt report, April 2014.

https://www.africahunting.com/threads/south-africa-crusader-safaris-early-april-hunt.15771/


Then also did a short pre-hunt hunt with Lalapa Safaris out of East London. Great operation as well with both free range and fenced and tons of scenery.

On the other hand if you want to take a few days to do Kruger Park, check with Bossie and it's an easy and interesting drive over from his area. He even got us a car to rent. Actually a Jeep;) Started at Crook's Corner:)
 
Man this is a lot to take in. Maybe I should start by asking how long I should even go for!? lol
 
So I am in the process of setting up a family trip to South Africa.

It would include 4 Hunters and 3 observers (2 adult women and 1 Child).

My wife would like to shoot a Zebra with her bow and I have looked at countless options. One of which was a 50 animal hunt. I think that hunting 5-7 animals a piece would be great.

We would like to go in the summer while my daughter is out of school but I dont know what time of the year people really hunt over there.

We are pretty simple people and would just like to go over there for about 7 days of hunting and enjoy ourselves and have lots of opportunity.

We would like to do a bow/gun hunt but it appears that a lot of the cheaper hunts are mostly rifle.

Any ideas on where to start?

To be honest, its all a bit overwhelming.




I appreciate any feedback.

Gary
To answer the summer during school break question;
Perfect timing in the peak hunting season. I'm a farmer so always seem to end up going early like February- April. Or late like November/December. Those are the equivalent of late summer/early fall and late spring/early summer so hot and can rain.

May through September and even October is Fall/winter or dry season. Less leaves, much cooler. Peak winter would be July and in Southern South Africa you might even get snow.
 
the answer to "how long" honestly is... "it depends"...

typically I plan 9 days.. (1 full work week plus the weekends on both the front and the back of the work week)...

it takes a day to get over and a day to get back.. then I can squeeze in 5 full hunting days.. and that leaves me a day for excursions.. and then we'll usually get a half day of additional excursions in on the last day before we head to the airport..

5 animals in 5 hunting days shouldnt be a problem at all.. 7 might be a stretch.. but its definitely doable.. my wife and I got 9 animals on our 2017 hunt in 6 hunting days.. we were hunting from sun up to sun down though.. ate lunch in the field about half the time.. skipped lunch one day.. etc..

on my 2019 hunt I only took 3 animals in the same amount of time... but.. I was intentionally much more selective about what I wanted to hunt, etc.. and I also planned several more excursions than normal (I've been going to different parts of Africa for the better part of 20 years.. but havent seen a whole lot of the continent.. Most of the travel has been work related.. and I just havent taken the time to play "tourist" much.. so I wanted to change things up a bit on this last trip.. I wanted to get some hunting in.. but I also very much wanted to go see some non hunting related stuff as well....)..
 
Man this is a lot to take in. Maybe I should start by asking how long I should even go for!? lol
I like to block out at least 23 days. Leave on a Friday afternoon, return on a Sunday. 2 days over and a day back leaves me 20 days in Africa, more or less:) I'll do more than that as I get older, but it seems to be a good balance of having enough and ready to head home, getting a little homesick, and yet getting my moneys worth out of the flights. And diluting the misery of those long flights out over enough days... You see I'm in a business that is a lot about managing the huge overhead we have. so I think about how best to dilute that out. Do the math on flight cost per day on a 7 day trip vs. 3 week trip;) I also see suffering through the flights as personal "overhead".

Stay in the right areas to be reasonably safe. I feel safe out in the country, not in cities. I get advice and pay attention to it. Like don't let your sensibilities overtake your common sense. Last trip the big story was if you something or someone laying in the road, don't stop! A latest bandit trick is to lay in the road to get people to stop, and then 3 or 4 buddies jump out of the tall grass in the ditch and rob/car jack you. Now I've had more severe warning in Chicago than this. So don't let it dissuade you, just be careful and aware.

The funny story (well funny to a point, and to people who have become a bit jaded to African realities.... A lady was driving her SUV at night and saw a guy laying in the road, she swerved into the shallow ditch so as to avoid running him over, and killed the 3 bandits laying in the ditch waiting to car jack her!

But seriously, I spent $400 per day for 3 days that was more like a partial day, full day and half day.. For a tour guide and his van. Should have just rented the car 3 days earlier. We laid our big gun cases in the back and stole a blanket from the outfitter to cover them and put suitcases on top. Yes they drive on the left, and the car is a manual transmission with the shifter on the wrong side but if you have basic abilities it is easy to get used to. And you can request an automatic. (The Jeep Bossie got us was an auto). Get the PH to give you lessons/let you practice out in the open. Get tips on driving habits and parking info, etc.

Renting a car and staying at small town hotels and especially eating out or even groceries is very cheap when converted from USD. Get away from the big tourist traps and do your own thing. Obey the rules and use common sense. Touring a game park on your own, pack a lunch or even stopping at the rest stations to eat and stay is easy and fun! Take some back roads too!
 
Welcome sir! You have come to the right place to research the safari of your dreams. Please let us know if we can help in any way. (y)
 
Welcome to AH! And congrats on the planning of your hunt. We would love to help you in any way PM me a list of animals and we can start there with a plan. Cheers
 
hi Gary
welcome welcome welcome
pm sent
 
I can vouch for bush africa safaris in lepalale.

Very friendly people that cater for bow and rifle and child friendly.

Their website is bushafricasafaris.co.za

Regards
Pieter

Ps I have no financial interest in their business have just hunted there a few times.
 
I think the hardest part about this is getting a fixed price out of anyone. I want an all inclusive price. Not trophy fees and extras here and there etc etc. This is a bit confusing and hard to distinguish between the masses of different offers people are sending me.

Maybe it would be best if I just listed the animals I want to shoot and be very specific on how we would like to hunt. Blinds, spot stalk, bow/rifle etc etc. I guess it would be hard to put together an estimate for me unless they know exactly what we are looking for. So I get it.

Lot more planning to this than I anticipated thats for sure.

Thoughts?
 
I think the hardest part about this is getting a fixed price out of anyone. I want an all inclusive price. Not trophy fees and extras here and there etc etc. This is a bit confusing and hard to distinguish between the masses of different offers people are sending me.

Maybe it would be best if I just listed the animals I want to shoot and be very specific on how we would like to hunt. Blinds, spot stalk, bow/rifle etc etc. I guess it would be hard to put together an estimate for me unless they know exactly what we are looking for. So I get it.

Lot more planning to this than I anticipated thats for sure.

Thoughts?
Yep. Outfitters will happily work with you, but each clients wants are different, therefore so are the costs. A hunt for the same time frame for multiple large or rarer animals is going to cost a lot different than more common animals. Your hunt is not the same as the last client who showed up for the same amount of time. So you are correct, you have to figure out exactly what you and your family wants and then the rest of the group must too. How many days hunting has to be agreed on if everyone is coming and going at once. Then what species you definitely want to hunt such as your wife's zebra, what your interested in and what you aren't. Same with the rest of the group. Now look at packages from outfitters that have the number of days with those must hunt species. Are the other species in the package in the interested category? If so, you have found an all-inclusive package. If there's something you aren't interested in, see if it can be substituted for something you are. Trophy fees for a warthog and impala are usually close so that swap is often doable. Kudu instead of that warthog, expect to make up the difference. You'll have to talk with the outfitter about any swap. The rest of the group will have to do the same.

It seems daunting, but you're looking and asking questions, which is good. One step at a time.
 

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