Why the big price difference??

[norfolk shooter]

Hi again and another newbie question I'm afraid. From what I have seen South Africa seems to offer the better bang for your buck in terms of what you get compared to lets say Namibia. Will you fine gents be kind enough to shed some light on to why this may be?? Is just as simple as local economic strength?

 

[BRICKBURN]

Let me in on how you reached that conclusion.

 

[CAustin]

Norfolk like Brickburn I'm not sure how you arrived at your conclusion. There are many factors that go into pricing not the least of which is the location. You see location often dictates the numbers of hunters allowed to hunt an area. You get it fewer hunts drives the asking price up. Limited supply of a particular animal drives the price up. Bang for the Buck depends upon on what you are looking for.

 

[ActionBob]

Not meaning to gang up on you Norfolk but I am with Brickburn and CAustin, from the hunts and animals I have looked at, I would put Namibia right there with RSA. In fact a lot of the trophy fees are less.. But again it varies so much by species and outfitter and area.....

Maybe you are shopping the right places in RSa and the wrong ones in Namibia?

My plan is pretty simple, I fully intend to hunt both places and find out for myself!

 

[IdaRam]

Hi @norfolk shooter,
My perception has been that SA and Namibia are reasonably comparable price wise. Having said that, there are certainly differences in price between areas. Caprivi in NA and Limpopo in SA may be noticeably more expensive than another area in the same country. Also, quite a broad range of price between outfitters in both countries. I've recently seen daily rates from $140 to $400 and trophy fee on Kudu from $1500 to $5000 in SA alone, so really difficult to compare apples to apples.
In the end, the range seems fairly broad in both countries. My perception is that the two countries are very comparable from a price/cost standpoint.
Just my dos centavos

 

[mikejones]

Hello.

I just ran through a few SA and namibian sites to see the prices and i must agree with Norfolk that namibia is more expensive if you look at their trophy lists.

I believe the difference is mainly to do with the big bang when the safari hunting was in full swing SA started with many more game farms offering many different species and till today SA has many more hunting ranches and exotic species than namibia.

I think the folks that hunt in namibia dont mind paying the slightly higher trophy fee as they are going to namibia for a different experience and country all together.

cheers mike jones

 

[Adrian]

I guess it depends on how 'bang for your buck' is defined.
Hopefully Norfolk can explain exactly what he means but if I were to make a wild guess, I think he means that SA outfitters can offer a better all round deal on what you get for your money.
In researching my forthcoming trip I would agree that the SA option represented better value for money in terms of what you can get in a package with a broader range of species and cheaper travel options.
But that said, it depends where you look and who you look at and how you define your personal value for money objectives.

 

[norfolk shooter]

Adrain has hit the nail on head in terms of what I mean. And there is a vast range of prices out there. Perhaps Iam looking at the wrong outfitters in NM?

 

[Adrian]

I was offered many good deals in Namibia but could only accept one of course so chose the one that ticked all bar one of my boxes.
You need to shop around, see what's out there and look in many places to get as many outfitters on your 'potential' list and trawl through them.
I was extremely pleased with my final deal and it is cheaper than what many SA outfitters could offer.
The cost of travelling there is more expensive and everything equals out but I'm still happy I've come out on top and have an acceptable value for money trip in August going by what my interpretation of value is.

 

[ActionBob]

Norfolk;
I would say that depending upon what your looking for, RSA has many appealing things for a first timer including a multitude of tour and sight seeing options... And I will drive myself in RSA but would not in Zimbabwe for example... Don't know about Namibia.

However if this is a big one time adventure, you can do it all in RSA, but may want to research more depending upon species you want.

 

[Red Leg]

Depends on what inputs one wants to add to the calculator. If it is dollar per game animal taken, then I would agree, you can probably find the best deal behind a fence in South Africa (or maybe Texas). What you can do in Namibia is a low fence, free range hunt (for instance, where one is really hunting say eland on their own terms) for around the same costs as a quality high fence game farm experience in the RSA. The Caprivi (which has all of the big five) is very expensive for a PG hunt - though it starts making economic sense when combined with buffalo, hippo, and/or croc. However, Namibia has a huge swath of ranch country with large healthy populations of free-ranging PG. Your PH may take you behind a fence for a specialty trophy, but most will be taken in open country. It is also a wonderful place to combine PG with a leopard.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Adrain has hit the nail on head in terms of what I mean. And there is a vast range of prices out there. Perhaps Iam looking at the wrong outfitters in NM?

I get it now.

I decided to have a look on Google to see what you might be running in to.
I just found a Nyala listed at $4950.00 (not a typo) on a Namibian site and lots of other non-indigenous species that are usually found in RSA. These critters will always have higher trophy prices.
Hunt indigenous species if you want more reasonable prices.

You can hunt a Nyala in Texas - $12,000.00

If the above noted sites prices are put into your comparison I can see where your conclusion came from.
Absolutely over the top.

Travel, can cost you a little more. Depends where you are coming from though.
I can get to Windhoek or Joburg for the same rate. Different routes.
For someone in the UK it will likely cost more to get to Windhoek.

The list of species available is certainly higher in RSA (as a country)

Pick your species and then start to compare.
Compare properties straight up. Size, etc.
Staying in a bunk house on a cattle farm or in a five star lodge?
A huge high fenced property or several small low fenced properties.

All of these conditions create a huge range of prices.

I won't be hunting a Nyala in Texas or Namibia.

Keep searching.

 

[Red Leg]

I get it now.

I decided to have a look on Google to see what you might be running in to.
I just found a Nyala listed at $4950.00 (not a typo) on a Namibian site and lots of other non-indigenous species that are usually found in RSA. These critters will always have higher trophy prices.
Hunt indigenous species if you want more reasonable prices.

You can hunt a Nyala in Texas - $12,000.00

If the above noted sites prices are put into your comparison I can see where your conclusion came from.
Absolutely over the top.

Travel, can cost you a little more. Depends where you are coming from though.
I can get to Windhoek or Joburg for the same rate. Different routes.
For someone in the UK it will likely cost more to get to Windhoek.

The list of species available is certainly higher in RSA (as a country)

Pick your species and then start to compare.
Compare properties straight up. Size, etc.
Staying in a bunk house on a cattle farm or in a five star lodge?
A huge high fenced property or several small low fenced properties.

All of these conditions create a huge range of prices.

I won't be hunting a Nyala in Texas or Namibia.

Keep searching.

" I won't be hunting a Nyala in Texas or Namibia. " LOL neither will I. But I also didn't want to hunt that Nyala behind a fence in the RSA. So I hunted one in Mozambique. Not the purely cheapest solution, but different variables go into that cost calculator. By the way, pull the airfare and shipping off the cost of that Texas Nyala. Not much of an African experience, but if we are simply talking dollars........

But, you are absolutely correct. For me, hunting indigenous species where they occur naturally is appealing - doesn't have to appeal to everyone. It also doesn't always make economic sense either - price a blackbuck in Texas or Pakistan (if you can get a tag). Different things of different relative value go into that calculator.

 

[BRICKBURN]

" ............ Different things of different relative value go into that calculator.

Bang for the Buck is all in the eye of the beholder.

 

[lcq]

Bang for the Buck is all in the eye of the beholder.

bingo

 

[Red Leg]

Bang for the Buck is all in the eye of the beholder.

Precisely

 

[norfolk shooter]

Well thanks for the comments chaps. Seeing as I'm looking for a true unfenced hunting experience I guess I would be better off paying a bit more for what I truly want. Anybody recommend some good outfitters in NM?? Adrian would you care to tell me who you are using?

 

[BRICKBURN]

.......... Anybody recommend some good outfitters in NM?? Adrian would you care to tell me who you are using?

Check out the site sponsors. There are two right in the top ad bar.

Good luck with your search.

 

[rodney russell]

you need to try Ingwe safari in south africa leib and his staff are great. the hunting is outstanding at reasonable prices.

 

[jeff]

It all depends what you want, kudu, gemsbok and springbok are cheaper in Namibia, impala, blesbok, nyala and warthog are cheaper in SA. just for comparison. Travel distances are usually greater in Namibia so can cost more. But I would have to say that I don't see the real smoking bargains in Namibia like I do in SA. I think the game farm business in SA is maybe more competitive.