Hunting Aftica? Costs?

wildfowler.250

Well-Known Member
So having always wanted to go to Africa at some point I was just wondering on here what the general costs are? I feel like it's probably a "how long is a piece of string" kind of question


my questions are:
what's the general cost of a trip?
best time to go hunting?
how do you choose a hunting venue? Country and outfitter? Any recommendations?

id be keen to go for something along the lines of a nyala/kudu/springbok/waterbuck hunt and not actual "big game" stuff. I've also noticed that some of these places offer packages. Is that the norm or best avoided?


any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm thinking if I book well ahead, flights and so on would be a lot cheaper. I'd probably have any trophies brought back and mounted here so it's all these extra costs that are hard to gauge.


any tips or advice is greatly appreciated!
 
Have a look at the big game hunting opportunities that outfitters are offering on here.

That should give you an idea on cost, length of safari, what's included, etc.

I hunted SA a few years ago, PM me if you would like more info.
 
There are some excellent packages I've seen on here and on africahunting.com. Your right about the 'piece of string' question look at your budget then subtract flights, firearm carriage or rifle rent and tips then select a package some outfitters charge a daily rate and trophy fees, so be sure exactly what your getting in to. Don't forget if you take trophys dip and ship will cost roughly the same as your package from experience. Maybe look at cull hunts to keep costs down whilst still retaining the experience factor. I have rifle and bow hunted with kei river safaris and can highly recommend them. Whomever you choose I'm sure they will talk you through what's best.
 
Thanks for the replies! If I was to ask it the other way around.. If I didn't want to scrimp and do it on a budget, how much money would I be generally looking to save up for a normal hunting holiday? Do most people go for a week or how long? Interested to hear any feedback and experiences.


thanks again for the replies!
 
Try:
shakariconnection.com
Enough reading and info to keep you entertained for days.
Peter
 
Hi mate I've done 9 hunting safaris in Africa up to 8 weeks a time wich are long but id say personally you'd want to go for atleast 7 days hunting as a absolute minimum. I personally don't like these package hunts but that's cause I'm I'm particular on what I hunt that's all. I'd say you want to spent like £7,000 on the hunt itself as a minimum ideally atleast £10,000 or more if you can. I wouldn't waste your time on these culling hunts they offer as there not really a safari in my opinion.but it all depends on your budget you can easily spend £20,000 if you start shooting decent animals. Like I say it's just my opinion. Ive taken over 130 plus big trophy plains game animals from Africa and that's not including all the small stuff and baboons and monkeys. Pm me for any info if you want. Luke padberg
 
When you first go to Africa you will get the bug.
I now find that I go two times a year.
I would reckon my in country spend for 5 days hunting and getting airport to airport service is the same as I would pay for 3 days driven boar in Europe.
The flight is more but the buzz is so much more.

Now, Dip&ship will cost the same as the animal you shot to get back. Add your taxidermist of choice here in the UK and you will find that, excluding flight, you have doubled your cost of the whole trip if you bring everything.

Best advice that I can give on "trophy" is to take one or two that you can fit in your house. These will be the ones that "represent" all your memories on this trip and all your others in the future. Your future will become more cheaper ;)

Stan
 
Hi Wildfowler,

Don't do it - if you do, you'll get bitten and want to go again….and again…..and again……… I'm what you might call a newbie to hunting in Africa having hunted in Namibia and SA for trophy and cull animals since 2013. You need to decide on how much you want to spend and what you want to achieve from your safari? Do you want to hunt a specific animal? Do you want the 'big Africa' experience, How much time do you have - I would suggest 5-7 hunting days as a minimum? Are you after a trophy to bring home (can be very expensive as mentioned in another post) and do you have room to display it - we all have eyes like kids in a sweetshop when hunting, but when you get the beast home…..well thats another matter so spending lots of money on a trophy which will never see the light of day is a bit of a waste. Management hunts can be just as exiting and a lot cheaper. A HUGE amount rests on your choice of hunting outfitter. I've been with several different operators and can certainly recommend some to you. If you would like to have a chat drop me a PM. In the meantime you might like to have a look at the offers Guy Swart of Wild Horizons in SA has on this site - under the forum 'Big Game Hunting Opportunities' as that will give you a good feel for the costs involved in a 7 day trophy or cull hunt in South Africa.
 
Hi Wildfowler,

The best time to go and the proper hunting season is there winter, from March to October. May/ June/ July are the best time depending on area or slightly earlier if you wanted to incorporate some bird shooting into it. Fenced areas can be hunted all year round, but lots of species females do drop there young in the summer, although if your only shooting males that doesn't matter.

The eastern cape is the most popular as its fairly cheap and easy to fly into PE, northern cape and free state are still cheap but quite difficult to get to.
KZN and Limpopo do generally give you a awesome african experience with bigger game in the areas but are slightly more expensive. Different areas obviously better for certain species, like the best place to shoot Nyala is Zululand, KZN, or Blue duiker and Cape Kudu in the eastern cape but most areas have imported species they didn't have, into fenced in farms for hunters requirements, so I'm sure there will be plenty of choice.
Namibia is supposed to be awesome reasonably priced hunting to.

To ship a trophy home will be nearly as expensive as shooting it, if you happen to shoot a good mountable cull animal it will cost you a lot more to ship it than shoot it.

The south african hunting industry has been developed around the american market so all about horn inches. So a rowland ward kudu of 54" can be worth at least twice that of a narrow looking 52" kudu with some outfitters. South african hunters only pay a fraction of the cost of the figures quoted by outfitters to foreigners, so shop around.

They call cull/management hunting biltong hunting, so have search on the internet so get an idea of species prices of the area your thinking of going.
Have a look at this:
Karoo Biltongjag Hunting Packages

These prices include keeping the carcass to eat if you are a south african!

The rand is nearly 22 to the pound at the moment. See how that relates to what the outfitter wants to charge you, as lots of them use dollar to keep prices high.
Because its law that as a non south african you have to have a PH with you when hunting, you will have allow for his daily wages on top of that, plus vehicle expenses and luxurious way they treat foreign hunters making up some of the extra cost. But some outfitters charge silly money.

Good luck, its an awesome place with loads of game. A rifle shooter's paradise in fact. Happy hunting.
 
Thanks for all the replies and PMs, I'll try and write back to all of them individually in due course. I think I would like to shoot 2 or 3 animals for a shoulder mount but didn't appreciate that shipping back was as expensive as shooting something. I assume that just to have something caped/dipped and sent to a taxidermist here then is still a few thousand? Or is it just a small fortune to ship a shoulder mount that was done in Africa?

Not entirely sure how I feel about fenced areas and released game. I suppose its massive areas so not really "fenced".


Its pretty daunting trying to work out where to start but all the info has been really helpful!
 
I have hunted with Kei River twice now and a great bunch to go with. Cost of flights with S.A. airways (I wouldnt fly with any other) about £650. My package last year cost £1800 and included a rep. Kudu. Brian Smith is U.K. agent and a real gent to deal with.
if it is your first time I would advise go with recomended outfits only as personal experience is a thousand times more valuable than any advert. Do not be afraid to ask many questions even if you think they are daft. Once you are there your "shopping list" will alter dont be scared to ask what this cost and what that cost as the guys are very accomadating. Taxidermy is going to cost so think very carefully about that.
Once you get back start saving for your next trip.
Tusker.
 
Hi,

As you thought its a "how long is a piece of string" question - and this will also apply to the range of replies you will get.

I have hunted in Zim (only the once), Namibia (twice) and Tanzania (a great many times over ten years, but as a resident), as well as a number of European countries. I have also worked in or visited quite a few other African countries - I guess you could say I am pretty well hooked.

Africa is a very different, and in my opinion a very special, experience - but there are a great many different aspects to Africa and a great many different types of "safari" - safari is in fact a Kiswahili word that literally only means "journey" - but you have to experience a real African journey to truly know what that means. In fact in no circumstance today (even in the case of a "full bag" classical hunt in e.g. Tanzania) will a hunt be a safari. On the other hand hunting on a ranch has the considerable benefits of a comfortable bed and a hot meal each night. Not withstanding that I would suggest that you make the most of what will be a very long and relatively expensive flight to take in as much of the country as you can. On my last two trips to Namibia I have combined a few days hunting with some pretty long tented "true" safaris to remote parts of the country. Unless you have experience of driving in Africa I would not try straying too far from the trodden path - when things go wrong in the Dark Continent they tend to go very wrong indeed. But seriously Namibia is a great place to visit and travel in - huge, safe and unpopulated.

To answer your question (or what I think is your question) a hunt in Africa will cost as much or as little as you want it to`- you can very easily drop £100k on a three week hunt in Tanzania or (you will need to be really keen) do as I did and go there and live and hunt as a resident - a month in the bush, shoot a dozen animals - £500? (hard work though!). If, as seems the case, you have never hunted and never been to Africa before my recommendation would be to spend a week hunting (Namibia gets my firm vote) and a week touring - I would hire a car (I hate guided tours!) with a tent and gear (see http://www.savannacarhire.com.na/ ) and take off. For the hunt I would not tend to book a package - they really do not save you much and tie you down to what you can take. Have a browse for what is available in terms of daily rates (€180-350) and species. In a week I would restrict myself to only 3 or four animals - that way you are in no rush and can afford to be choosy - unlike in Europe you will never pay more to shoot the best animals. In terms of taxidermy you will get a much cheaper deal in Africa - but you can never be certain of the quality unless you have good personal recommendations, and its unlikely you will be able to take them back and complain - I have been done several times in the past but am currently having several things done in Windhoek at the moment and am confident of the results - at a fraction of the cost in the UK (my Namibia bill this year was €900 for 3 skull mounts, 2 rugs, dip and pack but not shipping). Shipping and clearing can be expensive and time consuming though - but you will have that cost anyway. I now only do skulls and rugs - shoulder mounts just collect dust (and sometimes Christmas decorations!).
 
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I can highly recommend Guy at Wild Horizon, myself and my good friend took the trip out there last May for my first time. i couldn't have asked for a better trip, the hunting was excellent with some fantastic trophies there. I went with the hope of taking 1 or 2 trophies and the odd cull animal, i ended up with Kudu, Imapla, Blesbok, Warthog and Zebra. He runs some great packages, cull or trophy, and they are very flexible and accommodating. All in all i think it worked out at about £2500 give or take for me, plus flights.
 
The prices are negotiable, don't think that you always have to pay the asking price. Speaking within reason, that is. Cash talks. Form a relationship with a PH you like. Offer to help them get stuff that they can't get in the RSA. You will be surprised how much they will appreciate it. Praise the cook, every evening meal will be better than the last. Praise the tracker, make sure that all know you appreciate their efforts. Everyday will be better and better. MikeZZZ is right, be prepared to become an addict.
 
Its an amazing experience, but beware as others have said Africa will take hold of you, and you will want to return again, several of the above posters have like me, been with Guy from Wild Horizon, I will return next year, and it will be with him again, why because he ticks all the box's for me, large concessions with abundant animals, good food and wine and he and his P.H.s work very hard to make your dream come true. deerwarden.
 
Thanks for all the replies! It's all been very helpful and great to hear everyone's experiences. I am slightly concerned that if I go once, I'll be desperate to go back again and again..

So whilst trying to work out prices, I've noticed a trophy package deal on here for £2,500 for say 4 species. Now, would I be £2,500 again to ship them back to the U.K.? Or would I be £2,500 to get them back to the uk AND have them shoulder mounted? Obviously there's quite a big difference in costs and I'd rather shoot one good animal and have it mounted than several and just have a cleaned skull.


ive already got a wish list but it's dangerous thinking..
 
Outfitters quotes on hunts wont include any taxidermy work or shipping home etc, but do usually include dropping off your trophy's to their studio for the work.
 
Hi Sir

as been said this is aqtualy a retorical question... The hunt can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it!! Accomodation is normally almost the same as there is a standard that needs to be held by outfitters as set out by nature comservation!! This cost can vary from £150-£350 depending on the luxury you require!!
Regarding the animals you hunt:
there is a huge variety of animals and every one charge according to there area, some animals are more abundant in some areas which make them cheaper than other areas.
i would say get an idea/list of animals you are interested in and some activities you would like to do and get in contact with different outfitters and ask for quotes!
I would say look at least at 7 days for your safari and be warn. As soon as you go you would want to go back!


All the best
Gerrit
 
The last Kudu bull I had shoulder mounted delivered to my UK address cost about £1,500 in 2012.
 
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