Africa is just not for me

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Wow, that's 3,728 miles, so 1,864 one way. Not bad with three drivers? Plus, you can bring all the Bundy and Vegemite you want along with many boxes of .35 Whelen and .243 cartridges. Wish I were going along!

@CoElkHunter
Mate when I was driving interstate 8 to 10,000 km was an average weeks driving and that was with one driver ME.

 

[Daniel Cary]

I'm surrounded by great white hunters of the North/Northwest .. "Don't want anything to do, Or see the attraction to Africa"
They have an almost stigma attachment,

To each their own .. but you get the picture, .

 

[Andrew62]

I have invited and offered to pay for family members to join me on safari. Their response is They don’t want the long trip . I think they are afraid of being a victim of crime and so far from home.

Hard to imagine, but not everyone likes chocolate either!!

 

[TKessel]

I had a client last month who told us, he wouldn’t hunt Africa because he couldn’t bring the meat back. He went ballistic when our processor told him it was $245 to ship his meat and cape back east from Casper, Wy

 

[375er]

I had a client last month who told us, he wouldn’t hunt Africa because he couldn’t bring the meat back. He went ballistic when our processor told him it was $245 to ship his meat and cape back east from Casper, Wy

I enjoy game meat as much as anyone, but that did not stop me from going to Africa. Nor would not bringing meat home from somewhere in North America stop me either. Meat is not why I go. If I really need meat it is exponentially cheaper to go to the store.

 

[Paul Raley]

In my opinion ( perception ) many overseas hunters that earn US dollars , British pounds , the euro , etc can afford to hunt in Africa due to the exchange rates . I am sure if hunts are well planned they can be quite affordable .
I would love to experience a hunt in the US / Scotland / Sweden , etc , but being a normal salary earning South African there is no way that will happen purely due to the financial cost involved , mostly due to exchange rates .
At least I live here and can "hunt Africa " , but having other wilderness experiences would be great .
Anyone having the benefit of a favorable exchange rate should make the most of it if it allows them to hunt in other countries , just my opinion .

 

[Backyardsniper]

In my opinion ( perception ) many overseas hunters that earn US dollars , British pounds , the euro , etc can afford to hunt in Africa due to the exchange rates . I am sure if hunts are well planned they can be quite affordable .
I would love to experience a hunt in the US / Scotland / Sweden , etc , but being a normal salary earning South African there is no way that will happen purely due to the financial cost involved , mostly due to exchange rates .
At least I live here and can "hunt Africa " , but having other wilderness experiences would be great .
Anyone having the benefit of a favorable exchange rate should make the most of it if it allows them to hunt in other countries , just my opinion .

You just need to hook up with one of us on here who hunt public or own/have permission on some private land. It may not be quite as upscale as a professional guided hunt with luxury accommodations but I suspect for the price of a plane ticket you could come over here and hang out for a week or so and get in some good hunting.

 

[JimP]

In my opinion ( perception ) many overseas hunters that earn US dollars , British pounds , the euro , etc can afford to hunt in Africa due to the exchange rates . I am sure if hunts are well planned they can be quite affordable .
I would love to experience a hunt in the US / Scotland / Sweden , etc , but being a normal salary earning South African there is no way that will happen purely due to the financial cost involved , mostly due to exchange rates .
At least I live here and can "hunt Africa " , but having other wilderness experiences would be great .
Anyone having the benefit of a favorable exchange rate should make the most of it if it allows them to hunt in other countries , just my opinion .

Since the African hunts are priced in US dollars I don't believe that the exchange rates have anything to do with it.

 

[Hogpatrol]

With regard to exchange rates, the rand is now a nickle and a half to the U.S. dollar. Inflation is hitting RSA hard.

 

[AZDAVE]

Having read the posts in this thread and like anything there are folks that will never??? I gave up trying to convince people years ago to get out and go see someplace new. Have put together trips for Africa, backpacking in the rockies, motorcycle rides around the western states , skiing in the rockies/Alps etc and what I have seen is that some people won't plan something new themselves but have gladly signed on to a trip I put together and had a great experience. The one that "Not interested or I will never crowd" will never go outside their comfort zone.(some people will never travel outside a 30 mile radius of where they were born and National geographic is their idea of seeing the world) To each his own.

As for me and mine we will travel, experience new places and return to places that enchanted us. I want to hunt deer in TN again, stand on the top of a mountain in AZ,CO, WY, MT, ID and hear the elk bugle. But the two places on this planet the speak to my e in Alaska and Africa as soon as I step off the plane the ground speaks to me and says "Welcome home". I hope to discover a rew more places that enchant me as these two do.

 

[AB2506]

This popped in my head the other day as I was mentally planning a future safari to follow up the first safari that hasn't even happened yet. I hear all the time, " you think this is a once in a lifetime trip, but you will go back." " nobody goes to Africa just once". Which all seems to correlate pretty accurately with everyone I have spoken with that has been to Africa, and not just on this forum, but people that I have met at random that have been. Everyone loves it, and everyone I have spoken with recalls it fondly and speaks of how great the trip was. Aside from the actual flight to get there. Ha ha

So, I have a question. Has anyone ever talked to someone who hunted Africa and came back and said, "nope, not for me" I went but I just did not enjoy it and I won't go back. If so was there any particular reason, other than if they just had a bad experience with a particular outfitter or PH which can happen and can sour your taste on the whole experience. Other than that though, has anyone ever met someone who went to Africa on a hunt and just said nope this is not for me, I just don't like it?

On our first trip, we hadn't even landed in East London, yet I was already thinking of the next trip.

 

[JG870]

Having read the posts in this thread and like anything there are folks that will never??? I gave up trying to convince people years ago to get out and go see someplace new. Have put together trips for Africa, backpacking in the rockies, motorcycle rides around the western states , skiing in the rockies/Alps etc and what I have seen is that some people won't plan something new themselves but have gladly signed on to a trip I put together and had a great experience. The one that "Not interested or I will never crowd" will never go outside their comfort zone.(some people will never travel outside a 30 mile radius of where they were born and National geographic is their idea of seeing the world) To each his own.

As for me and mine we will travel, experience new places and return to places that enchanted us. I want to hunt deer in TN again, stand on the top of a mountain in AZ,CO, WY, MT, ID and hear the elk bugle. But the two places on this planet the speak to my e in Alaska and Africa as soon as I step off the plane the ground speaks to me and says "Welcome home". I hope to discover a rew more places that enchant me as these two do.

My first trip to Africa (Namibia) while on the plane there I was ready to go back and I hadn’t been there yet. I too have had the Africa is not for me, so I have come to the point I’m going would luv you to experience too but your choice. I’m planning on my second trip in 2023.

 

[Andrew62]

12 of my 16 trips I have gone alone, my next 3 safaris I will go alone, sometimes it is just easier to not deal with the potential of someone getting homesick, etc etc. I'm also thankful not everyone wants to go because if they did we'd be paying 2x more money and waiting years for an opening to hunt!!

 

[Hogpatrol]

It's rare here where I live in Delaware with PA, MD and NJ close by but there was a survey that stated sixteen percent of people in the U.S. have never left their home state. I too have offered to accompany others to Africa so they wouldn't be winging it but so far have only had two takers.

 

[BLJC30]

I have a long time friend in the states. For years I have offered him a buffalo, leopard or even elephant hunt, no cost! He does not have a passport and will never get one he is very comfortable living and hunting the western slope of Colorado.
Lon

Well…. I’m pretty friendly and I live in the states, so if you have some free hunts, I wouldn’t turn you down. Lol

 

[CoElkHunter]

After my first PG hunt this past June, I would go every year if I had the funds to do so. Maybe I'll start a #GoFundMySafari fundraiser?

 

[Hogpatrol]

After my first PG hunt this past June, I would go every year if I had the funds to do so. Maybe I'll start a #GoFundMySafari fundraiser?

Do the cull hunts, most bang for the buck.

 

[JimP]

After my first PG hunt this past June, I would go every year if I had the funds to do so. Maybe I'll start a #GoFundMySafari fundraiser?

I might need someone to mow my lawn next summer. $15 a hour and it usually takes 45 minutes to do it.

I do have a shooting range 10 minutes away

 

[Hogpatrol]

When my father had a landscaping business, he'd sometimes come home after I was out of school for a couple hours. He'd ask me "Got your homework done"?. The only acceptable answer was "Yes" so his next words were "Get in the truck". He took me out to a lawn mowing job. I was ten and he paid me fifty cents an hour. Those were the days when you wanted something, you effing worked for it.

 

[JimP]

When my father had a landscaping business, he'd sometimes come home after I was out of school for a couple hours. He'd ask me "Got your homework done"?. The only acceptable answer was "Yes" so his next words were "Get in the truck". He took me out to a lawn mowing job. I was ten and he paid me fifty cents an hour. Those were the days when you wanted something, you effing worked for it.

I never really had a lawn mowing job, but I knew that I had to take care of our yard, and a couple of neighbors yards on Saturdays. The first half of the day you would find me pushing that mower all over the block and trimming the edges along the sidewalks every other week. For this I didn't get a dime except for a couple of the neighbors who would hand me a dollar when they could afford it. I never even thought about it but after I wasn't doing it I realized that their yards needed upkeep and they didn't have anyone to do it for them and they couldn't afford a service. I was 25 when the last neighbor passed away and the home was sold I took care of that yard even if I had to drive a hundred miles from my job to do it before it sold. There were many times when I had to do it on a Sunday or late at night but it got done.

Ask a kid to do something like that today and get ready to get sticker shock when they tell you what they want in return for their work.