Alaskan Hunter destined for Africa

[akrifleman]

I keep ending up on this site for various reasons, and decided to join the community. We are a hunting family and the whole crew decided to pull the trigger on a South Africa hunt next spring/summer (we purchased a package, just working out dates). As much as anything, I'd like to connect with other Alaskans that can meet for a lunch/beer and talk hunting.

 

[krish]

Welcome to AH. Thare are quite a few members from AK. I am sure they will chime in soon. Good luck.
Krish

 

[BRICKBURN]

Welcome to AH. Lots of Alaskans running around here. They’ll jump in soon enough.
Enjoy your safari and make sure you share that tale here.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Hello from Dillingham. As a fellow Alaskan who made his first trip to Africa last year, congrats to you and best of wishes. I'd be happy to hook up for a burger the next time I'm in town.

 

[Mekaniks]

from Seward. Let me know if I can help

 

[cls]

Welcome to the dark side, enjoy tge planning.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Welcome AK, Africa awaits you.

 

[Jeff 907]

Welcome. I’m over in Wasilla. It’s going to fun.

 

[akrifleman]

Looking forward to meeting you all. I suspect most my questions will be the little devil in the details. I'll start with the pinned posts for planning. Quite a bit of information already on here, with respect to what to pack / not pack, rescue insurance, little tips and tricks, legal things to avoid. And the little oddities like best way to fly out of Alaska (example, seems to me AK to ATL and direct to SA is the most problem free).

 

[Namagiqa]

I keep ending up on this site for various reasons, and decided to join the community. We are a hunting family and the whole crew decided to pull the trigger on a South Africa hunt next spring/summer (we purchased a package, just working out dates). As much as anything, I'd like to connect with other Alaskans that can meet for a lunch/beer and talk hunting.

I just joined recently after lurking for some time because I am trying to make a trip to Africa in the next couple of years or so. I'm in Palmer and used to live in Dillingham (which should explain my name to Tundra Tiger). Feel free to DM me. We could hit the Ale House and talk hunting or fly fishing.

 

[akrifleman]

I just joined recently after lurking for some time because I am trying to make a trip to Africa in the next couple of years or so. I'm in Palmer and used to live in Dillingham (which should explain my name to Tundra Tiger). Feel free to DM me. We could hit the Ale House and talk hunting or fly fishing.

Same with the lurking for a while. Not sure why I didn't join here years ago. I guess the actual making plans vs theory pushed the button.

 

[kdenn]

Welcome! Can you really see Russia?

 

[akrifleman]

Welcome! Can you really see Russia?

I'm a day long bush flight from even sniffing it.

 

[Namagiqa]

Looking forward to meeting you all. I suspect most my questions will be the little devil in the details. I'll start with the pinned posts for planning. Quite a bit of information already on here, with respect to what to pack / not pack, rescue insurance, little tips and tricks, legal things to avoid. And the little oddities like best way to fly out of Alaska (example, seems to me AK to ATL and direct to SA is the most problem free).

This posted while I was answering. I've been researching that issue because I'm aiming to go to Seychelle or Mauritius to go fly fishing within the next couple of years. You can fly SA Air from Atlanta but if you're a real Alaskan, you have a ton of Alaska Air miles. Qatar Airways is a mileage partner with Alaska and there's a non-stop from Seattle to Doha and a non-stop from Doha to J-Berg. One nice thing about Qatar Air is that you can extend your stopover for a day or two. I did this with Emirates a few years ago on a trip to Europe. It really helped with jet lag.
I don't now what would happen with rifles on a 24 hour lay-over but if Qatar Air is pushing that layover, I would imagine that they could handle that situation. And that one day means you don't immediately start hunting after a 15 hour flight and you don't know what's up. There was a recent podcast on Big Game Hunting about newbies to Africa. The guy who was interviewed described landing at 4 in the morning after 30 hours of flight. He drove 5 hours to camp, sighted in his rifle and went hunting. Lo and behold, he gets a great kudu that night but he says he was half out of it from jet-lag and exhaustion. Seems to me that getting a layover in Doha and spending a night in a hotel to get a good night's sleep and adjust to the time zone is a small price to pay to be able to fully appreciate the experience.

 

[akrifleman]

This posted while I was answering. I've been researching that issue because I'm aiming to go to Seychelle or Mauritius to go fly fishing within the next couple of years. You can fly SA Air from Atlanta but if you're a real Alaskan, you have a ton of Alaska Air miles. Qatar Airways is a mileage partner with Alaska and there's a non-stop from Seattle to Doha and a non-stop from Doha to J-Berg. One nice thing about Qatar Air is that you can extend your stopover for a day or two. I did this with Emirates a few years ago on a trip to Europe. It really helped with jet lag.
I don't now what would happen with rifles on a 24 hour lay-over but if Qatar Air is pushing that layover, I would imagine that they could handle that situation. And that one day means you don't immediately start hunting after a 15 hour flight and you don't know what's up. There was a recent podcast on Big Game Hunting about newbies to Africa. The guy who was interviewed described landing at 4 in the morning after 30 hours of flight. He drove 5 hours to camp, sighted in his rifle and went hunting. Lo and behold, he gets a great kudu that night but he says he was half out of it from jet-lag and exhaustion. Seems to me that getting a layover in Doha and spending a night in a hotel to get a good night's sleep and adjust to the time zone is a small price to pay to be able to fully appreciate the experience.

We talked with the guide and built in some non-hunt days, just to have a day of acclimation and a few tourism days, without having to worry about dealing with firearms. I knew Dubai could be tricky, but I'll have to look at Doha.

 

[John Havard]

I just joined recently after lurking for some time because I am trying to make a trip to Africa in the next couple of years or so. I'm in Palmer and used to live in Dillingham (which should explain my name to Tundra Tiger). Feel free to DM me. We could hit the Ale House and talk hunting or fly fishing.

Palmer here as well

 

[Frederik]

Welcome part of the fun all this preparations.

 

[Just Gina]

to AH!

 

[ARHinAK]

Welcome aboard!
Im in Anchorage and just got back from SA in June. Buffalo and plains game.
Any questions, fire away.

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Welcome to AH akrifleman! Glad you decided to join the conversation.