An aunt needing help!

[MurphyS]

I am planning a surprise trip to Africa for my 18 year old nephew's graduation. He is an avid hunter; I am an avid vacationer. I want him to have a good experience, but I am totally out of my element in trying to plan a guided hunt for him. Is it possible to only hunt for 1 or 2 animals for 4 or 5 days (nothing dangerous--I'm thinking warthog, springbuck, blesbok, impala, etc. in the South(ern) Africa area)? Most hunts I have researched are 7+ days and 4 to 5+ animals. While I'm sure he would love that, it's really not feasible for me to pay for the trophy fees and for all of that taxidermy work on top of the trip and the hunt. Also, I would love to see Africa... I want him to hunt and enjoy himself, but I also want to explore, which is why I had envisioned a shorter hunting trip. If that's just not feasible then I totally understand. I'm just looking to try and understand the expectations of this kind of hunt. For those that travel with companions/families--what do they do while you hunt? An African Safari is my #1 bucket list adventure so I'm trying to figure out how to balance his dreams and mine. Are outfitters out there who offer both? Hunts and opportunities for families to safari? I'm open to any insight or information you may have! I want this to be special for him, so I am trying to learn all of the things!
Thank you!

 

[Mekaniks]

Welcome to AH

There are some very good sponsor outfitter around here that can help you out. Have look at Deals at the top the page.

 

[wesheltonj]

In the past I’ve seen some “executive hunts” for two/three days from JNB on AH. I also think there is one outfitter that does the same out of Cape Town too.

 

[JimP]

You'll have a number of sponsor outfitters on here that will be more than happy to set up a hunt for you.

And you are right, that taxidermy and shipping bill can get out of hand. Do you think that your nephew would be happy with European style mounts, just the skull and horns?

 

[MontanaPat]

Welcome, I think you could talk with numerous outfitter sponsors here on AH that would be happy to schedule a shorter hunt and with just 2-3 animals and then take you both to Kruger NP for a few days. Keep in mind that while your nephew hunts you can go along as an observer and your days out are essentially great game drives where you will see lots of interesting animals and sights much like you would on a photo safari

 

[Moe324]

If you are looking for a cool experience I highly recommend going to Victoria falls. Go to both parks in Zimbabwe and zamba. While there take a day trip and go to Botswana to chobe national park. The boma dinner in Victoria falls is a cool experience. You can do river cruises there too. Lots of good restaurants. They have bungee jumping and zip lining too. Then see if you can find an outfitter in that area for the hunting.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Welcome to AH.

Only hunting 2 animals from your list of animals can easily be done in 1 or 2 days depending on the outfitter's location and PH's accessibility to concessions and flexibility of pairing any 2 animals from your list.

This Is Africa. You have chosen impala and springbok arriving at the concession the PH spots a very nice blesbok ram for a morning hunt and in the afternoon outing spots a nice ______ take your pick____ or an animal in the same trophy fee range, or less ie jackal, baboon, bushpig, etc as the animals on your list.

You are a bit vague on your details of your trip, which leads to a whole lot of variables for any kind of detailed response.

On my first or second trip to Africa 2 couples were traveling on vacation together on the last 4 days of their vacation they arrived at lodge, the outfitter I was hunting with, for the guys to hunt 2 days before their trip home.

Questions to ask yourself are:

What time of year are you planning your trip?
The seasons are opposite June, July, and August are Africa's winter months.

What province in South Africa do you want to visit?

How many days are you planning for your trip?

Are you spending all of your time with one outfitter?

Are you wanting to use the first or last days of your trip for hunting?

What kind of sightseeing, photo safari, etc, trip are you planning?

Is your nephew bringing a firearm or renting one from the outfitter or PH?

Sending you a PM that might help you in your decisions.

 

[Sabre]

What an awesome gift to give your nephew! There are many outfitters that would be happy to do what you are describing.

I would suggest maybe doing the hunt, and the sightseeing with a hunting outfitter. You could go out for a couple days with your nephew and hunt, which although it is hunting, the vast majority of the time is spent looking at animals. You would see many different species doing that and get to experience a unique adventure with your nephew.

Many hunting operators are very happy to arrange photo safaris and sightseeing for you in addition to hunting animals.

Although you are an Aunt and Nephew, I would also look into trips with hunting outfitters that are marketed as "couples trips", because many of them are already designed exactly as you describe. Hunting for 2-3 days and sightseeing and photo safaris for 3-4 days. Do a trip like that and you will both achieve your dream vacations and experience it together, giving you both shared memories to last a lifetime.

Good luck in your search for a safari and if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

 

[mark-hunter]

I would love to have an aunt like you!

Anyway, many of the outfitters' sponsors on this forum will be able to provide what you are looking for.
I suggest South Africa to look at first, then Namibia. Some of the outfitters will be able to provide you with a short hunt plus sightseeing around, visiting national parks, historic sights, cave painting, etc.

One example of short short-listed hunt.

Thread 'A Short 2 Day Hunt With EXECUTIVE HUNT AFRICA!!'

Sep 15, 2024

This offer is made for the hunter who has only limited time for an adrenaline rush!

You will be hosted at our Greater Kudu Lodge in the North West Province, only an hour drive from O.R. Tambo International Airport.

Our luxurious suite (with uncapped wifi available for business and face timing the family), is situated in a suburban area, from where we'll drive to the concessions every morning for the day's hunting.

1 x Hunter, 2 x days
1 x Impala
1 x Giraffe
All inclusive US$2900.00

This package includes:
- Pick up and drop off at O.R. Tambo International Airport.
- Accommodation...

• EXECUTIVE HUNT AFRICA
• business hunt close to airport giraffe hunt impala hunt limited time north west province short hunt
• Replies: 23
• Forum: Deals & offers

• 

Note that packages are not carved in stone; they are flexible. You can make your list of animals. Just ask the outfitter for the price list. I understand the budget limitations, but consider Kudu for the first hunt. Kudu! The longest horn in Africa. And you can add to that, maybe a cull animal, like springbok or warthog, to make a two-animal list and still keep within a budget.

 

[EXECUTIVE HUNT AFRICA]

Good day! Welcome to AH!
Please check your messages, DM sent!
Regards
Johan

 

[Hillbilly Marine]

Do you need another nephew? Seriously, I am certain that one of the outfitters here could do something to accommodate.

 

[MurphyS]

You'll have a number of sponsor outfitters on here that will be more than happy to set up a hunt for you.

And you are right, that taxidermy and shipping bill can get out of hand. Do you think that your nephew would be happy with European style mounts, just the skull and horns?

He would be more than happy with whatever we do! In my head, I figured it would be a cooler experience for him to have 1 really nice mount vs. several European style, but I am not the hunter! Definitely something to consider, thank you!

 

[MurphyS]

I would love to have an aunt like you!

Anyway, many of the outfitters' sponsors on this forum will be able to provide what you are looking for.
I suggest South Africa to look at first, then Namibia. Some of the outfitters will be able to provide you with a short hunt plus sightseeing around, visiting national parks, historic sights, cave painting, etc.

One example of short short-listed hunt.

Thread 'A Short 2 Day Hunt With EXECUTIVE HUNT AFRICA!!'

Sep 15, 2024

This offer is made for the hunter who has only limited time for an adrenaline rush!

You will be hosted at our Greater Kudu Lodge in the North West Province, only an hour drive from O.R. Tambo International Airport.

Our luxurious suite (with uncapped wifi available for business and face timing the family), is situated in a suburban area, from where we'll drive to the concessions every morning for the day's hunting.

1 x Hunter, 2 x days
1 x Impala
1 x Giraffe
All inclusive US$2900.00

This package includes:
- Pick up and drop off at O.R. Tambo International Airport.
- Accommodation...

• EXECUTIVE HUNT AFRICA
• business hunt close to airport giraffe hunt impala hunt limited time north west province short hunt
• Replies: 23
• Forum: Deals & offers

• 

Note that packages are not carved in stone; they are flexible. You can make your list of animals. Just ask the outfitter for the price list. I understand the budget limitations, but consider Kudu for the first hunt. Kudu! The longest horn in Africa. And you can add to that, maybe a cull animal, like springbok or warthog, to make a two-animal list and still keep within a budget.

I started doing these graduation trips for my nieces and nephews about 8 years ago and they are now highly anticipated. Somehow, they just keep getting bigger and bigger lol. Thank you for the info!

 

[MurphyS]

Do you need another nephew? Seriously, I am certain that one of the outfitters here could do something to accommodate.

Lol if you could plan this trip, then come on! I've only had nieces graduate so far so planning this trip for a boy has been an experience! Everyone and all of this information has been so helpful!

 

[ActionBob]

Is it possible to only hunt for 1 or 2 animals for 4 or 5 days (nothing dangerous--I'm thinking warthog, springbuck, blesbok, impala, etc. in the South(ern) Africa area)? Most hunts I have researched are 7+ days and 4 to 5+ animals.

I am sure you can find a short hunt in South Africa. Normal in South Africa on a general Plains Game hunt is 1 to 3 critters per day. So you don't need many days. You may have time on the arrival day to hunt the afternoon/evening. Then the next full day or two and possibly a final morning hunt. So really 2 nights should suffice. You should ride with! Your nephew will be on the back of the hunting truck. You can climb up ride with him and have a great view... or just ride in the front passenger seat in the truck and be more comfortable and you will see a lot from there also. You are paying so take your pick but do go with and experience it!

Consider going on a night hunt one evening after dinner. Just spot lighting with the short hunt. Low cost critters such as black back jackal (I'd make that the main goal. Spotlights but also stop and call), porcupine or several... (just pull quills to take home), genet, spring hare. Maybe a Steenbok or duiker. See what Africa gives him.

 

[mark-hunter]

@MurhpyS

One of the sponsors here, De Klerk Safaris, offers everything you need. Hunting and non hunting trips. You may wrap up everything in one package with one outfit.

De Klerk Safaris - We Reflect the Soul of Africa!

DE KLERK SAFARIS headquarters is in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. famous for its huge black-maned lions, enormous springbuck, and other desert species.

www.dksafaris.com

I am looking occasionally in such options, hoping my wife (non hunting) will join me on safari one day.

 

[Tbitty]

@MurphyS what a wonderful idea! As you've seen in a number of posts above, we have a lot of great sponsors on this site who can surely accommodate almost any request you have.

A few thoughts for you that I have not seen above, although I did only skim the responses:

Do you have an "all in" budget? The hunt itself is usually easy to budget. Total costs to consider are: airfare/travel, the hunt package (with observers?), gratuities, extra activities, taxidermy, and shipping taxidermy. Many people also have additional costs/options that could include pre/post hunt lodging for overnight stays between flights, travel agents, meet & greet services, customs brokers for taxidermy import, etc. ... you can probably get relatively accurate estimates for all of those costs except the taxidermy shipping, take a best guess at that shipping cost, then work all of the numbers against total budget to see what your hunt budget is. I took a quick glance at the "Deals and Offers" section of these forums and saw some options from $3-5k for the hunt packages.

If you see an outfitter that seems like a potential fit, reach out and tell them what you are wanting. The more specific you are (# of days, hunters/observers, total cost, animal preferences if any, etc.) will help them make a fair offer on what they can do.

If you have flexibility in scheduling, you could probably even work a deal with an outfitter that has a short gap between hunters in their calendar and could fill that void with a short trip like you are asking about (3-4 days total). Win/win in they keep busy and you squeeze in a shorter hunt.

Keep asking questions, the members here are eager to help!

 

[JimP]

In regards to getting to South Africa I'll suggest for you to contact Jennifer at Travel Express.

They are a site sponsor and can take care of your travel needs.

The next thing is the firearm. You can go one of two ways. The outfitters will have firearms that can be rented per day plus ammunition. Of if he would like to use his own there'll be forms to be filled out and a trip to the South African Police station at the Johannesburg airport. On this I'll suggest RiflePermits.com Henry will do a preapproved permit and even do a meet and greet at the airport. However if the outfitter that you choose is going to pick you up at the Johannesburg airport they might assist you with the permits and inspections.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I also recommend skull mounts. Tell the African taxidermist to simply mount the skulls on scrap plywood "plaques" so they can pass customs inspection as "finished taxidermy." That will save $$ and import hassles. And tell taxidermist no painting the skulls! Your nephew can mount the skulls however he wants. He is a young man who has many physical relocations in his future. It will be much easier to deal with skulls than dragging around shoulder mounts.

For economy I suggest impala, springbuck, and blesbuck. Maybe a blue wildebeest. Warthog usually are a bit more of a headache to get through customs on this end. Because they are so greasy, getting a skull done up properly is a crapshoot. Or you could simply book one animal, the most rewarding of all: kudu. A spectacular trophy and usually a very challenging hunt. On my first safari I had four of five animals of my package by day two plus blue wildebeest, warthog, and Cape buffalo. Then I had five days left to get my kudu and finally shot him literally at the last hour of the last day. Probably saw a dozen bulls but never able to connect. Wary buggers and difficult terrain. If your nephew's hunt was dedicated for kudu and he couldn't connect, by the last day or two the PH could set him up with something else ... likely a couple of something else. The amount and variety of game he/you will see is mind boggling.

I would suggest asking the outfitter if your nephew can cull a couple of springbuck. I culled them and only paid the "meat price" (about $150 as I recall). Usually can't take the horns but have the hides tanned for table top throws etc. Springbuck are beautiful little things and not very expensive to get tanned up. Again, something he will be able to easily carry with him down life's road long after you are gone.

Just about any outfitter will be able to set you up with tours while your nephew is hunting.

 

[Nyati]

If you don´t want your costs to get out of hand I have two recommendations

Forget about taxidermy, just do Euro-mounts

Pick your animaals wisely, there are about 20 you could have between 50 and 1.000 $