Cost for a 28 day full bag hunt in Tanzania

[ActionBob]

The South African conservation model can’t and will never work in Tanzania. All the Game Reserves, Wildlife Management Areas and Open Areas and the wildlife within are owned by the state. So it’s the government that determines the block fees, license fees and trophy fees. In SA it was the private landowners who decided to kick off domestic stock and reintroduce wildlife, and they had the savvy to turn a profit.

The TZ outfitters make the majority of their money from the daily rate alone - this is why you’ll find a difference between the various outfitters daily rates, the better the area and quality of camp the higher you will pay.

I was a PH in Tanzania for 8 years and did anti-poaching during the off season flying Bantum Ultralights. The cost of building camps, maintenance of road networks, year round anti-poaching, distances needed to travel, community development etc etc all is extremely costly. That is simply why the daily rate in TZ is somewhere between $2000 and $3000 per day. Also the TZ hunting season is very limited, where many areas of central and southern Tanzania can only start hunting end of July due to the rains and have to shut down camp end of October before the rains start again.

So it’s very difficult to compare SA to Tanzania as everything is different and the playing fields are not the same. But what I can assure you is that it’s not the Outfitters pulling the piss, the majority are just trying to stay afloat.

@RANCE SAFARIS thanks for chiming in! Nice to hear from guys who have been there and done that and can speak with real authority.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Also remember this, we are talking one example here. And one that I haven't seen confirmed (Meaning that big of a drop for 2-1, it's usually not much of a delta).

I have the price list. I am wondering if the 2x1 price is for splitting the full bag.

 

[Rum Runner]

Question for the guys who have hunted Tanzania, how rough actually is the transportation from Regional Airport to "most" prominent concessions without charter flights? The transport part is what really turned me off but perhaps there are some areas that are not too long?

As far as travel goes, I flew into Kilimanjaro International then drove (1 hour) into Arusha. Stayed two nights in Arusha then took a charter flight (about 1 1/2 hours) into Rungwa, then drove to the concession (another 2 hours or so). Nathan fixed me up with leopard hunters who were flying out (therefor, sharing the cost of the flight in). After the hunt I elected to drive out (from Rungwa to Arusha); that's a 16 hour drive one way.

However, this all worked perfectly for me. I love to travel, and I really got to see Tanzania! Not sure I would have changed a thing.

 

[Rum Runner]

Nathan has some of the best prices I have seen and Rungwa is a wonderful place, one day I'll go back for a Leopard if I live long enough. For me the cost was secondary to the experience. I wanted the whole enchilada, as near as I could come to the traditional East African safari. Porters have been replaced by trucks and light aircraft and there are more "roads" but I think I came as close as I could to what it used to be like. Yes, Tanzania is expensive and I am far from wealthy, at a young age I chose to make the Navy a career and I'm sure Red Leg and many others on the forum will tell you that nobody in the military gets rich. I was able to retire at a fairly young age though and pursue another career but I'm strictly a blue collar guy. I live in a very modest house and drive a 12 year old Ford to work everyday. I will never be "rich" financially speaking but I value my family, friends and experiences far more than money.

You've really captured it. Not only is it wild fair chase hunting, but the abundance of wildlife is astounding!

 

[Wheels]

After the hunt I elected to drive out (from Rungwa to Arusha); that's a 16 hour drive one way.

However, this all worked perfectly for me. I love to travel, and I really got to see Tanzania! Not sure I would have changed a thing.

Thanks for correcting me on the time from Arusha to Nathan's area in Rungwa. I didn't remember it as being that long.

Glad you got to see Tanzania!

 

[Royal27]

I have the price list. I am wondering if the 2x1 price is for splitting the full bag.

View attachment 327419

I bet it is Dave.

Which would make it more expensive if the bag was split, not less, unless a couple of guys had very specific wants....

Again, the devil is in the details!

EDIT: by more expensive I mean per animal, not total cost of the hunt.

 

[grand veneur]

I think some of us hunted in Tanzania already. I also shot 2 buffalos in the Kilombero area , but 30 years ago and for very different prices. At that time the buffalo in Tanzania was on offer for sale. The trophy fees of the second buffalo was cheaper than that for the first.

 

[Wheels]

I think some of us hunted in Tanzania already. I also shot 2 buffalos in the Kilombero area , but 30 years ago and for very different prices. At that time the buffalo in Tanzania was on offer for sale. The trophy fees of the second buffalo was cheaper than that for the first.

You hunted Kilombero at a special time.

There are still hunting reports that come from there, but it is my understanding that much of the area has become rice projects.

Do you remember what you paid for the hunt 30 years ago? Who was your outfitter?

Thanks.

 

[grand veneur]

You hunted Kilombero at a special time.

There are still hunting reports that come from there, but it is my understanding that much of the area has become rice projects.

Do you remember what you paid for the hunt 30 years ago? Who was your outfitter?

Thanks.

TED GORSLINE'S - KILOMBERO NORTH SAFARIS

My PH was a man from Portugal. I remember the name too.

I had booked the hunt , like many others back then , through the Safari Willscher agency in Hamburg/Germany and paid in Deutsch Marks. I don't have the receipts anymore , but I can remember that it all cost around DM.15000. I don't know exactly the Deutsch Mark exchange rate at that time , at the begin of the nineties , but it must have been around 1 USD for 2 DM. The first trophy fees for a buffalo being around USD 750 and the second around USD 650. I only shot 2 buffalos because there was nothing else except puku's , but they could only be hunted during a 21 days hunt.

 

[mark-hunter]

Did you hunt anything else in addition to buffalo, back then?

 

[grand veneur]

As I wrote above , except buffalos there were only puku's in the area , but they should only be hunted during a 21-day hunt. I hunted for 7 days and that was the only time I was in Tanzania.

 

[grand veneur]

Hunting area Kilombero , about 30 years ago , ...a lot of water. We oftens need dugout canoes for moving in the swamps.

 

[grand veneur]

The second buffalo in the grass. The first was deep in the water after shooting. You only saw one horn.

 

[ActionBob]

I have the price list. I am wondering if the 2x1 price is for splitting the full bag.

View attachment 327419

If I had to guess I would say no. The difference in cost is not far off from adding an observer.

And remember the laws and rules around hunting are quite different from South Africa for example. The government of Tanzania actually owns the areas and animals vs. private ownership. And as I understand it, the government sees hunting as an important sourse of it's funding.

So quite sure it is not technically legal for two hunters to take game on the same license. I could be mistaken and they may have a way around this. But my guess is each hunter gets his or her own quota.

 

[grand veneur]

Underwater buffalo !

 

[ActionBob]

Looking at the 2x2 discount, of course it makes sense that it is more efficient from a business cost perspective to have 2 hunters in camp vs. 1. The operator has to have the camp and camp staff there anyway.

 

[ActionBob]

I was at the Houston Safari Club on Saturday. Much, much smaller show that DSC. Bumped into a few other AH gentleman hunters: @tarbe , @Bullthrower338 , @ActionBob and @Dave Hawkins. Oh yea, @John Sharp too.

I sat down with an outfitter from Tanz and we discussed a buffalo hunt. The outfitter was candid about the situation in Tanz, saying a lot of concessions come up for auction at the end of 2021.

In case anyone was wondering what a 1x1, 28 day, lion, leopard and full bag hunt costs..............wait for it...........$118k. Charter flight not included in that price, which makes it a deal breaker for me.

Dave I have been hesitant to publicly say it, but that actually sounds like a pretty decent deal if 4 of the big 5 or on quota, tips included....

Several years ago James Jeffrey had a deal advertised on here and I don't remember if it was 21 or 28 days, but it was deeply discounted. And came to $106,000 with all trophy fees except elephant. But that included charter and tips. I remember going over every detail.....

 

[Wheels]

TED GORSLINE'S - KILOMBERO NORTH SAFARIS

My PH was a man from Portugal. I remember the name too.

I had booked the hunt , like many others back then , through the Safari Willscher agency in Hamburg/Germany and paid in Deutsch Marks. I don't have the receipts anymore , but I can remember that it all cost around DM.15000. I don't know exactly the Deutsch Mark exchange rate at that time , at the begin of the nineties , but it must have been around 1 USD for 2 DM. The first trophy fees for a buffalo being around USD 750 and the second around USD 650. I only shot 2 buffalos because there was nothing else except puku's , but they could only be hunted during a 21 days hunt.

Thank you for the information and photos! Great buff.

At one time there used to be massive herds of elephant as well.

Google Earth Photos of what some of the area has become.

 

[Rum Runner]

https://www.africahunting.com/threads/tanzania-double-dugga-boy-with-bullet-safaris.52846/

 

[grand veneur]

Thank you for the information and photos! Great buff.

At one time there used to be massive herds of elephant as well.

Google Earth Photos of what some of the area has become.

View attachment 327605

View attachment 327606

View attachment 327607

The landscape seems to have changed very badly.

I didn't see any elephants back then. The population is said to have decreased drastically during and after the railway Dar es Salaam-Lusaka was built. Why ? There was only guesswork.