Family safari - good idea or bad idea???

[BRICKBURN]

Have a great trip!

 

[afox]

Hi there and hope this finds you all well . It be great to sit down with you guys in person and discus , when ever you ready for this please email me andrifoxsafaris@yahoo.com

 

[navar]

Hi there,
that sounds like a great Idea.
We are specialized on this kind of safaris, so if you would like some more info, please dont hesetate on contacting us. We will gladly assist you.
thanks

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

Hi there

this is a great idea and will be a lasting memory for your family!!!

we do these kinds of safaris all the time
we can arrange all the trips for the ladies, maybe a few days in kruger with the whole gang before or after the hunting will be great too
we can arrange a whole side trip for the "non hunters" if you like no problem
we love to get kids started in hunting, its one of my passions, so the more kids the better

any other questions or queries, send me a message or email

kind regards

 

[Hogpatrol]

My two cents: You have a good mix of personalities for a trip like this. I would shop around with the outfitters and get references from families that did a similar safari. I would definitely go for it.

 

[DE KLERK SAFARIS]

Hello Mr. De Ribeau

You have an excellent idea to bring your whole family on safari.
We have done a few family trips like that and are so glad we did it as my parents can do it no more.
The memories you make is priceless.

I am not going to beat around the bush about DE KLERK SAFARIS.
We are located in a very remote area. Closest town of any significance (Vryburg) is 240 km (150 miles) away.
So for the ladies not much shopping (maybe a good thing) unless we spend a day in Johburg.
We pick up all our clients in Johannesburg. So if your family wants to be close to a city we are not the place you want.

But what we can offer you is good quality family time around the campfire every night, playing board games, reading a good book, swimming, astrology, archery, clay pigeons, game watching / photography, etc.
We have several blinds where the ladies can just sit and relax with a good book and take some photos of animals coming in. Another fun thing we do with our family safaris is we take them out at night for a springhare hunt. With the ladies present we'll go for the catch and release option. Some people enjoy it so much that years later they are still talking about it. You will also get plenty opportunity at shooting jackals (free of charge) day or night. We also offer some very good culling packages (see on this site some of our specials)
We also have a beauty salon that can come out to the ranch to treat the ladies on massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, etc.
The grandsons will get plenty opportunities at game and I have smaller caliber rifles that they can use.
They will be the perfect age (as they will remember everything). My son started hunting at age 7 so your grandsons are not too young. Even if they are not very competent with a rifle my professional hunters are very patient and can teach them. We have a shooting range at the lodge that go out to 600 yards with steel gongs so that might be something else for the family to do (shooting gongs). Let grandfather show the youngsters how it's done.

The girls can go hunting with the men every day or just relax at the lodge or sit in one of the blinds.
We come back to the lodge very day for lunch so they can also do half days out with the men.

We do have Wi-Fi, satellite TV, cellphone reception if somebody has to have it but our focus is more on getting away from everything electronic and to spend quality time with your family.

I would recommend a combination photo and hunting safari.
First spend a few days in Kruger National Park and get over the jet lag and then spend a few days hunting.
We are also relatively close (for the Kalahari distance does not matter to us) to the Kalahari Gemsbuck National Park so you can do a combination of lets say Kruger National Park then hunting then Kalahari Gemsbuck National Park. We even take some of our groups down to Capetown (the girls will really like Capetown) !!

For more info and prices and references send me an e-mail.
Sincerely
Hans de Klerk

 

[peras]

Wonderful idea! You are welcome to PM or mail me to discuss your safari.

 

[Spear Safaris]

Dear Charles
Sounds like a great trip that you are planning.
I have just the place for such a vacation. 22 000 acres of Game reserve in the Drakensberg region of Limpopo, part Game reserve and part Resort. Facilities include Swimming pool, spa, game drives /walks, sight seeing and shopping trips from base camp etc.
Hunting is also great there, with an amazing variety of species available to hunt.
Kruger National park is about 1,5 Hours away for day trips, or we can ship all the ladies to our camp in Thorny Bush Game reserve for a few days as well, also about 1 Hour away.
Please feel free to email me or PM me for more information,
Cheers Ernest

 

[billc]

Indeed - when I told one friend the story of the trophy room, his response was, "Where did you find this woman? What planet is she from?!!" That pretty well sums it up. I've pretty lucky. I guess that's why we are going to have that milestone anniversary.

I am looking for her clone now. LOL Not many of the lady's I have been around like the idea of a trophy room. So I have the trophy room now and need to find one to tell me it needs more in it.

 

[slam8031]

I recently just did this--
My wife and I have been on safari three times, my oldest son went on one of the trips when he was 12, and I took my whole crew this past June/July for 10 days in 2017 to Warthog Safaris in the Limpopo. My 82 year old mother, my bride, my son (now 16) and three daughters (ages 13, 11, and 9) all traveled to RSA. My daughters had never harvested an animal although they had hunted with me, my mother is a non hunter. We had a blast! All the girls harvested animals. My mother finally "got" hunting. We did an elephant learning session and fed a village school (approx 300 students) with game harvested and also took soccer balls, wool socks, and tooth brushes. . All made this THE trip of my family. Just do it! They will be changed forever and have memories for a lifetime. Sometimes the girls wanted to hunt, and sometimes they wanted to play around the camp. No big deal. We talk about it every day...
I did a write up of our experiences on AH (SOUTH AFRICA: A Great Time With Warthog Safaris: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/south-africa-a-great-time-with-warthog-safaris.39291/).

 

[Shootist43]

Sounds like there is no end of possibilities. Start a spreadsheet listing the possible outfitters, what they have to offer for the hunters, non-hunters, quasi- hunters, etc. Almost like going on by yourself but with a lot more items / aspects to consider.

 

[Philip Glass]

It's definitely complicated but can be done. Check out ARU Game Lodges in Namibia. They cater to families and have spa services, ATV trips, and anything can be customized. They are not far from Windhoek so shopping excursions in the fine shops there that have the nicest zebra purses etc I have ever seen (and wish I had purchased for my wife at the time!). All the PH's there will gladly take time for the younger hunters.
I hope you can organize a great trip!
Philip

 

[BWH]

Sounds like a dream trip & an amazing time. Also, sounds it could be very expensive. Nevertheless, it would an awesome experience for sure. Considering the kids & ladies. They may prefer something more high end than rustic..... if so consider something like Serapa. If not, lots of other great outfitters on here than can give cool opportunities. Depends on what all you want to see, do, hunt, etc.

 

[Nyati]

That is a great idea, I would take the ladies on the hunt, there is no better way to enjoy Africa.

 

[buck wild]

If she is really from Texas, then it's in her somewhere, you just have to release it !!! Unless she's from Dallas, then all bets are off. Like Jarred Burmingham sings, " I'm from Texas, not Dallas, where we ain't got no hockey or damn metro plexs . We'd sell them to Oklahoma if they weren't so damned expensive" " LOL

 

[daved]

The eastern cape of South Africa is a great venue for the family . I will send you a private message
Warm hunting regards
Dave

 

[Charles de Ribeau]

Let me ask another question. "What could possibly go wrong with this plan?" ;-) When I say that, I'm excluding the random things like snake bite, animal attack, auto accident, lost luggage, etc. Those are routine risks that just are part of the package with any safari.

Before asking that, I should have mentioned that for some strange reason my older son can't eat *any* dairy. It's OK as an ingredient, as long as it's cooked and there isn't too much of it (for example, croissants are out - too much butter). The younger grandson has a nut allergy that seems to be waning. Currently, he can eat peanuts and almonds. Am I being unrealistic to think that these dietary restrictions could be accommodated in camp?

I definitely would want to go to a malaria and yellow fever free area.

I would take out Global Rescue or MedJet Assist insurance for the entire party, plus health insurance that would pay any medical bills over there. I've never bothered with the latter, but earlier this year a friend broke his neck while in Costa Rica. The doctor/hospital wouldn't treat him until he gave them $20,000 - cash (actually a wire transfer).

I would spend time with the grandsons to make sure that their shooting skills were adequate and that they were comfortable shooting with sticks.

 

[Charles de Ribeau]

I think you have a good plan there. Your choice of outfitter (quality of lodge, good hostess and hospitality) is as important as the hunting aspect.

Thanks. That's good advice. I think that it is especially true for the non-hunters. I've been in many camps (Africa and North America) over the years. Some are just barebones the food just OK. At the other end of the spectrum are the high end luxury camps with exceptionally good food.

 

[Charles de Ribeau]

Hello Mr. Ribeau,

I'm going to go out on a limb here and venture that there will not be one single outfitter that responds that doesn't think this is a GREAT idea!

LOL

 

[Charles de Ribeau]

LOL

How far in advance do you think I should book the safari? (I know that the flights can only be booked 12 months prior.)