Informal Survey - What Major Issue(s) Is Keeping You From Safaris This Year

[Bonk]

C19 is the main thing preventing me from rebooking my trip that got cancelled last year. I have no desire to put up with any vaccination, testing, quarantine, social distancing or mask wearing requirements. I can't imagine wearing a mask for a 14 hour flight. No thanks. I'll wait a couple of years until this stupidity runs it's course.

The second reason is scheduling. Even though I have paid vacation it's almost impossible to coordinate booking a hunt with vacation days. I have limited control over when I take vacation so I can't book a hunt a year out with any reasonable expectation my vacation days will coincide with the hunt. I was able to pull it off for a planned hunt in May of last year but I'm still waiting to find out what my vacation days are for next year. Won't know until the fall.

Fortunately I hope that both reasons I haven't rescheduled will be resolved at the same time. I'll retire in '23 and I hope the C19 nonsense will be over by then.

 

[sierraone]

Today for August. LUN-HRE-ADD-IST-IAH or IAH-IST-ADD-HRE-LUN. It's one of those routes (sometimes it's Rwanda instead of Zimbabwe) either going or coming back. Nothing easy. There is a $6,600 Emirates flight with no carry-on. Want a carry-on, it's 28K.

$28,000? What?

 

[wesheltonj]

 

[Uncle Sauce]

Headed out in about 4 weeks for first trip - but worried about the COVID test 'false positive' possibility day before flight.

 

[chashardy]

Departing at the end of June for Limpopo in SA. Had both shots already.

 

[rinehart0050]

View attachment 394028

Hm. Might want to talk to a travel agent about booking one set of tickets to a US hub and another ticket for your flight to Lusaka. I found emirates business class round trip for $6k out of Dulles:

 

[rinehart0050]

We're headed to Zimbabwe in late June. Can't wait.

 

[Muskox]

Time mostly, work has been killing me.

Ideally I am trying to pad my investments so we aren't so reliant on my income and military retirement incase the US economy collapses with this idiot in charge.

 

[Bullet Safaris]

Good to see so many hunters getting back at it!

We are booking many flights for RSA and Tanzania right now and all looks good. Hunter on the ground right now and all is great.

Testing, timelines and interpretation of new and changing rules are the biggest hurdle and worry i am being asked about. That part is a pain BUT I feel 2021 hunters will be rewarded with great safaris.

 

[T3x7SAUM]

Well for me, it’s all COVID-19. I had it in July of 2020 and have been fighting after effects since. I am experiencing extreme fatigue with even minor exertion and, even more worrying, brain fog accompanied by increasing difficulty finding words when speaking. I know of a couple of other people with similar after effects.

Unless a cause and resolution to my issues are found, my Africa dreams will be lived out through through your trip reports.

Rona sucks. Protect yourselves.

 

[mark-hunter]

So far, I am held by covid-19 mess, which reflects the schedule on my job and travel restricitions.
(hunt is booked, and postopned)
Using spare time to prepare rifle 375 H&H for Africa. Time is not wasted!!!!

 

[WAB]

Well for me, it’s all COVID-19. I had it in July of 2020 and have been fighting after effects since. I am experiencing extreme fatigue with even minor exertion and, even more worrying, brain fog accompanied by increasing difficulty finding words when speaking. I know of a couple of other people with similar after effects.

Unless a cause and resolution to my issues are found, my Africa dreams will be lived out through through your trip reports.

Rona sucks. Protect yourselves.

Very sorry to hear that. I hope they find a solution to counteract these after effects.

 

[WAB]

We are planning a leopard/buffalo hunt for early season 2022. There are just too many moving parts for us personally in 2021, really nothing to do with RONA.

 

[sestoppelman]

I have zero desire to travel under these conditions. Its hard enough when things are normal, but with all the added BS, no thanks.

 

[Hank2211]

Leaving April 11, airlines willing.

Nothing worthwhile is ever easy, and this is no exception. We used to have international flights (other than to the US) from Calgary to London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and others, all of which made life pretty easy. Now, all gone. I have to fly to Montreal, pick up a Qatar flight to Doha, then to JNB and then to Kimberley for the first leg. Leave on a Sunday morning and get there on a Tuesday morning.

This isn't even a big hunt - meeting up with friends and doing a bunch of culling, and maybe look for an African Wildcat and an aardwolf. Just spending three weeks having fun in Africa without having to hear our Prime Minister's name. Makes it all worthwhile.

Which reminds me, it's almost time to start the long-form hunt report . . .

 

[WAB]

I have zero desire to travel under these conditions. Its hard enough when things are normal, but with all the added BS, no thanks.

I totally get that. I retired from a job that had me flying 150,000 miles per year in Nov ‘19. So thankful I can sit on the sidelines and watch this crap.

 

[Vintageguy]

Headed out in about 4 weeks for first trip - but worried about the COVID test 'false positive' possibility day before flight.

That’s a big one for me and how my employer would take my being gone two more weeks for quarantine. Safari planning should be fun not stressful.

 

[Neil Molendyk]

1. Just got out of the hospital after getting a hip ball and socket replacement on March 16, 8 week recovery period.

2. Covid 19 and flight and quarantine issues in Canada.

3. Money

 

[Hogpatrol]

Yeah, it's a pain in the ass with testing both ways but what really frosts my balls is the illegals coming over the border aren't held to the same standards.

 

[Trogon]

Wheels up in 30 days!

Me as well!