Well, I have been thinking about doing an African hunt for several years now and just did a spur of the moment auction purchase of a hunt with Van Wijk Safaris. It would be my first trip to Africa and I would be bringing my 15 year old son and my wife.
I've been trying to do some research on Van Wijk and they have a facebook page with good reviews but not finding much else about them. We would just be doing plains game and maybe an add on tour of Kruger National Park at the end of the hunt.
I didn't pay that much for it so if it turns out to be a mistake I can just chalk it up to a donation to conservation since 100% of the proceeds go to the charity.
In the process of checking out flights and dates and making plans. If anyone knows anything about Van Wijk good or bad I would love to know and in the meantime I'll work on logistics. Looking at their pricelist for additional animals (base hunt is only for an impala or blesbuck) they seem a little high but since the price I'm paying for the auction is good I think it should even out pretty well as long as we don't both shoot a kudu and a sable.
Anyway, main reason for posting is to find out if anyone has anything to say about Van Wijk either good or bad. On the search function there is only one post from 2010 from someone trying to resell one of these auction hunts but nothing else.
Thanks, Nathan
First of all, welcome to AH! Always good to have new members on the site.
Secondly, I'm not going to say anything about Van Wijk Safaris. As you'll see in my signature I'm a U.S. rep for JKO Safaris, and it just wouldn't be professional of me to criticize another outfitter. It also wouldn't be honest as I know nothing about the outfitter except what I've read here on this thread.
What I will say is you're not the first to bid on a hunt at some sort of event, win it and then research the outfitter you just signed up with. I didn't quite do the same on my very first safari, but close enough. So please do not feel that I'm criticizing you, but rather trying to relate experience so that you do not end up disappointed.
Only after I had wrote the deposit check at a hunting expo and was committed did I take time to research the outfitter. And even after not finding much about him, I still made my way to RSA. Without boring you with an old story, suffice to say I was sitting in the aforementioned Afton House in Johannesburg when a phone call came that let me know I was not to bother making my way the next day to Kimberley for my hunt. To say I wish I had found this website, did my research first and then booked a hunt, is a bit of an understatement. Fortunately, a backup plan was hastily made and I ended up having a great hunt with another outfitter.
It was in fact this experience that motivated me to want to be in the business somehow. Africa had set her teeth in me and I would return. I knew this at about dinner on the first day of my hunt. But I'm not sure I would've returned if it wasn't for the outfitter that bailed me out of my predicament that was partially of my own making.
So i won't tell you to bail on Van Wijk, but I would encourage you to continue researching them and comparing to others. From what I read, you're only $800 into this now, and in reality it's not that much compared to what it could be. It is your decision to make, but you may wish to think about just how many animals you believe you'll actually take, how many days you may want to hunt, etc. and add up all of those costs, and research outfitters here on AH as well as other places. There's so many reputable outfitters here on AH and plenty who are not sponsors but there are reports on. There are so many member hunt reports to give you more confidence in who you may be considering.
That $800 you already spent, you may save that much and more, just by not being charged for the trip to the hunting lodge. And you may get on that plane feeling confident you're heading into a good situation, that as the commercial says is priceless.
Best wishes for whatever you choose to do!
