That's all well and good firehuntfish, and I agree 100%. However in my case I did do all the due diligence I could. Besides numerous conversations with the US rep here, I talked to 15'ish customers/references. All of them were positive (not surprising), but once again I didn't know what I didn't know. ......................... Once again, I was naive.
I will disagree with you in that it would be impossible to make a poor choice though. Dishonest outfitters are everywhere, unfortunately, and SA has their fair share, as does the US and Mexico. Planning a hunting trip is great fun, and I'm in the middle of planning my 4th safari right now. I am much more educated nowadays.
I appreciate when someone shares that they felt they researched well and then found out later that "they did not know".
I had that feeling long before I left for Africa the first time.
I went way further than most hunters ever will to learn about hunting in Africa. Specifically, South Africa and Namibia on my first trip.
ie. Taking and graduating the PH course. I wanted to know the game and the law. I could not fathom going to a place to hunt and not know what I was doing.
How many of you have local GPS software and know the farm property boundaries where you have hunted?
I do and have used it from the start.
I mapped out entire farms using local GPS software and also on Google Earth. Farm names, etc. Google Earth does not have any interest is misleading you.
I asked for CAE's, Licenses, Permit numbers, etc. Current copies. Honest operators will send them without question.
Do you know what a bonafide permit looks like?
I appreciated many of the comments and reports I read here and I also continue to read between the lines.
It takes much more effort but you get more out of it.
I continue to learn every day.
After reading about the concerns and differences in farms; low fence, high fence, no fence, I made two bookings.
One on a farm in Namibia (that was a cattle farm really) that was part of a "conservancy".
We never left the farmers actual property and mostly waited for game to come to us. However, I did get one or two walk and stalks in on my Eland.
What drew me to the area was the large herd of Eland in the conservancy. It is actually where the current world record was from.
The second hunt I booked was on a large property in Natal that had a high fence. (It's required by law to be able to hunt year round)
It was 8000 Ha and open fenced to other properties, which when combined added up to much more than 8000Ha.
The animals were free to leave the property I was hunting at any time and be quite "safe" right next door where they would not be hunted.
The game was never pressured enough to push them off the property I was hunting.
These two hunts are not even comparable, beyond the fact that I was hunting in Africa.
How do you compare staying and eating with a cattle farm family, sleeping in a small bunk house listening to the workers family squabble to a four star resort with king size beds, heaters, served four course meals and all the mega fauna (except lions) roaming around the hunting area. (Croc, Hippo, Elephant, B&W Rhino, Buffalo, Leopard)
From seeing ONE Oryx, that I shot to large herds of game.
I enjoyed both places and the hunting in both.
Make sure you are booking what and how you want to hunt. Skip the country bashing, as there are great hunts to be had in every country.
When you look at all those trophy pictures on a website do you ever think of when they might have been taken? Are they really from that Outfitter.
I had some of my own trophy pictures show up on some Outfitters FB site. He had access to the property I hunted and was offering hunts there so he used my trophy pictures to promote his hunts.
Needless to say I was not impressed. I contacted the owner and had them address my concerns.
The pictures were removed.
At least with a hunting report written by the hunter I get to see their actual trophies and how they hunted. In all likelihood you will also see the terrain in those sun set panoramas that everyone takes.
Another source of information can be the instance when you see that someone is going to be heading off hunting somewhere and a hunt report is never filed? Why not?
Whatever, the reason. The information is missing and is worthy of an investigation.
Another excellent information source is how the PH/Outfitter conducts themselves in various forums like AH.
After tracking information over YEARS you can certainly see patterns. Hence, why a public forum is so helpful.
Someone like a "representative" or agent has an interest in the game. Take it into account, that's all.
Cross reference the information and keep gathering until you are satisfied.
I talked to references and they were actually useless to me. Perhaps my questions were not effective at eliciting the proper information.
That is why I think this linked thread is worth more than almost any other. It makes you think about what kind of question will actually elicit the type of information you need to make the right decision and get around the current set of euphemisms and cultural differences. ( PAC, Ranch, Canned, Put and Take, Free Range, low fence, high fence, conservancy, communal area, etc.)
JG add some of your better questions into this thread when you get a chance
http://www.africahunting.com/threads/better-questions-to-ask-when-looking-for-a-hunt….23825/
Figuring out the budget is one thing. Where you are spending that budget will make the difference in the end!
Have fun planning and hunting.
Your experience is just one of many examples of the point I was making. In all sincerity, I empathize that you felt deceived. I can personally assure you that I take it very seriously when I hear that a safari client had a negative experience for any reason. It makes everyone involved in the business look bad. But that too, needs to be taken into context for the circumstances of what really occurred.
Best of luck to you on your 4th safari!
