Very well said and spot on. I'll just add this:
The currency of preference will depend on the country.
In South Africa it's hard for the Safari staff to exchange USD for Rand, and if they did they would likely pay a significant fee for the exchange, so tip them in Rand.
In Zimbabwe the USD is the unofficial official currency (or is it official unofficial currency?). Zim has a new currency of their own called the ZiG, which stands for Zimbabwe Gold (it's Gold backed currency, remember when the USD was?). A great idea but there seems to be some issue relating to loss of value almost immediately when you receive ZiG. So in Zimbabwe tip in USD, it spends everywhere.
For other countries ask your outfitter.
And, don't be a cheapskate.
- A stingy person; a miser.
- Someone who stingily avoids spending money.
- By extension, someone who doesn't give freely.
The trackers, skinners, driver, camp manager, chef, and all the other camp staff are professionals at their job (if they aren't, you are hunting with the wrong outfitter). They are what make Safaris special, and successful. Tip them well. There is a hierarchy so check with the outfitter. Best to tip and thank them one at a time, individually. While still at home I take a bunch of envelopes, label them, put the allocated amount for each in their respective envelope (for the camp staff I usually put an amount in a single envelope and talk with the outfitter to find out how it should be divvied up). At the end of the hunt I hand em out.
And of course the PH gets a tip.
And anything other than money should not be considered part of the tip. It's just an added nicety. That includes ammo.
