Tipping Guide

[TTundra]

When I go back in October for ten days

So have you actually hunted Africa or not Michael? Because your other posts tell October being your first trip. Lots of opinions coming from someone without first hand experience of what can go well in Africa and what may not go so well in Africa...all of which can factor into a tip.

THe so-called gifts you describe that your PH appreciates was quantified by my PH as trinkets and crap. He's tired of putting on a fake smile accepting tea shirts candy and cheap knives, his words not mine.

So, you will be hunting Africa for the first time, and have not actually met any of the trackers, skinners, drivers, camp staff, etc, and are trying to pass judgment on what I chose to bring them on my second hunt, let alone what I may or may not bring for my third hunt? But you're right, every PH is different and so is every one of his staff...and when you hunt Africa for the first time hopefully you get to know the whole team, if you so choose, because you can learn a lot from them.

You can continue to provide your PH with assorted trinkets and I'll continue to bring good scotch and a generous cash tip. Given the option I can promise you that the majority of PH's would prefer cash over trinkets. THe majority of commenters thought James' gift giving to be over the top and foolish. If you want to play Santa Claus so be it; I'll continue to compensate my PH as I have, good luck with your tea shirts.

Oh Michael, I guess you did not actually read my post. I stated "

I have gifted the trackers and drivers, other staff, etc that I have used on my hunts: T-shirts, candy, knives, Cigarettes, etc (as well as shirts for their children if they have some).

" If you read that, you should have understood whom received the physical gifts, but in addition to their specified monetary gratuity.

That's good you're bringing your PH a bottle of spirits. I personally bring my PH (again, in addition to a nice stack of greenbacks) reloading supplies that he wants and cannot get in SA. All of which I ask him specifically in advance which brass, bullets, etc he wants ahead of time and add that to the top of the cash . I figured that is a nice thoughtful gift on top of the cash gratuity, that is something he really likes.

That said, I hope you have a great first hunt in Africa and you truly learn from all the experiences. My first hunt was eye opening...my second hunt was a rush...my upcoming third hunt will hopefully leave the previous two in dust.

 

[TTundra]

They work hard to make your hunt a successful and fun adventure so why not give them some cash to show them your appreciation? Then if they want a new knife, binoculars, T shirt, or whatever they can go and purchase them with the cash that you give them.
.

@JimP , on my first trip over the apprentice PH who did a great job messaged me that he was hoping I could bring a new VX3 and he would pay for it. The prices shops charge for some of our brands is insane. I told him what my industry price was and he said bring it. At the end of my second trip, I gave him my regular cash tip, and dropped the scope on the top and said its yours. The scope at my price was peanuts compared to what it would have cost him. Sure, you can always just give him cash equivalent for what my price was, but if the item cannot be obtained in country, or is part of the absorbent import pricing structure, it is sometimes a nice add on. The extra cash wouldn't have been able to cover the SA retails. Literally my cost was under 200 and the SA retail was over 800

 

[JimP]

@JimP , on my first trip over the apprentice PH who did a great job messaged me that he was hoping I could bring a new VX3 and he would pay for it. The prices shops charge for some of our brands is insane. I told him what my industry price was and he said bring it. At the end of my second trip, I gave him my regular cash tip, and dropped the scope on the top and said its yours. The scope at my price was peanuts compared to what it would have cost him. Sure, you can always just give him cash equivalent for what my price was, but if the item cannot be obtained in country, or is part of the absorbent import pricing structure, it is sometimes a nice add on. The extra cash wouldn't have been able to cover the SA retails. Literally my cost was under 200 and the SA retail was over 800

While I have only taken one trip I learned to contact the outfitter and ask them if there is anything that I can bring over that they would like. One of our PH's mentioned that he would of liked a new Leupold scope but he didn't know that he was going to be on our hunt until it was too late to let us know to get one for him.

There are a lot of little thing like this that makes the hunt more enjoyable and it helps them out quite a bit if you can do something like this.

 

[Michael Dean]

Let me attempt to clarify it once more; I'll be going back to Africa in October, this is my second trip. As far as gift giving, bringing reloading supplies is totally different from tea shirts and knives. Reloading supplies are very expensive and difficult to obtain in Africa. That is a well thought out gift that makes sense and shows a real friendship. I travel alone so I must limit my baggage. With two rifles I find it difficult to manage my own belongings without adding the weight of items such as reloading supplies.

 

[TTundra]

While I have only taken one trip I learned to contact the outfitter and ask them if there is anything that I can bring over that they would like. One of our PH's mentioned that he would of liked a new Leupold scope but he didn't know that he was going to be on our hunt until it was too late to let us know to get one for him.

There are a lot of little thing like this that makes the hunt more enjoyable and it helps them out quite a bit if you can do something like this.

My first trip I offered and my PH only asked for one box of brass and 1 box of barnes bullets and stated many times that he'd pay for it. After the trip when we started developing more of a relationship and preparing for my second, he was more open to discussing other needs and wants, .

Completely agree, those small things before that some may not think to do can turn into something really nice for both the client and PH.

 

[TTundra]

Let me attempt to clarify it once more; I'll be going back to Africa in October, this is my second trip. As far as gift giving, bringing reloading supplies is totally different from tea shirts and knives. Reloading supplies are very expensive and difficult to obtain in Africa. That is a well thought out gift that makes sense and shows a real friendship. I travel alone so I must limit my baggage. With two rifles I find it difficult to manage my own belongings without adding the weight of items such as reloading supplies.

Glad to hear you're going back for round 2. You should post a hunt report of your first trip as well. You can understand my confusion when you stated in a previous thread this is your first safari coming in October. Unless your first trip over was a deployment or a non hunt of course.

 

[Von S.]

I like the guy who tips the chambermaid after he bangs her like a screen door in a hurricane!

I personally would like to hear more of his exploits than who is giving pencils, tin cups and dark glass to the bush boys so they can have a job to fall back on when he leaves.

Hubba-Hubba...

 

[BnC 04]

I like the guy who tips the chambermaid after he bangs her like a screen door in a hurricane!

I personally would like to hear more of his exploits than who is giving pencils, tin cups and dark glass to the bush boys so they can have a job to fall back on when he leaves.

Hubba-Hubba...

Hahaha like Screen door...now that's a good one!

 

[TXhunter65]

Glad to hear you're going back for round 2. You should post a hunt report of your first trip as well. You can understand my confusion when you stated in a previous thread this is your first safari coming in October. Unless your first trip over was a deployment or a non hunt of course.

It is confusing Tundra! Why would someone type "I too am taking my first safari this fall" on March 12, 2019, if they've already been on a safari? Of course MD did only state that he'd be going back to Africa and this was his second "trip" not safari. But then he indicated his PH prefers scotch. So it was implied his first trip was a safari...Unless of course its the PH for the trip in October and he's predetermined he likes scotch and hates trinkets. So, definitely second trip....possibly second safari....possibly first...but definitely confusing.

 

[Michael Dean]

Glad to hear you're going back for round 2. You should post a hunt report of your first trip as well. You can understand my confusion when you stated in a previous thread this is your first safari coming in October. Unless your first trip over was a deployment or a non hunt of course.

If I said first time, the only thing I could have been talking about was that this is my first time using Huntershill Safari. I looked in previous comments and I don't see where I mentioned it being the first time.

 

[TTundra]

@Michael Dean
March 12 2019

Fin:

I too am taking my first safari this fall, but, I'm taking a different perspective.

February 27 2019

After 40 plus years of contemplation I've finally pulled the trigger so to speak, and booked a hunt in Africa for this fall. I'll be hunting ten different animals anywhere from a springbuck to an Eland that can weigh upwards of 1,500-2000 pounds.

 

[James.Grage]

To suggest that readers hear should not comment on your post is ignorant at best. You "List" of gifts is ludicris at best. You have no idea what treatment your going to recieve and to put together an extravagent list of goods transcends foolish. Foolish as well for you to expect people not to comment.

Wow Michael Dean... You would be beside your self when you see the items that I am taking this year for a school and a small village. All you have to do is pay extra to ship an extra bag, and that is easy. By paying attention and taking to your PH over the years you pick up some tidbits that you can use for future trips. However the small inconvenience to bring items is over shadowed by The thank yous by a long shot long ways.

Ask your self what would small rural schools need, something like lots of paper, pencils, pens items that you take for granted, that are difficult to find in the sticks. Find your self a small school or village to sponsor.

So you find a small village where the women have to walk 8 miles to get water, oh by the way they have to carry the water back 8 miles, so what do they need? When you go to the same area, and work with your PH you will find the list of items that they do not have could be great.
An item that was gifted, that i had second thought in taking were tote bags, they were a hit with the women, i should have brought more. It became evident that the bags were needed for the 8 mile long walks, it allowed them to carry more supplies. They had been using the plastic disposable grocery bags, you know where you place one inside another as they develop holes. However you are staying in this small village for a few night of your hunt. The experience is wonderful and you look for items to bring the next time and you take the time to work with your PH to try and get it right.

When you develop a relationship with your PH you find items that they could use or need. What we pay a few dollars for it could be 10 to 20 times more over in Africa. Therefore, you make room for the reloading supplies, extra scope, knifes or other items that is deemed important.

From reading you have never been to Africa, so you have no idea what is needed unless you ask. A good knife (Buck - Havalon Edge) come in handy. When your skinner is working your game animal and all he has is a broken knife, (it broke on the prior hunter game) you save the day when your PH asks you to give him his knife early. This happens. And what you think is a good knife will be destroyed in 2 years, seen that. So I do not take junk to give as gift, maybe you do.

From all else it appears from reading your posts that you will be one of the rude Americans traveling overseas that others get judge on.

 

[JimP]

We did this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Only we had out outfitter stop at a store in Port Elizabeth where we stocked up on school supplies not to mention soccer balls, tennis balls, and what ever else he recommended that we could purchase for the local school. We then went to a large drug store and picked up a couple hundred dollars worth of medical supplies to give to the school also.

If you can fit it into your schedule when you are picked up this way is a lot easier than bringing the supplies from home and you purchase power goes a long ways in Africa.

Once we arrived at the lodge my room was the closest to the parking area so it became the supply room. I had items stacked from the floor to the ceiling until the day that we went over to the school.

 

[Doc Lightning]

When the end of my hunt in South Africa came close, I figured out all of the tips etc. However, the PH-Owner of the
safari adamantly refused to allow me to distribute any tips. He said if I did that, some of the employees would disappear
for several days, celebrating their earnings. The PH-owner accepted my tips from me to be given to his employees at the
end of the season. It was truly reminiscent of some of my childhood experiences on a sugar cane farm in south Louisiana
if one advanced wages to a worker. He often did not show up for work for several days. My experience.

 

[Hank2211]

We did this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Only we had out outfitter stop at a store in Port Elizabeth where we stocked up on school supplies not to mention soccer balls, tennis balls, and what ever else he recommended that we could purchase for the local school. We then went to a large drug store and picked up a couple hundred dollars worth of medical supplies to give to the school also.

If you can fit it into your schedule when you are picked up this way is a lot easier than bringing the supplies from home and you purchase power goes a long ways in Africa.

Once we arrived at the lodge my room was the closest to the parking area so it became the supply room. I had items stacked from the floor to the ceiling until the day that we went over to the school.

I think this is an excellent idea, and one I will try to adopt on future trips.

When the end of my hunt in South Africa came close, I figured out all of the tips etc. However, the PH-Owner of the
safari adamantly refused to allow me to distribute any tips. He said if I did that, some of the employees would disappear
for several days, celebrating their earnings. The PH-owner accepted my tips from me to be given to his employees at the
end of the season. It was truly reminiscent of some of my childhood experiences on a sugar cane farm in south Louisiana
if one advanced wages to a worker. He often did not show up for work for several days. My experience.

This is a common problem, but you need to be careful with the solution. I have frequently left a "global" tip for the camp with the PH or the outfitter, but when I do so, I always call the cook (who is almost always the senior member of the local staff) and one other person - usually a tracker - and in their presence told them how much I was giving to the owner for tips and then handed the money over.

I am not aware of anyone pocketing tips meant for staff, but I have heard of it. This prevents that problem, and also lets people know the their efforts were appreciated (which is, after all, the purpose of the tip). It also generally allows the staff to allocate the tips in a manner which they believe to be fair, which would take more knowledge than I normally have if I was to try to do the same thing. If you feel someone went out of their way and deserves an extra something, you can deliver that tip directly to the individual concerned, secure in the knowledge that the recipient will keep it a secret (lest it impact his payout from the global tip!).

 

[xian]

Wrong; look up the word "custom' and you'll find that tipping fits the very definition of the term custom.

Ok.

Please explain the tip expectations of a PH in Namibia.

Edit: and other staff I may be overlooking.

Is it expected that PH tip back to support staff or are they to receive tips on their own?

 

[Hank2211]

Ok.

Please explain the tip expectations of a PH in Namibia.

Edit: and other staff I may be overlooking.

Is it expected that PH tip back to support staff or are they to receive tips on their own?

I'm surprised none of the Namibian outfitters have responded.

In my experience - limited in Namibia but I have hunted there - the expectations are pretty much the same as in South Africa, so you could follow the guidelines outlined in earlier posts. My target tends to be in the max $100/day range for a PH, but I will say I tend to shoot a fair bit. I have gone higher, but rarely lower. I understand from some that I tend to the higher end, but I have high expectations and I've rarely been disappointed.

I will add that much depends on what you are hunting and the total cost of the hunt. Namibia tends to be one of the, if not the, least expensive plains game destinations in Africa. My personal numbers may have you offside a normal-is "10% rule", so you might bear that in mind.

As for the support staff, you should not expect that the PH shares any of his or her tip with them.

Finally, as almost everyone will tell you, ask your outfitter for recommendations in advance.

 

[johnnyblues]

Ok this question may have been answered, I just don't have the patience to read it all. So my question is if my PH is also the owner of the outfit (collecting day fee's etc) does that effect the tip in any way?

 

[Hank2211]

Don't blame you for the lack of patience!

People have expressed opinions both ways. As usual, no one answer on which all can seem to agree. Likely the tipping equivalent of captive bred lion hunting.

My opinion - yes, it does impact the tip. The "West' is mostly responsible for this whole tipping nightmare, and in the West, you typically don't tip the owner of the business. Although my wife tips her hairdresser, who is the owner. Maybe it's a gender thing. Or maybe she's just worried about having a bad hair do.

 

[johnnyblues]

LOL my wife does too! I feel since he is the owner 5% of the total cost should be fair. Opinions?