@HeinrichH
I feel you deserve an honest reply.
<There are no better big game hunting in Africa today> I have a real problem with this statement you made. Everyone does not have the same opinion of what good big game hunting is. To some it is pure trophy size and perhaps you are correct in that regard. However to others it is much more than that and often trophy size is way down on the list. A feeling of gratification from a real achievement, uninhibited by someone choreographing that experience may be more important to some.
I have not hunted an APNR. But I have hunted those areas right next door. Some huge, some not. And I may well hunt an APNR some day, when and if I still want to hunt but can no longer endure the travel to the real wild places in Africa, or God forbid, those places are gone
But I will not be able to think of it as the same hunt in a real wild place. A good hunt, possibly even great, hopefully yes. The same, no way. When you can take a freeway from an International Airport to a major hub city and then continue down the tar road, likely to the front gate.... Full services, hospitals, tire shops, gas stations, super markets, even fast food joints, all within an easy drive.... Don't tell me that is wild Africa. I agree it is absolutely fantastic country with spectacular wildlife, in much greater numbers and even trophy size than the real wild areas. But before I pay the high costs of hunting an APNR, I would much rather take what you might call a lesser bull in a wild place. It will be a better trophy to me, but that is how i feel, not everyone agrees. And to those folks, you may offer the better deal.
But don't attempt to tell me that it is the same. The farther down this road in life I get, the more it becomes apparent that it is about the journey and how you travel it, being able and willing to make mistakes but learn, pull up your boot straps and continue on. Take risks, at least calculated risk. And when it comes to hunting big dangerous game in Africa, I want to do it the way I want to do it because that is how I want to do it. And that is in real wild places I would not and probably could not experience, certainly not to the same extent, without going hunting, carrying a gun not only as a tool to take the animal I'm pursuing, but in self defense as well. And I want to hunt where I don't know if a huge bull will step out or if I will have to settle for a somehow lesser specimen. But the real trophy is the experience and the journey not only in miles but mentally and every other way.
I have visited Kruger. I don't need to hunt it to experience it. And I have hunted next door to it, it was good, but not the same as Zim nor Moz.
As for South Africa getting a bad rap.. I fully agree, to quote a well respected outfitter. Sometimes people get "a little careless with the truth". Unfortunately when that happens, it tends to adversely effect others in the same vicinity (occupation, business, etc.) Perhaps I have become a bit jaded, but I believe there are some operators who no longer can actually tell the difference between the truth and a small lie. Or a big one
And even worse, some tend to lie to themselves. I am very sorry if the good operators get lumped in sometimes.... But it is how it is.
In my limited experience, I have seen too many middle men brokering deals and taking too much of the pie. And then trying to swindle a bit more. To many "hunt experiences" being manufactured. To many situations manipulated to a desired outcome... And yes, in my limited experience those have been in South Africa, by South Africans.... Now of course there are more good operators than bad. and yes I am painting with a wide brush and those good operators do not deserve that... But i am being honest and upfront about how I have begun to see it and think about it.
