South Africa

[Txdeerslayer]

I am going on a 10 day safari hunt in South Africa this September with 3 friends. We bought this safari in 2019, but rona messed up going in 2020. My main question for the people who have gone, did you use a travel agency to book your travel, and if so, who did you use? I've heard some people recommend using a travel agent to make sure all the correct paperwork is done, but some travel agents just book the plane tickets and that's it. I personally have a hard time paying someone and extra $200 just to book a plane ticket that I can do on my own.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

I've been twice. I would highly recommend hiring

Adele Janse van Rensburg and her company hunterspermitsafrica.co.za if you are bringing your own gun.

The travel is no big deal. I booked my own flights on Delta, no issues at all. What Adele and her company does is deal with getting your guns through the airport SAPS (South African Police Services) inspection process into and out of the country.
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Most safari outfits will have someone pick you up at the airport and drive you to either a guesthouse for the evening or to the hunting concession. Our last trip we arrived, met Adele's crew and got our guns, but our outfitter was nowhere to be found. He didn't answer his phone for about an hour, and when he did, he told us we were booked for a different week. That left us stranded in Johannesburg with a couple of expensive rifles and nothing going our way... Except for Adele's crew. They made several phone calls in Afrikaans, and they know someone with damn near every outfit in the country it seems. They finally got ahold of someone from our outfit, and arranged for a ride for us. They made absolutely certain that we were well taken care of until passing us off to the driver.

If you have any questions, let me know, I'd be happy to help in any way that I can. (I don't work for Adele, I've just used her company twice and have been taken care of well both times).

copy and pasted the company info, can't figure out how to change the font back, sorry.

 

[Michael Rankin]

I went in 2019, and didn’t use a travel agent. I am on the west coast. The owner of the safari company is an American, and live in the US when its not hunting season over there. He has decades of experience flying from the us to South Africa, and helping his clients set up the trips as well.

He highly recommended I use Delta Airlines. He also highly recommended not trying to save a few bucks, and get a direct flight from Atlanta Georgia to Johanesburg South Africa. Out of all his years, him and his clients have had very few flight issues with Delta. They have also had very few issues with missing/lost baggage. The more you change planes, the more your chances of issues go up. I flew from Portland Oregon to Atlanta Georgia, then straight to south Africa. That was already a really long trip, I couldn't imagine adding more stops and lay overs.

If you do this there is no need for a travel agent. Its a very simple, and straight foreword process to book.

 

[CHWine]

Do a search for custom travel Africa....Debbie Trinadad.

They specialize in hunters. Will help with gun permits etc.

 

[tpicou]

Travel With Guns (Twg.travel) is who we use. They go through all the paperwork with you, book the flights, are always there with 24 hour service during travel, and send you everything beforehand in a nice bound book. They were especially amazing during COVID in 2020 when they rescheduled our flights like 5 times on different carriers so we could get to Namibia because the country and/or Qatar airways kept cancelling everything.

 

[Buckshotaz]

I did it all on my own

 

[Hunt eat repeat]

I went in 2019 and used Gracie travel. It was an ok experience. She was late sending our itinerary. One thing I would very highly recommend is using an import broker. Navigating the import of your trophies can be a nightmare. Ours shipped just as covid hit. Our heads would still be sitting in SA if it wasn’t for copper smith. They stopped all large non priority shipments via air. We had to ship by boat. All said and done it was nearly 10 months before our heads made it to Montana.

 

[Txdeerslayer]

I’m hunting with AB Steyn and only taking bows, 2 guys going with me are bringing rifles though. I will definitely look up booking our own flights after all the recommendations. I will also look up all the companies you mentioned to help with going through customs. This will be the first Africa trip for all 4 of us and I want to make sure everything goes smooth and gives us great memories, not nightmares.


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[Txdeerslayer]

I went in 2019 and used Gracie travel. It was an ok experience. She was late sending our itinerary. One thing I would very highly recommend is using an import broker. Navigating the import of your trophies can be a nightmare. Ours shipped just as covid hit. Our heads would still be sitting in SA if it wasn’t for copper smith. They stopped all large non priority shipments via air. We had to ship by boat. All said and done it was nearly 10 months before our heads made it to Montana.

I called Graces travel today and left a message, but haven’t heard anything back. Do you think it was worth hiring them to handle your travel, also how much extra did they charge?


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[Hunt eat repeat]

I called Graces travel today and left a message, but haven’t heard anything back. Do you think it was worth hiring them to handle your travel, also how much extra did they charge?


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Frankly I’m not sure what the cost was. I paid so many different people I can’t even remember. I would hire them again. The only thing that was annoying was they were a little late meeting us at baggage claim. We stood there thinking we are screwed but they finally showed and said “oh we need to go to the police station to get your bows. Police station was in the airport. Thank god. But he then showed us to the motel we were staying at and recommended the restaurant “quill” I don’t know if it was as amazing as I thought or i was starving after the garbage they fed us on the plane lol but I would recommend it.

 

[Txdeerslayer]

Frankly I’m not sure what the cost was. I paid so many different people I can’t even remember. I would hire them again. The only thing that was annoying was they were a little late meeting us at baggage claim. We stood there thinking we are screwed but they finally showed and said “oh we need to go to the police station to get your bows. Police station was in the airport. Thank god. But he then showed us to the motel we were staying at and recommended the restaurant “quill” I don’t know if it was as amazing as I thought or i was starving after the garbage they fed us on the plane lol but I would recommend it.

Hopefully they call me back tomorrow and I can get a better idea of what it’s going to cost. I do like that they meet you at the claim and help you get through everything at the airport.


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[Nerhunter]

Coppersmiths to import your trophies, a no brainer easiest $800 I spent to get my trophies home to my doorstep. Now the dip-ship-prep and pack price from Namibia that hurt!

 

[Txdeerslayer]

Coppersmiths to import your trophies, a no brainer easiest $800 I spent to get my trophies home to my doorstep. Now the dip-ship-prep and pack price from Namibia that hurt!

What should we expect for taxidermy prices for warthogs, impalas, blesbok, and kudu?


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[Hunt eat repeat]

A lot of guys have their stuff mounted there. They will claim having a better eye for African game. IMHO I would find a good taxidermist in the states. The taxidermy I saw was subpar and looked as if it was done in a large production sorta operation. That’s just me. I would be interested in other peoples experience with this.

 

[Nerhunter]

Your outfitter will have a taxidermist they work with and that’s about your only choice. Expect to pay the taxi the same amount you paid the outfitter to kill that kudu to get it home. $1500 kill fee, and then $1500 to get it done euro and delivered to your door.

 

[Txdeerslayer]

Your outfitter will have a taxidermist they work with and that’s about your only choice. Expect to pay the taxi the same amount you paid the outfitter to kill that kudu to get it home. $1500 kill fee, and then $1500 to get it done euro and delivered to your door.

Euros are that expensive? I had no idea and was planning $1200 for a shoulder mount.


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[Buckshotaz]

shipping costs are crazy. I went with another guy and had all capes and skulls shipped together. In 2007 I think it was about $3K for 18 animals

 

[Txdeerslayer]

shipping costs are crazy. I went with another guy and had all capes and skulls shipped together. In 2007 I think it was about $3K for 18 animals

That’s not too bad for that many animals.


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[Red Letters]

I did it on my own, make sure the PH picks you up and drops you off at the airport.
If you have down time I personally wouldn't spend it doing tourist things in Cape Town/Johannesburg etc.
SA looks to be a mess these days, I haven't been there in a long time, but from everything I've read and watched you better be sure of where you go and don't go.

 

[tpicou]

Yeah for taxidermy it is really hit or miss. You can find good and bad ones anywhere. That being said, some of the taxidermists in the states are unreal and near impossible to beat (think Animal Artistry out of Reno). If your PH has a local taxidermist they like they will often have examples at the lodge where you can get a feel for the quality of work.

There are pros and cons to getting stuff done there and here. One is shipping. You can get finished taxidermy shipped to your door here. If you go the dip/pack route it might need to go to a USDA approved taxidermist after it lands and there will be some additional paperwork--especially if you have a warthog or a baboon. That being said, shipping dip/packed stuff takes up less volume than mounts so it is cheaper to ship it. Similarly, doing euro mounts takes up less room than shoulder/pedestal mounts so those are also cheaper to ship. I'd highly recommend going to a place like Coppersmith or Trophy Shippers to help you out with the customs/USDA/USFWS clearance.