You wouldn't think
that Africa hunting safari and budget could even be in the same
sentence, but for Emily and I....It exist.
2015 started off
with Emily's parents extending an invite for us to join them on a 10
day African Safari they had purchased at a Safari Club International
(SCI) fund-raising dinner. Knowing what I do about Africa, I
immediately said to Emily that it wasn't good timing and that we
would have to pass. Of course we would both continue to research the
cost and logistics because we knew it was a trip we would want to do
someday. Airfares, safaris, taxidermy, it all has to come into
account when looking into booking a trip to the dark continent. After
some more discussion between Emily and I we decided that this was as
good as time as any and we booked our tickets.
The Flight- With a few bags in tow we
breezed through security. We decided not to bring firearms and rent
them with the outfitter to make baggage simpler. The route we took to
get to South Africa was from Sacramento to New York, then direct to
Johannesburg. The fight was brutal however the airlines keep you well
occupied with meals, beverages and movies. I think I watched 5 movies
on our 15 hour flight from JFK to Johannesburg. Our flight ran about
$1500 The other route that was available for us was from San
Francisco to Munich to Johannesburg for around $1000 however it would
have included a long layover and two 10+ hour flights.
When we arrived in South Africa we were
greeted by smiling faces from our hunting partners for the next week.
John and Susie (Emily's parents) and there long time friend Harry. We
quickly gathered our items, hoped in a rental car and headed for
Ubathi Game and Hunt (
http://www.ubathi.co.za).
This game ranch was around 25,000 acres
of dry rocky thorn bush intermixed with low elevation grasslands. The
place was teaming with all sorts of game. When we arrived at “camp”
we were welcomed by our Professional Hunters (PHs) for the week and
shown to our rooms. The stone huts with thatch roofs were simple but
comfortable and offered all that we could hope for, a nice bed and
hot shower. The outdoor fire-pit and bar were a warm welcome after a
long day of flying. We all ate, drank and enjoyed our first South
Africa sunset.
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| At the Bar. |
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| Our room |
Our first morning we were welcomed with
coffee, tea and a full breakfast. We would have been fine with some
cereal but if breakfast is on the table, why not! After filling our
stomachs our PH asked us what we wanted to hunt, what was our list?
With blank stairs and shrugging shoulders we all came to the
realization that we didn't know. Never in our hunting careers were we
asked for a list of animals we wanted to hunt. I had done some
research of animals available but I still had no idea without seeing
the animals in person. We decided that the first day would be slated
for sighting in the rifles and looking over the animals on the ranch.
That afternoon we spotted Kudu, Eland,
Springbuk, Black Wildebeest, Impala, Blesbuck, Waterbuck, Sable and Giraffe! There were
animals everywhere! They were all at great distances but it was still
how I imagined seeing plains-game in Africa. That night we all made a
list and prepared ourselves for the next morning. Emily had chose a
Blue Wildebeest and an Ostrich, a Spingbuck and Gemsbuck for John and
a Warthog and Red Hartebeest for me. Our safari package had included
a $1,000 toward trophy fees for all four hunters, which greatly
helped us with our limited budget for this trip. This credit allowed
us to shoot two animals each at the price of a normal out of state
big game tag.
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| Springbuck |
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| Sable |
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| Waterbuck |
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Black Wildebeest
|
The morning came quickly and we all
were very excited to start our quest for our animals. Emily and I
were hunting together with a PH targeting Red hartebeest and John,
Susie and Harry were with another PH targeting Springbok.
We hunted all morning till around noon
with no sightings of a Red Hartebeest. After a quick lunch we
decided to check out a corner of the ranch that was blanketed with
thornbush, which provided safety and shade for the animals. We
parked the truck and began to walk the northern edge of the thicket
into the wind. After about 200 yards I caught a glimpse of an
silhouette under a tree. Upon further examination there were seven
Red Harebeest bedded under a lone tree at about 300 yards. We used
the wind and closed the distance 125 yards. The PH set up the
shooting sticks, i took aim and we waited. This was the first time
using sticks from a standing position and I have to admit they give a
solid rest for shots within 150 yards.
After what seemed like eternity, two
young bull Hartebeest got up and fed into the open. They were
gorgeous. Their red coats and rigid horns glowed in the afternoon
sun. It was at that moment that I realized I was hunting. Being in
another country, seeing animals I had only ever seen in zoos and
hunting with a guide, I didn't realized what I was doing. While we
waited a female Gemsbuck fed her way near the Hartebeest and
immediately spotted us. She let out a loud call and sent the entire
group to their feet. I bared down on the rifle and calmed my nerves
as they came to a stop at 140 yards. A large bull was centered in the
middle of the group perfectly broadside. I took a deep breath,
squeezed the trigger and watched my first African animal hit the
dirt. When approaching the animal I was overcome with emotion. When
a hunter walks up on a species of animal that he has never taken
before the feeling is unexplainable. I felt the same feeling when I
walked up on my first pronghorn the year prior. I was all smiles.
After photo opts and loading the animal in the back of the Land
cruiser we celebrated with beer and a campfire back at camp.
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| My bull in the center |
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| Toast! |
The next morning we targeted Blue
Wildebeest and Springbuck. We hunted hard but only found two Blue
Wildebeeset and they were both cows. John hid a stroke of luck and
managed to take a massive Springbuck to start his African adventure.
That afternoon we all changed gears and decided to have a family hunt
where we all accompanied Emily on her Ostrich hunt. We had to venture
to another ranch that had more abundance of these giant birds. At
first we all joined Emily and her PH on the stalk however sneaking
with 6 people makes stealthiness impossible. After three blown
stalks we all stayed behind and left Emily to work her magic. Some
people may say that Ostrich are an easy target but most have no idea
that these feathered dinosaurs stand taller than most big game
species and have very keen eyesight. Emily made a great stalk to
about 225 yards of a group of 15 ostriches and sent her first African
game down with one well placed shot. What a giant bird! The rest of
the day was filled with smiles and laughter as we recapped the many
blown stalks and the overwhelming amazement over the giant bird and
all its features. Drumsticks for the BBQ!
Day 3 of hunting had us traveling to
another ranch about 45 minutes away that had been having some pig
problems. Warthogs are similar to our pigs in the fact that they like
thick bush are very elusive, however their main difference is that
they can be seen throughout the day. I really wanted a trophy Warthog
however I would not be picky. Trophy Warthogs are very hard to come
by in this part of South Africa due to the hard dirt and lack of
water. Since the ranch owner wanted to keep the populations down we
were instructed to shoot any pigs we saw. The ranch had very thick
vegetation but wasnn inundated with Warthog sign. We spotted a few
Warthogs that morning however they were gone as quickly as we spotted
them. After some time we managed to spot a lone boar paralleling the
road. As he crossed I let the gun sing which was echoed by a
familiar, Thwack! We immediately got on the hogs trail and I was able
to seal the deal with a follow up shot. The Warthog was enormous! I
was on cloud nine the rest of the trip since that was the only animal
I knew for sure I wanted to hunt in Africa. Call me crazy but I think
they're beautiful animals!
The next day we again targeting the
elusive Bull Blue Wildebeest that we had still yet to encounter. We
drove to a high point and started glassing. There they are! I said,
a group of 7 with one nice Bull! We made a game plan to work the
wind and come down on top of them...it was fool proof! Then again
when you have 1 bull and a harem of cows, closing the distance is
tricky enough but getting a clear shot becomes impossibly. We had 3
different stalks work perfectly except there was never a clear shot.
The bull was either behind a cow or a bush.
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| Emily's Bull in the back |
After losing sight of
them we decided to give the animals a rest and head back to camp. We
were beat and sunburnt after the a 3-4 mile journey. We had lunch
and rested for a while then headed back out and were pleasantly
surprised to re-locate the herd less than 1/2 mile from camp. After a
few more failed stalks we finally caught up to the group in an open
field. They were only 100 yards from us and though a little agitated
they were standing relatively still. The Bull was trotting around the
cows pushing them together into a tight ball. Here was the chance we
needed. Emily bared down and waited for the bull to stop. One well
placed shot with the 375 H&H and the bull was on the salt. What
a trophy! He was a mature bull with big bases and made the whole
family cheer when Emily approached. Who said this was going to be
easy!
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| Father-daughter celebration! |
The final portion of the trip was to
get John's Gembuck. Emily and I stayed in Camp while John, Harry and
Susie headed out. They were gone the entire day however when the
reached home John had a grin on his face and a spent shell in hand.
He had taken his Gembuck. A beautiful trophy that would make anyone
happy.
We spent our last day at Ubathi taking
a few hikes and enjoying the scenery. South Africa was good to us and
we had no complaints. We were able to fill our list in the short
allotted time we had in this great country. After we left Ubathi we
traveled around the country enjoying some of its rich National Parks.
The Golden Gate Highlands National Park had breathtaking views and a
true untouched feel that I could only compare to remote parts of
Alaska. Our final destination park was the Pilanesburg National Park
which sat just 2 hours northwest of Johannesburg. This park was 700
square miles of rich terrain that is home to all of the Big 5 animals
as well as a plethora of birds and reptiles.
Our trip was complete. We got to enjoy
South Africa's sights and the bounty it provides. We not only got to
eat some of the game we hunted while at Ubathi, but we were also able
to take prime cuts of meat from each the species we had harvested
with us to enjoy on our road trip. Let me tell you, Blue Wildebeest
is at the top of the list of all time best game meat I have had.
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| BBQ some Gemsbuck and Ostrich |
So what started as a reluctant trip
ended with a glance at each other and a smile both agreeing that we
would definitely come back to this enjoyable county! There certainly
isn't a shortage of species that we need to taste!
The Breakdown- The cost of Africa can
vary greatly depending on which species and the total number of
animals you are interested in hunting. My first recommendation is to
research where in Africa you would like to hunt, South Africa,
Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, etc. All of these location can vary
in cost by proximity to major airport, species and lodges. What
animals do you want? Obviously the big animals like Kudu and Cape
Buffalo can run a pretty penny however there is a large list of
plains game that run the same cost as an out of state deer tag.
Second I would look closely at some of your local hunting fundraiser
dinners which might have Safari packages available for auction.
These packages are usually donated to the groups so you can get them
at a great price and they usually include lodging, meals, and a
credits for animals. Contact your local SCI or other hunting
conservation organization chapter and see what they have at their
upcoming fundraiser dinner so you can do some research beforehand.
Impulse Buy- It is so easy to get
wrapped up in the moment when you see some of these beautiful
animals that you could leave a 7 day Africa trip with 5 or more
animals then you anticipated taking. This can be rewarding at the
moment however can take a crushing blow to your bank account when it
comes time to check out. Emily and I stuck to our guns and didn't
take any more animals than we planned and we still came home
satisfied. We did take over 1,000 pictures of the animals and all
came home with us in our carry on luggage.
Taxidermy- This is something I have
little information on since we haven't got our animals back. We are
having all our animals skulls cleaned and the Ostrich and Gemsbuck
hides tanned. Guess who's getting a Ostich leather wallet for
Christmas! The skull cleaning ran $30-$40 each and the skins were
around $150. John and Susie purchased Springbuck skins that were
ready to go for about $50 each the advantage to this is you can
easily pack them in your luggage and bring them directly home with
you. I will updated this once I get the crating and shipping cost
for the remainder of trophies.
