First South African Safari

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Zack P

Zack P

Member
Hello All,
I am headed out with FE outriders this May for my first African Safari. I wanted to see if you guys have any tips, should have packed, should have left at home "Wish I would have knowns" that you guys would share. @Charlie Benton has given me tons of information like "don't give the skinners a super nice knife like a Winkler because as soon as it is dull they will toss it." @Godfather has walked me through his amazing chest rig set up. But I am sure among this group there is some wisdom that could make my experience that much more enjoyable.
 
The game is so plentiful, don't let your PH or your enthusiasm/excitement of being there on your 1st trip cause you to shoot the first "decent" representative sized animal you see. Hold out for that bigger trophy, not because it's bigger, so you can enjoy the experience of your first SA safari. Make sure your PH understands you (I'm assuming you do) want to walk and stalk, and enjoy the process of hunting. Otherwise the risk is you're glassing from the top of a Rover or Toyota and getting on sticks too soon after jumping off the back of the truck.

If you're budget allows, leave room for those animals of opportunity that you had no intention of hunting. There will be many occasions where the stalk, timing or otherwise, puts you in front of something that wasn't on your list but that you'll regret not taking.

So Africa is so easy to hunt these days, you don't have to over think it. Good binoculars, broke in boots, decent rifle with ammo that has heavier/more solid bullets than you'd shoot whitetail with. Cold mornings and warm days, pack for chilly morning rides out of camp on the back of a truck but can de-layer for the warmth of late morning to mid day walking. I've burnt the tops of my hands riding in the back of a truck in the mid-day sun smoking a cigar between hunting areas. Sunscreen is a must.
 
Zack P said:
Hello All,
I am headed out with FE outriders this May for my first African Safari. I wanted to see if you guys have any tips, should have packed, should have left at home "Wish I would have knowns" that you guys would share. @Charlie Benton has given me tons of information like "don't give the skinners a super nice knife like a Winkler because as soon as it is dull they will toss it." @Godfather has walked me through his amazing chest rig set up. But I am sure among this group there is some wisdom that could make my experience that much more enjoyable.
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Many of the lodges will do your laundry daily so you can pack way lighter than most people plan for.
 
Chris M said:
The game is so plentiful, don't let your PH or your enthusiasm/excitement of being there on your 1st trip cause you to shoot the first "decent" representative sized animal you see. Hold out for that bigger trophy, not because it's bigger, so you can enjoy the experience of your first SA safari. Make sure your PH understands you (I'm assuming you do) want to walk and stalk, and enjoy the process of hunting. Otherwise the risk is you're glassing from the top of a Rover or Toyota and getting on sticks too soon after jumping off the back of the truck.

If you're budget allows, leave room for those animals of opportunity that you had no intention of hunting. There will be many occasions where the stalk, timing or otherwise, puts you in front of something that wasn't on your list but that you'll regret not taking.

So Africa is so easy to hunt these days, you don't have to over think it. Good binoculars, broke in boots, decent rifle with ammo that has heavier/more solid bullets than you'd shoot whitetail with. Cold mornings and warm days, pack for chilly morning rides out of camp on the back of a truck but can de-layer for the warmth of late morning to mid day walking. I've burnt the tops of my hands riding in the back of a truck in the mid-day sun smoking a cigar between hunting areas. Sunscreen is a must.
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Thank you Chris! This is great information.
 
Chris M said:
The game is so plentiful, don't let your PH or your enthusiasm/excitement of being there on your 1st trip cause you to shoot the first "decent" representative sized animal you see. Hold out for that bigger trophy, not because it's bigger, so you can enjoy the experience of your first SA safari. Make sure your PH understands you (I'm assuming you do) want to walk and stalk, and enjoy the process of hunting. Otherwise the risk is you're glassing from the top of a Rover or Toyota and getting on sticks too soon after jumping off the back of the truck.

If you're budget allows, leave room for those animals of opportunity that you had no intention of hunting. There will be many occasions where the stalk, timing or otherwise, puts you in front of something that wasn't on your list but that you'll regret not taking.

So Africa is so easy to hunt these days, you don't have to over think it. Good binoculars, broke in boots, decent rifle with ammo that has heavier/more solid bullets than you'd shoot whitetail with. Cold mornings and warm days, pack for chilly morning rides out of camp on the back of a truck but can de-layer for the warmth of late morning to mid day walking. I've burnt the tops of my hands riding in the back of a truck in the mid-day sun smoking a cigar between hunting areas. Sunscreen is a must.
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Great advice - especially the part about having some funds in reserve for animals you didn't necessarily intend to take but that happened to cross your path.
 
Individually packaged dude wipes or your favorite butt wipe.

Makes taking a field shit so much more civilized. Chasing my buffalo cow I was not distracted by crack stank or itch. (Enjoy that visual)

Also worked well as handwipes before lunch.
 
Crackerman said:
Individually packaged dude wipes or your favorite butt wipe.

Makes taking a field shit so much more civilized. Chasing my buffalo cow I was not distracted by crack stank or itch. (Enjoy that visual)

Also worked well as handwipes before lunch.
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This is Fantastic! I always have them on trips (When my wife packs them), but did not put them on the list. Very solid advise.
 
Charlie Benton said:
@Ron Dan actually informed me yesterday that "men's" Lululemon undies actually lack a key utility feature. If true, I'd advise against owning any until this is corrected.
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I assume you mean I need to pull my pants down to my ankles to urinate? If so, this is excellent advise. My albino white butt would burn the first day.
 
Zack P said:
I assume you mean I need to pull my pants down to my ankles to urinate? If so, this is excellent advise. My albino white butt would burn the first day.
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This reminds me...I've gotten tick bite fever twice in SA on hunting trips. First trip the symptoms came on after I got home, took my doctor a couple days to figure it out. 2nd time, my PH recognized the early symptoms before I did. Luckily his father was a doctor and I got antibiotics that day. Now I do 2 things 1) Spray my clothes/boots with Permethrin and 2) have my local travel clinic prescribe doxycycline that I take with me. They also given me azithromycin for travelers diarrhea.
 
Chris M said:
This reminds me...I've gotten tick bite fever twice in SA on hunting trips. First trip the symptoms came on after I got home, took my doctor a couple days to figure it out. 2nd time, my PH recognized the early symptoms before I did. Luckily his father was a doctor and I got antibiotics that day. Now I do 2 things 1) Spray my clothes/boots with Permethrin and 2) have my local travel clinic prescribe doxycycline that I take with me. They also given me azithromycin for travelers diarrhea.
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I will defiantly call my DR and have those with me. What were the symptoms you started experiencing?
 
Zack P said:
I will defiantly call my DR and have those with me. What were the symptoms you started experiencing?
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Headache, fever, total lack of energy, muscle and joint pain. The first time, after not catching it quickly, it put me down hard for a couple days. The second time is started like I was very badly dehydrated but I had been drinking plenty of water. When I complained about feeling dehydrated, that was what triggered my PH to recognize it. Neither time did I ever find or see where a tick bit me.
 
Chris M said:
Headache, fever, total lack of energy, muscle and joint pain. The first time, after not catching it quickly, it put me down hard for a couple days. The second time is started like I was very badly dehydrated but I had been drinking plenty of water. When I complained about feeling dehydrated, that was what triggered my PH to recognize it. Neither time did I ever find or see where a tick bit me.
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Dude, this sucks. What time of year were your safaris? I ran into pepper ticks in SA when I was there during their late spring/early summer (November) but haven't had any issues with ticks (myself nor PHs nor guests) during the winter (May and June).
 
In my defense, they said "the butter" was of local manufacture and had several beneficial properties, including acted as a sunscreen, was a scent blocker for Cape buffalo hunting and could be spread on your toast in the morning. 😂
 
Chris M said:
In my defense, they said "the butter" was of local manufacture and had several beneficial properties, including acted as a sunscreen, was a scent blocker for Cape buffalo hunting and could be spread on your toast in the morning. 😂
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Don’t feel too bad - a buddy once spent an entire safari (not in SA) deep in tsetse fly territory proudly wearing his FE Magnum hat the whole time. The flies found him particularly delicious and tore him apart. Upon returning to the States he discovered that tsetse flies are highly attracted to the color blue - so much so, that a lot of the traps set to catch them are topped with blue flags to get their attention.
 
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