Ronald Scardetta(E-Mail address only by request for security reasons.)"Where do you think you will go for your next hunt ?" - "Oh I don't know, out west for Elk sounds really great, or maybe up north for a caribou, I hear you can take two of them." - "How about Africa ?" - "No, I really don't want to travel that far." - Well that's something like the conversations I've had in recent years. Yes, Africa would be great but there are a lot of places closer to home I'd like to go and Africa has got to mean big bucks (and not the kind of bucks you shoot).
Well things all-of-a-sudden changed for me while at a Ducks Unlimited dinner last year. A good friend who had bought an Africa hunt at the auction several years ago, announced that he was going back again in spring of 2003. Not only was he going again, but he was going back for his third time in four years. Well, this certainly sounded like opportunity knocking. A chance to go with a good friend, knowing that I'd be hooking up with a quality guide, and going with someone who knew the ropes with travel plans. I said Mike, whatever plans you make, just double them.
And so our hunt was on. As it turned out. a third hunter joined us also. He had gone with Mike on Mike's second trip and now was returning for his second time in three years. The kind of return rate this trip was getting was unbelievable and spoke for itself. The other two hunters were gun hunters, but when I spoke to the guide (who usually visits Rochester in January) he said that he also guides bowhunters and it would be no problem.
Now, where we actually hunted was South Africa, the northern section. Depending on exactly what you want to hunt that might vary though. Being in the southern hemisphere, our spring-summer is their fall-winter and typically the time you would go for a hunt (so it doesn't mess up your whitetail season !). Going in May or June is when the animals are at their best, heading into the rut and you get first crack at trophy animals. Going in July or August gets you further into the dry season and will give you the most animals coming into water holes (most archery hunting is from blinds at water holes). We went the first half of May. When I do it again, I'll probably go in June. I don't think it's critical. But I won't miss turkey season again.
Well, I had a perfectly good Matthews bow, it's a five-year-old Ultra Max. It's been a great bow, but with a trip like this coming up. I got the itch. I checked out several of this year's new models including the Matthews LX, Hoyt's new cam 1/2 and Bow Tech's newer line of bows. I was extremely impressed with Bow Tech's new Extreme VFT. It's smoothness to draw and quietness to shoot are what sold me, it just happens to also be one of the fastest bows out there. It's just a bit touchy to shoot (6 5/8" brace height), but as a package I think it's great. As a testament to that, the bow came in only weeks before I left for my trip; I elected to go with it anyway and I have no regrets. Of the five animals I took, one travelled a little over 110 yards and the rest were under 50 yards.
THE HUNT
There were places that didn't look all that different from the sage and semi-desert of the American west, but when your driving along and a rhinoceros comes out of the brush and crosses the road right in front of your vehicle, your jaw just drops and you know something is different. The hunting itself had some ups and downs. I started out very hot. On the first day I shot a beautiful Blesbok in the morning and a herd bull Impala in the afternoon. I then hunted 4 1/2 days before I shot anything else. I actually hunted nine full days days in all and ended up taking six great animals (Five with a bow. two Impala, one Blesbok, one Red Hartebeest and one Kudu, and one with a gun, a Blue Wildebeest). Most bow shots were in the 20-to-30-yard range. When's the last time you went on a hunting trip and came back with six trophys ?
COST
The all important question. I hunted with Tino Erasmus of T.G. Safaris. His base package for three animals; an Impala, a Warthog, and a Kudu is about $3000.00. That includes everything short of taxidermy. You are treated like royalty, stay in first class accommodations. There's a warm bed and hot tile showers. They even do your laundry every day. Dinners are comparable to a fine restaurant and drinks are on the house. If you're like a kid in the candy store and want more than three animals, things can be worked out. The cost of additional animals ranges from $500 to $2,000. There's plenty under $1,000. The air fare will run you around $1500 and it's a long trip. Taxidermy can be arranged there for a lot less than you'd pay here. I guess you can't complain about taxidermy bills; at least that means you were successful. You complain when there's no taxidermy bill.
Hey, the trip isn't for everyone. You'll spend a few bucks, but you'll come back with three hunts worth of animals, see a whole new part of the world and have an experience you won't soon forget. Think about it !
EQUIPMENT
Bow - Bow Tech VFT (excellent)
Arrows - Beeman ICS 400 carbons (very good)
Broadheads - Thunderhead 100's (excellent)
Range Finder - Bushnell Yardage Pro Scout (excellent)
Sight - Trophy Ridge Marix (sight pin broke on me while I was there, disappointed)
TRIP NOTES
The guides all speak english, they have an accent somewhere between British and Australian but there is a strong German-Dutch influence. They drive on the left hand side of the road and even hot-cold water handles are backwards. It's about 8300 miles away but you can e-mail messages back and forth while your there. Temperatures are generally between the 40's at night and 60 to 70 during the day. I only needed to get one booster shot for the trip. There were very few bugs. There were really no hassles once we got there, but the trip is long. Side trips to some of the national parks [such as Kruger] are a great idea and can be arranged by your guide. I would plan on 10 days total for the trip, a little longer of the budget allows.
You'll sleep in one of three beautiful little "cottages" they have. Each has four very comfortable single beds, all bedding provided as well as a very nice bathroom with hot showers, towels and flush toilets. He doesn't overbook so your party will probably be the only one in camp.
TRIP INFO
Guide
T.G.Safaris
Tino Erasmus
P.O. Box 44
Bandelierkop
0800
South Africa
+27 15 516 3446 [phone]
email: tino@tgsafari.co.za
If you have any further questions you can contact the author:
Ron Scardetta
127 Basket Rd.
Webster N.Y. 14580
email:
on requestback
