The safari
You pick the animals. We do not hand you a package. The on-the-ground cost is the daily rate times the days, plus trophy fees for the animals selected. The daily rate covers the camp and the professional hunter whether or not you fire. The trophy fee is for an animal taken, or wounded and lost. You do not pay a trophy fee for an animal you decline. Safari photos are on their own page.
The usual arrival is O.R. Tambo at 19:30. Customs, then the police station to claim the firearms, then a two-hour drive north into Limpopo. Dinner at the lodge, then bed. Arrival night is not a hunting night.
The next morning is the range, first thing, then hunting. That is the schedule we plan around. Bring a rifle you already shoot. Ammunition can be bought in camp if you would rather not fly with a heavy load.
From deposit to the range
Name the animals and the days. Impala and warthog, or kudu, gemsbok, wildebeest, and a zebra — the combinations are open. We quote daily rate times days, plus the trophy fees for that list. Nothing is bundled.
The deposit is $500. That holds the dates and locks the current pricing. A few weeks before the trip we need the trophies confirmed so any required permits can be pulled. Change the list after that and a permit animal may not be available.
We meet in person about a month before departure. Paperwork gets finished, you can shoot if you need to, we eat lunch, questions get answered, and you meet the others going. The meeting and the paperwork are included. No extra charge.
U.S. Customs Form 4457 proves you owned the rifle on the way out. The airline wants a locked hard case and ammunition packed to its rule. South Africa clears the temporary import at the police station after customs. We walk that packet at the pre-trip meeting. We do not hand-carry anyone else’s rifle.
Land, customs, police station for the firearms, two hours north to the Limpopo lodge. Dinner, then bed. In the morning, the range first thing, then the hunt starts.
The professional hunter and tracker run the plan: walk-and-stalk, a longer approach on open ground, or a blind when the wind calls for it. You are the shooter. Skinners cape and salt the same day. Dip, pack, and export happen after you fly home. U.S. taxidermy is a separate invoice, months later.
A normal day
What people forget