"Low Points – M@#$% Safaris runs a rather high-volume operation, so there were generally quite a few other hunters in camp. For us that meant a lot of personalities to get used to, and in some cases that had a negative impact on our experience. A more outgoing hunter might have liked having so many people to talk to, so that's really up to you. M@#$% recruits like 80-90% of their hunters from U@#h/I@#$o, so many parties had a lot in common. A couple of our hunts felt kind of canned, specifically the Sable and my dad’s Kudu. We spent a lot of time in the truck, but maybe if we had asked to do more stalking and tracking they would have accommodated that request. This was our first trip to Africa, so we didn't want to make waves. I spent quite a lot of time tearing my way through the brush, though, but I think my dad wanted to do more hiking than he did. During our second week we switched from PH to PH every day or half-day. That was a little jarring and I think we missed a couple of opportunities because of the adjustment to the new PH styles. We lost at least a half-day of our hunt due to the misadventures of another group of hunters and I think that in-camp politics rather than hunting skill was the cause of my dad’s relatively disappointing Kudu experience"
The above is NOT a hunt report from one of our clients but that of another outfit - posted on a public forum a while back.
This gentleman seemed to have a relatively satisfactory experience, hunting from a large camp with a large safari outfit but the word "relative" is key...
Read what else was written in the same report:
"My own theory is that the packages are discounted so heavily that package hunters might get the short straw when it comes to the really nice trophy animals. The package price on a Kudu is more than half-off the list price, even less when you consider that room and board and a free observer are also included in the package. Someone who buys a Kudu at list price is probably going to be able to go up on the mountain and hunt that magnificent Kudu bull that they spotted, but someone who bought their Kudu as part of a package is either going to luck into a nice bull like the one I got back on Day 2 or get to the end of their hunt and get whatever they can get. We talked it out in our group and accepted that for the price we paid we were having a good time, and the quality of animals and hunting that we got were in line with what we ought to expect. If we want a world-class Kudu bull we ought to book with someone who specializes in Kudu hunts, pay the trophy fee and the daily fees that they ask, and expect to crawl around mountains on our bellies until we find that perfect animal. If we want decent representatives of a wide swath of plains game species with a small chance of something exceptional from time to time, then a discount package hunt is a good place for that."
Quality is not expensive - it is priceless!
Having been in this business for 22 years now I believe I have seen much of what is going on in the South African Safari Industry. I've exhibited at shows and seen the (often ridiculously low-priced) prices of some competitors and I have often wondered: "how do they do it?" And I've read the internet and saw some even more ridiculous offers there and wondered: "how do they do it?"...
In the process I have come to the realization that there is an ideal safari operator for every client and an ideal client for every safari operator. What I've also realized is that if it sounds too good to be true it probably is...
The question that you, as prospective client needs to answer to yourself is: "What is the experience YOU are after?" and: "will the Outfitter you choose deliver on these expectations?" Do you want to be one of many or one of a few?
If you are happy with sitting in a camp with many other hunters and being allocated a Professional Hunter at random... If you're content with shooting "the Kudu" (or "the Buffalo" or "the Springbok" etc.) there are many Outfitters to choose from. If you're hunting on a budget and price is everything that matters there are many more to choose from...
But if you want a truly unique experience in a smaller camp that is not shared with strangers the list of potential Outfitters become shorter and I can proudly say that CT Safaris falls in the last category...
