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Hunting Checklist

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This hunting checklist is our service to you, in order to make your trip as percect as possible.

Hunting Checklist

The weather from end of March to September in South Africa is usually cool in the early mornings and late evenings with really pleasant midday temperatures thus we suggest you bring light gloves, a medium jacket, warm socks and comfortable boots.
Note that laundry services are generally available on demand, so it is advisable to travel light. Ensure that your footwear is light, comfortable, soft and well broken in. The following packing list provides a basic outline for your Hunt:
 

1. Passport

2. Airline ticket

3. Proof of ownership / registration rifle/s

4. Rifle and Ammunition

5. Travel / health insurance documents

6. Personal medication

7. US or Canadian temporary export documents for rifles

8. Completed (in black ink but not signed) South African Police Temporary Firearm Import documents SAP 520. (We can provide the application forms)

9. Hunting knife (optional because your guide will have one)

10. Sunscreen

11. Sunglasses

12. Hat / Cap

13. Light gloves

14. Malaria tablets if applicable (not nessacerray in Eastern Cape)

15. Digital Camera battery charger and memory cards. Southern Africa uses 220 volt wall outlets so you may need a step up transformer for your chargers etc. and the necessary adapters. Plug in shavers will work same as everywhere else in the world)

16. Binoculars (medium sized 8x40 – 10x42 or similar should be adequate)

17. Casual clothes and running shoes for everyday wear

18. Sandals for warm days optional

19. Hunting/hiking boots (comfortable worn-in light leather or canvas, not heavy winter lined)

20. Hunting clothes, loose fitting, sturdy, dark khaki or olive drab coloured clothing works fine. Any camo clothing is allowed where we hunt

21. A pillow case to keep dirty laundry in your suitcase is handy

22. Credit card, ATM card and travellers cheques

23. A light windbreaker/jacket/sweater, mornings and evenings can be cool

24. Socks

25. Extra Belt

26. Sleepwear

27. Personal Toiletries

Currently, USA and Canada citizens do not need a visa for South Africa. Please check the latest regulations with your travel agent.You will not require a rain suit of any kind. The chances of encountering any rain are slim to none.
It is advisable to take a small backpack for hand luggage (because it leaves both hand free to present passports and plane tickets etc.) with a fresh change of clothes and basic toiletries. Keeping your wallet, passport, plane ticket, insurance doc's and a list of contact numbers in a fanny pack allows safe and easy access.

How to make sure your tip gets where you intend it to?

It is fine if you wish to put your tip into an envelope or give a group tip to be divided evenly, or as you see fit, for the lodge/camp staff to the house manager if you are more comfortable or if it is too time consuming. I would like to point out however than if your P.H. is also the owner of the hunting outfit, you still need to give him a tip as you would with any other P.H., based upon your overall satisfaction no more, no less.

Factors to consider when tipping

- Satisfaction with hunting safari

- Success of hunting safari

- Country where hunt takes place

- Price of hunt

- Number of days of hunt

- Type of hunting safari (plains game, dangerous game or combination of both)

- Number of hunters with PH (1x1, 2x1, etc.)

- Number of non-hunting observers

You may not have as much contact with the lodge/camp personnel as you do with your hunting team but they are still an important component of your whole hunting safari experience. These people should also be taken into consideration when tipping as they care for your day to day needs behind the scenes. The hunting and camp staff are a complete team, each doing their part to make you hunt great and stay enjoyable, however some hunters may be inclined only to tip those who they have had the most contact with (ie. PH, trackers, driver) but it is really a team effort in every way.

Typical personnel to tip

- Professional Hunter

- Tracker(s)

- Driver

- Skinner

- Cook

- Servers

- Maids

- Laundress

Additional personnel you may need to tip

(all of these personnel may not be a part of your hunting safari)

- Meet and greet

- Lodge/camp manager

- Porter(s)

- Game scout/game guards (they expect to be tipped even though they are government employees)

- Tour guide

Who is it normal to tip and why?

A general guideline for me as to who should receive a tip goes back to something I mentioned earlier: the purpose of a tip is to reward and encourage good service. That being said, I believe anyone directly providing service to you should be tipped, as outlined in the list above. This general rule will help you to clarify when or if an outfitter is asking you to tip personnel that should be salaried workers. If someone is driving, cooking cleaning for me or otherwise involved directly in the hunting they should be tipped, however if they maintain the vehicles, garden, pool or other property they should be considered non service employees that the hunting outfitter should pay.

How much to tip on a plains game hunt

There is a lot of advice and theories out there regarding how much to tip, which often creates more confusion than actually helping you get a better grasp on a fuzzy subject. I will share with you my method for how I decide how much of a tip to leave and knowing from the other side of the equation how much people really do leave. This method really works for all hunting safaris from a bargain plains game hunting package all the way up to a big five hunting safari. I base my tip for the Professional Hunter on the total cost of the hunt, daily rate and trophy fees combined, excluding tax. Using that figure, I multiplying it by:

For professional hunter:

6% for an average tip

7% for a better than average tip

8% for a very good tip

10% plus for a very generous tip

I believe that this method works well because it figures in the cost level of the hunt, the number of species you take and allows for you to express your appreciation by giving you the ability to choose the percentage based upon your overall satisfaction.

As for the rest of the hunting team and lodge/camp staff I break it down as follows:

For a typical hunting safari:

Tracker: from $5 to $10 per person/day

Driver: from $5 to $10 per day

Skinner: from $5 to $10 per person/day

Lodge/camp staff: $3 to $5 per person/day

Typical personnel for a basic hunting safari:

Hunting team will usually consist of one to two trackers, one driver who may also double as a tracker, one skinner.

Lodge staff will usually consist of one cook, one server, one to two maids, one laundress. The more high end the lodge the more personnel you can expect.

Additional personnel you may need to tip

(all of these personnel may not be a part of your hunting safari)

- Meet and greet: a tip should be considered for a service outside of your hunting outfitter

- Lodge/camp manager

- Game scout/game guard: $10 per person/day, some hunters give incentives

- Tour guide

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