Just booked 1st trip

marley

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I just booked my first trip to Africa. I'm headed to Kanana Safaris next June and couldn't be more excited. I am taking my 13 year old son and my dad for his 60th birthday. 3 generations hunting Africa together. I can't think of anything better.

Any advise with airlines, flying with the rifles, or anything else would be greatly appreciated.
 
Be sure to get Custom form 4457 for all your firearms. Book your flights thru a travel agency that specializes in Africa.

from the "Heartland of Wyoming"
 
My hunting partner just completed 10 days at Kanana and landed back home today. Shot 6 with bow, and 2 with rifle. This is his third trip with Jason. PM with any particulars and I will get you in touch with him.
 
Give lori ginn at travel express a call for flights.She will save you money plan the best route and space times out to make it all go very easy.Check out Africa hunting.com for the best site about hunting Africa.Has all the info you will need to know.All of lori info is on there.I have tried others but she is the best and with the best prices to.Me and my son leave for south Africa end of july for 3 weeks.hunting the limpo first then the east cape. You will have a blast when there.
 
No travel agent can save you money on the Delta flights, but I used Gracy Travel this past May to handle flights from Dallas/ATL/J'burg, and then overnight hotel room at City Lodge in JB airport. They also secured my SAPS license. Seamless deal, and I highly recommend them.
 
If you haven't traveled extensively overseas, then definitely use a travel agent such as Gracy, or Travel with Guns. They will provide lots of information to make your trip smoother. You won't likely save money, but there is added value.

The dates of your hunt will impact airfare costs dramatically. Personally, while I might commit to a safari with an outfitter, I don't confirm exact dates unless I have tickets in hand. An extra $500 per ticket can be saved in many cases just by shifting your trip a few days. If you have fixed, set dates, you have to pay whatever they ask.

Whichever route you fly, expect an arduous trip. Plan a day to recover if at all possible. The excitement of your first trip will only get you so far.
Enjoy the hunt. There is only one "first time" in Africa.
Bill
Bill
 
Do Not use Travel with Guns. We lost our guns last June and they were no help at all. To this day we still don't have them and never will. Steve was very rude to our wives who were trying to find our guns. Book with Gracy Travel.
 
Don't fall in to the big name is better bull.Get prices from a few is always best.In the end I would be very susprised if lori at travel express don't bet them all in price and service also.I called them all and did it on two separate trips and she always bets them hands down.Even told heard I would be happy with a certain price and she bet that when she could have just gave me the higher price.
 
Brent you have an adventure that you have never experienced before ahead of you. Have fun with all the planning and dreaming. I have a packing list and information that you could use. Shoot me an email [email protected] and ill send it all over to you. Having your dad and son there will be priceless.
 
I use Lori Ginn @ Travel Express for all my hunting travels. She has hunted in Africa many times so she knows her stuff and is on top of things. She even calls me before flight to make sure check in's have gone smoothly.
 
I think your hunt with Kanana will be a good one. I exchanged an e-mail or two with them and was impressed. He had a cull hunt that I was really interested in.

Hope it all goes well and many memories for you and your family!
Randy
 
Marley: Check the FaceBook page of the contact I gave you. He just posted quite a few pictures of his Kanana trophies this morning.
 
Gracy travel. Forget lori. Email me marley and i will send u bruce's number. Bruce will meet u the second u step out of the gate. He will take u through the foreign dignitaries passport line and save u over an hour standing in line. He will also get ur gun for u in short order at joberg. When going back he will get u through the foreign dignitaries line and through customs in under 10 minutes. Guns will be seemless. If u have some gun issues he will go get the chief of police. Give the chief $50 and any gun u bring will clear. Now that thats taken care of i will shut my trap. Btw dont expect much from the breakfast at city lodge in the airport. African bacon is poorly grilled ham and syrup aint what ur used to. Also pancakes are an unheard item for the most part. Hot dog looking nasty sausage things, cheese covered tomatoes and yogurt are what u can expect. When u land and after u check in at city lodge walk back across to the airport and goto kegs. Its about ur best option. Dont do kfc its not what ur expecting and steer clear of wimpys as u will regret it. Ur plane for botswana will leave around 10 am. The customs agents available at that time are few and far between. Expect a 2 hr wait time so get there very early or u WILL miss that flight. However if u lined up bruce to take care of u then he will push u through in under 10 minutes. Take a roll of of $5's. Ur white and u look american. Ur bags will vanish on the return flight in botswana. Just give the guy who tells u any bad news at any point $5 and whatever dissapeared will magically reappear. Botswana is vey shady like that. Happens to me every time. I cant think of much else to help u. Have a good time.
 
Btw africa is still a good ol boy system. Only the guys who've been there a lot know the really good outfitters. Steer clear of africa hunting.com. The majority of those outfitters are extremely crooked. ALL of the zim outfitters are in on the land claims at gun point to some extend. Martin pieters claims to run a top notch outfit but struggles for so many reasons and tells lots of stories to sell hunts. Many of the sa outfitters are a major scam. Its a giant f up with those africa hunting outfitters. I can tell u where the scams are and arent. Ive been around 20 or 30 times and ive even got mixed up in the african mafia because of sci booked hunts and the wwe wrestler sean michaels. God that a whole other story. Just call me if u have questions
 
Come on stomper you are painting with a wide brush there.Take a breath and relax with all the ah guys are crooks.Ian is not the only good outfitter in the world.Most americans make there own problems when going to africa by being stupid.Remember Must guys kiss your ass with the money you spend but dont treat all the clients the same as you.Now come back to the real world and be nice.LOL
 
Im not really happy with ian either. For the most part in africa u get what u pay for. If its cheap then the experience will be also. Im just sick of ah cuz when u go hunt with the guys n u have a little experience u can see real fast whats going on. Let me just put the crooks on ah out front. ALL the zim outfittersand i do mean ALL! Numzaan, half the moz outfitters, the big ol fat dude who lives in SA and hunt moz. U shoulda seen what he was trying to sell me. Most of the bots guys and namibia guys are for reals. However if u do t believe me go hunt with them. Then hunt a higher priced company like ecklan, or john sharps, or johan calitz, or jay layendecker, or stormber elangeni or one of those high end outfitters. Compare the animals seen, shot and hunted to those others i mentioned above and let me know what the big picture looks like after you've been there. Ive already hunted africa twice this year. I only reported on one as the other was one of those joke ah outfitters. Ive finally learned how to look at an outfitter n determine if their good or bad. Do i paint with a broad brush?? Nope i dont think u guys understand how crooked africa is for the most part. Just trying to help. Btw. Who do u think pointed marley toward kanana? Me n several others. I never once mentioned ian because hes too high priced and the only thing he truly loves to hunt anymore are leopards. Want a giant leopard go there. Want an awesome free range experience goto kambako in mozambique. Wanna good fun wilderness hunt in zim then plan on hunting poachers n those who are corrupt cuz thats all thats in zim. Thats really the truth and if u want me to elaborate then call and i will rattle off all my personal experiences.
 
I will give you a ring one night.I need to get the low down on the story.I have hunted with one from ah and one not on ah both went well for me.I was only hunting plains game though.I try to deal with ian but way to much for me.I have two trips back to back with two ah guys so we will see.Sorry for making the post go places it was not meant to go.

Marley you will have a place with kanana as they have only great reports.
 
Thank you all for your advise and tips. I talked to your friend Blank. Great guy with lots of good advise. Tony I'll get an email to you for your info. Thanks again
 
Congrats Marley, you probably booked with as good of a plains game outfit as you could have. Both of my trips with Kanana were great and I almost went back this year, but I decided I needed to see the Limpopo province of South Africa as well as hunt some game animals that aren't found in Botswana, so I will begin that 2 week hunt on August 1.

You and your son will be well taken care of by Jason & Claire and the crew at Kanana. It's a great atmosphere and a awesome hunting property.

If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know.
 

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