Non-Hunting Trip to RSA

FamilyMan

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Hello All. Hoping for some helpful advise.

My wife and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary next February (a year from now). We have been trying to think of special ways to mark this milestone and my wife came up with the idea of a trip to South Africa. She spent about a week there on a traveling concert tour when she was in college and has always talked about it in glowing terms. She has a friend who still lives near Johannesburg who she believes would allow us to stay in their home. On my part, I have never been anywhere in Africa, but harbor a secret hope of perhaps hunting there some day.

Have any of you ever taken a non-hunting trip to South Africa, or perhaps extended a hunting trip to spend non-hunting time? Any suggestions on things to do or places to see, or what your experience was like. If we go, I would certainly want the opportunity to see wild game animals.

Any thoughts appreciated.
Thanks.

Mark
muledeer.jpg


My hunting spot is so secret, not even the elk have found it yet.
 
I think you also posted on Africa Hunting and have received quite a few responses there. I will throw in my two cents here.

There is a ton to do in RSA. My experience is limited to the East Cape region

Shark Dive - Way worth it!
Elephant Back ride in National Park - My girls loved it. It did nothing for me but made them happy.
Tour of one of the oldest lighthouses in Africa - One daughter has a thing for lighthouses and we all enjoyed the tour.
Tour of Penguin rehab center - One daughter has a thing for penguins.
We did a little tour of a cheetah rehab center and it was pretty cool. We also did a tour of a big cat rehab facility that was also fairly cool.
I saw bungee jumping off the one of the bridges - looks scary as all get out.

Wine Country around Cape Town - I have promised that to my wife someday.

With all that said, there are a few outfitters willing to do one and two day hunts. Consider a cull hunt that way you dont have to figure out how to send a trophy home. Cull hunting warthogs is a scream and one afternoon of that will have you begging for more.

LJ Safaris out of Grahamstown (and Kenton by the sea) would likely do a day hunt if you should happen to be there when he is not booked. Let me know if you need details on how to find Juan, though he is easy to find on the web.

Be careful going to RSA as you will be trying to figure out how to get back almost as soon as you land!
 
Thanks ruttinbull. It wasn't me who posted on Africa Hunting, but if there is a similar post there I will be sure to check it out.

Mark
muledeer.jpg


My hunting spot is so secret, not even the elk have found it yet.
 
If I understand correctly, my wife's friend's home is near the ocean, so yes - would get out of Joburg. Also would definitely plan time at Kruger NP. Beyond that, just starting to try to understand what the options are. Our anniversary is in February, so don't know what that means for weather.

Mark
muledeer.jpg


My hunting spot is so secret, not even the elk have found it yet.
 
Fun!
If you could find out what town she is nearest to, that is a good place to start.
I have not been to Kruger but likely will someday! We had about a half day in Addo... unfortunately it was cut short but we certainly enjoyed it.

I never really wanted to go to Africa as I had a long list of North American game that needed tending to. However, an unexpected twist landed me in Africa with my two daughters and now I am addicted. I now consider several there to be very good friends. My wife wants to go on a non-hunting wine trip to Cape Town. I told her I could not be in South Africa without visiting some dear friends. Those dear friends happen to own a very large ranch that is crawling with Kudu! I'm sure my non-hunting safari will include a culling trip to their farm so that Warren and I could sit under a plum bush watching a big hillside and waiting for the kudu to make their nightly trip out to the flats. On the last trip he says, "You see the big bull? I want you to shoot the little bull beside him." Oh that was torture! I made the shot on the little bull but the big bull still haunts my dreams! I will be back again in May to look for another big bull that has only been seen a few times. The bull hasn't been seen in at least six months so here's to hoping he will follow some cows out during the rut in late in May.

The weather should be hot in February. Find the town your going to and plug it in to a weather app.

Good Luck in your planning!
 
Kruger is fantastic and I highly recommend it. We did a self-Drive there. Flew into Jo?burg, few hours layover, then on to Phalaborwa. Spent the night at a nice B&B, then took a rented Toyota Land Cruiser SUV into the park and wandered for three days, staying at Letaba, Oliphants and Satara camps. It was great. If you go to Kruger, the elephant museum in Letaba is a muse see. Letaba also has an abundance of elephants, some very big bulls. Satara is a very nice camp with good food, a great place to stay.

A must do if you go to Kruger is to spend a few days in a luxury safari lodge in one of the private game reserves that adjoin Kruger?s western boundary. These APNR?s (associated private nature reserves) offer luxurious lodging, good dining, and guided game drives where you'll see an abundance of game up close. At one point, a large old lion walked so close past our vehicle that I could have reached out and touched it, though I dared not and it is strictly prohibited. Some of the best APNR?s include Thornybush (highly recommend Monwana Lodge), Timbavati and Sabi Sands.

The Blue Train, which is 1 1/2 days on this very luxurious train, runs from Cape Town to Pretoria. You?d never forget this train trip. It?d be a fantastic way to travel to Cape Town and the wine country.

Johannesburg is a very long way from the ocean, as it's in the northeast of the country. It's probably a couple hundred miles to the nearest saltwater. Jo?burg is great as a jumping off point for Kruger as they're fairly close. However, you need to realize that Jo?burg is a total shithole, very crime ridden and dangerous. If you're going to spend any time there, use a meet & greet, and be escorted everywhere by a guide. DO NOT leave the airport on your own. Back in the 1980?s, I stayed in downtown Jo?burg several times before or after safaris. We?d walk 1/2-1 mile to Carlton Center with no problems. You?d never be able to do that now. In fact, you probably wouldn't make it there intact. Carlton Center is devastated these days, which is a shame as it used to be the nicest place in South Africa.

If I can be of any assistance, feel free to PM me.
 
I'm leaving in 3 weeks for my 2nd trip to SA.I added a shark cage dive in Mossel bay and a day of fishing in Plett..6 days of hunting the Karoo, working on a bushpig and tiny 10.. Bh1
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-28-19 AT 08:38PM (MST)[p]I took my wife there 2 years ago on our honey moon. I hate sight seeing and doing the wine and cheese tasting tours and such. But i have to say it was the best trip ive ever done. We did the whole tree house lodge thing. Totally worth it. Bought vintage 1850?s wine in fraenshoek. Spent days in what looked like swiss alps vineyards in stelenbausch. Did 3 days photographic safari and all. I can honestly say i had the time of my life. And it was utterly flawless. It did help that i called my old ph and had him set up all the details. I didnt do a thing. I also hunted for a week. Shot a 59? kudu. Wife shot zebra and impala and such. My entire trip cost me around $8k and i was there 12 days. We also did photo safari on massively big reserves. I could go into more detail but i hate typing all this and wasting my time but ive never had a safari that was that much fun.
 
We also toured london a few days. Spent a few days in paris. Soent two weeks between venice and rome.

But heres a picture of two from our honeymoon

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