Off-Topic: Safari/Hunting in Africa

[Sorter]

I'm starting to plan a trip to go on safari in the next few years. Any recommendations, experiences, suggestions from this group of people would be highly regarded.

I'd really love to get some solids pics and possibly hunt a leopard(if under the 14k each price range I've regularly seen)

[Bwana]

My brother just got back from a picture taking safari from over there and seemed to enjoy it. I think Raiman has been there as well.

[Sorter]

Originally Posted by Bwana

My brother just got back from a picture taking safari from over there and seemed to enjoy it. I think Raiman has been there as well.

Excellent. Where did he go?

[Bwana]

Originally Posted by Sorter

Excellent. Where did he go?

The Masai Mara area. He ended up with some killer shots.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Bwana

My brother just got back from a picture taking safari from over there and seemed to enjoy it. I think Rainman has been there as well.

I went to a private lodge in Zululand called Zulu Nyala: http://www.zulunyalaheritagesafarilodge.com/. It was a great place to take photos and see animals, but you're not shooting anything there.

I didn't quite understand the model, but I think the market is something like this. You have the big national parks and you can go there. You also have smaller private lodges, where they may own 500 acres and buy or breed animals that have smaller ranges. The animals run wild, so other than an occasional fence you don't really see any difference. And then some animals with big ranges will hop the fences and wander throughout all of the places.

The place I was at had basically every animal on it other than the big cats. The lions never came onto the private lodge, but leopards would come in and out. Monkeys and birds paid no attention to fences, and occasionally wildebeest or zebras or things would jump fences and wander around. I don't think they worried about the more common animals, but if a rhino got through a fence they'd go fetch it somehow.

I think these places are near the bigger national parks as part of making a big rangeland, so we took an excursion to a national park to look for lions one day.

If you're wanting to hunt a leopard, I'd think that you're either going to spend a long, long time waiting for one, or you're going to do the sleazy thing of shooting one in a cage. They're not easy to find, and I don't know if you'd be looking on the private lodges where they're moving from place to place, or the national parks. It doesn't seem like a good use of time and resources when it'd be more entertaining to spend time observing animals. But then again, I'm not a hunter type.

I should note that South Africa did not feel like a third world country at all. It felt more like wandering around in Europe somewhere.

I went to Madagascar while I was in the neighborhood. Most commonly, people would combine a safari with a trip to Victoria Falls or a trip to Cape Town, but I thought Madagascar was quite interesting. I'd love to go back to both countries and explore more.

[Sorter]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I went to a private lodge in Zululand called Zulu Nyala: http://www.zulunyalaheritagesafarilodge.com/. It was a great place to take photos and see animals, but you're not shooting anything there.

I didn't quite understand the model, but I think the market is something like this. You have the big national parks and you can go there. You also have smaller private lodges, where they may own 500 acres and buy or breed animals that have smaller ranges. The animals run wild, so other than an occasional fence you don't really see any difference. And then some animals with big ranges will hop the fences and wander throughout all of the places.

The place I was at had basically every animal on it other than the big cats. The lions never came onto the private lodge, but leopards would come in and out. Monkeys and birds paid no attention to fences, and occasionally wildebeest or zebras or things would jump fences and wander around. I don't think they worried about the more common animals, but if a rhino got through a fence they'd go fetch it somehow.

I think these places are near the bigger national parks as part of making a big rangeland, so we took an excursion to a national park to look for lions one day.

If you're wanting to hunt a leopard, I'd think that you're either going to spend a long, long time waiting for one, or you're going to do the sleazy thing of shooting one in a cage. They're not easy to find, and I don't know if you'd be looking on the private lodges where they're moving from place to place, or the national parks. It doesn't seem like a good use of time and resources when it'd be more entertaining to spend time observing animals. But then again, I'm not a hunter type.

This is what I'm realistically thinking. I'd be more than thrilled to go and just take pictures. The leopard thing is more fantasy than anything.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Sorter

This is what I'm realistically thinking. I'd be more than thrilled to go and just take pictures. The leopard thing is more fantasy than anything.

The weird thing was that we never saw lions, which was quite disappointing. We had one day in a national park and our guide, who was good and legit based on several previous days, knew where they tended to hang out. But everywhere we went, there were no lions. We'll have to go back some day to find them. My advice, though, is that if you stay at a private lodge, go on a lion excursion early in the trip so you can try again if you can't find them.

However, we did see a mondo large leopard, and apparently that's more rare since they're solitary and tend to hang out in less visible places. According to our guide, it's not common to see them, much less a big one.

[crispystl]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

The weird thing was that we never saw lions, which was quite disappointing. We had one day in a national park and our guide, who was good and legit based on several previous days, knew where they tended to hang out. But everywhere we went, there were no lions. We'll have to go back some day to find them. My advice, though, is that if you stay at a private lodge, go on a lion excursion early in the trip so you can try again if you can't find them.

However, we did see a mondo large leopard, and apparently that's more rare since they're solitary and tend to hang out in less visible places. According to our guide, it's not common to see them, much less a big one.

PS your camera sucks lol

[crispystl]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I went to a private lodge in Zululand called Zulu Nyala: http://www.zulunyalaheritagesafarilodge.com/. It was a great place to take photos and see animals, but you're not shooting anything there.

I didn't quite understand the model, but I think the market is something like this. You have the big national parks and you can go there. You also have smaller private lodges, where they may own 500 acres and buy or breed animals that have smaller ranges. The animals run wild, so other than an occasional fence you don't really see any difference. And then some animals with big ranges will hop the fences and wander throughout all of the places.

The place I was at had basically every animal on it other than the big cats. The lions never came onto the private lodge, but leopards would come in and out. Monkeys and birds paid no attention to fences, and occasionally wildebeest or zebras or things would jump fences and wander around. I don't think they worried about the more common animals, but if a rhino got through a fence they'd go fetch it somehow.

I think these places are near the bigger national parks as part of making a big rangeland, so we took an excursion to a national park to look for lions one day.

If you're wanting to hunt a leopard, I'd think that you're either going to spend a long, long time waiting for one, or you're going to do the sleazy thing of shooting one in a cage. They're not easy to find, and I don't know if you'd be looking on the private lodges where they're moving from place to place, or the national parks. It doesn't seem like a good use of time and resources when it'd be more entertaining to spend time observing animals. But then again, I'm not a hunter type.

I should note that South Africa did not feel like a third world country at all. It felt more like wandering around in Europe somewhere.

I went to Madagascar while I was in the neighborhood. Most commonly, people would combine a safari with a trip to Victoria Falls or a trip to Cape Town, but I thought Madagascar was quite interesting. I'd love to go back to both countries and explore more.

That's ****ing beautiful. Not what I picture when I think of Africa.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by crispystl420

That's ****ing beautiful. Not what I picture when I think of Africa.

It was a luxury place, most definitely. It looks like they've expanded or something, but they had three places to stay when I went. We had our meals in the main building, which is the picture at the top of my original link, and it was gorgeous.

We thought we were going to rough it by staying in the "tented lodge" area, but it was ridiculously luxurious. The first three pictures at this link show the tent we stayed in: http://www.zulunyalaheritagesafarilo...ommodation.asp. Our tent had a leather couch and a jacuzzi, and at night you could hear zebra and nyala grazing right outside your tent.

[pr_capone]

I would love to go on a safari some day. As long as the safari vehicle is enclosed with chain, barbed wire, and shards of glass. Oh... and electrified.

No doubt, my fat ass goes out to Africa and I would inevitably wind up as hippo droppings.

[Scorp]

**** that. I would never go some place where I am on the menu. Never.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by Scorp

**** that. I would never go some place where I am on the menu. Never.

That is a GREAT way to put it. I'm stealing this line and probably using it at work tomorrow. That said, I want to do it some day.

[Smed1065]

Originally Posted by Scorp

**** that. I would never go some place where I am on the menu. Never.

Where do you live?

At least the "animals" want you for survival.

[OmahaChief]

Originally Posted by Scorp

**** that. I would never go some place where I am on the menu. Never.

Not even swimming in the ocean?