Have room for couple more guys if interested in going to Africa in July for 10 day hunt. Fly out 7/20

I can't go until 2026, but if you go then, hit me up. I've never been and having somebody who knows the process as well as you would be invaluable.

You bet. It is a great time. A lot more affordable than most people think.

Who is the outfitter and where are you headed?

Debeers in the Eastern Cape

Been there. Very unique experience. After hunting, we were driven back toJohannesburg and flew down to Capetown to do some touristing. A unique experience in how the other half of the world lives. When people found out we were from Texas, they got excited and asked a lot of questions.

Went cage diving with great white sharks and saw a whale up close. When a big shark swims by the cage, it looks like a greyhound bus. One stopped and eyed us in the cage. Scared my wife. I have heard that whale sharks have moved into shark island and run the great whites off.

Everybody ought to do it once. But, I know guys who do it annually.

It is incredible.

We are for sure doing the Shark thing next time we go. Looks intense.

Check in advance on the sharks before you go.

Our Africa trip was incredible - lifetime experience for sure. Only trip we have taken that compares was New Zealand - cannot go wrong either way

Why would whale sharks run off great whites?

The reason I say check on the sharks. I have heard that whale sharks have moved in and run the great whites off. I have no idea whether the bigger guys can be chummed in. Also no idea whether it is safe to cage dive around them.

Are you confusing whale sharks with orcas? I’d heard that killer whales were moving on great whites but I’m not sure which spot along the African coast that was happening.

I believe he is. Orcas can and do kill and eat sharks, even Great White sharks. Orcas are the only known predators of Great Whites. I think there's some recent drone video of Orcas killing white sharks off the coast of S Africa.

Whale Sharks won't hurt anybody or run anybody off.

Dunno, just passing on what a guy that lives there told me.

I go to hunt not play with sharks myself

Be sure to pack a roll of tp. They only have John Wayne paper.

I think Whale Sharks only feed on plankton.

100% true...

We (wife and I) have gone every year for the last 8 years with the exception of 1 (COVID shut down RSA for a year)... it isnt cheap.. but if you can afford a week long disney vacation, you can afford a week long hunt in South Africa as long as you plan it right...

there are also some european hunts and south american hunts that can be very affordable (cheaper than what a lot of people pay to hunt exotics in the Hill Country)... we've done 2 hunts in argentina, a hunt in Peru, and a hunt in Ireland.. all for at or around the "disney" price point over the years.. and we're headed to New Zealand in May of next year and wont pay much more than a "disney" trip for that hunt either..

So how much is this Disney trip you speak of. Never been.

We usually take another family or two with us each year... typically they do what I would call a "starter" package...

with the outfitter I use.. the package he has offered them is...

Pick One - Zebra, Red Hartebeest, Blue Wildebeest
Pick One - Blesbok, Impala
and you also get a warthog...

so 3 plains game animals in total..

plus all the jackals you want at no additional charge (he wants them gone from the property) and all the egyptian geese you want.. the only cost for the geese is you pay for the shotgun ammo (he wants them gone from the property as well)...

5 hunting days.. plus you have an arrival day and a departure day in camp...

includes pick up and drop off from the airport, daily laundry service, all PH/tracker/skinner services.. all meals.. all drinks.. etc..

$2900...

an observer is an additional $150 per hunting day (so 2 people for a 1 week trip is $3650)...

you have some other costs obviously.. you have to get to South Africa.. I can typically fly on Qatar Air out of DFW for about $1600 a ticket in economy class.. so assuming 2x people.. youre looking at about $6850... all in.. for 2 people.. or about $4500 if its just one person...

And that cost is spread out over a pretty long period of time... typically we book in Dec or Jan.. and pay a 50% deposit ($1825 for 2 people)... book flights in Feb / March when they are typically the cheapest ($3200.. 2 people).. and then pay the balance when the safari is over.. we typically go in mid to late July every year ($1825.. 2 people)... which helps if youre on a budget as well..

The above is a pretty discounted rate.. Ive had a relationship with the outfitter for a long time.. and we've brought a lot of people with us over the years.. but honestly, most outfitters will negotiate rates with you if you just ask..


Again, its not cheap like a weekend trip to Galveston to fish off the pier...

but its also not out of reach for most people, to include working class folks if you just plan and save a bit..

Ive got a buddy thats a gunsmith down south.. he makes an ok living.. but he certainly isnt getting rich by any stretch of the imagination... he has been 4 times already and is getting ready to make a 5th trip over next week..

It's only the Orcas in South Africa that are going after the white sharks. They remove the white sharks liver with surgical precision. Nat Geo's shark fest last July did a study on the white sharks in South Africa. The played different Orca calls from different pods around the world. The white sharks could have cared less. When they played the sounds of the South African Orcas, the white sharks left the scene immediately. I'm a die hard scuba diver and I dive with sharks multiple times a year without cages. We always see bulls, lemons, silky's and sand tigers. In the spring we see tigers and hammers. One day I hope to dive with a great white shark without a cage. Shark week has done an incredible job of demonizing sharks for nearly thirty years. Shark are very curious animals to dive with. They're not the monsters they're made out to be. Yes attacks happen but are very rare.

Me with a couple of lemon sharks including the world renowned Ms Snooty lemon shark. She's the lower shark and is featured every year on Shark Fest and Shark week as her mouth is frozen in smile. Unfortunately she hasn't been seen since last Sept.


This is a 12' bull shark headed to check me out.

Very cool!

I dove with bulls and grey reef sharks at different times in the Caribbean.. its been almost 30 years though since I did that.. it honestly was a pretty unexhilerating experience compared to what I expected... was still very neat to experience though..

we also snorkeled with black tip reef sharks in Bora Bora 3 years ago... much smaller sharks.. and almost tame honestly (boats come out and feed them daily.. they know to eat the little bait fish and not to screw around with the big human snorkelers I suppose..)...

I dive Mexico and Caribbean a lot. I flat love Guam, Hawaii, Belize and Cozumel.. Playa Del Carma across from Cozumel offers dive with the annual bull shark migration. Great fun for sure. One day I'll make to Bora Bora and sea of Japan. Age an finances are getting in the way with retirement two years away!