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Hunting in South Africa will spoil you
By JOEL HOOD, Modesto Bee
November 03, 2002
MODESTO, Calif. - Anthony Maxwell grabbed a fist full of prints and spread them like dominoes on the counter in Mark Bonales' Archery Shop in Ceres, Calif.
On Oct. 14, Maxwell returned from a six-week bowhunting safari in South Africa and, while his dozen or so trophy kills remained in South Africa for examination, he has the color photographs to tell the story of a 45-day odyssey.
"I think when we all first got back (to the United States), we were sort of walking around like we were in a daze," said Maxwell, owner of Maxwell Wildlife Art and Archery in Ceres. "The whole experience seemed like a dream. You weren't really sure if it was you who got to go over there and do those things or if it was some movie you saw."
The photos show South Africa's desert plains as it is for the people and wildlife that live there: dry, flat and desolate.
There are scrub brushes and leafless, wind-burned trees. There are six-foot tall ant hills. There are herds of exotic animals - impalas, gemsbok, eland, nyala, warthogs and kudu - combing some of the world's harshest terrain for water and safe cover from predators.
And while there are scores of pictures with Maxwell, Bonales and a dozen other hunters kneeling beside their favorite kill, the photos don't quite capture the allure and danger of hunting a region of the world that was for so long closed off to American hunters.
Hunting plains game in Africa is becoming one of the hottest "must-do" adventures for U.S. hunters looking for a break from the routine, or to hang something really worth talking about on their game-room wall.
Looser hunting restrictions, an increase in the number of agencies booking safari packages and a devaluation of the South African rand have made these trips more affordable to American hunters. A quick search on the Internet can locate several dozen booking agents to South Africa with a wide range of prices.
In South Africa, hunters are allowed to hunt whatever they want throughout the year. But the late summer and early fall seem to be the best times to go, Maxwell said. Be prepared for the heat, he added.
You're allowed to hunt just about any kind of animal on your wish list, but keep in mind the more exotic the animal (such as an elephant, lion or rhino) the higher the price. To take a lion or leopard, expect to pay in the $10,000 range.
Foreign hunters are unable to export any meat from Africa, but are allowed to bring home skins, skulls and horns. Those trophy items usually remain in the country for several months of inspection before they can be shipped.
Maxwell and his group of 10 hunters flew from San Francisco International Airport on Sept. 1 to Atlanta and then to Cape Town on the southwest coast of South Africa. The group then took a short flight to Johannesburg in the northeast region. The total flight time was an exhausting 23 hours.
Throughout the safari, the group slept, ate and showered in rustic lodges outside of Johannesburg. Because almost everyone in the group was after a different type of animal, they would split up into smaller groups of two or three for the day's hunt.
Because South Africa doesn't have a fish and game department to regulate hunting, policing of hunters is left up to private land owners. American hunters work closely with accredited professional hunters, who answer questions, give tips and guide foreign hunters through a more casual safari experience.
"If you're looking for the real thing, the real Teddy Roosevelt-style safari, you'll have to go to Botswana and Tanzania," Maxwell said. "But that doesn't mean you don't need to be careful in South Africa."
That can include everything from pesky insects to deadly snakes.
One day outside Johannesberg, Maxwell said, one of the members of the group was hiding out in a small, tree-branch covered blind with a professional hunter, who had dozed off in the afternoon sun. Out of the corner of his eye, the American thought he saw the head of a big black snake in the blind, presumably a dangerous black mamba.
The American jumped to his feet and burst through the door of the blind, screaming. The professional hunter assured the American that there were no black mambas in the area and to go back into the blind. Reluctantly, the American calmed down and went back inside. Minutes later, the large black snake crashed through the roof within inches of the American.
For the next several hours, the two men tore the blind apart searching for the snake. But they never found it.
Maxwell, who had once before hunted plains game in South Africa, said the experience is like nothing you would find in the U.S.
"The tourist trade is their No. 1 form of trade now," said Maxwell, who has plans to make three more shorter safaris to South Africa. "They're looking to make money and this is one thing they really have to offer. When you go over there, they treat you like royalty because the average American hunter probably spends 10 or 20 times as much as the average American tourist.
"I hate to say that (South Africa) has ruined me for hunting in this country, but I think that's probably true. The only way to really understand how a trip like this might affect you is to experience it yourself."
E-mail Joel Hood at jhood@modbee.com.
By JOEL HOOD, Modesto Bee
November 03, 2002
MODESTO, Calif. - Anthony Maxwell grabbed a fist full of prints and spread them like dominoes on the counter in Mark Bonales' Archery Shop in Ceres, Calif.
On Oct. 14, Maxwell returned from a six-week bowhunting safari in South Africa and, while his dozen or so trophy kills remained in South Africa for examination, he has the color photographs to tell the story of a 45-day odyssey.
"I think when we all first got back (to the United States), we were sort of walking around like we were in a daze," said Maxwell, owner of Maxwell Wildlife Art and Archery in Ceres. "The whole experience seemed like a dream. You weren't really sure if it was you who got to go over there and do those things or if it was some movie you saw."
The photos show South Africa's desert plains as it is for the people and wildlife that live there: dry, flat and desolate.
There are scrub brushes and leafless, wind-burned trees. There are six-foot tall ant hills. There are herds of exotic animals - impalas, gemsbok, eland, nyala, warthogs and kudu - combing some of the world's harshest terrain for water and safe cover from predators.
And while there are scores of pictures with Maxwell, Bonales and a dozen other hunters kneeling beside their favorite kill, the photos don't quite capture the allure and danger of hunting a region of the world that was for so long closed off to American hunters.
Hunting plains game in Africa is becoming one of the hottest "must-do" adventures for U.S. hunters looking for a break from the routine, or to hang something really worth talking about on their game-room wall.
Looser hunting restrictions, an increase in the number of agencies booking safari packages and a devaluation of the South African rand have made these trips more affordable to American hunters. A quick search on the Internet can locate several dozen booking agents to South Africa with a wide range of prices.
In South Africa, hunters are allowed to hunt whatever they want throughout the year. But the late summer and early fall seem to be the best times to go, Maxwell said. Be prepared for the heat, he added.
You're allowed to hunt just about any kind of animal on your wish list, but keep in mind the more exotic the animal (such as an elephant, lion or rhino) the higher the price. To take a lion or leopard, expect to pay in the $10,000 range.
Foreign hunters are unable to export any meat from Africa, but are allowed to bring home skins, skulls and horns. Those trophy items usually remain in the country for several months of inspection before they can be shipped.
Maxwell and his group of 10 hunters flew from San Francisco International Airport on Sept. 1 to Atlanta and then to Cape Town on the southwest coast of South Africa. The group then took a short flight to Johannesburg in the northeast region. The total flight time was an exhausting 23 hours.
Throughout the safari, the group slept, ate and showered in rustic lodges outside of Johannesburg. Because almost everyone in the group was after a different type of animal, they would split up into smaller groups of two or three for the day's hunt.
Because South Africa doesn't have a fish and game department to regulate hunting, policing of hunters is left up to private land owners. American hunters work closely with accredited professional hunters, who answer questions, give tips and guide foreign hunters through a more casual safari experience.
"If you're looking for the real thing, the real Teddy Roosevelt-style safari, you'll have to go to Botswana and Tanzania," Maxwell said. "But that doesn't mean you don't need to be careful in South Africa."
That can include everything from pesky insects to deadly snakes.
One day outside Johannesberg, Maxwell said, one of the members of the group was hiding out in a small, tree-branch covered blind with a professional hunter, who had dozed off in the afternoon sun. Out of the corner of his eye, the American thought he saw the head of a big black snake in the blind, presumably a dangerous black mamba.
The American jumped to his feet and burst through the door of the blind, screaming. The professional hunter assured the American that there were no black mambas in the area and to go back into the blind. Reluctantly, the American calmed down and went back inside. Minutes later, the large black snake crashed through the roof within inches of the American.
For the next several hours, the two men tore the blind apart searching for the snake. But they never found it.
Maxwell, who had once before hunted plains game in South Africa, said the experience is like nothing you would find in the U.S.
"The tourist trade is their No. 1 form of trade now," said Maxwell, who has plans to make three more shorter safaris to South Africa. "They're looking to make money and this is one thing they really have to offer. When you go over there, they treat you like royalty because the average American hunter probably spends 10 or 20 times as much as the average American tourist.
"I hate to say that (South Africa) has ruined me for hunting in this country, but I think that's probably true. The only way to really understand how a trip like this might affect you is to experience it yourself."
E-mail Joel Hood at jhood@modbee.com.
