Q: What is the process importing my firearms ?
A: South Africa is the easiest African nation to bring your guns into. They have some rules to follow of coarse. No semi autos are allowed. Handguns and muzzle loaders are a pain to get in. No more than 2 firearms each. No more than 200 rounds or 11 lbs of ammo. Ammo boxes must now be packed in a lockable (tsa lock) container.  Ammo can’t be loose. It must also be in a factory box or hard reloading box and kept separate from your firearms.  Firearms must be in a lockable hard case. There is a few more rules but those are the basics. You can arrange to have your firearms import permit (SAPS 520) approved ahead of your arrival and waiting on you there. The charge is $90 each. Click on this link (VIP Meet & Assist) to learn more. Please visit this web page for more detailed instructions on how to fill out the SAPA 520 form. The Afton Guest House also has a wonderful web page for the hunters to explain the procedure at the airport. I suggest one to thumb through there web-page for the latest information. Knowing what to do at the airport is a very important part of your trip. This is also the most stressful part. Especially for the first time. Once you have been there and done that is not so bad. This is where Jerry Starkey comes into play. He will go over this with you on the phone before you leave and answer all your questions. We want our hunters to show up with everything in order and stress free experience.

Q: Can I just rent a rifle from you?
A: Yes you can. Around 70% of our hunters choose to use one of my rifles. This saves the hassle of getting the firearms permit and also gives you more options when making your airlines reservations. You can go through London if you leave your rifle at home and sometimes you can save on airfare.
Our rifles are very nice scoped rifles in a 308 win, 270 win, 30 06 and 8×57 mm. They are proven killers. LOL !!
The cost of rental for one rifle with ammo is $100.

Q: Is South Africa a better value than hunting in the USA?
A: Yes! Please click on the thumbnail below to read an article from the October 2007 issue of Guns & Ammo Magazine. Richard Venola spell’s it out pretty good in this article.

Q: What is the Currency in South Africa.
A: It’s the Rand. It’s code is ZAR. Follow the link below to get the latest conversions. It usually runs between 6  & 8 to 1 USD. Currency Converter

Q: Can I use my credit card and cell phone in Africa.
A: Most cell phones wont work. If you need to make a quick call back home use can just use ours. We understand that people like to check home with their loved ones. Be sure to take your cell phone charger with you though. You will want to use it at the airports on the way home.
We do not take credit cards for your hunt but you might want to use one for the Afton Guest House or shopping for souvenirs. You need to be sure and call your credit card issuer and let them know that your going to be using your card in Africa. They will temporarily activate it for a couple weeks down here. Its a security thing.

Q:Whats the weather like in Douglas? Home of Ingwe Safaris. 

A: 

Q: Is South Africa a Safe Place & do I need Shot’s
A: South Africa is a stable country. Johannesburg is as safe as any other big city would be. Kimberly is a smaller city and Douglas, where we live is very small. Like a small town in the USA. We have a couple cafe’s and stores like in the USA. To date I have never had any problems with security. The only shot’s you might think about getting is your Tetanus. But I advise one to stay current on that anywhere.
Johannesburg, South Africa

Q: What is the cost of flying to South Africa?
A: The cost is very seasonal. Most airlines take a spike on May 1st. I think its because school is out in America. But for the most part. You can get a ticket anywhere from $1200 USD in the off season to $2000 USD during peak summer time travel. I suggest trying places like Vayama.com ,  Expedia.com , Orbitz.com or Travelocity.com. You just need to look for deals and price sales. You can also go direct to South African Airlines or Delta. That’s the only two airlines with direct flights to JNB from the US. They leave from JFK , DCA , & Delta leaves from ATL. I only recommend flying DIRECT TO AFRICA! Most of Europe has firearms restrictions. Especially London! You will need tickets from the USA to KIM (Kimberly S.A). The Kimberly leg of your journey will run less than $220 round trip. You will buy these tickets with South African Express Airways.  I recommend buying your Kimberly tickets separate from your other tickets. It’s cheaper than combining them with your JNB flights. I like for my hunters to fly in to Kimberly on flight #1103 (8:45am) and depart Kimberly on flight #1104 (10:35am). The first flight out of JNB #1101 is too early to process your firearms. #1103 is the second departing at 8:45am. Also keep in mind that you MUST have at least 3 hours layover between your arrival city in the USA and your next leg home. You will have to clear US Customs and recheck your luggage.
Jerry will assist you in all your flight plans and try to find you the best value out there.

Q: How do I get my Trophy’s home?
A: We will cape , tag , salt your hides and horns for the taxidermist free of charge. I’m very careful and methodical doing this. Then I will call Gerrit at Nylstroom Taxidermy to receive your capes and horns. You pay nothing at this time. After your trophies arrive at Nylstroom you will receive a notice from Gerrit for payment along with instructions. When you leave your hides with Gerrit,  you can just have the minimum work done to get your trophies to you ( dip, salt , paperwork & boil the sculls) or he can tan your hides and of coarse he can mount them for you as well. This is your choice. Some of our hunters choose to take photographs and not get anything mounted. Not everyone has a house that can accept such a large mount. It’s not that uncommon to do this. Nothing goes to waste in Africa and your capes are no exception. Gerrit is always in need of capes and horns. After Gerrit has them crated they will be shipped by Safari Air Cargo to a international customs broker firm named Coppersmith to the city closest to you. They will ask you if you want to pick up your trophy’s or have them shipped to your front door. The cost depends on how many animals you have shipped to you but the five package animals usually runs around $1730 to the entry port. Shipping to your house is around $300 or so more by Yellow Truck. This is for salted hides and boiled skulls only.

Q: Should I get my trophy’s mounted in Africa or the USA
A: The fastest and most economical way to get your trophy’s hanging on your wall may be to let Nylsroom mount them in Africa. Let me explain.

1.You will be waiting 4 - 6 months on the SA government to get your paperwork all in order. In a few more months  Nylsroom can have your trophy’s mounted. Then when you receive them you wont have to wait another year for your local guy mount them.

2. Nylsroom charges somewhat less to mount your animals in Africa than the guys over here do. Their charge for our standard 5  animal package shoulder mounted is $3365 USD at today’s exchange rates (6.5 - 1) Then you will have to pay for a bigger crate and higher shipping of course. This charge is $1100 from Africa to the USA port and cleared by Coppersmith.. Then shipping to your front door by yellow truck. For a total of $4465 hanging on your wall in 12 months or less.

3. If you want to have the trophy’s mounted in the USA, you will still have to pay Nylsroom $840 USD for dipping , documentation and crating along with $890 to the shipping and clearing companies. That’s $1730 total to them. This only leaves you $2735 to get all 5 animals mounted in the USA.  So, you may or may not be spending more money and time than to just have Nlysroom mount them in Africa. I don’t think you will find a taxidermist in the USA that will mount all your game for $500 each head. You might get a springbuck mounted for that, but I doubt it. Most local taxidermist charge extra fees to mount African game over here.

4. If you mount you animals yourself or have a friend that will give you a smoking deal then you might want to consider just shipping the hides and horns home. If you want life sized mounts or have so many mounts that a super sized crate is necessary then you might want to consider getting them mounted in the USA. The price really jumps up substantially when your shipping a crate so big you can park a car in it.  $6000 - $10,000 for just the shipping.

5. I have seen Nylsroom work and to be honest, I think I will use him on my next safari. In our guesthouse we have quite a few mounts and some are pretty scary . Nylsroom didn’t do those. Leab can point out Nylsroom work for you to look at and see if the quality is up to your standards.

All the above information is based on the USD verses the ZAR . Things are going up and the dollar is weaker. So the prices reflected above can change. It just depends how the USD is doing and of course inflation. Its a ballpark figure though.

Hope this helps .. Jerry

Q: Do you recommend a place to overnight in Johannesburg?
A: Yes. Most of our hunters stay at the Afton House in Johannesburg. They know how to deal with hunters needs and everyone has a very pleasurable experience with them. There rates are reasonable ($65 each for a 2 bed room or $100 single)  and the facilities are nice. Craig Boddington even stays with them when he’s in town

Q: Can we eat at the Afton House?
A: Yes !!!  Arie will cook you one of the thickest most mouth watering (aged) steaks you have ever ate in your life. He uses the native Leadwood and will serve it with a salad, garlic bread and cheese potatoes. He cooks every night except for Christmas. So I would call him a expert. The cost is $25 USD. Money well spent!!

Q:Will I have time to get Souvenirs?

A: Yes you will. I highly recommend contacting Raymond B Mervis before you arrive at the Afton Guest House. He is the owner of Reveillon Jewelers. He has some very nice stuff that is made in RSA. Elephant hair and giraffe hair jewelry along with high end stuff like the famous South African diamonds.  Email:rbmervis@worldonline.co.za   Cell 0027 83 250 4528. You can always contact the Afton Guest House and have them make the arrangements. 

The Afton Guest House also sells some very nice hand carvings from Iron Wood strait from Zimbabwe. This stuff is the real deal. The JNB Airport has tons of places to shop as well. Most people will have a 8+ hour layover at the end of your trip and this is a great way to kill some time. Just be aware that most of the stuff in there isn’t from RSA.

Q: Will you meet me at the airport?
A: If you book your rooms (around $60 each) with the Afton Guest House in Johannesburg, they will be there to meet and greet you just outside of passport control. They will also wait on you to get your firearms permit and then drive you back to the guest house. They will also bring you back to the airport for your departing flight to Kimberly the next day. This is all included in there rates.  Leab will meet you at the Kimberly airport.
After you load up in the truck you will be able to run some earns and maybe do some souvenir shopping. This is the only chance outside of the JNB airport you will have for shopping. This is also the time to settle up your balance with Leab. He might run by the bank then also. It’s about a one hour drive to the ranch. It’s a great chance to talk and get to know each other along the way. You will see springbucks and other animals by the roadside. Leab will take you back to the Kimberly airport when it’s time for you to leave.  Leab will not leave you until he see’s your plane take off. Neither of these days count as hunting days.

Q: Whats my chances of getting all the trophy’s in the package?
A: It has happened before but it is extremely rare and its been a few years since someone didn’t get a good chance at all the  animals in the package. Leab work’s very hard and has a system to make sure he get’s you every trophy your after. Leab takes great pride in his success rate of 98%+ and work’s extra hard to keep it that way. One might think there’s a catch or the package type hunting is to good to be true. It’s true and there’s no catch. Leab owns most of the land and guides himself. That way he can keep his prices in reach of the working man’s budget. Leab’s a working man himself. Just go on safari with him and you will find that out.

Q: What happens if I just wound one?
A: If you hit the animal, you have to pay for it. Leab is a expert at telling if its a hit or miss. Leab and the trackers will spend hours if not a day or two looking for your game, they don’t give up readily. The object is not to do this. Not only does this cost money, it takes time away from your African safari. It really sucks if your hunting partner is waiting on you to find your game. Now he’s losing time as well!
It seems like the number one animal to get wounded is the bull kudu. He is always in the thick stuff. He is not one to stand around and wait to get shot, so the shots are taken quickly. He is usually the ace of spades on our clients hit list and has a tendency to give people buck fever. So, calm down and don’t jerk the trigger! If you hit this game in the right spot he will die.

Q: Can I trade out game in my package for other species? 
A: Yes you can. Some of our clients have hunted Africa before. The may have already shot a kudu or a gemsbuck.  Some people just might not be interested in a blesbuck or a steinbuck or whatever. We will work with you.
The way it usually works is we can apply most of the cost towards something else. Take a gemsbuck for example. The trophy fee on a gemsbuck would be $800. We can apply $700 towards something else. A springbuck is $250. We can apply $150 towards something else. Pretty much just take off $100 from the trophy price and put it towards something else. The reason its not the whole amount is because Leab has already discounted down the trophy fees in the package.
I hope this makes sense to everyone.

Q: When is the best time to hunt?
A: We hunt from Late February till late October. This is the best time to hunt. It’s starting to get too hot outside this time period. May - July is the dead of winter in South Africa ( 28f low - 65f high) and some would say this is the premium time to go. I like going outside this time because the air line ticket’s are a little cheaper.  With this being said, I would say anytime is great with us. Leab and the other PH’s always manages to produce.  Just choose a time that is best for you situation.

Q: Can I shoot extra game outside of the ones included in the package?
A: Sure you can. The only game that we need advance notice on is Cape Buffalo and Lions. If you know you want something for sure just tell Jerry and he will give me a heads up. However its not necessary. If you see something you want you can shoot it. Then at the end of your safari we settle up on the extra game you shot. No personal checks accepted. Be sure to bring extra cash or travelers checks if you plan on shooting extra game. The trophy prices are published on the web page and are current.

Q: Are your hunts fair chase?
A: Yes our hunts are fair chase !  With this being said I will also add that most of South African hunting concessions are high fenced. Some of ours are as well. We hunt large tracks of land, starting at 6,000 acres and as large as 50,000 acres. The land has some pretty thick places for the game to brush up and never be seen. Believe me when I tell you they can get away from you in a heart beat. So, yes its fair chase.
What most people don’t realize is that we offer 34 different species of game to hunt. Most just assume that all of these game animals live in our area.. Nothing could be further from the truth.  Maybe 5 of them are from around here and can still be found in the wild. The rest have been brought in years ago and been cut loose to breed on our concessions. It wouldn’t be very smart business to breed our herds for my neighbors to shoot. So we have perimeter fences to keep our game from leaving our concessions.
Not all of or areas are under high fence though. One of our areas is so big that we have free roaming areas on it.. Most of our Cape Kudu are taken from this area and are what you would call free ranging. None of our areas have kill pens and to date no one has complained about the size of our concessions!

Q: What are your firearm terms?
A: You are allowed a maximum of two firearms. Handguns and automatic weapons are not allowed. If you plan to hunt dangerous game, the caliber limitation is not less than a .375 H&H Magnum, and for plains game the limitation is .240 caliber. We also recommend that you bring 60 rounds per rifle. A 270 win up to a 300 mag is a fine caliber choice. I prefer a strong bullet, like the Barnes XXX or Nosler Bonded.
I have some very nice scoped rifles to rent for $100 with ammo if you want to leave yours at home.  I also have shotguns for the wing-shooting. I do not charge for the use of the shotguns. I do have to charge you for the shotgun ammo you actual shoot.  It’s been running $12 a box for the shotgun shells. I hope this seems fair.

Q:How far are the shots?
A: The ranges can vary from 30 yards up to 500 yards if you feel confidant shooting at that distance. One needs to practice shooting from sticks and standing up as well as the bench. The average shot is 200 yards. I have a set of Leica rangefinder binoculars, so you will know the distance.

Q: How many hunters at one time?
A: We will never have over six hunters at one time unless they are from the same group. We can handle a group of ten if you have that many in your hunting party. Most of the time, the odds are, you and your hunting companions will have access to my ranches and concessions exclusively. Sometimes when I have smaller groups, I may have other hunters that are  hunting with other PH’s on different concessions. This has never caused any problems in the past as the hunters only see each other around the fire at night. There is plenty of game to be had for all !!  Most people love to listen to different hunters story’s and experiences while sitting around the fire pit having a cold one. Its a wonderful chance to meet and make new friends.

Q: This price seems to good to be true. Whats Gives? References?
A: I get this question all the time. “What’s the catch? Where’s the hidden charges? I will only get some of the animals in the package! ON and ON and ON and ON!!” I know it’s hard to trust the guy who is dealing on the money ends of thing’s. That’s cool and it’s not a bad idea be cautious. But with the Internet now days you can do some research. Bad outfitters get a bad name quick! We strive very hard to keep our name clean. In fact we work our ass off to make sure you have the finest safari possible!!  Ingwe Safaris knows how hard money is to come by and how long the average Joe saves for a trip like this.
With all that being said its still a good idea to talk to our references. You might get some pointers from our past friends. We have lots of references upon request. We just don’t think we should broadcast everyone’s phone numbers worldwide.  Believe it or not the Anti Hunters hate us badly!

Q: What should I pack?
A: Here is suggested packing list guidelines:

Q: What are your terms of business?
A: The Following are our Terms of Business:

1. All prices are quoted in U.S. Dollars.
2. A deposit of $500 each is required to confirm your booking. Checks preferred.
   
3. Deposits are not refundable. In the event of a cancellation, the client will forfeit the deposit to cover the loss of a safari booking and the time making all the arrangements. Please don’t ask for a refund! This puts us both in an embarrassing situation. The answer will be no. Know your financial limitations before you commit to book. Sometimes the safari might be rescheduled under the right conditions if there is available openings. If you are allowed to reschedule you will have to pay that seasons prices.
4. The balance of the daily rate is payable on arrival.
5. Animals shot, wounded and lost, are paid for at the end of the hunt.
6. All payments are payable in USD Cash (preferred method) , American Express travelers checks or certified bank drafts. No credit cards, personal checks or business checks will be accepted in Africa.
   
7. The company reserves the right to change prices if such changes are necessitated by cause beyond its control.