I thought I'd would write a blog post for people that are headed abroad on a hunting adventure. If by chance you are on a shoestring budget then maybe you should save just a little more before committing to a certain trip.
here at my studio, Capp's taxidermy studio LLC , once you book your taxidermy with my studio I will then hand you laminated shipping tags which go on all your trophies which have all the information on getting them through US customs ,to which port and to your USDA approved establishment which is my studio. In the package also there will be valuable tips that will save you lots and lots of headaches and money. Plus there will also be a POA for the custom brokers that I use and other tidbits.
The studio will go to bat for you if you have any questions or any problems with your trophies once they are over there or over here. This studio though can not help with the pricing or misunderstanding of what is going on. I have had numerous clients thinking that once they paid The price for the Safari and or their shipping from Africa to a US port that that also includes everything to get it to my studio, wrong .
So this is real valuable information ,as times change prices do go up. Somethings can be negotiated but there's basically government fees and we all know government do not like dropping rates or giving any freebies for anything.
Below I will state exactly what it's going to cost say a trip into Africa for plains game and or maybe one big seven item.
First cost is going to be your booking of a certain hunt. Hopefully after researching everything, calling different references that you are now confident in booking this hunt with that outfitter.A regular 10 day animal safari usually cost right at 6K or a little more depending on what type of animals that you pick for your package.
Secondly you've already put down a down payment and it could've been for that year or maybe up to three years in advance to your outfitter for your first safari. Now you have to buy an airline ticket I'm getting there and getting home. Some people will book their own airline travel to sites for example like Expedia or whatever and some will just call the travel agent and have them book it for them. Expedia is pretty good if it's just a straight shot see you like from Atlanta down to Johannesburg. But if it's like from your hometown to somewhere then down to Atlanta then over to Johannesburg then maybe an overnight at a B&B and then onward to the southern part of Africa or maybe you were going out of South Africa into another country in Africa which then I would highly recommend using a travel agent. And if we ever get another pan pandemic I would certainly recommend using a travel agent because getting money back out of any online site or when certain airlines shut down ,You my friend are totally screwed because you will not get all of your money back you might get a little portion here but with the travel agent they can we book and take care of you very professionally. I learned this lesson the hard way and I am now a firm believer in spending a little bit more money in getting a travel agent. Cost usually from USA to Africa is always somewhere between 1800 to 2400 depending on the time of year . So your tickets are bought and paid for or you going to go over by Coach or do you wanna upgrade further another hundred bucks economy plus which has a little bit more legroom. They take care of you better and at certain times and there again I would recommend doing this but like I said at the beginning if you're on a shoestring budget you are flying coach.
Thirdly once you arrive in Africa you'll go through customs and your outfitter or somebody he employs will be waiting for you if you're hunting close to Johannesburg. If not you have to do a B&B and catch another flight in the morning down to wherever you were going. So if you're staying at a B&B there again it's probably another $300 per person for lodging and food. Then if you get driving back to the airport you must tip the driver which is barely nothing either a five dollar bill or $10 bill US. Then you're off to the lodge.
At the lodge you will be fed and guided for your whole adventure so now at the end of the safari is when you will be paying for the trophies that you have harvested. You should have a list of that and know exactly how much money is required. Most love US money and then some will take Visa or MasterCard credit cards, they really don't like American Express credit card. So this is where you are going to spend most of your money. If you had a package deal then you know exactly what you all them if by chance and most people do add to the list as they are hunting and extra fees are occurring as you do this.
Next is the tipping of your pH which if it's just plain's game can run anywhere from $500-$700. If you're hunting one of the big seven then most will be offended if you do not tip them at least 1K and if you have more than one PH guiding you on the big seven then you have to tip them also what you tipped your main guide. If you were in multiple camps then you have to do all this tipping at each camp. For the cook and the people that do your laundry and the cook you can tip them anywhere from $50 to 300 in one lump sum. As for the trackers they require anywhere from $50 to another $300. And for the scanner if he is not already your tractor you must tip him at least $100-$200 and you really don't want to make him mad because he is the one in charge of scanning and salting your trophy so once you get it back to the US to be mounted if there is no hair left on this then it's only your fault for being cheap. So now you know now that you have to tip just about everybody that helps you.
Next you're headed back to the airport you got to tip the driver again another five, $10 then into the airport you go and if you have your own rifle you're going to the back room with their idea of TSA and they look your guns over and then you should really tip this guy at least $10 US because if you do not tip him your gun case will not be on your airline flight out of Africa and it might just all sudden get lost somewhere so here again do not be cheap.
OK you're home you get an email from the taxidermist down there that is being your pack and dip for your skulls and hides and capes and they will send you a detailed list of what is on there, if you shot something and it is not on this list you better contact them immediately because if it is not on this list it does not exist. They will send you an invoice of what it will cost for them to pack and dip and boil your skulls. Once that is paid They will proceed with requiring permits for export for your trophies to get them to the USA. After a couple months you'll get another invoice from the pack and dip/shippers for the crating and the flight to the port that you picked out in the US a that you would like to have your trophies come into. If you are not in South Africa and hunting another country up north like Zimbabwe etc. then you have to pay a shipping caused from there to Joe Berg is Joe Berg is usually the jumping off point for all shipping so there again I can run an extra $800-$1500 but that's only if you're hunting out of South Africa and getting your trophies home.
They will proceed with requiring permits for export for your trophies to get them to the USA. After a couple months you will get another invoice from the PAC and dip/shippers for the crating and the flight to the port that you picked out in the US a that you would like to have your trophies come into.once your items come into the USA they must be cleared through US customs and through a US broker. That cost depending on who you are using. If there is a CITIES Animal in there then that's an extra hundred dollars and then the custom broker usually charges anywhere from 550.00 to 800.00. And you want to pay this fee as fast as you can because the longer you sit and wait to pay this bill your crate is sitting in storage and the custom brokers will not allow it to be shipped until they are paid and the storage cost runs $40 a week minimum and if it's just for a couple weeks or months that really starts to add up so don't do that.
Then once it is cleared it Has to be shipped to you or to your Taxidermist. If you live in the city you can actually go down and pick them up and save the shipping but if you don't they will ship it to you by Freight or if it's just a couple small items under 50 pounds they will FedEx them to you but 90% of all items coming into my studio are in by Freight because most crates run anywhere from 300 pounds to 1100 pounds and I usually use custom brokers in SeaTac Washington and I get that to my studio is usually always right around $400. There again depends on the weight .
Then once it comes into my studio , Capp's Taxidermy Studio llc and if there is any swine, primates or certain types of goats and sheep that has to be cleared through USDA, which my studio is a USDA approved establishment . I charge $100 if the items are going to be mounted at my studio. If you just have skulls and hides and no taxidermy work then I charge you an extra 350.00
Then items that are at my studio will be shipped to the Tannery so they can preserved and most people will have them all put up at once were here again if you were on a shoestring budget you can do it one this year, one next year, etc. etc. but I would highly recommend getting them all tanned and then put them in cold storage so then you have that control and most items .
The tanning of capes usually run anywhere from 1900 to 2700 depending on what type of animals are we talking about.
Then it's the taxidermy cost for either wall mounts, pedestals, stack pedestals or whatever you can imagine for your trophy to be preserved in artwork.
So there is basically a rundown of what it's going to cost for your self first Safari.
Yes it is expensive to go hunting internationally. Some think that you can harvest an animal and just grab it , place it in your suitcase and come home ,no , that is called smuggling and that just cannot happen.
But this is all strung out hopefully for you people over a couple years or you can save and put this aside and once you get back from Africa it's six months to a year before you have to start paying shipping and custom brokerage and then once it hits the Tannery at your Taxidermist that's usually always six months or longer.
So you are in control of certain things but as we all seen in this damn shut down of 2020 that life is extremely short so I would highly recommend getting out there and enjoying it before the expiration due date comes on your life.
