African Safari - Flights / Costs / Lessons Learned

My original thought was to put these three items in separate blog posts so they would be easier to search.  On second thought, who will ever be searching my blog?  Right-o, one post...

The flight we took to SA and back, Delta 200, is the Longest Flight in the World.  Look it up.  No other flight is in the air continuously more hours than this one.  Total - 16 Hours!  Prepare yourself mentally.  I looked at it as a challenge.  The only way I get to hunt Africa is by taking the plane.  So, it's part of the trip.  We did upgrade to Economy Plus - and at a minimum, I suggest you do the same.  It was only $200 more.  Total flight costs were $2,000.  Indy to Atlanta to Johannesburg & reverse.  The drinks, food, movies, and WIFI are "free."  Yeah, you paid for them already.  There is just no extra charge for them on the plane.  Again, Google (TM) Delta 200.  There are folks who have already written about the flight.

The total cost for this safari are a little unknown as of yet, since we do not have our shipping costs for getting the heads/hides back.  But I can estimate that high and low.
Airfare - $2000
Hunt Package - $2150
Taxidermy - $2000 / $2500 (low & high estimates)
New Gun - $2300
Tips / Arrival / Departure Days - $1000
TOTAL - $9,500

And, if you take the price of the gun out, we're down around $7k.  Great deal!

Finally, what did we learn?
Well, if I had to do it all over again, I would not take a 300 Win Mag.  Too much gun, and mine was too heavy.  Mind you now, it was an awesome shooter.  But think about what you want to carry around for ten miles a day.  A .270, .30-06, or .308 would suffice for the game we were after.
I would also consider not taking my own gun.  The paperwork to get that to happen was very burdensome - and I'm being kind here.  Yes, it was nice to have my own gun.  Yes, it meant that I could practice.  Yes, it was cheaper since I did not have to rent one.  But it's just barely worth it, if at all.

To sum the whole thing up - I would go back tomorrow if I could.  It was that awesome!

P.S.  I have a Browning A-Bolt 300 Win Mag with a Leupold 50mm scope for sale!

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