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Travel Blog: South Africa
Follow the adventures of Diana Rupp, Sports Afield's editor-in-chief, on her spring 2007 safari to South Africa.
1: Plotting and Planning
Getting ready for an African safari is half the fun.
 Almost everyone who has been to Africa says the same thing: Once you feel the pull of the Dark Continent, you’ll never be free of it. I was reminded of this while reading an e-mail from Jack Atcheson Jr., co-principal of one of the top hunt booking agencies, Jack Atcheson & Sons. Jack has sent me on some of my most memorable hunts. Now he was telling me about a place in South Africa--a region called, intriguingly, the Great Karoo. The hunting area was called Ko-Ka-Tsara.
“It’s a beautiful area,” he said. “It looks like Wyoming. And they’ve got incredible game—species you haven’t shot yet. Black and white springbok, mountain reedbuck, blesbok, black wildebeest. The outfitter’s name is Ralph Koster. You’d really enjoy hunting with him.”
I’d been on safari twice, both times with Scott, my husband and favorite hunting partner. We’d shot plains game in Namibia in 2003 and Cape buffalo in Tanzania in 2006. The Dark Continent definitely had me hooked as surely as if it were an addictive drug. And now I had a chance to hunt in a new place, a game-rich country that plays host to more American safari hunters every year than any other nation on the continent. The decision took all of two seconds.
After figuring out the dates of the trip, I got on the phone with Gracy Travel International, the agency that handled my flight bookings for my other safaris. Although I typically book domestic flights myself through airline Web sites, a travel agency that specializes in hunters is the only way to go when traveling internationally with firearms. There are just too many rules, regulations, forms, and permits, and the laws can change quickly, so it’s crucial to have a travel agent who is on top of these things.
Scott had his own hunts planned for the spring, so I would be doing this trip on my own—my first solo safari. Safaris are more fun when shared and I knew I’d miss his company, but I also looked forward to the challenge of having only myself to rely on.
The only thing that really concerned me about South Africa was the gun importation procedure, which I’d heard was onerous, or at least overly bureaucratic. Gracy Travel and the folks at Ko-Ka-Tsara were immensely helpful. They sent me all of the forms I’d need and detailed instructions regarding how to fill them out, as well as a list of what else I’d need to present to the South African Police Service, better known by its unfortunate acronym, SAPS. The most crucial items were an invitation letter from the outfitter and a U.S. Customs form 4457 listing the particulars of my gun. It was imperative, too, to fill out the SAPS form in black ink—no other color allowed. I gathered all of the necessary materials well in advance, checked and double-checked my form, and made copies of everything just in case.
Otherwise, preparations were simple. I packed a pair of boots, three sets of olive-green and khaki safari clothes, a fleece jacket, a good pair of binoculars, and my digital cameras. My vaccinations were up to date, and no antimalarial medications are needed for this part of Africa, which has a dry, healthy climate.
The fun part was spending Sundays at the range, working with my trusty .280 Remington. I've taken a variety of North American game with the .280, from whitetails to black bears, and figured it would be a great choice for African plains game. Topped with a brand-new Swarovski scope and zeroed with Norma’s 156-grain Oryx load, the rifle shot sub-inch groups at 100 yards. After sighting in I spent the rest of my range time practicing from African-style shooting sticks and from sitting and kneeling positions. At home, I taped a photo of a springbok to the wall and dry-fired ten rounds at its vitals every night, working the bolt rapidly between clicks of the trigger.
By mid-April, I was ready for my South African adventure.
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