Books
Craig Boddington’s African Experience published by Safari Press; 2nd ed. edition (August 2, 2004) is still a great book to sink your teeth into. Boddington gives you an in-depth analysis of the safari industry, explains where it came from, and where it is going. The book will also help you to figure out what to hunt for, what to leave aside, how to stretch your money into more hunting, how to plan a trip in a methodical and intelligent way, and what to do and what to avoid.
Robert Ruark’s books are some of the best anecdotes of an African safari that you will ever come across. Unfortunately there hasn’t been hunting like it for over 50 years now but the literature will still inspire your safari experience. My pick is Horn of the Hunter although Death in the Long Grass by Peter Hathaway Capstick is a close second.
Articles or Blogs
I don't think I need to mention our blogs here so I will send you to Peter Flack's content.
Peter Flack is an author, conservationist and keen hunter from South Africa. He has been fortunate to hunt in some amazing countries in Africa and has collected almost every legally hunted specie on the continent. A handful of these adventures have been documented on DVD and the rest are in some of his books or online.
Do yourself a favor, take a few moments and dive in to the content that Peter has supplied. I like reading the stories he has of animals I am yet to hunt or destinations I haven't explored.
Podcasts
The Into The Wilderness podcast series is hosted by the Pace brothers. They are two Scottish blokes that are great film makers and hunters who are heavily into conservation. The podcast from June 13, 2019 is titled Byron Pace, Cara Santa Maria, Hunting, Conservation and Africa and it is worth listening to if you’re considering the why of African hunting. It is pretty heavy on the African conservation topic and how hunting, if done correctly, can benefit animal populations and wildlife in general. It explores the reason why international hunters go to Africa and how sustainable use of wildlife helps communities deal with the issues that they face living over there. There was an alarming statistic they stated about how many eco tourists are required to replace the income generated by hunters. One conservatory took in 24,000 eco tourists which made up 17% of their annual turnover. The same conservatory under strict game management principles allowed only 54 hunters on for the same year which made them something like 61% of the annual turnover. Now I’m not exactly sure who they got those numbers from and it’s hard to comprehend those figures but, if true, there is an argument to be had on how eco the eco-tourists really are considering the footprint 24,000 of them would leave behind! Listen from 17 minutes if you want to avoid the introductions.
YouTube videos & DVDs
I haven’t managed to find any dedicated channels that do really cinematic YouTube videos of hunting in Africa but there are guys out there doing some really good hunting videos in general.
Krieghoff did a fairly good video on hunting savanna buffalo and the Blaser R8 South Africa cape buffalo video has been put together extremely well.
Although not hunting in Africa, the stand out for me at the moment is the videos Bow Hunting Downunder are producing. They are a couple of Aussie guys that do amazingly cinematic work. The Pace Brothers also do very nice story telling but Bow Hunting Downunder beats them at the moment because they have more recent videos going up.
If you're into hunting mountains JE Wilds does some great hunting videos of adventures in New Zealand.
I also follow along on Remi Warren’s hunting journey in which he has produced content with Under Armor & Solohuntr. Diving in to the content he has been involved in is a rabbit hole that will inspire you to get outdoors. Remi also does a great podcast called cutting the distance which is well worth a binge on those long road trips. Meat Eater TV on Netflix is another one from the United States that I like to follow along with.
Kruger Sightings on YouTube is a decent platform to watch wildlife encounters in the Kruger national park. I warn you though, nature is brutal and some of the content is fairly graphic!
Jim Shockey’s Uncharted with Corey Knowlton was a favorite DVD of mine, those guys explored some great wilderness and the stories they were able to capture on film were amazing.
Marc Watts, AKA Bwana Moja, has also created several entertaining DVD’s of his exploits to the Dark Continent. Although a little dated now and hard to find, they are still great to throw on for a lazy afternoon. Titles include Fire & Ice, Delta Royale, The Mane Event & Back To Africa
People
Early on in my African safari research Craig Boddington’s African Experience DVD got played until it wore out. In modern times he would be, arguably, the bloke who has hunted Africa more than any person. He inspired my obsession with Africa well before I set foot on her soil for myself. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and find a copy of either the DVD or book.
I also like following Ivan Carter’s journey. He has evolved from the go to professional hunter of his time to a conservationist doing some great work on the ground in Africa.
Now that I have been lucky enough to explore Africa a fair few times I am inspired more by the likes of Donnie Vincent and Remi Warren, even though they haven’t done a great deal of content in Africa. Those dudes do a great job in the public eye articulating what it means to be a hunter. Donnie’s theatrical releases are epic and Remi does amazing work self-filming hunts into the wilderness.
Pedro Ampuero is a Spanish born hunter that inspires me to look abroad for hunting destinations. He has documented some pretty cool adventures from around the world & I have enjoyed his productions.
This planet we call home is a huge place where endless exploration awaits. Be inspired to live a life full of adventure, travel often and chase your dreams with vigor and infinite motivation.
Contact us today safari@bushveldhuntingadventures.com
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