Arrow recommendation for giraffe
As far as lodging, I’m currently sitting at Africa Sky and would recommend.
Afton Safari lodge. Very reasonable
African Sky guest house. More upscale with a full restaurant on site. Both do meet and greet at airport. And will help with rifle permits and airport rifle desk.
Intercontinental airport hotel. On the the airport property. Walk across the street and small parking lot to check in The Least bag handling and travel logistics, loading, unloading luggage. But more pricy
The Afton Safari lodge is an SA institution for traveling hunters. I have stayed there personally a dozen times over the years and have had only great experiences. Another great choice is the Africa Sky which is a bit more upscale than the Afton.
Set-up for your giraffe: I would recommend the same set-up as I would for a Cape buffalo. You will need a heavy arrow (800gr plus) with a significant FOC and a heavy-duty, steel 2-blade, broadhead design... Giraffe are heavily boned and have a hide thicker than a Cape buffalo on the shoulder, and many PHs prefer that you take a frontal shot between the shoulder blades if possible. Good luck on your safari!
I’ve heard nice things about City Lodge- never stayed there.
Africa Sky is also excellent and the food there superb. If you’re a hunter, you’ll likely enjoy Afton better but you can’t go wrong with either guesthouse.
We don’t shoot many giraffe, maybe 6-8 each season but they are difficult with a bow. I cannot add to the equipment advice already provided here but will say the frontal shot has proven the best option with archery tackle for us.
We were actually shocked how nice it was and how good the steak dinner we had was.
It's still a first rate place to stay. Stickflingers comments are valuable but go little to reduce the great job Afton house does
Slip up happen in customer service. One try's to avoid them at all costs
Can you share some detail as to the exact circumstances involved in your negative experience with the Afton that I can pass on to Richard? Everyone is certainly entitled to share their own personal experiences about any business good or bad.. Negative reviews are sometimes deserved and often useful to help to resolve future issues. However, I have also found that most negative reviews of well-established and historically reputable businesses are isolated instances, or instances with extenuating circumstances.
It's just that what you are describing is just about the exact opposite of the vast majority of what I have heard and personally experienced over many years of staying at the Afton and recommending their services to my clients. I have been recommending the Afton for over 16 years going back when Annaliese owned it, and now with Richard these last few years since he took over. Richard put a bunch of money into the place and did a great job in my opinion with the much needed renovations along with new staff and services.
The Afton also always has a designated staff member permanently stationed at OR Tambo (usually Mr. X) who coordinates guest meet & greet and ground transfers. So, I am not doubting you, but I am wondering how it is possible that there was no one to greet you at the airport for pick-up? Again, I am only asking for a more detailed explanation to try and resolve any future issues for my clients as well as any members on here considering their overnight options in Jo' burg. Thanks..
Dan and Randy, you don't seem to have actually read what I wrote. There was no confusion, no "missed" connections. He chose to cancel my meet & greet and sent me an email while I was in flight telling me he was canceling it with no notice and no chance for me to make other arrangements before my arrival. He did this because he completely misconstrued and overreacted to the questions I asked when finalizing the booking. Very briefly, I had originally contacted two companies to compare pricing and services before I sent an email to Afton confirming that I wished to book the service through them. The other company, a very large and informed company that also runs numerous airport lounges at JNB, then emailed to tell me that meet & greets were not currently being allowed in that airport due to Covid protocols (this was in 2021). So, I just sent an email to Richard to verify that he could still offer it even after I was given other information from a company (that should be very well informed on the subject). In that email, I also mentioned that "it would be great" if our bows could also be intercepted at the luggage terminal before they are taken to the police station (to save more time, because the bow cases look like gun cases). Richard (incorrectly) told me that bow cases don't go to the police station, which I knew from my previous trips was false. However, the only reason I even added that comment was because, on my previous trip to Tambo in 2019, the meet & greet service did in fact get our bow cases for us before they went to the police station. It didn't seem to be that difficult. In any event, I didn't tell him I required that service. I didn't tell him I demanded that service. I didn't even tell him that I expected that service. I just said, "it would be great if it were possible." NUMEROUS times during our emails I had said that the only service I really wanted, care about, or needed was to skip to the front of the customs line. That was it. That's all I wanted, needed, or even expected. His response to that email, that I sent before boarding our flight, was to send me an email while we were in flight saying that I was "challenging them by getting different opinions, and that I did not trust their word". I don't think that a last-minute verification, based on the information given to me by a very large company that should know the airport rules, was "not trusting their word". He also went over the top in his cancelation email telling me that I was expecting them to "get into the workings of the baggage handling services of Africa's major International Airport to intercept our checked baggage". I also don't feel that was a fair representation of my comment that "it would be great" if the luggage could be intercepted. As I said previously, this had been done for us by the previous service, so I knew it could be done and just thought I'd throw it into the email that it would be great if that were possible. If it wasn't, no big deal. If his company isn't as capable as the previous service, and can't do that, that would have been absolutely fine, and frankly, was what I would have expected. However, I have since gone through that airport twice on my own without a meet & greet service and both times I managed to intercept our bow cases before they went to the police station all by myself. So, it must not be as monumental a task as he makes it out to be, but that's a separate subject.
You also seem to have missed that I said in my previous posts that Richard has been sending me a string of aggressive emails since I posted my first (fairly generic and bland) post in this thread, and I certainly DON'T need anyone going to him to act as an intermediary and infuriating him more. As I said in the earlier post, we have been in communication, and I don't need any more help in that regard but thank you for offering to do so.
He does not seem to feel that I had the right to let my friends on Bowsite know of my bad experience and has made that QUITE CLEAR to me via email by telling me that it is cowardly. He also seemingly threatened me by telling me he has his own forums (I assume for retaliation toward me). I suggested to him from the beginning that he could just simply apologize for any misunderstandings and we'd just forget about all of this and go on our way, but that is not the direction he has chosen to take this. In my opinion, his GREAT OVERREACTION in both canceling his service in the first place and even more so now by his overreacting to this post have all been very unwarranted and concerning.
So, please do not go to him on my behalf. Just let this thread die. I just want out! You do what you want. I don't need any more emails from him. I officially change my opinion. He's a great guy, and I highly recommend that all of you use his services!
Thanks
As far as my missing something in what you originally posted, I based my reply to you from your exact words here: "For those that are choosing to book with Afton, good luck to you. I hope they choose to honor their agreement and pick you up. If you are going to Africa for the first time, why take the risk of them deciding whether to pick you up or not?"
From this comment it sounded as if they just didn't show up for your meet & greet. Your detailed, follow-up comments clarify what actually happened, which certainly puts the circumstances in a different perspective..
Lastly, I am not a booking agent and I do not receive any special favors or pricing from Richard or anyone else. I do have a long-standing relationship with the Afton along with a few other guest houses and meet & greet services that I recommend to my safari clients.. I asked for you to provide more detail not for the intention of doubting your story, but to have a better understanding of what transpired so I might be able to provide better advice and recommendations in the future.. If your complaint is legitimate, I want to know so I can possibly avoid the same circumstances from occurring with my guests.
As far as contacting Richard, I have no intention of intervening on your behalf, and I would never do so unless it was at your request.. I am sincerely sorry that you had a bad experience with them, and I do agree that from your description of events, Richard's reactions seemed inappropriate and unprofessional... Unfortunately, this sounds to me like a communication issue that often happens when corresponding strictly by email that could have been avoided altogether.
