I've been over there a couple times.
My advice is.
Plan on shooting more than you planned on. You'll need $$$$ and probably someone back home to wire you even more money.
Start taking a Pepto Bismol tablet every morning when you start your trip. Don't skip any days on the Pepto.
The flight over and back is brutal. 17 to 21 hours depending where you're flying from, and probably on an Airbus(flying cattle car). They'll show you some European movies on the flight and feed you some kind of Euro food, like cold Mackerel sandwiches. Take something to snack on. Or better yet, take two of the mini whiskies and a sleeping pill and miss most of the flight.
If you are taking your spouse along, and I recommend that you do, then plan to spend a couple days in Kruger Park. Five days in the park is even better.
If you are planning on taking the Malaria pills, then take them early in the morning. They will cause you to have nightmares and you need all day to get them thru your system before you try to sleep. We also found that taking them with some peanut butter in the morning helped. Or, don't take the pills and just wait until you get Malaria and then take the shot.
If you are traveling over around Kwa Zulu Natal and get yourself a dose of the local tick fever, then Tetracycline is the only thing that will save your life. You won't know that you've got the fever until you get home and American doctors will shoot you full of all kinds of drugs that will only postpone your death. Tetracycline is the one you want.
You should check with your local CDC office to see what shots they recommend before traveling over. They'll probably recommend a Yellow Fever shot. Take the shot. Yellow fever is nothing to play with.
The last thing is that a lot of the locals, and I do mean a lot, are HIV infected. A lot of them will have other infections too, like Tuberculosis. So, keep your horse in the barn and watch who's second hand air that you're breathing.
Also, if you get a chance at a night hunt, do it. Lots of critters moving around after dark that you won't see in the daylight.
Most of the animals you need to shoot much more forward than anything you'd shoot at in North America. A shoulder shot like you'd do on a deer here, may be too far back on a lot of those animals. Africans rules are that if you drew blood, then you bought it. Paying trophy fees on wounded animals is zero fun. Shoot them a little forward.
Another last thought is have most of your taxidermy work done there. Especially things like zebra skin rugs and stuff. You won't have to pay a dipping fee on anything that you have taxidermied in Africa. Raw skins shipped back for taxidermy here will set you back on the dipping fees. Those guys mount a lot of stuff and can access tanning chemicals that are better than the watered down American versions. You'll get better work, done cheaper there, than you can get at home.
Take some time to look at the stars at night. You'll be looking off of a side of the planet that you've never seen before and it's all different. Sitting and studying the Southern Cross was something like a Biblical experience for me.
You'll be planning your next trip back on your homebound flight. Once the Dark Continent gets into your blood, you'll never be the same again. Good luck on the hunt.
