October 2025

Tipping 

The principle of tipping anyone, be it a waitron, taxi driver, beautician or hairdresser, offering any gratuity is in recognition of the service received. That said, some sectors have taken tipping to an extreme. America has a strong tipping culture, where it’s getting harder to pay anything without the card machine defaulting to a friendly yet bold, 15, 20, 25% or “other’ amount on the screen.

I have been with my daughters when they were buying cosmetics or clothing and seen how the salesperson employs a good deal more patience, skill and service than offered by the average restaurant waitron. Yet somehow these sales staff, offering world-class expertise, have missed the tipping bus. I am not sure why.

When paying for a coffee and bear claw, a firm favorite of mine on arrival at Atlanta’s airport in the US, the card machine makes no bones about highlighting what my options are. It is fine, is what it is, and something I have come to expect when travelling globally – in this instance, the USA.

However, I must mention my worst case which was when paying for a Covid test in January 2021 in Vegas of all places, possibly the tipping capital of the world. The cost was $240, which if not bad enough, came with the prompt for a tip! I thought it best if I tipped properly in case the medical attendant failed me. Adding $40, swiped $280 and four hours later, still failed the Covid test. Anyway, what happens in Vegas… as they say… so I made a plan and flew home anyway.

When coming on safari, there’s no shortage of lists: gear, clothing but not a lot on what tips one should expect to pay other than what your outfitter may send you prior to arrival. While most outfitters and PHs will say it is discretionary and up to you, there are some guidelines.

I asked a few African Dawn Members to give me their input which, while all emphasizing it is a guideline, does give some sort of range.

It is about being prepared, like all elements of the safari. If you know about it and plan, it makes for an all-round wonderful African experience.

For a 7-day plains-game hunt:

• PH: $50 - $100 per day ($750 - $1000 total)
• Tracker / Skinner (some outfitters they are one and the same): $15 - $20 per day depending on the number of animals hunted / skinned
• Specialist / main skinner: $25 - $50 a day depending on how many animals that have been hunted
• Camp staff: $10 - $20 a day ($100 - $150 total) divided it up between the staff, or earmarked by staff members if some outfitters detail all staff by name at the end of the safari.
• Chef: $25 - $50 per day

Big Game

• 7–10-day buffalo, the PH gets $2000
• 10-day elephant, it’s $3500
• 14-day leopard is $3500
• 21-day lion is $4500

If it is a small camp where you have exclusivity versus an operation where you have many hunters in camp, or you are on a dangerous-game hunt, different tipping levels apply. Good outfitters will always look after their staff regardless of tips. However, like everything in life, if you know what expectations are and you are prepared, everything is a lot better. And when it comes to the staff of all hunting operations when you go on safari, their expectation is to receive a gratuity, tip, or a financial acknowledgement – and so with that in mind, I look forward to your feedback on this.

Regards, 

Richard Lendrum

Congratulations to Our Honey Badger Safari Winner! 

We’re excited to announce that Lamar Johnson of Grove Hill, Alabama, USA is the winner of the African Hunting Gazette’s Big Badger Safari Draw, in partnership with Dave Freeburn Safaris!

Lamar has won a 7-night African hunting adventure at Silent Valley in South Africa’s Limpopo Province - including VIP meet & greet, transfers, lodging, and a trophy Honey Badger hunt with full taxidermy by Taxidermy & Trophy Shipping (TTS).

A huge thank you to everyone who subscribed or renewed this year, and to Dave Freeburn Safaris for their outstanding partnership.

Stay tuned for our next big giveaway: the Life Membership Promotion & Buffalo Hunt Draw! 

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Latest Information on Rhinos Has Been Published

African and Asian Rhinoceroses – Status, Conservation and Trade, 2025

Commissioned by the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade

in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

Report prepared by the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s

African Rhino Specialist Group, Asian Rhino Specialist Groups and TRAFFIC

Some interesting data from the report, extracted by John Ledger

Hyena Hunting in Kruger

By Alessandro Cabella

Hunting near Hoedspruit, deep in the greater Kruger area of South Africa, offers something that few places on Earth can match: untamed wilderness, raw unpredictability, and adrenaline-charged encounters with some of the world’s most elusive predators. After landing in Johannesburg, I was greeted by my longtime friend and professional hunter, Ryan Beattie, owner of Dubula Hunting Safaris. We loaded the gear, packed the rifles, and began the drive northeast—leaving behind the highways and entering the African lowveld where baobabs tower, the mopani trees stretch wide, and the wild begins to speak. The road to Hoedspruit isn’t just a drive—it’s a slow descent into another world. A world where time slows down, senses sharpen, and the unknown always seems just one rustle away.

Facinating Fifties

By Terry Wieland

In 1972, up on the Tana River in Kenya, I ran into a white hunter by the name of David Thompson. David was a thin little guy, going grey as might be expected of someone who made a living chasing mean stuff in the thornbush. He was armed with a squat, heavy-looking bolt action rifle, devoid of bluing but also devoid of rust. Obviously, a rifle that had been around, but was well cared for.

Naturally, I asked about it. A .505 Gibbs, he told me. Had it for years, he said, and it looked it. The magnum Mauser action appeared to have seen service at Dunkirk, if not Stalingrad, and who knows what its history was. In those days, anything hailing from Germany (including much of the French Foreign Legion) were a little cagey about discussing their past.

In The Blood 

By Ken Moody

There are myriad things that I love about Africa, but the one thing that I have a near obsession with is Cape Buffalo hunting. Yes, that old, ornery fella who would just as soon snap your neck as eat a bite has caused me many nervous moments. I have hunted hundreds of these beasts in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa, and my thrill in pursuing them has never diminished. It’s in my blood. They are, in my opinion, the most dangerous game species to hunt.

Geoff was a repeat client of mine who had hunted with me in South Africa and now felt the desire to pursue buffalo.

Tanzanian Chui

By T.J. Schwanky

The plan was perfect; we’d slipped into the blind during the pre-dawn darkness with minimal fuss and now all we had to do was wait for the sun to rise. The big male leopard had been showing up on the trail camera just before dawn and feeding well into the morning. It all seemed pretty easy. Perhaps too easy. Chui has a way of changing plans.

It was still an hour before legal light when we heard a thump on the ground in front of the blind. I looked over to Vanessa, and even in the near pitch-black, I could see her eyes get wide. It sounded like the leopard had just jumped out of the tree. Night hunting for leopards is illegal in Tanzania, so it really changes the game.

Among The Masai

By Terry Wieland

Many and curious are the tales about the Masai that permeate the hunting literature of East Africa. The Masai are, at one and the same time, the most recognizable of all African tribes, yet — by most outsiders — the least understood.

For my money, they are the most intriguing, the most contradictory in some ways, and the hardest to pigeon-hole. If I were an anthropologist looking for an African tribe to study, I would choose the Masai. And if I were in a tight spot and needed a good friend, I would also choose a Masai.

Hunting writers tend to dislike the Masai, partly because when the Masai move into an area with their cattle, the wild game moves out. 

Chapter 8

Panthera Pardus

By Wayne Grant

I cannot imagine that there has been as much confusion in early attempts at categorizing an animal as there appears to have been with the leopard! Body sizes, tail lengths and colouration have all been issued as “proof” of different types of these fascinating cats. In Guy Coheleach’s magnificent book ‘The Big Cats’, he mentions that in Imperial Rome, cheetahs at one time were known as ‘Panthera’ and leopards as ‘Pardus’ and were thought to be female and male respectively, of the same species! Clearly the Romans’ debaucherous parties and gargantuan consumption of the grape, dimmed their powers of observation. These folks even thought that a young male lion, still sporting his youth-spots, was a cross between a lion and old Pardus!

Who are the African Dawn Outfitters?

The African Dawn Program is about promoting hunting in Africa, not just through what we publish, but with the outfitters’ cooperation in this program… and it is for your peace of mind.

International travel consumes two precious commodities – personal time and money. And when you are a hunter, things can get tricky when there are further considerations like rules, regulations, details and differences between each country and their species. It is important to have a good outfitter, and whether it is your next hunting safari, or your first one, there are many outfitters to choose from. In fact, there are over 500, so how do you find a reliable one, the one that is right for you?

To help you, we decided to promote and work with approximately 10% of this continent-wide group of outfitters. We have listed a limited number of an esteemed group of established and reputable African outfitters and they can be found in this Catalogue. To familiarize yourself with this list, we also offer monthly publications, and monthly trophy gallery posts (Trophies Fresh from the Veld). To ensure you receive these updates, sign up www.africanhuntinggazette.com.

If you are an agent looking for an outfitter to represent, you’ll be safe contacting one of these outfitters.

If you are researching for your next safari, be sure to contact any one of listed outfitters directly. It will support them and save you money by booking with them. Please tell them that it was by them being an African Dawn Member that contributed to the decision.

Our website www.africanhuntinggazette.com has a detailed overview of them all, and you know where to contact me if you need to know anything more.

For now, just enjoy the read.

Richard Lendrum - Publisher African Hunting Gazette

richard@africanhuntinggazette.com

2025 African Dawn Members