For hunters from the USA, we highly recommend Delta as they have direct flights daily to Johannesburg and Cape town. We found flights with multiple layovers may cause luggage and rifles to be delayed.

Because of the long drive to our Base Camp, we recommend that anyone whose flight arrives late afternoon or evening to spend their first night in Johannesburg. After the long flight to South Africa there is nothing better than getting a good night’s rest and beginning your safari completely fresh.

For accommodations we can recommend Africa sky guest lodge. https://africasky.co.za/ .They are located very close to Johannesburg airport, and they will provide you with Meet & Greet services upon your arrival along with transportation to and from the airport.

They can also assist you with your rifle import permits.

South Africa is geared towards travel by air and road with an extensive network of paved roads and many domestic, as well as private charter airline services.

Most parts of the North West Province are easily accessible via a well-constructed road network. Major highways are paved as are most roadways around metropolitan areas; however rural roads are seldom paved. Any valid drivers’ license is accepted in South Africa provided it bears the photograph and signature of the holder and is printed in English. Contrary to driving in the U.S., driving in South Africa is done on the left.

There are three International Airports in South Africa; Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The Johannesburg International Airport is the arrival/departure point for Henry Griffiths Safaris. About 50 airlines provide service to and from South Africa though, as we mentioned, South African Airways is the National carrier.

The currency in South Africa is the South African Rand at 100 cents to 1 rand. Exchange Bureaus are situated in all towns and airports, and most hotels.

Payment Options
We recommend that our clients make provision for trip cancellation insurance;
Cash, Electronic Bank Transfers and Card payments are accepted.
Prices are subject to change without prior notice;

Our camps are equipped with all the modern amenities to ensure your comfort and safety. Wireless internet connectivity and 220V electricity are available at most of our camps.

Pin plugs apply to the South African system.

Our hunting season spans from February to November (unless otherwise requested) with weather conditions as follows:

Late Summer:
February and March – Hot

Autumn:
April and May – Warm to Mild

Winter:
June to August – Cold

Spring:
September – Warm to Mild

Early Summer:
October and November – Very Hot

For plains game hunting bring a rifle in the .30cal range. A 3006win or .300 win loaded with good premium grade bullets like federal, or Barns-X. No need to buy a new rifle, rather bring one you are comfortable with!

180gr to 200gr. will do fine for most plains game hunting. Shots will range from 50-300m but you will seldom need to take a shot over 250m, the average being 120m. Please bring along soft gun cases for your rifles to keep them in while on the hunting truck or when travelling between hunting areas.

To hunt dangerous game (except leopard) you will need a .375 or bigger. The most popular being .375 Holland & Holland. Ensure that you bring both premium soft nose or expanding and solids for dangerous game. The shots at dangerous game are usually less than 100m so a quick low powered scope (1-4x20 or similar) or good iron sights will do. When hunting elephant shots will be less than 30m most of the time so a rifle that fits well and you can handle fast and accurate will do.

All visitors to South Africa are required to carry a passport that is valid for six months beyond the intended length of stay. There should be sufficient blank pages for entry stamps upon arrival. Visas are not required for citizens from USA, UK, Canada, France, Germany and Spain. Visitors can stay for a maximum of 90 days. You may be requested to show a return ticket.

You are entitled to import into South Africa a personal allowance of 400 cigarettes, 50 cigars, 9 ounces of pipe tobacco, 2 litres of wine, 1 litre of alcohol, other gifts up to a value of R500 and any amount of foreign currency if you declare amounts over $20,000 to customs upon arrival.

Sporting firearms may be readily imported into South Africa. You may bring up to 3 firearms per hunter (however most airlines limit you to 2) and 200 rounds of ammo per firearm but again airline regulations allow only 5 kg or 11 lbs of ammo per passenger. The average weight of factory loaded ammo boxes of 20 shells per box runs from 1 lb 4 ounces to 2 lbs.
Prior to the day of your flight, you will need to take a trip down to the local Customs Office (usually located at all international airports) and get a Form 4457 (Certificate of Registration of Personal Effects Taken Abroad). These Custom Offices are normally open 9 - 5, Monday - Friday, but it would be best to call before you go to ensure that there will be somebody available to assist you. When you go, take the guns that you will be taking to Africa with you, this is required for bows as well.

This is a very easy procedure. They will sign a customs form that includes the manufacturer, model, and serial number of each firearm. The reason for this form is to show the US Customs people when you return to the USA that you owned the guns prior to your departure and that you are bringing back the same guns that you took out of the country. Be sure to have that form available on your return. Since the United States does not require your sporting rifles to be registered you must have this form to show the South African police. This will suffice as proof of ownership for the required SAP Form 520 that will be discussed below.

The following is the procedure for customs on South African side. We do however recommend using an agent to streamline the proses. You are welcome to contact Africa Hunters permits on info@hunterspermitsafrica.co.za. Or phone Adele on +27 76 611 9991 or office +27 79 680 0514.

Upon arrival in South Africa, you must have filled out an SAP Form 520.
Download SAPS520 form to be completed for firearms importation
https://www.saps.gov.za/services/flash/firearms/downloads/import_application.pdf for the South African Police to receive a temporary firearm import permit to be issued to you.



A step-by step guide for you to follow upon arrival in Johannesburg is included below:
1. Sign for your firearms in the area just to the right of where you walk into the baggage claim area. After collecting your luggage, you will then proceed through the Red Channel area of customs, as you must declare your firearms (even though they will not be with you at this point as they have been delivered to the South African Police Office).
2. Depart the customs area to the right and proceed out to the general meeting area. Walk straight ahead to the corridor (there is a sign up above to indicate the corridor where the SAP office is located) and turn right. The location of the SAPS office will be just ahead and to the right.
3. Enter this office with all the paperwork that is required and tell them that you are going to be hunting and you need to claim your firearms and obtain a temporary firearm import permit.

You need to show proof that the rifle belongs to you. The U.S. customs registration Form 4457 you obtained prior to departure can be used for this. Completion of Form SAP 520 will then take place. This form details your address, rifle make, type and serial numbers as well as the amount of ammunition imported.

They will then issue you a Temporary Import Permit. You must retain a signed copy of this permit and it must be in your possession while you are hunting.

You will need to present this copy on your departure from South Africa. There is no charge for doing any of this, although we have heard of visitors who were asked to pay. If you ask for a receipt for this charge, you will probably be told, "The receipt book is full, so this time there is no charge".

Please note that we have rifles available here to use if you choose not to travel with your rifles. 
We do not charge anything for using our rifles, but we do ask that you pay for the ammo you use.

• 1 x Pair of good hunting boots (always worn in)
• 1 x Pair of comfortable camp shoes
• 4 x Pairs of good socks
• 4 x Sets of underwear
• 1 x Cap
• 3 x Pairs of long hunting pants
• 3 x Pairs of short hunting pants
• 4 x Bush/hunting shirts
• 1 x Down jacket
• 1 x Warm sweater/jersey
• 1 x Windbreaker/waterproof jacket
• EXTRAS (BUT NOT ALL MANDATORY)
• International Plug Set
• Pocket or Hunting Knife
• Camera
• Binoculars
• USB Flash Drive
• Small Backpack
• Insect Repellent
• Toiletries
• Chap Stick
• Sunglasses

We hunt year-round but the best hunting is April – September. Temperatures in these months can vary between 32-60 °F in the morning and 70 - 85 °F in the afternoons. June and July being the coldest months. Bring clothes so that you can dress in layers, a warm jacket and gloves are a must for early mornings on the hunting truck. It is legal to where camo clothing in South Africa so any of your local made camo will do if it is dark shades. Camo clothing is illegal in some other African countries like Zimbabwe, so rather go for dark brown or green clothing.

For boots bring comfortable walking boots that are well worn in and that has a softer sole to ensure quite stalking out in the bush. Depending on the terrain or area that you hunt you will walk good distances every day so good boots are a must.

Bow hunters hunting from the hides, bring black or dark clothing. Bow hunters doing walk and stalk, bring light leafy suite and facemask.

Ensure that for the cameras and video cameras that you have sufficient spare Batteries and/or chargers. The power supply is 220volt (110v charger available in the lodge) so also ensure that you have the correct adapters for chargers. A 12volt car charger can also be helpful to charge batteries out in the bush from the hunting vehicle. Bring a memory card for your camera that has a lot of capacity as you will be taking lots of video and pictures.

As for binoculars bring a pair that you can carry with you and are not too big and heavy.
8x40 or 10x40 will be more than enough for general hunting. A range finder can be handy as well but not an absolute necessity. Your PH will be carrying a range finder.

Bring all the prescription medication you need as well as well as a copy of the prescription.
Also bring personal toiletries. Basics such as shampoo and bodywash will be provided.

Bring a Small backpack to keep on the hunting truck or for one of the trackers to carry during the days hunting for your personal belongings (medication or other) and hunting gear that you might need during the hunt. It is always a good idea to carry spare ammo in your backpack and about 10 rounds on your person.