Craig Boddington is fast becoming the pre-eminent authority on modern safari hunting and although his name is not as well known as the likes of John Taylor or Peter Capstick, maybe given the passage of time it will be spoken with the same reverence. He is not a professional hunter but I suppose you could call him a ‘professional client’ as he has taken over 50 African safaris and along the way accumulated a wealth of experience on the modern day safari industry.
There is no shortage of literature written by African hunters both professional and amateur, about their experiences on safari, but precious little has been written about the finer points of planning a modern safari. I’m fairly certain this 2 DVD set is the first video about safari planning to date and is a follow up to his book of the same name published in 2002. Being a good hunter is one thing but being able to communicate the experience to a wider audience is another. Boddington has established his credentials in this area in his previous titles such as ‘Safari Rifles’, ‘Kenya to the Cape’, ‘Search for the Spiral Horn’ and ‘Buffalo!’ to name a few.
Boddington starts with a brief history of the rise and fall of the safari industry in the 20th century and then goes on to cover the current state of play in Africa today country by country. He then covers all the major game species hunted group by group and which countries they can be found in. He then further divides them into ‘dangerous game’, ‘glamour game’, ‘common game’ and ‘plains game’ categories. He also covers the major types of vegetation and terrain that will be encountered on safari.
The second disc covers the finer details of safari planning including, guns and loads, shooting positions and shot placement, travel documents and airport procedures, what to wear, what to pack, camp accommodation styles, taking your family, and picking a safari operator. About the only things I could knock are the quality of the audio in some sections and the inevitable promotional plugs of sponsored products; a small inconvenience considering the wealth of information provided in the video.
There’s no doubt that anyone planning their first African safari should invest in this DVD before beginning their planning process. It arms you with the knowledge to start asking the right questions when it comes time to choose your all important safari operator and gives you a fair idea what to expect when you get there.
Mandatory viewing for all would be African safari hunters.
Boddington starts with a brief history of the rise and fall of the safari industry in the 20th century and then goes on to cover the current state of play in Africa today country by country. He then covers all the major game species hunted group by group and which countries they can be found in. He then further divides them into ‘dangerous game’, ‘glamour game’, ‘common game’ and ‘plains game’ categories. He also covers the major types of vegetation and terrain that will be encountered on safari.
The second disc covers the finer details of safari planning including, guns and loads, shooting positions and shot placement, travel documents and airport procedures, what to wear, what to pack, camp accommodation styles, taking your family, and picking a safari operator. About the only things I could knock are the quality of the audio in some sections and the inevitable promotional plugs of sponsored products; a small inconvenience considering the wealth of information provided in the video.
There’s no doubt that anyone planning their first African safari should invest in this DVD before beginning their planning process. It arms you with the knowledge to start asking the right questions when it comes time to choose your all important safari operator and gives you a fair idea what to expect when you get there.
Mandatory viewing for all would be African safari hunters.
African Experience
by Craig Boddington
2 DVD set
Running time 3hours
RRP $39.95 USD
Available Fall 2006
For more information contact:
Safari Press
15621 Chemical Lane, Bldg. B, AWB961
Huntington Beach, CA 92649-1506, USA
Email: info@safaripress.com
Web: www.safaripress.com
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