Forums.NitroExpress.com

I can see these costs worry others as much as they did me, so I'll bore you with some more hints, hopefully not all the bleeding obvious.

Instead of a 24lb Pelican case, I got a Guardforce single-rifle case, ripped out the heavy moulding and replaced it with flat foam. This reduced the weight to about 14 pounds and gave room for two rifles, one with a scope. The foam was lighter than substituting soft bags for day use - I borrowed those and a defensive knife from the PH.

A light aluminium CD box became the metal case SAA wanted for ammo - cost: $17. I would have bought the ammo in RSA but it was cheaper to bring from home - even as excess baggage - esp. when handloaded. Some of the case's pop-rivets gave way in SA but we replaced them with small bolts, nuts and spring washers. I was allowed to put the case in my clothes bag, anyway, but if someone wants your stuff badly enough, they'll get it.

Close reading of the airline rules showed a number of things could be carried on as well as your 7kg cabin baggage. So, I stuffed the large pockets of my cotton army jacket with books and magazines, small camera and small binos. The latter could have been slung around my neck, instead. With only about 4kg spare in my stowed luggage after the hardware, I put as many clothes as possible into the cabin bag but tried to make them things I might legitimately use during the flight, just in case anyone read the website.

Booze bought in airport duty-frees was not weighed, of course, but with fuel prices and terrorist worries, I can see this changing. Stroh OP rum was the only bargain I saw in JB airport but why they let us carry it in a plane cabin beats me. Even Amarula could be dangerous if the bottle's broken.

Knowing camp staff would wash my clothes daily, I only took three changes and a couple of light skivvies (not that I needed them or the jacket in Moz). Trousers with zip-off legs did instead of shorts - though the sun-bleached tops don't match the bottoms now.

I wore boots on to the plane, then changed to flip-flops (who says we don't speak English?). Then bought some Courteneys in JB and left the canvas ones behind at the end, along with magazines, easily found s/h books and stuff I'd never need again, to make way for an ebony lion's head etc.

A bare minimum of consumables was taken over, for airline reasons and because I had time to buy toothpaste, batteries etc there. RSA supermarkets seemed pretty good but Mozambique less so. Avon Skin So Soft repellent (for tsetse flies) may be worth the weight if your PH is short of it, though.

Weighing all this stuff, along with presents and the light bags, individually on kitchen scales and together in the bathroom, I was still under the 23+7kg allowed, so threw in a pair of shoes. I was flying on a Qantas ticket and, although SAA may have slightly different rules, they accepted the Aussie allowances.

On the conveyor at Tullamarine, I was 1kg under - dang, shoulda brought heavier rifles.

If money is no object to you, all this might seem a waste of time, but it could also save you missing a connection. With the time taken to process my rifles in Perth I only just got the plane to Africa as it was - hassles over luggage weight would have been the last straw.

Happy hunting
- Paul