SOUTH AFRICA: Has Anyone Hunted With Bayete Group?

[Mohuntenfool]

bought hunt at NRA banquet hope to get more info on Bayete Group.

 

[JDMonson]

PM sent

 

[Ed Lally]

Was considering bidding on a hunt with this group as well . What is the skinny? Anyone know?

 

[JDMonson]

My wife another couple and myself are hunting in SA with them this Aug. The other couple won the bid at an NRA event. They have been good to work with thus far. Will keep you posted as we get closer and after the hunt.

Justin

 

[Mohuntenfool]

I will be anxious to hear all about it,.

 

[JDMonson]

I talked with another outfitter this past weekend at the Wisconsin hunting expo and he confirmed the lodge they hunt out of is all legit and on the up and up.

Justin

 

[ILhunt]

My husband and I also got a trip through Bayete at a Friends of NRA banquet. We havent gone yet, but look forward to hearing any info you find about them...

 

[duckman90]

I hunted with them in November 2018 and I am going back with them July 2019. They are a great group to work with.

 

[duckman90]

Hi Guys,
They are a great group to work with.

The experience was good enough that I started repping their hunts. (Full Disclosure) I am their dangerous game guy. So if you want to take this with a grain of salt feel free, but I am posting this as someone who has gone through the anxiety of booking with them without a lot of information on the internet. I thought I could shed some light on it. When I booked my first hunt with them, they didn't even have a website.

Having hunted with two other outfitters where I had less than awesome experiences with hidden/non-disclosed expenses. (Mostly around the dipping packing and shipping cost.) It meant a lot to me that Bayete was honest about everything, and I was able to get a quote for the shipping cost before I went. This allowed me to budget for everything.

On my first trip with the communication was a little slow, but that is par for the course in Africa. It has gotten much better over the last few months. Brooke has been great to work with and has made the whole process more streamlined.

As far as camps go, they are luxurious, clean, and the food is something out of this world. I usually try to schedule my trips in September, October, and November, because airfare is cheaper and I can take advantage of the pool. There is nothing like coming back from a morning of spot and stalking, where you are hot, sweaty and dusty and then being able to jump into a refreshing pool get. It's one of my favorite traditions when in hunting camp. (You don't want to do this in June or July.)

I do get a little tired of their breakfast sausages, but that is because they give me heartburn. I end up having fruit and cereal instead so I don't have to live on Tums. (I have the stomach of a 70-year-old man with Accid Reflux.) Everything else is exquisite. If you have a chance I really suggest you request they serve Eland while you are in camp, the Sable is also really good.

The wing shooting they do is my favorite way to spend the last day or two of my trips. It allows me to get a lot of shooting without blowing my bank account out of the water. I like to take my SxS 16 gauge with #5's. they are great for Franklin, Gunieas, doves, Rabbits, a cape hare, and Egyptian Geese. (I have even taken monkies with them.)

I hope that this answers some of the questions you all have. Please feel free to PM me but I am only on this site sporadically.

Cheers,
duckman90

 

[Travis Dove]

Hope everyone is doing good!!

So my wife ended up winning this package at the NRA banquet in Grand Junction CO. Last October. Super excited!! My family and I are planning on doing this hunt this July. Bayete has absolutely been wonderful to work with!! They are very thorough, and the process is very well organized. We are going after 4 Warts, 3 Wildebeest a Kudu and a Zebra!!! We are spending a week in the Cape, chasing Sharks from a cage (Hopefully keep all our limbs!) And then a week with Bayete. Give a full report when we get back!

 

[KyGriz]

I just returned on July 9th from a hunt with Bayete.... was very pleased with the PH's and the lodge. My first time in Africa and loved it... Really a great view from the lodge deck. Hunting was great for Wildebeest, warthog and impala. Went with Highveld taxidermists for european style mounts. They seem to run a very professional business as we toured it on the last day on the way back to the airport.
Cliff

 

[KyGriz]

My husband and I also got a trip through Bayete at a Friends of NRA banquet. We havent gone yet, but look forward to hearing any info you find about them...

Hello,
My group just returned on July 9 from a hunt with Bayete... very pleased. Not a 5 star resort lodge but a great hunting lodge with good food, good drinks, good people. Great views from the deck....
Temps were quite chilly in the morning (maybe around 40 degrees) but nice by 10Am. Because it was cool we hunted all day long, getting back to camp usually after dark.
Great... I hated to leave...
PM me if you want or have more questions.

 

[Dan lenauer]

Purchased my hunt at an NRA benefit this spring. Headed to camp this November with my wife for our first trip to Africa.

The lack of info about Buyeye group online was concerning, but they have been very good to deal with so far. They helped gather estimates on the trophy fees, taxidermy fees, and shipping costs to get the mounted animals back.

I’ll report back once the trip is done, but my experience thus far has been quite good.

 

[ChrisT]

Word is doing the rounds that these guys owe a lot of money to quite a few Outfitters and landowners here in Limpopo. There's talk of trophies that are going to be held back due to non payment. Please feel free to PM me for details.

 

[JDMonson]

Word is doing the rounds that these guys owe a lot of money to quite a few Outfitters and landowners here in Limpopo. There's talk of trophies that are going to be held back due to non payment. Please feel free to PM me for details.

Same here if anybody has questions. They have a mess on their hands right now in SA.

Justin

 

[RBurg44]

Yes sounds like these guys owe alot of people money and Phs and outfitters are going to start holding trophies till they get paid buyer beware! Might not see your animals!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Word is doing the rounds that these guys owe a lot of money to quite a few Outfitters and landowners here in Limpopo. There's talk of trophies that are going to be held back due to non payment. Please feel free to PM me for details.

Some public disclosure of the details ?!

 

[JDMonson]

Below is the first post on Facebook made about the whole deal there are 95 comments on the post as of this morning from clients to Ph's and landowners. I was part of one of the groups that was redirected (we had no notice of this as I had stated in my hunting report until we pulled up to the gate at Kuche Safaris) Our hunt went off without any complications due to Kuche steping up to help get landowners and Ph's paid up in full. I don't know every single detail but have heard enough from other groups after us that were able to sit in on meetings with landowners to understand there is some really shady stuff going on between Bayete and even the NRA not stepping up to the plate since that is where most hunters have had the winning bid for the auction hunts.

Justin

Maja Fraser
September 24 at 5:10 PM ·
If anyone is considering to get involved in Bayete Group, Please Note: Bayete is managed by St John Holloway, he also in the past used Paul Milford, Nick Rudicle to get hunting concessions and Lodges in different areas, they also included Craig Haggard previously, involved in the NRA and currently with the RMEF in their discussions to earn credibility. Paul Milford and Craig Haggard recently claimed that they are not involved in Bayete anymore and are acting on behalf of RMEF solely, but i have my reasons to doubt it. The permanent PH employed by Bayete is Frikkie van Staden. Please contact Kuche Safaris for info on this matter +27 84 702 7964
They owe the following concessions, ph's and staff money, some of them from July, and this is in this terrible time of the year when farmers depend on income from hunting to feed starving animals, Jaco Pieters, Aldine Lombard, Deon Kruis, Kuche Safaris, Rosema Dirk Bakkies, Kobus Pieters, Basie Brand, Christo Pieters, Willie Botha, Juan Joubert, Oom Dup Da Rocha, CF Ackerman, Allen Schenk, Maja Fraser (Permission to use their names)

Money for hunts was paid by clients directly into Bayete's USA account and was suppose to be paid back to SA in 3 weeks time. After it didn't happened, we all came together to get a solution.

A payment agreement was made to direct Bayete clients to one appointed Outfitter that we trusted and who already did about 4 Bayete hunts in the past and which of the clients that went there was Very Happy, ( Dove group, Monson group, Hoskins group ) By that way we would get money paid by client's directly into the appointed Outfitter's account and use the profit to pay debt. We had one group from 16 - 21 Sep as part of the payback agreement ( Easley group )

Next group to arrive on the 29th. Our speculations is that they already got another Target where they will send the next group to redirect the money straight to the USA account again and leave debtors unpaid again.

We will have no other choice to keep back specific trophies hunted by clients until paid in full.

 

[ChrisT]

Some public disclosure of the details ?!

@JDMonson 's post pretty much sums up what is known so far.

This "group" brought a bunch of hunters over to S/Africa this year. It appears quite a few of these hunters won / bought hunts at NRA banquets and all seemed to be above board.

Bayete Group is not a registered Hunting Outfitter in SA and only licenced Hunting Outfitters or may market their South African hunts to clients.

Agents may of course market hunts on behalf of Outfitters but in such case it needs to be made clear who the Outfitter is they're marketing hunts for. Bayete's website doesn't mention who the Outfitter is they're marketing hunts for...

They were using a South African based Outfitter to handle the paperwork on their behalf. (It appears this Outfitter ended up being screwed)

Initially everyone (landowners, PH's and outfitters) got paid... they actually built a little track record for themselves there for a while...

I myself was approached and asked if they could hunt amongst others Buffalo and Giraffe in my areas. I opted out when they asked to pay cash - so as to avoid VAT. This was not only impractical for me at the time but as a VAT vendor this would be illegal on my part so I declined.

Considering later turn of events it turns out to have been a blessing in disguise.

I was one of the lucky ones... A lot of people are being owed a lot of money over here...

This might have been a scam from the outset but more likely this was a case of folks getting involved in the "outfitting business" not knowing what they're getting themselves into.

Donating hunt after hunt in order to get some business as one is starting up can work but when it backfires people end up getting burned.... and usually those at the tail-end - as appears to be the case.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Just bloody lovely.

Thanks for the Summary Chris.