Communication Options for the Traveling Hunter

You might think money would top the list, but the reason most often given by my clients for passing on a hunt is their inability to be off the grid long enough to go. All too often, the jobs and business that provide the requisite funds to go on those expensive hunting trips come at the expense of freedom. Fortunately, modern communications tools like satellite phones and cell phones with internet and e-mail capabilities make getting away a whole lot easier.

Mine is not a Fortune 500 company. I cannot be out of touch for the duration of a safari, but I don’t have limitless funds to spend on cell and satellite phones, either. Thankfully, the last few years have seen a tremendous increase in the breadth of cell phone coverage worldwide, and the cost of international calls and data has decreased. Last year, I called, texted and e-mailed daily from atop a mountain in the middle of Turkey while hunting ibex. Thanks to an international data plan that only cost me $59.99 for 50 megabytes a month and another $19.99 for international calling, I was able to keep my office staff on track and check on my family without breaking the bank.

Your own cell phone company’s international data plan may vary, but I’ve found that most have a workable solution. The best part is most will allow you to turn the international data and calling plans off and on at will. When I’m home, I shut them both down, but a simple phone call from my wife turns them back on when I leave town. It saves me a ton of money, and it keeps me accessible so I can continue to make money on the road. And thanks to the world’s ever-increasing dependence on cell phones, towers are going up everywhere. I’ve successfully used my cell phone on Canadian bear hunts, Turkish ibex hunts, and on safaris in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

If you plan to hunt in a remote area that lacks cell service, a satellite phone is your only option. Sat phones are great because they work anywhere you have a line of site to the satellites. You may have trouble under a thick jungle canopy, but they work just about everywhere else. And because there are so many satellites and sat phone users, the prices have come way down the last few years, too.

You can rent an Iridium satellite phone from providers like Explorer Satellite (www.explorersatellite.com) for as little as $85.00 a week plus $1.99 a minute. I purchased a phone from Explorer Satellite, and I buy minutes in bulk before I head on trips so the minutes are even cheaper. Destination-specific minutes are cheaper, still. Sat phones don’t have internet capability, but you can buy or rent a BGAN satellite terminal to get satellite broadband service anywhere on the planet.    

They are not exactly giving satellite phones or BGAN terminals away, but they really aren’t very expensive if the ability to stay in touch with your office and family means you can actually go hunting. My daughter has battled cancer twice over the last four years. I took a lot of time off, but I hunt for a living, and I had a few trips booked I couldn’t back out of. Thanks to my satellite phone, I was able to call and check in every night before I went to bed. Without it, I doubt I would have eaten a bite or slept a wink.

In addition to being a staffer here at Petersen’s Hunting, Greg Rodriguez is the president and CEO of Global Adventure Outfitters (www.mbogo.net), a Texas-based booking agency representing premier big game, fishing, and wing shooting destinations worldwide. You can reach Greg at (281) 494-4151 or via e-mail at Greg@GAOHunts.com.