Why this shrill warning? Let me start at the beginning.
Here at The Hunting Report, we publish a lot of information about remote, difficult-to-access parts of the world, and we cover on a regular basis hunts that involve a certain amount of risk. Polar bear hunts in the high Arctic come to mind right away. So do hunts for forest elephant in Cameroon, Marco Polo hunts in the Pamirs, foot hunts in Tanzania for buffalo in thick reeds.
But hold the phone. This focus on geographic remoteness and obvious risk is somewhat beside the point, because the financial and physical danger you face by not having evacuation insurance is every bit as great for the hunter who falls out of a jeep in Mexico or, in between hunts, falls and breaks his hip on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. I'll have more to say on the latter in a moment.
First, though, a snapshot of the personal nightmare I just experienced. It happened in the west African country of Cameroon, where I was on a hunting trip in the southern part of the country, on the border of Brazzaville, Congo, a $5,742 plane ride from the major city of Douala, where international air carriers provide service to Europe. Remember that number, $5,742: it is the first of several that will eventually take your breath.
On the afternoon of May 4, 2005, I climbed into a machan located near a mini-savannah where Professional Hunter Dougie Stephenson had spotted........(continued)
