I agree we're not going to change the world here.

But a couple of things; by norm, I mean norm, as in when the inevitable conversations of 'how much should we tip the ranger / tracker' came up, these are the amounts that the conversation tends to converges on.

Of course you are paying heavily for a quality product, but is this filtering through to the staff who make or break the experience for you?

South African day to day cost of living is surprisingly high, this is not really disputable. What you see as a tourist are accommodation and restaurant food, which are a pretty good deal, because cost of property is low and salaries are low (the two major costs of such businesses). Buying groceries is expensive; I'm not talking about tourist supermarkets, I'm talking Pick and Pay; and no way is it going to be cheaper in spaza shops - it will be more expensive, but typically you can buy smaller quantities.

This is all by the by; my preference is to tip someone who basically makes or breaks my stay (assuming they've made it, rather than broken it...).

Here is an indication of ranger / tracker packages: http://www.hoteljobs.co.za/category/...uide-jobs.html
Not much trickle-down in evidence, and it seems clear to me that the expectation is that they'll receive a significant proportion of their comp by way of tips.