NAMIBIA: Africa At Last

Like the baboon, I'm trying for two next year to make skull mount bookends.
 
Great report! Nice Gemsbok
 
Day 5 was going to be focusing on kudu and hartebeest. The ranch that we spent this day on was about the prettiest area that I hunted up to that point, but about all we could find were gemsbok, warthog and steenbok...all of which I had already taken. At the very end of the day, as we were driving out, Nicola spotted a herd of hartebeest from the truck and pointed out which bull he wanted me to shoot. I'm not one who likes to take long shots by nature, and these hartebeest were out there at right around 300 yards, so I was a little nervous. But I had a steady rest and figured I could do it. The body of the bull from the shoulders back was hidden by a bush, but his shoulders, head and neck were in the clear, so I took the shot. We could hear the bullet hit and the bull disappeared. After a few seconds, three hartebeest emerged from the other side of the bush. One was acting a little funny, so I thought it was the one I had shot at. I got the crosshairs on him and was ready to shoot again should Nicola give the order. Nicola never said anything, even when I asked if that was my bull, so I never took a second shot and the bull finally disappeared. After, Nicola said that he thought that bull was acting strange too, but wasn't sure that my first shot hadn't dropped it behind the bush. When we got to the spot where the hartebeest had been standing, there was a lot of blood, but no bull. As we followed the blood trail, it kept diminishing and I started to get a sick feeling in my stomach. Before long we were tracking in the dark, which is something that I really do not like to do unless I know the shot was fatal. Sure enough, we bumped the bull twice. Could hear him right in front of us, but not see him at all. Nicola then decided that we would back out and return in the morning. This was my greatest fear right from the minute that I booked the hunt until this moment....wounding an animal, having it suffer and then paying the trophy fee anyway. But we weren't beat yet.....until partway back to the lodge it started to rain. And it rained all night. The only rain of the entire 10 days we were there. Needless to say, there was no blood trail to follow the next morning. We searched for a carcass, carrion birds and jackals, but there was no sign of the poor bull.

I was feeling terrible and didn't really want to keep hunting that morning, but Nicola was ever the optimist and convinced me to keep going. Over the last couple of days there had been a great big lone hartebeest bull that we had tried for three different times, but he kept giving us the slip, so we decided to look for him. As we were walking back to the bakkie we started noticing lots of fresh hartebeest tracks. The wind was almost in our backs so we weren't really expecting to see anything, but somehow we stumbled right into a herd. There were hartebeest scattering everywhere! Nicola pointed out a bull and said that if he stops, to shoot him...quickly! The bull stopped quartering away just as I was placing my rifle in the shooting sticks and I immediately pulled the trigger. As I recovered from the recoil, all I could see was four red legs pointing straight up in the air and Nicola was pounding me on the back! As we approached my hartebeest, I couldn't get over the incredible colour of the hide...it shone in the sun like bronze. And those heavy, crooked, handle-bar horns are amazing. A lot of people that I've spoken to think that hartebeest are ugly, but I think they are beautiful. And of course who should we see standing around without a care in the world as we were driving out? The old lone bull. Posing for pics. Gotta love it!

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Nice hunting report!
 
As the hunt started to draw to a close, I still had kudu and impala left on my list. Day 7 had us focusing on impala as my guide figured it would be relatively easy and the remaining three days could be dedicated to kudu. The property we were hunting that day was very nice and we were seeing lots of animals...primarily impala and waterbuck, but it was also very thick and it was difficult to get set up for a shot before either the impala or waterbuck spooked off. Finally with about a half hour of daylight left, Nicola put up the sticks and said to shoot quickly. I did so, but did not feel good about the shot even though we both thought that we heard the bullet impact. When we got to where the impala was standing, there was no blood. Even by following the tracks until we couldn't see any more, we found no blood. Back at the landowner's house, Nicola discussed the situation with him. Of course they were conversing in Afrikaans, so I didn't understand what was being said, but I had that horrible feeling that I wounded another animal and would be paying another trophy fee. To my relief, Nicola translated the conversation to me and said that the owner goes by the policy of "no blood, no pay", even though Nicola explained to him that we both thought we heard the bullet hit. Whew!

Day 8 was an interesting day on a different property (with nothing shot), so Day 9 we returned to the property that I muffed the shot on the impala. After lunch, we decided we would sit in a blind overlooking a water hole for the rest of the day. It was definitely not an action-packed day! Besides the constant background noise of the doves and francolin, there was a pair of Egyptian geese at the water all day. They were the first I had seen and were very beautiful. A lizard in a tree entertained me for a while. Then a gorgeous waterbuck came in to drink. I was able to watch him for about 10 minutes before he left and my trigger finger itched the whole time! However I did not have sufficient trophy fee funds remaining and let him walk. A little while after that, a warthog came for water and then grazed for a while. The geese and the warthog apparently didn't care for one another, which was funny to watch. Finally, at the end of the day, I spotted a single impala ram emerge from the brush to our right. He didn't head for the water, but was walking straight at us like he was on a string. Finally at about 30 yards, he turned broadside and the instant Nicola told me to shoot, the ram dropped in his tracks.

He was a very old ram...Nicola estimated that he probably had 3 to 4 inches worn off the tip of his horns and the bases were very worn as well. He had two scabbed over wounds on the top of his shoulders that at first I assumed were from fighting, but at the same moment Nicola and I realized that this was the same ram that I had shot at two nights previous! The photo shows some dried blood below the wound so I don't know why we couldn't find any, but the ram did not seem to be in any distress at all. Not even a limp. I am 100% sure that he would have healed up perfectly had we not run into each other again. However, I was still happy to have that chance back!

Back at the skinning shed, we had an audience of about thirty-five 8 year old school kids from Swakopmund on a school trip at the property. They all were very interested in the impala and as it was being butchered, checking out the muscle structure and different internal organs. They were also very curious and asked a lot of questions about Canada and snow! Talk about a humbling experience, chatting with these little kids that all speak not only English, but Afrikaans and German as well! Amazing.

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Glad you got your impala. Definitely well worn.
 
how lucky could you be getting the same impala twice !
Well done Ragman that would have put some demons to rest .
Another happy hunter in Namibia .
Cheers Dory .
 
Before our group left for Canada, we all donated various things like clothes, toys, school supplies, candies, etc. that we were going to present to a local village and then go springbok hunting. It ended up happening on Day 10, the last day of our trip. It was something that I was really looking forward to, but I still hadn't gotten a chance at a kudu. After discussing this with Nick and Isabel, we agreed that I would stay behind and try for my dream animal. It was decided that I would sit all day over a water hole again. The day was very uneventful. A family of warthogs came for water and I caught myself getting blasé about them. I had to remind myself that my Africa trip was nearly over and to soak in every remaining detail. This water hole was also home to a very healthy population of turtles that crawled out onto every available surface. Near the end of the day, I spotted the pin-stripes on a kudu's ribs through a gap in the leaves. It moved ahead a bit and I could see the neck and an ear. Nicola said it's a bull, but we could not see the horns. Eventually it moved off and never presented itself. As my first African Safari drew to a close, I reflected on the trip of a lifetime while watching a flock of guinea fowl roost for the night. While I was disappointed that I never got my kudu, the trip was more than I hoped for and I fell in love with Namibia and her people and wildlife. Thank you Nick Nolte Safaris!
 
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Nice old impala, boy is he worn down.
 
You sure got to hunt Kudu.
Having them blow out without a shot, walking by in the thick stuff just showing some stripes and never a shot opportunity.
Just makes you want to chase them even more.
Reminds me of my first trip to Namibia.
Only one shooter in 7 days and he busted me and I would not shoot into the thick stuff as he departed.

Thanks for the write up. Congrats on some fine trophies.
 
Thanks for the report. Nice pics and some good trophies. Congrats! Kudu next trip. Sometimes you work hard and it just doesn't happen. All you can do is your best. Gives you something to dream about and plan towards. Bruce
 
Congrats, great hunt and good trophies. And you have an excuse to plan for your next hunting trip!
 
Great hunt and nice to hear the story of the sun set by your Gemsbuck. I just dined at Joes two weeks ago. The game dishes are good but the schnitzels are what the locals come for. Try some Namibian oysters! They have a unique flavor. Namibia has oyster farms that are the most productive in the world. Strange huh?
Like all of Africa the little antelope work their way into your heart.
Regards,
Philip
 
Great report Ragman Congrats to you and your group for a great hunt, there is always next time for the Kudu.
 
As the hunt started to draw to a close, I still had kudu and impala left on my list. Day 7 had us focusing on impala as my guide figured it would be relatively easy and the remaining three days could be dedicated to kudu. The property we were hunting that day was very nice and we were seeing lots of animals...primarily impala and waterbuck, but it was also very thick and it was difficult to get set up for a shot before either the impala or waterbuck spooked off. Finally with about a half hour of daylight left, Nicola put up the sticks and said to shoot quickly. I did so, but did not feel good about the shot even though we both thought that we heard the bullet impact. When we got to where the impala was standing, there was no blood. Even by following the tracks until we couldn't see any more, we found no blood. Back at the landowner's house, Nicola discussed the situation with him. Of course they were conversing in Afrikaans, so I didn't understand what was being said, but I had that horrible feeling that I wounded another animal and would be paying another trophy fee. To my relief, Nicola translated the conversation to me and said that the owner goes by the policy of "no blood, no pay", even though Nicola explained to him that we both thought we heard the bullet hit. Whew!

Day 8 was an interesting day on a different property (with nothing shot), so Day 9 we returned to the property that I muffed the shot on the impala. After lunch, we decided we would sit in a blind overlooking a water hole for the rest of the day. It was definitely not an action-packed day! Besides the constant background noise of the doves and francolin, there was a pair of Egyptian geese at the water all day. They were the first I had seen and were very beautiful. A lizard in a tree entertained me for a while. Then a gorgeous waterbuck came in to drink. I was able to watch him for about 10 minutes before he left and my trigger finger itched the whole time! However I did not have sufficient trophy fee funds remaining and let him walk. A little while after that, a warthog came for water and then grazed for a while. The geese and the warthog apparently didn't care for one another, which was funny to watch. Finally, at the end of the day, I spotted a single impala ram emerge from the brush to our right. He didn't head for the water, but was walking straight at us like he was on a string. Finally at about 30 yards, he turned broadside and the instant Nicola told me to shoot, the ram dropped in his tracks.

He was a very old ram...Nicola estimated that he probably had 3 to 4 inches worn off the tip of his horns and the bases were very worn as well. He had two scabbed over wounds on the top of his shoulders that at first I assumed were from fighting, but at the same moment Nicola and I realized that this was the same ram that I had shot at two nights previous! The photo shows some dried blood below the wound so I don't know why we couldn't find any, but the ram did not seem to be in any distress at all. Not even a limp. I am 100% sure that he would have healed up perfectly had we not run into each other again. However, I was still happy to have that chance back!

Back at the skinning shed, we had an audience of about thirty-five 8 year old school kids from Swakopmund on a school trip at the property. They all were very interested in the impala and as it was being butchered, checking out the muscle structure and different internal organs. They were also very curious and asked a lot of questions about Canada and snow! Talk about a humbling experience, chatting with these little kids that all speak not only English, but Afrikaans and German as well! Amazing.

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nice bull!
 
Great report. The wonderful thing about not getting that kudu is he still awaits you! In my trips to Africa, I have yet to take a bushbuck - have seen literally dozens of females, but have not even seen a male. That quest is one of the reasons I am going back to Moz to hunt buffalo again.
 

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Everyone always thinks about the worst thing that can happen, maybe ask yourself what's the best outcome that could happen?
Very inquisitive warthogs
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Big areas means BIG ELAND BULLS!!
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autofire wrote on LIMPOPO NORTH SAFARIS's profile.
Do you have any cull hunts available? 7 days, daily rate plus per animal price?
 
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