NAMIBIA: Dangerous Game Hunting with JKO Hunting Safaris - Africa 2020

[375Fox]

I’m glad you were successful. I hope there is more. I know the feeling of being ill during a hunt too well, happened to me last December in Spain.

What caliber and Bullet were you using? Looks like quite a bit of deformation in that solid?

 

[Riksa]

Congratz!!! Great job, it's not easy to judge the angles for the headshot.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Oh am I so happy for you! Congratulations! Envious (of the hunt, not the illness!)

 

[GA Hunter]

Thanks to all!

The ammo I used was 375 H&H 300 GR Federal Premium Trophy Bonded Sledgehammer. It did deform a bit but given the results I have no complaints.

 

[Edge]

Congratulations!

 

[Royal27]

Well done Bobby!

 

[Dee S]

Outstanding, congratulations. It's not a good feeling, traveling that far, then getting that sick, but job well done.

 

[Hutch01]

Thanks to all!

The ammo I used was 375 H&H 300 GR Federal Premium Trophy Bonded Sledgehammer. It did deform a bit but given the results I have no complaints.

GA Hunter- So what did you determine your illness was and did you continue and hunt plains game or anything else? Hutch

 

[gillettehunter]

Congrats. Good job persevering while ill.
Bruce

 

[JKO HUNTING SAFARIS]

Thank you for a great time with you my friend and for the report! I have to admit that I now know the Luckiest elephant hunter in the world.... ;-)

Appreciate the trust you put in me and I am looking forward to spending more time around a campfire with you soon!

All my best,

Jacques

 

[buck wild]

At any time did Jacques have both of his hands on both your shoulders?

Congrats man !!

 

[GA Hunter]

GA Hunter- So what did you determine your illness was and did you continue and hunt plains game or anything else? Hutch

The huge adrenaline dump from the elephant hunt made me forget about how sick I was for maybe an hour. After that I gradually improved over the next 24 hours to the point of a full recovery. All the while I was drinking as much water as I could and adding electrolytes to most of it. The only conclusion I could come up with was that it was a combination of dehydration and exhaustion from the travel. The only other time I had experienced this condition was under similar circumstances and it was a MUCH milder case that was cured with about a half a gallon of fortified water and a good night’s sleep.

BD

 

[GA Hunter]

At any time did Jacques have both of his hands on both your shoulders?

Congrats man !!

I can't really say for sure but I did notice he's a very "handsy" guy.

 

[GA Hunter]

Thank you for a great time with you my friend and for the report! I have to admit that I now know the Luckiest elephant hunter in the world.... ;-)

Appreciate the trust you put in me and I am looking forward to spending more time around a campfire with you soon!

All my best,

Jacques

Thank you for an awesome experience my friend. You're going to have to work pretty hard to top that hunt but I know you're up to the task.

Best, BD

 

[edward]

so far,no good.
supper good now!!!!

 

[GA Hunter]

Once again let me apologize for the delay. My holiday responsibilities are finally over and the family is all gone. For those that I haven't lost here's more of the story. I'll get the final chapter up tomorrow.

The Harvest

The story of the locals coming out to harvest elephants is one that I’ve heard from several people, however their words did not prepare me for what I witnessed. It was one of the most humbling scenes I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. The men immediately set to breaking the animal down while the women and children gathered wood for fires. As soon as the skin was broken, chunks of meat were carved off and sent to the fires. Within 30 or 45 minutes everyone was smiling and chewing and chewing and chewing. What these people were willing to go through for a meal was amazing. The only other point I will make is that when the harvest was complete the only thing left on the ground was blood and the contents of the animal’s digestive system. NOTHING else. The pictures below don’t do the even justice but I think you’ll get the idea.

Day 4

The following day, we were enjoying a late breakfast when Peter asked if we would like to tag along while his crew burned the spot of the recovery. His reasoning for doing so is that elephants, being very intelligent and social animals, are known to grieve the loss of others perhaps more than any other species outside of humans. Burning the site removes all trace of the fact that an elephant died and eliminates the chance that the rest of the herd would ever know anything happened. After finishing the meal, we went back out to the spot and built a huge fire that I feel certain accomplished the task. We spent the remainder of the day visiting the local communities enjoying their company and distributing nearly all 5 pounds of the candy I had brought along.

 

[GA Hunter]

Observations from the hunt and the remainder of my time in Bushmanland

- First is the fact that we found an elephant walking down a main road. Seriously?!?!

- During the stalk our party consisted of nine people.

- He fell less than 20 yards from the road. The recovery must rank among the easiest in history.

- The rush of the events made me forget how bad I felt for at least an hour. Eventually the smell of the “not so fresh” leopard bait in the back of Peter’s cruiser reminded me that my stomach was still not ready for much more than water. I slowly improved over the next 24 hours to a full recovery. It finally occurred to me that the only things I drank after leaving home was either soda or beer. This led me to attribute the illness to a combination of dehydration and exhaustion stemming from the travel. Not very smart on my part. Lesson learned.

- Even in Bushmanland, three white fellows sitting next to a dead elephant on the side of the road will bring almost every vehicle that passes by to a screeching halt.

- This was my fourth trip that included people from the Bushman culture. Despite having almost no material belongings other than the clothes on their back and a few other practical trinkets that help them survive their daily lives, they may be the happiest people I have ever been around. I hope to return to their lands many more times and would advise others to do the same.

 

[PARA45]

WOW, what a great hunting trip, and glad it was nothing more serious. Did you hunt anything else, or this trip was just for the ele? Are you making replicas of the tusk? If you have, please post more pictures.

 

[GA Hunter]

Khomas Hochland

After our early success in Bushmanland we traveled to a private farm in the Khomas Hochland region for some plains game. Jacques had another client hunting leopard there, so it allowed him to host both of us in the same camp. The property got my attention since it had a number of species I was interested in including Hartmann’s zebra, baboon, and caracal.

The countryside in this region is dry, rough, and mountainous but it was also some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve seen in Africa. At first glance I wondered what could possibly survive on land like this. By the time the trip was over I was amazed with the amount of game we had seen. Keep in mind that this is 100% free range with only low cattle fences on the property.

I’m sure I’ll miss something but here’s a list of the species we saw.

Hartmann’s Zebra

Gemsbok

Baboon

Warthog

Cheetah – This was an incredible 5-minute encounter. We watched him casually walk up the side of a mountain and pause broadside at the top as he looked back at us.

Caracal

Genet

Klipspringer

Steenbok

Springbok

Aardwolf

Jackal

Not the biggest warthog but he was probably older than any other I’ve taken. I had borrowed a rifle chambered in 325 WSM from the PH working the leopard hunt and it did a fine job at about 225 yds.

Hartmann’s had been on my list for years so I was elated to hear that I may finally get my chance. As I had always been told these animals are tough to hunt. They’re much spookier than the Burchell’s I’ve hunted, and the terrain they inhabit makes stalking them tough. We were lucky to get within 250 yards of this one.

This is another animal I’ve hoped for for years. As you can tell by the teeth, he was an old guy. We found out that he was a loner that had been breaking into the staff housing and ransacking them for the last few months. I was lucky enough to catch him in the open not far from there and made quick work of him. Everyone there was glad to see him gone.

My luck held out on the trip to allow me a chance at this caracal. A solid from my trusty 375 did the job at a meager 40 yards.

Genet. It’s always nice to see the small canine and feline species.

Sundowners on the red dunes of Namibia.

This last bit is going to sound like an advertisement, but I cannot say enough good things about those that made this possible and put my mind at ease along the way.

Like so many, I had chalked up 2020 as a loss as far as hunting Africa. Surprise, surprise, in mid-September I saw a post on AH about a non-exportable elephant hunt in Namibia. The price was right, the timing was acceptable, and I had heard good things about the outfitter Jacques Spamer, the owner operator of @JKO HUNTING SAFARIS. I sent him a PM. A few messages and a very small amount of deeper consideration on my part I booked it. Obviously, it proved to be a decision I would not regret. Jacques did an amazing job at all aspects making the trip a success. I will be hunting with him again.

Knowing the challenges I would face with the travel arrangements I contacted Jennifer Ginn with @TRAVEL EXPRESS, told her my plans, and she set to work getting my itinerary together. This was one of the best decisions I could have possibly made. The airline and/or flight schedule changed 7 times that I know of. Each time she dealt with it as needed and updated me accordingly. I can’t imagine having tried this one without her.

Just one of the many things that will make this trip last in my memory is the fact that we had Chris Esterhuizen of Jongosi Media along to document it with video and pics. His personality and the banter between him and Jacques added a lot to the trip and kept a smile on my face every day. Spending the days with those two was a pleasure. I’ll also have Chris along on many more future trips.

There’s not much I can think of to say other than this was a dream trip that went better than I could’ve ever imagined. Every aspect of this adventure besides the early sickness was amazing. Namibia was a destination I had considered many times and now that I’ve been there I know that I’ll return.

Until next time my friends.

BD

 

[shootist~]

Great way to finish up - both the trip and the story. I think I might have been holding my breath at times.