Namibia - Day 1&2

[enysse]

Nice picture of that young impala...he's a dandy!

 

[James.Grage]

Again another great story with a warthog and impala...

Now what are you going to do for the next two days?

 

[sestoppelman]

I am curious to know how the "biggest ram seen" was "too" young to remove from the gene pool. It appears to be bigger than the one you took.

 

[James.Grage]

By to young i learned this last year...What the PH is looking at is the base of the horns...if they are white-cream the impala is young and still growing...

If you look at the picture of the Impala taken the base of the horns are black meaning a old impalas and they are the ones that they are looking to harvest...

 

[wheelz99]

Namibia - Day 9

It was our last day in the bush, and with another pristine morning dawning in Namibia, the sweltering 97 degree heat of the Texas coast actually seemed 10,000 miles away (which wasn't that far off the mark). Tomorrow, Greg and I will be headed to Windhoek to spend one night at the Kalahari Sands hotel downtown since our flight home leaves at 11:30am the following day (Saturday, June 18). That would give us time to shop at the open market across the street and rest up before the long trek back.

Before that, though, we enjoyed another breakfast by the tiny wood-burning furnace that welcomed us every early morning of our stay.

(view from our breakfast room)

We'll strike out today to look for those elusive elephants and maybe take another warthog if we crossed paths with another 'old guy'. We'd also carry with us the fulfillment of closing out one of the greatest times Greg & I have ever spent together in the field.

Since he took over 1000 pics, I thought I'd make my last entry sort of a photo tour of some of the sights we captured in northern Namibia. I'm including some of the wheelchair accessible modifications that the Oelofse's have made to their lodges & hunting vehicles in order to be able to accommodate disabled guests. They do a tremendous job in that regard, and will do whatever it takes make sure you have what you need during your safari.

So, on with the pics...

bedroom at elephant lodge

shower and tub at elephant lodge

sidecar lift into hunt vehicle

Jan next to his adaptive vehicle lift

a big male lion we saw during a nighttime feeding

the eye of the kudu which can always be seen through his horns

one of many warthog burrows we found

view not far from hunt camp

mature sable bull

rhino momma with a baby boy in tow

close up of my zebra's face

close up impala ram

nests of the masked weaver

ostrich protecting her nest. they lay with their head flat on the ground to hide.

we finally found a herd!

the big bull on the left guarding a cow in heat from two younger bulls

dusk on the savannah

watching a full moon on the rise hours before a total lunar eclipse

hippos stirring under in the moonlight

chair lift up the viewing room

viewing room at dusk

viewing room where we ended each day with drinks and tales from the hunt

this is Jan Oelofse. he was a pioneer in game catching back in the day and also trained all the animals for and worked on the set of the John Wayne film Hatari!

This is the end of the road for our safari in Namibia. We had our eyes wide open, noticing, feeling, enjoying, breathing in every experience while we were here. Our souls have been soothed for a while in a land unspoiled by human touch. Soon we'll begin our journey home. See you in Texas!

 

[James.Grage]

Great story and final pictures...

What Camera or Camera's and lens did you use for your safari?

 

[sestoppelman]

Looks and sounds like you had a fantastic safari! Very cool that you were able to see so much Big 5 stuff. And what great scenery!

 

[Red Leg]

What agreat opportunity to hunt with one of the true legends of Africa. I met Jan and his wife at a game auction near Omaruru about three weeks ago. Probably just a few days before your safari commenced. By pure accident, I had purchased his biography in Swakopmund a few days earlier. It was compiled by his wife, and as I am sure you discovered, Annette is a rather remarkable woman in her own right. Congratulations on such a grand adventure and in telling it so well.

 

[enysse]

Great pictures! I love to see the territory anyone hunts! The kudu horn picture was very nice.

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Thanks for sharing your journey in Namibia with us Chad!

 

[wheelz99]

it was my pleasure guys (and girls)! this was one of the amazing trips of my life so far, a place i know i'll have to return to someday. there's a giant sable bull over there with my name on it.