Hunting Adventure Africa!

[BiG Boar]

Well I have finished the most of my journey, I am at a bar in South Africa, eagerly awaiting my final flight to Windhoek Namibia, there the hunt begins! This will be my first african Safari, and my first time on the dark continent. I hope to capture many animals on this safari. I will try and keep you posted on my adventure, this will be my journal of the trip.

The trip here is 38 hours travel time including layovers. A lot of gravel has been helpful for the 2 10 hour legs of the journey so far. My time is warped though, and I feel slightly out of reality. We are 9 hours ahead of home here.

[Steeleco]

OK Gang he's gone, and I know where he lives!!! Party time LOL
Enjoy yet another trip of a lifetime Dave, BTW how many lives do you have??

Good luck.

[Blainer]

Look forward to following this adventure!
Good luck and have a blast.

[David Heitsman]

Namibia has I think the only really indigenous source of oryx or gemsbuk
so I hope you take a really good one. That's too bad you can't go direct to Windhoek from Europe or the US. It's just one more leg when you're allready worn out, not to mention, you just got done flying past Namib.

You got to admit tho that Tambo is one incredible airport. Go for a massage one your way back. Look forward to reading your journal.

[MB_Boy]

Please ensure your camera batteries are charged.

Have a great trip!

[1/2 slam]

Good luck. Take lots of pictures for the detailed report we expect when you return

[riflebuilder]

good luck i hope your trip goes the way you want it to.

[Maxx]

Namibia has I think the only really indigenous source of oryx or gemsbuk
so I hope you take a really good one. That's too bad you can't go direct to Windhoek from Europe or the US. It's just one more leg when you're allready worn out, not to mention, you just got done flying past Namib.

You got to admit tho that Tambo is one incredible airport. Go for a massage one your way back. Look forward to reading your journal.

fyi-air namibia flies direct from Frankfurt

[David Heitsman]

Maax,
I saw that flight in the summer on Xpedia but it was four times the other flights. I thought maybe it's some kind of executive charter or something. I had a gf of my son go over to work as a volunteer for a few weeks at a cheetah rehab near Windhoek and I tried to assist her with the ticketing.
I ended up routing her thru Tambo and back.

[BiG Boar]

Hmm, where to go from here. Well I got into Namibia after 38 hours of travelling, sleeping when I could, nothing really too solid. As I get off the plane, I come to understand that my journey is all but over. 6 hour drive to the ranch. Yes it is high fenced, however any animal that you can run up into the fence and shoot you get to shoot for free! Its 11,000 acres. For some specific species that dont do well in this area, we will go to another ranch 2 hours drive away, on dirt roads, doing 110 km/h. A bit crazy, and what really screws you up is when they make a turn you think for sure they are on the wrong side of the road, that is just something you dont get used to for a while I guess.

Now Namibia is one of the most sparcely populated places in Africa, and when you get to the country side, it is even more sparce. People out here live in the tin huts you see in National Geografic. It is sad in a way how much of a class separation there is. However I believe it is because of cultural values. On our trip to one of the other ranches, our tracker/driver, sits in the back of the truck in 40 degree weather. There is aircon where we are sitting, and an extra seat, however that is what is done here. It is a really eye opening experience though, coming to Africa it makes you want to punch all the people who think they have it so bad back home. Here, people have it tough. Walk 10kms to gather firewood to cook with the corn meal dinner you have had for the last 365 days, and then tell me how sorry you feel for yourself.

Its definitely an experience you all should see one day, however dont just stay in your 5 star lodge, get out and experience the culture, you will learn so much. For instance, just 2 days ago I got a bad stomach ache, nosia, vomiting, and liquid #2. Did you know that a coke with the fizz shook out of it will cure that? It didnt work. Did the antibiotics work from back home? No. So we tried, imodium, white lighting, tums, and finally, mild of magnesia, that did the trick, felt better in about 2 hours. Anyways, there is lots of stuff to learn, another good one, was when taking a trophy photo of your animal, shove a foot and a half long stick up its mouth and stick the end into the ground. Makes for a good photo, and you dont have to hold the horns, giving a better contrasting background for the photos.

Anyways, back to day one in Namibia. We arived at 8am, got picked up by our PH. When I say our I mean my wife and I's. Even though shes not shooting. She wont kill pretty animals, only the ugly ones, I will see if I can get her a warthog though to shoot at. So, we get picked up and go pick up groceries for the 4 of us and PHs to eat. The price of vegetables is about a quarter of what they are at the cheap places in Vancouver area. Then we went to a meat store, and picked up some various cuts. They will usually give you whatever you want to eat. I made no special requests, as I wanted to try the local food.

After our 6 hour drive we arive, greet the 2 hunting partners that are already there, and go to sight in the rifle, sure enough, it made the trip with only moving 1.5 inches right and 1 inch down. 3 bullets later, its dead on at 100 meters, and I get my first time on the shooting sticks, the trick to shooting sticks is to lean them towards you. By the way I am shooting a tika T3 lite 7mm topped with a Zeiss conquest, and the bullets are Core-Locks from Winchester (yes they are crap) but they work on plains game. As I sit here I am looking about about 50 grains left of one from a black wildebeast. Terrible weight retention.

Next it was out for a drive, to see what we could see. You sit up high on benches in the back of the truck, you can spot furthur into the brush that way. We are doing 3 types of hunting. From the truck, spot then stalk, blinds over water holes, and walking through the weeds. That first night we saw 4 kudu bulls, some warthogs, wildebeast, and a couple other antelope types. Nothing was shot.

The next day we headed out to do some hiking. Now the good thing is that we have a driver, we walk a section of brush, face to the wind, and then the driver picks us up on the other side, saves walking back with the wind at our backs. That morning I had a 30 yard shot at a big blue wildebeast but I turned it down, because it is last on my list of animals I want to shoot. That evening however we sat in a stand and waited, 1 duiker came to drink many warthogs and some cows, with 15 minutes of light left a decent shooter warthog came in and I let him have it. He made it 60 yards, tough little buggers, no exit wound. (crappy bullets)

That evening I was feeling really ill to my stomach. I went to bed early, without dinner. I didnt sleep well that night, not sure if it was malaria pills, heat exhaustion, a bug I picked up in the food, or a bug from 44 hours of traveling without much sleep, some of which was conducted on an airport floor. I was not sure if I would be able to hunt the next day. I was barfing at about 2am. However this would be the only day I would be able to go to a great ranch for Oryx. This was one of the main animals I was after. I was feverish, feeling like crap, having night mares (probably from the malaria pills, a common side effect) and on and off the toilet. I still had to hunt.

We drove 2 hours away to another ranch. Certain animals do better in certain climates, so we went to a drier climate to find these Oryx. Also known as a Gemsbuck, these are a beautiful animal. 2 minutes into the hunt we spot a group of 8, there is one bigger one, but a lot of brush in the way. My guide will not let me shoot through brush with a 7mm. If I had a 375 he would say no problem. In fact, that is his gun of choice. We blow the hunt, due to wind and move on to find some more. This ranch is 20,000 acres. That is very big. We saw all kinds of animals, including my first Giraffe. Which is 1600 dollars to shoot, should I shoot one? I dont really know what I would do with it.

About 5 stalks later, me still sick as a dog, and all stalks blown, we keep on. At about 10 am we come across an old lone bull. 70 yards, behind some brush, but close to it, I shoot, the bull takes off running. By the way, the reason you dont want to blow a shot is that as soon as the trackers find blood on the ground you are paying for that animal. So shooting distance and shooting through brush is a bad idea. Its not like at home at all. So the search is on, and 3 mintues and a hundred yards later we find the bull. This time the bullet exited, it was behind the shoulder, no bone contact other than ribs. Took some pictures, and it was off again, I had to have two of these Oryx, they are just that beautiful. Only if its longer though. That bull measured 31 inch long horns, with 19 cm circumfrence bases.

Sure enough, as I am still about keeling over and ready to go home, satisfied with my bull already, we spot a beauty. Nearer to 40 inch horns. 200 yards, off the shooting sticks, bang...thwack,,,run.....dead. Turned out to be a female 38 inches long. (usually the females have longer horns) 17 cm bases.

So lets go home right? No, we have to take these animals to this ranch and skin them to start the cooling? its 40 degree weather, I dont know how much they will cool on the way home. We have eland roast in a house built in 1950, all kinds of super old taxidermy, a really neat place. I am worried about my stomach holding the food down, but this is where they gave me a shot of the milk of magnesia. It works, and by the time I am back to our ranch, I feel right as rain. Still have an evening hunt though. We decide to go after Red Heartebeast. 2 minutes from the ranch we spot 3 of them in the field 150 yards and a projectile to cover the distance, a nice big bull goes down. That one did exit taking with it two front shoulders. 3 animals today, a good day.

So on to today. We wake at 6:00am, and head out for kudu, saw 2 small bulls, a lot of eland, including one nice shooter, (but I dont want an eland) and then on a hike we got to within 20 yards of a herd of black wildebeast in the brush, in the heat of the day, they like the shade. While stalking in closer the wind shifts and they stamepe off. Ready to head in for lunch we spot 8 more in a field near the ranch. We stalk for 800 yards through snake infested grass and get to the edge of the field, 200 yard shot, a spine shot drops him in his tracks. Thats it so far. I just had lunch and the skinners recovered what was left of my bullet (not much) Will try to keep this up to date more often. I miss the cold, chow for now.