NAMIBIA: Hunting With Osombahe Nord Safaris Run & Owned By Harald & Liezel Jacobsz

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

My wife Judy and my son along with Markus from down under taxidermy and Shane hunted with Osombahe Nord safaris run and owned by Harold and Liezel in September 2019. Shane and Markus chose to hunt with rifles from Harald. Shane chose a Tikka with swarovski scope in 300 win mag, Markus chose the same set up in 270WSSM. I took my 35Whelan and a Howa 308 for my son.
We were met at Windhoek airport by Harald and Jacobus Wasserfall one of the PHs. All the gear was loaded into the Hilux's and we headed off to the first property to hunt. It was located in the Kalahari region around 2 hours from the airport. The staff quickly had us settled into our beautiful accommodation. It was then off to the range to check out the rifles. With that done it was back to the house for nibbles and drinks served by our cook Monica. Plans were made for the following days. My son and I would hunt with Jacobus and the others with Harald. Tea was a great meal of Oryx lasagne with desert afterwards.
6am saw us up for breakfast and a 7am start. We hadn't gone long when France our guide spotted a mob of Springbok. As it was fathers day I decided to let my son shoot first. France, Jacobus and my son were off. I waited with Andreus our driver. It didn't take long when the rifle barked it's report. A call to Andreus and we met the party with a beautiful buck. You couldn't wipe the smile off my son's face. What a great fathers day gift. Back to the skinning shed. We had lunch and waited for Shane and the others to return. Shane had scored a great Hartman zebra

the first accommodation sleeping area up stairs Judy my son and I had the room with the balcony and big window

Shane left his trackers David apologies can't think of the others tracker and Harald
After lunch and a sleep we set off again at 3pm for another hunt. I stuffed up a shot on my first Oryx. After a long tracking session it was decided that there was no blood so no hit..
Day 2
Off again after another cooked breakfast. My son was first cab off the rank again. Mid morning we came across a herd of zebra. This was high on my son's list. We set off again. After an 8km chase/stalk we crossed their path. At a range of 160 yards Jacobus set up the sticks for my son and told him where to aim. The 08 barked again. The 140grain outer edge hit it right on the top chevron of the leg. The zebra bolted and stopped another 20yards off. My son's second shot turned out to be with in 2 inches of his first shot. At the shot the animal was down. It turned out the second shot wasn't needed it was dead but didn't realise it. Hand shake and congratulations all around

Jacobus Wasserfall, France, my son and Andreus.
Both shots were on the money and thru and thru. Not bad for a 308. Back to the shed then lunch time. Shane arrived with zebra number 2. More food ,sleep and hunt again.
I decided to hunt a blind near a water hole while my son hunted with the others.
I finally got my Oryx 1 shot, 250 grain hornaday round nose thru his shoulder and out the others side. A mad 10 yards dash and nose dived.

Andreus myself and France with my Oryx.
Same again home, nibbles drinks. Waiting for the other to get back.

Monica with after hunt nibbles.

my son with his heartebeast just before dark. My apologies I can't remember what the others got but will post photos of the animals taken in a later thread

one of our meals a mixed grill kudu kebabs, wildebeest and other meats.

what a way to end a great day hunting with friends
I will attempt to add more latter .for now enjoy my story

 

[Tra3]

Keep going!

Which was your favorite game meat?

 

[BRICKBURN]

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Tra3
My absolute favorite was impala and Springbok. The creamyness of kudu was great. All the meat was delicious even the zebra salami.

 

[Neale]

Thanks for your story so far Bob, your son is nailing them. Looking forward to some more of your hunt and photos. Markus will do a good job of your trophies.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Next installment
Day begins as usual

Bakki being prepared for the morning hunt.
Shane ,Harald, Jacobus and the tracker set off while my son and I head to a hide after warthog. We arrived at the blind at 10am and set up to wait. The joy of hunting with a young fella used to ipads and Snapchat is that without these things they become impatient and bored. Fortunately a few hogs came into drink but our tracker said to small they were moi vark ( females). 10 minutes later a reasonable size boar came in, the tracker said we could do better but the son had had enough of waiting. Bang, flop the 150grain accubond had done it's job properly.

My son with his wart hog. We had it and were back at the lodge by 11am to relax and wait for lunch.
Shane Markus Harald and the others returned around 12 with more animals. Forgive me I may not get Shane and Markus's animals in the right order but the did get them on our trip. I have a bit of trouble remembering the order we got our own

Mark with his Hartman zebra

Shane with one of his warthog
After another great meal and sleep it was off for the afternoon hunt. My son joined Harald and the others again while my wife, Jacobus and my self went back to the blind to try for a zebra who ever said blind hunting is easy obvious hasn't tried it. We sat in the afternoon Namibian sun with a bit of shade from a thorn bush for 4 hours waiting. At around 6pm my darling wife spotted a mob of zebra heading to the water hole. Half a dozen came into drink but the big stallion held back. He would come out of the bush then back again making sure everything was alright. Finally he came out but stood between two mares. When they moved off he went with them. This waiting is frustratingly hard. He finally returned on his own to have a drink while his mares waited nearby. The rifle was already on the sticks, the scope was lined up with the last chevron on his front leg. I knew this would put the bullet about 2 and a half inches higher. The 35 cal 225gn woodleigh slammed into him at around 2,700fps. He bolted a short distance and piled up. After photos we loaded him up andwent home. Sorry the photo of him is on the other camera. The skinners found the bullet under the skin on the offside. The femur had been smashed , ribs broken heart and lungs severely damaged and off side leg broken

225grains of woodleigh after it was recovered from my zebra. Weight 170 grains. Not bad considering what it hit and the impact velocity was higher than the recommend by the manufacturer.
Some more game shot by Markus, Shane and my son

Shanes Oryx

Markus with his zebra

Markus with his warthog taken with Haralds 270WSSM.
That will do for this installment more to come, stay tuned.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Next installment
It was decided the night before over a few cleansing ales that seeing it was to be the last day hunt before moving to the the next property the following day we would all have a go for impala. Vehicles loaded trackers organized we head off. Harald, Markus and Shane in one vehicle with Judy, my son and myself in the other. We left about 5 minutes after Harald to allow for the dust to settle. Half an hour later we caught up with Harald and the others parked on the side of the track. Harald told me to get my rifle. I asked him what for as the only game was a donkey standing 100 yards away. I asked him what he wanted me to shoot a donkey for. He just laughed and said you wanted a kudu didn't you. I said of course but that doesn't look like a kudu to me. He laughed again and told me to get in the bakki. We headed off into the scrub for about a kilometre and got out. France the tracker picked up the track an 500 yards later he had the animal in sight. I couldn't see it until it was pointed out to me 120 yards away standing between two thorn bushes. Talk about camouflage. Harald had spotted him earlier and said he was a very good one for the Kalahari region, old with ivory tips. He wanted to know if I was comfortable with a front on shot as it is hard to get a good front shot as it's easy to miss the vitals. I could wait for a side on shoulder but said no just tell me where to hit him mate. Harald told me where to aim. The sticks were already set up and the rifle ready. The big Whelan bucked against my shoulder. We heard the sound of the 225 grain accubond impacting with a thud, the shot had felt good. The kudu bolted out of the bushes straight towards us and piled up with in 20 yards. Back slaps all round and congratulations. We walked up to the animal and I paid my respect to the animal by stroking his neck and admiring his beauty. His coat didn't have the usual striping due to his age but Harald said he could organise a nice cape if I wanted him mounted. While photos we being taken the main house was contacted and another vehicle came out to pick my kudu up.

My Kudu he went a great 52 inches

The 225 grain accubond recovered from the ham of my Kudu after penetrating over five foot and a half feet.
I was one very happy vegemite. We all set off again for the hour drive to Texas ( the name of the property not the state) to find some impala.
On arrival at Texas we were met by the overseer Bitta it think was his name, a very nice gent. Texas not only has great hunting but is also a working farm that provides sheep meat and offal to shops in Windhoek. It is known to have the highest quality of offal in Namibia. After watching the local people process the offal for a while it was time to hunt. The ladies doing the processing where very skilled and friendly.
We were Only 3 km from the processing area when impala were spotted. Shane was first to hunt. A short time later a shot from the 300 win mag rang out. In the meantime my son along with France and Harald had gone to stalk another animal. Shane' s PH Jacobus had radioed to let us know that Shane had shot a unicorn and that they would have to find him another one. With the description of the animal, it had a cyst on its head and a broken horn the overseer decided that it was a free animal the farm could use and gave permission to get another. In the meantime my son had got onto a good one for himself. On shot with the 308 and he had his impala. One shot straight thru the neck. The plan was to pickup Shanes animal then go and get my son. As we crested a ridge Bitta and Markus spotted another impala and told me to shoot. It was a beautiful animal but it didn't seem right to shoot from the bakki but as I was told that was my best choice as he was around 200 yards away. The Whelan spoke again and down he went. We picked up all three impala and waited for Shane and Jacobus to call. Seeing the skinning shed was close by we went there so France could start processing the animals. Close on 2 hours later Jacobus called up saying they had got Shane an impala after an 8km chase and stalk. We all had a late lunch,thanked Bidda and the owner and headed for home.
The next day was going to be a big one packing up and moving camp to Harald's home property 2 hours away in the Gobabis region.

David, Shane and Jacobus with his hard won impala.

My son with his mum (Judy) and his impala

Markus and myself with my a bit unfair impala. 24 inches with a wide spread. The biggest ever taken of Texas was 24 and 3/4 inches.

My zebra stallion from the day before.
All going well next installment tomorrow. I hope you are enjoying my story
Cheers all
Bob.

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on your hunt and thanks for sharing!

 

[cls]

Congrats to all on a successful hunt, thanks for the report.

 

[Ridgewalker]

What a grand adventure for you and your family!
Ugh...just seeing the word Vegemite nauseated me! I know Europeans and Aussies love that awful stuff!

 

[Nyati]

Ugh...just seeing the word Vegemite nauseated me! I know Europeans and Aussies love that awful stuff!

Not all Europeans, only the Brits

 

[kudukid]

Great report so far Bob. Love your old kudu and that impala is a monster. Brings back fantastic memories of my trip in 2011 to hunt with Harald and Liezel at Osombahe Nord Safaris. The Kalahari Desert has something about it that draws you in. Seeing so many different animals in an arid environment is etched in my memory.
Looking forward to the rest of your report and I hope there will be some more Vegemite consumed!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Great report so far Bob. Love your old kudu and that impala is a monster. Brings back fantastic memories of my trip in 2011 to hunt with Harald and Liezel at Osombahe Nord Safaris. The Kalahari Desert has something about it that draws you in. Seeing so many different animals in an arid environment is etched in my memory.
Looking forward to the rest of your report and I hope there will be some more Vegemite consumed!

Kudukid
Yes Harald and Liezel are truly beautiful people that run an excellent personalized service. The good thing about it is Harald and his family own most of the places we hunted.
The memories will remain with us for a lifetime. Yes it is a wonder seeing the animals in such good condition even in an environment as harsh as the Kalahari. The zebras were as fat as all get out the same as the others game.
Cheers mate
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Next installment sorry for the delay.
The move from the Kalahari property to Harald's home property was achieved with military precision with everything loaded into the bakkis and other vehicles.
Not only did we relocate but all the staff, cook, cleaners and other house staff along with the trackers and drivers. All this went smoothly one 2 hours later we arrived in the Gobabis region at Harald and Liezels home.

The new area

The gang around the bar. The leopard is one Harald shot, he hates leopard with a passion. Harald is holding his young daughter.
Once settled in the boys were off hunting again but returned with nothing.
The following morning the boys set off again while my wife went to the local squatters camp to the preschool with Liezel nod Monica. With my bag almost complete I decided to have some time off and spent the day relaxing. My son had teamed up with Harald and Markus while Shane went with Jacobus to try for a kudu. While my son was out with Harald they came across an Oryx that Harald wanted culled. He offered it to my son much to his delight. Up came the 308 and down went the Oryx. Harald later told me that my son was a very proficient shooter being both fast and accurate. He said he had had clients that could not shoot that well and that my son was a pleasure to hunt with as he listened to his instructions.

My son with his cull Oryx. He likes the wonky horn. 39 inches female.
Shane returned late that afternoon after chasing a big kudu all over for 20 kilometers without being able to get a shot at it. Judy returned after a great day out with the girls at the school and had a great time telling me of her experience.
The following day Shane and Markus teamed up with Jacobus to go back for kudu, my son and Harald went to see what they could find. Judy and I decided to relax at home. My son and Harald returned from the morning hunt with a lovely blesbuck

Andreus, my son, David and Harald with the blesbuck .
After lunch my son and Harald went to see what they could find but returned empty handed. Shane and Markus had the same results as the day before. Lots of walking with no result but that's hunting.
The next day the girls went to church at the local camp again. My son woke not feeling well and after questions were answered it was determined that he had a touch of heat exhaustion because of lack of water. When he's hunting he's more interested in the hunt than drinking no matter what you tell him. His day was spent in bed getting rehydrated and resting. It was a valuable lesson for him. He now drinks plenty when it's hot, he doesn't want to feel like that again. The girls returned after having a great time.
Shane returned with a smile you couldn't wipe off his face with a stick of dynamite. The photo tells the story

Shane and Markus with Shanes kudu, 55 inches hard won after 3 days of stalking and over 30 kilometers of walking. Needless to say he was very happy and a few well earned rums were had that night.
The next day my son was alright again so we went to the camp school to spend time with the kids and try and get an understanding of how things are for them. When we left my son had had a big culture shock and a deeper understanding of the the world. He has so much yet at times that doesn't seem enough. The kids at the school have so little yet were so happy, outgoing and full of love and life. He now has a better appreciation of life and a deeper understanding that you don't have to have everything to be happy, you can be just as happy with little. Eighty percent of the community has AIDS but this didn't worry us at all, they were just great kids to all of us. Yes we were unhappy about the lack of stuff they had, the living conditions and the illness in the community (We did take a lot of books and writing equipment for the kids for school). The stuff we gave them seemed so tokenistic to me but the joy they go from the books and time we spent there can't be measured, they were very happy to have visitors. The gift they gave my son in the terms of life experience and a new and deeper understanding of life can't be explained. It did change him even tho he would not admit it.
Shane returned with a great black wildebeest but the best of the day went to Markus with his cracking 58 inch Kudu.

Shanes black wildebeest

Markus with his cracking Kudu.
With experiences like this it was only natural to sit around with a few drinks talking about our respective days.
Unfortunately Judy woke upwards feeling unwell and spent the next few days in bed. Fortunately Markus had advised us to take antibiotics and other medications with us and she was feeling a lot better in about 4 days. Fortunately I had filled my quota an was able to stay and look after my darling wife. My son in the meantime was free to go with the others to share their hunt while dad stayed home.
During this time he got to see more animals and experience hunting warthog with dogs Namibian style. He really enjoyed the experience. Attached are some photos of other animals taken by Shane and Markus.

Shanes red heartebeast

Shanes blue wildebeest
The hunt was drawing to a close Markus decided he would like a giraffe so all the boys along with Harald and a few trackers headed off to another property to see what they could do. I stayed back to just relax with Judy. In hindsight I wish I had gone but hey it gives me an excuse to come back to Namibia. Well you have to have some excuse. The boys returned after lunch having been successful in getting Markus a great bull giraffe.
Harald said to me that I hadn't got my wildebeest yet and asked if I wanted a black or blue. I said either but we don't have time now as I had been looking after my wife. Harald said to get my rifle and we would go and get one. My wife was keen for me to go as she knew how much I wanted one. I didn't think we had much hope being late in the day but Harald knows his property and within half an hour we were stalking a beautiful black wildebeest. After a kilometre stalk the sticks were set up for a 170-180 yard shot. The Whelan bucked against my shoulder again. Harald said don't worry about reloading mate he's down. We retrieved the animal and headed for home. All this happiness in less than an hour. Life couldn't have been better. This was only due to Haralds knowledge of his property.

my last minute wildebeest. I'm one happy vegemite my list has been fulfilled. For this trip any way.
Fortunately we were back in time to go for one last hunt. Harald needed some warthog for baiting for a client that was coming for a leopard hunt after we left. We all piled into the bakki and headed off. The last animal shot for the trip was by my son. The warthog was about 100 yards off going like he'll for the neighbors place. My son shot him half way through the fence but it spun around and came back at full speed. My son let loose with the 308 again and the hog nose dived at full speed in a cloud of dust. I was one proud dad he had got the first and last animal for the trip.

France, my son and Andreus with the last animal for the trip.
After read that night my son, Shane and Jacobus went to see if they could get a jacket from the offal pile but no luck.
The rest of the night was spent celebrating our trip with Harald and Liezel. We we disappointed that it had come to an end. Twelve days of fantastic hunting with great people was over we were off to Etosha national park the next day.
Markus had hunted with Harald and Liezel before so knew what it would be like. For the others in our group we met as fellow hunters and ended up life long friends.
Harald and Liezel met us as clients but by the time we left we felt more like a big family. My thanks to Markus for making the trip what it Was. Thanks to Shane for the great humorous character he is and the friend he became
To Harald and Liezel as Well as all the staff that made the trip what it was. The greatest experience of my hunting life to date.
My biggest thanks go to my wife Judy and my son for sharing this experience with me.

Three very happy vegemites ( also known as hunters and now friends)
I attached a Facebook page you may be interested in and an idea of what Osombahe Nord safaris can offer. No matter who you go with have fun I know we all did.
Thanks for reading my long winded story, I hope you enjoyed it.
Cheers
Bob Nelson and family.

The walk to our room, ours was The last one.

The room at the second property complete with a personal welcome note

Some of the trophies that adorn the dining, bar and lounge room.
Thank you all again for putting up with my ramblings

 

[jeff]

Thanks for such a thorough report, congrats on some great animals !!!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Thanks for such a thorough report, congrats on some great animals !!!

Jeff
Thanks mate the kudu in your avatar looks like a ripper. Well done champion getting it with a stick chucker (bow and arrow). They're hard enough to get with a rifle let alone a bow. You have my respect of a,job well done.
Cheers mate
Bob

 

[Uncle Sauce]

Great hunt! Looks like you had a great time, Congrats!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Great hunt! Looks like you had a great time, Congrats!

Uncle Sauce.
We certainly did, I can't wait to get the skins and horns home. I am having my Kudu and impala shoulder mounted.
Cheers mate
Bob.

 

[clint21]

Great story mate,
Thank for sharing. Yes Harold and Liezel run a fantastic outfit, I have really enjoyed my two hunts I have had with Osombahe-nord.
Can't wait to go back again

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Clunt21.
That's great to hear mate maybe you could do a write up as well.
Cheers mate
Bob