NAMIBIA: Namibia Hunt Report- Free Range Plains Game Hunting With DIVAN SAFARIS

Country - Namibia

Dates - May 14-20

Type of Hunt - Plains game

Method of Hunting - Rifle

Outfitter - @DIVAN SAFARIS

PH - Divan Labuschagne

Locations Hunted - Eastern Namibia

Species Hunted - Warthog, Kudu, Jackal, Blue Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, Duiker, Steenbuck, Springbuck, Gemsbok

Trophy Quality - Pictures will answer this one

Lodging - Permanent lodge

Food - Typical African fair

Activities - Hunting

Travel Methods-Lufthansa Airways and car


Starting my hunt report with @DIVAN SAFARIS while en route to Boston from Windhoek. I’m currently sitting in Munich during a long layover and figured it was the perfect time to finally get this report started.

This hunt was booked back in 2024, shortly after my Zimbabwe hunt. After a few unsuccessful attempts at kudu in the Omay, I knew I wanted another opportunity and started planning my next adventure.

I spoke with a few members, and @375Fox recommended I reach out to Divan Labuschagne. He explained that he operates a truly free-range safari outfit in eastern Namibia near the Botswana border, specializing in endemic animals native to that region, all hunted on completely free-range ground.

After speaking with Divan, I was convinced this would be my next hunt, and we quickly got dates locked in for a 7 day hunt. I expressed to Divan that I didn’t really have a list of animals, although I had a few I wanted to target. I just wanted him to take me hunting and let’s see what we can find.

I booked all my travel through @TRAVEL EXPRESS and chose the Lufthansa route through Germany since it was the quickest and smoothest option for me getting to Namibia.

This time around, I decided not to bring rifles. As much as I prefer hunting with my own equipment, I opted to avoid the added hassle of traveling with firearms through Frankfurt. I
also chose to upgrade to premium economy, which was almost worth the extra expense. The seating was noticeably wider with decent recline, but the lack of cushion still reminded you pretty quickly that it was only a step above standard cattle class.

I did manage to score a last-minute upgrade to business class from Frankfurt to Windhoek for about $300, which ended up being well worth it. Being able to get some real sleep on the overnight leg made a huge difference before starting the hunt.

I landed in Windhoek around 8 a.m. on May 13th and, after making my way through what can only be described as their joke of a visa process, I grabbed my bags and headed into the lobby where I was met by Divan. We loaded my bags after our greetings and headed 2.5 hours south east to his ranch close to the Botswana border.

Once we arrived in camp, I was greeted by the staff, including trackers Johnny and Urbanis, along with Divan’s wife, Monique who did most of the cooking. They helped carry my bags to my bungalow for the week, and I was honestly pleasantly surprised by the accommodations I’d be calling home for the next 7 days.







He then showed me the main lounge area, where there were always cold drinks waiting along with Wi-Fi. That quickly became the gathering spot for meals, stories, and winding down after the day’s hunts. Just outside was the fire pit, where most of the game meat was cooked over the open flame each night.







After I got settled in, we headed over to the range to see which rifle worked best for me. Divan had a suppressed Zastava M70 chambered in .308 that I shot well with right out of the gate, so we decided that would be my rifle for the week. I was shooting his handloads, which I believe were loaded with Hornady ELD-X bullets.

Not long after shooting, Divan suggested taking a quick drive around the property to look for a one-horned springbuck he’d been trying to take for camp meat. He thought there was something wrong with the animal since it never seemed to leave the same area and was always by itself. He figured if we could find it, it would make for a good way to kick off the hunt.

We drove out to the area where the springbuck had been hanging around and managed to catch a quick glimpse of him before he disappeared into the thick brush. He was definitely acting strange, but that was alright, we still had the entire week ahead of us to find him again.

On the drive back to camp, Johnny spotted a group of warthogs out in a dry pan. Divan immediately pulled up his binoculars and said we needed to take a closer look.

We eased in to about 100 yards, and at first Divan spotted a solid boar. Just as he was getting ready to put the sticks up, he noticed an even bigger pig slightly off to the right on the other side of some thick brush. We shifted to our right, got the sticks set up, and also got the camera rolling, Divan tried filming all of my kill shots for his YouTube videos.

Once I got settled on the sticks and steady on the warthog, he gave me the green light and I sent the first round. It hit the pig hard, but a little low. It was definitely a mortal shot, though he still managed to run about 50 yards before stopping. We caught up to him, and I sent a second round into him. Right there, he dropped.

What an absolute tank of a pig.






What an amazing end to ARRIVAL day, 7 more to go. Tomorrow, day one, we would be looking for kudu.

Day one

We started off early that morning with breakfast before heading out to look for kudu. We first spotted a really young bull, and not long after that we came across another bull standing with a few cows. Divan explained that the bull didn’t have the really deep curls everyone dreams about, but it carried a lot of mass and had a very good overall shape.

We eased in for a closer look, and Divan guessed the bull was probably in the low 50-inch range. I asked him if he thought the kudu still had room to grow, and he told me honestly that he didn’t think so. The tips were already white, and the bull looked fully mature. That was enough for me, I told him let’s go after it.

We closed the distance a little more, got the sticks set up, and once everything settled, I sent a round right behind the shoulder. You could clearly hear the whack from the bullet hitting home. After the shot, we covered the roughly 200-yard distance and found the bull down, but not expired. It tried to get up but I sent another round in off hand and it dropped.

Just like that, my first ever kudu was down on the very first morning.







A little later that day, after the kudu was caped and quartered, we decided to go look for the one-horned springbuck again. We eventually spotted him standing near the fence line, but he was a long way out, probably close to 1,000 yards away. We tried to cut the distance, but the second he saw us, he started sprinting down the fence line away from the truck.

At that point, Divan handed me the rifle and said, “Be ready to jump out and shoot.”

We came over a small hill and suddenly the springbuck turned and started running straight toward us. Divan knew there was something wrong with this animal and really wanted to put it down. Right as it crossed in front of us at a dead sprint, I started to pull up for the shot, hesitated for a second, then Divan said, “Ah, screw it — give it a try.”

I squeezed the trigger while following through the shot and somehow managed to double-lung the springbuck at a full run, while it was in the air. It went maybe 20 feet before collapsing. Divan and the trackers couldn’t believe it. Honestly, I don’t think I could make that shot again if you gave me ten tries.





The rest of the day was full of laughs about that springbuck shot.

After lunch and a little rest back at camp, we headed back out for a long walk through another block known for holding a lot of animals. We saw tons of springbuck, gemsbok, and wildebeest, but most of them were still too small. We did stumble across a few really nice springbuck, though we never got a clean opportunity for a shot.

Toward the evening, we moved into another area and found several kudu cows along with a handful of other animals, but no mature bulls of any species. That was perfectly fine with me though, it had already been an incredible first full day of hunting. Between the warthog from the previous evening and now the kudu and springbuck, I couldn’t have asked for a much better start.

We wrapped up the night back at camp with a few drinks, lamb chops over the fire, and plenty of stories from the day. The plan for day two was to stay in the same general area looking for more springbuck, kudu, and wildebeest before eventually moving to another property farther away from Divan’s main camp.

Keep em coming nice write up so far.
That wartie is a tank !!!

Day two

After breakfast we started early with us heading back out looking for several different animals. Throughout the morning we saw two mature kudu bulls, though neither was bigger than the one I had already taken. We also spotted hartebeest cows, wildebeest, and huge numbers of springbuck moving through the property.



At one point we crested a ridge in the truck and dropped down toward an open road below us. Looking down the road, we spotted a mature duiker, but unfortunately never got a clean opportunity for a shot before it disappeared.

A little farther out on the property we came across a herd of wildebeest with several zebras mixed in among them. Divan mentioned that on his property the zebras often mingle together with the wildebeest, which I thought was pretty interesting to see.

We parked the truck and picked up the wildebeest tracks where they had crossed the road. Several times we caught up close to them without ever fully seeing them, but we could make out where they were moving through the brush and kept slowly working the tracks.

Then suddenly I saw the Johnny and Divan both freeze and immediately drop low to the ground, motioning for me to do the same. Ahead of us was a lone wildebeest bull quartering away and slowly feeding off through the brush.

Because of the wind, we backed out slightly and moved farther to the right, hoping to intercept him as he continued walking. Eventually the bull bedded down. We carefully slipped farther downwind, got low to the ground, and waited several minutes.

Finally, the bull stood up, clearly sensing something wasn’t right and staring in our direction. Divan quickly put the sticks up and told me to take the shot. The bull was facing almost perfectly head-on. I settled in, squeezed the trigger, and hit him hard right in the chest.

He spun and ran maybe 30 to 50 yards before piling up.

It was an awesome hunt and a really nice mature wildebeest bull. I was beyond excited with him.









We went out that afternoon looking for kudu and springbok. We ended up seeing some young oryx bulls and cows, but nothing mature enough. Divan wanted to go to a different property for oryx on day three. So we made a plan and headed back to camp for drinks and dinner.

My kudu was on the menu tonight, and holy crap is that delicious.







A little background on Divan and his hunting area, he owns roughly 12,000 acres of low-fenced property and also has permission to hunt several neighboring farms connected to his land. While his main property already holds essentially all the species native to this part of Namibia, he also has access to additional farms that are particularly strong for certain animals.

Altogether, he has access to somewhere around 200,000 acres of low-fenced ground, all holding completely free-range game. That was one of the biggest reasons I booked the hunt in the first place. The animals truly live wild and move naturally across huge expanses of land rather than being confined to small fenced properties.

Wonderful report, and some beautiful animals taken. Keep it coming.

Day three

The morning started early as we headed to a different property in search of gemsbok. To get there, we had to drive about 40 minutes through the back side of Divan’s property and onto another neighboring farm. By the time we arrived, it was around 8 a.m.

We met the property owner briefly when we got there. He insisted we stop for coffee with him. Divan was trying to politely avoid it so we could get hunting, but the old gentleman seemed a bit lonely and clearly wanted company, so we sat down, had a coffee, chatted for a while, and then finally headed out.

This was another massive unfenced property, mostly low-fence cattle country with long stretches having no fencing at all. You could see many areas where the fences had been destroyed over time by gemsbok crawling underneath the wire while moving naturally between properties.

Throughout the morning we caught glimpses of several gemsbok, but no mature bulls. Shortly before lunch, we were slowly driving and glassing when Divan suddenly spotted a jackal moving along without a care in the world. He immediately said, “We need to take that thing.”

We jumped out of the truck, quickly set up the sticks, and Divan whistled to stop the jackal. The second it paused, I squeezed one off and hit it square through the shoulder. It dropped right there in its tracks.

What a cool animal to hunt.



Not long after that, we spotted a gemsbok bull slipping into some thick cover. We drove ahead, cut him off, and tried stalking in with the wind in our favor where we thought he was headed. Unfortunately, we eventually got pinned down in a spot where we simply couldn’t move anymore without exposing ourselves. We watched him for a bit, crawling on our hands and knees trying to inch farther forward for a better look, but eventually he spotted us and disappeared.

We backed out, drove farther down the road, and soon spotted another group of bulls moving into thicker brush. We jumped out and hurried after them. At one point we threw the sticks up quickly, but the bulls were moving too fast and never gave us a clean opportunity.

We continued moving left in the direction they were traveling and after another hundred yards or so, we stopped and waited. Suddenly one large bull stepped out and stood broadside. It looked like he was just about to bed down.

Divan whispered for me to take him.

I settled on the sticks and squeezed the shot off, drilling him right through the shoulder. He dropped instantly in his tracks.







We eventually cut a rough road in to retrieve him and loaded him into the truck before heading back for lunch.

Lunch was cooked over an open fire and consisted of springbuck kebabs, kudu sausage, and a maize casserole that was honestly excellent.

At some point during lunch, I mentioned that if the opportunity came up, I’d be interested in taking a second gemsbok bull.

Later that afternoon, we spotted an ancient-looking bull off in the distance with very short horns. We climbed out and glassed him for a while but eventually decided he was simply too short to justify taking. While we were focused on him, we suddenly noticed another gemsbok standing farther off to our right with heavy sweeping horns. At first glance I honestly thought it was a female.

I was actually the first one to spot it and the first one to say, “I think that’s a cow.”

Divan studied him closely for a second and started laughing before saying, “Nope… definitely a bull. I can see his male parts.”

We grabbed the sticks and rifle and quickly moved off to the right for a fast stalk. We got set up just waiting for him to clear into an opening. The second he stepped into the gap, I squeezed the trigger.

We heard the impact immediately and ran up after him. We found him already down, though I put one more insurance shot into him before he expired completely.





What an unbelievable day of hunting.

It was late by the time we got back to camp, so t-bone steaks and a beer, then off to sleep. The next day we would travel to another property for red hartebeest. This is where things get interesting….

Great report so far! You've taken some excellent animals.

Looks like you had a tremendous safari. Looking forward to reading about the rest of your hunt. Congrats on some awesome animals so far.

Aside from the wonderful trophies, what binoculars are you using?

Awesome hunt, thanks for sharing ! Some great animals ! I am headed to Namibia in July for buff and Elephant, will be going through Windhoek. Can you elaborate on the visa process you mentioned ? Did you have your Visas beforehand or acquire them during customs processing at the airport ?

roklok said:

Awesome hunt, thanks for sharing ! Some great animals ! I am headed to Namibia in July for buff and Elephant, will be going through Windhoek. Can you elaborate on the visa process you mentioned ? Did you have your Visas beforehand or acquire them during customs processing at the airport ?

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Ya just apply online. The people in the airport don’t really know what they are doing. And the line fills up quick . There are no jet bridges at Windhoek, so when you get off those stairs move quick to get in line

Osama Mahdi said:

Aside from the wonderful trophies, what binoculars are you using?

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Just some cheap leupolds. They are 12x50 I think. Way too big but no reason to order another pair

Congratulations on some nice animals, tank of a warthog and nice kudu, gemsbok and widlebeest, as you said the kudu bull doesn't have deep curls but his shape is really nice and I like the sweeping outward tips. Look forward to reading more

Really nice animals and report so far. Your wildebeest’s horns look like a Mexican fighting bull’s. Pretty cool!

Day four

Up to this point, we had probably been hunting about 35–40% by tracking and the rest by spot-and-stalk. That was all about to change with red hartebeest.

Today was dedicated to red hartebeest, and we traveled to another property that Divan had hunted before specifically for them. This area was noticeably different from the country we had been hunting previously, much more open and sandy, with thick pockets of vegetation scattered throughout. The softer ground made for excellent tracking conditions, but the dense brush pockets also made it easy for animals to disappear quickly once bumped.



After getting onto the property, we spent the morning glassing open areas trying to locate a visible herd, but never turned any up. Eventually, we picked up a fresh set of tracks and started following them deep into one section of the property. After a while, we finally bumped the hartebeest unexpectedly. At that point, we decided to back out because we figured they would continue running if we pressured them any farther, so we broke off and headed in for lunch.

After lunch, we picked the tracks back up and continued following them for what felt like another two to three hours through thick country. Eventually we caught up with the herd again, but this time it appeared to be all cows. We waited patiently hoping a bull would step out behind them, and we were already preparing to get on the sticks, but then the wind shifted and the entire herd took off.

We stayed on the tracks and caught back up with them once more, only to confirm that there truly were no bulls mixed in with the group.

As the afternoon wore on, we drove much of the perimeter of the property trying to locate another herd, but never found one. Like many of the other areas we hunted, this was another low-fence property, and you could clearly see where the red hartebeest regularly crawled underneath the fencing to move between properties. By that point, Divan was worried the bulls have simply moved completely off the property.

It ended up being a long and physically demanding day with a lot of hard tracking, but honestly still a great experience. We had several successful tracks throughout the day, they just unfortunately never ended with a bull at the end of them.

Day five

We started the morning back on Divan’s main property looking for springbuck, steenbok, or duiker. Early on we saw a few duiker and some springbuck, but they were already running flat out by the time we spotted them. We attempted a quick stalk or two, but they disappeared almost instantly into the brush.

Divan had brought his .22 along just in case we ran into guinea fowl. Sure enough, around one corner we came across a group of them.
I took a couple shots and managed to knock one down, which was honestly a pretty fun change of pace from the larger game we’d been hunting.



As we were leaving that area with the guinea fowl in the back of the truck, Johnny spotted some springbuck off in the distance. We quickly hopped out and worked our way around a bend in the terrain. The area was very open, so we stayed low and kept close to the brush while moving into the wind.

After easing in closer, we finally spotted the ram Johnny had first seen, a really nice mature bull. The sticks went up, and once I settled in, Divan motioned toward the one on the left. Just as I started squeezing the trigger, another springbuck caught movement from us and exploded out of there. Divan immediately whispered, “You don’t have much time.”

I finished the squeeze, the rifle cracked, and the springbuck dropped.




What an incredible animal.

After bringing him back to the skinning shed, we took a short break before heading back out to look for duiker again. Everyone was in a pretty good mood after finally getting some action following the long day chasing red hartebeest.

As we moved through another area, Divan spotted a dry pan with several warthogs feeding in it. Ironically, it was the exact same pan where I had taken my first warthog back on arrival day. There were a few large pigs in the group, but from that distance he couldn’t judge the tusks very well.

We made a very long stalk, probably 600 to 700 yards before finally getting close enough to really study them. There were around ten pigs feeding at the bottom of the pan. Divan pointed out one big heavy boar standing among the group, though he still couldn’t fully make out the ivory.

He put me on the sticks just in case.

I stayed on the boar while he fed, and eventually the pig lifted its head enough for us to clearly see the right tusk. It looked very good. Divan wanted to wait until we could also confirm the left side. Once the boar finally turned enough for us to see both sides, we just had to wait for another pig standing behind him to move clear.

The second the lane opened, the boar turned slightly, giving me a quartering-away shot. I sent one downrange and hit him square through the shoulder. He collapsed immediately.

Another massive pig down.



What a day already.

After another short break, we headed back toward the red hartebeest property. About halfway there it started raining, which Divan said was extremely unusual for that late in the year. He mentioned they hadn’t seen rain that late in a very long time. Still, he thought it could work in our favor since the animals would likely start moving and the wet ground would make fresh tracks easier to follow.

Once we arrived, we picked up what looked like a relatively fresh red hartebeest track from an animal we had briefly seen the previous day. We had also spoken with the property owner earlier in the week , and he mentioned there were a few extremely old cows on the property that he wouldn’t mind taking out because they were acting strangely and wandering around alone.

Initially, Divan didn’t want to pursue one of the old cows because he really wanted to find a mature bull for me. But with the day getting late, we figured we might try catching up to one of the old girls if the opportunity presented itself.

We got onto the tracks with the wind in our favor and slowly worked through extremely thick brush. At one point we caught a glimpse of what initially looked like a bull. As we got closer though, we realized it was actually one of the old cows moving alone.

She was heavily grayed out and acting strangely. Even from a distance, you could tell age had caught up to her badly.

The rain was starting to close in quickly, so we knew we didn’t have much time before the storm was directly on top of us. We set the sticks up as she quartered away through the thick brush. Finally she stepped into a small opening and gave me a shot.

Bang.

We ran up to her and found her already down. Looking her over, we realized she had almost no teeth left. This old girl was in rough shape. Honestly, I don’t think she would’ve made it through another year, and if a bull had tried breeding her, it probably would’ve killed her.

We skipped trophy photos entirely because right then the rain absolutely started pouring. We quickly loaded her into the truck and hurried back toward the skinning shed soaking wet but grinning the whole way.





We decided we’d come back first thing in the morning to take advantage of the fresh wet sand and hopefully cut a really fresh track.

Great hunt so far. Namibia is an excellent place. Congratulations on some wonderful animals.

Thanks for sharing your safari with us. Looks like you are having an amazing experience! Congratulations on harvesting some beautiful animals.

revturbo9967 said:

Country - Namibia

Dates - May 14-20

Type of Hunt - Plains game

Method of Hunting - Rifle

Outfitter - @DIVAN SAFARIS

PH - Divan Labuschagne

Locations Hunted - Eastern Namibia

Species Hunted - Warthog, Kudu, Jackal, Blue Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, Duiker, Steenbuck, Springbuck, Gemsbok

Trophy Quality - Pictures will answer this one

Lodging - Permanent lodge

Food - Typical African fair

Activities - Hunting

Travel Methods-Lufthansa Airways and car


Starting my hunt report with @DIVAN SAFARIS while en route to Boston from Windhoek. I’m currently sitting in Munich during a long layover and figured it was the perfect time to finally get this report started.

This hunt was booked back in 2024, shortly after my Zimbabwe hunt. After a few unsuccessful attempts at kudu in the Omay, I knew I wanted another opportunity and started planning my next adventure.

I spoke with a few members, and @375Fox recommended I reach out to Divan Labuschagne. He explained that he operates a truly free-range safari outfit in eastern Namibia near the Botswana border, specializing in endemic animals native to that region, all hunted on completely free-range ground.

After speaking with Divan, I was convinced this would be my next hunt, and we quickly got dates locked in for a 7 day hunt. I expressed to Divan that I didn’t really have a list of animals, although I had a few I wanted to target. I just wanted him to take me hunting and let’s see what we can find.

I booked all my travel through @TRAVEL EXPRESS and chose the Lufthansa route through Germany since it was the quickest and smoothest option for me getting to Namibia.

This time around, I decided not to bring rifles. As much as I prefer hunting with my own equipment, I opted to avoid the added hassle of traveling with firearms through Frankfurt. I
also chose to upgrade to premium economy, which was almost worth the extra expense. The seating was noticeably wider with decent recline, but the lack of cushion still reminded you pretty quickly that it was only a step above standard cattle class.

I did manage to score a last-minute upgrade to business class from Frankfurt to Windhoek for about $300, which ended up being well worth it. Being able to get some real sleep on the overnight leg made a huge difference before starting the hunt.

I landed in Windhoek around 8 a.m. on May 13th and, after making my way through what can only be described as their joke of a visa process, I grabbed my bags and headed into the lobby where I was met by Divan. We loaded my bags after our greetings and headed 2.5 hours south east to his ranch close to the Botswana border.

Once we arrived in camp, I was greeted by the staff, including trackers Johnny and Urbanis, along with Divan’s wife, Monique who did most of the cooking. They helped carry my bags to my bungalow for the week, and I was honestly pleasantly surprised by the accommodations I’d be calling home for the next 7 days.

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He then showed me the main lounge area, where there were always cold drinks waiting along with Wi-Fi. That quickly became the gathering spot for meals, stories, and winding down after the day’s hunts. Just outside was the fire pit, where most of the game meat was cooked over the open flame each night.


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After I got settled in, we headed over to the range to see which rifle worked best for me. Divan had a suppressed Zastava M70 chambered in .308 that I shot well with right out of the gate, so we decided that would be my rifle for the week. I was shooting his handloads, which I believe were loaded with Hornady ELD-X bullets.

Not long after shooting, Divan suggested taking a quick drive around the property to look for a one-horned springbuck he’d been trying to take for camp meat. He thought there was something wrong with the animal since it never seemed to leave the same area and was always by itself. He figured if we could find it, it would make for a good way to kick off the hunt.

We drove out to the area where the springbuck had been hanging around and managed to catch a quick glimpse of him before he disappeared into the thick brush. He was definitely acting strange, but that was alright, we still had the entire week ahead of us to find him again.

On the drive back to camp, Johnny spotted a group of warthogs out in a dry pan. Divan immediately pulled up his binoculars and said we needed to take a closer look.

We eased in to about 100 yards, and at first Divan spotted a solid boar. Just as he was getting ready to put the sticks up, he noticed an even bigger pig slightly off to the right on the other side of some thick brush. We shifted to our right, got the sticks set up, and also got the camera rolling, Divan tried filming all of my kill shots for his YouTube videos.

Once I got settled on the sticks and steady on the warthog, he gave me the green light and I sent the first round. It hit the pig hard, but a little low. It was definitely a mortal shot, though he still managed to run about 50 yards before stopping. We caught up to him, and I sent a second round into him. Right there, he dropped.

What an absolute tank of a pig.

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What an amazing end to ARRIVAL day, 7 more to go. Tomorrow, day one, we would be looking for kudu.

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Very nice pig for Namibia ! Congratulations

.

What a great report. Great animals. I was on the same Frankfort-Windhoek flight as you, just one day earlier. We also got the offer for the $300 upgrade to business, but there were four of us and only 3 seats……. So we didn’t do it. Oh, that would have been nice!

The rains in that region have been unreal lately. We hunted in the Kalahari region and had a massive, massive rain shower on our way back to the airport Thursday afternoon. We even had hail at one point. The grass in the region we hunted was tall enough to make spotting warthogs a problem. Nice critters. Sounds like a quality hunt with an excellent outfitter.

Know what the kudu measured?