NAMIBIA: 4 Weeks In Namibia With Ongariwanda

[dory]

It wasn't until I decided to change my profile page on AH yesterday to include my hunt in Africa that I realized just how long it had taken me to organize , prepare and actually finally go to Africa . I joined AH on the 23 rd Feb 2014 just over 14 months before me and Debs my all time suffering wife thanks to this new addiction to Africa I have actually hoped on the first plane on our amazing journey to the other side of the world .
I always thought about going to Africa hunting but was convinced it was the domain off rich and famous only . For years I had occasionally looked at hunting adds on the net for Africa but they always either did not show prices which I always thought meant they were much to expensive or they seemed like small farms with high fences which did not do it for me .
Until , and I will say it again , Until I stumbled onto AH one night and was absolutely blown away with the info the hunt reports and the outfitters on the sight . I can honestly say I might never had the balls to go if I never talked to some you guys here on AH .

Fast forward a few months and I had decided that Namibia was going to be graced by my presence for a plains game hunt . But it had to have no high fences , have at least 20,000 acres to hunt and have good Kudu on the property as they were the animals that first got my heart pounding when I watched some footage of them being hunted on youtube . I looked at dozens off hunting safari outfitters , emailed another dozen , but could not decide what to do . Like a lot of us cost was an issue , especially as I wanted at least a 3 week hunt and really only wanted to hunt a few top animals . I didn't really want one of those 5 star lodges or cheap package deals as they just are not me . I would be just as happy to live under a tarp and walk all day as that is what we do here in NZ . What to do ? AH of course .
So I put a post up asking for any advise and got some good help but one that stood out was a reply from Loodt about his relatives who owned a place in central Namibia called Ongariwanda And according to Loodt The Kudu were huge and running everywhere .
One reference I got was a gentleman from Argentina who had hunted there 6 times and was going back again . A quick email to him and after a quick reply from him he had me sold . So the emails between me and the real boss of Ongariwanda , Jennie , mother , cook , organizer , tourist adviser , financial genius , company director , full time wife , did I mention mum of 4 wonderful children , started . If Jens was running the country it would be an awesome place !
So there it is !
I have finally got somewhere to go . Bloody hell Im booked in , shit what to do now .

 

[johnnyblues]

Anxiously waiting for the rest Dory. I'll be in Namibia for my first safari in about 55 days...

 

[Adrian]

Haha! I can relate. Somehow in twelve days time I'm going to find myself on a plane bound for Namibia for a first African hunt.
It's arrived and I'm not sure quite how it snuck up on me!

 

[CAustin]

Sounds like you are off on the adventure of a lifetime! Have a great time and send us some pictures!

 

[Redruff]

Dory. Great start. Keep it coming.

R.

 

[Wheels]

dory,

"A journey begins with the first step"

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

 

[ROCKET]

Well done Dory......I remember perfectly when you asked for Ongariwanda references here in the site, I told you many of my friends have hunted with them succsesfuly.....well.....I am confortable sitting wainting for the rest of your adventure there.....!!!!!

 

[dory]

Haha! I can relate. Somehow in twelve days time I'm going to find myself on a plane bound for Namibia for a first African hunt.
It's arrived and I'm not sure quite how it snuck up on me!

Dont sleep while you are there , you will be home again before you know it .
You will have a ball , good luck and hot barrels .

 

[dory]

Well done Dory......I remember perfectly when you asked for Ongariwanda references here in the site, I told you many of my friends have hunted with them succsesfuly.....well.....I am confortable sitting wainting for the rest of your adventure there.....!!!!!

Yip , you are dead right Rocket .
Your help sealed the deal for me , your friends were wonderful .
Thanks Dory !

 

[James.Grage]

LOOKS LIKE A GREAT START TO A NICE STORY

 

[dory]

I had a real dilemma on what rifle to take with me as over the years I have become a 243 nut and now own nothing bigger .
Although I absolutely love the calibre for all the game here in New Zealand it was not going to cut the mustard in Africa .
I decided to have a custom left hand 308 win built for me here in NZ . Although it wont mean much to you guys I chose Hardy Engineering from the North Island of NZ to build it for me . Several phone calls to Dan the owner and deal done , new rifle on the way . The rifle gave me some real problems in Africa but more of that later .
Im not much of a shopper unlike my wife , but I had a ball over the next several months buying new equipment For Africa . I already had a canon 7d camera with a 15-85 wide angle lens . But I ordered a sony HD cx900e for vids as I love taking videos . This also played up in Africa , I don't think it liked all the banging around in the truck all day and the dust got to it . I think a cheaper handy-cam like my old cannon which has proved indestructable over the years might have been better . I also ordered a new tripod and a Plano double rifle gun case for air travel and all sorts of cloths , shoes , boots , fancy socks that cost a fortune , I even ordered a heap of new bloody undies . Getting good ammo here in NZ was surprisingly hard , I had to take what I could get in the end so ended up getting 40 rounds of 150 gr Winchester Razor Back and 60 rounds of Federal Trophy Copper 165 gr . A Plano lockable ammo case for $20 which fitted 5 boxes of 308 perfectly was the best buy I had and worked a treat .
As we live on an island most things had to be ordered over the net or telephone so we were always waiting for things to arrive in the post or on the local ferry service .
I must admit at times I was like a 5 year old waiting for xmas prezys .
One item I did fly to the mainland for was a new scope for the rifle . This is one item I was not going to worry about cost . A friend of mine owns a gun shop so a visit to him was in order to get the last items I thought I would need and of course a new scope . A new soft gun case the ammo I mentioned , cleaning equipment and a scope that cost just over $400 NZ . Yep $400 , a vortex 3-9 - 40 Diamondback , what a steal . Lindsey the owner said it was his choice of scope for his last deer rifle and I can see why . It blew away all the dearer scopes we had lined up . The clarity and depth of field is exceptional and the price was a fraction of the budget I had put aside . I don't seem to get these sort of deals very often but Lindsey was dead right about it , I loved it in Africa and so did everyone who tried it out . Next time you want a scope try a vortex you wont be disappointed .
All this time my good lady had been building her own wardrobe for Africa . Yep , designer hunting gear , a nice bright red day pack , all sorts of things I just shook my head at , but hay , she was having so much fun buying new clothes and things she never used what could you say !
My eldest daughter is a travel agent for Air New Zealand our national carrier so travel arrangements were relatively easy , Only 6 different flights , two and a half days flying 7 different airports and hours waiting at terminals for connecting flights Awesome , bring it on !!! I HATE FLYING .
Getting all the firearm permits for air travel overseas was absolutely painless here in NZ from the police to customs , everyone could have not been more helpful .
We left Stewart Island on the afternoon of 31 st may 2015 .
Finally after 2 years dreaming , planning , re planning , and organizing we were on our way .
What have I forgotten or left behind , to late now !!!

 

[ROCKET]

Well.....there We go......the fire has been started........!!!!

 

[dory]

After overnighting in Invercargill which is at the bottom of New Zealand we arrived at the airport 630 am to book in .
No one there except us and the bloody doors are locked , what is going on ? Gee you feel silly sitting outside an airport in the dark on a cold morning with all your luggage and a bloody great gun case and there is no one else in sight . Check tickets ! Everything in order , even had the right day , that has to be a bonus . Finally someone turns up and unlocks the airport , looks at us silly , its sunday in NZ so we all start later . Lovely , no one told us ! Check in bags and gun case , Painless . Next time we are to see our gear will be in Windhoek ( we hope fingers crossed ) two flights later we meet some of my family in Auckland for a coffee before the flight to Perth .
How could I go and shoot endangered Zebras or one of the last wildebeests alive , are you still allowed to hunt in aAfrica ?
Man , how do you convince people who have been brainwashed by to much rubbish in TV and the greenies . Right or wrong ,during the trip when people found out I was going hunting or had been hunting they always mentioned , you were not hunting Elephants were you ? This pissed me off after a while as they looked at you waiting for an answer . Answer - no I did not shoot an elephant , I shot 2 and im going back to cull a lot more because they are ........ Thats all it took , they don't want to know the truth , I don't know what the answer is to these people ?

Anyway everything went to plan and after a couple of days in the air we arrived in Namibia at about 3pm on the 2nd of June .
Cleared immigration , picked up my rifle from the friendly police with no fuss and finally got a breath of real air , man did it taste good ! Grabbed some cash from the airport ATM brought a couple of bottles of fine South African wine and met our transfer to the B&B we were staying in for a couple of days before we were to meet Johnnie from Ongariwanda .
Booked into Palmquell In Windhoek and finally relaxed , I think I opened a bottle of wine while Debs had a long awaited shower . I jumped on the bed said something smart then woke up 13 hours later !
Jetlag ? you bet I was buggered .
If Im talking to much just say so , my wife does!

 

[Wheels]

.................. and a scope that cost just over $400 NZ . Yep $400 , a vortex 3-9 - 40 Diamondback , what a steal.........!!

I sometimes forget how good we have it. The first place I looked that scope up on the internet in the USA it was $169.99-demmo-$199.99-new. Firearms and accessories cost so much in many other countries. Wish you were able to purchase them here. (I realize there is the difference between USD and NZD)

I have a couple of Vortex products and like them too.

Glad you were able to live out your dream dory. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

 

[dory]

After a few days R&R in Windhoek and some shopping overload , not to mention eating and drinking much to much it was time to meet Johnnie and really start the trip . There had been a big school sports comp on in Swakopmund on the coast when we arrived and all the kids were involved so it was arranged to be picked up at 11 am on the 6th by Johnnie at Palmquell . And so it was , Johnnie arrived on time and after handshakes all round we pilled our mound of gear into the truck and we were off to Ongariwanda a few hours drive from Windhoek . We stopped for lunch at the country club at the Okahandja country club then checked out the road stalls full of locally made crafts . What an awesome place to get your bits and pieces for home , the best place we found in Namibia . If you have the chance make sure you stop and have a look you wont be disappointed .

 

[huntermn15]

Dory,
Looking forward to your report and photos. After my first safari this September, Namibia will likely be my second safari in 2017/2018.
Cheers,
Mike

 

[dory]

It was late Saturday when we finally pulled to a stop at the home of Jennie and Johnnies , there 4 children and Johnnies parents ,not to mention the dogs , who seem to know where ever we go in the world that we both love dogs . On the way we had started seeing more and more game on the roadside . Don't you love wild Africa ! My wife even saw her first giraffes , but we think they were behind a high fence , hard to tell at 120 ks . A couple of wicked pigs with awesome ivory , oryx , and a Kudu bull that Johnnie said was only about 47-48 ? . He was beautiful . Like a dick all the cameras were still packed away .
He stood their like he new he was safe , even from the camera . How many times are the first animals you see the best for the trip ? Even though we were not hunting it still worried me as his curl and spread looked outstanding . Think the worst hope for the best came to mind . And he just wandered across the dirt road in front of the truck with his girlfriends and strolled away ! ( Awesome )
Johnnies dad was there to greet us and then off to our accom to unpack , unwind , have a drink or three and meet the family . We both felt a bit unbelieving really , we were really here and staying at the home we had looked at the photos of so many times . And guess what , it was twice as good as the photos . I cant remember what Jen dished up for our tea that night , maybe eland , whatever it was it would have been outstanding , every meal was ! I really feel sorry for PHs as I don't know how many dumb questions I asked that day and night , especially after to many wines . To Johnnies credit he answered every dumb question like I was the first to ever ask them . If you ever read this Johnnie , well done , you are the true professional .
Sleep came real easy that night for Debs . Not me , oh no , I was much to excited . Ive got no idea what time I hit the crisp clean white sheets that night but I know Debs got sick of me waking her up with some really intelligent fact or idea . I know one of the real bright things I did at 3 in the morning was to drag Deb out of bed and drag her outside to look at the bloody stars . Yip was she impressed not .
I did not score many points that first night with my good lady .
Message to self , you can only score higher from here ! And I did , really !!

 

[Redruff]

Great start keep it coming!

 

[Huntin Africa]

Dory, you have me in tears!! Where did the time go? We miss you ...
Normally our clients book ... arrive ... hunt for 7 / 8 days and go back. We have make new friends.
BUT THIS TIME ...
our clients book ... we communicate almost for a year .... they arrive ... hunt for 16 days .. and we had to say goodbye to part of the family. John and Debbs remember -- ONGARIWANDA will be your home in AFRICA!!
I am staying online for the rest of your daily dairy and hunting report.

 

[dory]

Next day was Sunday and as there is no hunting done on Sundays , it was a day to have a look around and settle in to the Ongariwanda way of life .
First up after breakfast was to sight the rifle in . Now I did not sight it in before I came as I had a bit of a woppsy a couple of months before the hunt and tore a tendon off my shoulder . My shooting shoulder of cause . So this was going to be fun , my first shot with a new rifle . The federals were to tight and proved bloody hard to eject and although the Razor Backs were to prove deadly in the days to come the odd one misfired as the primers seemed to set a bit deeper than the federals . To top it off the mag would jam with anymore than 2 bullets in it . Who said this was going to be easy , HA! I could still fire two shots and with the Hardys suppressor fitted it was a gem to fire and quite quiet . Who needs more than 2 shots anyway ? Yea right , I hope I didn't end up making a fool of myself .
We would find out tomorrow no dought . Bring it on !!
The day was drawing on so Johnnie loaded up the truck and it was off to the top of Ongawiwanda Koppie to be spellbound by the views and drink some of Africa .
These photos were taken over about 15 minutes .