NAMIBIA: Great Hunt With KHOMAS HIGHLAND HUNTING SAFARIS

Karl Johnson

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Hunter: Karl Johnson

Safari Operator: @KHOMAS HIGHLAND HUNTING SAFARIS, Windhoek Namibia
https://khomas-highland-hunting.com/

Dates: 31 August 2022 – 9 September 2022

Rifle and ammo: Winchester Model 70, All Weather, 300 Win Mag
168 grain TTSX handloads, 83 grain Ramshot Magnum

Game taken: Warthog, Red Hartebeest, Mountain Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Steinbok, Klipspringer, Kudu, Oryx

Game seen: Nyala, Eland, Bat Eared Fox, Black Wildebeest, Impala, Giraffe, Lechwe


Summary
I had a fantastic time on safari with Khomas Highlands Safari in Namibia. They are located approximately 100 miles north of Windhoek and have approximately 370,000 acres of free-range land on which they hunt. This is also a working cattle ranch so there are some cattle fences but no high fences on the hunting area.

Phillip Hennings and his staff do an amazing job taking care of their guests. The food, accommodations, and attention to detail are all first rate. In talks with Phillip, his people, and observing the treatment of the land and game, it is obvious he is an excellent steward of the land. My details of the hunt will follow, but I give Phillip and Khomas Highlands Safari my highest recommendation. This was my first African safari, but I’m very well-traveled, and this place is special.

Day one
It is 6:00 AM Central African time. I arrived yesterday to the hunting concession. The beauty and grandeur of this place cannot adequately be captured with pictures. The camp itself is outstanding and a first-rate place.

Two days of international travel have certainly negatively impacted my sleep cycle and combined with the excitement of knowing that today I will begin my safari left me short on sleep. Throughout the evening I heard different animals in the distance. I think many of them were jackals howling throughout the night along with some birds closer to sunrise.

Breakfast is fantastic, as are all the meals during my stay. They age the game animal meat for 5 days or so prior to preparing them. No taste of wild game and they are tender as veal.

We start in the morning with a trip to the rifle range to check zero on the rifle and make sure that it shoots where it should. I’m making excuses, but I was shooting from a strange bench, off bags, and did not get myself set up correctly and my first three shots did not group well. I walked around to look at them and settled back down and put two more into a perfect tight group with the original first shot.

Satisfied with that we went hunting. We saw a male kudu that garnered greater investigation but as we started a stalk on the kudo male we came across some kudo cows we had not seen. They spooked and ran, which was the end of our Kudo stalk that morning.

We proceeded on; driving through the high plains desert and off to our left we spotted two warthogs. My PH Henrick said they looked like old ones let’s go after them. We got off the truck and stalked up the hill for about 200 yards towards where we had seen them in grass which comes up to about mid-thigh. They had moved on a little bit so we went after them for another 300 yards prior to seeing both of them. I confirmed with Henrick that the second one was the oldest one and he encouraged me to shoot it. I lined up the shot, squeezed the trigger and I could tell I’d hit the hog well. Everyone said they knew I’d hit the hog well, but we let Spike, the 8-month-old pup loose to find it. Spike found it maybe 30 yards further from where I’d shot it in the tall grass. I put my bullet in between the last two ribs on the left-hand side and broke the bone on the right front shoulder and it was lodged just inside the hide. My first African animal and I couldn’t be happier.

After the morning hunt we had an awesome lunch of homemade pizza followed by a short siesta. Every day at about 3:00 you have cake and coffee prior to the afternoon hunt. Today it was a blueberry muffin. We went into the mountains seeing several different game species on the way. We were moving slowly down a mountain road when up ahead we saw several oryx cross the road. I’d made Henrick my PH and Heinrich my guide aware that for hogs and oryx I simply wanted mature/older males, representative of the area. We immediately stopped, looked, and listened. Henrick was very certain that there were more than just a few in this herd so we got out of the Land Cruiser and started our stalk. Turns out he was right there with numerous oryx in this herd. We continued very cautiously and carefully up and down the crest of the mountain a couple of times watching listening and trying not to spook them.

We eventually moved our selves very cautiously down the side of the mountain after cresting a top when we were afforded cover from some bushes and rocks. There were several oryx at the bottom of the mountain and we looked down upon them trying to judge which was the oldest male to take. Finally, I was set up on the sticks for an approximately 120 yard down-hill shot. I shot the male oryx at a downward angle taking out his lungs. He was staggering off and I shot him again. Very quickly after being hit with a second shot he laid down and expired.

We walked down the hill and found the oryx, a beautiful animal at the end of his life. An excellent afternoon hunting with the group. Henrick, Heinrich and the driver/spotter Charlie were quickly proving to me the stories I’ve heard for years about the hunting skills of these guides/professionals are not exaggerated. Their ability to spot game, analyze it, and lead you on a stalk are utterly amazing. Picture below shows Henrick, Charlie, and Heinrich, L to R.

Day two
The day starts with breakfast at 7 AM and then out to the Land Cruiser. We see numerous animals including a Bat Eared Fox, kudo females as well as some oryx and then we came across some springbok. It looked like a good herd with a few nice rams so we decided we would put a stalk on them. The stalk lasted for about 90 minutes, up-and-down several hills, down into valleys, slowly but surely watching them from afar and trying to get to a spot to take one of the best rams. I continue to be amazed at our PH Henrick as he seems to know what animals are going to do, where to go, and how to do it at a level that is beyond my comprehension. He can walk across hardscrabble rock-strewn ground and not make a sound as he walks in-between thornbushes that never seem to bother him, and his clothes never get snagged.

After this time of up-and-down the hills and in an out of valleys I must admit, I was starting to think that they’d given us the slip and we would never see them again. Suddenly I can tell Henrick is feeling good about our position. The shooting sticks go up and it’s a relatively close shot at about 170 yards. I squeeze the trigger and I’ve hit him as he was trying to walk off as I shot. I was concerned he was going to run. He’s gushing blood from both the bullet entrance and exit wound. He refuses to go down.

He’s been wandering in and out of the bushes below as we are waiting to put a finishing shot on him. I’m dumbfounded, as are my guides, that this animal is still standing. I squeeze the trigger one more time and down he goes. For years I’ve read and heard about the white hair on the posterior of springbok standing up upon death. I am amazed upon seeing it and try to think of a reason for this to occur. He is a beautiful ram taken after a great stalk that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

After another amazing lunch and the afternoon siesta we go hunting. We are about 5 miles out of camp when Henrick taps on the roof telling Charlie he sees Red Hartebeest. Of course, I’ve not seen them, but the guys have amazing eyesight and skills at spotting game that are unbelievable! Henrick says one is a very good male. We begin an amazing stalk on the Red Hartebeest through a long and wide valley. For over 2 1/2 hours we stalk them up and down the sides of the valley trying to get closer without spooking them. Later Heinrich asks me if I saw all the Kudu cows we spooked, and I admitted I had no idea we had done so.

After this amount of time Henrick asked Charlie to pick us up in the Land Cruiser because we can no longer see the game. We drive a bit down the road and Henrick bangs on the roof of a Land Cruiser saying stop Charlie. We jump out and stalk them for almost another mile. Fortunately, they seem calmer than they had earlier.

After another 15 minute stalk Henrick puts the sticks up and says to wait, the herd bull will step out to the left and that he is a very good bull. We wait for a few minutes and Henrick confirms that’s him. I see him well as he is facing us, and Heinrich tells me it’s about 240 yards. I squeeze the trigger; the rifle roars, and I see the bull jump as he’s been well hit. We wait about 5 minutes before we walk towards where I shot the animal. Prior to our arriving at the spot the bull had been standing, Spike finds him 20 yards away from where I shot him.

We walk up on the bull and we’re all very pleased. This is an awesome animal who is stout in both body and horn.
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Congratulations on a great trip and wonderful animals.
 
Great start... or finish if need be.
 
Congratulations, thanks for the report
 
Hunter: Karl Johnson

Safari Operator: @KHOMAS HIGHLAND HUNTING SAFARIS, Windhoek Namibia
https://khomas-highland-hunting.com/

Dates: 31 August 2022 – 9 September 2022

Rifle and ammo: Winchester Model 70, All Weather, 300 Win Mag
168 grain TTSX handloads, 83 grain Ramshot Magnum

Game taken: Warthog, Red Hartebeest, Mountain Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Steinbok, Klipspringer, Kudu, Oryx

Game seen: Nyala, Eland, Bat Eared Fox, Black Wildebeest, Impala, Giraffe, Lechwe


Summary
I had a fantastic time on safari with Khomas Highlands Safari in Namibia. They are located approximately 100 miles north of Windhoek and have approximately 370,000 acres of free-range land on which they hunt. This is also a working cattle ranch so there are some cattle fences but no high fences on the hunting area.

Phillip Hennings and his staff do an amazing job taking care of their guests. The food, accommodations, and attention to detail are all first rate. In talks with Phillip, his people, and observing the treatment of the land and game, it is obvious he is an excellent steward of the land. My details of the hunt will follow, but I give Phillip and Khomas Highlands Safari my highest recommendation. This was my first African safari, but I’m very well-traveled, and this place is special.

Day one
It is 6:00 AM Central African time. I arrived yesterday to the hunting concession. The beauty and grandeur of this place cannot adequately be captured with pictures. The camp itself is outstanding and a first-rate place.

Two days of international travel have certainly negatively impacted my sleep cycle and combined with the excitement of knowing that today I will begin my safari left me short on sleep. Throughout the evening I heard different animals in the distance. I think many of them were jackals howling throughout the night along with some birds closer to sunrise.

Breakfast is fantastic, as are all the meals during my stay. They age the game animal meat for 5 days or so prior to preparing them. No taste of wild game and they are tender as veal.

We start in the morning with a trip to the rifle range to check zero on the rifle and make sure that it shoots where it should. I’m making excuses, but I was shooting from a strange bench, off bags, and did not get myself set up correctly and my first three shots did not group well. I walked around to look at them and settled back down and put two more into a perfect tight group with the original first shot.

Satisfied with that we went hunting. We saw a male kudu that garnered greater investigation but as we started a stalk on the kudo male we came across some kudo cows we had not seen. They spooked and ran, which was the end of our Kudo stalk that morning.

We proceeded on; driving through the high plains desert and off to our left we spotted two warthogs. My PH Henrick said they looked like old ones let’s go after them. We got off the truck and stalked up the hill for about 200 yards towards where we had seen them in grass which comes up to about mid-thigh. They had moved on a little bit so we went after them for another 300 yards prior to seeing both of them. I confirmed with Henrick that the second one was the oldest one and he encouraged me to shoot it. I lined up the shot, squeezed the trigger and I could tell I’d hit the hog well. Everyone said they knew I’d hit the hog well, but we let Spike, the 8-month-old pup loose to find it. Spike found it maybe 30 yards further from where I’d shot it in the tall grass. I put my bullet in between the last two ribs on the left-hand side and broke the bone on the right front shoulder and it was lodged just inside the hide. My first African animal and I couldn’t be happier.

After the morning hunt we had an awesome lunch of homemade pizza followed by a short siesta. Every day at about 3:00 you have cake and coffee prior to the afternoon hunt. Today it was a blueberry muffin. We went into the mountains seeing several different game species on the way. We were moving slowly down a mountain road when up ahead we saw several oryx cross the road. I’d made Henrick my PH and Heinrich my guide aware that for hogs and oryx I simply wanted mature/older males, representative of the area. We immediately stopped, looked, and listened. Henrick was very certain that there were more than just a few in this herd so we got out of the Land Cruiser and started our stalk. Turns out he was right there with numerous oryx in this herd. We continued very cautiously and carefully up and down the crest of the mountain a couple of times watching listening and trying not to spook them.

We eventually moved our selves very cautiously down the side of the mountain after cresting a top when we were afforded cover from some bushes and rocks. There were several oryx at the bottom of the mountain and we looked down upon them trying to judge which was the oldest male to take. Finally, I was set up on the sticks for an approximately 120 yard down-hill shot. I shot the male oryx at a downward angle taking out his lungs. He was staggering off and I shot him again. Very quickly after being hit with a second shot he laid down and expired.

We walked down the hill and found the oryx, a beautiful animal at the end of his life. An excellent afternoon hunting with the group. Henrick, Heinrich and the driver/spotter Charlie were quickly proving to me the stories I’ve heard for years about the hunting skills of these guides/professionals are not exaggerated. Their ability to spot game, analyze it, and lead you on a stalk are utterly amazing. Picture below shows Henrick, Charlie, and Heinrich, L to R.

Day two
The day starts with breakfast at 7 AM and then out to the Land Cruiser. We see numerous animals including a Bat Eared Fox, kudo females as well as some oryx and then we came across some springbok. It looked like a good herd with a few nice rams so we decided we would put a stalk on them. The stalk lasted for about 90 minutes, up-and-down several hills, down into valleys, slowly but surely watching them from afar and trying to get to a spot to take one of the best rams. I continue to be amazed at our PH Henrick as he seems to know what animals are going to do, where to go, and how to do it at a level that is beyond my comprehension. He can walk across hardscrabble rock-strewn ground and not make a sound as he walks in-between thornbushes that never seem to bother him, and his clothes never get snagged.

After this time of up-and-down the hills and in an out of valleys I must admit, I was starting to think that they’d given us the slip and we would never see them again. Suddenly I can tell Henrick is feeling good about our position. The shooting sticks go up and it’s a relatively close shot at about 170 yards. I squeeze the trigger and I’ve hit him as he was trying to walk off as I shot. I was concerned he was going to run. He’s gushing blood from both the bullet entrance and exit wound. He refuses to go down.

He’s been wandering in and out of the bushes below as we are waiting to put a finishing shot on him. I’m dumbfounded, as are my guides, that this animal is still standing. I squeeze the trigger one more time and down he goes. For years I’ve read and heard about the white hair on the posterior of springbok standing up upon death. I am amazed upon seeing it and try to think of a reason for this to occur. He is a beautiful ram taken after a great stalk that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

After another amazing lunch and the afternoon siesta we go hunting. We are about 5 miles out of camp when Henrick taps on the roof telling Charlie he sees Red Hartebeest. Of course, I’ve not seen them, but the guys have amazing eyesight and skills at spotting game that are unbelievable! Henrick says one is a very good male. We begin an amazing stalk on the Red Hartebeest through a long and wide valley. For over 2 1/2 hours we stalk them up and down the sides of the valley trying to get closer without spooking them. Later Heinrich asks me if I saw all the Kudu cows we spooked, and I admitted I had no idea we had done so.

After this amount of time Henrick asked Charlie to pick us up in the Land Cruiser because we can no longer see the game. We drive a bit down the road and Henrick bangs on the roof of a Land Cruiser saying stop Charlie. We jump out and stalk them for almost another mile. Fortunately, they seem calmer than they had earlier.

After another 15 minute stalk Henrick puts the sticks up and says to wait, the herd bull will step out to the left and that he is a very good bull. We wait for a few minutes and Henrick confirms that’s him. I see him well as he is facing us, and Heinrich tells me it’s about 240 yards. I squeeze the trigger; the rifle roars, and I see the bull jump as he’s been well hit. We wait about 5 minutes before we walk towards where I shot the animal. Prior to our arriving at the spot the bull had been standing, Spike finds him 20 yards away from where I shot him.

We walk up on the bull and we’re all very pleased. This is an awesome animal who is stout in both body and horn.View attachment 491329View attachment 491330View attachment 491331View attachment 491332View attachment 491333
I seem to be unable to edit my post from yesterday, so am continuing my story as a reply to myself.


Day three
A very windy morning. We go into mountainous kudu country seeing numerous females and young bulls but did not manage to find any adult males. On the way back for lunch I took what they tell me is a very good steinbok. The little thing was all of 20-25 pounds. This is one of the antelope in what they refer to as the African Tiny Ten and are beautiful little animals. When spooked they move with amazing speed into the tall grass and vanish in the blink of an eye.

This afternoon we drove around hoping to find Blue Wildebeest and kudu. We saw some of each but nothing that we wanted to take this early in the hunt. The old Land Cruiser we are using is from the early to mid-70’s and, to me, is an iconic image of safari hunting. They keep these things in top condition, and they are the perfect fit for this application.

We did run across two giraffe this afternoon. Beautiful creatures. I would see a fully mature male a few days later that dwarfed this one.

Getting up earlier than normal and going to zebra country tomorrow hoping the day goes well! As always, dinner is amazing and had a couple of glasses of excellent South African wine.

Day four
We left camp about an hour earlier than normal and are in the Land Cruiser heading towards the mountains for Mountain Zebra. My long-awaited hunt for these beautiful animals is finally here. These are Hartmann’s Zebra and unlike the zebra you find on the plains of Africa these have narrower stripes and there is no fade between the black and the white stripes. I find out in person how stunning they are and the speed with which they traverse rock strewn ground on the mountains of Namibia. How it can be so difficult to spot these animals is something I still have trouble grasping, as it defies logic, “Shouldn’t black and white stripes be easy to see against brown and tan?”

The Khomas Highlands are a high plain dessert which Phillip has developed by containing what little annual rainfall there is and developing wells to keep cattle and wild game watered. The topography presents in three main types of relatively flat plains, hills and valleys, and mountains with ravines. The highest elevation is about 6,500 feet so when I speak of mountains, I’m referring to how steep they are.

We drive into the mountains and slowly look around. As usual Charlie spots the game long before I do even while I’m using binoculars and he is not. The first group of zebras we see are approximately 1.5 miles away and we decide to put a stalk on them. We are not long into our stalk when we hear a constant, rhythmic sound like grunting. Henrick turns towards me with a huge smile and says, “leopard.” It is the sound an adult male makes to tell all he is the king of the area. That sound will always be with me.

We are in the mountains about at about 6,000 feet of elevation and traversing up and down them, and in and out of ravines, stalking zebra in hopes of getting a shot. Needless to say; this is a physically challenging event, yet Henrick and Heinrich never seems to slip on a rock, slow down, lose sight of the game, or where we want to be. Up-and-down the mountains we go, and I admit to beathing quite hard.

We finally get to the top of one of the mountains and we see zebra on the other side. They know we are present and they’re about halfway up their side of the mountain on the other side the ravine. I’m huffing and puffing but very pleased to have gotten this close. The big herd stallion decided to shelter itself behind some females allowing no shot at about 260 yards across the canyon. It finally moves and then stops behind a bush and just stares at us; jumps up a little bit higher getting behind a bush and stares at us some more.

Finally, it steps out and I shoot. Dammit, I missed!!!! I’m very disappointed with myself as the herd runs off over the crest of the mountain. I’m very hard on myself but I also tell myself I must stay positive because you never know what’s going to happen next. It was a clean miss, and I knew what I’d done wrong, as I hadn’t been breathing very well and realized I had stopped breathing when the stallion was behind the bush prior to me shooting. I was too excited and jerked my shot. We go to the very top of this mountain down a ravine up another mountain. There’s more zebra towards the crest of the mountain across from us. This time things go much better as I line up a cross canyon shot at about 280 yards. It’s a clean shoulder hit and it drops on the spot. We walk down through the ravine, up the side of the mountain to retrieve my zebra. It’s everything and more than I ever imagined. An absolutely beautiful animal with no black-and-white fade. This is the fabled mountain zebra that I’ve always wanted.

During the stalk after the miss, we saw dozens more zebra on the surrounding mountains. Charlie somehow gets the Land Cruiser into retrieve the zebra. These Toyotas are the antithesis of urban grocery getters, as they get pushed to their mechanical limits on a regular basis. Scratched, dented and dusty they go places it’s hard to imagine.

I have two Zebras to take, so the day is not over. This is exhausting activity, up-and-down mountains at 6000 feet and yet I’m loving it! I can’t get the smile off my face. We glass some more and slowly drive around the mountains and suddenly you hear the common phrase of “stop Charlie.” Charlie stops as we see more zebra. The laser rangefinder tells us they are about 1.3 km away and fortunately they’re walking towards us. Out of the Toyota and down in the ravine walking up and down on the sides trying to see the zebra yet not be seen.

Finally, they step out from behind a bush and the stallion is clear from all the females and babies; I take the shot. It felt like a good shot to me but Heinrich is not so certain. We’re on one side of the canyon the zebras were on the other and they run up over the top. We go down through the bottom of the canyon up the side of the mountain which takes us about 20 minutes. We get close to the top and off to the left across the canyon I see more zebra. I whisper to Henrick and he turns towards me with a big smile and says no need yours is right here. My shot was indeed a good one as it entered high above the left rib and went down through the animal and stopped in the hide just prior to exiting by the right front leg taking out a lung. Another gorgeous zebra. It’s warm and I admit to being exhausted upon reaching my second zebra. I had to take several minutes and sit.

Heinrich and I staged the animal for pictures, and we wait for Charlie and Henrick to get the Land Cruiser back to it, which is quite the accomplishment. We’ve already got one zebra on and now it’s time to load another. Loading a 500-pound animal onto the back of a Land Cruiser is difficult even with the help of a small winch. We finally get it loaded and I am literally spent. I’m lightheaded and I know that I can’t do much more until I get some quality rest. Fortunately, we are loaded up and it’s time to go home. We drive back to the trail, and we get back to camp about 1:30. I’m physically exhausted but an incredibly happy man. What a great morning!

Days 5 and 6
We decide to focus on finding a kudo. Every day we see a wide variety of animals, but no shooters. On day 6 we finally see a kudu that’s a mature bull of about 50 inches.

We spotted him as were driving back to camp for lunch. We see the cows first. The bull is looking right at us on a sunny side slope and he’s in the shade between two large bushes. You cannot imagine how difficult these animals are to see until they move.

260 yards away, I could’ve taken him from the truck, but I’ve not felt comfortable shooting off the truck since I’ve been here. It’s a perfectly legal thing to do in Namibia but I can never seem to get my angle right and feel comfortable shooting. I look at Heinrich and say let’s go get him. Henrick had already grabbed the sticks and we jump off the truck. We take two paces and the bull takes off after the cows. He runs up the side of the hill with agility and speed you cannot imagine and vanishes over the crest.

Of course, we’re not giving up, go so we go down the valley and at the crest of the far side we look for him for almost an hour and cannot find him. Two days in a row with no game taken but I continue to have the time of my life.

Day 7
We left early in the morning once again to pursue kudu high in the mountains of Namibia. Around 9:00 Henrick said he saw a very good one going around the bend at the bottom of a ravine far away. We were on the top of the mountain above the ravine and we immediately jumped off the truck and worked our way down the side of the mountain and into the ravine as we stalked around not knowing exactly where the Kudo had gone other than we couldn’t see him. We’d gone about 400 meters around the bend of the ravine and had patiently looked many times when suddenly we spot him, standing still, halfway up the side of the mountain in front of us. We had not seen him until it was too late.

I actually spotted the thing standing there. Henrick was in front of me about 10 yards and I said sticks, sticks, sticks. He brought them back but by the time I got my rifle on the sticks and looking at the Kudo he was running up the side of the mountain over 250 yards away. As I watched him, trying to find a shooting lane, I decided not to shoot as he ran up the side of the mountain. If you’ve never seen a Kudu run up the side of the mountains are there very fast creatures. I later questioned my decision not to shoot. This was a Kudu that had the characteristics you would see on the cover of an outdoor magazine. I just could not get comfortable shooting at him given the distance, his speed and directional changes, along with the trees and bushes in the way.

During the stalk there were also zebra in the area and Henrick had said there will be kudo with the zebra and we kept glassing and glassing and that’s how Henrick and Charlie originally came to see him.

We hiked up the side of the mountain that the Kudo had run over hoping that we would find him at the top or on the other side. This was a grueling hike up the side of a very steep mountain. We got to the top and looked everywhere we could but could not find him.

We decided to work our way back down to the ravine and exit the area. As we were working our way down the side of the mountain, zigzagging down the path a group of five zebra came storming down the ravine. We stood still and watched them as they ran down a game path less than 50 yards down the side the mountain, never realizing we were there. The ability and grace of Mountain Zebra to run over rock strewn paths on the side of a mountain which is that steep is utterly amazing.

We got back to the Land Cruiser, and I was questioning myself if I shouldn’t have tried to shoot the kudu and hit it several times, if needed, as it was running up the mountain side. Hindsight is always 20/20 but in this case I’m certain I’ll replay that scene in my mind for decades to come.

After lunch, while going through the plains area of the property and into what I call the hills and valleys, we were driving along and all of a sudden Henrick turns around and is staring intently behind us. I have no idea what he’s looking at but I know his skill by now when he’s seen something. We go about 800 yards past a prominent hill and he taps on the hood as he often does and says stop Charlie stop. He points out some kudo that were in bushes atop the hill we had driven around.

We all glass and look to evaluate the kudu. It’s difficult to understand how challenging it is to see Kudo when they’re in bushes and rocks. I’m staring at a young bull and several cows and can’t see what the excitement is about. Then I finally spot him. He’s off to the left a little bit, directly between two bushes. We glass some more, and the guys think he’s a good one.

I get behind Henrick with Heinrich behind me we walk away from our land cruiser which is also away from where the kudo are. We move about 100 yards in this direction and then angle off down to the right towards a little bit of a valley. Once we’re out of sight from the kudo we turn back towards them using the lip of the valley as cover. It’s an easy stalk from here moving along the side of a gentle valley through some thorn bushes and rocks. Henrick expertly brings us out of the valley about 180 yards away from the kudo. We glass them again and it’s a very mature bull. I know it’s not as big as the monster that I saw earlier in the morning, but it is a good old bull. The shooting sticks go up and I put the bullet into his heart at about 180 yards. These animals are amazingly tough as he still ran almost 50 yards before he fell over dead. It was an easy retrieval and a wonderful day. His teeth are worn down to nothing and one horn tip is broken off. I’m incredibly pleased. I now fully understand why they refer to kudo as the Gray Ghost of Africa.

We take pictures, field dress the animal, and load it into the truck. The sun is setting on a gorgeous Namibian day and we all ask, where is Spike? Charlie spots the kudu cows running across the crest of a hill over half a mile away, being chased by Spike. We whistle and call and Spike comes back looking very pleased with himself. Little guy was so tired he had to be lifted in the back of the Cruiser.

Day 8
Looking for Blue Wildebeest we find no shooters. I shoot at a couple of baboons running at significant distance with no success. I never imagined baboons would be so difficult to get close to. They became the bane of my safari as I ended up wounding one.

Day 9
On the afternoon hunt we go out looking for Blue Wildebeest. We drive and see a mature bull giraffe, which has us captivated. His size is immediately evident and has me focused on him. While I’m looking at the large giraffe Henrick sees a male Blue Wildebeest all by itself on the side of the hill almost 1.7 km away.

How he can continue to see game this far away with the naked eye is something I will never understand and will always be amazed with. He evaluates the animal through the binoculars along with Charlie and they both agree it’s an old male off by itself of significant size. We decide we’re going after it, but we must get around it and behind it as it will not allow us to walk through the valley towards it. We turn the Toyota around and drive around behind it until we’re about 2 km from where we think it is if it stays still.

Suddenly in the wide valley we’ve got dozens of oryx and zebra wandering around between us and the Blue Wildebeest we want. At this point I’m somewhat doubtful that we will be able to get there without spooking all the game and scaring him away. It is almost comical the number of game animals between us and the Blue Wildebeest we want.

This doesn’t seem to bother the guys at all and they’re highly confident we will be able to work our way through without any issues. Turns out they were correct.

We’re stalking the wildebeest through the valley and constantly see oryx moving as well as the zebra. Some of them walk by as close as 100 yards not knowing we are there since the wind is in our favor and Henrick keeps us well hidden behind thorn bushes. We see many baby zebra in this herd today.

We work our way up the side of the valley hiding behind bushes and trees as we slowly stalk following Henrick. At 230 yards we set up the sticks; I squeeze the trigger; he drops at the shot.

This is a tough animal. He still has some movement in his legs after being shot and hit that hard. We think he is going to expire but realize it’s not going to happen so when we get to within about 20 yards I put one more bullet between the shoulder blades hitting his spine again and going into his heart. What a great old animal and another amazing stalk with Henrick and Heinrich. These are the things I’ve dreamed of since I was young. We load him up and go back to camp for another amazing dinner.

Sitting in the back of the bouncing Toyota I have the feeling I’ve often had since arriving. I’m filled with the joy of living and deep gratitude for being able to absorb the beauty that God has given us. Phillip, Henrick, Heinrich and Charlie have made this experience an amazing event. I encourage anyone who enjoys hunting, and or has ever dreamed of going on a safari, to contact them. You will be very pleased you did.
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Fantastic report Karl—it was great to meet you and share in your successes! Hope to get my report up sometime next week. You are so right about the crew at Khomas, a first class operation.
 
Fantastic report Karl—it was great to meet you and share in your successes! Hope to get my report up sometime next week. You are so right about the crew at Khomas, a first class operation.
Looking forward to your report Michael. I enjoyed meeting you and spending some time together.
 

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Impact shots from the last hunt

Early morning Impala hunt, previous link was wrong video

Headshot on jackal this morning

Mature Eland Bull taken in Tanzania, at 100 yards, with 375 H&H, 300gr, Federal Premium Expanding bullet.

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