NAMIBIA: KHOMAS HIGHLAND HUNTING SAFARIS - Here We Come!

Day -0
@KHOMAS HIGHLAND HUNTING SAFARIS

Me, wife and her BFF having some lunch and cocktails in Seatac before boarding our flight on Qatar this afternoon.

Layover for a few hours in Doha tomorrow and then on to Windhoek

Looking forward to meeting @dchum and his group in camp.

This is our first trip to Namibia and has been a long time coming. It’s been in the works since 2018…..

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Nice scenery there! Y'all have fun.
 
Khomas Highlands day 7- Fri 5/26 all day

Juan and I spent all day shark fishing with Alec of Namibia Beach Angling off the beach north of Swakopmund.
The surf was really high and rough (big waves) not good shark fishing weather….
We started out using the meat from white mussels. I caught several (2 double hook ups and a few more) saltwater catfish that we then used as bait for shark fishing.
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The catfish front three fins are super poisonous. Like go directly to the hospital poisonous…
Alec was a master at cutting them so a trip to the hospital was not necessary….
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The ladies bailed out and went shopping and drinking around Swakopmund on their own…

Alec cooked a fantastic beach lunch on the Braii.
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We did not catch any sharks….
But any day fishing on the beach is better than the best day at work!!!

Then we finished the day with dinner at the Ocean Breeze restaurant just off the beach in downtown Swakopmund. I had the seafood samplers tray. It was really good.
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And the ladies played in the park on the way back to the car
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All of todays fishing and meals were organized by Phillip in advance several days ago….Except for the ladies drinking around town and playing in the park after dinner, of course…

Tomorrow we are going to do some shopping in the morning then heading back to the Khomas Highlands for the weekend…
 
In 2021 I took my wife over for our 40th anniversary, had new Rings made took her to the highest peak there and proposed. A sure fire way to get another trip. Really she loved it there, she had her camera she could sit on the back porch and photograph the animals coming into the water hole. She rode horseback and got some really good photos. She had planned going back this last trip but work would not allow her to make the trip. Planning on going back next year and she plans on going with me. The Desert and the coast are stunning if you go you should make the trip to see them.

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Khomas Highlands Day 8- Sat 5/27

Today was shopping in Swakup and and travel back to Khomas.

We started out the morning at 0800 with breakfast at the restaurant in the Beach Hotel.
Then we hit all the curio shops in Swakopmund, making the ladies very happy.
We had lunch at the Farmhouse Deli adjacent to the Stand Hotel just off the Swakup swimming beach. I took a couple pics of the swimming beach even though it was an overcast day.
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After lunch we stopped by the Swakopmund Brewing Co. with the obligatory selfie at the bar beer sampler of course…
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We had a nice relaxing 4 hr drive back to Khomas.
A few giraffe along the road and a dead zebra covered with Vultures both made good pic opportunities…..
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We made it back to the Heusis River Lodge in time to freshen up and have a drink before dinner.
Dinner was Res Hartebeest from the one I hunted a few days ago.
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Khomas Highlands Day 8- Sat 5/27

Today was shopping in Swakup and and travel back to Khomas.

We started out the morning at 0800 with breakfast at the restaurant in the Beach Hotel.
Then we hit all the curio shops in Swakopmund, making the ladies very happy.
We had lunch at the Farmhouse Deli adjacent to the Stand Hotel just off the Swakup swimming beach. I took a couple pics of the swimming beach even though it was an overcast day.
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After lunch we stopped by the Swakopmund Brewing Co. with the obligatory selfie at the bar beer sampler of course…
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We had a nice relaxing 4 hr drive back to Khomas.
A few giraffe along the road and a dead zebra covered with Vultures both made good pic opportunities…..
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We made it back to the Heusis River Lodge in time to freshen up and have a drink before dinner.
Dinner was Res Hartebeest from the one I hunted a few days ago.
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Juan is a great tour guide as well as a "smell like leather bwana". :)
 
Khomas Highlands Day 9- Sun 5/28
morning hunt

We left Khomas after breakfast this morning. Issak driving, shorty spotting and girls and I in the back.
We are headed to a neighbors ranch looking for warthog. We worked our way across the Khomas ranch for about 45 minutes until we arrived at this ranch on the top of the mountains. We picked up another spotter from the ranch and headed out working our way up the mountains. I checked my GPS app and we were above 6500ft elevation.
I have nicknamed this area “Hog Heaven Hills”
We saw a few Kudu, a nice group of zebra and several groups of warthogs. Several female with babies and one group with a big male. Issak and I put a stalk on him but the wind was wrong and they blew out before we were even close.
We spotted a lot of warthogs until finally we found an old male out all by him self. Issak said “that’s a very old male” so off we went. The wind was right and we were able to stalk up to about 150 yards. Issak put up the sticks. The warthog was looking for a place to bed for the day under the brush and I was trying to three the needle through the grass and branches. Funnily I could see his shoulder and squeezed. He was feet up instantly.
It’s turned out to be a really old male, teeth all worn down, and likely no longer breeding. The perfect trophy for me….
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We dropped the extra spotter and made our way back to Khomas just in time for lunch.
Oryx burgers, salad, fried potatoes and a beer and I am ready for the afternoon siesta

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Issak is amazing if you have ever followed him thru the brush you know. This is a place you can return to and it only gets better. I have made 4 trips there and am planning another. The food is amazing , we all put on weight while there. If you do not feel at home while you are there , it's your fault.
 
Khomas Highlands Day 9- Sun 5/28
Afternoon Hunt

After lunch and a nice siesta…Phillip let me use his Miroku O/U and we went looking for some geese and Guinea.
We chased Egyptian Geese around all the water holes / lakes…. Lots of fun and some shooting . I couldn’t hit shit… but we had a good time.And it gave the girls some good laughs…
On the way back to the lodge I redeemed myself a little and shot a double flushing Guinea.
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Dinner was both warthog and springbok with a lemon cheese cake for dessert

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Tomarrow morning we leave for Okombara “Elephant Camp” for a couple days
 
Khomas Highlands Day 9- Sun 5/28
Afternoon Hunt

After lunch and a nice siesta…Phillip let me use his Miroku O/U and we went looking for some geese and Guinea.
We chased Egyptian Geese around all the water holes / lakes…. Lots of fun and some shooting . I couldn’t hit shit… but we had a good time.And it gave the girls some good laughs…
On the way back to the lodge I redeemed myself a little and shot a double flushing Guinea.
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Dinner was both warthog and springbok with a lemon cheese cake for dessert

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Tomarrow morning we leave for Okombara “Elephant Camp” for a couple days
Okombara is beautiful a lot to see and plenty of game. Hope Ernie is still there.
 
KhomasHighland Safaris Day10- Mon 5/29
All Day

This morning after breakfast we loaded up the whole works in the bakkie and headed north to Okambara Elephant Camp. Juan driving, Issak and Shorty in the back and the ladies and I along for the ride.

We stopped at the mall in Windhoek and at Taxidermy to do some shopping. Because apparently we didn’t get enough shopping in Swakop (sarcasm)

We arrived in time for the cat feedings. They have some rescue Caracals and Cheetah that they feed by hand every afternoon. The ladies really enjoyed it.

Took an afternoon drive through the ranch and saw the elephants, white rhinos, giraffe, impala, ostrich, oryx, and waterbuck.
Very different landscape up here on the edge of the Kalahari.

This lodge is really really nice. It is definitely not a hunting lodge. They cater almost exclusively to photo safaris and have a very active Leopard restoration program in addition to the elephants and Rinos.
But, they need the revenue and meat from hunting to support all the programs.. So it’s all about hunting and conservation working together. I like it.
I have tried to upload some pics but having trouble getting them load.

Tomarrow the plan is Impala, and Oryk hunting and whtever is is good .
 
I finaly was able to upload of few of yesterdays 5/29 pics

Loaded up the bakkie headed to Okambara
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The Okambara Lodge
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Feeding the Caracal”s
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Spotting Rino and Elephant
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Our Chalet at Okambara
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Inside the lodge
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Khomas Highlands Day 11- Tues 5/30
All Day

We headed out hunting this morning right after breakfast.
Looking for Impala. We found several nice groups but no shooter bucks. We put a long stalk on one group with a nice male but got busted by some Kudu females.
Saw several small groups of Kudu, Zebra, and some black wildebeest.
We came across a small group of elephants and they stuck around for some good photo ops for the ladies.
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Lunch was really good Wildebeest schnitzel
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We chased impala all afternoon. I missed a frontal shot at about 300 in the heavy brush that would have been the my personal best shot of the year if it had been successful.
Multiple stalks and we finally connected just as the sun was about to set.
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Another great day in the books at a very special place in Namibia.
 
Khomas Highland Safaris- Wed 5/12
All Day

We had breakfast this morning at Okambara. Then loaded up and headed back to Khomas. A stop at Taxidermy shop on the way and we weee to back to the Housis River Lodge before lunch.
Lunch was was great Wildebeest pizza
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After a siesta and afternoon siesta we took off with the shotgun looking for an Egyptian Goose.
Lots of fun, a teal, an Egyptian Goose, and sundowners by the lake.
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Dinner was Red Hartebeest from the one I hunted last week
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And our adventure is coming to and end. Tomarrow we head to the airport for the journey home.
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We have made it to Doha.

Juan took us to the airport this morning after breakfast. 1:15 pm flight out of WDH.
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We cruised right through Qatar check in, customs and security with lots of time for a couple drinks on the other side.
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Flight from WDH left right on time and we arrive in Doha about 10 minutes early. Now for our 9 hr layover before connecting to Seattle in the morning..
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We have made it to Doha.

Juan took us to the airport this morning after breakfast. 1:15 pm flight out of WDH.
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We cruised right through Qatar check in, customs and security with lots of time for a couple drinks on the other side.
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Flight from WDH left right on time and we arrive in Doha about 10 minutes early. Now for our 9 hr layover before connecting to Seattle in the morning..
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When do you leave for your second safari?? :)
 
last week when Issak and I were stalking red hartebeest we came across a skull and horns.
I mentioned it to Sara and she immediately decided that she wanted them as a trophy. So yesterday her and Issak went back and picked it up.
She is pretty happy to have her own hartebeest trophy from Namibia without having to kill it!
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We made it home…. 30+ hrs flying and layovers it was nice to sleep in our bed again.

I will put together a final conclusion post this evening
 
IN CONCLUSION-

Here are my thoughts about the trip as a whole. What went well, and what I will change next time...

Travel-
Qatar Airlines was great. This was our first time on this airline. We used them primarily because they are "One World Alliance" partners with Alaska Airlines and we were able to purchase tickets using the Alaska Airlines Milage rewards programs. We flew coach and the seats, food and drinks were all adequate. The flights were all on time and even a little early. We had long (several hrs) layovers in Doha going both directions.
The Doha airport is very nice, modern, and easy to get around. It is BIG, but I think it's its easier to transition through than many of the large US airports. Signage is all in English and easy to follow. Lots of places to eat, drink and shop. Next time we will defiantly be getting a hotel room, a sleeping pod if we have more than about a 6 hr layover.
The Seattle airport was hot mess coming back into the US. Everyone trying to get their luggage off several flights at the same time and get through customs. Sara got selected for extra agricultural screening. Not sure why, but probably just random.
It took us 2.5 hrs to get luggage, clear customs and get back to the Alaska Airlines desk to check in for our domestic flight. Then it took almost another hour to get back through the security line again and get to the gate for our domestic flight.
Next time we will have Global Entry with TSA Pre-Check and the CBP Mobile Passport Control App completed in advance....I highly recommend this for anyone that hates US customs and security lines as much as I do.

Gear-
My Pelican 1615travl case luggage was great. It's big enough that I had lots of room for curios on the way home. It's also sealed up and sturdy enough that I didn't have to worry about any of the contents getting dirty or broken. It came through the airline luggage handlers and rode in the bakkie with no problems. We picked up a couple days ladies that needed a ride to another lodge and one of them was sitting on it.... All good. I wish it had 4 wheels and the pull handle was a little more user friendly, but regardless it is going to be my safari luggage from here on.....
I wore Carhartt comfort fit double front green pants and a pair of Columbia cargo pants with the zip off legs. They both SUCKED in the thorns.... I wore the Columbia's one day and then switched to the Carhartt for the rest of the trip. The Carhartts were much better, but they still got lots of tear marks. At least the double fronts stopped the thorns from getting to my legs....
Next time I am wearing Columbia's or something similar for travel days, and I am going to get some hunting pants that shed thorns better.....
My hunting shirts were Tag safari and Ariat. They both worked well.
I was able to fit all the extras that I needed daily for hunting in the pockets of my Sitka Jacket. I had my 5.11 Rush 72 backpack but never took it on the bakkie. It was was great for travel and easily fits everything I needed for a change of clothes and fit well in the over head bins while traveling. I also packed all my cloths in it for for the days we went to Swakupmund and Okambara and was able to leave my Pelican case at the Khomas lodge.
I wore my Sitka jacket every morning and every evening on the bakkie. I filled the pockets with my light gloves, neck gaiter, spare ammo and that was all that I needed. I took the jacket off and left it in the bakkie when stalking and Ii would not have held up well in the thorns. I am glad I didn't need it for stalking....
I took a Kuiu neck gaiter and it was awesome in the bakkie and for stalking on the cold morning. This is one item I won't go without....
I wore Merrel Moab boots with the 8" uppers and smart wool mid weight socks. They were great and super comfortable. I wore them for travel and hunting and had no problems. I took a pair of Crocks but only wore them one or two nights around the fire....
Hats... I like Rouge hats. I wore my Rouge Packaway everyday while hunting. I really like that hat. It fits my head well, dosent t blow off while on the bakkie and packs well without bending. I bought two more Rouge hats at the Curio shop at Taxidermy in Windhoek. One is kudu leather with a crock band, and a second with cow hide leather and half mesh top.....I also took a Filson ball cap for travel.
I had my VonGuff AH EDC Knife and it worked well. Not much knife work to do of course, but when we needed to dispatch my Impala behind the skull it worked perfect...

I took a 2-post Namibia to USB electrical adapter and 2 2000mhr usb battery chargers to charge on the go to keep the cell phones charged. The Khomas lodge is using the 2 post style outlets. Other places in Swakup and Okambara also the 3 post outlets (like SA) but we were able keep everything charged with the 2 post adapter and the batteries.
For camera's all three of us used used our cell phones. Mine is a I13 Pro and all the pics have turned out great. A couple of times it would have been nice to have a good telephoto, but I didn't miss it that much.
I have the AT&T International plan on my cell phone. I was able to call and basic text from Windhoek but no Internet.
The wifi at the lodge works great, as did the the Internet at the other places we stayed. Internet also worked well in Doha. I was able to update my AH report every day and usually twice a day.

I took a Garmin inreach mini for emergency texting, with the $25 a month plan, but I didn't need it. I travel in remote AK for work so I had the plan already.....

My Bino's were Nikon Prostaff 10x42 with a cabala's bio harness. The Bino's worked well because I was not making decisions about which animal to shoot.
Issak would say "third one from the left" so all I had to do was find the third one from the left.... Next time I am going to take a bino harness with a case. I got tired of cleaning the dust off my bino's all the time...

Shopping for curios was interesting and the ladies and I did lots of it. The shops in Swakup are really nice and there are is everything available from T-shirts to high end jewelry and art. We hit them all...
I think that the the curios shop at Taxidermy in Windhoek was just as good with the same availability and maybe even lower prices.
The last day we stopped at Taxidermy the fellow that makes wood sculptures was there with all of his items laid out for the shop manager to inspect for purchasing. The shop manager was sorting though the items individually for purchase into their inventory. I thought it was a cool process...They also have a full bar in the curio shop :giggle:....even cooler...

.Normal day at the Heusis River Lodge goes likes this-

-The kitchen ladies show up at 0600, make a fire in the inside fireplace, make hot coffee and hot water for tea.
-Breakfast is informal seating by 0700-07:15. Always cereal, granola, yogurt, milk, fruit, bread and a toaster available on the buffet.. The ladies will make eggs and bacon as requested.
-Out the door hunting by 0730-0800.
-12:00-13:00 Back to the lodge for lunch, full bar, and siesta until 1500.
-15:00-15:30 Afternoon tea / coffee with cake/cookies/rusks and out the door hunting by 15:30-1600
-Sundown, back to the lodge for biltong, cheese, crackers, full bar and clean up.
-19:30-20:00 Dinner with fresh baked bread, select wild game, salads, potatoes, dessert, and of course a full bar. All the food was amazing....
-After dinner sitting on the back patio with the fire pit. Watching giraffes, birds and other critters and talking about the days hunting, and update AH report....
-Or move to the front room for some competitive snooker....
-All with full bar......

Laundry and room cleaning were all great.... The mattress in our room was probably the best mattress that I have ever had in lodge room....

Phillip and his crew run a very professional and laid back operation. They really have got it figured out and are working hard to make folks happy. Everything is taken care of....
If you want a beer or drink and there is no one there do make it for you, go behind the bar and self serve. It's all good...

Phillip runs the hunting side of the ranch and his brother runs the cattle side....

The hunting is really free range.... There where NO HIGH FENCES AROUND ANY OF THE HUNTING AREAS...ONLY CATTLE FENCE.
The only high fence is around the lodge where there is no hunting, with Giraffes, Sable, Lechwe ect...

We hunted on some parts of the Khomas property that I believe have not been hunted since the last rain (no vehicle tracks) which was at least a couple weeks or more.
The animals are all free range, self sustaining, and migrating populations. There is no supplemental feeding at all, even for the cattle.....
They are introducing new genetics and new species (sable, lechwe ect...) into the populations but everything in the hunting areas comes and goes as it wants. Except the cattle of course....

There is a saying when hunting free range Africa that "you never know what's around the next corner" and I believe this is very true in the Khomas Highlands.

The staff is excellent and all are very professional.
Issak the head PH and his wife Martha who runs the kitchen and cleaning staff, have been with Khomas for 33+ years.
IMO (and I am union labor guy) this is truly a family run business that takes care of the people that take care of them and work hard to turn out a product that makes everyone happy....

I am already talking to Philip about organizing another visit in a couple years and we will be seeing more of Namibia and it's neighbors......
 

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