NAMIBIA: KHOMAS HIGHLAND HUNTING SAFARIS - Philip Hennings

[bcoving]

@KHOMAS HIGHLAND HUNTING SAFARIS – OVERVIEW

MAY 9TH–17TH, 2025

OUTFITTER: PHILLIP HENNINGS

I want to start by saying this: Phillip Hennings is as honest and straightforward as they come. There’s no sugar-coating, no sales pitch—just the real deal. When you hunt with Phillip at Khomas Highland Hunting Safaris, you’re getting access to an incredible amount of diverse land and some of the highest-quality animals out there.

I hunted May 9th through the 17th and was blown away by the variety of terrain and the sheer scope of land Phillip has access to. This is true hunting—fair chase, glassing from ridgelines, and putting in real effort to earn each opportunity. It reminded me a lot of hunting the western U.S. on premium public land units. There aren’t 50 animals standing around every corner, and you don’t drive around picking which one to shoot. You hunt.

While I personally don’t care about scores, my hunting partner George is a certified SCI scorer. Between the two of us, we took 6 gold medal animals, 6 silver, and 4 bronze. I never scored my impala or kudu—honestly, I didn’t care if they would even qualify for bronze. I took the kudu because of his incredible width and the impala because he was an old, mature ram. Both meant something to me, and that’s what matters most.

THE LAND & HUNTING STYLE

Phillip’s areas range from flat bushveld to rolling hills and then into serious mountain terrain. If you want to see what a Land Cruiser is truly capable of—and get into some real-deal mountain hunting—ask to hunt your zebra on “John the Butcher’s” rocky mountains. It’s absolutely insane terrain and makes for a hunt you’ll never forget.

This isn’t a canned experience or a glorified shooting gallery. You’ll glass hard, walk into high points, and make strategic stalks. If you can shoot and enjoy the process of hunting—this is your place. The trophies will come, but you’ll earn them.

MY CREW

My PH was Adab, driver was Santos, and tracker was Mentos—and they were nothing short of dialed in. All three of them glassed non-stop and were an absolute joy to be around. Every time we needed to hike to a new glassing point, we were on it. They worked hard, had a great sense of humor, and made the hunt even more enjoyable. When I come back, I’ll be requesting the same crew without question.

PEOPLE AT CAMP

I also want to take a moment to mention two people who help Phillip and were living at the camp during my stay—Lynda and Rick. They were an absolute joy to be around. The couple has been married for over 40 years and has traveled all over the world. I spent countless evenings enjoying conversation with them—hearing about their experiences, stories from their adventures, and sharing a few laughs around the fire. People like them add a whole other layer to the trip, and I’m grateful our paths crossed.

PACKAGE & CUSTOMIZATION

I went with the Top Ten package, but I made a few swaps. I traded the steenbok for an impala and the warthog for a blesbuck, paying the difference. The flexibility in customizing the hunt was appreciated and made the experience even more tailored to what I wanted.

FINAL THOUGHTS

At the time of writing this, I’m still at Phillip’s place. My hunting is finished, but I have three days left here. I’ll be updating each of my hunting days with full write-ups soon. The trophy photos and stories of how each animal was taken will be posted as I get time to write them. Stay tuned—there’s more to come.

 

[Mekaniks]

Congratulations and thank you for sharing.
Phillip, his hunting areas, and all of the Khomas crew are indeed all 1st rate

 

[JINKLE]

What a hunt! Looking forward to flying that way tomorrow and meeting y'all out there.

 

[549]

Looking forward to the report. I've decided on Namibia for my first safari and Khomas Highland is on the short list.

 

[bcoving]

Thanks. I’ll try to post day 1 tomorrow time permitting.

 

[franzfmdavis]

KHOMAS HIGHLAND HUNTING SAFARIS – OVERVIEW

MAY 9TH–17TH, 2025

OUTFITTER: PHILLIP HENNINGS

I want to start by saying this: Phillip Hennings is as honest and straightforward as they come. There’s no sugar-coating, no sales pitch—just the real deal. When you hunt with Phillip at Khomas Highland Hunting Safaris, you’re getting access to an incredible amount of diverse land and some of the highest-quality animals out there.

I hunted May 9th through the 17th and was blown away by the variety of terrain and the sheer scope of land Phillip has access to. This is true hunting—fair chase, glassing from ridgelines, and putting in real effort to earn each opportunity. It reminded me a lot of hunting the western U.S. on premium public land units. There aren’t 50 animals standing around every corner, and you don’t drive around picking which one to shoot. You hunt.

While I personally don’t care about scores, my hunting partner George is a certified SCI scorer. Between the two of us, we took 6 gold medal animals, 6 silver, and 4 bronze. I never scored my impala or kudu—honestly, I didn’t care if they would even qualify for bronze. I took the kudu because of his incredible width and the impala because he was an old, mature ram. Both meant something to me, and that’s what matters most.

THE LAND & HUNTING STYLE

Phillip’s areas range from flat bushveld to rolling hills and then into serious mountain terrain. If you want to see what a Land Cruiser is truly capable of—and get into some real-deal mountain hunting—ask to hunt your zebra on “John the Butcher’s” rocky mountains. It’s absolutely insane terrain and makes for a hunt you’ll never forget.

This isn’t a canned experience or a glorified shooting gallery. You’ll glass hard, walk into high points, and make strategic stalks. If you can shoot and enjoy the process of hunting—this is your place. The trophies will come, but you’ll earn them.

MY CREW

My PH was Adab, driver was Santos, and tracker was Mentos—and they were nothing short of dialed in. All three of them glassed non-stop and were an absolute joy to be around. Every time we needed to hike to a new glassing point, we were on it. They worked hard, had a great sense of humor, and made the hunt even more enjoyable. When I come back, I’ll be requesting the same crew without question.

PEOPLE AT CAMP

I also want to take a moment to mention two people who help Phillip and were living at the camp during my stay—Lynda and Rick. They were an absolute joy to be around. The couple has been married for over 40 years and has traveled all over the world. I spent countless evenings enjoying conversation with them—hearing about their experiences, stories from their adventures, and sharing a few laughs around the fire. People like them add a whole other layer to the trip, and I’m grateful our paths crossed.

PACKAGE & CUSTOMIZATION

I went with the Top Ten package, but I made a few swaps. I traded the steenbok for an impala and the warthog for a blesbuck, paying the difference. The flexibility in customizing the hunt was appreciated and made the experience even more tailored to what I wanted.

FINAL THOUGHTS

At the time of writing this, I’m still at Phillip’s place. My hunting is finished, but I have three days left here. I’ll be updating each of my hunting days with full write-ups soon. The trophy photos and stories of how each animal was taken will be posted as I get time to write them. Stay tuned—there’s more to come.

Not sure if I missed this, but what country are you in?

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Not sure if I missed this, but what country are you in?

It’s in Namibia

 

[Mountaineer]

Congratulations!

 

[Pablo]

Looking forward to reading your report!

 

[Frederik]

Looking forward to the rest of the report.

 

[bcoving]

DAY 1 – GETTING STARTED

The first day of hunting kicked off with clear skies and perfect weather—50 degrees in the morning climbing to about 80 by the afternoon. Word of advice: wear sunscreen. You’ll need it.

We started in the lowlands with plans to target plains game like springbuck, blue and black wildebeest, red hartebeest, and impala. The plan was to move into the higher country later in the day for oryx, zebra, and kudu.

Our first hunt was on Phillip’s dad’s property—part of the Khomas Highland Conservancy. Early on, we spotted a group of about eight red hartebeest, but there were no big bulls, and they didn’t hang around long. A lone springbuck bull came next, but he wasn’t quite what we were looking for. Not long after, we glassed a group of around nine blue wildebeest, but again, no mature bulls worth taking.

As the morning went on, we moved into the mountains. That’s when we really started seeing oryx—probably around 50 total throughout the day. Some were too far off, others gave us the slip before we had time to judge them. At one point, we also saw a 50-inch kudu, but I decided to pass on him.

Around 12:30, we dropped back down into the flats and spotted a group of about 20 springbuck across a pond behind a levee—perfect for a sneak. We slipped in close and glassed them, but once again, nothing big enough to shoot. That became a theme: we’d stalk springbuck, get busted, or glass over the group only to find none were shooters. At one point, we joked it was “springbuck 8, Americans 0.”

We took a break and had lunch in the shade by the levee. Afterward, we got back to hunting. Not long after, we spotted another group of springbuck and began a stalk—but mid-stalk, we bumped into a group of impala. Among them was a mature ram. We eased in to 220 yards. Adab set up the tripod, Mentos gave me the range, and I settled in. The shot was true. Just like that, I had my first African animal on the ground.

We snapped some photos, loaded him up, and got back to it. After a few more failed springbuck stalks, we crested a hill and spotted three nice blue wildebeest bulls at 340 yards. Adab told me to climb up on top of the Land Cruiser where he was already set up. I got into position, deployed my bipod, and took the shot. It rang true. The bull ran about 50 yards before going down.

Two solid animals on the first day and plenty of action along the way. Hard to ask for a better start.

 

[bcoving]

DAY 2 – STACKING TROPHIES
Khomas Highland Conservancy
Same weather
Same strategy

The African hunting gods blessed me today.

We started Day 2 with the same objective as Day 1—hunt Phillip and his brother’s family property. I still hadn’t laid eyes on a black wildebeest, and that was priority number one. We began in the lowlands of the conservancy, and not far into the drive, we entered an open area that looked like an African version of a meadow.

It was still early—around 7:45 AM—when Santos, our driver, said we’d take a right off the road and drive down into a bottom where black wildebeest sometimes hang out. Sure enough, we spotted a group of 8–10 black wildebeest about 360 yards away.

I was still in the passenger seat while Santos, Mentos, and Adab started glassing the herd to find a mature bull. After about 10 minutes, Adab told me to get on top of the truck. Just like with the blue wildebeest the day before, I climbed up, dropped my bipod, got my rear bag into position, and waited for the shot. Mentos called out the range—360 yards. They confirmed I was on the right bull. He needed to step forward, and when he did, I made the shot.
He dropped on the spot.

As someone new to African hunting, I was surprised by how much smaller black wildebeest are compared to blues. It’s the kind of thing you can’t fully understand just from watching videos—you need to see it for yourself. We took some pictures, loaded him up, and headed to the old home place butcher. I got to meet Phillip’s brother Jan while we were there—he was a pleasure to talk to.

We weren’t done.

After dropping off the black wildebeest, we went back to hunting. Midday, we spotted a large herd of red hartebeest in a low area thick with brush and cover—perfect conditions for a stalk. We used the terrain to get within 320 yards, and I got set up on the tripod. The herd was mostly stationary at first, but then started moving from left to right. At a glance, it looked like all cows—just tons of them.

Then I heard Adab and Mentos talking excitedly, and they quickly told me, “Giant bull, last one—do you see him?” I found him and Mentos confirmed the range again. I took the shot—solid hit. They told me to shoot again, but before I could cycle another round, the bull went down.

We were pumped. We made our way to him and it was clear he was a fantastic specimen. I felt fortunate to take such a nice bull. We took photos, loaded him up, and kept hunting.

Later that afternoon, we found another herd of springbuck. This time most of them were bedded, and we had a perfect wind. We used the brush to move in low and closed the gap to 280 yards. Once in position, we glassed for a while trying to sort through the bucks. They found a mature one bedded and pointed him out. I had a clear view of his front shoulder and told them I could take the shot. I did—and it was perfect. He didn’t move an inch. It was another very nice animal, and at this point, I was honestly in disbelief. Two days into the hunt, and I’d already taken five of the ten animals I came for. This was unreal.

It was around 4:00 PM by the time we were done with photos and celebrating. Adab said we’d drop off the red hartebeest and the springbuck at the same place we’d left the black wildebeest and then head to camp. But when we came out of Phillip’s family place, Santos turned left instead of right. I asked him, “What are we doing?”
He said, “We have enough time. We’re going to check out a place across the road that sometimes has nice kudu.”

We pulled into a spot not far from the main road—a place I hadn’t hunted yet. We’d only been there about 30 minutes when Adab tapped the truck and everyone started glassing. After a quick conversation in their language, Santos told me, “Get out—we see a nice kudu.” I thought to myself, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” They said they hadn’t seen his horns clearly, only his body, but it looked like a big mature bull. We worked our way down the road, crossed a bottom, and then started easing up the rise until we could see him. He was behind a tree, up the mountain at 420 yards. I set up on the tripod. The angle was steep, so I dialed a couple tenths under my normal dope. I had a small window between two trees and just waited.
After five minutes, he stepped into the opening. He was wide—really wide. They told me he was a mature bull and to take him. I squeezed the trigger and dropped him right there. We hustled up the mountain. When we reached him, he was still alive but couldn’t move much. Adab guided me in close and pointed out exactly where to put a finishing shot. At just 7 yards, I made one more shot and the bull was down for good. I sat there in disbelief. Four trophies in one day—stacked in less than 12 hours. I looked at the team and asked, “Is this normal?” Santos laughed and said, “No.” We took pictures and Adab called the skinners to recover the kudu. We made our way off the mountain and headed back to camp with huge smiles on our faces.

Day 2 was one I’ll never forget.