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.

 

[bcoving]

DAY THREE
Same weather
Hunted at high fence AUB Farm for Blesbok
Then Rocky Mountains on John the Butcher’s place for Zebra and Trophy Baboon

Morning started at the Khomas Safari Lodge where we are staying, inside the high fence on the AUB Farm. This was the only high-fenced area I hunted, and it was because I traded a warthog for a blesbok. They’re only in Phillip’s high-fenced area around his lodge. As y’all know, he has two lodges.

I can say the blesbok are spooky. It didn’t take us long to spot a herd—but of course, they spotted us too and took off. Adab was telling Santos and Mentos where he thought they would go, and off we went. We were in fairly thick cover, going down a rise and planning to come up another one when they spotted the blesbok held up in cover on the other side we were about to crest.

They were 340 yards away. We all sat down, spotting them sporadically, but I couldn’t stand and shoot due to the terrain. Eventually, they found a good buck or bull—I’m sure my terminology’s off, but bear with me, I’m a rookie. I found an opening between two trees where I could set up my tripod and shoot while sitting. I could see the buck just well enough to take the shot. It was a little sketchy with a few limbs between me and the animal, but I felt confident it would work. And it did.

Santos confirmed the range again. I dialed my scope, adjusted parallax, and made the shot. Down he went. While not the biggest animal, that blesbok was every bit as skittish as a red hartebeest—Santos had even told me they behave similarly before the hunt.

We took it back to the skinners, had a nice lunch, and headed out to the Rocky Mountains. If you ever hunt with Phillip, I don’t care if you’re not after a zebra—you should take at least one day and go to the Rocky Mountains. It’s a mix between a mountain photography trip, a 4x4 rock-crawling experience, and a hunt.

You’ll see some oryx occasionally, zebras, baboons, and I saw three giraffes deep in there (that story is still to come). It’s where I later shot my zebra, but on this particular day we only saw six. I was setting up for a 620-yard shot when they crested the mountain and disappeared. This is a treacherous place. Roads aren’t everywhere, and the shots are far. These were the first zebra I had seen.

Funny enough, after I finally killed my zebra here later in the hunt, I began seeing them everywhere—at Casanova, behind the AUB Farm, and on more of John the Butcher’s land. But I’ll stick to today’s events.

After the zebra gave us the slip, we continued on the Land Cruiser rock-crawling expedition. I’m not saying we did anything crazy dangerous, but if the brakes ever failed on that Cruiser, we’d all be dead.

A trophy baboon was also on my list. Eventually, we crossed paths with some. As always, they bolted up the mountainside. There was one clear trophy in the group. At the top, around 280–300 yards out, there was a large rounded rock. Santos asked, “Do you see that big rock at the top?” I said, “Yes.”

“There are two baboons on it. A female is in front of the one you’re after. When she clears, shoot.”

I was set up on the hood of the truck, using a bipod and rear bag. Not long after, the female walked off the rock and I quickly shot the male. Down he went.

We took some cool pictures, glassed for zebra on the way out (didn’t see any more), and headed back to camp.

I will say, I didn’t realize how steep the angles of some of these shots would be. From George’s experience on a previous trip, we thought most of the shots would be 150–250 yards, so I didn’t bring any of my long-range shooting gear—no rangefinder, no Garmin Kestrel, not even my Sig Kilo 3000 binos.

I was just using ballistic tape on my turret dialed for 5,000 ft elevation as a shortcut. Not exactly how I would operate out west, especially with angled shots. Don’t get me wrong—I only took two shots over 500 yards the whole trip, so we’re not talking extreme range. But the angles made things tricky since their rangefinders didn’t provide angle correction, and I had nothing to calculate it with.

When I come back, I’ll definitely bring my Sig Kilo binos and give them to Santos so he can call out MILs to me directly. Since the shots weren’t very far, I was just taking a couple tenths off if it was a steep angle. Most of the animals are big enough and close enough that it worked just fine. Just wanted to pass that info along in case it helps somebody else planning a hunt out here.

 

[1dirthawker]

@bcoving,

great write up so far. the venerable velo dog and myself were hunting with phillip last april/may of 2024. i also had Adab as my ph. he was a lot of fun to hunt with and a fount of knowledge of the area. an added bonus, he ALWAYS wore a smile. congrats on some great animals. say hi to rick and linda for me as well, and of course phillip.

don

 

[bcoving]

I definitely will. Next time I come, I’ll be requesting Adab, Santos, and Mentos. They worked hard, and we laughed and had a great time the entire trip. I told Phillip that those three make an incredible team. They were constantly glassing, and Santos—our driver—has absolutely unbelievable vision.

 

[bcoving]

DAY FOUR
Same weather

This morning, we hunted another one of Butcher John’s properties located close to camp, looking for zebra and oryx. At this point, those were the only two animals I had left to hunt.

We didn’t see any zebra and only spotted a handful of oryx, along with a few other animals. That evening, we moved to the high ground along the edge of Casanova, glassing for the same two species. A few giant oryx had been seen in this area by other hunters who weren’t even after oryx, so hopes were high.

We didn’t see any zebra, but we did lay eyes on 20–30 oryx. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get close enough to make a move on them. At this point in the trip, I had seen a good number of oryx and felt confident I still had plenty of time left to get one.

But when it came to zebra, it was a different story—I had only seen six zebra total in four full days of hunting. I was starting to think zebra might be the hardest animal to kill on this entire safari.

That said, I was still an inexperienced African hunter and didn’t yet fully understand the pattern of zebra. I would come to learn that they stay deep in the mountains, and the mountains are unpredictable. You never know whether you’ll see a bunch or none at all. Some days it’s just luck and timing.