OCTOBER 7, 2021:
On the morning of October 7, we drove back up to the highlands and arrived “home” at the Khomas Safaris main lodge.
My wife, Kelley, and myself ended up riding horses, instead of our original plan to hunt grouse (francoln) and guinea fowl.
It was her vacation too and that is what she wanted to do on that particular day.
And so we did.
That evening of course, we enjoyed yet another wonderful supper.
After visiting with Philip (the owner of Khomas Safaris), his beautiful wife (Leoni), along with good old Ralf plus, a couple other Khomas employees and Philip’s aunt, there around the evening fire, then everyone went their separate ways to their respective accommodations.
OCTOBER 8, 2921:
After a good night’s sleep, Kelley and me woke up around 6:30 AM and wandered over to the dining room for coffee.
Also, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of eggs, bacon, plus thin sliced cold meats, tomato slices, orange juice, toast, butter and jam.
Then, Ralf suggested that we bring the Brno .375 and go bashing about the bush, hoping to get one or two “biltong animals” for the larder.
I agreed and Ralf fetched the .375 out to our vehicle.
Kelley decided to stay there at the lodge and sort our things, in preparation for the flight home.
Ralf, me and an intern employee, from Denmark, by the name of Simon, set out driving slowly through the hills.
Sometime around 7:30 or 7:45 AM, we spotted 8 or 10 red hartebeest and a half dozen blue wildebeest, perhaps a half kilometer away.
So we left Simon with the vehicle and a two way radio.
Ralf and myself began our stalk.
Right away, the wildebeest bolted.
They didn’t look like they had any intentions of stopping until perhaps they reached Angola to the north.
And, it seemed that almost every time we saw the hartebeests, we were looking at their rear ends as they disappeared over the next ridge.
At one stage, we found them, while they were actually standing still, down in the bottom of a sand river.
We were on top of a tall hill and the range was perhaps 300 or so meters.
Ralf set the sticks.
I settled my crosswires high on the right shoulder of one bull, as this was a steep downhill angle.
Just as I was exhaling for the trigger squeeze, Mr. Red Hartebeest decided to leave, as did the rest of his mates.
I did something I am not proud of but, I did it nonetheless, nobody else, just me.
I fired at him as he was gaining speed.
Predictably I missed.
My bullet hit the sand, just right of the running animal.
Ralf was furious with me and rightfully so.
I apologized hugely to Ralf for my amateurish mistake.
Then there was a long and deafeningly quiet walk back to the vehicle.
My only comfort was in the fact that I did not wound this animal, it was thankfully a clean miss.
Upon reaching the vehicle, we climbed back in and pressed on.
We had then only driven for perhaps 5 minutes when Ralf saw a couple more red hartebeest, apparently not connected to the aforementioned, skittish group.
Again Ralf and myself set out in foot, with the slight breeze in our faces.
We hadn’t gone more than about 5 or 600 meters, down one low hill and up another slightly taller one when, we came upon some very thick thornbush on top of said hill.
Without speaking of it, we both slowed way down.
More than once we stood rock still, to look and listen, in case our intended quarry or some other critter might be lurking in the thicket.
It is good that hunters often think alike and so, we don’t always have to speak when suddenly circumstances change without warning.
Anyway, the horns of a very large kudu bull suddenly appeared before our very eyes, sticking up above the bushes, like two giant cork screws, no more than 20 meters, right slap bang in front of us.
Ralf very cautiously side stepped to his right and I did the same, both of us in super slow motion.
Keeping his hand low, about waist high, Ralf carefully pointed his index finger at the animal and made a symbolic gesture with his thumb to shoot, like his thumb was the hammer on a pistol as it’s being fired.
I didn’t take time for the sticks, as this kudu now had just then turned his head and stared defiantly at us.
And I figured I’d better get on with it or at such close range, he would bolt for sure.
After our side step to the right, I could still not see much of this kudu through the thick brush.
However, I did have a clear shot of the upper 1/3 and forward part of his body, but only the ribs, not quite including his left shoulder.
Boom, I shot him high in the ribs, behind his left shoulder.
Down he went, back up again and down again.
The 2nd time he fell was for good.
All happened about as fast as it took to say it.
Both Ralf and myself were more than delighted.
It was only about 8:00 AM.
Also, this kudu, at the moment of my shot, was slightly quartering away from us, with his head twisted around to his left, in order to stare back toward us.
My 300 grain round nosed soft hit as mentioned, behind the left shoulder but well farther back than classic and much higher than preferable as well.
However, the .375 H&H, when loaded with round nosed bullets hits mighty hard and so it worked perfectly, despite the big kudu presenting a much less than perfect shot opportunity.
This bullet was found as a lump, just under the far side skin, in the animal’s right side “armpit”.
I kept this perfectly mushroomed bullet.
Anyway, there were no real land marks to describe to Simon over the radio so, Ralf just walked back to the vehicle.
Eventually they came grinding along in the vehicle, through the bush, at very low speed, arriving at my location, both grinning almost as much as I was.
We all took several pictures of each other with this kudu and then loaded it into the back of our vehicle.
Back at the lodge, the big bull was processed and the scull was skinned.
Ralf, Philip and Simon arranged all the game heads I had bagged and we took photos of same.
I settled my bill with Philip, then I handed out tips and Kelley distributed the various gifts we had brought for the employees’ children.
Next, we loaded up our luggage plus the animal heads and said our goodbyes to everyone.
We rode into Windhoek, with Ralf.
There we delivered the heads to Trophaedenski Taxidermy Studio.
And we included a knee high carved wooden elephant that Kelley had bought, as Trophaedenski had said over the phone that, they could pack it securely along in my crate of game heads when they ship them to me.
The elephant was entirely too large, too easily broken and too heavy to trust the passenger airlines with.
Also, we stopped at a shoe shop where I bought a pair of “kudu Vellies” - a type of light weight low top walking shoe, made of kudu leather.
In the end, we were dropped off at the airport, where we checked in and eventually flew toward home, early that same evening (October 8, 2021).
I hope to have some more pictures posted in this thread soon.
PARTING SHOT:
Philip and his crew made this vacation and hunting / fishing trip into a wonderful experience for both my wife and myself.
I had originally been just a little worried because my wife’s prior and only Africa experience was not especially pleasant for her.
We had gone to a hunting lodge in another country.
And that lodge manager was so focused on hunting ideas that he could not seem to grasp that my wife wanted to experience other things aside from hunting every day.
Likewise the food was not good.
Since I had hunted with Philip in 2017, I figured my wife would find Khomas Safaris much more to her liking.
Nonetheless, I was still a little worried that she might not want to return to Africa ever again, if things went rough this time, for any unforeseen reason.
My concerns were unfounded, because predictably Philip and crew made sure that “Kelley of The Kalahari” enjoyed a very pleasant Namibian holiday.
She has remarked several times that this was the best vacation we have ever taken together.
She even remarked that she could probably retire well in Swakopmund, down at the coast t
At this point, I can’t think of anything else to write, except that if I recall anything I had forgotten to include, then I will accordingly add it as I think of it.
Cheers,
Velo Dog.
