NAMIBIA: Kowas Hunting Safaris May 2 To 9 2018

Thanks for all of the positive feedback everyone. I have indeed begun the saving and planning for my return. Hopefully sooner than later.
 
Sounds like a great hunt, thanks for sharing the report.
Heading to Kowas in 2020. Can’t wait!
 
Great Report! Headed to Kowas in 2020. Reports like this make me glad we selected Kowas for our Namibia Safari.

Btw, that is a cool Hartebeest! Congrats on an awesome hunt!
 
Just a quick post hunt update for any Canadians who may be traveling to and from Namibia. Before my trip, I bought South African Rand (ZAR) as no one carried any Namibian dollars. No problem as the Rand is accepted in Namibia. We acquired Namibian dollars along the way, and spent them while we were there. We had both currencies left over when we returned home, and I had no problem converting the Rand back to Canadian dollars. The problem is that no one will buy the Namibian dollars from me, the banks and currency exchange places do not want them. Just a heads up for those of you that may have any money left over- maybe exchange it before you leave Namibia.
 
Hope you did not come home with a suitcase full.
 
No, not too bad. Works out to around $60. Just gives me some incentive to go back again so I can spend it!
 
Congratulations on a great hunt. I hunted down the road from you in April, 2018. The terrain is fantastic and diverse--plains, koppies, and mountains. Really an amazing area. Also the animal variety is great. Again, congratulations on your fantastic adventure. Brian
 
Beautiful Kudu! I love the warthog!
 
Thanks, I will have a bit of a wait until I can look at him again when the trophies get to me. The Warthog was a target of opportunity, initially, until I saw them zipping around all over the place. They were really fun to hunt. The video guy got some really good footage of that hunt too.
 
Great report, thank you, as I am considering Kowas just now....I just looked up when I joined AH back in 2011 in hopes of finally booking my first african hunt, wow time flys!! Its now 7 years later and have yet to make it to Africa :( But...here I am, 54 years old now, and I am finally ready to place a deposit at the next Dallas show in January for a 2020 hunt, possibly along with my two older nephews and new son in law. Seems like its taken me forever to get here, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have only reached out to Kowas so far. They have been clear & helpful in a few emails to date in my early research stages.

So....To Dean, the OP, and the rest of the hunters that hunt Namibia...How on earth do you narrow down the outfitter, the area and time of year with so many choices??? Seems each has "great" attributes advertised- nice websites, glossy photos, nice accommodations, good food, fantastic hunting and lots of game? Seems you can book dry months, wet months, cold months, highlands, low lands, dry brush, green valleys? Some can be all flat plains, some rocky hills and valleys? Some cater to bow, some rifle and some both? Some spot and stalk and some truck hunt based on your needs? I could go on and on but those that did their first research know what I mean. So how did you do it? Make a list of your wishes, see who was closet to offering that, has good referrals and then just took the plunge and booked it? Seems as thats as best as I could do? Only thing better would be having a personal friend have hunted a place first and recommended it? But I don't have anyone with first hand knowledge. So here I am asking the WWW, which many of us had to rely on. As well as calling referrals and meeting at shows face to face. But that only goes so far. I wont really know until I drive in that gate in Namibia is the hard fact.

I like what I see and have read on Kowas as well as trip reports like this. They seem to have what I would want out of my first Safari?

So how'd ya pick the outfitter, time of year and why that terrain/part of the country?
 
Great report, thank you, as I am considering Kowas just now....I just looked up when I joined AH back in 2011 in hopes of finally booking my first african hunt, wow time flys!! Its now 7 years later and have yet to make it to Africa :( But...here I am, 54 years old now, and I am finally ready to place a deposit at the next Dallas show in January for a 2020 hunt, possibly along with my two older nephews and new son in law. Seems like its taken me forever to get here, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have only reached out to Kowas so far. They have been clear & helpful in a few emails to date in my early research stages.

So....To Dean, the OP, and the rest of the hunters that hunt Namibia...How on earth do you narrow down the outfitter, the area and time of year with so many choices??? Seems each has "great" attributes advertised- nice websites, glossy photos, nice accommodations, good food, fantastic hunting and lots of game? Seems you can book dry months, wet months, cold months, highlands, low lands, dry brush, green valleys? Some can be all flat plains, some rocky hills and valleys? Some cater to bow, some rifle and some both? Some spot and stalk and some truck hunt based on your needs? I could go on and on but those that did their first research know what I mean. So how did you do it? Make a list of your wishes, see who was closet to offering that, has good referrals and then just took the plunge and booked it? Seems as thats as best as I could do? Only thing better would be having a personal friend have hunted a place first and recommended it? But I don't have anyone with first hand knowledge. So here I am asking the WWW, which many of us had to rely on. As well as calling referrals and meeting at shows face to face. But that only goes so far. I wont really know until I drive in that gate in Namibia is the hard fact.

I like what I see and have read on Kowas as well as trip reports like this. They seem to have what I would want out of my first Safari?

So how'd ya pick the outfitter, time of year and why that terrain/part of the country?

We got lucky and had a personal friend that went to Kowas. We booked of his recommendation!! We will be going to Kowas in February of 2019 for our 4th trip with them. If you have any questions just PM me. Randy and Holly
 
Thanks Randy...I agree, first hand hunts by close friends you trust is the best way to make yourself comfortable.

As a follow- up....Looks like I can only do july, August, September do to work and my co-hunters. I know July is dead of winter,/cold and August is or can be super windy? Read somewhere September starts spring there with things starting to green up? Which I think I would like over everything all dormant/brown...Thoughts on a September new moon hunt? Overall hunt experience, weather and game movement that time of year? To others on here as well...Thanks for any heads up...
 
My hunting buddy and I are booked with them for our first Namibia hunt in May 2020.
We started with a list 6 based mostly on AH reports and friends recommendations. We narrowed it down to 4 based on areas and no fence/low fence areas. We both hunted fenced areas in SA but wanted Namibia to be open.
We finally settled on two and didn’t make up our mind until DSC convention. Meeting Jacques and Elleni at DSC and again at the AH dinner left a great impression, but as you say everybody there is selling hunts and most are very personal. But they were very genuine and the same day Ansie called both of us and we had really good conversations.
Plus, after leaving their booth, two different couples approached us seeing our Kowas brochures and told us they were repeat clients of theirs and raved about them. This all sealed the deal for us and we booked. Since then we have changed animal lists several times and even had to push the hunt back a year. They have been excellent to work with and readily answered any questions we have had. Ansie helped us pick the time of year we chose just answering our questions and asking a few of her own we didn’t think of.
Don’t know if this all helps, didn’t necessarily aim it to be an ad for Kowas, but just sharing our experience on how we picked our outfitter, area, dates, etc. I think the hunt reports here are a great way to narrow it down. There is a massive amount of info here including hunts at different times of the year, focusing on different animals, and with different outfitters. The 4 we narrowed down to early all had many reports listed here and I never read a bad thing about any of them. I assume a trip with any one of them would be a great experience. Getting to meet Jacques and Elleni and speaking to Ansie just pushed them over the top for us.
 
SoFlaNative,
The decision to book with Kowas was based on a few factors. First, I wanted a fair chase, fence-free (or low-fence) experience. Second, I wanted a one-on-one hunting experience, with just the PH and myself. I also needed a location that was relatively close to the airport, as my wife was flying in 8 days after I did to meet me. We did a self-drive safari of Namibia and Botswana after my hunt was completed. There were many outfitters that fit that criteria, but it came down to a gut feeling to be honest. Ansie Strauss went above and beyond for us, even putting the both of us up for our last night in Namibia back at their ranch.
As for the time of year, we chose May for a number of reasons. The first being work commitments, and May is an easy time for me to book off. Second, May is a shoulder season in Namibia, which meant that we could afford to do our safari because the prices were better for the car rental and accomodations. Lastly, the Kudu rut is in May, so that sealed the deal for me!
I think it all comes down to feeling comfortable with who you choose. There will be issues, there will be snags, but you have to be able to roll with it, and trust that your outfitter is there for you. Anyone who was on my short list belonged to the Namibian Professional Hunters Association as well, so there was some piece of mind there too. Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith.
 
Thanks very much guys! Much appreciated and helpful info....I'm pretty sure I will have a great experience with Kowas and already kinda had that positive vibe or "gut" feeling ;) I have done enough hunting here in the states dealing with outfitters, as well as several Florida leases I have been on, so I learned to know what's BS and what's not. Have been in sales my whole working life so its had to "sell" a salesman :) Now, its mostly down to the best dates that works for myself and my goals. Once dates are penciled in then its the start of the planning/logistics process, as well as a meeting at the show, with deposit-Finally!! Then the big wait. Will just have to try and stay busy with some NA deer hunts until then and fishing my home waters here in south Florida and the Bahamas to keep my mid off the long wait!

Thanks again guys!- Capt. E.
 
Just a follow up to my hunt last year, the trophies have arrived and now hang in my home. I navigated through Canada Customs myself, opting to not use a broker. Partly to keep the costs down, and partly to say that I did it myself. It was surprisingly painless, just a little time consuming.
On the wall, Kudu, Oryx, and Red Hartebeest which were mounted in Namibia and sent to me. I also recieved my Springbuck and Warthog skulls, and am still deciding on what to do with them.
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Not sure if I have ever seen a European mount I did not like. I DO LIKE yours. They are a great reserve of memories.(y)(y)(y)
 
These are great looking, just what I would want to do if I ever get to Africa. Congratulations on a wonderful hunt and trophies.
 
Namibia is a wonderful place I can still remember my first Safari. A bull Eland sucking the water trough dry at 15 yards. Think he might have made it 40 yards before crashing. Congrats on the trophies
 
A very well written, detailed account of your challenges and success at Kowas. Thank you for taking time to put your hunt on paper for us to enjoy. I leave tomorrow...… for our first trip to Kowas. The details you have provided will help me. Thank you.
 

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