NAMIBIA: Own Use Elephant Hunt In Namibia With ZANA BOTES SAFARI

[degoins]

Wow.......congrats!!!!

 

[Angelo_orygun]

Congrats, hunt of a lifetime!!

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Congratulations again, glad it was able to come to fruition for you

 

[John Telford]

Nice! I was across the river from you in Botswana last week! Probably chances the game to you!

 

[AZDAVE]

Congratulation buddy!!!

 

[Cecil Hammonds]

Well we just got home yesterday, so I will fill in some of the details. We had already been to Namibia in May of this year for leopard, and had a great hunt with Nick and Isable Nolte. This hunt came up as a last minute idea. I was listening to a podcast featuring Ron Spomer where he discussed the merits of a non-export elephant hunt which included the lower prices and availability of hunts. Also, not having to deal with time, money and hassle of the import. This was in late September, and I started looking for options. I found this hunt on AH.com, and reached out to the outfitter, Zana Botes. We started communicating, and I found Zana to be very responsive. Interestingly, I had several people reach out to me about this with less than positive things to say about the conservancy where the hunt would take place. Comments including it was a small area with no elephants, too many people and cattle, etc. I reached out to Zana about that, and he addressed these concerns head on in a forthright manner. While I never book a hunt with an expectation of a guarantee of getting an animal, I do however, want to make sure I have a realistic opportunity as anyone would. Well Zana told me it was important to get it done in October due to changing weather in November affecting the animal's movement patterns. So I made a decision then and there to book in 19-29 October. Zana had told me he felt confident we would get a bull in 4 or 5 days based on the movement and reports he was getting. Turns out he was wrong about that; we got it on the 1st day! That being said, we were hunting an own use bull vs an exportable trophy, so we had the luxury of not having to be quite as selective.

As for the administrative details of the hunt, we flew Qatar Airways from DFW to Doha to Windhoek. The ongoing war in Israel had no impact on that other than the airline flew out of the way through the Sinai to avoid overflying Israel. No issues with flight, baggage, firearm or ammunition. Once we arrived in Windhoek, we had to overnight to catch our flight the next day to the Carprivi. Zana met up with us, and we flew to Katima on Fly Namibia which is a 1.5 hour flight but it only runs on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Again no issues there, and we have only about a 40 minute drive to camp.

I was hunting with a Montana Rifle AVR in 416 Remington topped with a Leupold VX-R 1.5 -4 with a firedot reticle. I used Norma 400 grain solids, but also brought some Swift A frame expanding ammunition in case we got a chance at some other game.

Once in camp, we got settled in and then went out to check the rifle. I did have to make some minor corrections, so that was good that we checked it. I had checked it before I left, and it was good, but with different ammunition. Afterwards we went and checked an area, and found tracks and sign, but not fresh enough to work with.

The next morning, we set out early at daylight to beat the heat of the day. We did find a small group, but it turned out to be just cows and calves. We came back in had a meal and rested through the heat of the day. We headed back out at 3pm and went to check some other areas. We were hunting in the Bamunu conservancy which borders Botswana on the Linyanti River. After a bit of driving, we checked the flood plains, and lo and behold there must have been at least 200 elephants in there coming in from Botswana. Also huge herds of zebra, buffalo, and blue wildebeest. Zana said to his guys, "if we can't find a bull in that, we are shit!" Well we did find a suitable bull in a group of about 60 animals. He was up toward the front of the group, but they were moving and he was not clear of the other elephants. We stalked up to about 40 yards or so and walked along side this herd for probably 150 yards or so before they stopped and a shot presented itself. I got a side brain shot in him that dropped him, but maybe slighty forward as he tried to get back up, so we put a few more in him that anchored him in place. I was wondering what the rest of the herd would do after the shot, but I stay focused on the target. I was pretty sure all hell would break loose once I squeezed the trigger, and I was not disappointed. Fortunately, the rest of the herd took off running in the same direction they were already going with no issues for us.

By this time, it was starting to get dark. I sat there enjoying the feeling of being in a wild place and a successful hunt. The local villagers came and got the bull butchered in the morning, and they were very happy to get the meat. I knew this was a big deal to them, but I did not fully appreciate how big of a deal it was. They get no meat at all unless it is provided through hunting. Interestingly, the hunting crew gets claim to the neck meat, and they wasted no time getting it. Later that day, we left camp and went up on the Zambezi to a lodge and stayed there for a few days. I will make another post with details on the rest of the trip, but that was it for the hunting part. I would not hesitate to hunt with Zana again in the future, and I as I learn more on each safari about the business side of things, I get an appreciation for the competitive nature of the business and how you really have to take people's comments with a grain of salt and do your due diligence.

 

[TKessel]

Well done, thanks for sharing

 

[Philip Glass]

Well we just got home yesterday, so I will fill in some of the details. We had already been to Namibia in May of this year for leopard, and had a great hunt with Nick and Isable Nolte. This hunt came up as a last minute idea. I was listening to a podcast featuring Ron Spomer where he discussed the merits of a non-export elephant hunt which included the lower prices and availability of hunts. Also, not having to deal with time, money and hassle of the import. This was in late September, and I started looking for options. I found this hunt on AH.com, and reached out to the outfitter, Zana Botes. We started communicating, and I found Zana to be very responsive. Interestingly, I had several people reach out to me about this with less than positive things to say about the conservancy where the hunt would take place. Comments including it was a small area with no elephants, too many people and cattle, etc. I reached out to Zana about that, and he addressed these concerns head on in a forthright manner. While I never book a hunt with an expectation of a guarantee of getting an animal, I do however, want to make sure I have a realistic opportunity as anyone would. Well Zana told me it was important to get it done in October due to changing weather in November affecting the animal's movement patterns. So I made a decision then and there to book in 19-29 October. Zana had told me he felt confident we would get a bull in 4 or 5 days based on the movement and reports he was getting. Turns out he was wrong about that; we got it on the 1st day! That being said, we were hunting an own use bull vs an exportable trophy, so we had the luxury of not having to be quite as selective.

As for the administrative details of the hunt, we flew Qatar Airways from DFW to Doha to Windhoek. The ongoing war in Israel had no impact on that other than the airline flew out of the way through the Sinai to avoid overflying Israel. No issues with flight, baggage, firearm or ammunition. Once we arrived in Windhoek, we had to overnight to catch our flight the next day to the Carprivi. Zana met up with us, and we flew to Katima on Fly Namibia which is a 1.5 hour flight but it only runs on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Again no issues there, and we have only about a 40 minute drive to camp.

I was hunting with a Montana Rifle AVR in 416 Remington topped with a Leupold VX-R 1.5 -4 with a firedot reticle. I used Norma 400 grain solids, but also brought some Swift A frame expanding ammunition in case we got a chance at some other game.

Once in camp, we got settled in and then went out to check the rifle. I did have to make some minor corrections, so that was good that we checked it. I had checked it before I left, and it was good, but with different ammunition. Afterwards we went and checked an area, and found tracks and sign, but not fresh enough to work with.

The next morning, we set out early at daylight to beat the heat of the day. We did find a small group, but it turned out to be just cows and calves. We came back in had a meal and rested through the heat of the day. We headed back out at 3pm and went to check some other areas. We were hunting in the Bamunu conservancy which borders Botswana on the Linyanti River. After a bit of driving, we checked the flood plains, and lo and behold there must have been at least 200 elephants in there coming in from Botswana. Also huge herds of zebra, buffalo, and blue wildebeest. Zana said to his guys, "if we can't find a bull in that, we are shit!" Well we did find a suitable bull in a group of about 60 animals. He was up toward the front of the group, but they were moving and he was not clear of the other elephants. We stalked up to about 40 yards or so and walked along side this herd for probably 150 yards or so before they stopped and a shot presented itself. I got a side brain shot in him that dropped him, but maybe slighty forward as he tried to get back up, so we put a few more in him that anchored him in place. I was wondering what the rest of the herd would do after the shot, but I stay focused on the target. I was pretty sure all hell would break loose once I squeezed the trigger, and I was not disappointed. Fortunately, the rest of the herd took off running in the same direction they were already going with no issues for us.

By this time, it was starting to get dark. I sat there enjoying the feeling of being in a wild place and a successful hunt. The local villagers came and got the bull butchered in the morning, and they were very happy to get the meat. I knew this was a big deal to them, but I did not fully appreciate how big of a deal it was. They get no meat at all unless it is provided through hunting. Interestingly, the hunting crew gets claim to the neck meat, and they wasted no time getting it. Later that day, we left camp and went up on the Zambezi to a lodge and stayed there for a few days. I will make another post with details on the rest of the trip, but that was it for the hunting part. I would not hesitate to hunt with Zana again in the future, and I as I learn more on each safari about the business side of things, I get an appreciation for the competitive nature of the business and how you really have to take people's comments with a grain of salt and do your due diligence.

Zana is a great PH!

 

[GA Hunter]

Well done. Congrats!

 

[7mmFan]

congratulations on a great safari! thanks for sharing.

 

[Firebird]

What a fun experience in a very cool part of the world. I’m glad you could go and take advantage of that permit! Thanks for your report so far-looking forward to the rest of the day’s adventures

 

[Luvthunt]

Nice write up. Thank you

 

[Nyati]

Congrats for a great hunt