SOUTH AFRICA: NAMIBIA: BOWHUNT: Four Hunts One Trip

Congratulations on some fine animals and a great start to your safari! I'm booked with Rouan next year for sable, bushbuck, waterbuck and a few others and after reading your report and seeing your animals, next May can't get here soon enough!!! Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!

You will have a wonderful time. Jeff and I loved our time spent with Rouan and the whole family are wonderful people.
 
Hi Jeff & Sue.

Congrats on some great animals in Nam.Those springbuck are special.

Rouan
 
Looks like a great trip so far cant wait to see the eland you took. It must have been hard passing on the black wildebeest as I know you want one bad.
 
Yes I regret that Bill !! I hadn't planned on taking a eland and my budget was getting low!
 
And I'm still super jealous of that bushbuck your wife shot. What a beauty!!!
I'm also green with envy over that bushbuck, They weren't even on her wish list and high on mine!! LOL And no we did not get a picture of the big kudu, he never came closer than about 70 yards.
 
3RD LEG Pieter our PH from Eland Pro Safaris picked us up in Windhoek at the B&B at 7:30 in the morning and we started the 5 1/2 drive north to their lodge. We enjoyed the view from the car and saw a lot of country from the seat. We arrived and met the owner Gerrit who ordinarily is the PH but his son was getting married that week and they would be gone most of our hunt. That was fine as he let me know months in advance and Pieters mother had come to cook and we got along very well and really had a good time. Their place is low fenced. We only had 3 1/2 days of hunting before we had to leave for SA again. We had a small package of One warthog, a blesbok and a baboon. The first day we arrived there was enough time to hunt that evening, Sue decided to rest so Pieter and I went to a elevated hide and saw several fairly large sows, impala, and kudu, but the wind was swirling some and nothing I wanted came in. DAY 1 The next morning Sue and I sat together in the same hide but again the wind was swirling some and we didn't have any shot opportunities at anything. We had a few hogs, kudu and impala come in but no shooters, wildebeest, gemsbok and zebra winded us. The evening hunt was much the same with one nice kudu bull catching our wind. DAY 2 The next morning we sat the same hide as the wind had finally straightened out and we saw blue wildebeest and impala, but again no shooters. One thing that we did see was a eagle swoop down and kill a guinea right in front of the hide at about 15 yards, spectacular!!! That afternoon we sat a different hide where they said black wildebeest like to water and a black was high on my list!! The first thing to show was jackal but he must have seen or heard me as I got ready to shoot and took off. DANG!! Next came about 25 blesbok with one large ram, they stayed around for 15 minutes within range and he was always in front or behind another, Sue never did get a shot even though she drew 3 different times! Then just before dark we heard the unmistakable clicking of eland bulls walking, 4 large bulls came in, the largest bodied bull just never would give me a shot, this went on for 15 minutes but finally another bull turned broadside at 22 yards and I took the shot. I lost site of the arrow and didn't know where I hit but there was a loud crack on impact. We waited 45 minutes and took up the track in the dark but could never be sure which eland we were following, no blood, after a couple of hours we found a little blood about 4 hundred yards from the hide, we marked the spot and would resume the search in the morning. It was clear the bull wasn't shot where he needed to be, a million things kept running through my head along with a very sick feeling in my stomach. Sleep was impossible!!! To make a long story short the trackers found the bull about 150 yards from where left the trail the night before. It was a difficult tracking job as there was almost no blood and there was a large herd of eland cows and a few bulls that went through after my bull. It was evident that the bull had just died, the meat and the cape were still good. While I was elated to recover the bull and not have it go to waste, I was very disappointed with my shooting!!. The arrow hit the right height but too far back, the loud crack was the arrow centering a rib on entry and cut it off, went and stuck through the off side rib but didn't exit. I was shooting #63 Bowtech Assassin and Magnus stinger 4 blades with a total arrow weight of 450 grains. That evening we were back in the same hide when a lone blesbok ram came in but before he presented Sue with a shot a herd of black wildebeest came running in to the water and ran him off. There was one good bull in the group of 23, he finally gave me a perfect quartering away broadside at 20, I passed as I was hoping I could do better. After watching the video and sharing it with another PH I regret that decision but it's another excuse to return! Several kudu and one very large bull came in but the bull stayed out of range, he was spectacular as he had the shape that I love when the horns come all the way around and tip out! DAY 3 Our last day we sat the elevated hide but the wind swirled all morning, we saw game in the distance but they never came close. That evening we sat the hide where I shot the eland and didn't see anything until just before dark when 2 large eland bulls and a few cows came in, both very nice old bulls. The next morning we headed out early for Windhoek to catch the plane back to SA. We had comfortable accommodations, good food and a good time. This place would be awesome place to rifle hunt free range eland bulls as they do it the traditional way of checking water holes, find a bull track and follow it up. In 3 days we saw 6 mature eland bulls and dozens of cows and young bulls. No wonder they call it Eland Pro Safaris. Will post pictures tomorrow and write the last leg of our adventure.

Hey Jeff. Awesome report man! I'm enjoying reading it and can't wait to see the pictures from this third leg. I'm hunting namibia next summer and can't wait to check out that land. Did you get a picture of the big kudu that wouldn't commit? I love those big bulls that flare at the top to!


Here are a few photos from our trip to Elandpro. I had a great time in the pool and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere with Pieter our PH and his mom Sessa who cooked for us. Kudugirl (aka) Jeff's wife Sue!

brai area.jpg
Jeff's eland.jpg
pool.jpg
 
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Ps, thanks to whomever was helping me get these posted without doubles. I don't know why that keeps happening, but whoever you are, thanks a bunch!
 
Ps, thanks to whomever was helping me get these posted without doubles. I don't know why that keeps happening, but whoever you are, thanks a bunch!

We have you covered. :)
 
Looks like a great trip so far cant wait to see the eland you took. It must have been hard passing on the black wildebeest as I know you want one bad.
We didn't get any real good pictures of the eland as we were in a hurry to get him back to the skinning shed and meat locker, just guessing but it was probably close to 90 degrees F. The bull was 33 inches long and 11 inch bases.
 
Congratulations, nice trophies!
 
PART 4 Got through the Windhoek airport in about 20 minutes and the arrival at Tambo only took 45 minutes to get through Passport control this time. Henry from Henry Griffiths Safaris was waiting for us and we and started the 4.5 hour drive to his area in the Kalahari. We had hunted with Henry in 2012 and had a good hunt so we were eager to return. A late dinner and bed. DAY 1 The next morning we went to a hide and sat all day, it was extremely windy and it was slow at the hide until evening when we saw kudu, warthog and blue wildebeest but no shooters. DAY 2 The next morning we slept in and went and checked trail cameras on another area and for some reason the black wildebeest that were on camera had decided to leave and no pictures for about 4 days, I think they have too many water choices. That evening we sat a different hide and had kudu, impala, gemsbok and eland come, Sue wanted a crack at that eland but he never presented a shot. It was interesting to watch the gemsbok run the eland off as the gemsbok were clearly in charge, even though the eland bull was 3 times the size he wanted no part of those long gemsbok horns! DAY 3 We went back to the same hide as yesterday and the same herd of eland returned along with a giraffe, the wind swirled and they were gone. A hour and a half later they returned and after about 15 minutes he finally presented a shot. Sue's shot looked pretty good, just a little low. We waited about 1.5 before taking up the track and in the mean time zebra came! All told the bull went about 4 hundred yards. It was a great bull with a very big ruff and dew lap, 31.5 inches long. DAY 4 We took it easy, as this was our last day last, took photos went for a game drive, tried to stalk a steenbok but no luck. The fire time in the evening was great, after a few rum and cokes Henry is a great story teller!! The next morning we left for the airport, stopped for a great lunch at a place that is a favorite of Henry's. It's the place he proposed to his wife Tanya who also did the cooking on our stay, Henry lucked out as she's a wonderful cook!! Great accommodations, very nice lodge, top notch all the way! We enjoyed our time visiting with Henry and Tanya and would like to go back and give the black wildebeest another go Henry says he's going to put up another hide in a spot just for the blacks. This was my 14th hunt in Africa and my plains game wish list is getting shorter, black wildebeest, steenbok and maybe zebra, but I would like to do some night hunts for the nocturnal critters. Sue's list is still a bit longer, I say she can resist anything but temptation, so nothing better stand within bow range!! LOL Arrived home Sunday afternoon and had to be to work Mon. morning Dang!!! If anyone has any questions on any of the four places we went just ask!
 
Will post pictures of this last leg our trip soon!!
 
Here are some photos of our last leg with Henry Griffiths Safaris! Such a great place to hunt and wonderful friends and no I am not just saying that because I got a great eland! I took some of one of my favorite things in our room, the garden tub! Yes I am a girl and I like my soaking time.
 
One thing I forgot to mention that I thought was interesting was at Eland Pro in Namibia some of the eland had side stripes and facial chevrons like Livingston eland. Pieter said they are naturally occurring and since they are free range they don't put out any breeder bulls to influence the gene pool.
 
Fantastic report, some day I'll to try it with a bow and arrow too!
 
Hi Jeff & Sue.

Congrats on some great animals in Nam.Those springbuck are special.

Rouan
We really believe your motto! We arrived as acquaintances and left as fast friends. Charmaine and I really did have a great time and I want to go back and visit again. Rouan and Charmaines daughter Layla is such a delight and my granddaughter has a new pen pal to write to in South Africa. I would love for Rouan and the family to come visit us. Kudugirl (aka Sue, Jeff's wife)
 
One thing I forgot to mention that I thought was interesting was at Eland Pro in Namibia some of the eland had side stripes and facial chevrons like Livingston eland. Pieter said they are naturally occurring and since they are free range they don't put out any breeder bulls to influence the gene pool.

I am really hoping for some rain for both South Africa and Namibia as they are being devastated by draught. I feel bad for both the people and the wildlife as all are suffering. Kudugirl (Sue)
 
Here are some photos of our last leg with Henry Griffiths Safaris! Such a great place to hunt and wonderful friends and no I am not just saying that because I got a great eland! I took some of one of my favorite things in our room, the garden tub! Yes I am a girl and I like my soaking time.

ps The opportunities for photos is endless as Henry and Tanya love to look at the game as much as I do and I got some great photos. Just don't think anyone wants to look at a hundred (or more) photos at one time, lol.
 

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