I have uploaded our Namibian hunt photos to online Photo Galleries on the SCI Lowcountry Chapter website.

Vist the Chapter's Home Page to bid in our Online Auction on a great Argentina Dove Hunt or a 10 day South African safari for two hunters and two non-hunters including Trophy Fees for 6 animals.

Mark
Great album...thanks for sharing
Jeff

Mark,
Great photos. Thanks for posting! Those really are some fine trophies.
Looks like that Jack Russell enjoyed your company immensely. You must have the magic touch.

I enjoyed your post. Thanks

Mark- wonderful photos. I love the big baboon, what a trophy! I have seen alot of Jack Russell's in African photos. Are they using them for tracking purposes or what?
Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Everybody should have that much fun!

Looked like a great hunt, nice Kudu and very nice H/beast. Sounds like you have a great time.

Thats what its all about.

Great photo diary, lots of super nice trophies as well as landscape. I liked Holly's hartebeest best, that's a nice one. I still need a bull myself. You both got great gemsbok too.

Mark: Awesome animals. Namibia looks better every time someone comes back and posts their pictures. From the sound of it, you would recommend the outfits you hunted with?
Gary T.

I would absolutely, positively recommend them without hesitation!



Holly and I intend to book with them again in the near future to see and hunt in the rest of Namibia.



Dirk de Bods's email address is kudu@africaonline.com.na



Nicky Nolte's email address is nick-nolte-safaris@omaruru.na



Both Dirk and Nicky are represented by Keith Atcheson of Jack Atchesons & Sons in Butte, MT at (406) 782-2382, office@atcheson.com or www.atcheson.com



We booked with Dirk through Keith and were very pleased by the way the Atcheson office handled the arrangements for our hunt.

Mark,

Thanks for posting your pictures. They are really great! I have been to Namibia twice in the Omaruru area, hunted the Erongo's for mt. zebra and did some sightseeing as well. Your pictures make me wish I was back there again.

BigBullet

Mark

That is a great photo album and great trophies. I hope I can do as well posting my photos after my June safari.

CFA

Congrats, I wise I could pick a favorite but they all look great (ok, ok KUDU were best).
I bet you're glad you hade a flatshooter for those long shots (does the Jarret compare favorably with a 300 weatherby?)

Oh yea, did the leopard ever kill the sheep or were they just an attractant?
Lastly, what would you do if the leopard presented a different shot and the gun was taped in one direction?

Great photos.

30ott6, yes, the Jack Russells are used for tracking. Holly made a fatal shot on a big boar warthog, but at the shot the warthog took off. The Jack Russells followed in hot pursuit and bayed the warthog within a hundred yards or so and held him there until Holly and Nicky could catch up and administer the coup de grace.

They also played a crucial role in recovering Holly's leopard. I'm writing that story now and will post it soon.

Boghossian, I believe my .300 Jarrett with a 200 grain Nosler Partition at 3050 fps equals or exceeds the performance of the .300 Weatherby. It also appears to equal the performance of the .300 Ultra Mag.

According to the "Remington Shoot" ballistic software I downloaded before our trip, the .300 Ultra Mag Remington factory load with the 200 grain Nosler Partition has a muzzle velocity of 3025 fps.

Regarding your question about the sheep, I would like to definitively state that "no sheep were injured in the production of this motion picture."

We had expected that several of the sheep would be granted an "early retirement," but unfortunately the leopards were not in the mood for mutton.

As to the gun being taped in position; it was unlikely, if not impossible to see a leopard from the blind unless it was very near the bait. The blind was completely enclosed on all four sides and we could only see diagonally across the dry riverbed to the bait tree. There was thick brush along both banks of the river and it was darker than the inside of a Holstein after sunset!

In the highly unlikely event that a leopard decided to jump into the blind with us, Nicky had his .470 NE double rifle loaded and ready for action.

When I try to imagine that situation and my probable reaction, I don't think it would make any difference if my .375 had been arc-welded to the blind; with the help of 2 quarts of adrenaline I would have found a way to rip it free!

Mark, I thoroughly enjoyed your photos, and forwarded the link to a bunch of other folks...

You are giving me the "Fever"...

We were in the Omaruru area in June.

What were the day/night temperatures like in April?
(I see you eating breakfast in short sleeves.)

Is that a Bino-Buddy that Holly is wearing in the blind?

Thanks,
Rick.

HEY! That looks like home! Dirk is one of my closest friends.... I am going to be back there end of may and then moving back in November (Lord willing) Elections will be in December I think....

Mark,

Congratulations to you and Holly. Great trophies and great hunt.

Is Dirk de Bod no longer associated with Pieter Stofberg and Nimrod Safaris?

Regards,

Terry

Well done, Mark! An excellent hunt and your efforts to share it with us in such a fine way on your website are most appreciated.

Rick, the weather in April was gorgeous. It was cool in the mornings and evenings and plenty warm during the day, but not uncomfortably hot. I took along a light-weight insulated camo jacket but only put it on a couple times during the entire trip. We had several days of rain early in the month, but none during the last two weeks.

The suave, sophisticated, dark-haired guy eating breakfast is Dirk de Bod. I'm the overweight, gray-haired guy holding up the baboons in the trophy photos (the baboons are the furry little angry-looking guys)!

Yes, Holly uses a pair of Swarovski 7x30B SLCs on a Cabelas Bino-Buddy strap system. I use the same type of strap on my Swarovski 8.5x42 ELs. I've tried the African carry method with the long, single strap over one shoulder and across the chest, but I prefer having them snug against my chest.

Aaron, I thought your name looked familiar. A photo of you and your family are in Dirk's brochure with a great looking kudu. Dirk's a great host and a very good hunter. I'm sure you are proud to count him among your close friends.

Now that we are a bit familiar with the Namibian political situation, we will also follow the results of the upcoming elections with interest. I spent hours listening to local AM and FM (NBC, Namibian National Radio) radio stations in the evenings before bed and was concerned to hear so much talk about the land reform movement and other similar Post-Colonial issues.

Namibia is a politically stable and beautiful country with abundant wildlife resources. It would be a tragedy to see it head down the path that Zimbabwe has taken. I was amazed to hear that a Zimbabwean Delegation visited Namibia while we were there and had the unmitigated gall to offer their services as Consultants to the Namibian government in the area of land redistribution!

Terry, Dirk has been operating on his own for several years now. I'm not sure how long, but for at least the last three years. He calls his company, "Dirk de Bod - Safaris Namibia."