I'll be traveling to Namibia at the end of the month to film a ten day plains game safari. We'll be hunting with Dirk De Bod Safaris and the details of our trip are slim, other than when I need to be there. We're flying in Windhoek on April 1st.

I thought maybe some of you here could let me know what I could expect weather wise for this time of year; temps, rain, wind...that sort of thing.

Though not my first trip to The Dark Continent, this will be my first visit to Namibia.

I'll be filming two other times this year in Zimbabwe, in May and the end of June through July.

Tyge Floyd,

Welcome to the forum. Namibia, if you will be in there in April you will encounter temps from near 100 during the midday and high 40s to low 50s once the sun sets. Much depends upon the terrain and the elevation you will be hunting. Many of the Namibian folks will "siesta" during th heat of the day then go back in the afternoon once things begins to cool off some.

Though, early in the hunting season, the threat of rains should be minimal.

BigBullet

Try this link:

http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/68110.html

I don`t know if you have decided on which animals you like to hunt..? Don`t forget that there is three animals that are endemic to Namibia, and that you will have problems hunting them elsewhere.
That is Damara (or Damaraland) Dik-Dik, Hartmanns Mountain Zebra and Black-faced Impala. Last one might be on fenced ranches only and pretty darn expensive.

I couldn`t afford the impala, but managed to get good specimens of the other two, and they where among the biggest highlights of the hunt!

Have a great hunt!

Tyge, Holly and I hunted with Dirk last year in April and had a wonderful time!

We hunted three places: Dirk's lodge and property in the Central Plains; Dirk's permanent tent camp in the Kalahari on the border with Botswana and Nick Nolte's lodge and surrounding ranches in the Erongo Mountains outside Omaruru.

The weather was very pleasant. April is the end of the rainy season and we did encounter some rain, but nothing that prevented us from hunting. If fact, we were treated to a spectacular thunderstorm on our first night in the Kalahari. Thunderstorms are apparently a rare event in the Kalahari that late in the year and the ranchers were very happy for the additional rainfall. We enjoyed the spectacle and hoped that the tent would not blow away!

The hunting was more difficult because the leaves were still on in the bush and the ground cover is thick and green limiting visibility. The leopard hunting was also more challenging because the kudu and warthogs are dropping their calves and piglets providing lots of easy Cat Chow. All things considered, enjoying the beauty of the wild flowers and the lush greenery of the Kalahari was worth the trade-off in diminished visibility.

I took a lightweight, insulated, camo jacket and only put it on a couple times during our 21 day hunt. Temperatures reached the mid to upper 90's on some days, but it was never unbearable. Just be sure to take a large, broad-brimmed hat and plenty of high SPF sunscreen or you will get fried in short order. The nights were cool and comfortable, never cold.

You will have a wonderful time with Dirk; he is an excellent PH and a wonderful companion in the field. His lodge, property and concessions are first class all the way!

Go to our PHOTO GALLERY to see over 200 pictures of our hunt with him and the story of Holly's Leopard hunt.

What kind of camera are you using, Mark in SC?
Any tips for trophy photos?
I have seen your pictures before and must say they`re just great!
I`m happy with most of mine, but they just miss the little "extra"...
Hope I`m not stealing the post here..

I use a Canon G2 4 megapixel camera.

There is good advice about taking outdoor photographs in the Photography for Hunters Forum on this website and probably many good books on the subject that would be helpful.

Some of the fundamentals are:

Learn how to use the manual controls as well as the automatic settings on your camera. You will often need to make manual exposure adjustments to deal with various lighting and depth of field situations.

Shoot trophy shots with a relatively large aperture setting to draw attention to the trophy and blur the background.

Use fill flash to eliminate shadows and light the subject evenly.

Shoot trophy shots from the eye level of the animal or the hunter; not standing above them.

Place the animal in an attractive pose without blood or a protruding tongue with a suitable natural background (avoid distracting objects in the background).

Photos taken in the field surrounded by the animal's natural habitat are much more pleasing than ones taken in the back of a truck, the floor of a garage, or the carcass hanging in the air at the skinning shed. Keep your camera with you at all times so you can take your photos in the field.

Clear obstructions from the foreground between the camera and the subject such as tall grass, weeds and large rocks.

Take plenty of pictures from various angles and bracket your exposures (normal exposure, slightly over exposed, slightly under exposed)to be sure that you have that one "perfect" shot.

On digital cameras, review the photos immediately. In Playback Mode, zoom in on the hunter's face to make sure that the eyes are open and the expression is pleasing. Delete the bad shots and try again.

Photograph the lodge, your trackers and PH, scenes around camp, the safari car, interesting birds, bugs, plants, landscapes, sunsets, etc. Many hunters return home with nothing but "dead animal" photos and while these are certainly important, they do not tell the whole story of your adventures.

Thanks for your tips! I have a lot to learn of manual settings, exposure etc. I use a 35mm camera, and on my trip to Africa I took some 700 photos (1 month). I also need to improve my scanning, so that the pictures appear better on screen. They tend to be better orginally.
I`m happy with most of my photos, but can`t get those trophy photos perfect. I did try to use the flash to enlighten shadow-areas. But it didn`t work out as good as I thought. The problem is probably that the flash is to weak. I need to buy an external flash that gives more light, I think..

I like to use a enhancing filter in Namabia, it makes the colors jump out. The filter is designed to enhance the red, yellow orange sector, this enhancement plays great in western Namabia. I also like a polarizer. I do alot of chromes in addition to video, digital, print and poloraid ( for the locals) it is a lot of weight but worth it. Also you never know when one of your cameras will have a malfunction. I had my slide camera go off (burnt by fire) and had prints to reshoot into slides for programs. Now if I could just learn how to post the digital pictures here I would have it made!

I will look into the filter-issue as well, because I`ve had similar recommodations before.. Thank you!

Thanks for your replies.

Mark, I read the account of your safari with Dirk weeks ago. It looks as though you and your wife had a wonderful time in Namibia. Nice leopards!

I will not be doing any hunting on this safari, except for hitting the "Record" button when needed.