LOCATION:Sebra Hunting Safaris near Kamanjab, Namibia

BOOKING AGENT: DYI

AIRLINES: British Airways, ORD to LHR to OR Tambo to Windhoek. Very Smooth, very good service and surprisingly good food. Free first run movies and free Bloody Mary's (2).

DATES: June 25, 2015 to July 5, 2015

RIFLES/ AMMO: Camp Ruger 77 in.308, shooting 150 Grain TSX and Camp 8 X 68 mm Mauser shooting 200 grain handloads

ANIMALS HUNTED: Spotted Hyena, Kudu, Gemsbok, Warthog, Blue Wildebeest, Impala

ANIMALS TAKEN: Kudu, Gemsbok, Warthog, Blue Wildebeest

This was my third hunt with Sebra, and after a one year layoff due to knee surgery and gallbladder surgery, I was excited to say the least. Had a 9 hour layover in London, so hopped on the Tubes to Piccadilly Circus and took the 2 ½ hour tour of the city on the "Original Big Bus Tour". It has been 15 years since I was last in London, and not much has changed. After the tour, walked around Trafalgar Square and smoked a couple of Dominican Montecristo cigars while walking about. After my tour and walkabout, took the Tubes back to LHR and took the 7:10 PM flight to OR Tambo. Food was again very tasty, as were the freebie Bloody Mary's. Dinner was a fine chicken dinner with strawberry cheesecake for dessert. Arrived a few minutes early at OR Tambo, did a little shopping and smoked another Montecristo in the "Slow Lounge" on the second floor of the terminal. With no checked luggage or firearms, didn't have to worry about the usual OR Tambo pilferage or hassle over guns. Boarded the noon flight to Windhoek, and once again whizzed through Immigration with my carryon bag and camera case. As soon as I cleared Immigration, I walked into the open lobby, and there was Jan standing waiting for me. Other than a few new grey hairs in his goatee and his temples, he's still 160 pounds of chiseled steel. Chatted about our prior two hunts during the 6 hour drive to his place, stopping to pick his 14 year old son Lourie up in Okahandja at Jan's mother-in-law's house, and then dropped him off at his school in Outjo. Jan's lovely 17 year old daughter Yandi greeted us at the school, and gave her annual peck on the cheek to "Uncle Bud".

After arriving at Jan's ranch around 7:00PM, his wife Mariesje served us her usual world class fare, this time Gemsbok Lasagna.

DAY 1 HUNT, THURSDAY JUNE 25:

The temps in the morning were in the mid 20's F, so luckily I packed warm clothing and gloves. We hit Jan's 100 yard range first, and after 4 shots, shot a solid group 1 ½ inches high at 100 yards. Immediately started scouting for hyena tracks, since that was my #1 targeted species, plus they enjoy munching on Jan's springbok herd. Found two sets of hyena tracks near the same blind where I shot my first African animal, a 40" gemsbok bull, back in 2012. While driving around looking for hyena tracks, saw 8 different kudu bulls, one of which was well over 50". In Jan's words...."he needs another year or two". Also saw a female duiker, a springbok,and 5 or 6 kudu cows and calves. Saw several herds of gemsbok, each containing 8-10 animals. During our travels, I saw more leopard tracks in more places than my previous two hunts. The cats have been hitting the baits that Jan puts out for them, and the leopard hunter who comes later in the season should have an excellent chance for success.

After our scouting mission, returned to Jan's ranch for a delicious lunch of Butternut Squash Soup. After lunch, took a couple of hours nap, since we'd be heading out after dark to hunt for hyenas by moonlight. Dinner was my favorite dish that Mariesje prepares: gemsbok fillets seared over a mopane fire, with mushroom gravy on the side, potatoes au gratin, and apple crisp for dessert. Hunted from 7:00PM to 1:00AM, and saw 12 zebra, an aardvark and a number of gemsbok, Heard hyenas calling off in the distance, and a leopard approached to within about 800 yards, calling for 10-15 minutes.

DAY 2 OF HUNT, JUNE 26:

Up at 6:30 AM, breakfast of omelets, bacon and coffee, and went to the tower blind at 8:00 AM. Saw numerous gemsbok and 4 springbok males, one of which is a trophy breeder buck, and therefore off-limits for another year or two. Just before noon, a herd of kudu cows and calves approached us, and off in the distance we saw a shooter kudu bull. The cows came to within 80 yards of us, but spooked when we moved to pass the rifle to my position. The bull ran off,and presented a broadside shot at about 240 yards. The shot felt good, but when we walked over to check for spoor we only found a couple of specks of blood. We tracked for hours, but found no further blood or evidence of a lethal hit. As we were tracking, a trophy warthog was encountered, but he boogied before I could set up on the sticks.

We headed back to the ranch for a late lunch at 3:30 PM, consisting of spinach and mushroom quiche, which Mariesje knows I love. Headed back to the same blind at 6:00PM, complete with mattresses for an all- night sit. We stayed until 6:30 AM, and hyenas were heard but not seen. A breeding pair of leopards were heard within 800 yards of us, and they sure were not discrete about their activities. The temps that night were WAY below freezing, and Jan's diesel Toyota truck wouldn't start. A ranch worker had to make the 40 minute drive to us in Jan's Mercedes Unimog, and jumper cables fired us right up. Made it back to the ranch at 9:00 AM for coffee and snacks. Mariesje had already left to pick the kids up from school in Outjo, 100 miles each way.

DAY 3 OF HUNT, JUNE 27:

Drove to Jan's father's ranch just to the north to look for warthogs. Saw a sow with piglets, but no boars. Had lunch of German potato salad with chunks of grilled gemsbok- YUM!! After lunch, drove to a different part of Jan's ranch, looking for warthogs. Saw 15- 20 kudu, a herd of 12-15 springbok, 2 steenbok, and a lone duiker. Found numerous leopard tracks, and Jan hung a recently deceased goat in a tree 50 yards from the fresh tom leopard tracks. Returned to the ranch at 4:30 PM to freshen up, and yet another delicious meal of gemsbok schnitzel with very light breading. Left at 7:00 PM for a different hyena blind than the previous 2 nights. Heard several hyenas 400 - 500 yards off, but they never approached within range. Saw numerous gemsbok, zebra, and a pair of jackals twice. One of the jackals had a pronounced limp, so he was easy to identify the second time he came back. Hunted until 7:15 AM and rode back to camp and a breakfast of eggs, sausage and coffee with Jan's wife and kids. His son Lourie has grown 6 inches since I saw him two years ago, and his voice has deepened. He had the remnants of a black eye from a school rugby match. He aspires to some day make the Namibian National Rugby Team, like his uncle Johnnie, Mariesje's brother. Jan has added 400 goats to his 300+ cows and steer, and Lourie helps with ranch chores, even driving around the ranch in their Toyota truck to run errands. After three hard days of hunting, no animals in the salt, but not for lack of effort. The unseasonably cold weather the first three days severely restricted animal movement, and in those days, we did not see a single baboon or guinea fowl, even though Jan's ranch is overrun with them.

DAY 4 OF THE HUNT, JUNE 28:

Went to Jan's father's ranch in pursuit of warthogs. Saw one steenbok, and one young warthog boar. Went back to Jan's ranch for a sit at a spot where we've seen warthogs on previous trips. At 11:45 AM, a very mature bull gemsbok appeared at 125 yards. Since we were on the ground with little cover, Jan told me to take the first open shot. Although the bull was angling slightly towards us, I aimed for his opposite side shoulder and squeezed off the shot. I'm pretty experienced at "calling my shots" and I called this one a dead center "X". We couldn't find a single drop of blood, and I was thinking it was deja vu all over again. We followed several heavily used trails, and on the fourth trail we found him bedded down, but with his head up. A 70 yard offhand finishing shot put him down for good. He was a massive bodied old "dugga boy" of a bull with massive bases and broomed horn tips. Here's a picture of him:



Here's a closeup pf the brooming on the gemsbok bull's horns:




One of Jan's traditions is a Jaegermeister toast at the end of a successful hunt, after the guns are put away for the day. Here we are celebrating our gemsbok kill:



Jan is a master of posing the animals we harvest, and all blood is removed, and the animals are treated with the utmost respect, to include the picking of a green sprig containing leaves, dipping it in the animals blood, and wearing the sprig in my cap for the balance of the day. We were back to the skinning shed by 12:15, and a delicious lunch of gemsbok burgers was served. After lunch, it was shower and shave time, and a brief nap. Gave small presents to Jan's kids to take back to school with them. Here's a picture of Yandi,her beautiful mother Mariesje, Lourie and myself. I'm the grey haired old guy:



Jan's kids are both outstanding students, and Lourie is also quite an athlete. Had the pleasure of meeting for the second time Jan's Dad, Lawrence du Plessis. The senior Mr. du Plessis bears a striking resemblance to Chuck Yeager (The Right Stuff) at the same age (72). Dinner was gemsbok stroganoff, served over rice, with German chocolate cake for dessert. After two straight all night sits for hyenas, we decided to give them a rest, and went to bed by 8:00PM. For the third straight day, no baboons or guineau fowl were sighted, due to the extreme cold weather.

DAY 5, JUNE 29:

Headed over to "Farm Beulah" located about 50 miles north of Jan's ranch, and just a couple of miles south of Kamanjab. Our quarry for the day was impala/ springbok/ kudu/warthog/blue wildebeest in no particular order. Saw a very nice blue wildebeest bull about 10:00 AM, and just as we started our stalk, an unseen kudu cow scented us, and sounded the alarm. Went to the same blind where I shot a giant red hartebeest back in 2013, and a steady procession of game paraded by us, including gemsbok, 2 young warthogs, a herd of kudu cows and calves, and a lone zebra. Finally, after a field lunch, a mature kudu bull appeared at 100 yards and offered a shot. Unlike my earlier failed shot at a kudu bull, this one dropped at the shot. He flopped around for a bit, so I put two finishing shots in his neck to complete the kill. A great sense of relief, after my earlier botched kudu shot. Here's what he looked like:



Next target was impala, but we only saw two impala does, and tons (20+) of hartebeest. I thought of "MEJ" here on Accurate Reloading, who calls them "Hard to Kill Beasts". We also saw several 50"+ bulls, but with one in the salt, no interest. Dinner was a savory schnitzel dish.

DAY 6, JUNE 30TH:

Jan and I decided that hyena just wasn't in the cards for us, so we focused on warthog. Saw tons of kudu cows and calves and several dozen gemsbok. Finally, about 11:00 AM a shooter warthog appeared, but he winded us just as I set up for the shot. Came in for lunch and headed back out into the field. Refreshed some leopard baits, and saw the usual herds of kudu, including a couple of 50"+ bulls. Cruising around, I came within 2-3 seconds of shooting a jackal. On the way back to camp, a large male baboon appeared on a nearby kopje, but he headed out of Dodge before I could get set up on him. Headed back to the ranch, where Jan cooked a delicious stir fry, while wearing a Harrod's of London apron, a gift from one of his Brit clients.

DAY 7, JULY 1:

Back to Farm Beulah trying for Blue Wildebeest/Warthog or Impala. On the drive into the property,saw a large herd of impala, with a trophy ram among them. No shot was offered, so we headed on. At our next blind, we saw a herd of 33 red hartebeest, 12 gemsbok, a young blue wildebeest bull,and 6 warthogs, two of which were trophies. When a trophy warthog boar with his sow starting walking away at 225 yards, I took the shot. Jan saw the impact, and thought the hit was 6 to 12 inches behind the shoulder. We walked over to where he had been standing when we lost sight of him heading into a thorn thicket.He went less than 100 yards and stopped broadside at 40 yards. I shot right behind his shoulder, and yet he ran off again. The area he ran off to was an almost inpenetrable jungle of thorns, and Jan suggested I stay behind to avoid being ripped to shreds. Thirty minutes later, I heard the roar of Jan's .375 Ruger, and the warthog was down. Jan walked back to get me, and we drove the truck as close as we could get it, which was still 300+ yards from the downed boar. Jan took the appropriate trophy shots, then finished the drag back to the truck. Here's what he looked like:


Jan's Toyota truck died on the road back to his ranch, about 10 miles from home. Mariesje came to our rescue driving her SUV and using a tow strap to get us back home. Dinner was gemsbok fillets stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon.

DAY 8, JULY 2:

With Jan's truck in need of repair in Outjo, I hunted on his neighbor Danie Jansen Van Vuren's ranch, about 15 miles south. I hunted with a 25 year PH old named Lourens Grobler, who is a clone of Jay Novachek, the former Dallas Cowboy of the NFL. For the first time, I had the use of a Himba tracker named Kamadi, who has worked on Danie's ranch for 8 years. We adopted the strategy of climbing kopjes, spotting for blue wildebeest bulls, then conducting stalks to get in range. Three long distance stalks resulted in three close calls, but no shots fired. After several hours and many miles walked, took a break for a field lunch of gemsbok rollups, oranges, and Diet Fanta. Finally, about 2:30 PM, Kamadi spotted a giant blue wildebeest, and we got to within 80-90 yards. Both Lourens and Kamadi whispered urgently.... "SHOOT, SHOOT" !! I pressed the trigger on Jan's loaner 8 X 68 mm Mauser, and the bull dropped like he was struck by lightening. Pictures were taken, including the one just below:



Drove back to Danie's ranch house, where Kamadi skinned the bull out for a European mount. I gave Kamadi a $200 Namibian tip, which is about $16 US. You'd think I'd given him a $1000 US tip, he was so genuinely appreciative. Drove north to Danie's parent's ranch, where I met his Mom and Dad, "Big Danie", two hard working cattle and goat breeders. Jan met us here with Mariesje's car, and we headed north to Jan's ranch with Lourens joining us. Had a great meal of gemsbok pie, numerous Tafels, and of course our Jaegermeister toast. Went to bed at 8:30 PM, completely drained but happy. Got to sleep in until 7:30 AM, after 8 busy days of hunting. Lourens PH's for Danie and also his brother L'Wyk and has a bright future ahead of him. In addition to being a PH, he helps his parents run their large cattle ranch. With his pleasant personality and strong work ethic, he's a rising star among Namibian PH's.

DAY 9, JULY 3 (LAST HUNTING DAY):
Now that Jan has wi-fi on his ranch, I'm able to communicate with my wife, family, and hunting buddies back in the USA. In checking Facebook, got to see pictures of my middle grandson Nolan Meadows, whose Little League baseball team was undefeated in their regular season, and then swept the playoffs for a perfect season. His trophy is almost as tall as he is. Also saw pictures on Facebook of my 11 year old granddaughter Maddie, who was attending the Doug Bruno basketball camp at a college outside of Chicago. Headed out for a last day of searching for baboons and jackals, and had one close call with a large male baboon who was quicker on the draw than I was on the sticks. Could have shot an African Wildcat, but my trophy fee budget wouldn't allow it. Spent the afternoon checking leopard baits, and ran into an extensive amount of fresh elephant tracks, some less than a half mile from Jan's house. Here are some of the tracks:




Dinner at 6:00 PM of T-Bones, potatoes and peas, with chocolate mousse for dessert.

that is a beauty of a Gemsbok bull

quote:

Originally posted by Gale Johnson:
that is a beauty of a Gemsbok bull

Agreed! Love the mass. Glad you folks had a good hunt.

Great photos Bud, Im the leopard hunter this year so looking good for me! did you see any sign of Brown Hyena?

quote:

Originally posted by RickyClark:
Great photos Bud, Im the leopard hunter this year so looking good for me! did you see any sign of Brown Hyena?

Ricky: You're a lucky guy- Jan has leopard up the whazoo this year. Since I live in the USA, we were targeting spotted hyena. Saw tons of hyena tracks but you can't tell spotted from brown by their tracks.

Thank Bud appreciate it

That sure sounds like the way to go Bud. I may have to travel that light once. But not this time with my girls along. But I too chose BA so I am glad to hear that part too. And those are sure great trophy. Nice. Thank you.

Looks great BUD. Amazing mass on the Gemsbok.

Cheers
Jim

Very nice trophies!

I am going to send a PM to ask about your dip/pack/ship experiences.

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:
Looks great BUD. Amazing mass on the Gemsbok.

Cheers
Jim

Thanks, Jim. Your recommendation of Casa Piccola was spot on- nice place, very reasonable rates, close to Joe's and a free breakfast to boot. Looking forward to seeing your recommended tourist spots for my wife and my upcoming trip in September to Anchorage.

Congratulations Bud, another fine hunt with Jan. I enjoyed reading your report. We will just have to keep trying for that spotted hyena!
Jytte

Great report and I'm glad to see Jan and the family are doing well. It has been four years since I hunted with them and I really want to get back one of these days. Glad you had a great time.

Don

Awesome!

Great trophies and love the old boar. Very well done.

Thanks for sharing!!! Congratulations for your successful safari!

Best regards, D. Nelson

Thanks for the kind words, especially from such AR icons as Jim W., Jyette, Andrew and Dee. I've learned a lot from your prior posts, and hope I can help some "newbie" like I was three years ago.

I have been on some expensive Tanzania hunts, but none had cooks as good as Mariesje. Lourie sure has grown.

Congratulations Bud.

That is a super Gemsbok bull......all your trophies are great in fact.

Congrats on a great safari and some very nice trophies. Thats a superb old gemsbuck.
Thanks for sharing.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that the reasons I was unsuccessful in bagging a spotted hyena while hunting with Jan at Sebra Hunting Safaris were twofold: 1) I couldn't stay awake beyond 1:00 AM; 2) When I'd fall asleep, I'd snore loud enough to warn any hyenas within a mile radius of our blind. I have recently purchased a mouthpiece that is similar to the mouthpiece that professional boxers wear that supposedly prevents snoring. I haven't used it yet because I recently cracked one of my crowns and will have it repaired next week. Since the mouthpiece is custom molded, I wanted to make sure it would fit with the new crown. If it works, look out hyenas at Sebra!

Great report, thank you for taking the time to post it.

I hunted Farm Beulah in 2004 with the farm's owner. Have you met him on your trips there?

quote:

Originally posted by TrademarkTexan:
Great report, thank you for taking the time to post it.

I hunted Farm Beulah in 2004 with the farm's owner. Have you met him on your trips there?

Back in 2012, I briefly met a German gentleman whom I believe was the owner. It's a nice piece of land with lots of critters on it.