Namibia 2010
Hunters: 2X1 Casey and Travis Apsley
PH / Outfitter: Jan de Plessis, Sebra Hunting Safaris http://www.sebrahunt.com/
Game Taken: Each of us shot: one Kudu, one Blue Wildebeest, one Springbok and two Gemsbok. Additionally Casey shot a Warthog.
Game hunted but not taken: We pursued Red Hartebeest and Zebra the last two-and-a-half days as we had already shot everything else that we had originally planned on shooting. We viewed the Steenbok and Duiker as animals of opportunity.
Game Seen but not hunted: Giraffe, Black Wildebeest, Klipspringer, Dik Dik, Eland, Baboon & Jackal.
Rifles: Travis shot a Thompson Center Encore in 450 Marlin & Casey shot a Remington Model Seven in .308. Both rifles shooting hand loaded Barnes Triple Shock Bullets.
Travel: Lufthansa from Denver Colorado to Frankfurt, Germany (A340/600) / Air Namibia from Frankfurt to Windhoek, Namibia (A340/300).

My brother and I hunted with Jan du Plessis of Sebra Hunting Safaris June 5th through the 13th. Sebra is located in the Kunene Region of Northwest Namibia near the town of Kamanjab.
We had a phenomenal time and I cannot think of a single negative thing to say about our adventure. The property is massive, the game quality and quantity was incredible, the accommodations were amazing and the cooking…WOW! Jan’s wife Mariesje is an extraordinary cook. Each meal was consistently the greatest food I have ever been able to experience. It would be worth booking a 21-day safari with Jan just to sit at the lodge and eat Mariesje’s cooking.
Jan provided us with the exact hunt that we were after. We worked our butts off for each trophy by getting as close as possible before shooting. Jan is a great partner in the field with a vast amount of knowledge and skill. Travel into the field was done with a Unimog truck with spot and stalk hunting done from kopjes.

Day One
Instead of flipping a coin to see who would shoot first, Casey and I decided that he would be the first to shoot a Gemsbok and I would shoot the first Kudu. We are going after Gemsbok today so Casey is to be the shooter.
We locate a group of Gemsbok from on top of a kopje and decide to make a stalk. Jan executed a great stalk that put us within 120 yards of a nice bull. Just as we got into position, the bull laid down in the grass, so we just had to wait him out. After we had been there quite a while the bull finally stood up; Jan instructed Casey to move into shooting position but before Casey even moved, the bull laid back down. Jan looked back toward the bedded down Gemsbok and a Kudu walks into the field of view in his binoculars. Jan recommended we take the Kudu as we can always find another Gemsbok. I move up onto the shooting sticks in a sitting position and fired. The Kudu was quartering slightly away and never knew we were around.
I’m sure that over the years, as this story is retold, my brother will begin to claim that we allowed a 48” Gemsbok to get away just so I could shoot this little Kudu.

Travis' Kudu



Day Two
We are back out looking for a Gemsbok for Casey. After glassing from a couple kopjes and only seeing young animals, we were about to move to another area when we noticed a tail swishing back and forth but could not see the whole animal. We moved to the next closest kopje to see if we could get a better view of the animal from there. We scrambled up the kopje, Jan peeked over the top and called for Casey to move up next to him. Casey took a rest across the rock and made the shot. The Gemsbok bull didn’t move 10 feet from where he was shot.

Casey's Gemsbok


Day Three
We are pursuing Gemsbok for me today. Seeing only immature animals throughout the day. Late in the day we did come across a solitary bull. We moved in to take a closer look at him and I decided to pass on him.

Day Four
Jan has Bon Jovi playing at breakfast and I mentioned to Casey that it had to be an indication of being a great day.
After breakfast, I was standing out by the truck, glassing the valley floor below when I saw a Kudu bull. We quickly gathered up everything and went after him. We got on him right away. The bull was aware of our presence. Casey made a quick shot. We found the Kudu about 50 yards from where he was shot.

Casey's Kudu


After getting the Kudu back to the skinning shed we were back out after Gemsbok. From the first kopje we climbed we located a group of very nice gemsbok. In this group were some very nice bulls and cows. There was an animal off to the side that we could only see part of. We made a plan to get around to another kopje to get a better look at him. From the second kopje we could see that it was a nice animal but it was a little further than what I wanted to shoot. We backed up and climbed further up the kopje, which became a little interesting, as we had to climb up some huge smooth face boulders to get to where we needed to be. From our next perch we could see that the Gemsbok that we were after had moved off and so even though we had gotten closer the shot was even further than where we first were. We scrambled down off of the kopje and made a stalk. We moved from bush to bush until we could not move in any further. I sat up to the shooting sticks and made a 150-yard shot. The Gemsbok bull dropped at the shot. This was a thrilling stalk that ended with us being in position with the entire herd completely unaware of our presence.
We had shot a Kudu and Gemsbok before 11am.

Travis' Gemsbok


After our mid-day break we went down on the river to look for Warthog, Duiker and Steenbok. We did not have an opportunity for a shot but had a great time just being out hunting and enjoying Africa.

Day Five
We moved to another area to hunt Blue Wildebeest and Springbok. Casey shot his Blue Wildebeest and Springbok in the morning and I shot my Blue Wildebeest and Springbok in the afternoon. We were not trophy hunting for the Blue Wildebeest. We just wanted a mature representation of that animal.
We found the Blue Wildebeest to be a challenging animal to hunt. It was not hard to locate the herd but difficult to make a stalk without being detected.

Casey's Blue Wildebeest


Casey's Springbok


Travis' Blue Wildebeest


Travis' Springbok


Day Six
During the morning Casey and I both shot our second Gemsboks and in the evening sat in a stand in an area where Jan had been seeing a large Warthog. We had several female and juvenile Warthogs come into water as well as quite a few Kudu.

Casey's Second Gemsbok


Travis' Second Gemsbok


Here is one of the pictures of a fresh Leopard track. We would see these on the road just about every morning as we traveled through this area. I placed a 450 Marlin cartridge next to it for size comparison. Casey wanted me to say the cartridge was a 458 Lott.


Day Seven
We moved to a different area to hunt Red Hartebeest. Three different times we attempted a stalk, only to have the wind switch on us and reveal our position. We took our mid-day break in a blind at a water hole. After we had been there a couple hours, a big Warthog came to water. Casey used Jan’s 375 Ultra Mag and the Pig dropped at the shot. I thought it looked like about 180 yards but Casey was sure we could all agree that it was at least 350 yards. We became even more pleased with this trophy as we approached it as we could then see that all four tusks were perfect. Not a single tusk was chipped or broken.

Casey's Warthog


Days Eight and Nine
We are after Zebra back on Jan’s place. The wind continues to be a challenge. It was switching direction every 20 minutes throughout the day due to a cold front that was moving through. We make a couple attempts at a stalk with no luck. This is a challenging animal to hunt and I would like to hunt them again.


Casey and I have dreamed of hunting Africa since we were boys, and going in we had very high expectations. Jan and Mariesje exceeded all of our expectations and more. They went above and beyond what was required of them, and every detail was taken care of. Because of their efforts, everything that we did during the eleven days we spent with this family was pure enjoyment. It is difficult to summarize such a tremendous adventure. We had the time of our lives.

Man, let me be the first to offer congratulations. Very nice trophies!

Great report and trophies.

It must be very special to be able to hunt Africa with your brother.

Thanks for sharing your great pictures and story.

Very nice trophies. I especially like the kudu.

Thanks for sharing! Good story and very nice photo's.

Great to see that Namibia can produce some really good trophies and that you had a first class experience. For me the Kudu are top notch.

The track is Hyena not Leopard.

Great report. You guys shot some really nice trophys,

quote:

Originally posted by chuckmaxman:
Thanks for sharing! Good story and very nice photo's.

+1

Casey's kudu is very nice

very good report and hunt. i love namibia too

Congrats on a great hunt, very nice trophies! Having hunted there right before you arrived I would expect nothing less. Jan is a great PH and Mariesje an excellent host and cook. When life gets back in order here I'll post my report.

Nice report, thanks for sharing.

Sounds like you and your brother had a wonerful hunt. You certainly got some great trophies.

Outstanding. Congratulations!

Great intel report - I love that place too. Was there in May 08, Aug 09 and will be there at the end of this Aug.

Great animals and I am willing to bet you want a Unimog now!!

Is Jan still wearing that 44 Ruger everywhere? Is the boer bull Ruger and the bitch still under foot? How old are the two most well mannered children now? Are the bats still living in the thatch of the guest cottage breezeway?
Did you hunt his father's ranch next to Jan's as well and take a noon time nap under the mopane trees along the dry wash of the Haub ?
Yes Jan is a superb hunter and Mariejse are fine hostess.

2th doc,
Yes, Jan still has the 44 Blackhawk everywhere he goes.
The kids are now 9 & 12 years old.
We did see the bats flying at night but never saw them residing in the breezeway.
We did hunt Jan's fathers place along the Haub, but did not take a mid-day break there. I was amazed at how wide the river bed was and how large the bases of the trees were there. The trees have to be ancient.

Really nice pics. Congrats on your hunt.

Mad Dog