This is a continuation of an earlier post from a couple of days ago...Before I continue the story I would like to give you an idea of the general area and consitions. The area where I hunted in northern Namibia is very arid (basically desert) with some Mopane, Acacia, and a few other trees mixed in. The landscape also include quite a lot of granite rocks, ridges and outcrops. The grass was about knee high when we were there but I understand that is only because of the heavy (17 inches) of rain that the area received this year. ALso, with regard to rifle and load, my rifle for the hunt was a Browning A bolt in .300 WSM caliber. The ammo was 180 Barnes TSX.

Day 5-This day started the same as the rest-early breakfast, gather up gear and head out to the hunting area. Helmke decided that we should go to one of his favorite water holes and see what might come in. He felt that we might be lucky enough to see a nice Kudu bull and maybe get a shot. We got to the blind just after 7:30. I am not positive because I did not wear a watch during the entire hunt. In any event, several animals of different description came to the waterhole that morning including a small Sprinbok ram that walked within 10 feet of us going from one side of the water hole to the other. A Warthog sow did the same thing a little later in the morning. Her entire litter was following along right behind her. All very entertaining, but not what we had hoped to see. As the morning passed we saw several Kudu cows come and go but not bulls. Then, out of nowhere a huge Gemsbok cow showed up. Helmke estimated her horns to be at least 40 inches. I really wanted to take that cow...but I knew that my chances of killing a Kudu bull would be diminished considerably if I pulled the trigger. So I passed. Not smart, but I wanted a Kudu. We stayed in the blind until lunchtime and had a great meal right there in the blind. Usually lunch was some type of game meat, a portion of fruit or salad and a dessert. I don't remember exactly what Dagmar had prepared for us that day but I ate all of mine.
Since we had spent so much time at the water hole that morning without results Helmke thought that it would be good to spend the afternoon walking. I agreed. I can only sit for so long in a blind without getting restless and that included today. So Helmke and Pente packed up our lunch boxes and we all started out of the blind towards the truck. I was last in line and got maybe five feet away from the blind before Helmke motioned and whispered "get down!" at the same time. Everyone immediately hit the dirt. I slowly turned my head towards Helmke to see what was going on. He motioned for me to put a round in the chamber. As I am doing this several Kudu cows show up at the water hole. Then the Warthogs wander in followed by one, two, no three Kudu bulls. I am laying on my back with my rifle across my stomach. The bulls are probably 70 yards away, if that. They move closer to the water to get a drink with the cows all around them. The cows are continually going through the motions of taking a quick drink and then sticking there heads up one at a time to look around. There is always at least one head looking around...usually at us. I am in the shade but my wife, Pente and Helmke are in the sun. With all these eyes looking around I am not optimistic about getting a shot off at one of these bulls. Helmke takes a chance and whispers "take the last bull". I nod in agreement. These are not giant bulls but they look huge to me today. After Helmke tells me which bull to shoot the cows and bulls start to mingle quite a bit creating quite a challenge for me to keep the right bull in view and have a clear shot away from the cows. I knew that my window of opportunity to take a bull was closing very fast so I slowly raised up up off of the ground and got the rifle into position. At this point I am sitting on my butt with the rifle resting on my knees and my arm in the sling. I find the bull in my scope and fire. Boom! The bull falls to its knees and is up again in a flash. I jump to my feet and cycle another round into the chamber as the beast gallops across the shallow end of the water hole and up the embankment on the other side. The bull looks like he is about to jump the fence at the top of the embankment. I am about to put another round into him when he collapses and slides down the embankment directly into the water hole. The bull is very dead and very wet. All I can see is one horn sticking out of the water. The rest of the group is laughing hysterically at this sequence of events. They are literally rolling around on the ground. I didn't think it was nearly as funny especially since now I have to go diving for Kudu. Pente walks over to the edge of the water hole and starts taking off his shoes and socks. He wades in a few steps and grabs the bull by one horn. Evidently the animal has quite a bit of air in him and so Pente basically steers the thing to the edge of the tank on top of the water. Once the bull is at the bank we tug like crazy just to get him out of the water (3 of us). Helmke heads of to get the truck so that we can winch the thing into the bed and get him to the skinners. I am very excited that I finally have my bull. Then Helmke comes over and congratulates me on my trophy...and also shares with me that I shot the wrong bull! What! Holy #@%&^! "Don't worry about it" he said "the bulls were all very close in size." I felt pretty stupid but I am still very happy with my bull and wouldn't trade him for the world.
After we took care of the bull we spent the rest of the day looking for Springbok without success. It was another great day of hunting in Africa, however, and the Zebra steaks that we had for dinner (cooked over Mopane wood) were incredible.

Day 6-Today we are going to Etosha Park which is slightly northeast of our hunting area. We are hoping to see some big 5 animals. On the way to the park we saw 2 Cheetah running across the road. Helmke had mentioned to us earlier that it would not be likely that we see a cat of any kind so my wife and I were very excited to see two of them. We tried to get pictures but they didn't turn out. I was a little slow with the digital camera.
We saw several Elephants while we wre there including a mother and her little one at a water hole. The two were very entertaining and we got some decent pictures. We also saw four lions laying under a tree after a kill. They were 25-30 feet away from us while we were taking pictures from the van. We also saw large numbers of Zebra, Wildebeest and Springbok.
In all it was a great day and a break from out hunt. The Park itself does not seem to be in very good shape, however. Helmke said that there is too much game for the amount of land available. I don't know if that is the case or not but the area of the Park that we went to looks pretty bad.

Day 7-Today will be a little different from the other days because we are hunting another ranch that is supposed to have Elephants on it. The ranch is about 18,000 acres roughly 20 minutes away from Helmke's ranch. By the way, there are no fences except for cattle fences (slick line-no barbed wire) on either of these properties. The game moves freely from one area to another.
We are hunting for Hartmann's Zebra today. On the way out of Helmke's ranch we saw another Cheetah. Helmke was not at all excited about that because the Cheetah have been killing his goats for quite a while.
We got to the ranch and immediately started looking for Zebra. We spotted one within 30 minutes and got to within about 80 yards of him (after quite a bit of crawling and my favorite activity-duck walking) but once I got my rifle up and looked into the scope all I could see were stripes and twigs. No shot. The thing spooked very quickly because of the ever changing winds so I did not have much time to study the situation. It was basically shoot or don't shoot so I passed. Later in the morning we made another stalk on a group of Zebra, getting to within about 150 yards. Same deal. The wind direction changed suddenly and off they went. So much for getting a Zebra today.
By now it was lunch time so we took a break to eat and get out of the sun.
After lunch we headed out to look for Zebra again and stumbled onto a really big Gemsbok cow. We attempted a stalk but ran into a large group of Baboons who caught wind of our presence and started going nuts howling and screaming. Needless to say the game in the area disappeared in short order. Given the circumstances we headed off in a different direction to a blind at the edge of a tank dam. We got into the blind and almost immediately noticed that we were not alone. There were several Baboons on the far side of the water hole including one in the top of a tree. We tried to be very quiet hoping that the monkeys wouldn't see us. However, even though we were well hidden, it was clear that we would not be able to stay in this position all day with those filthy beasts in the area. The winds continued to blow in different directions but fortunately did not blow in the direction of the Baboons for about 30 minutes. In that time a really big Gemsbok cow appeared in the bush on the far side of the water hole and about 200 yards or so from the Baboons. I asked Helmke for his opinion on the length of the cow's horns. He said "about 39 inches". I had passed on what he thought was a 40' cow the day before. I had know intention of letting this trophy get away.
The blind is positioned about 140ish yards away from the cow and 30 to 40 feet higher. She is not broadside but the front half of her body is in the open. She is facing me at roughly a 45 degree angle. I am sitting on a stool and my rifle is resting on my fanny pack which is laying on the granite rocks that make up one side of the blind. This is not a difficult shot. But in my mind I keep thinking that the Baboons will start screaming any second or that the cow will step back into the bush or that the wind will change...Boom! I had lined her up in my scope and shot within a few seconds fearing all of the things mentioned above. She fell to the ground immediately then bounced back up and ran off into the bush. I looked at Helmke in disgust. Then Pente mumbled a few words in Afrikaans to Helmke. "What did he say" I asked. He said "they always rush". Indeed. I couldn't have said it better myself. I wanted to wait for a while before we went after the cow because I was afraid that we might push her deeper into the bush and I wanted to avoid that at all cost. Helmke agreed and we sat for several minutes (seemed like hours) before going after the cow. He was trying to make me feel better by telling me that this happens all the time and that it is extremely rare for an animal to drop where right where it is shot and blah, blah, blah...He meant well but the words had no impact on me. We go directly to where the cow was shot and of course, see no blood. Helmke and Pente had a pretty good idea of which way our the animal had run immediately after the shot so I followed them through the bush with my rifle at the ready. Helmke had talked to me earlier in the week about how shot placement was critical on a Gemsbok and that they typically don't leave much of a blood trail (this is his view but I was in no position to question it) so I was very concerned that we might have difficulty tracking the thing if it ran any distance. The bush in this particular area is very thick and it is really difficult to see any distance. Not to mentioned getting scratched by every kind of thorn imaginable. We went about 40-50 yds when Pente raised his machete and pointed towards a large clump of trees not far away. My Gemsbok was laying there stone dead resting against some very large rocks. What a relief! I was very excited but also upset with myself because I had rushed the shot when it wasn't necessary and was very lucky that the rest of the afternoon wasn't spent tracking a wounded animal. The time that I spent at the range was helpful to me but that kind of practice didn't help me with my poor judgement.
Now that the animal is down we have to figure a way to get her out and onto the truck. We all start looking around for a trail (which doesn't exist). The next sound I hear is Pente whistling. He has already started moving rocks and cutting through bush to make a road for us. We all pitch in and an hour or two later we have a path of sorts which is all we need to get the truck to the Gemsbok. We load her up without too much difficulty and head off to get her caped.
Once we get the animal undressed it is almost dark. Another day is over. One more day...and one more chance for a Zebra.

Day 8-Today is the last hunting day and my last chance for a Zebra. My wife has been with me in the field every day and on every stalk. Quite frankly, I am amazed. She does not hunt or camp or do things of this nature normally. She was raised in Chicago and works in Mid town Manhattan. Not your typical rugged outdoors type person. She has not complained once during the trip. She has appropriated my binoculars for her use and has been a fairly good game spotter during the hunt. She really likes being here. Yippee! My odds of returning to Africa for another hunt have increased exponentially over the past week.

Now about the Zebra...the first day we saw Zebra everywhere. They were by the side of the road. They were mixing with the Gemsbok. We even saw them at a water hole. That is before we started HUNTING Zebra. Now they are no where to be found. When we do see them it is not for very long. Invariably the wind changes or we make too much noise or a Baboon starts barking or a Giraffe comes by to say hello. Whatever the situation, something bad happens and the Zebra disappear. Now it is the last day and the pressure is on. The wind, as usual, is not cooperating. It continues to change direction frequently. It is also hot (at least 90). Not that the Zebra care, but every time I have to duck walk or crawl through the bush I feel every degree of the heat. We make two difficult stalks in the morning with no success. Difficult is defined as my knees are bleeding again from crawling across the hard desert pan. Basically the stalks went like this-we see Zebra, crawl, duck walk or do whatever is most painful to get close to them and just when I think that I might have a shot... they disappear. That is the Reader's Digest version but it conveys the overall situation I think. By lunch time I am hot, tired, thirsty, hungry and more than a little frustrated. Not necessarily in that order. We stop and have lunch under a Mopane tree. There is a light breeze blowing and it feels really good right now. The fact that I don't have to be concerned about the direction of the wind or when it will change makes the breeze feel even better. I really enjoyed my lunch on the last day. For whatever reason it seemed better than any other lunch during the week. This is great. We take our time with lunch and then pack up our boxes and load everything onto the truck. We drive for a while hoping to spot Zebra but without much luck. At one point Helmke stops and gets out of the truck. We take a short hike and end up on top of a granite oucrop roughly 30 feet high. Pente and Helmke are glassing the area looking for our quarry but ther are none to be found. Helmke spots some Kudu cows not too far away and looks at them very closely. Suddenly he touches my arm and points in the direction of the cows. In the bush roughly 150 yds away is a Kudu bull...a REALLY BIG Kudu bull. Is this a test? I am hesitant to even look at the thing because I know that I will be tempted to shoot it. Naturally I take his binoculars and study the bull to death. "How big?" I asked. "At least 50 inches" he said. I hesitate, then shake my head, no. At this point it is imperative that I get off these rocks immediately or I will shoot this bull. If I pull the trigger that means no Zebra. I really want a Zebra and so does my wife. SO down the rocks I go and back to the truck. I while think about this decision for the rest of the day.

We drove a little further down one of the many dirt roads on the ranch to a place that Helmke thought was a likely hangout for Zebra. This area is very rocky and contains a lot of granite hills, ridges, cliffs and general up and down type of terrain. Everyone checked their water supply and off we go...and go...and go. For what seems like forever we walk up and down. No Zebra, no Gemsbok, no nothing. The place is deserted. By now it is mid afternoon and I am very hot, tired and thirsty. My wife is hanging in there but she has given up on the idea of me getting a Zebra. We seem to be going through the motions. I am starting to think of a cold drink and a hot shower. In that order. Helmke and Pente never slow down, never say a word, never doubt. I guess that is why they do what they do. Finally, we come across some fresh Zebra tracks. Helmke is excited but I am skeptical. We follow the tracks for no more than a few hundred yards when Helmke motions for me to put a round in the chamber. I comply asap and follow closely behind Helmke. My wife is right behind me. We walk roughly another 50 yards and just around the edge of an outcrop I see 3 Zebra no more than 60 yards away. Two are standing very close together broadside behind some bush. The other is looking directly at me. There is no time to study the matter. I raise my rifle and shoot from an offhand position at the Zebra facing me.. right in the chest. It stumbles then disappears over the ridge. My heart is about to jump out of my chest. I am so excited that I cannot think clearly. I start to put another round into the chamber but one is already there. Slow down! I take a few deep breaths and look at Helmke. I know that we have to wait for a few minutes before we go look for the Zebra, but I really want to go after it right now. Helmke does a good job of calming me down so I can think straight. I take a drink of water and wait the required time. Tick, tock, tick tock...it seems like I am counting seconds instead of minutes. Finally we go. Down a ravine and up the other side to where the animal was shot. Pente leads the way, with Helmke following and me behind him. Pente spotted the animal about 40 yds from where it was shot. She lay dead on the side of a ridge among the ever present granite rocks. It was a 20 year old mare. I was excited and relieved at the same time. I finally had my Zebra! My wife was at least as excited as I was. It was 3:00 in the afternoon when I found the Zebra (I cheated and looked at Pente's watch). How's that for a last chance trophy? 3:00 on the last day! Maybe it was ok to pass on that big Kudu bull after all.

After we took pictures Helmke shared with me that my trophy was too far from the road to load on the truck and that we would have to skin and quarter the beast right where she lay. That being the case, my wife and I stayed with my trophy while Pente and Helmke went to get the truck and call in reinforcements. The skinners arrived wearing their slick aprons in what seemd like about 45 minutes (remember, I don't have a watch). Helmke and Pente arrived soon after. Once everyone arrived they wasted no time in skinning the animal and getting it quartered. The whole operation was done by dark and we were back at the ranch house by dark thirty.

I don't know if I could have had a better ending to my hunt. However, I feel very fortunate that I actually did get a Zebra because things could have easily gone the other way.

Day 9-We have breakfast and then load our gear for the long ride to the airport. My wife is very sad that we are leaving and cries when she says good bye to Helmke, Dagmar and Mirelle (Helmke's 6 yr old daughter). Even though my wife does not speak German ans Mirelle does not speak English they have bonded over the last week. I give Helmke a tip for the employees and present Pente with a new white Dallas Cowboys cap. A few minutes later I seem him wearing it while herding goats. We had lunch on the road and after lunch I presented Helmke with a Case XX Doctor's knife (a doctor's knife for a doctor-Helmke has a PHd in Ag Economics) and his tip. He seems to be caught off guard by the gesture. We finally get to the airport and Helmke makes sure that are bags are all checked, my firearms paperwork is in good order and that we are all set.

We fly to Cape Town for 4 days and have a great time...but that is another story.

Obviously, I had a great time on this hunt. Helmke and Dagmar are great hosts and made us feel very comfortable while we were there. The accomodations were very comfortable and the food was great. I tried a number of dishes that I would NOT eat at home, but i was not at home. I was in Africa. I also thought that the daily rates and trophy fees were very reasonable. I would not have been able to make the trip otherwise. It was great to hunt the game that is native to the area in a natural setting but still have some of the conmforts of home. My wife would not stay in a tented camp-bed or no bed. So this was a good compromise.

With regard to travel, I flew on SAA and it was bearable. On the flight over they were really friendly. On the flight back they were not. Windhoek was no problem coming or going-guns and all. Cape Town was a breeze on the way in and slightly more difficult on the way out. Joburg is Joburg. Not fun but hopefully I can work around it next time. We lived through it and they only lost one bag which was brought to our house the next day.

Cowboy,
I really enjoyed reading of your safari. It sounds like a great trip and did some great shooting. I'm was very pleased that you were able to take a zebra. Way to go!

Zebra grilled over mopane. Mmmm.

It sounds like you had a great time. Be sure and post some pictures when you have a chance.

I will attempt to post pictures soon. I am technically challenged so I will need to call in tech support to assist. Best guess on eta is tomorrow am. Sorry for the delay but I will get pics posted eventually.

quote:

Originally posted by Cowboy in the Jungle:
I will attempt to post pictures soon. I am technically challenged so I will need to call in tech support to assist. Best guess on eta is tomorrow am. Sorry for the delay but I will get pics posted eventually.

No worries here. If you get into a bind Terry Carr has posted a tutorial or I can post some for you if you email them to me (email address is in my profile).

Very good report.

Great report!
Thanks for sharing!

God Bless the Republic!

Great report!!!

Phil

Great report. Please post some pics.

Good Report

Thanks

Posting Pictures for Cowboy in the Jungle:



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Nice photos!

That was not a report - It was a beautifully told story. I really enjoyed it

Congrats on a wonderful trip.

Mike...thanks for going with us and you should be a magazine writer. I felt like I was right there with you. No duck walking for me thanks.
Great story!!!

Great story and photos...Looking forward to your next trip...Are you planning???


Mike

Thanks to all for the kind words regarding my story. Always a pleasure to recount the "tale of the hunt". Writing this was a lot less difficult than I thought it might be. And to Harry...a couple of times I felt like I was there again too. Special thanks to Charlie Helm for posting pics for me. No doubt we would all still be waiting for them if he had not offered to assist.

Retreever-always planning, but my wife wants to go to Italy and I told her that we would do that first. I am considering a return to Namibia but would also like to hunt RSA. I don't think that I can afford Tanzania or some of the other countries...and my wife will NOT do the tent thing. That limits where I hunt to some degree but it still gives me plenty of options. I hear that the Waterberg Plateau area of Namibia is a unique place to hunt as well as the Caprivi. Whatever happens, I definitely plan to go back.