Thanks for the details.

I killed my first pygmy antelope this year in Namibia--a nice steenbok.

I have hunted various duikers, Damara dik-dik and klipspringers, but all without success. I didn't focus on them, which was a big cause of the problem, but I have never seen any of them except from the rear as they ran, very fast, away.

The duikers got to be a joke with my PH last year. As about the tenth one scampered away through the thick grass never to be seen again, I asked him, "How on earth do you ever shoot one of these damned things?" He replied, in his driest and most completely deadpan voice, "You have to wait until they stop."

Hunting report Namibia 2004.

Outfitter: Boet Nel Hunting Safaris.
PH: Boet Nel.
Area hunted: four different areas. Khomas Hochland, Steinhausen/Gobabis, Otavi and Leonardville/Kalahari.
Khomas Hochland for Hartmanns Mountain Zebra and Klipspringer. Otavi for Damara Dik-Dik. Leonardville/Kalahari for Springbuck. Steinhausen/Gobabis as general hunting area.
Time hunted: 07.07.04 - 16.07.04. 10 days 1:1.
Animals harvested: Chacma Baboon, Hartmanns Mountain Zebra, Warthog, Klipspringer, Kalahari Gemsbok/Oryx, Red/Cape Hartebeest, Southern Greater Kudu, Kalahari Springbuck and Damara Dik-Dik.
Rifle: Schultz & Larsen, .30-06sprg, 180 grains Nosler Partition (except for the Dik-Dik, where I borrowed my PH`s .223Rem).
Conclussion: a great hunt in beautiful scenery. Trophies from good to very good. Very nice to hunt so many different areas. I can really recommend this hunt. Here`s some pictures:

Chacma Baboon, lone male, probably driven out from the herd. Shot him at a distance at 70-80m, from the car, so no big hunting experience.


This is my Hartmanns Mountain Zebra, shot in the mountains west of Windhoek. This poor animal suffered a bit because of lousy shooting. Hard wind in the mountains made the hunting there extra difficult. All the animals where in the gullies (valley). Distance about 250m.


Here`s a good Klipspringer, taken at 210-220m. It measured about 4,5". Pretty good one I think.


A 23" Hartebeest taken at last light out of a big herd of approximately 50 heads.


Springbuck taken on the border to Kalahari. The hunt lasted max 20 minutes. There where Springbuck all over the place. This one`s around 13" and 13,5".


One of the highlights of the hunt. The tiny little Damara Dik-Dik. The trophy was, according to my PH, very good. It might go nr. 4 or 5 in the book. I`m not sure..


This wartie was shot in the mountains, and as you can see, the tusk are worn down a bit. But still a nice looking pig, I think.


Oryx Gazella, and a pretty good one as well (38"). My PH told me, that this was as good as they get in this area. Go to Kalahari for bigger.


Last, but not least, my kudu. Not very big. The measurements where only 46" and 48,5". But still I am a happy hunter. The hunt was great. The animal was old, with scars from a long and rough life. A lot of character, and the kind of shape I like kudu-horns to have. Tips out...


After the hunt we (my girlfriend, and two friends) rented a car and travelled around in Namibia, Botswana and Zambia for 18 days. Visiting Etosha, Chobe, VicFalls etc etc.. We had a great time. What a great way to spend a month! I might make a report with photos from this as well. But I need to get my scanner up going.
Hope you guys enjoyed this little report!
Best regards from Anders

Anders,

Very nice animals--all old timers with great character--they will make excellent trophies. Congratulations on what sounds like an excellent safari and sight-seeing trip.

It's funny, isn't it, how completely tame the animals are at the Etosha waterholes and along the roads? No fear of humans or vehicles. Compared to the ones right outside the park, that is.

I am curious about how you hunted the small antelopes? Spot and stalk?

I found that the dik-diks and klipspringers were almost impossible to see. Last July, we spooked two klipspringers while following up a kudu. Those were the only two we actually saw, and they bounded and hopped their way up a koppie and out of sight in an instant.

We did see many steenbok, though, and I killed a nice one. Have you taken one of those?

More pictures, please!

Anders



I am planning a month long trip in Namibia this April. I am contemplating driving on my own for two weeks because the outfitter wants to charge US$300 and $1 a km for sight-seeing. Can you tell me what to expect for car rental and insurance, gas prices, and places to see or avoid?



Great looking trophies, I like kudu horns that curve tips out.

Nice to hear that you had a good hunt with Boet Nel / Sparta.

Yeah, Etosha was just great! You can`t go to Namibia without visiting this park.
The animals was just walking around the car. I got some pretty nice pictures with my 300 lense.
One night at the waterhole in Halali, we actually saw some lions kill a springbuck. Well..at least they captured it. But wouldn`t kill it straight away. The male lion was lying on top of the terrified antelope, roaring loud into the night. The hair on my back was standing straight up, even if I actually don`t have any hair there..

The Dik-Dik hunt was done spot and stalk. We was actually lucky to see a young one out in the open one early afternoon. When it went into the tickets (REALLY THICK), we stalked after him. When we got over there it was only this small male and a female. We were just on our way back to the car, when my PH discovered the bigger male. My body started trembling (more then with the kudu or the other big ones), and I made a terrible first shot breaking this poor animals legs. We managed pretty quick to put him out of his missoury..
The klipspringer was an other story. We followed the tracks of two cheetas a couple of kilometers. They had taken a small calf from the farmer.
Suddenly we saw four of them high up on the other side of a big valley. They fed downwards and closer and closer to us. And the big male was shot at 210-220 meters. Pretty long but I had a good solid rest.
I agree with you. They are wary animals. The other ones we saw, where out of sight very quick!

I took a very small steenbok in RSA 2001. Not more than a little over 2". But the shouldermount remindes me of my first African hunt, and my first African animal.

Maybe we should go for the Tiny Ten, Mrlexma!
Have you hunted many of the small ones..? Which hunting method?
Best regards, Anders!

We rented a car from Advanced Car Hire in Windhoek. Check this site: http://www.natron.net/etour.htm
If you click on car hire, you will find this company. I thought they were good on service and prices.
We paid 840 Namibian Dollars a day, free km. This was a Toyota 4x4 with full camping equipment. Insurance included. But you have to make a deposit (excess), see their internet site.
Gas costs about 3,80 - 4,10 NamDollar per litre.
We travelled from Windhoek - Swakopmund - Etosha - Capriwi - Vif.Falls (Zambia side) - Botswana - Chobe - Moremi - Maun - Windhoek. About 4500-5000 km, in 15 days. We did qiut a bit of driving. Maybe you should pick a shorter route..?
You shold see Namib Dunes, Swakopmund, Etosha, Windhoek. It all depends on your interests. There were many other things we wanted to see, but didn`t have time for..
Don`t hesitate to ask more questions. I`ll try to make a better travel report with photos and route. Just need to get my scanner up going.
Best regards!

Wowwwwwww
Great pictures!!
I've been in Namibia last august and I'm already missing it.
Please, post some pictures and comments from your car trip in Zambia and Bots.
L

Thanks for sharing your hunt and pictures. You must have had a great time.

I hunted with a guy some years ago who wanted a Steenbok - he shot the steenbok with a 300 weatherby mag if I remember correctly...gutshot - we found almost the entire abdominal content not far from where he had shot the steenbok. We ended up using a dog to track the spoor and eventually found it about 700 metres from where it had been shot - but without the dog we really would not have had a chance...there was a surprisingly small amount of blood within 35 metres of where the animal had been when the guy shot!

Well, PH`s are a rare rase, I think..

I also wanted a duiker on this hunt, but couldn`t get one. My PH told me that most clients shot these small ones from the car. I didn`t want that. I would rather go home empty-handed, and try again later.
I actually missed one duiker (a difficult running shot), which was one of the only options for them in this area, unless you were very lucky. So my experience is the same as yours.
The normal situation was like this, according to my PH. You spot the duiker. It will look at you for a couple of seconds, then run away a couple hundred yards and dive (duik) into the bush. In here it will have full control of what you`re doing. When you`re pretty close, it will run of to the next hiding place (probably longer than the first run).
So, you might have to go for a running shot... And is that right..? The chance of a wounded animal is bigger.. With a powerful cartridge, you`ll probably will kill it even with a less-than-perfect shot. But broken legs don`t kill them..

I think I`ll always try and add one of the pygmies to the bag..

Anders... Great pictures and story...
You got privat mail.