Greetings,

I have been putting this off for a while, but figured now was as good a time as any to get this out. My wife and I returned from a three week trip, including air travel, to RSA and Namibia. Our journey started on July 09 and found us returning to the L.A. area on the 30th. Our purpose for this trip was to spend a few days in Franschhoek and the Stellenbosch area of RSA to focus on some wine tasting, good meals and a bit of relaxation before our next leg of our journey, which was to hunt for ten days in Namibia.

That being said, we boarded our flight from LAX to London and were able to upgrade a few days prior to business class seating. After the ten or so hour journey we landed in Heathrow and had about four hours to peruse the shops, have some food and consume a few pints. Additionally, we were able to stop by the cigar shop in the airport to purchase a few Cuban cigars for the long vacation. After seeing what Heathrow had to offer it was then onto an extremely packed British Airways flight. Unfortunately, this flight was oversold and we were told that we would be flying coach on the Heathrow to Cape Town flight, which was not good news, but it got us there the same time as the people in business class. On a side note, our rifle, my wife’s Browning .375 H&H and ammo was being brought to camp with other hunters, which left us flying without a firearm, which was nice and without hassle.

While the coach portion was a bit cramped, as I am 6’-04†and do not do well in tight quarters, sleeping along most of the portion got us both through the flight. That being said, we landed in Cape Town, headed through Customs and Immigration, rented our car and were off to Stellenbosch. Prior to leaving for the Cape, we had made some contacts with some friends who either owned wineries in the region or were somehow affiliated with the wine industry and we had planned a few winery stops while there on vacation. Within an hour of landing and getting through the commotion of everything, we found ourselves turning into the Hartenberg Estate, which is owned and run by a contact we had made earlier in the year.

Shortly after we arrived on the estate, we tasted his wines in the vineyards that produced each of the grapes that were now in the glass. After tasting through all of the wines we were treated to a wonderful lunch and then led through the winery and barrel rooms. We had a wonderful time and tasted some great wines. If you are heading this direction, contact Hartenberg and take a tour and purchase some of their wines, as the quality is superb.

After about four hours at the estate, we then jumped into our car and headed towards Franschhoek and onto Le Quartier Francais, where we would be for the next three nights. The place is wonderful, the staff is top rate and the two restaurants associated with LQF are phenomenal. For the remainder of the first day and for the next two, we trotted around the region and ate wonderful meals, consumed great wines and met some wonderful people. If you are looking for a place to relax either before or after a hunt and you like this type of living and eating, make the trip to Franschhoek.

Four days after we landed in Cape Town we gathered our gear and headed back to the airport to catch a flight to Windhoek, Namibia. This portion of our trip was our main focus and we were focused on our hunt from here on out. We would be hunting for the second time with Jan Oelofse at Mount Etjo. We hunted with Jan in 2004 and had a spectacular time and could not wait to get back to Namibia to hunt some more. During the first hunt we hunted with Philipus and were able to both take Kudu, Gemsbok and a few other animals. Wanting to hunt again with Mount Etjo, we found ourselves booking in 2005 for a hunt in 2006 and started counting down the days immediately upon sending in our deposit.

After a short flight from Cape Town to Windhoek we were met by our driver, Fernando, who took us to the Kalahari Sands hotel for a nights stay. The reason for this stay was that we wanted to hit the Okahandja wood-carvers market to do some shopping and did not have the time to do it on the day we landed. We spent the night in Windhoek and then were on the road the next morning at about 0630 and were on our way to Okahandja, about 45 minutes out of Windhoek. We shopped for about two hours, filled our bags and then headed towards Mount Etjo, which is about a two hour drive from Okahandja.

Upon arrival in camp we were met by our PH, Rudie de Klerk, who we had met on our previous hunt. Rudie is a spectacular PH with knowledge not only of the animals, but knowledge of the country, the area, an astronomer and overall just a nice person. If you are going to be hunting Mount Etjo and Rudie is available, you will not be disappointed in hunting with Rudie. Rudie took our bags, got us packed into the URI (the hunting vehicle that is used at Mount Etjo) and we started heading towards the hunt camp. While on our way to camp the three of us did some catching up on what we had all been doing since we last met.

Upon arrival in camp we were greeted by Elsa, the camp director, and we were shown to our room. Once our bags were unpacked we headed to the lunch area where we me some of the other hunters in camp. During lunch we talked with Rudie and told him about the animals we wanted to hunt. When this topic came up, my wife and I had a small list of what we wanted, but at the same time we had made the decision not to only go after certain animals, but rather if Rudie saw a nice representative animal for the area, we would be more than happy to hunt what he observed. Additionally, we also talked with Rudie about shooting the older animals out of the herds or solitary animals. We are not major trophy hunters and did not want to spoil our hunt by hunting via the tape measure, rather we wanted to measure this hunt by how good a time we had and how the hunt and stalk was for the animals.

After this talk we were able to let Rudie know that I would like Eland and Red Hartebeest and my wife would like a Gemsbok, either a Mountain or Burchells Zebra and a warthog. If a Springbok or an Impala were located and Rudie thought either was a nice animal, she would be interested in them as well. After all of this talk we ate and Rudie then asked if we would like to go game viewing later that afternoon, as our hunt did not start for another two days. Never wanting to pass up on an opportunity like this, I jumped up for the chance to head out and get my eyes used to Namibia again. So at about 1530, Rudie arrived and he and I headed out to look at countryside. My wife decided to stay in camp to relax and do some reading this afternoon. Numerous animals were seen and I was able to remember some of the navigation points I observed back in 2004. After the drive, we made it in for dinner and then a good nights rest.

The next morning, a non-hunt day, Rudie took us both out to view the animals. Shortly after we started our quest for viewing game, Rudie spotted a Black Rhino in the bush and we decided to go look for it and get some good pictures and video. Shortly after exiting the vehicle, we spotted the Rhino and were able to get to within about 45-50 yards of this animal. After watching it for a few minutes it began to notice something was not right and Rudie had us get out of the area quietly and without detection. We got some great photos and good video of the Rhino while it was eating. The rest of the day was spent getting pictures and video of animals we observed, including a few Elephant.

Finally in the mid-evening the rest of our party arrived from other points of the US. With the others arriving this meant the arrival of our rifle and ammo. Unfortunately for some of the others, they had baggage issues and some had rifles, but no ammo, ammo but no rifles, and a few had only the clothing on their backs. This was rectified the next night as everything arrived in tact and all of the party had the items they needed for the hunt.

After another night of good rest, we awoke, grabbed the rifle and headed out to the range to check zero. We were using Winchester 270 grain Fail Safe and it was shooting just a bit high for our liking. After the appropriate changes, the rifle sent the bullets right where we wanted them and we headed off to go meet Jan and Annette and to get our hunting license. If you have ever hunted at Mount Etjo then you know the story behind it and know that this is a first rate operation. Jan and Annette have a beautiful place and they are wonderful people. Having not seen them for two years and seeing them again it was just as if we had seen them last week. They are both amazing people. After talking with them about the hunt, the three of us were off to go look for animals. Just prior to leaving for our hunt, Rudie stopped to pick up his tracker, Matthias, or Cedric as he is also known.

With the four of us in the URI, we headed out to look for Zebra. After climbing a few kopjes we were unsuccessful in locating Zebra so we decided to go to another area of the ranch to look for some Eland. While cruising the roads and looking for signs of Eland, Cedric spotted some tracks that crossed the road and wanted to look closer at the tracks. Cedric and Rudie exited the vehicle and determined that this was a group of five to seven Eland with perhaps two large bulls in the herd. That being said, Rudie, Cedric and I piled out of the URI to set off on the tracks. My wife decided to stay in the URI and read a bit due to the unknown length of time we would be gone.

As we started out right at 1100, Rudie and Cedric both began to follow the tracks through dirt, sand and grass areas and began locating other signs that the Eland were in the area. Through riverbeds, across open areas, the two were always on the track of the animals. Always keeping the wind to our advantage, we kept on the tracks and saw sign that they were just ahead of us. At about 1410 hours, just over three hours of tracking, Cedric rounded a bush and located the herd of Eland between 80 and 100 yards from us and in the open. In a flash, Rudie placed the shooting sticks in front of me and the first Eland I saw was a large bull that was starting to turn from tan to gray/blue. I focused my cross-hairs on this bull and waited until Rudie told me the bull I was focused on was the bull to take. Perhaps not a second had passed between when Rudie told me to shoot the bull I was already focused on did the round break from the barrel. The bull was slightly quartered and at the shot he kicked his back legs up and started to run.
After watching what way the Eland went after the shot, Rudie and Cedric began to follow the tracks of the animals, as there was no blood to be seen. Walking slowly the two began to look closely at the tracks and began to follow what they believed was the animal I shot. Within four to five minute of looking at the tracks, Cedric pointed north and about 50 yards away was the body of the Eland that I had just shot. In all the bull ran about 100 yards and it was determined that the round was a bit high but got the lungs of this massive animal. Before the three of us was an animal that I had wanted to hunt since I first read about them when I was ten. An amazing stalk, searching for sign, watching Rudie and Cedric work was phenomenal and it all paid off. After getting this animal loaded and taking it to the skinning shed, we were off to camp for a few much deserved Tafel Lagers. While consuming a few beers, Rudie told us that he had been PH’ing for five years and had been at Mount Etjo for eight and this was the first time he and Cedric had shot an Eland on the first day of the hunt, which we both thought was pretty cool.





Day two found us looking for animals again, and we spotted some Burchells Zebra about 1200 yards from a kopje we were glassing atop. With the Camelbaks loaded, the four of us set out to see if we could not get a shot on these animals. Again, stalking was done via visual estimations by Rudie and Cedric and within about an hour or so, we were all about 100 yards from a herd of about 30 Zebra. At this point Rudie and my wife took off crawling to get a bit closer to the herd and to look for a stallion. From what my wife relayed to me, Rudie was able to get them to within about 15 yards of Zebra, but unfortunately, the stallion was never seen. My wife stated that being so close to the animals was amazing and you could hear and smell them while they were feeding. A great experience! After lunch and a short nap, we all headed back out and decided to look for more animals. Again, a large group of animals were spotted and we decided to take off again and go after them. From nothing but visual geography and later the herd tracks, Rudie and Cedric got us to within 100 yards of the herd. At this point, I stayed on the ground and did not move while my wife, Rudie and Cedric tried to get closer to the herd to get a stallion. As this occurred I watched as the sticks were up twice, but was told that when the stallion presented himself, there was a female either in front of him or behind him and that a shot would not be a good choice. Again, they were all within about 30 yards of the group, which they all enjoyed.

Day three started out with a trip up to a bigger kopje that allowed us to glass even greater distances. No Zebra were located and we decided to look for other animals. Just after this we were looking for animals again and both Rudie and Cedric spotted a large Springbok that they both said was a wonderful animal. After chasing him for a while and not having any luck because he would not slow down while being stalked, Rudie and my wife decided to name him “Crazy Joe†and vowed to find him again. While cruising around Rudie located a nice solitary Gemsbok bull that he looked at for quite a while. Shortly after looking at him, Rudie decided that he was a very nice old bull with heavy horns and nice shape. With this being said, my wife decided that was all she needed to hear and the hunt was on. The Gemsbok finally decided that he was standing still for far too long and he decided to take off on us. After tracking him for a while he was spotted along with another three or four younger bulls. Rudie looked through his binoculars and located the old bull and told my wife where he was in the group. As the bulls started to move away, the old bull stopped and my wife fired. I was watching through my binoculars and saw that the bullet struck center on the right shoulder as he was broadside. Being hit with a .375 H&H made him lift his right leg for a second and then he was off like a horse at Santa Anita. All of the bulls took off and we watched them for about 100 yard and then the bull she shot made a u-turn, ran back the way he had been shot and started going down. Shortly after this he hit the deck and was down. The shot had been at about 120-130 and had hit right where she aimed. When we arrived at the bull we observed a very large bodied old male with worn down teeth, heavy horns that were turning ivory colored and a beautiful trophy. A few pictures and we were off to the skinning shed. Later that day was spent looking for Zebra and other animals, but nothing of significance was located.



Day four was a day that found the women in camp going shopping, so it was just Rudie, Cedric and I for the hunt. However, Cedric got sick with some type of kidney infection and he was bundled up in the URI while we went out looking for animals. While cruising around, Rudie spotted fourteen White Rhinos and we decided to get close to them for some pictures. After watching the Rhinos for about half an hour, Rudie decided to glass the land to the right and he saw a solo Red Hartebeest feeding next to a riverbank. As he pointed this animal out to me, we both began to look at the Hartebeest and Rudie stated that this looked like a nice old loner animal, just what I was looking for on this hunt. The only problem was that there were a few Springbok in the area and they were between us and the Hartebeest. After figuring out how to navigate between the Springbok and the Hartebeest, Rudie and I decided to leave Cedric alone to rest and we set out to stalk amongst the animals. After crawling through the riverbed, lots of stopping and staying motionless, the Springbok moved on. Rudie was able to gather where the Hartebeest was now feeding and he told me that our only shot would be from the middle of the riverbed. After another crawl into the riverbed and trying to stay undetected, the sticks went up and Rudie motioned for me to slowly rise to the sticks. As I was fully standing, I was able to see that the animal was still feeding and that his head was in a bush. Rudie told me that he thought the animal was about 45 yards away and with that, the crosshairs were on the animal and the shot left the barrel. At the shot, the Red Hartebeest dropped in his tracks and never moved again. As we approached the animal we saw that the round entered the right side, exited the left and went through both lungs. Shortly after talking about the shot, Rudie retrieved the laser rangefinder and viewed that the shot was actually 48 yards, a great estimation on his part. Again, a nice old loner bull that was most likely in his last season or two. A few pictures were taken and the animal was loaded onto the URI and we went to the skinning shed. After dropping him off we had lunch and then hit the afternoon looking for anything unusual, but nothing of significance was located.



The morning of day five was spent looking for animals and we did not see anything that looked decent but did find some Zebra to stalk. My wife enjoyed another long stalk on some Burchells Zebra and we got to within 100 yards of the animals, but the group consisted of only females and a few younger animals. During the afternoon hunt we looked for other animals, including “Crazy Joe†but did not find him or anything else of significance.

Day six was just Rudie and I, as my wife was still nursing a cold she could not shake and she decided to stay inside to get better, rather than take off hunting and then be down for the remainder of the trip. This proved to be a good thing as she wiped it out and was ready the next day. As for Rudie and I, we looked for animals and then found a great herd of Mountain Zebra from atop a kopje and we decided to put the stalk on them. After about two and a half hours we were in the herd and now we had to locate the stallions. As for Mountain Zebra, you can only shoot a stallion in a breeding herd if there are more than one male in the herd because of the breeding and the females not taking to another male for a few years. After crawling and getting up on the herd, we were able to locate one male and a group of other juvenile males, so we were unable to shoot. However, the stalk and being this close to the animals was amazing and was a great hunt.

Day seven found us looking for anything that Rudie thought would be a great addition to our hunt. The morning saw us doing a lot of glassing and looking for animals but we did not see anything that was a standout or anything we wanted. However, during the afternoon hunt, Rudie spotted “Crazy Joe†and the hunt was on for him by my wife. After chasing this Springbok around for a while he finally offered her a shot. From about 130 yards, she face a downhill shot on this Springbok and when Rudie told her he was clear of the other animals that he was surrounding himself with, the shot rang out and “Crazy Joe†dropped in his tracks. MY wife had hit him in the neck and he was down. He is a beautiful Springbok with heavy bases and swept back antlers with great shape. After taking him to the skinning shed it was time for dinner.



Day eight was as any other started out, climbing the kopje to glass for animals and as we did, we located a large group of Burchells off in the distance. We figured out where they were and then decided to drive to a point between us and them to start the stalk. The only problem at this point was the wind. For about 45 minutes, there was no wind and we decided to wait to see what the wind was going to do. As we figured the wind out by this time we decided to stalk. This stalk was just Rudie and I as my wife wanted to wait this one out due to the long stalk two nights before. After about two hours of crawling through grass and the riverbeds, Rudie got me onto the animals. This was a big herd and Rudie was able to spot quite a few large stallions. We were about 80 yards from one stallion he wanted me to shoot, but when the time came, I saw too many obstructions between the Zebra and I and I did not want to send a shot into an animal that might wound it or not put it down quickly. Shortly after not deciding to shoot, the Zebra pegged us and were all gone. Seeing as how this was day eight, I kicked myself wondering if the .375 would have made through the twigs I saw in the scope? Odds are it would not have been a problem, but if it would have been, I was the one who would have had this weigh heavily upon my conscious. After lunch and a shower, we started out to look for animals when a big Warthog ran across the road and go the attention of Rudie and my wife. With this, the stalk was on and we went looking for the tusker. After about half an hour of walking and looking around we decided to walk back to the URI because we thought the hog had given us the slip. Not 30 seconds after we started the walk back, Rudie spotted the Warthog and he set the sticks up. My wife waited for a shot as he was head-on for a while and then he quartered a bit and she shot at about 55 yards. The hog took off like nothing had happened, but it sounded as if he had been hit. We all watched him run off and then we began to look for signs of the hit. After a few minutes we located blood and it wasn’t long after this that the hog moved from a bush and my wife put another round into him to make sure he was down for good. The initial round when through the right lung and exited through the back left leg. Even with this shot and this caliber, the Warthog ran quite a ways. She was excited and some good pictures were taken. After the pictures were taken he was loaded into the URI and we went looking for more animals.



From atop one of the kopjes we located a herd of Mountain Zebra and we decided to head down the mountain and put the stalk on them. As all three of us stayed in tight formation we walked slowly and quietly too try to get close to the Zebra. Unfortunately, as we got to where the Zebra had been, they had vanished. The only sign left behind were hoof prints and dung. Oh well, back up the mountain we climb.

On the morning of day nine we climbed to the top of one kopje and located a large group of Burchells Zebra off in the distance and a two Mountain Zebra along the mountain below us and a ways off to our right. We decided that we should go towards the Mountain Zebra to see if there was a stallion because it was not a breeding herd. However, we needed to do this quickly so we jumped in the URI and crossed quite a bit of mountain in a short amount of time. Seeing as how we needed to get up the mountain in a hurry, my wife decided to stay back on this one. She has been a trooper during this whole hunt and while chasing the Zebra and thought this time she should stay out because there was good chance we would have to climb up a mountain, then down, stalk the Zebra and then go back up and down the mountain. Rudie and I then went up the mountain and started to look for the two we just saw, but they were gone. As we began to look at where they had just been, a noise was heard at the bottom of the mountain and Rudie spotted the two Mountain Zebra we had been looking for earlier. They were trying to come up the mountain but must have heard/smelled us and were now heading away from us. From where we were Rudie said, “Follow me†and he began to run down the mountain to keep an eye on the Zebra. Fortunately, they stopped for a second and Rudie was able to see the stallion. As I caught up to him he found a rock for support and threw his Camelbak MULE on the rock for additional support. As I got to the rock it was too low and I tossed my MULE on the rock and got a good rest. Rudie showed me the stallion and thought he was about 200 yards, straight downhill. As I took a breath, Rudie said that it looked like he was about to run and I squeezed the trigger. At the recoil I worked the bolt, loaded another round and when I looked through the scope, the stallion was down. He dropped in his tracks and moved for a few seconds before finally not moving anymore. After handshakes and some breathing, Rudie checked the yardage and it was 225 from where we were shot to where the stallion lay. After marching back up the hill and then down, we made it to the URI and told my wife about what had happened. She heard the shot and then heard us talking as we started down the hill so she knew the news was good. We made our way around the mountain in the URI and located the Mountain Zebra, which was actually on one of the roads, so loading it was very simple and easy. This stallion was an old stallion that was no longer breeding and his teeth, the ones that remained, were worn down and broken. Rudie stated that this was a perfect stallion to take, as he may not have made it much longer.

Since it was my wife who originally wanted the Zebra, about halfway through our hunt she asked if I would start hunting them. Of course I said yes, but added that if we get on a good stalk and the opportunity is there, she is the one who would get the rifle. It just so happened that on this day, I happened to be the one that went for all of the climbing and took the shot, which really was the easy part. The Zebra that was shot this morning was hunted by all of us in the vehicle, my wife, Rudie, Cedric and I. We all put in a lot of hours for this animal and as stated above, the shot was the easy part, any of us could have made the shot I had with my wife’s rifle, as it is extremely accurate. Shortly after this, the Zebra went to the skinning shed.



After lunch and a shower, we headed out to look for Impala for my wife and came upon a dandy. At this point we were having the hunt and trip of our life and if neither of us fired another round, it still would have been the best trip we have ever had. After watching this ram for a while we saw that he had a rather large group of females with him and my wife and Rudie decided that an animal such as this, with all of his beauties should live to pass on his gene pool, and with that, we went looking for another ram. After looking for a while we did not find another and decided to call it an evening and head back to camp for a cigar and a few Tafel Lagers.

Day ten, the last day of our hunt. As stated above, if we just went out to look for animals with the camera, it would have been amazing. However, Rudie and Cedric both spied a nice old Impala ram that was hanging a little too long. After watching him for a while Rudie said that this was an older ram who would be a good one to take out of the herd. Upon hearing that, my wife took the lead and was determined to get this last animal. After chasing this ram for a while, her .375 H&H barked and the ram that was quartering at about 120 yards ran like crazy. After about 70-80 yards the ram stopped, stumbled and fell down. After the handshakes and hugs, she found her Impala ram that was just was she was looking for, an old guy that had seen the good life for quite a while. The shot was perfect and entered the right side just a few ribs back behind the shoulder and exited the left shoulder, breaking it as it left the body. Good shooting!



From there, the animal went to the skinning shed and we parked ourselves at a watering hole for our last lunch in Namibia this and just watched animals come in for a drink. In all total, we shot seven beautiful animals and had the hunt of a lifetime. The weather was amazing, the company was fabulous and the hunt camp was spectacular. The food for all three meals is truly amazing and if you walk away hungry, you didn’t put a fork to your mouth. Elsa runs a wonderful camp and hunters and observers in camp want for nothing.

Rudie and Cedric made this hunt the best hunt and trip of our lives. Halfway though the hunt had neither one of us not fired another round, we would have been completely satisfied, as the hunt was not about just pulling the trigger and talking about how big an animal was that you just shot. I know I said it before, but I left the tape in the truck and did not measure any of the animals I took, as that was not a care for me. As far as I am concerned, all of the animals have a place in the book, the book that my wife made so that we can share our trip with our family and friends.

If you want to hunt in a wonderful place with wonderful hosts, PH, tracker, camp staff, then you should look up Mount Etjo in Namibia. This is our second trip to Mount Etjo and it will not be our last. Jan and Annette run a spectacular operation and the Namibian people are great hosts.

So this may be a little long winded, but as you can tell, there was a bit to write, as we both had such a great time. The trip home was uneventful, but it was very hard to leave Mount Etjo.



For now, Africa is still a fond memory and I will go back to shooting pigs off of vineyards on the Central Coast of california.

Be safe,
493

493,

Thanks for the report and looking forward to the photos. Sounds like you guys had a great time.

We stayed at Le Quartier Francais in 1998, it really is a nice place. We had a great time in the wine country.

Regards,

Terry

Thanks for the great report and look forward to seeing the pictures.

Thanks for the report, reading these reports helps keep my sirits up...waiting for 2007!

SFC E7
under ninety now!

quote:

Originally posted by SFC E7:
Thanks for the report, reading these reports helps keep my sirits up...waiting for 2007!

SFC E7
under ninety now!

Ditto for me

Greetings,

Help is needed with my photos. I have now had photobucket lock up on me and I am beginning to think it is just me, as I am not the most computer literate person. If anyone can and is willing to post photos for me, it would be greatly appreciated. I am at work for another few hours and can be reached via PM.

Be safe,
493

Photos added.

493, let me know if I got them in the correct place/order.

Regards,

Terry

Terry,

Thanks for getting these posted! They look great.

Be safe,
493

NICE springbok and great photo.

Excellent and great photos!!!

Phil

A great story, well told. Thanks for sharing.

Sounds like a wonderful hunt. I agree with your philosophy of leaving the tape measure behind. The joy is in the hunt and just being there. Thanks for the report.


TerryR

Congrats! That hunt report is one of the best I've seen and there have been some great reports here! Thank you so much for sharing! I'm also enviuos of the Springbok, they were my favortie to hunt! Course it helped that they have the best livers to eat in the whole world!
Thanks. Joe

Looks like you had a great hunt! Congrats!
Were you happy with the Failsafes and their preformance? Did you recover any bullets?

Pegleg,

This was the second trip to Namibia and the Failsafe ammo was used both times. I was able to recover the bullet from the Eland and two of the pedals were broken off. Everything else was a through and through shot. In 2004 I was able to recover a bullet from a Gemsbok that I shot at about 110 yards that entered just right of the anus and it was recovered in the chest area. As far as I am concerned, this ammo is great for PG.

Be safe,
493