Dates: May 20 - June 3
Rifle: Ruger Hawkeye .338 WM
Ammo: Federal 250 Grain NP
Outfitter: Tholo Safaris
PH: Riann Taljaard
Booking Agent: Wendell Reich
Travel Agent: Shawn at Gracy Travel
Game taken: Impala (2), blue wildebeest, eland, zebra, kudu, warthog, and sprinbok.
Game seen: giraffe, ostrich, hartebeest, bat-eared fox duiker, jackal, blesbok, rhino, hippo, gemsbok, sable, cheeta, mongoose, steinbuck, cacarel and some others I don't remember!

I left Columbus, Ohio on May 20th bound for Frankfurt via Chicago on Lufthansa. The only thing that went wrong on this leg was having to check in my carry-on. I had a backpack with camera and binoculars and they considered that my one carry-on. Lesson learned! Landed in Frankfurt at 7:00 AM the next day and got ready for a 16 hour layover. Grabbed a quick breakfast and took a bus tour of the city. Spent extra time in the old part of the city where there was some festivities of a national holiday - beer and frankfurters with a German band in the background! Left Frankfurt at about 11:00 that night and arrived in Windhoek, Namibia at 6:00 the next morning. More travel trouble as Air Namibia would not allow me on the plane to Maun because my baggage was too heavy! This was news to me but I could not talk my way on to the plane. I called Wendell who called Clive Eaton of Tholo and together with the Air Namibia manager made a plan to get me to the Namibia-Botswana border via taxi -about three hours! I thought I would be found dead in the desert but made it and was picked up by JP of Tholo. I had a great ride to camp and actully arrived at about the same time if I had flown on to Maun and then trucked it from there. I met Clive and Linda Eaton as well as Riann and fellow AR poster Geoff who was leaving the next morning. We had a great dinner and enjoyed the campfire, drinks and conversation afterwards. The camp was great and would be my home for the next ten days!

Day 1
Got up at 6:00 and had a great breakfast. Left camp and stopped to check the zero of the rifle and prove that I could "kill the box". Riann suggested that I try his tripod instead of my bipod which proved to be a good thing! We spent the monring on the truck. Bessa and Rasta saw some impala track that looked fresh and the stalk was on. After about an hour we were just about ready to give up and return to the truck. Around the next bunch of thorny bushes stood two male impala. Riann told me which one to shoot and I got my first Botswana animal at about 140 yards with one shot. On the way back to camp we spotted and stalked a kudu and wildebeest but came up dry. Back at camp we had lunch, laid up for a couple of hours and then went back out at 3:30 to return at dark. This was to be our routine for the next nine days. We spotted and stalked two or three herds of wildebeest. At one point we stalked within about 100 yards but could not see the bulls - only the snorting in the bushes. It was very exciting but nothing came of it. We drove on and saw a lone bull at about 500 yards. We stalked to about 100 yards and this one did not run. His mistake! The ride back to camp was great with an impala and wildebeest in the shed!

Day 2
Up at 5:45 for breakfast and off on the truck. Riann suggested we look for eland this morning. After about two hours, Bessa saw some invisiable tracks in the sand which were fresh. Rasta and Bessa tracked the eland for over an hour. They could occaisionally hear the clicking sound that males make as they walk. All of a sudden all hell broke loose. From the deep thicket to the left we heard eland moving and they broke into an open path right in front of us. Riann threw up the sticks and said to wait for the male to appear. When he did I had all of three seconds to take aim and shoot. I hit him liitle forward of the vitals and the chase was on! We tracked him for over 2 hours catching a sight of hime a couple of times but I could not get a good follow up shopt. Finally, he slowed down enough in a clearing and I got my scond shot which put him down. I was exhausted but pumped! There were smiles and cigars all around! He was huge and actually had to be cut in half to get him on the truck. Back at camp we had kunch and I watched the skinners work on the eland. We went back at that afternoon. We came across a puff adder on the path and we played with him for while. I ahd told Riann that I really hated snakes but he seemed to have him well in hand with the shooting sticks until I could see the venon running down the tape! We stalked a water hole and I took a shot at a nice size warthog but missed just behind him. We drove on and spotted two zebra at several hundred yards. At about 100 yards the stallion presented his chest to me and I had my zebra down on day two. We drank a Castle to our days successes on the way back to camp. While we were waiting for dinner we sat around the campfire and heard the first of a wildebeest that came into the waterhole every night after that. I dubbed him Willie and enjoyed his unique grunt each night!

Day 3
Up at 5:45 for breakfast. Off again at 7:00 and drove to a nearby ranch where Riann had seen some good kudu bulls. Spotted several but no shooters - young bulls, cows and calves.
All of a sudden Bessa called for Kasshe to stop the truck. He spotted the horn of a kudu bull at about 200 yards. I could not for the life of me see it though my binoculars! We started our stalk and zig-zagged up the hill to the a spot to get a shot. I had been cursed with bad kudu luck in Namibia in 2005 and was more than a little hesitant to take a so-so shot. The bull gave me a frontal shot at about 80 yards and this time I broke the kudu curse! Riann was excited about the bull saying he thought he would go 55 inches and was very wide. I was relieved! Back to camp and more work for the skinners. Bessa and Rasta were having fun calling the skinners in as we arrived at camp.
We had lunch and went back out. Had a very quiet afternoon and got back to camp at dark. I told Riann how disappointed I was with only one animal that day. He got a big kick out of it.

Day 4
This day was not as exciting at the first three. We drove a lot, saw a lot of game, visited another camp and saw hippo at the waterhole. In the afteroon, we sat at a waterhole for warthog but did not see any.
Back to camp, dinner and beers around the campfire.

Day 5
Breakfast at 6:30 and off at 7:00. More game "watching" today. Well over a hundred wildebeest, dozens of kudu, springbok, warthog, impala and a white rhino and calf. We stalked within about 30 yards of the rhino and took pictures for about 10 minutes. What a thrill!
Back to camp that night for a great dinner and banter around the fire.

Day 6
Up at 6:30 (getting lazy) and off on the truck at 7:00. Looked for warthog most of the morning with no luck. Threw a shot at a jackal but missed. We were changing areas when Bessa saw some warthog at a distance that I can only guess as close to a mile. they were just dots in my binoculars! We did a fast walk for about twenty minutes to get within shooting distance. I shot the male at about 75 yards taking the sixth of my six animal list. Back to camp for lunch and a nap! The afternoon was spent the afternoon riding in the bush and visited a photographic camp to look at waterbuck and a rhino.

Day 7
Breakfast at 6:30 and off at 7:00 (again). Not looking for anything specific today. Maybe a second warthog or impala if really big. Did come across some impala and stalked one. Took a shot that I was not sure of and thought I missed. We walked to the site to make sure and came across a dead impala in the wrong place. At first we assumed it was mine but no bullet hole or blood. Riann was not sure what killed it. We delivered it to Clive's ranch for leopard bait.
Bsck to camp for lunch and a long nap. Just happened to wake up five minutes before the truck was to leave. Drove around in the afternoon and saw a lot of game and returned to camp for dinner and beer around the fire.

Day 8
Same routine as before and off into the bush. I decided that I would like to take a second impala. We drove for about 2 hours and saw some impala. We stalked to about 200 yards and they continued to move on. A good looking bull separated a little from the rest and a took a frontal shot. He went down. we were slapping each other on the back as we were walking up. He suddenly jumped up and staggered into the thick bush. I could not get a good second shot. We tracked him for almost 5 hours following blood and a glimpse now and again. Then he just vanished. I was not proud of myself and felt bad at losing an animal. We went back to camp late and back out about 4:30 to see if we could see anything of the impala. Nothing!
We did see some giraffe which was fun. I drank a couple extra Castles that night to ease my weary bones!

Day 9
Up early for breakfast and off on the truck. We scoured the area for any sign of the impala and saw nothing. Came across a group of springbok which was not on my list. We saw a nice male and wnet on the stalk. After about 45 minutes I got a shot at about 125 yards and collected my seventh animal. Riann thought he was a good one and he seemed bigger than my one from Namibia in 2005.Back to camp with more work for the skinners and a dinner of springbok liver!.

Day 10
I can't believe this was the last day! No real plans for the day. Had breakfast and off at 7:00. Riann suggested that we hunt the same area where we lost the impala. We picked up the old track and then came across new track with jackal tracks with it. Then Bessa found some fresh blood. Suddenly, we kicked him up and he was off like he was not wounded. We tracked him for over 2 hours when I saw enough of him to take another shot but wan not sure I hit him. Riann had taken his .375 as insurance and he too was not sure of a hit. About 100 yards up the trail he was down but jumped up and ran to the left. I had dialed my scope down to 2X and shot him (for the third time) through the shoulder and ended our and his three day ordeal. We returned to camp and the skinners went to work. It turned out that my first shot had gone through his upper chset and out his left rear quarter without hitting any vitals. My second shot today took out his back leg. What a tough animal! We took the afternoon off for a well earned rest for the staff and me! Dinner of springbok steaks, beer and good conversation was a sweet end to my safari.

Homeward bound
The next day I started my long trip home. Nothing much to note until I reached Chicago and found out that none of my checked baggage including my rifle was there. It took me a week to get both my rifle and bag back. What a relief.

I want to thank Clive and Linda Eaton, Riann Taljaard, Bessa, Rasta, Kasshe, Kantiha, Elizabeth and Russia for making my safari so enjoyable. I also want to thank Wendell and Shawn for all the logistics. But most of all, I want to thank my wife for being so understanding in helping me get my recent treatment for my African safari affliction. I hope I get sick real soon!
JohnMy Botswana Safari

Great report John. You should put that kudu picture into your post, it's a good one.

Pics, please, we must have pics!!

Very nice Kudu sir!!!

Brett

I was not sure how to post pictures within my report so please follow the photobucket link at the bottom of my report for my pictures.
John

A little help with the picture posting for Lucky1. Nice trophies and great report. Makes me want to get back to Botswana sooner rather than later.

Hi there Maryland Neighbor,

Enjoyed your trip report and pics. Some really nice trophies - especially the kudu.

Great report and great trophies.

Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

Awesome report John! I couldn't wait to see what you got. That Kudu is ridiculous, you really got a wonderful one. That looks like a real nice mature Springbuck too, there weren't too many that nice.

I could almost taste the Castle beer and feel the cold wind driving back to camp after a long days hunt after reading this.

Thanks for sharing, John. I too especially like your kudu as I shot his identical twin in Namibia in '04...wide & 55"

Great report and pictures! I just booked a hunt for June 2011 with the same outfitter. Looking at those pictures makes me want to go tomorrow.

Boondoggle,
Thanks for the tech. assistance. I am glad everyone has enjoyed the report and pictures. I was enjoying reliving the hunt myself.
John

Nice report... congratulations on some excellent trophies. I can't believe Air Namibia kept you off the plane to Maun! How much were your bags overweight and did you get a full refund from the airline?

Great trophies and successful safari! Congratulations! Tell us more about your issues with Air Namibia and with Luftsana and your bags and weight. What was in your other carry-on that you had to check? I was under the understanding that you could have a carry-on and one other item, no?

I think the real problem is that Air Namibia overbooked the flight as it was a German national holiday and there were a lot of travelers. It was a smaller plane (not sure of the model) with about 18-20 passengers. I was told that the limit was one 18 kg. My carry-on could not have weighed much more than that plus I had my backpack with small digital camera and binculars. I did have my checked bag and rifle too. They called a meeting of the passengers and were asking for a "volunteer" to be re-routed to Jo-burg. Everyone else appeared to be couples and I was the only single. The passengers were actually yelling at me for bringing overweight baggage. I was getting no where fast and took the hit. Air Namibia then wanted to route me through Jo-burg and get to Maun later that evening but my bags and rifle would not catch up to me for two days. I told them that was unacceptable. I will say that the Manager did understand my concern and then arranged for the taxi to the border. Looking back on the incident, I think it actually worked out for the best. I flew back from Maun to Windhoek and the plane was very small with no where for carry-ons. The other problem I had was with my checked baggage in Maun. I checked everything through to Columbus. I did not realize that I was supposed to take possession of them for the transfer in Windhoek. At least that is what I think the problem was. Air Namibia also overbooked the flight from Windhoek to Frankfurt. Three couples had boarding passes for the same two seats! The puzzle was when I transferred to United in Frankfurt, they confirmed my checked on baggage was transfered. Live and learn! I have to consider myself lucky in that with a fair amount of overseas travel, this is the first screw up. A friend of mine flew to Zim via SAA in 2007 and got hie rifle and bags half way into his hunt!! By the way no refund - just a free lunch and a taxi ride to the border!
John