i just had to go back in 2007, so i put together a mixed hunt for a lot of what i wanted. i went one place for leopard, mountain zebra, baboon, and another for giraffe and waterbuck.
place one:
farm westfalenhof, west of okahandja (die keiler group)
ph: friedrich redecker
gun tikka t3 .300 win mag/leupold 4-12x50
ammo: pmc barnes xlc 180 grain
remington corelokt 180 grain
place two:
ovita hunt farm.northwest of okahandja
ph: claus nebe
samerifle/ammo

i booked this hunt thru the die keiler group and they set me up for the giraffe/waterbuck hunt at ovita, to follow the leopard hunt. i had 14 days for the leopard and three for the giraffe/waterbuck. i set my travel thru gracey and they did a good job. i got the last seat on the air namibia flight from frankfurt, even though it was over nine months ahead of the hunt. given all the bad press about saa and to avoid south african saps, i took the frankrut connection.

8/24/07 left mcallen on continental for houston. this was the first time a checkin agent recognized that the rifle was empty! arrived and checked in to lufthansa. the check in agent did not want to see the rifle or the ammo and did not ask for the $50 fee. NICE! the flight over was uneventful.
8/25 arrive in frankfurt, took a train to the city center and spent some time takig pictures and wandering around old town. there was an ethiopan wedding in one of the churches that was quite noisy, with a lot of ululations going on. back to the airport and sat around, then wnadered over to the air namibia terminal in the afternoon. talked with a hunter from mississippi going back to namibia for a while. that was a fun conversation and helped pass the wait. the flight down was uneventful.
8/26 arrived windhoek, thru the police station without a hitch. i had grown a beard to shade my face and the passport clerk looked from me to my passport at least 5 times before stamping it. i was a little worried she might not let me in. friedrich and uta redecker met me and we drove off to farm westfalenhof. everything was extremely dry.

i arrive on heroes day and we saw a parade of the herreros going down the streets of okahandja, so we stopped and i took some pictures. after lunch at the farm, the rifle was sighted in and we went out to scout. i shot a small gemsbok at 170 yards after stalking up a small hill, one shot with the 180 grain corelokt we used it for bait under a big tree in a dry riverbed. they put the baits on the ground and not up in the trees here. there are no lions and not a lot of hyenas to compete for the baits. there were some zebra parts hung in tress, all untouched. supper boasted some excellent smoked zebra--delicious.
8/27 scouting for game and bait today. they have lost a lot of kudu to the rabies epidemic and there are lots of carcasses and skull laying around. a young kudu was shot for bait and placed. the gemsbok has not been touched. in the afternoon we chased a zebra with a wire snare around one hoof but could never get close. we then saw a small group of zebra about a mile away and stalked over three small hills to get closer. at the top of the third one we could see the zebra scattered across the forward slope of the next ridge. the ph said, "do you see the one all the way on the right?" i said yes and he said shoot. i shot once and the zebra dropped in place. he said, "you shot the wrong one. you were supposed to shoot the little one to the left for bait." i said this could be one of my trophies then. 165 yards, 180 grain corelokt, hit the spine above the shoulder. just a little failure in communications here. the hill just above my head in the picture is where the shot was taken.

we loaded up and back to the house for dinner.
8/28 we headed off to an elevated blind and found a young kudu trapped in the fence, nearly dead. the ph cut its throat and we set him up for bait near the blind. there were also four drowned warthogs in the concrete tank, so we dragged them out and used them for bait at other sites. from the blind we saw a lot of kudu, mongoose, baboons, birds, warthogs. everything looked thin. after lunch i shot a kudu cow a young bull for bait. we saw no leopard tracks at all. back in for dinner.
8/29 off to check the baits. a leopard took 1/2 of the third warthog set out. he dragged it almost 1/2 mile before eating under a tree. even i could follow the drag marks. we set up a blind for the afternoon. the fourth warthog had been feasted on by jackals. we resighted the rifle for 60 yards and went and waited over 3 hours but no leopard. we checked baits on the way back in and one warthog had been dragged off, the gemsbok had been eaten by one brown hyena.

the blobs in the tank are the warhogs that got in and drowned.
8/30 off to check baits. another warthog had been hit by a leopard so we set up the blind here. while driving, we saw tracks where poachers had crossed a stock fence to hunt on the farm while we slept. we sat in the blind for 4 hours in the evening, and only a mongoose came to eat the warthog.
8/31 off to check baits again (7 baits).the leopard came to the one by the blind after we left and finished it off, nothing on the others. in the afternoon, i shot a baboon we found dying under a water trough and the ph shot a zebra for bait. a hyena later dragged the dead baboon away and ate it. the p[oor thing was nothing but skin and bones. back to the blind in the afternoon and sat for 4 hours. i thought i heard a leopard cough to the right and behind us and sure enough, it came by and did not return.
9/1 day 7-- off to check baits, shot a young kudu for more bait and set it up. on the kudu trapped in the fence, the leopard had eaten the back half so we decided to sit over him that night. we shot a very old kudu cow for more bait and set it near the 1/2 eaten kudu. we sat in the blind that evening and saw a dik-dik and steenbok. the ph wanted me to shoot them but i was not interested in the little ones.


a jackal trotted by the bedded steenbok and it was hilarious when they saw each other, both bolted in opposite directions. no leopard, but we saw a beautiful genet on the way in for the night.
9/2 off to check baits. the leopard hit the old cow we had set out so we will return this evening. after 4 hours in the blind--nothing again.
9/3 off to check baits. a badger had eaten some but no leopards. we saw some huge tracks on a roadway while driving but nowhere near any of the baits. we sat up over th old kudu cow and 1/2 eatne kudu bull. a pair of honey badgers came in and stared eating our bait. the ph started swearing in a low voice and said that no leopard would come in now. just then the badgers reared up and stared into the dark and then took off. a leopard came bounding in to stake its claim. what a sight. it circled the kudu and then gave me a near broadside shot, facing to my right and a little away. i put the crosshairs on the shoulder and shot. it fell in place. and never moved. the ph was excited and said you got him. after about ten minutes, we went to check on him. my shot went in the top of the shoulder and broke the spine, exiting out the back of the neck on the left side. 180 grain pmc xlc at 63 yards.

we headed bak in and the leopard was skinned out and measured. it was 2 meters from nose to tail and weighed about 100 pounds.
9/4 there is a lot of haze in the air due to fires in angola and botswanawent cruising for zebra and missed one shot opportunity by taking too long to set up. drove aliitle more and climbed ahill to glass. there were two groups down below and they had no idea we were near--good wind and light. the ph pointed out an old stallion and i shot. 130 yards 180 grain corelokt. it hit the near shoulder and he ran about thirty yards and fell in a big cloud of dust. the bullet went thru the heart and was found under the skin just behind the off shoulder, the top 1/2 of the heart was exploded. on the way back we had three flat tires and the steering box came loose so we almost ran into a tree. it was a slow drive the rest of the way, with the truck veering all over the place. a couple of bolts fixed it back up.

9/5 back to the high blind. i shot the baboon and then the ph had me shoot a mangy jackal. it no hair at all. the baboon was quite emaciated.back in for dinner. my hunt is pretty much don. the ph came and said ovita wanted me for a longer time to get the waterbuck so i packed up that night.9/6 of to okahandja, settled accounts, and then shifted my gear to another truck. wiebke drove me about 70 km to ovita. they have a pond with hippos, crocodiles and it is an amazing game draw (pictures only), just beside the guest quarters. a great way to wind up in the morning and wind down in the evening.


i met the ph claus nebe and we took a 3 hour game drive in the afternoon, seeing giraffe, balck and blue wildebeest, a couple of camels,springbok, roan antelopeostrich, gemsbok, waterbuck cows, zebras and vultures.
9/7 the hipos were pretty noisy thru th night. off to look for giraffe. no shooters in the first 3 seen, so we kept going. we found a nice bull, and i took a shot form about 40 yards, using the 180 grain xlc. it was a good broadside shot, and he ran about40 yards and fell. the bullet took out the front side of the heart but i did not want to climb in and find the bullet. after pictures

it took about 2 hours of grunting and straining to load the monster onto a long flatbed and take him back. the skinning was not too easy either, taking 6 people 1 and 1/2 hours. in the afternoon we went out for waterbuck but saw no shooters.
9/8--day 16 saw some fish eagles over the pond

looked for waterbuck all day but no luck
9/9 looking for waterbuck. saw a nice sable but not for shooting.

looked for red hartebeest in the afternoon but no shots. saw a lot of game, but no waterbucks at all.
9/10 hunted all day but no waterbuck, just everything else.
9/11 off for waterbuck. we saw a good bull but i took too long to set up and away he went. in the afternoon we go out again and come near a waterhole. several kudus were dozing in the shade and then we spot the waterbuck dozing under a tree. i slip into postion and take a downhill shot. he is facing me at a 45 degree angle. the 180- grain xlc entered just in front of the right shoulder and was recoveredunder the skin just behind the off ribs. he took off at the shot and i watched him run up the hill and disappear in the bush. the ph asked if i got him and said i was sure of the shot. we head down the hill to the shot site and there is no blood at all.we wander thru the bush up the other hill where he headed, then the dog takes off and starts barking about 50 yards up the hill. we home in on the noise and there he is, down. there was no blood trail at all but he bled internally a lot. it looked like it had a bullet hole thru one ear-- a previous miss by someone?

we looked for hartebeest in the afternoon, but saw none. packed up my gear for tomorrow and settled accounts.
9/12 off to windhoek, got a few souvenirs, and back on the plane.
9/14 arrived frankfurt and find that again there is a tropical storm near houston, but no flight cancellations yet. on to houston. they detoured us around birmingham alabama to miss the worst of the storm. ia actually had to sho my 4457 this time, the first time in 5 overseas trips, to keep my rifle, great to get home.
both farms have a good amount of game, with good guest rooms in a separate building, good home cooked food, and the usual amenities. i would recommend either for hunting pleasure.

Great report! Beautiful pics! Makes me wish I was back there right now.

Congratulations on the great trophies.

Namibiahunter

Very nice report. It looked a very dry area and I will probably feel right at home there when I'm in NW Namibia next month.

Funny thing about you growing a beard and not matching your passport photo. The only reason that I haven't shaved mine off is because my passport photo from 1999 has me in a beard.

Great pics and some mighty fine trophies.. Good shooting...

Mike

Great trophies! Thanks for sharing..

Nice. Congratulations and thanks for sharing will all of us.