Okay will try and make this a little more detailed and add some pictures.

Date of Hunt: May 23 to June 2, 2008
Hunting Outifitter: Otijinuke Hunting Ranch
Location: Northwest of Okahandja, Namibia
Size of Hunting Property: total acrage was 17,000 +/-, 7,000 acres under high fence.
Animals to be hunted: Waterbok, Gemsbok, Eland, Blue Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, Warthog, Burchells Zebra. Animals added to the list once hunting started: Black Wildebeest and Impala.
Animals seen but not hunted: Giraffes, common springbuck, blesbok, banded mongoose, ground squirrels, baboon, jackal (well took some shots but missed them), various bird life, ostrich.
Ranh Owners: Gert & Marina Mueller
PH: Jan Blaauw
Airlines used: British Airways to/from Seattle/
London/Johannesburg. SAA to/from Johannesburg/Windhoek.
Meet and Greet service used: Hunters Support Air 2000

This hunt was primarily planned and exceuted with myself doing the research and finding my own hunting operation and also making my own airline arrangements with British Airways using frequent flier miles in the Alaska Airlines program of which BA is a partner. By doing some swapping with family members miles with Alaska I was able to get a business class seat on BA and this really made the long travel much nicer. I found BA very easy to deal with the firearms and ammo, all that I did extra was to notify BA a minimum of 72 hrs in advance that I was flying with guns and ammo and at the airport 1 extra piece of paper was needed to be filled in by the BA ticket agent and that was basically a list of the gun and ammo and a copy of which was placed in the guncase and the suitcase with the ammo. The only thing about BA that I didn't like was having to wait until 24 hrs before the flight to get my seat assignment. Turned out to be no big deal as I had good seats for the flights. The SAA flight was booked thru a travel agency and in the end I think I could/should have done that part myself too. The guns and ammo and overweight issues with SAA at the Johannesburg airport became a HUGE pain in the ass, paid over $100.00 in excess baggage charges and SAA forced me to take my ammo from my suitcase and check it as a 3rd piece of checked baggage. Fortuantly I was sort of prepared for that Information gainied from reading of others experiences on their trip to SA and Namibia) in that I had purchase a small plastic type tool box and had my ammo packed and locked in that so checking it as a 3rd piece was quick and easy. Tho why that made SAA feel better was beyond me.
Rifles used: CZ 550 American Safari Magnum in .375 H&H with Bushnell 4200 Elite 1.5-6x36mm scope using handloaded 300 gr. nosler Partions and a Ruger Model 77 MK II in .30-06 Springfield with Simmons Aetec 2.8-10x40mm scope with handloaded 180 gr. Nosler partions. 60 rounds of ammo for each rifle kept me at approx 1/2 lb under the 11 lb airline limit.
I arrive at the ranch after 2.5 days of flying and waiting in airports and from Windhoek it was about a 3 hour drive to the ranch. My PH for the trip was waiting at the airport and once firearm formalities were completed at theW indhoek airport police office of we went to the ranch arriving late afternoon, getting settled into rooms, dinner, and then to bed.
The hunting actually started on May 24 with a short sight in session at the well defined range located at the ranch. This range is a holdover from colonial/independence days and had well defined 100, 200 and 500 meter shooting positions with retractable target holders in the butts area. After the sight in, and I found no adjustments were needed for the scopes, it was back to the house to drop off sight in gear and then headed out hunting. Each hunting day was basically the same, start around 7 am after a quick cereal and tea/coffee breakfast and cruise the ranch roads with the PH and 1 tracker and myself in the back of the truck with another tracker/driver doing most of the driving. Once target animals were spotted, it was off the truck and foot stalking began and that lasted anywhere from a few minutes to hours depending on the circumstances and animals encountered. Often times we would start a stalk after 1 type of animal and end up going off on a tangent for another type animal depending on what was seen. I always saw(well after the others did) many animals each day and probably some of the same herds on subsequent days as we went out. Usually around 11-11:30 we would head back to the house for lunch and a rest and then back hunting again around 2:30-3 pm and stay out until 5-5:30 pm. Now if animals were bagged while out hunting this schedule changed sometimes but that was the basic plan.
The first day produced losts of sightings and stalks, man its hard to get close when several hundred eyes are looking in your direction and somehow the animals always knew something was up. this was relativly flat terrain broken by the brush and grasses. My first chance at a shot came early on the 2nd morning and what at first was thought was a decent shot on a gemsbok bull turned out to be a poor shot and after many hours of blood trailing and some good estimation of where it ran/walked it was finally declared as lost as it mixed in with additional gemsbok again and spoor became non-exsistant. On my first Africa hunt in 2003 I also lost a gemsbok and so now I'm thinking this jinx is still alive and hanging onto my backside. On the 4th day I connected on a nice (turned out to make Gold by Nam standards) Black Wildebeest bull within the first 30 min of leaving the house. This was a trophy I had decided to add to my list early upon arriving and it was a quick 1 shot kill with the .375. Later that morning I also got my Blue Wildebeest bull, again with the .375 tho a 2nd shot was needed to anchor him completly (1 slug recovered from this animal, retained weight was approx 260 gr). About this time my back started to begin to give me some problems which worsened over the coming days and while I still hunted it was becoming more difficult to get up and down and made the days long and painfull. After about 3 days of this back crap, I decided it was maybe time to see about cutting the hunt short so I was able to contact my wife who with the help of Alaska Airlines was able to get a earlier return flight re booked. By taking some tylenol and resting for a day I was able to continue to hunt until the new departure day drew near.
Eland were high on my list and these were located inside the high fenced area and were stalked on numerous occasions and the effort finally paid off and late one afternoon I was able to get close enough to a good bull and get a shot, actually took 3 shots with the .375 to keep this one down for keeps (2 slugs recovered, retained weight was 189 gr, and 204 gr.) Continuing to deal with the back and hunting was a challenge, bu lying around didn't make things easier either, so hunting I went. Over the next few days I also bagged gemsbok (2), and maybe that jinx is finally broken, a very fine red hartebeest bull and a pair of waterbok, the 2nd one measured out with a horn length of 26 in. A chance encounter with a solo impala ram proved unfortunate for the ram as I had another fine trophy, this will be a full flat tanned skin to show of the beauty and uniquness of the markings on the hide. While we had chased/stalked zebras on and off while hunting other animals they were being quite the shy ones and on my first chance at a shot at one over the shootong stixs all I got was a big empty "click" when I pulled the trigger on the .375. Long story there and completly my fault for not ensuring I had a round chambered when we started that particular zebra stalk, but that was part of the trip. While i did quickly chamber a round, the zebras decided that one chance that day was all I was getting and off they went. By the last hunting day, the only things missing in the skinning shed were a warthog and zebra so that was the focus that last day. While the successfull warthog hunt never came to pass, to many running animals or hidden by brush and grass when they did stop, the zebra hunt eventually played out as successfull. The last afternoon we finally got close enough for me to try another shot, and using my .30-06 I let one fly. Good blood trail found but we never closed on the zebra. Finally catching up to the herd of mixed animals the tracker, Looky, spotted one of them limping and said thats the one. Of course the herd had other plans and quickly bolted. trying and end around, Jan the PH, said I think I know where they will go so off we went in the truck trying to get ahead of this bunch, and that actually worked out and we spotted the herd again and sure enough the limping zebra was at the back. Well several shots later, it was down and I had a fine you zebra stallion, a Burchells, and it will make a fine flat rug. In all, 10 animals were taken, 1 animal lost, several misses on my part and another safari completed. In total I fired 19 rounds from the .375 and 11 rounds from the .30-06 and left the remaining unfired ammo with the ranch owner to use as needed. this avoided any ammo hassles on the return flight and when asked where it was I simply said it fired hunting and doing some target practice and no one was the wiser or question that explanation. No one at the Nam or SA africa police stations really asked about ammo or how much I had to begin with.
Of course the major downside to the trip was the back issue which caused me to cancell the 2nd part of my hunt in South Africa with Infinito Safaris, who so far at least have indicated that my deposit paid to them will be held for a follow on hunt in either 2009 or 2010 (more likly the later), so thats incentive to return and get some others animals I have not hunted yet or been successfull on, like a warthog. While I have photos loaded into a photobucket account I haven't quite figured out to get them posted here but will continue to work on that.

Willi

Willi,

To post your photos from photobucket simply copy the bottom of the four links under the photo (the one that begins with IMG) and paste it into your AR reply.

A back that is acting up can make life miserable. I feel for you.

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Okay, maybe this will have worked now. Not the easiest thing for a computer challenged guy to figure out. Sorry the pics are not part of the narrative, but maybe next time it will work better. Some of the direct pics didn't show but the links are there, anyway I'm learning. Enjoy the pics.

Willi

Great pictures and I really like that hartebeest! They are top of my list next year.

Hi Willi,

It looks like you had a BLAST too...

Good on you partner!

Beautiful trophies and it looks like you had a mighty fine time!!!

Congratulations and I look forward to more of your pics and stories soon...

Oh what a FEELING!!!

Aloha,

Ro

Great Hartebeste!! I hope to be as lucky in October.....

Congrats!

Nicely done sir! Great pictures of a great hunt. Glad to see others in Washington making the journey. I'm planning on being in Namibia myself next May or June for my first safari.

added the other pictures that didn't post earlier

My mother!, I think you've had an impressive and beautiful safari, which trophies God, I am very glad the success of your game and I ask that you follow your delight in the stories that you offer us.

Thank you,

Oscar.

Good report. I'm heading back again next year.

Willi,

With the exception of the back, it sounds like you had a great hunt. The best part is that you get to go back.. Seems you are only a 1/2 hour away from me. You are right, it's great to see a fellow Washingtonian have a great hunt....

Jay