DATES of HUNT - Sept 9 thru 23 2012

LOCATIONS - Mashi Conservancy (Caprivi), ATS ranch ( NW of Windhoek), San Souci Safaris, RSA.

GAME HUNTED - Elephant, Hippo, PG, Cape Buffalo, Elephant, Sable, Warthogs, Gemsbok -many!, Springbok, Pair of Hartman mountain zebras, Steinbok, Aardwolf, Genet cat, Porcupines.

HUNTING PARTY - Myself, wife Cindy and sister in law Trish

Professional Hunters - Kobus Honibal, Radimir Karsten, Coen Karsten, Whitey Whitehead ( RSA )

TRACKERS, CREW - Elvis, Moses, Stanley

RIFLES - Heym double - 416 Rigby, open sights, Federal Premium Barnes TSX and BBS ammo
CZ 550 - 375 H&H, Swarovski 1.7x 10, circle dot, Federal Premium Barnes TSX and BBS ammo
Custom Rem 700, 300 WM, Zeiss 6x20 mil dot, Federal Premium Barnes MRX ammo

OUTFITTER - AFRICA THRISTLAND SAFARIS, Kobus Honibal, http://www.atsafaris.com

ROUTING - Houston to Frankfort, Lufthansa, to Windhoek via Air Namibia, Business class. Arrangements by Travels with Guns, very well done. Had a great 2 day layover in Frankfort to dump the jet lag on the way over, stayed at the Hotel Steinhagen, very nice. Straight thru on return.

I bought this hunt at the Texas Hill Country SCI meeting in January of this year. My dear friends Dr Tim Doucett and his wife Marit made the same basic hunt last year and reported a great time. As many SCI hunts as I have bought, and not taken, I was pretty determined to take this one. The auction item just prior to this one was a nice Heym double rifle, and with Cindy's complete thumbs up, I was the best bidder for that, and Chris assured me that the rifle could be ready in late July, and it was.

I did get outbid for this hunt during the auction. I sat back in the chair and said to the girls, well, I'll just go out in the convention area later tonight and get another hunt somewhere. The successful bidder however, did not sign the sheet when brought to his table though, and I was asked if I would take it for my last bid, which I did. So with a new rifle and hunt planned, the girls and I were talking to the outfitter, and they were " we want to go too", and so the first of many changes was made.

A word here I think is in order. We had a great time. We HAD that great time, because we understand that things change, sometimes for the better, sometimes not so much. I hate cruise ships, they are too structured for me, I hate being on someone elses schedule. On safari, it is your show, but let's face it, you don't control everything, from the government rules to the animals, or in our case, a gov't airplane surveying animals, that kept spooking our animal. Go with the flow, and all will be well.

So, that begins, our prep, wasn't so bad, I hunt a lot, Cindy and Trish not so much, so had to equip them some, and they did really well. Got all the paperwork finished for the rifles, tickets bought and ready to go. Parents from both sides came to watch Madison ( our 3 yr old, I have a 30 and 27 yr old too!!! ) and plans made for the girls to go home early and give me the last week to hunt seriously.

Kobus and I were Skyping the last week before we left, he says, "Mike, we have to make a small change in plan. It will cost you 30 minutes more flight time each way ( charter from Windhoek ), but you will not mind. Rather than hunt nearer to the Kalahari, I have a chance to take you to the Caprivi Strip. Would that be OK?"

Oh yes, that will be fine. Bigger better ele slipping across from Botswana, yeah, I can live with that. And being on the river, we can fish, look for hippo, crocs, whatever. And like.... it's the Caprivi, old school safari area.

I just wanted be Hemingway for a couple weeks...... little did I know that would be the case. I wanted a kudu in addition to the other stuff, but alas, I did not get one. I did get a number of other bonus animals though, as ye shall see.


We flew from Houston to Frankfurt then to Namibia, Lufthansa then Air Namibia, spending a couple days in Frankfurt for the girls to shake off the jet lag, Nam and Frankfurt are in the same time zone, and all the flights are at night going over. Spent the time in Frankfort in a nice hotel for the girls:



Had a tour of the Rhinegau wine country:



On Air Namibia plane:



Landed in Windhoek very early, Kobus met us right off the plane ( he's a pilot, has ramp privleges) got us through customs, and off to his Cessna 210, that we would take to the Caprivi.



Kobus' sweetheart of wife Annette, giving me directions!!!



Along the way we flew over the Okavango Delta, the only river in Africa that does not go to an ocean, it dead ends in to the delta. In 100 yards it goes from desert to swamp, very cool.



We saw a LOT of elephant once we got to the Caprivi, both in the air and the ground. This was at the end of the runway on our landing approach. We saw at least 300 the first day, from the boat.





Once in the boat, we ran the river, glassing elephants. We saw as I said, hundreds. The Kwando river runs between Botswana and Namibia here, the ele go back and forth. We could only shoot on the Nam side, but checked ele on both sides as they crossed frequently. Just before sundown we saw one MUCH bigger than the rest, both in body size as well as tusks. He was at least 3 feet taller than anyone of the others in his group.

Got out on dry land and stalked him a couple times, he would go back in the reeds, hide from us. He wanted to cross the river, we kept blocking that, and were trying to get a close shot but finally, he made break for the river, just before dark. Kobus and I ran to get as close as we could, he put the sticks up, said "side brain" as soon as he clears the reeds, but before he gets deep in the river. I shot him twice with the 416 double, as ordered, and dropped him at the edge. If the shot was 2 minutes later, I did not have enough light, with open sights. He fell at the second shot, in an area we could get the boat in, so that when he self inflated overnight, we could float him to solid ground for butchering.

Getting out of the boat to make the last stalk:




Pulling the elephant closer to the high ground:



Some idea of the size of this guy.




Kobus and I with the tusks



The tusks removed:



Next up was a hippo, on day three on the hunt, days one and two being the shooting and harvest of the elephant. We went way upriver from the landing instead of downriver where we shot the ele. We broke the bridge the night before bringing meat back in the Landcruiser:




Made a good shot on the hippo, but then had to wait for it float, then tow it eight miles back to where we could get a landcruiser to the water. The boat would not tow it until I rigged a bridle forward of the console, I guess that captains license was worth something after all. Thanks Dad, for the memory of telling me how you rigged a CG cutter to do something like that 40 years ago.




This is what date night in the Caprivi is all about:



Took a couple of pics with Trish also with the hippo, so she can razz her boss about shooting a hippo.

Kobus had some cool toys here the girls really like the Unimog, I guess chicks really do dig trucks:





After the hippo and the ele, and considering the broken bridge would cost us a couple hours each way hunting each day, we decided to go to Kobus's ranch and shoot plains game. This is something that you HAVE to consider in Africa, plans change, and you need to be flexible, or be miserable. We took the plane east first though, to the Chobe and Zambezi rivers, did a low level game tour, this is a huge herd of Cape buff:



Pics of the falls, it was very smoky due to the brush fires, more on those later:



First morning on the ATS farm, I shot this mountain zebra mare.



This part of the hunt began what we called the "Kobus Honibal Workout Video". We walked ten to fifteen miles a day, up and down a hundred hills looking for whatever we were hunting. He especially liked to run me thru sand and rocks whenever possible, and the elevation didn't help much. I had been stepping up the workout portion of my life some, but it still took a little acclimation. I did work real hard on getting breath and pulse under control as we crested hills and such.

One other thing that I would have done different - bring less scope. One of my friends did this hunting area last year, said be sure to bring your long scope ( 6x20 ) for the long shots. I did, it spent most of the time on 6 power. The 1.7x10 on the 375 was much more useful. I did make a couple long shots, but still never used more than 10x. Different plan next year.

Trish shot a nice gemsbok:



I had to get in on the gemsbok shooting also:



According to our little Madison, Daddy shot that bad bogeyman!



I might have gotten carried away with the gemsbok. Kobus ranches these for meat and trophies. After he understood that I could shoot, he asked, do you mind helping with the culls? He would point it out, say that one shoot him, bang, flop. So much fun. Used most of my 375 and all my 300 ammo like this.


This one needed it bad.



As I said, the girls had to go back to the States, with me staying another week. We flew them back to Windhoek, got them on the plane, and went back to the ATS ranch. Without the girls, we stayed out even later, we had already gotten in trouble with the staff and Kobus' charming wife Annette, for being late to dinner EVERY night. One night we did not hunt, but helped the neighbors put out a bad brush fire. It was very cool to see everyone helping, as this fire could have ravaged all their homes and farms. This one in fact did completely burn four farms.



We did get some cool animals at last light though, this is an aardwolf, I was lucky enough to get a permit to export one for this year.



This is a genet cat, Cindy would NOT have let me shoot that, if she was along. I heard a leopard one day, and she was like, no way, I don't care if you shoot it, but I don't want to see it.



I did get a good shot at a large male zebra, about 380 yards. I saw it on the mountain side, ranged it with the binos, dialed it and shot it. The other PH with us, Radimar, said wow, you did that quick, do you practice? Yeah.... a little. These zebra were probably the funnest thing I hunted, they have great eyesight, can smell you a half mile away, and live in the mountains. Tough as nails, be prepared for a good hunt for these guys. And... tastes good.

Elvis, Kobus' main tracker, and all around right hand man, and I with the zebra.



Not all went so well. Shot this nice steinbuck... with a 375, TSX. Wanted to shoot him with a solid ( brought ten of those for the 375), but it did not go bang. Since the 375 was my backup DG rifle, this was very serious. Made sure everyone knew not to load that rifle with solids for the rest of the trip. They were left over from a batch Superior Ammo made for me in 2009. Wanted them, since they had the tough to get Banded flat nose solids in them. Decide the 416 was going to be it for DG on this trip.





This is a shot of the infinity pool at the ATS lodge:



Our chalet style room:



And the food was good and plenty:



After shooting most everything I wanted, EXCEPT a KUDU, I didn't feel too bad, they frustrated Hemingway too, we made a plan to go south to the Botswana/South Africa border and shoot a buff. Load up the plane early, off to SA.




On leaving Frankfurt, I fueled up with a bottle of scotch, a big one from the duty free, but alas, ran out! I was almost reduced to drinking Jamesons, but Kobus came thru. Someone from three years ago left a crate of whiskey at the lodge, Kobus doesn't drink, and he said I could look thru it to see if I liked anything there. YES, the same stuff!!! God does love us! It made the trip with us, did not know what the bar might have in SA.

I don't know if the man that left the box at Kobus' is on AR, but if so, thanks! PM me when you are in Houston, and I can repay the courtesy.



Picture taking from here kinda fell off, without the girls to keep me disciplined, I'm just here for the hunt you know. After getting thru the SA customs hassles, arrived at the Sans Souci lodge, and had a great lunch, started hunting. It is a fenced property, but it is very large, about 150 square miles. We talked about animals available, and the subject of sable came up. Only have one shooter they said, and he has been very shy the last four months. OK, thought nothing of it. Just out riding, looking for buff tracks, hey..... that was.... a sable. Beat on the roof of the bakkie, turn around yes, and a very nice one.



The buffalo were tough. Spread out in small groups, we'd find a track, work it until we saw them, glass them, stalk them until we found the right one. I saw one just at dusk ( again!!!) but Kobus says no, the other one is better. I had no shot on him, so we picked them up next morning, worked several hours to catch up where they had wandered all night etc. Stalked several times to within 30/40 yards, but wind shifts, and a damn cropduster game survey plane kept flushing them. It was after lunch, skipped it, until we had them close for the last time. They were moving out of the thick stuff about to cross a mile wide wide savannah. Kobus said " if you can't shoot long with those irons, switch to the 375". I kept the double, the four broke out about 100 yards out, when the one we wanted was in the gap, the tracker mooed, and the bull looked over. Bang, he humped up, and the second bang he fell over. The tracker went berserk in Afrikaans, found out later, he was really happy I could shoot, they get lots of clients who can't, and the tracker has the job of being between a couple loaded rifles, and a critter that is dangerous enough before it was wounded.




Triple shocks are the best - top two are from the initial shots on the buff, bottom two are from the coup de grace thru the spine into the chest.



Had to shoot one more gemsbok here too, just had to. Last day, I told Kobus and Whitey ( SA PH) that we were quitting at 1800, so we could enjoy a sunset. At 1755, this gemsbok just appeared, it was a sign.



The rain was on and off the last day, we did get soaked a couple times.



But.... the last sunset.. just makes me want to go back again.



I didn't get the kudu, despite hunting hard for it at both the ATS farm and at Sans Souci. Next year, cats and the kudu I suppose. It is going to be hard to top this one next year.

The cool thing about this trip was having the plane, we could get around quickly, and got more actual hunting time when we changed locations. Windhoek to the ranch, one hour by plane, five by road. Caprivi to ranch - 16 hours by road, or four days in the case of the broken trailer axle - or 3 hours by plane. There is only one other guy in Namibia with his own plane, the rest charter as needed.

A few things I learned:

DO bring an Ipad to have something to read on the plane. I read a lot, and carrying all the books for a three week trip is not possible.

DON'T bring a laptop - I did, only used it once, and it was a PIA toting it around and finding juice for it.

Do bring a lower power scope than you think you need. DON'T bring the 6x20, a 1.5 ten Swarovski is all you need.

DON"T bring gatorade unless you dehydrate easy or have health issues, it was wasted weight.

I brought an e-caller (Foxpro) we had great intentions to use it, but were already eating late and getting up early. Maybe next time, because I think it wuold work great there on the cats and night critters.

Ammo selection - I brought 20 each 416 solids and TSX, 30 300 WM ( 180 MRX), and thirty 375 H&H, with ten of those being solids. Next time, more 375, same # of solids, but more TSX. I'd bring less 416 solids, but ten at least ( elephant medicine ). That 100 rounds BTW, is exactly 11 pounds ( 5 kilos) all the ammo the airlines let you bring, and they did weigh it, without the Pelican it was in. Close thing there. You can get 375 TSX anywhere in Africa, but it isn't cheap there either. The 375 made a good backup rifle for either of the other two. If you can only have one rifle, make it a 375H&H, I prefer it over the Ruger, there is more ammo available locally there.

Palladium boots - brought these and my Danners, never wore the Danners. Bought two new pairs for the girls, they got no blisters, but I was a dick and made them wear the Smartwool socks. Not hip, not stylish, but no blisters!

Bring an extra carry on bag, many uses, I used mine for adding my and the wifes ammo to, to save a run back thru the airport in Frankfort, from customs to the gate. Just picked up the luggage tags at the counter, went to customs ( in another terminal ) retrieved the guns and ammo, slapped the tags on, and customs took it from there. Without the bag, I would have had to haul our checked bags to customs, and get an escort from them back to Air Namibia counter. With the bag, customs delivered to planeside. Also handy for dirty laundry, and extra soveniers on return.

Bring a pen and note pad - rite in rain not needed, but you will take a lot of notes if you wnat to remember things.

Bring extra sunglasses, contacts or whatever.

Floppy hat with a leash to retain it when the truck blows it off. They shoot runaway hats on the third escape over there.

Best thing I had was pants with zipoff legs, from LL Bean. Needed the warmth in the morning, but needed the shorts in the afternoon. At night, the legs went back on. Three pair is plenty - one on, one clean, one being cleaned. All the outfitters do laundry every day, Do NOT bring eight pairs of clothes, it's wasted hauling. DO bring extra socks, but not ten pairs.

UnderArmour T shirts and Columbia fishing shirts in green or dark tan colors, good stuff.

Bring a pair of slip on shoes for around the camp at night. I didn't, the girls did. I was gear challenged in this respect.

Rangefinding binos - do this. Don't worry about the cost. They are cheap versus everything else on the hunt. Geovids, Swarovskis are OK, I like my Zeiss, and they work great.

Merrell technical shoes - good deal for the airport, and traveling, needs more highcut ankle support for hunting in. Dry's out quickly when wet too.

Antiseptic wipes - my arms and legs look like New England road maps, from the thorns and stickers. A pair of tweezers would be OK too for pulling them out. I swear some of these had anticoagulant on them, I couldn't stop the blood until I had pulled the sticker out. Everything over there bites, stings or scratches, and gets it's pint of blood for it.

Lastly, if you are looking for a double gun, the Heym is very nice. I have shot many others, borrowed them, hunted with them, and for the money it's the best value. There are cheaper doubles out there, but remember, it's Africa, and there, the hunter, is sometimes the hunted. Low bid is not the place to be. You can spend more, but the Heym is a good value, and holds that value.

I also liked the 375, in a CZ550, but that is one heavy be-yotch. Already looking for an action ( a CZ550 ) to build a custom for next year, much lighter.

Most of my mountain hunting was done with a 300 WM, very light, 5.5 pounds without scope. Plenty of rifle, and easy to carry. I'll take it again, next time with a 1.7x10 swarovski or a 2x10 Leupold. Zero at 200, and GTG.

Thanks all for the comments and PM's, feel free to ask anything, this was a great trip, with my best two ladies, and a good outfitter/PH. Can't wait to get back next year, try for a leopard and maybe a lion. We took about 3000 pictures, I likely have a pic of something if you have a question about it.

Mike, looks like you had an awesome hunt. That picture of all the elephant makes me homesick. I also love the freak gemsbuck. Congratulations on a great hunt.

[P.S. I like your hunt report style, long on pictures and easy on the narrative. When I get around to doing my hunt report, maybe this weekend, I think I am going to try the same approach.]

Fantastic report, Mike. Great trophies, and I liked the "A few things I learned" section too!

Thank you for such a fantastic report,the pics are awesome,glad to hear you had such a great time!

Great hunt...great report.

I was in East Caprivi in 94' before the Conservancies were established.

Did you see much elephant & buff in Mashi or were most of the sightings on the Botswana (Chobe) side? I take it the big herd of buff you saw from the air was in Chobe.

The big herd of Buff was indeed on the Chobe, one of many we saw. Although, the biggest and best buff I saw, was in the Caprivi, on the Botswana side, in a group of twenty plus. He was massive, deep curls, good boss, and WIDE!!!! Wrong side that day,

We saw lots of animals in Mashi, both elephant and buffalo, we did a couple quick stalks between the Lienshulu airstrip and the camp, on some elephants spotted while the crew was waiting for our landing. The girls were kinda shocked, as in " you are going to hunt before we eat?"

The numbers of elephant here are staggering. I could not guess the total, but the first day, over three hundred seen, and never a day without at least a hundred.

This guy thought we were too close:

Always wanted to hunt the Caprivi; I'm envious. Have seen genets, but no opportunity for a shot. I'm envious. Have hunted in their range, but have never even seen an aardwolf. I'm envious.

Sounds like you had a great hunt. Congratulaitons.

Great report and pictures!!

What did you do with your rifles while in Frankfurt for those days?

I am planning on going back to Namibia next year and would like to stay over in Frankfurt for a couple days and sightsee.

What were the temperatures like while you were in Namibia?

Very nice!

Love the wooly cape on that buff.

Awesome report. You have some fine trophies. I can't say I've ever seen hair that long on a buffalo.

Rifles in Frankfort were easy. Steve and Susan at Travels with Guns obtained permits for the rifles to be held at the airport customs office lockup, it takes about a month to get these, so don't wait until the last minute.

We arrived at Frankfurt, claimed our luggage, found the rifle cases, then went to customs, declared our intent and displayed the permits. They escorted us to the lockup, where they held our ammo and the rifles in their cases. I got a receipt, and used that a couple days later to reclaim the rifles and ammo.

Now here, is where that extra bag helped. You have to get your regular bags checked at the Air Namibia counter first, then get extra tags for the rifle cases. I got one more for the ammo. We then had to go to customs ( other terminal) with the tags I ( and extra bag ) and reclaim the rifles and ammo. We put the ammo in the extra bag, and customs took it directly to the plane. If I was taking the ammo in our other checked bags, we had to hump bags from terminal to terminal. Not a good plan. By having the extra, customs escorts the rifles and ammo directly on the plane. And..... you don't lose your rifles or ammo in transit. Worked well for us.

I recommend you hit Frankfurt on the way over. It gets you over any jet lag while you are there, same time zone as most of Africa. You are fresh and ready to hunt when you arrive in Africa then. Just stay up from Frankfort all the way home, and sleep normally when you get home. I've done Trans-Atlantic travel like that for years. If you need some sightseeing ideas, I can help you there too, let me know.



Temps were great - high 40's and 50's at night, no more than 85 daytime, 80 most days. Very dry, bring chapstick, and make yourself drink. Once dehydrated, it is tough to get wet again.

MikeE;

Congratulations on a very full bad of wonderful trophies...the aardwolf is very neat!

Glad your wife got some shooting in also!

Your report and photos were fantastic.

Best regards, D. Nelson

(sent enroute to Wyoming for deer/pronghorn)

MikeE,

Thanks for the information. I will pm you before I go.

Thanks again!

Mike

I am not suprised there is much more elephant movement thru the Caprivi than when I was there in 94'. The reason is the elephant are rapidly recolonizing the Luiana Park in Angola to the North.

Based on the survey results, the last one being in 2007, there could be upwards of 20,000 elephants there now. There were only 329 counted in 2004, up to 1827 in 2005 then jumping to 8000 in 2007. This fact puts the Caprivi in a much better position with the eles migrating between two major population centers.

Great report & photos!

Another great report! Those are some fantastic photos!

Thanks

Thanks for that great report.
Congratulations on your Grand Safari!

quote:

Originally posted by Safari2:
Mike

I am not suprised there is much more elephant movement thru the Caprivi than when I was there in 94'. The reason is the elephant are rapidly recolonizing the Luiana Park in Angola to the North.

Based on the survey results, the last one being in 2007, there could be upwards of 20,000 elephants there now. There were only 329 counted in 2004, up to 1827 in 2005 then jumping to 8000 in 2007. This fact puts the Caprivi in a much better position with the eles migrating between two major population centers.

It was very interesting to note the amount of elephants on each side of the river. Many more on the Bots side, but all were slipping over to the Namibia side, as there was much more vegetation to pursue. Same with the hippos, except they just stayed on the Namibia side, and hid in the reeds as needed.

Mike.

Well written and excellent pictures with good explanation. Enjoyed .

Damn, you guys are making me jealous. I don't get to go for another 8 months. Great report, nice pictures. That's one thing I don't do is take enough pics.

quote:

Originally posted by Elton Rambin:
Mike.

Well written and excellent pictures with good explanation. Enjoyed .

Hey there Elton,

Good shooting hmmm? You and the missus are good I hope. Will I see you this fall in Texas?

quote:

Originally posted by pagosawingnut:
Damn, you guys are making me jealous. I don't get to go for another 8 months. Great report, nice pictures. That's one thing I don't do is take enough pics.

Well,

When you take your wife and her sister, you get......

Plenty of pictures!

Seriously, I had a great time with the girls there, and it was good after they left too. We didn't have to worry about what time we got back so much.

Hunting with Kobus and Elvis, was very comfortable, much like with two new/old friends.

Well done Mike E. Proper country that and good to see that you and 'the girls' experienced a classic safari.

Well done, enjoyed the report!!

Cheers
Jim

Well done on a great safari. You got some wonderful trophies. Not many people have hunted an Ardwolf. Kobus is a great guy, I hunted with him on Hammond a few years ago with one of his clients.

quote:

Originally posted by Thierry Labat:
Well done on a great safari. You got some wonderful trophies. Not many people have hunted an Ardwolf. Kobus is a great guy, I hunted with him on Hammond a few years ago with one of his clients.

Thank you sir, from you that means very much to me.

I tell you, Kobus did a great job on this trip. I know he had gotten a bit of ill press on this site a while back. In all our dealings, he was very straightforward and open. Did things come up that had to be adjusted, of course they did, that is the nature of the hunt. He made the adjustments very smooth, went out of his way for the girls too.

When we got to the Caprivi, landed, made a couple quick stalks before we even got to the camp. When we got to the camp, the ladies were " where is the lodge??? Because the camp there is tents ( on concrete, with ensuite showers and bath ) and Cindy has a very healthy fear of snakes. There was a moment of panic ( OK, three hours ) and then everything was OK, they got comfortable and all was well. We had hippos eating at night a hundred yards from our fire, we shined our lights on them, just to check, and it became quite "our camp". Afterwards, when we arrived at his home lodge, they were all " now THIS is what you showed us pictures of, and we were prepared for!".

Any outfitter/PH and his poise, makes all the difference in getting thru these things, or having it turn into a disaster.

Geez Mike, how did I initially miss this fantastic report and pics?!!!!!!! Absolutely stunning pics and great trophies! What a hunt!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fantastic photos and report.
Congrats on a super safari.

Excellent! Congrats to you all!!!

Great report and pics Mike. Well done on all. A nice mixed bag. The aerial photo of the Buff herd and the falls is way cool .