Getaway Kalahari Safari
PH: Janneman Brand
www.kalahari-safari.com
Location: 75km south of Gobabis

Trip dates:
London May 11-13
Namibia May 14-May 26

Side trip: London May 11-13

I talked my wife into going on safari with me this year. I met Janneman and Aldalene Brand at the DSC Show in 2006 and booked for August 2007. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we had to reschedule for May 2008. Janneman was incredibly understanding about the reschedule and made us very comfortable about our new dates. My wife wanted to go to London on the way, so we stopped off to see the sights. I used PDQ Freight, Ltd., as our transfer agent in London. Bob Nagra greeted us at baggage claim and escorted us to a customs agent to register and receive our gun cases while we were in London. The entire process took 15 minutes.

We also met some members of AR in London for drinks and had a fabulous time getting to know each other.

From another post, "The chap in the foreground is Bill K., to the left of him going clockwise is Ben G. who is not a member of these forums but a new shooter like myself, Ghubert and Boghossian in the middle, next is Ginger who is the charming wife of Kent who is 450/400 and finally Benjamin C., who is London hunter from this board."



We saw the sights in London and I scheduled a shooting lesson for my wife at the West London Shooting School. The folks at WLSS were awesome. We took the tube and then a five minute cab ride to the school where my wife had one-on-one instruction. The facilities were beautiful and instruction was awesome. She was begging me to bring her back before we left. Here are some photos.





Just in case you think they don't do any shooting in England, check out this mountain of expended shotgun hulls!





On May 13 we continued on to Windhoek thru Johannesburg. I used Optima VIP to escort us thru check-in and make sure our bags made the connection to Windhoek. Flawless. Our PH commented that we were the first hunters out of the last four or five that arrived with all of our bags via Johannesburg.

Janneman and Aldalene have a beautiful home and provided the highest level of service. It was beyond our expectations. Their home/lodge is absolutely first class and Aldalene is a gourmet cook. I have never eaten like this in my life. Every meal was better than the last. One of the previous hunters described it as a “Dining vacation with hunting possibilities†which is true in every sense of the word with the exception of the fact that the hunting was beyond our expectations as well.

When I began the planning process my wife agreed to go, but had never been big game hunting before and wasn’t sure if she wanted to start. I began taking her to the range to teach her to shoot a rifle and we spent many a weekend at the range. Before it was all over, she told me that she wanted to hunt Gemsbok, but wasn’t sure if she wanted to hunt anything else.

I need to give some background at this point. The reason that I chose to hunt with Kalahari Safari was that I knew that if my wife decided not to hunt or go out with me she would feel comfortable staying at the lodge while I hunted. Janneman and Aldalene are some of the nicest people I have ever met and were prepared to entertain Ginger in the event that she decided that big game hunting wasn’t for her.

On the first morning we went to the range and checked our rifles, which took only one shot from each rifle. Within 30 minutes we spotted a lone male Gemsbok and my wife was on her first stalk. She didn’t get him, but learned a lot. Later that morning she shot her first animal, a nice Springbok. They made a stalk and before they could get into shooting position, the ram laid down in the shade and Janneman and my wife stood in the sun for 45 minutes until he stood up to offer her a shot. Needless to say, she got her ram.



After photos and a quick stop at the skinning shed we headed home for lunch. After lunch, my wife was already talking about the “next†safari. That afternoon I also shot a nice Springbok.



The next morning she was back on Gemsbok and after five hours and two stalks she shot her Gemsbok. At this point she was fully converted to big game hunter for life.



At dinner the next evening she decided that she wanted to try for a Kudu. She made one stalk on that day and we were out the next morning. We spotted a group of Kudu cows and the stalk began at 8:30 a.m., at 5:30 that evening they returned to the truck, where I had been all day. She had just spent 9 hours stalking a monster Kudu that never offered her a shot. She loved every minute of it. Janneman was the epitome of patience, at one point waiting, patiently for 4 hours for the bedded Kudu to get up from his bed. It was awesome! Needless to say, there is a reason that that Kudu was as old and large as he was. He eluded them and my wife loved it. She shot this Kudu bull the next morning.



I also managed to shoot this Black Wildebeast with my Heym 450/400 after stalking and crawling to 80 yards.



I also shot this Eland.



On the last two days of the hunt we went to a ranch in the mountains west of Windhoek to hunt mountain Zebra and Klipspringer. I shot two mountain Zebra, my Klipspringer and a bonus, my Warthog. I also shot 4 Jackals in one day as the rancher asked me if I wouldn’t mind helping him out.









Kalahari Safari Lodge.















I took two rifles on the trip. My new Heym 450/400 that I ordered from new_guy (Chris) and my Brno 21h in 8x57. I used factory Hornady ammo for the 450/400 which was delivered one week before my trip and I did not have time to work up a load for and handloaded 200 gr Barnes TSX's in the 8mm. I shot the Black Wildebeast with the Heym and all other game was take with the 8mm. I only recovered two bullets from the 13 animals taken with the 8mm. The Barnes performance was beyond my wildest dreams. I recovered one bullet from the Kudu which was shot at 75 yards thru one shoulder and the spine. The other was from the Eland taken at 180 yards and recovered under the hide of the off side (three feet of penetration). Massive tissue damage on all game. I shot both Zebra at 300 yards, complete penetration with destruction inbetween.

Namibian Sunset.



Here is a picture of our "last meal." Well, the last evening's meal anyway. I can't imagine how anyone could eat any better on a daily basis. The food was absolutely outstanding. That's Janneman and Aldalene on the right.



I wanted to add this video I shot with my camera of two Gemsbok fighting. They went at if for over an hour after I spotted them. No telling how long it had been going on before I discovered the action. The bull on the left had his face split open between the eyes down to his nose. Each bull had multiple puncture wounds and the bull on the right had hair/flesh on the tip of his right horn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4iowTmtaX8

Great report, nice pictures, thanks for sharing.

Congratulations on a fine trip. Nice pictures and great report. I really enjoyed reading it.

Nice report.

What is the make and caliber of your bolt rifle? It looks like an old Mauser action.is it?

And a request- could you edit your post and name the AR guys in the photo so we can put names to faces?

Thanks!

I updated my report to answer your question. Thanks for your kind words all around.

Hi guys, looks like you have a great time.

Congratulations on some great trophies!

Did you spend any time looking for that giraffe?

Congratulations to you and your wife on an excellent trip.

When I was going to University in London I used to visit West London Shooting Club quite regularly, it is nice to see it in your photos.

Great report 450/400!
Looks like a great time and a great place. I have the same concerns right now in booking a plush place for the Mrs. for my 2009 PG Safari.

Great to see her to take to the trigger so well! I am hoping for the same result.

goose, if you have those concerns, look no further.

Congratulations on creating a new huntress!!! Now you'll really have to battle for the first shot!!!! Fine trophies.

Best regards, D. Nelson

Thanks for the report. Excellent trophies, congratulations.

Great report thanks. I took my wife to S.Africa last year, where she killed her first animal, and now I can't hardly sneak off without her.

quote:

Originally posted by 450/400:
goose, if you have those concerns, look no further.

I have narrowed it down to a final 4 and feel very good about all 4. I have pretty much settled now and have my contract ready to sign.
I am sure I will go again though so always good to know places the deliver as promised.

Great pictures and story , thank you for scharing

Some great photos...

Run into any snakes?

I kept wondering when we would come across a snake, but I never saw one.

We have hunted with Janneman twice and intend to return later this year, depending upon his schedule and our hurricane season. As has been noted he runs a first class operation.

Great trip!!! Great report!!! Great photos!!

Cheers!
-Bob F.

Looks like you had a wonderful trip. Spectacular pictures!! Can you share what type camera equipment you used?

Thanks for the interesting report and pictures. Its always great to see a couple enjoying Africa together.

I used a Cannon G9. I bought the camera because I knew a guy that had one. It is great. I bought an 8 gig card. The camera will hold around 600 pictures of this quality.

I used the 200 gr Barnes TSX and only recovered two bullets. One from my wife's Kudu which was shot at 75 yards and one from my Eland which was shot at about 180 yards. The bullet on the left is from the Kudu, the one in the middle is obviously unfired and the one on the right is from my Eland.



The retained weight on the bullet from my wife's Kudu was 199.9 grs and from the Eland was 197.7 grs.

The bullet from the Eland was found under the off-side skin. You can see the damage caused by the bullet, even though it didn't achieve full expansion. He only made it about 60 yards before expiring.



Here is the damage to a Springbok.

Nice hunt report. Sounds like your wife enjoyed it as well. Now you've got a regular hunting partner. Nicely done.

Superb story and pics. My wife made her first trip with me in 2005, and she has been going with me every year since then. She absolutely loves Africa just like I do. It's been great for the two of us to go together and share it. Congratulations on your successful hunt.

Great report and photos. Thanks for posting.

I am working up loads in 8x57mmJS for my wife as well.

Those 200 grain Barnes TSX bullets really did the job for you. Would you mind sharing the load you used?

Great report and terrific photos!

And now the wife is on side

The load that I used was 51 gr. of H380 going 2625 fps. My Brno is long throated so I was able to crimp at the second driving band/groove. Max load is 51.5 grs; I started at 47.5 grs and worked my way up. 51 grs gave me the best group. I also used the same loads with 196 gr Woodleighs and 200 gr A Frames and had good results. I did a lot of research on which bullet would expand the best at farther distances and lower velocities. Here is a link to a related thread that I started before my trip and updated when I came home.

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3221043/m/405109618

Great report - thank you!
Can you tell me about your desert boots? Look nice and comfy... they look like they might be Russells, and if they are please say as much as you can (!) as I've never seen them outside the website, and am unlikey to see them in the land of the long white cloud, unless of course I buy some! Cheers mate.

I took two pairs of Russell boots on this trip. The pair of trackers that you see in the photo and a pair or PH's. I prefer the PH's for hunting. My PH's have the "Air Bob" sole which was great in the sand as well as the mountains.

Thanks for the loading info and link.

I just added a link in my original post to a short video that I was able to take of two Gemsbok bulls fighting. The quality is not the best as I only had my camera and not my video camera at the time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4iowTmtaX8

I wanted to offer my congrats to you and your wife on a SUCCESSFUL SAFARI!

I enjoyed your pics and story...and video!

Good looking animals you both shot...

Looks like a great trip. I really like your wife's safari hat, classic.

quote:

Posted June 20, 2008 1:28 PM Hide Post
Looks like a great trip. I really like your wife's safari hat, classic.

She Loves that hat! She says it keeps the sun off of her and doesn't make her sweat. I guess the old timers new something...