My PH tried to get me to leave it with him as a tip! He has a long range gun too. I did mean to leave the muzzle break at home as I don't use it much myself. I left the threaded end piece at home though so I left hte break on. Luckily though Uys always has his ear plugs. I watched numerous videos while in camp and he always seemed to have the ear plugs (not just for me). I did take my 30-06 too but scope was bent in transit. Having a smaller gun would have been nice too. I wanted to take a Belgian Browning Safari 30-06 that was my dads gun. Would certainly have been special to get it some action in Africa. Unfortunately my brother rolled his quad while transporting it and broke the stock and I didn't have time to fix.
I would take the big gun again. The flat trajectory and punch is very nice. I am used to carrying it. I would also take another lighter gun though too.
There will be a next time. Dads Browning will make that trip!

Day 8
We headed to South Camp today. Schonnbrunn is the name of Omujeve South Camp. We pass Gras Ranch as we near the property. I actually recognize the names of several Hunting Lodges on my travels in Namibia. Make me feel like my research in planning this trip was exhaustive!
You can see foreer down here. Much flatter and sparser terrain. Not as scenic as main lodge but still very cool. I can see some longer shots on the menu here. Vegetation is shorter and now I know where god put all the rocks! I imagine this may be what Mars would look like if you added some thorn trees! Very cool. Very wild. We got settled in and had a quick lunch. We grabbed both the .243 and .300 and headed out for an evening hunt. We had spotted a nice Mountain Zebra on the way in and went back to look for him. We did see some Zebra but none Uys wanted me to shoot. We were seeing Springbok everywhere so we started looking for a good ram to try and close in on. These Springbok were very wary. As flat and open as it was they basically put 500 yards between you and them everytime they saw you. We eventually used some of the smaller hills to get closer. They know they are being pursued and keep moving on us. This time not at a full run. Uys has a ram picked out and is feeding me location and range info as I settle into the sticks. "4th from the back 200 yards" ect.ect. finally the herd start slowing to a trot going right to left. "he is 430 yards just stepped clear can you shoot him?" I add the few clicks on my turret. This is why I practice so much....the muzzle break does it's job and I see the bullet impact right against the shoulder. Dead center in the heart. I can actually see the grapefruit size hole immediately. The tough little Springbok shudders but manages to stay on it's feet for about 10 yards. I have a new found respect for them. Very wary and fast. Gonna be a fun few days in my new home.
We have Springbok filet tonight which is fantastic. My wife actually tries some. Only in Africa!


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One of the reasons I want to go to Namibia. I want to see what Mars looks like. Well done.

To really see what Mars looks like, you have to go up and hunt one of the Northern concessions like Doro !Nawas when its a hundred degrees.

I am already planning my return Blank! Great pictrue!
I got a bunch of good scenic shots of the landscape.

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Great pictures and exceptional color/contrast! I love Namibia.

I love the first Gemsbok picture. Well done. Makes me want to go even more.

Day 9 July 16 (I think)I admit the one great thing about being in Africa was losing track of what day it was. To be there roughly a week and already not haev a sense or weekday or weekend was like being drunk on freedom. Go to bed every night between 9:00 and 11:00 instead of after midnight because I am squeezing in work after my kids go to bed. Getting 8-10 hours of sleep compared to 4-6. Waking up to the sounds of wild Africa, eating great food and sharing friendship and conversation with genuine outdoors loving people without looking at my watch might have been the best part of my trip next to seeing my wife and son get to become hunters.
We are down to Zebra and Gemsbok on my "list". Next to Kudu these were high on my list. Both very beautiful and very African and we have held of to pursue them here at South Camp. We spot a few Zebra but none Uys wanted to go after. In this sparse cover none of them let us get too close. Eventually we spot a herd. We end up dogging them repeatedly as they keep on the move. There are just enough Zebra to make it hard to pick the right one. Uys is relaying yards and trying to identify the correct stallion. We are tracking the stallion at the rear of herd. I ask about the big one up front and he explains to me the lead mare is not one to shoot and that the herd is lost without her. I get the Stallion at the rea in the scope several times but always on the move and in a group. We finally get in position after more than an hour and I am searching the back of the now still herd on the with the scope….waiting for the word….scanning the far right of the group. Then I hear Uys say 225 yards he is the one on the extreme right. I swing my gun to the far left…..I hesitate as the big Zebra on the far left is quartering to me slightly with some brush which I find odd…..I narrow my focus and squeeze the trigger. I see the high should impact and my beautiful Zebra crashes down stone dead. I excitedly look up from the sticks and say to Uys “ he went straight down!” My PH looks at me puzzled….because the stallion he was watching on the far right is very much alive and on 4 feet. I then realize my incredible dyslexic mix-up. I was embarrassed as could be and not sure what the heck I just did. My PH was gracious about my mistake and once I got up on the Zebra I was stunned at how gorgeous “she” was in person.

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So if I am reading correctly, you shot the lead mare?

Great trophy. Beautiful hide. Truly one of my favorite species to hunt.

Love to follow along in this report.

yes I did...took some of the excitement out of a animal I have wanted hunt for awhile when I realized my mistake. I felt like a heel...I didn't really want to omit from my hunt report. Try to tell it like it happened. Sometimes that happens I guess.

Been there, done that before. Your right or their right? My left which is their right? Whispering in accents and everything, and trying to sort out a bunch of moving animals.

Still a gorgeous zebra with wonderful facial markings. Congrats.

Yeah recounting it in my head it was odd. It is on video you can hear my PH call out yardage and shoot the one on the far right. The herd strung out so far when I swing my gun far left it is barely on camera when I shoot. My PH and tracker were both in their binos and didn't see the zebra go down (out of their frame) I had to tell them where is was when we walked up. I was careful the remainder of the hunt. The almost happened on some Gemsbok we were pursuing on the move. I was tracking in scope and they are changing positions. ie third from back just came out from behind tree...things like that. I was very close to firing one when I stopped because I wasn't 100% and sure enough I wasn't on correct animal but didn't shoot that time. Takes some communication for sure.
The crazy thing about this was the zebra were standing still. I was in no rush. Just complete mental lapse. I had the last 3 or 4 Zebrain my scope on the far right when he said "far right". And I immediatley swung my gun across whole herd to far left and picked a target and fired. Good thing they don't have horns!

Actually it would be better if they did have horns. Easier to tell when calling out which one. Gemsbok are hard when both sexes have horns and they are in a moving herd.

It was time for a new leader in that herd anyway.

July 17
You can see forever here. 25,000 acres is alot of space. The fence here is a thigh high strand that lets' game come and go. We spent the early morning in the cruiser spotting and watching game as we went. Springbok, Kudu, Eland, and Gemsbok. We had made out way 2 hours out form the lodge and the cruiser broke down. I thought now I feel like I am on safari. Kabila and Uys are underneath working their way along the fuel line siphoning and blowing out the lines and swallowing and wearing a decent amount or “petrol” as they call it. Ty was looking a little nervous when we could not get it fixed so I reassured him they would send another truck for us. We were out of range for the radio but Kabila hiked to the top of highest hill and got a call out via cell phone. Amazing and ironic since that is the industry I am in! It took a while for them to get to us but the brought a new cruiser for us and 4 guys stayed with the broken down rig to repair while we went on with our hunt. While Kabila was gaining elevation to call for help he spotted a Gemsbok that would warrant a second and closer look. We immediately took up the pursuit. The hill provided us a chance to get in close with the lack of cover to about 200 yards. The Gemsbok slipped off on us twice and I passed at shooting him moving. My third stalk got us in range of the bottom he had disappeared into. As we hugged the cover he appeared slipping out of the thorn choked bottom. Halfway up the opposite side he stopped behind a thorn bush at 300 yards now. I knew he was the one and waited to hear Uys give me the go ahead. I could see him through a small opening. As I settled my crosshairs where his neck and should meet I heard Uys say “smoke that bull”. I make sure of my hold as a mistake on an Oryx means a lot of sweat chasing a very tough animal to follow up a wounded bull. No worries though….he 300 RUM hits him right on the money and dropped him straight down. “Cracking shot Chris” never gets old! This is one of the main animals that brought me to Africa and ultimately Namibia. He was a beautiful big old bull with those dagger horns and ghost face he is a stunning bull that would later tape out at 35 inches. As we are congratulating and taking pictures Tyler makes sure to note his was bigger than mine. Haa! Nice to see my young son is getting a little competitive with me!

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After pictures we get back in the cruiser and get back to the hunt. An hour or so later we come upon a group that has 2 nice bulls (they all look nice to me) and a 42” inch cow. We can’t get very close in the completely sparse cover. The herd busts us and the chase is on for the couple hours we alternate between trying to keep up with herd, trying to cut them off, and trying to stalk close to get a shot. At least a dozen times I am on the sticks with this magnificent animals in my scope. I am extra careful on target ID after the Zebra incident. They keep moving, keep running and I keep getting instruction and yardages. 3rd from the back, now 4th, watch out for big cow….ect.ect . Always 300 to 600 yards before they slow and by the time Uys singles out my target they are too far or over a hill. One time we skirt a hill…I know we are in front of them now I keep getting the feeling if I were alone I would slow down and let them reveal themselves for an ambush. Kind of hard to hide the 5 of us though. I would not trade the excitement of this hunt for anything. Just then they round they hill coming straight for us on a dead run. They see us and we are all face to face and they just opt for high gear instead of altering course. This reminds me of being at the fence at the Preakness (minus the intoxicated semi clothed patrons) as they thunder past. Their gate is impressive and those tails strung out behind them and I think I can hit a straight crosser this close. Somehow I don’t connect. Better than wounding one though! I ask Uys if they will get tired and slow. He smiles and says “I would not count on that….let’s go”. Eventually they work their way all the way back near the stranded cruiser. The lone sizable hill that offered us cell coverage also gives us a familiar advantage to know where they may come out. We seize the chance and attempt to cut them off again. This time they stopped in the bottom. We are on the sticks this time when we appear out of thorny bottom…this time the range call outs are getting smaller not bigger, my heart starts to quicken as he gets to 200 yards they can see us now and the big bull looks straight into my eyes and stops as if he knows what is coming….just as Uys says “that is him in the lead Chris, smoke him.”
The craziest chase of my hunting career ends as I break the trigger on the 300 RUM one more time. Thankfully he is dead on the shot. A worthy end to a chase with a great Gemsbok bull. He is slightly bigger then my first. What a hunt.

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Congrats. That kudu is stupid big!!

Well done. Great report. I enjoy reading and seeing pics. Keep it coming.

Day 11 July 18
Today is Springbok day. Last animal left on my list.
I am on my own today. Rachel and Tyler are sleeping in. We are getting more sleep than I am used to here. At home I work most nights after the family goes to sleep. I am usually up until midnight or later and up very early in hte AM. Here I am last man standing every night at 10:00pm. I take today advantage and get an early breakfast at 6:00 am. We hit the cruiser and start the search for Springbok. We quickly find a small group with nice ram. I get in position at 320 yards. The big 300 hit the Springbok in the heart. Massive blood loss and the ram makes it 20 yards and stumbles down for good. Great way to start the day. I then proceed to miss one twice later in the day at 420 yards which had me second guessing my range and turrets. Maybe just an errant shot on a small Springbok at that range and I thought I missed under. I think the holdover on shot 2 was unwarranted but I was rattled a little. After I calmed my nerves and thought about the last 2 shots I felt confident it was the shooter not the setup. I got another chance when we got to within 297 yards of another nice Springbok Ram…...boom! One shot straight down. We spend the morning seeing Eland, Gemsbok, Zebra and Kudu. I would be very interested to see if I coudl ever get bored with doing this. No deadlines, no concerns, just me and the most incredible scenery, game and company. You know how sometimes at the end of a trip to Disney or the Outer Banks you are ready to wrap it up and get back to the real world. This trip isn't like that at all. I get one more chance later in the morning on a big ram just over 300. I break the far leg and he takes off. I must have been slightly low again. A second shot on the run actually shoots his very nice right horn off at the base. I have to cover some serious ground and we jump him as we top out the hill and I have the 243 and fold him cleanly on the run at about 90 yards. I have to say it was nice to get to do some extra hunting/shooting at the Springbok. Their numbers at south camp made it pretty nice to be able to get a lot of action. I am officially out of Ammo for the 300. One the way back we check one of the few areas with tall trees for shade to see if anything is hiding from the midday sun. Sure enough another nice Springbok ram. This one we sneak to about 220 yards. I am trying to get the light little 243 steady on him. Uys warns me with a stern whisper “shoot quickly he is ready to run”. I touch the trigger on the .243 and my 4th Springbok of the day is in the salt. Nothing like ending the morning on a good note.


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Very cool. Love those springbok. Hope your report and pics aren't over.

still few more to come!

Gooseblitz,

Absolutely beautiful photos. Beautiful Trophy's
When my wife and I were there the last week of May, we hunted 3 full days at Schonbrunn and the rest at the main lodge. Boy, the terrain is so different from the main lodge.
I can't remember in your report if you are shipping your trophy's home or having them mounted in Namibia.
If you are shipping them home to be mounted, this time frame may help.
We left Omujeve on June 2 and not long after Reiser Taxidermy picked them up for the "Dip & Pack". I got a notice from African Shipping Services on August 29 that my trophy's are ready to be shipped. Total of 89 days. Hope this helps.
Thanks again for the "Tropic of Capricorn" photo. Still could kick myself. Should have had them turn around and go back for a picture, but didn't think about it at the time.

MauserK98

Thanks Mauser I just got an invoice from Reiser taxidermy for the tanning of hides and treatment of skulls. Nice to see they are quick!.

Be thankful for the quick turnaround time.

My Botswana safari items from September 2012 shipped on Monday. That is just hides and skulls. No tanning or anything.

You have great Trophy photos...Thanks for sharing them!!

Great report and pictures. Seeing the whole family on the trip makes me want to get my girlfriend with me on a hunting trip and this seems to be the luxury lodge needed Could you tell me anything that my better half could do at camp when I am hunting. I dont think she would join me while I am out in the cruiser or stalking? Maybe I could persuade her
And keep the pictures coming!!

They have a great lodge to relax in as well. They offered to do a shopping trip to Windhoek as well which is an hour so so away too. My wife had never hunted. She did enjoy coming along though. Riding in the cruiser and see the country was relaxing and beautiful. Only 2 of the 12 days hunting did she not come along.
She hung around the lodge and did some reading and relaxing those days.

My wife 100% will not go. Offered her anywhere she picks on the dark continent and she won't go. I know she would like it if she went but it is what it is. Cheaper for me and more animals to bring home.

Fantastic.

Just out of interest why could the PH not get you onto those big Wildebeest bulls that you photographed?

I could have. I had already shot my Blue Wildebeest when I took those photos. I saw a lot of stuff extra stuff I could have shot. Gotta draw the line somewhere.

Day 11 Afternoon July 18
After a great lunch and just enjoying hanging out in camp I asked Uys to take us out and I wanted to see if we could get some photos of Zebra since there seemed to be good numbers here at south camp. I wanted to get some video as well. We had a great evening drive. The scenery in Africa when the sun is starting to set is spectacular. I didn’t bring my rifle along but I noticed the .243 was in the rack of the cruiser. We found a great Red Hartebeest that I got some good photos of in thorn covered hills. Uys and Kabila sized him up in the binos and mentioned how nice he was. The wariness of the previous Hartebeest we had pursued seemed to be fresh in both Tyler and Rachel’s memory. Uys asked them if either want to try for the Hartebeest and in the open terrain they seemed reluctant to try. A little more discussion and both Uys and Kabila agreed this Hartebeest was indeed bigger than the one I had already bagged. That was all it took for me to put down the camera and grab the .243. As it turns out this Hartebeest didn’t spook and run on me as I tried to close the distance. I got to 220 yards and he was about to disappear over the backside of the hill when he stopped and looked back at us broadside. Luckily he was looking into the setting sun. He could not have posed any more stunning for me in the low sun. I focused my aim, the light little Winchester taking more focus than my heavy 300 normally does. The squeeze of the trigger surprised me but the slight recoil let me see the impact in the scope and I could see the Hartebeest crumpled at the shot. “Cracking shot Chris!” A great trophy and a great way to end my first safari. He later taped out bigger than my first Hartebeest.

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Well done. What a great safari. Thanks for sharing.

Justin

I still have to add the story for my last trophy of the hunt.

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Excellent. Looking forward to hearing about it.

No doubt this a trip of a lifetime. Even with the family present as a bonus. I showed my girlfriend the lodge and she liked it, maybe I can get her to come. Thanks for the info. We have been talking about going to Namibia before, she wants to see the namib desert and soussvlei. Thinking to start off my trip at the Omujeve Lodge for 3-4 days, then moving to Schonbrunn Farmstead Lodge. This is to the south and not far from Namib desert it seems. But first I will hopefully get a week in RSA in November hunting Crossing fingers.
Thanks for a great report

We were actually planning to rent a car and drive to Sossusvlei once we were done with Safari at Omujeve. Once were were there and informed them of our plans for end of the trip they helped us out.
Uys drove us to Sossusvlei for the day from Omujeve. Long trip but very scenic. On the way back is was going to be a long day so he called Lapa Lange Lodge. They are friends with the folks at Omujeve and we stopped on the way back around 8:00pm the opened kitchen and made us a great meal and drinks and gave us 2 bungalows for the night. We spent a nice evening had breakfast in the morning and took a game drive at Lapa Lange and returned "home" to Omujeve. They did not charge me a dime for the trip to Sossusvlei or overnight at Lapa Lange.

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How far was the trip? and did you go from the southern camp or from omujeve? Beatiful place, tis is where my girl wants to go!!

We went from Omujeve not south camp/Schonnbrun. That would have been closer. We left 7:00am Should only be about 3 hours or so....we took a scenic route through Maltahohe and Helmeringhausen then up the C27 through Betta and into the Namib Rand nature preserve (which is stunning) and into Sesriem then Sossusvlei.
The terrain changes along that trip are incredible. My wife describes the trip and the most incredible of her life. She is not a hunter (until now). The people at Omujeve catered to her so much I think she was embarrassed. She doesn't eat red meat and they had an option for her everynight and every lunch. Chicken, seafood, pasta. Truly a great vacation not just a great hunt. This is a prefect spot for a non hunting wife or spouse to go.
If you need any questions answered or any info. Do not hesitate to email me. I have some friends I am referring to them as well.
cthompson@smartlinkllc.com

Congrats. Well done. Thanks for sharing. I think the Giraffe is an underrated trophy.

Day 12 Morning
I was technically done with my hunt and supposed to be sightseeing on my own. We felt so at home at Omujeve we realized early on we’d spend all of our days in Africa he with them. I had discussed on a couple occasions with Rachel shooting a giraffe. At first almost jokingly. Then after speaking with Bill in camp in the beginning of the week more seriously. As the week wore on and my wife got more and more into our first safari we started to discuss the beautiful giraffe mount in the lodge at Omujeve. I was about to head out to go after either a second Zebra for a rug or a Eland or maybe second Kudu. That seems to be the beauty of Africa. Sort of a dealer’s choice. Uys mentions the possibility of a Giraffe and when Rachel doesn’t give me the “No” look (a look any married man recognizes in a millisecond) I quickly agree to the hunt. We had seen a few giraffe over our previous 11 days. They are very quintessential Africa to me. When we finally spot some there are a couple big males. The biggest being a very dark phase bull that immediately became our target.
The herd stayed in very thick cover. We made several approaches and Uys would not give me the go ahead until he got a good look at the Giraffes full body to make sure he was a good trophy. He had given me a 308 and a 300Win Mag. since I had shot my full complement of 300 Ultra Mag. The giraffe offer only a head or neck shot. I settled the scope on a line between two spots on its spectacular hide. I focused intently as I started to squeeze, the crack of the gun surprised me and the whump of the bullet was very clear from the suppressed .308. The little .308 hit right one the mark. Somehow I missed the spine. The giant giraffe stumbled but caught himself, as he turned to run I still had just the head above the trees. I tried to hit him in the back of the head on the run but missed. Once again the chase was on!
Those big legs were eating up thorny terrain and my lungs were burning as I sprinted behind my 27 year old PH. I had grabbed the 300 Win. when we took off. I was hoping to get a shot or two in that big body. Twice I got to an opening a few steps behind my PH. Alright maybe more than a few. If only I had come to Africa when I was younger! In my 20s I would have been 180 lb former college athlete who could cover ground and still breath and shoot…granted I could not afford a guide ground hog hunt in my 20’s. Finally I caught a little open terrain and got him in my scope. The shot from the Win Mag hit him perfect angling right up between the front shoulders. The giraffe never flinched and kept trucking. My mind races like my pulse. This thing is like a truck…why don’t I have a big bore? Was my shot bad? Why doesn’t my guide shoot him? Just then we hit another clearing….Uys is a good 30 yards in front of me. I have slowed to a pace that is representative of a middle aged man with a rebuilt left knee and no PCL in his right knee. I hiss to Uys “shoot him”. He just watches for a second. Then the big beast stumbles. I get there to watch him stumble his last few steps and fall like a giant tree. As I walk up on him I am amazed at how massive he is. 8 skinners and the winch struggle set him up for pictures. We stay and watch them take the cape off it is wild to watch them work. What a great way to end my first safari!

Of all the giraffe species in Africa, the reticulated is one of the easiest to shoot if done right, and one of the most difficult if just a smidgin off. The spinal column is about 4 inches in diameter, and anything from 270 Win up will kill them easily. I shot mine with a suppressed 7 RemMag and 150 gr bullet.

Middle of the neck between head and shoulders, and in the middle front to back is perfect. Find that nice white cross between dark squares and let 'er rip. They look like a building collapsing!

However-as you experienced, just a little off and it becomes a running gun battle. My son actually shot one 6 times with a 470 double rifle in the body. My taxidermist almost ran out of 300 WM bullets before his hit the ground.

Great trophies, and yours is a beauty. Good job!

Thanks Blank....yeah the only good thing was apparently they have the highest blood pressure in the animal kingdom to get blood up to that brain.....the jugular hit on a giraffe pumping out from 20 feet up leaves a pretty good trail on both sides of animal.
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