outfitter: ndumo safaris (karl stumpfe)
PH: frederick bezuidenhout
location: namibia caprivi strip, sikunga conservancy, then sobbe conservancy, both near katima
animals hunted: hippo, crocodile, possible elephant
animals shot: hippo and crocodile in sikunga, sable antelope in sobbe
rifle: weatherby mark V in .375 h&h with leopold II 3-7 x 33 scope
ammunition: pmc 300 gr soft points, federal 300 grain trophy bonded sledgehammer solids and 300 grain nosler partition soft points
travel agent: doug gray of gracy travel

i left mcallen texas on 8/1 and my wife and i drove to austin, about 5 1/2 hours. we spent some time with our daughter and son there. the next day 8/2 we all drove to houston, about 3 hours away.
they left me at the airport and went to visit the NASA museum. i boarded the lufthansa flight overnight to frankfurt and arrived around 0800 on 8/3. i whiled away the time at the airport and then boarded the air namibia flight overnight to windhoek. i arrived about 0530 on 8/4 and got thru immigration without a problem. at the police station for gun checkout and permit, when the policeman heard i was from the usa, he asked for something for his lunch. being a little travel weary, i could not understand why he wanted something for lunch at 0530. after the third or fourth request, i understood he was asking for a bribe. during this time he had been doing the paperwork for the permit. i usually bring little individual bags of m&ms or skittles to give to staff and little kids, so i hauled out a 1.74 ounce of m&ms and gave to him for "lunch". My cost was about $.60 us. i thought it was hilarious and he certainly seemed surprised at my bribe!!!! the PH had arranged a car to take me into town and i stayed at the hotel pension uhland, which is very close to downtown. i got into my room a few hours later after enjoying the provided breakfast there. it was a comfortable place and i enjoyed the hot shower. on 8/5, i strolled around the downtown area and then went to eros airport for my 1000 flight to katima mulilo. the arriving plane broke so we all had to wait until 1500 for another plane to come and take us up to the caprivi. this flight usually stops in rundu on the way up but those passengers were denied boarding as we would not stop there given the late flight. i did not understand this until we arrived at katima, which is little better than a lightly paved strip with no ability to land in the dark. the travel agent had recommended overnighting in windhoek due to possible troubles transferring from one airport to the other, but i think it would have been easily managed, saving one days of travel on each end. but, one never knows. i was just happy to get to katima on the same day. i was met and transferred to camp, arriving a little after dark. i met karl and fred and the other two hunters in camp. dinner was excellent each night and i had a bungalow to myself, which was quite comfortable.

this is still a camp under construction, so we dined under a fly and the water supply was a little chancy, depending on whether the tank had been filled recently. the camp is located right next to a tributary of the zambezi river and offered great sunrises and sunsets. there were few mosquitos present fortunately. the food was good and plentiful. as i do not drink alcohol, i cannot tell about the quality of such beverages provided, but the other two hunters seemed content.

on 8/6, fred and i sighted the gun in near camp, using a small copse of trees as a backstop. a few clicks up and right set the aim just right. i was quite surprised when after my third shot, two locals strolled out from behind the trees on their way somewhere. i was just happy i had not shot them by accident thru the trees. locals were a frequent condition on the conservancy and at times were of use and at times were a hindrance by their presence. i took my fourth shot with a little trepidation after that. we then departed for a boat trip on the zambezi to spot hippos or crocs. fred knew of one hippo bull which had been wounded, likely by a poacher, and it hung around in a certain area. we saw the bull up on the bank but it slipped into the water at our approach and did not come back out. we looked for a specific croc which reportedly had been speared in the head, and was cruising around with the spear sticking out like an antenna. we never saw this croc and heard later it had been killed on the zambia side of the river. we went back to camp and drove around looking for the same animals. we found a croc out of the water, but is was in a little depression in some reeds and we could not see tail or head. finally it slipped into the water, never giving a shot window or even clue to size. so much for a first day trophy.

on 8/7 we went back out and drove around checking little byways and ponds with no good sightings other than abundant bird life we saw a large herd of elephants, around 100 strong in the afternoon.

on 8/8 we went out on the boat. we saw the bull but he again disappeared and we had to leave without seeing him again. we cruised the river for crocs and saw a pretty brown one, not the usual greenish color, but it was too small

on 8/9 we got up early to stake out a place where we might find a hippo coming in from feeding at first light. we almost rear ended an elephant in the dark getting there. we did see a large head in the water once but no shot opportunities. we had to walk thru the reed bed to get there so my shoes and sock were soaked all morning back in the boat in the afternoon for a river cruise.. a nearby lodge had a bar baot named "sir osis of the river", a clever medical pun. we went back for the wounded hippo and tried to set up near its day tie bedding site. the sand of the riverbanks is absolutely weird as it squeaks very loudly like tennis shoes on a wet tile floor when we walked on it. skulking over the sand was more like making more noise than a brass band. that stalk for that hippo was blown bey the noise.

8/10 off to seek the elusive prey. according to fred, the locals and tourists fishing oh the zambezi put a lot of pressure on the hippos and crocs, the locals by shooting and trying to drive the animals from their fishing areas and the tourists by boating right up to them and disturbing their siestas, to take pictures. this drives both out of the main river into the more peaceful tributaries. there are no beaches there so the crocs sun inside the tall and very dense reed beds, remaining invisible, and the hippos go out on islands or areas surrounded by reeds and water and thus cannot be seen much. this is what we found. we waded thru some swampy areas ( i took off my shoes and socks this time and only got a few small cuts from the papyrus leaves). we think we disturbed a big croc after wading onto the small island and did find a hippo sunbathing area, so we built a brush blind and waited for three hours in the open sun with no success. we heard the hippos in the reeds around us but saw none.

8/11 off by boat and no sign of the big bull. back to the truck and off to our island blind, reached by dugout canoe and then a 200 yeard slof thru 1-3 foot water and reeds. we arrive around 1300 and sat in the sun for about two hours. nothing but a few birds in the zone. i happened to be looking thru a gap in the blind and it looked like a monster zoomed out of the water (kind of like those crummy sci-fi shows with crocs/gators) and then beached itself in the kill zone. it was huge! i knelt behind the sticks and fred said to shoot behind the eye. it seemed perpendicular to me so i shot a nosler partition and hit the croc. it nearly jumped and faced us with mouth wide open. i shot thru the open mouth and it seemed to slump. fred said to shoot it between the eyes so my third shot, a solid hit and we all heard it ricochet off in the distance for two or three seconds (whizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz). after a bit we went to check the croc and it was mostly dead, still twitching some. congratulations offered, pictures taken, then with the help of some locals who were a lot under the influence at the time, we dragged the croc across the island, thru the water to the canoe and then dragged him back to shore and into the truck. WOW! he was 11 fewet, 8 inches, missing 8-12 inches of the end of the tail, had a chunk taken out of the tail farther up, was missing the right back leg. and missing the two inside claws on the left front foot. he was also missing a few teeth. this was a battered old warrior. success on day 6 of a 10 day hunt. shot distance about 45 yards.





8/12 with success under our belt, back on the river for the big bad bull. it was a cool morning as i could see my breath in the air. he was near his beaching site but standing on a sandbar in the river about 50 yards into the river with a beach devoid of cover for about 100-120 yards in front of him with all that squeaky sand. we beached far away and snuck thru the reeds beyond the beach and snuck up to a reed hide where some reeds formed a semicircle in the sand and waited. he barely lifted his head up,so after a few hours of baking in the sun we snuck back up to the main reed area and went back to the boat for lunch. the zambians across the river were yelling at us that we were going the wrong way ( away from the hippo but there was no shot). we were eating lunch and eyeing the hippo when he sunddenly lunged up, open wide and moved up the sandbar closer to the beach. we piled out of the boat, nearly ran in a crouch across the beach into the reeds and then snuck back to our little hide. i can surely say that when he opened wide we all got hot for the hunt. what a sight. he was closer but still had mostly back showing. his head was a little farther up out of the water and facing us at a slight angle, so after another hour or more of baking in the sun, fred said to shoot between the eyes and up a little. i shot from a sitting position and it was a hit with the solid. talk about a reaction!! he went porpoising thru the water, fortunately parallel to the beach and not out into the deep water. i took a second shot and it sounded like a hit, but probably near the butt. we ran onto the beach to get closer and i took a standing third shot and it sounded like a hit. fred then shot his .458 lott but thinks it went over the back. we ran closer, the hippo still moving like a gymnast and my fourth solid hit it mid neck and he dropped in the water. after a short wait, we waded out to get him, in about a foot of water. WHEW! about 30 zambians rowed across the river to view the bull and helped us roll him up onto the beach. congratulations offered and pictures taken. he was about 12 feet long, covered with fighting scars all over his sides and back. he had been shot in the front of the left front knee some time ago (old wound). it looked like a .30 caliber entry and he could barely walk on that leg. another grizzled old warrior. shot distance 120-160 yards for the first two shots. my first shot entered obliquely behind the left eye with no exit. no bullet was recovered as the meat went to the local people and it was late at night. i could not see shot 2 and 3, but shot 4 was center neck without exit.





back to camp. i had wanted to shoot a hyena but none were ever seen. too bad.

8/13 we went to sobbe conservancy on the other side of katima for the add on elephant offered by karl and a possible kudu and/or zebra. this is an established camp and there was no problem with water pressure. this area is farther from the river and due to the drought, there was very little vegetation that was green. we drove to the only waterhole in the hunt area and found a large old sable bull with severe injuries, which could barely walk. attempts top get permission to put it down were unsuccessful as no one could give permission. we saw no new elephant sign and no sightings on the other game, but there was plenty of sign at the waterhole including some good lion, leopard, and hyena tracks.

8/14. we got permission to take the sable, and found it right near the water hole. everyone was surprised it was still alive given all the predator tracks there. i took the first shot at about 100 yards with the pmc 300 grain soft. it fell but got up. i shot again and it fell but kept moving. i shot again and hit near the spine but it would not quit. i shot a fourth time and blew a huge hole thru and thru below the spine with a nosler partition but it still would not give up. we walked up and i put a solid behind the shoulder and he finally wheezed his last. what a tough bull. he had a severe leeft shoulder injury and it seemed that the shoulder blade was atretic. he had bite marks over the withers and anal are and was thin. the right horn was broken near the tip. the left measure 29 inches, the right 35. we spent the rest of the morning with skinning and taking the meat to the conservancy office. there was a little time in the afternoon to hunt but nothing seen. i would not recommend pmc ammo after this hunt.



8/15 day 10 out in the morning and saw some roan and a few small kudu, no shot opportunities. given that most of the elephants had moved into the neighboring national park nearer to the river, the chance of getting one was scant. that afternoon fred took me to bwambwata park and we drove around, getting the history of the area relating to the war with swapo and game viewing. saw some great kudu and elephants.

8/16back to katima and flew to windhoek, overnignt in the hotel pension uhland. time to repack and relax.

8/17 walked thru downtown and bought a few souvenirs, then out to the airport for the overnight flight to frankfurt.

8/18 arived frankfurt, transferred to my flight to houston, arriving in the afternoon. breezed thru customs. they did not even open the gun case or look at my 4473. my wife picked me up and we drove to austin for the night.

8/19 back home to mcallen good to be home.

the sikunga area was hard to hunt because of all the people. camps were fine, food was fine and i feel my hunt was successful.

Congrats Ken...beautiful animals ans very interesting hunt report!

correction: the sable's right horn was 39 inches, not 29.

thanks

I was wondering why you were using two different 300 grain soft points?

Congrats on a fine hunt.

I love to see the scar patterns on the old bulls. Nice job, photos, and report.
Cal

gets my heart pumping. i am headed there in Oct for buff and maybe another elephant, if "own use" permit is available. as i understand it, we will also stay at Sikunga but possibly hunt there and Sobbe. congrats on hard earned trophies. did you get to keep the sable??

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
gets my heart pumping. i am headed there in Oct for buff and maybe another elephant, if "own use" permit is available. as i understand it, we will also stay at Sikunga but possibly hunt there and Sobbe. congrats on hard earned trophies. did you get to keep the sable??

Better take your fan mate. The Zambezi gets hot.

learned that lesson a few years ago in Zim and i wouldn't go to southern Africa without it now in Oct. only about $12-15 on ebay, i take a lot of batteries, then give the whole thing with the PH!!

i took the pmc as i had them for a number of years and thought they would be good for sighting in , which they were. they just did not function well on the sable. we all thought the sable was near death and on his last leg. surprise! hindsight has all the advantages and i wish i had used only the noslers on the sable. i will of course finish the pmc off at the target range. thanks for the comments.

at this time, karl is negotiating with the conservancy regarding my getting the cape and head of the sable. they of course want full price. i will not pay full price (even though it is a nice sable) as i do not consider that a hunt, just a mercy killing so the locals would get the meat, not the hyenas.

Congratulations on a successful hunt. I love the Caprivi. Altogether a different part of Namibia.

Well done Kevin, good hunt, congrats!

Great report and a fine bunch of trophies. Congrats!