You know it: "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.

Many of you will likely have read about an issue which arose with the outfitter before I even left on this trip. For reference, you can read it here: http://forums.accuratereloadin...1043/m/780100298/p/1

As I stated in that thread, in the entire scheme of things, the double booking wasn't an issue.

This was supposed to be the "trip of a lifetime", and aside from the days I specifically spent vacationing with my family, it didn't even come close to living up to that billing. Thankfully, my wife and step-kids had a really good time. But as far as fulfilling my own dream, to say I'm disappointed doesn't even come close.

I see so many reports of guys who came back from their Africa trip pumped and raring to go back. So many rave about their PH, and how they became best buddies, etc. I'm sorry, but I just didn't get that warm, fuzzy feeling. We got along fine, for the most part, but that's it. The PH's wife, the owners and staff were fabulous, and while there were some issues in camp, the overall camp experience was fine. AFA the hunting, I won't dispute that I saw a lot of animals, including some nice trophy animals. Problem was, they were species that I wasn't interested in. I'll also not dispute that the PH tried very hard to get me onto animals - maybe too hard, as you'll see. He was also honest when it came to trophy quality, and didn't try to get me to shoot inferior animals just to fill my bag. However, I didn't book this hunt expecting to be sitting over waterholes most of the time. I went expecting a stalking safari, and that didn't happen.

So, here's the report. I'll add a post-script to let you know how the travel issues worked out. Let the chips fall where they may.

Trip dates: Aug. 3-Aug. 17/2008 (actually ended up being Aug. 4-18)
Travel agent: Gracy Travel
Outfitter: Omalanga Safaris, Otavi, Namibia
PH: Dirk Rohrman

Well, I'm back from Namibia. Six years of planning and dreaming. All in all, a pretty good trip, but there were some serious bumps along the way.

We left home on Sunday, Aug. 3 and arrived at the airport in Toronto in plenty of time to get checked in. Then, I found out that our travel agent (Gracy Travel, which specializes in safari bookings) didn't notify the airline (KLM/NWA) that I was transporting guns, so they refused to accept my guns. A number of phone calls, some nasty words, and about 4 hours later, Debbie Gracy, owner of Gracy Travel, ended up putting us up for a night in the Airport Hilton, and our flights re-booked for the next day. Now, it was a nice hotel, but Toronto ain't Namibia, and I don't consider a night in a hotel in a stinking metropolitan cesspool to be a fair trade-off. Considering that my only other option was to leave my guns behind with an unlicensed airport employee, I didn't have a whole lot of choice.

Anyway, Aug. 4, 10:20 pm, we're on our way. We got into Amsterdam and did our best to catch some rest until our connecting flight to Frankfurt. An hour before the connecting flight was to leave, KLM/NWA cancelled it. The next connecting flight was at 8 pm, which would have made us late for our flight to Windhoek, Namibia. So, they ended up transferring us to a Lufthansa flight. But, the delay and change meant that we couldn't book a day room in Frankfurt for us to get some much needed rest. We also spent time in Amsterdam and Frankfurt trying to make sure that our bags would follow us on the rescheduled flight, which we were assured they would be. By the time we got on the flight to Windhoek, we were exhausted. The Airbus 340 was like a cattle car, so it was not easy to sleep during the 11 ½ hour final leg of our trip.

We arrived in Windhoek at 7 am Aug. 6, and wonder of wonders, our bags didn't arrive with us. So, there we were, with no clothes for Rhonda and I, all of my hunting gear and guns missing, and the kids with just whatever extras Rhonda had packed in their carry-on's.

Our driver, Johann, took us into the city to buy some clothes ($400 worth), and by noon, we were finally on our way to the camp, another five hour drive. Another half day of vacation missed because of screwups.

We were amazed at how clean the city and country was and how polite everyone was. I'm proud to say that I lost count of the number of times we were complimented on how polite and well-behaved Jeremy (12) and Karys (11) were. Even with all the delays and travel problems on the trip, they were both really, really good kids.

This is their winter, so temperatures throughout the trip ranged from about 4deg. C overnight up to a high of about 28 or 30C in the daytime. It was sunny, without a cloud in the sky every day, except at the seashore which, because of the ocean mist, is cloudy 300 days/year.

The first African animal we saw was a lone baboon on the side of the highway, coming out of the city. We saw a number of giraffes and warthogs, so many, in fact, that eventually we stopped saying "Hey, there's a WARTHOG!!!" and started saying "Oh, there are some more warthogs." Two other things about the drive were that they drive on the left in Namibia, (and I wondered how I would fare when I had to drive our rental vehicles later in our trip) and the termite mounds. I was fascinated at the myriad of termite mounds, the different sizes and shapes, and all the different colours according to the soil in the area. I think an artist or photographer could spend a lifetime just cataloguing all of the different interesting looking termite mounds.





We arrived in Mopane camp on Wednesday at 5:30 pm, a day and a half late. The travel time from when we left home to when we arrived at camp was 69 hours. Not a great way to start the trip. When we got to the camp, I saw that the entire perimeter was enclosed with an 8 foot fence - NOT what I expected to see. I had booked Namibia because I understood that it was still wild.

We were met by Rita and Dirk Rohrman, our hosts. The actual owners of the camp are Rita's brother Gunter Schwalm and his wife Reinhild. First thing we did was head for our accommodations, which were actually tents, with a permanent washroom/shower facility attached to the back. Very clean and comfortable.
I told Rhonda of my reservations about the property, because I didn't want a "canned" hunt. I wanted a real African experience. We showered, then went to the main lodge where they had a roaring fire going, some biltong meat and a cold beer waiting. Karys and Jeremy immediately fell in love with some German Hunting Terriers they had, and the dogs took no time in settling into the kids laps, by the fire. They also had a couple of Jack Russel Terriers and a Weimaraner.

There was a large open veldt in front of the camp, with a lighted waterhole and dozens of animals around. We all reveled in seeing the ostrich, springbok, kudu, eland, gemsbok, zebra and others coming to the lighted waterhole all day and night. We would get up in the morning and see the tracks where they had grazed beside the tent at night. Dirk explained that the rule is that they don't shoot around the camp, so that the animals feel comfortable being there.

After a nice dinner of Gemsbok goulash, and other treats, I took Dirk aside and told him of my disappointment at seeing the fences. He explained that when the British gov't took over after the First World War, they required game fences to be built around all farms. He said that they have over 50,000 hectares of property to hunt, and the high fence only runs around the perimeter. They've removed the vast majority of fencing on the interior of the properties, with the only remaining fencing being low cattle fence in some areas.

I decided to wait and see what the future would hold. We had a restful night, and I was up at 5:30 am Aug. 7, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I learned that jetlag can be avoided by simply not sleeping for about 30 hours straight.

While I was hunting Rhonda and the kids rested at camp, and took some day trips to things like the Hoba Meteorite and Otjikoto Lake, which had the distinction of having hundreds of tons of munitions and equipment dumped into it by the Germans at the end of the First World War. They are still recovering artifacts from the lake. They also went horseback riding at a farm where the owner trains endurance horses. They are all experienced riders, both for show and on trails, but this was completely different, with the horses easily negotiating steep shale that a human would find almost impossible to climb. They had a great ride, and rode literally within feet of kudu and other antelope.

Since I didn't have my guns, I rented (another $100 plus $6 per shot - thank you, KLM) a Mauser M-98 in 9.3X62, with a Swarovski 4X scope from the camp. The gun had seen a lot of years, but was tight and accurate. After hitting the shooting range, Dirk and I headed out to hunt. Dirk himself was carrying a .416 Rigby. His normal rifle, a .458 Lott, was in for repair. Our first morning was spent overlooking a waterhole. Apparently, there is zero water in the interior of Namibia in the dry season, so all the water available is from boreholes and either windmills or solar powered pumps. We saw a few animals, but none of the particular animals I was after. My top three were kudu, gemsbok and warthog. The few animals we saw of these species were not mature enough to shoot. We also saw giraffes, warthog, zebras, blesbok, hartebeest, springbok, impala, duiker, dik dik, guinea fowl, francolin and sand grouse.

We went back for brunch about 11 am, and rested until the afternoon hunt. Rhonda and I talked about Jeremy going out with me, and he seemed interested, so at 3:30, we headed out again, with Jeremy in tow. We went to another waterhole, and saw more zebra, gemsbok, some kudu cows, warthogs, and hartebeest. One hartebeest bull was very nice, but this was not a species I was interested in.

About 5:45, just as it was coming on dark, a herd of about 60 wildebeest came to the waterhole. Wildebeest wasn't on my list of "must have" animals, but they are quintessential Africa. Everyone knows what a wildebeest is. Dirk said that one particular bull was "medal class". According to the Namibia Professional Hunters Association, they have a scoring system so that they don't take immature animals. This bull would fit into the Gold Medal class. So, I decided to take it. I made a heart shot, at 170 meters, and the bull ran in a circle and about 50 meters, before dropping. The rest of the herd ran off about 100 meters, and we stayed in the blind, so that they didn't associate the shot and dead animal with the blind. Finally, at full dark, we came out. Dirk and Jeremy took pictures of me with the wildebeest. Unfortunately, in the excitement of getting my first African animal, I completely forgot to get a picture of Jeremy and I with it. I was very proud of him, and how he handled the hunt. I don't know if he'll become a hunter, but I am happy that he can understand about life and death.



Every night we had a different game meat. The cook, Leopold, was very good, and in addition to the Gemsbok Goulash, we were treated to Gemsbok Cordon Bleu, Eland Meatballs, Hartebeest steak, Springbok steak and many other neat dishes. I liked the gemsbok the best of the game meats. The last night, he cooked us a traditional African chicken stew, which was served over rice. The combination of spices was fabulous!

The next couple of days hunting were very tough. We sat at waterholes, and we did a couple of short stalks, but didn't see anything shootable. A lot of the problem was that the wind picked up, and was blowing about 50 kph. That, the cooler temps, as well as the coming full moon, the end of the kudu rut, and a bad strain of rabies decimating the kudu population contributed to a lack of decent bulls. They were staying in the thick mopane bush, and there was no way to go in after them. EVERYTHING in Africa has thorns!!! We ended up sitting at waterholes simply because the conditions made driving around looking for a needle in a haystack pretty much a waste of time. We were concentrating on kudu, just because they are particularly tough animals to get in the first place, and all the other factors were only adding to the problem. I saw lots of other animals, and we had a couple of stalks busted by giraffes and zebras (when they run, everything runs!). The bad luck that had been with me since the airport was continuing!

Finally, on Sunday morning, Aug. 10, Dirk and I spotted a group of gemsbok with a good bull among them. They were about 500 meters away, upwind and moving away from us. Dirk said there was no way we could catch them if they are moving, but we decided to try. We ran along the edge of the bush, coming out every few minutes to check on their location. Finally, we got to within 280 meters of them. Dirk said that they were starting to get nervous, and we weren't going to get any closer. So, my only chance was to take the shot, but I was uneasy about it. Though I had practiced religiously with the sticks at home with my own rifle it was a long shot with an unfamiliar rifle. I aimed level with the back, and fired my first shot, for the high shoulder. The bull went into the bush, then immediately came back out. I took a second shot, and the bull, looking sick and on three legs, went back into the bush, behind the rest of the herd.

I waited until Dirk went back for the truck, then we went to where they were. We found a very little bit of blood at the place of the shot, and Dirk explained that because it is so dry, blood often dries as it runs down the leg, before it gets to the ground, so there is often little blood trail. He decided to call for the trackers.

As we're waiting, Dirk says "Now, when we locate this animal, if you get a shot, any shot, take it. We're not looking to put it down, we're looking for bloodtrail, so we don't lose it. Don't wait for a perfect shot."

The trackers, Elias and Gottfried, arrived at about 8:30 am. They spent about 45 minutes tracking and were trying to pick out the injured bull's tracks from the herd. Finally frustrated, we returned to the original track, and held a powwow. We discussed how the bull had gone into the bush and come back out, and decided that it had split from the herd, and gone a different direction. The trackers picked up the faint track and spent until 10:30 am tracking it about 250 meters, with only a very occasional minute spot of blood every 50 or 70 meters. By this time, I was becoming quite distressed, as I figured my bad luck was still following me. Finally, at 10:30, Dirk explained that the trackers could continue to track the bull, but it could take the rest of the day, and all the next day. Instead, he radioed for the dogs. He told me that they were sending Igor, one of the German Hunting Terriers, and Lepas, a Jack Russel Terrier. Dirk said that Lepas was useless, as she just wanted to chase rabbits, but that Igor, who was one year old, was a good dog. He said that, unfortunately, a good dog doesn't usually live beyond three years, because they get too brave, and get killed.

So, we're sitting on a downed tree waiting, and about 11:00 am, Igor comes romping up to say "Hello", with Lepas right behind him. I ask Dirk if he's going to put him on the track, and Dirk says "He already is."

About five minutes later, we hear Igor barking furiously. The thick, sharp mopane thorns, which we'd carefully picked our way through earlier, suddenly became a mere annoyance, as Dirk, myself and the two trackers ran as fast as we could to the dogs. The thorns are shredding my shirt and arms, and I don't even notice them. I arrive at the spot to see a very pissed off gemsbok trying to slice and dice Igor and Lepas, who had joined him. Dirk shoots it in the abdomen with his .416 Rigby, but it doesn't go down. It's backed itself into a bush to fight the dogs, and I can't see it any more, so I move 15 meters to the left. I hear Dirk yell "Stay back - watch the dogs!" The gemsbok is swapping ends on three legs incredibly fast, fighting the dogs. I see a clear shot of the head and neck, and take the neck shot. The gemsbok goes down, dead right there! What an adrenalin rush!! To be running through the thorns, and come up to a battle like that, and making the killing shot. This is what I came to Africa for!! Igor is behind the gemsbok, grabbing it and growling like a lion at every little twitch from it. Good dog!!! However, my enthusiasm was tempered when I saw that my earlier shot at the gemsbok was so low it had almost taken his front foot off. The hazards of using an unfamiliar rifle, and I cursed the airline again for losing my guns, but was glad we recovered the animal.

We wait while the trackers leave to decide how they"re going to get the gemsbok out of the bush. It's their job to get it out and back to the skinning shed. We're about 500 meters from the truck, and driving through the mopane - if you can find a route, is a sure way to get a flat tire. After about an hour, Dirk and I decide to walk out. We go about 50 meters, and suddenly Dirk is down on the ground holding his leg. At first, I thought he had twisted his ankle, but instead, he had stepped on a long mopane thorn, and it had gone right through the sole of his boot and about an inch into his foot! We couldn't get his boot off, because the thorn was imbedded facing the front of his boot, and he was in excruciating pain if we tried to remove the boot. I finally had to perform some "bush surgery" and cut down the tongue and toe of his handmade sealskin boot, so we could peel the sides back, and get his foot and the thorn out. Finally, we're on our way again, and as we're walking back to the truck, the sole of one of the kudu hide boots that I had bought (because our luggage was lost), comes off the boot. So, Dirk starts singing, in his German accent "Two guys go in the bush for gemsbok. They come out limping." We had a good laugh about that. This morning was the highlight of the trip, as far as the hunting was concerned.

Unfortunately, in the excitement of the followup, both Dirk and I forgot to take pictures of the gemsbok. So, my bad luck had continued.

Later that day, and the next, my bad luck continues to run, and we don't see any more shootable animals. Dirk is getting stressed because, for him, it doesn't look good for a hunter to go home without a full bag. I told him that I'm not worried about that, that I understand that this is hunting, not shooting, and that we're still seeing animals, just not the ones I'm after.

The afternoon of the next day, three of our bags, including my guns, arrive. Rhonda's and my bag is still missing (it finally got delivered back home 23 days after we left!) So, I have my guns for the last day and a half hunting, but we're not seeing anything to shoot.

Finally, on our last day in camp, Rhonda and the kids had plans to go to Etosha Park, while I finished my hunt. I would have liked to go with them, but with missing a day and a half already, and the poor conditions, I couldn't spare the day.

Dirk and I head out early. I'm sitting in the high seat, hoping to spot something from a better vantage point. After driving about 2 kilometers, I hear a noise behind the truck and turn around to see that Igor is running along behind us. Dirk stops and puts him in the truck, and we'll lock him in, if we need to leave the truck. We spot three kudu bulls about 1000 meters off, and Dirk says there is a good one there. The wind is right, the time is right, so we start our stalk. We stalk about 600 meters, and suddenly hear giraffe rumbling off. Like I said earlier, when giraffe run, everything runs! So, we got busted, and lost the kudu.

We head back to the truck and drive along until we spot some springbok about 600 meters off. I had earlier told Dirk that, though it wasn't on my "must have" list, that I wouldn't mind a springbok. We did a careful stalk, and Dirk pointed out a good bull for me to shoot.

I shot at 140 meters, with my own rifle, and the bullet hit exactly where I aimed - a high shoulder shot. The bull dropped DRT.



(More bad luck. I remembered to take along my own camera, to make sure that we got a pic, and I had put new batteries in, but forgot to update the date on the camera.)

We walked back to get the truck, and I hear Gunter calling Dirk on the radio in German. We drive up to the springbok, and I see that we're only 600 meters from the camp. It was out of view when I took my shot. I realize that I shot one of the springbok that has been hanging around camp all week. They're so acclimated to people, that they wouldn't have been particularly concerned with our stalk. I'm very pissed, and tell Dirk that I didn't realize we were so close to the camp, or I wouldn't have shot.

Shortly afterward, we stop at the camp to drop off Igor, and I see that Rhonda and the kids haven't left for Etosha yet. So, I decide to salvage what's left of my self-respect, and cancel the rest of the hunt, telling Dirk that I'm going to Etosha with my family. We spent a good day at Etosha, but this is eating at me the entire day and that night. Dirk left the camp at noon that day, to go to another camp where he was meeting new clients.

We drove to Etosha Park, where we saw lots of the same game we had at camp, plus elephants, two lionesses, jackals and more giraffes than we could count.

The next day, as I settled our bill, and we got ready to leave camp, I took Gunter aside and told him how angry I was, and why I had cancelled the hunt yesterday. He agreed with me and told me that he had been on the radio to Dirk as soon as he heard the shot, and told him that if he ever shot near the camp again, that he would never hunt this property again.

What a lousy way to end my hunt, but I felt better for canceling and speaking up about it.

Rhonda, the kids and I then drove to Swakopmund, on the seashore, where we stayed for two nights, and had a harbour tour and desert tour. Overall, the driving thing wasn't a big deal. It took a little more concentration in the city, but on the highway, I just pretended I was hogging the passing lane on a 4 lane highway. On the harbour tour, we had seals come right onto the boat to be fed, and the kids and Rhonda petted it. We saw the seal colony, an oyster farm, and dolphins, once we transitioned from the harbour to the open ocean. Apparently, the Antarctic water stream flowing by Namibia is too cold, at 15C, to support natural reproduction of oysters, but they use artificial reproduction and the cool oxygenated water and high food levels are ideal for growing big, plump oysters. At the end of the tour, we were treated to fresh oysters on the halfshell and champagne! Rhonda and I both love oysters!

In the afternoon, the same company took us surf fishing. While it was not the best time of year for it, we caught some "cob" fish, about 5 lbs, each. Jeremy got two, and I got one. The guide, Terence Clark, cleaned them for us, and we took them back to the hotel and asked the chef to make them for our dinner. Fresh fish never tasted so good!!! The filets were thick, white and flaky.



Also at the beach, Jeremy and Karys found a whale vertebrate, which was probably 60cm across, so from a large species of whale, as well as the scapula, spine and other bones from what I presumed was a seal. Very cool. I wish I could have smuggled the whale vertebrate back in my luggage!

The next day, we went on a desert tour, and the tour guide, Wolfgang, was an older gentleman who decided to take up guiding when he retired from farming. He had a real passion for the desert, and we were amazed at all the information he had. He was fabulous with the kids, and we were amazed at the different types of desert, all within a few miles of each other. We went from what looked like a lunar landscape, to a desert plain, to huge sand dunes, all within a few minutes drive.

Then, we drove back to Windhoek, where we got a bit turned around, so I stopped at a gas station/convenience store to ask directions. A woman there was just coming off shift, so she offered to lead us straight to our hotel, which was about a 20 min. drive. Just another example of how friendly and polite the people of Namibia are!

Afterwards, we went for dinner at Joe's Beerhouse, the most famous beer house on the African continent. It's an institution in Namibia, and decorated with all kinds of game heads and other paraphernalia. If you've ever been to Montana's Roadhouse here, I would describe Joe's as Montana's on speed!!

The taxi driver picked us up inside the compound of our hotel, and dropped us at Joe's. He told us that when we finished dinner, to not wait outside, but to have the waitress call his company, and he would come to our table to get us. It was unsafe to be out after dark, as it is in many cities around the world.

Rhonda truly loved the country, but the two things she could not get used to were the high security walls and razor wire that encircled every house, and the smoking. There is smoking everywhere, including restaurants, not like here. I had to remind her several times "You're not in Kansas any more, Dorothy!"

The next day, we hired another cab, and went downtown shopping. He became our "unofficial" tour guide and took us to some good shops, and explained different parts of the city for us. He stayed with us until it was time to go back to the hotel and leave for the airport.

We checked our bags at the airport, and went to have some dinner before the flight. We all had the same thing, except for Jeremy, who also had a milkshake. We got on the flight, and said "Goodbye" to Namibia as we took off.

Our flight was overnight again, so the kids went to sleep and about an hour into the flight, I was dozing off, when Rhonda woke me suddenly because Jeremy was violently ill. He was projectile vomiting all over the place. It seems that he had gotten food poisoning from the milkshake. We did our best to keep him comfortable and hydrated the next nine hours of the flight, while he constantly vomited and dry heaved. When we landed at Frankfurt at 7 am, we were met by staff with a wheelchair, who took him to the infirmary. There, the doctor put him on IV fluids, and told us he was not fit to fly a connecting flight home. I went to see if I could make arrangements for a flight direct to home, and found business class seats on a Lufthansa flight direct to Toronto at 1:20 pm. However, I didn't have room on my credit card to cover the $15,000 cost, so I explained our situation with Jeremy to the agent and asked her to reserve the seats for me while I went to get Rhonda, so she could use her credit card.

Just as I arrived back at the infirmary, the doctor had told Rhonda that Jeremy had recovered enough that he could make our connecting flight - we were 40 min. from takeoff. However, a service agent from Lufthansa had arrived, and she asked us to come with her, saying that everything had been arranged.

We went with her to the Lufthansa office, where we were given four business class seats on the 1:20 flight to Toronto. I asked the service agent five times if they had worked everything out with KLM/NWA, as we would be missing that flight. She responded each time "Don't worry. Everything has been taken care of." I also asked the ticket agent if he would contact the other ticket agent I had reserved the other seats with, to tell her that we didn't need them any more. He said that he would.

We were then taken to the Lufthansa business lounge. About an hour before the flight, I was paged to the desk, where I was told that we hadn't paid for the business class seats yet. I told them what had happened, and that we were told it was all arranged by the Lufthansa service person. They insisted that we had to pay for the tickets, or we could not board the flight.

Rhonda left with a Lufthansa staffer to look after this, while I stayed with Jeremy and Karys. About an hour later, after the flight had left, Rhonda returned, very upset, and told me that she had refused to pay for the tickets, because they had raised the price to $22,000, that they had confronted her and accused us of acting in bad faith, claiming I had purposely cancelled the KLM flight so that we could get a discount on a Lufthansa business fare, and said to Rhonda "If you were really concerned about the well-being of your child, you would pay for the tickets".

I had been keeping all of our experiences in a journal, so I asked to see the manager who was in charge of this whole mess. They took us down to a rest area, near the manager's office, as Jeremy had started to go downhill again. The manager kept us waiting, so after about 20 min. I went to her office and told her that we'd waited long enough and wanted to meet now! We sat down with her and I gave her chapter and verse straight from my journal. Her eyes got wider as she saw me writing everything down, and they got really wide when we said that her ticket agent had insulted Rhonda. She denied it, but when it was repeated back to her exactly what the agent had said, her eyes got even wider and she knew that we weren't fooling around. She started to suggest that there were a lot of things we (as in Rhonda and I) could do, and even suggested a flight to Toronto through Chicago, a 13 hour trip!! Finally, I told her that Jeremy was going downhill, that we were going to take him back to the infirmary and that when we came back, I didn't want to hear any more about what we could do for ourselves, that I wanted to hear what plans they had in place to get us home!

We went back to the infirmary, where the doctor was shocked to see us back. He said that Jeremy couldn't fly that night, got on the phone with Lufthansa himself, and gave them a real blast. We had another manager (the night shift) meet us at the infirmary, and she took Karys and I with her while she made the arrangements. Eventually, she gave me economy class tickets to Toronto for the next day, and hotel reservations for the night in Frankfurt. At that point, I should have fought for an upgrade, but we were more interested in just getting home ASAP.

We spent the night at the hotel, where Jeremy perked up a bit, but he was still very exhausted the next day. We went to the infirmary again, where he was cleared to fly. We caught our flight to Toronto, and when we arrived at the airport, we found that Canada Customs had 2,000 people backed up to go through Customs. We were fast-tracked because we had kids under 12, but it still took us two hours to get through Customs. We finally arrived home at 8:30 pm, 61 hours after we'd left our hotel, and we were all exhausted. We had spent 6 of the 15 days in and around airports, and ended up using an unplanned extra day of holidays. Not exactly a dream holiday. Our three bags came back home with us, but our fourth bag took until Aug. 27, 23 days after our departure, to arrive back at our house.

So, I was left to try to claim compensation from the travel agent, for screwing up our flight out, and from two different air carriers for canceling our flights, and losing our luggage.

Postscript:

Gracy Travel is claiming that it cost them $3000 to rectify a "technical error" regarding the airline and my guns, so they don't believe that they owe me compensation. When I pointed out that none of that $3000 compensates my family and I for our monetary losses, or the loss of a full day of holidays, they sent me a cheque for $290 to cover my daily rate, as a "final settlement". I've told them that is not acceptable, and that I won't be cashing it. They haven't made a further offer, so I guess they don't consider their ruining 10% of my vacation to be important.

KLM/NWA is claiming that the flight cancellation was a result of a hydraulic problem, so they aren't responsible for paying any compensation. Their own compensation policy says they must pay 250 Euro per ticket, unless the flight is cancelled for force majeure. Force majeure essentially means "act of God". A hydraulic problem is not an act of God. It's a technical problem, often related to poor maintenance. Instead, they offered me 4 - $150 travel vouchers, which are good for one year, and not transferable. These, of course, are worthless to me. It took me six years to save for this trip and it won't be repeated in the near future.

They're also refusing compensation on the lost bags, claiming that standard industry practice is that the end carrier is responsible for baggage losses, in this case, Air Namibia. I've told them that I don't understand how Air Namibia can be held responsible, when KLM didn't even deliver the bags to them. Plus, Air Namibia will only cover "loss". My bags were only "misplaced".

So, I'm basically out of luck. The costs to sue any one of these entities would far outweigh the money I would recover. But, the court of public opinion doesn't cost anything, so I'm posting this with the hope that you will all consider the above when you book your own "dream of a lifetime".

Rhonda and the kids would go back to Namibia in a minute. It's a beautiful, clean, polite country. Myself, I have some unfinished business there, but am not itching to go back. As much as I really enjoyed the time I spent with Rhonda and the kids, as well as the sightseeing and the country, the combination of hunting conditions, no baggage or guns and the issues with Gracy Travel, KLM/NWA and Lufthanza really, really disappointed me. What was supposed to be the dream trip of a lifetime contained a lot of nightmares. I saved, planned and sacrificed for this for six years. I did my due diligence, researching the country, choosing the outfitter, talking to references, hiring a "reputable" travel agent and practiced, practiced, practiced with my guns off the sticks. In all, I spent well over $25,000. I won't devote that much time and effort again. If I win the lottery, or some long-lost relative leaves me a fortune, I might go back. But at this point, Africa has seen the last of me.

Your experience was certainly not unusual for Africa. Crap happens, it just does, & more so in 3rd world countries. It's one reason I would NOT ot did not plan my first around a large family event. There are just too many things to go wrong (KLM for one, I would never fly them w/ guns).
I just got back from Namibia, had a great time hunting buff for 7days, really only 6 because of the travel problems I had. Crap happens. I did shoot a nice old buff bull & missed a shot @ a good Kudu, my fault. The camp got over lapped bookings as well, partially because of my travel issues & partially because one guy extending. Crap happens. You just have to make the best of it, be flexible & enjoy the trip.
DOn't give up on hunting Africa after one trip. I keep saying it's my last trip; the travel, worrying about luggage, the crap that always, always happens. Still, I am only just home & wondering about going again. I've been to RSA, Moz. & Namibia & this last trip was the best as far as experiencing Africa. Game everyday from camp, ele, kudu, zebra, waterbuck, etc. even roan & sable one day. Ele, Lions & Hyena came in at night & we could hear them calling in the dark. Yes a great experience, worth doing but it will never be perfect in Africa. It's not like going to the zoo, staying in a 5star hotel in Canada or the USA. Hopefully you'll return & hunt in a DG area, that's really Africa.
BTW, as far as luggage. I have found it best for the traveler to take full responsiblity for their own luggage. I buy trip insurance that covers my lost luggage & a floater for the gun stuff. Sure, it cost a little more, but $500 worth of insurance vs a $25K trip, sign me up. The airlines are certainly not going to compensate you much, if anything. If you are taking $5000 worth of rifles & the airline pays $600, well, you can see my point. JMO, but food for thought on your next adventure. I hope your son is doing better. Food poisoning or trots form the water is not uncommon in 3rd world countries. Hopefully he won;t be put off for future travel. Again, trip insurance would have helped w/ the costs a bit.

The wheel turns and Dianna looks after us hunters you might just have the best of luck next time

WannabeBwana,

I'll second what Rudi said: Better luck next time. Your experience as posted in a very readable and 'factual' report should alert all us Hunting Outfitters, both the part time and fool time ones, that some people entrust literally years of savings to your arrangements. We dare not disappoint them. Ever!

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

I appreciate all your comments.

quote:

Originally posted by fredj338:
Crap happens, it just does, & more so in 3rd world countries. It's one reason I would NOT ot did not plan my first around a large family event. There are just too many things to go wrong (KLM for one, I would never fly them w/ guns)...
I hope your your son is doing better. Food poisoning or trots form the water is not uncommon in 3rd world countries. Hopefully he won;t be put off for futitr travel. Again, trip insurance would have helped w/ the costs a bit.

Fred, Jeremy is fine now, thanks.

I'd agree with you, except that the problems I had were mainly a result of 1st world companies. I mean, really, a screw up of that magnitude, over my guns, right from the get-go? Exactly what was I paying Gracy Travel for?

Similarly, a flight cancellation should not result in my bags and guns seeing more of Africa than I did!!

And finally, the foul-up with Lufthansa. How many times must a person ask "Have you taken care of the issues with the other airline who we have flights booked with" to be sure that they understand?

I understand about food poisoning. I have a colleague who suffered food poisoning on a flight TO Africa this year. It happens, and I'm happy with the care Jeremy got. We did have travel health insurance, and he's fine now. However, it's all the crap surrounding it that pissed me off.

Any one of these incidents, in isolation, could be written off as "shit happens". I was prepared for shit to happen. Accept it and move on. What I wasn't prepared for was a cluster-fuck which ended up reducing my hunting time from 7.5 days to 5 days.

And , when it comes right down to it, the family time was about the only thing with this trip that did go right. I'm thankful for that.

The hunting issues, I accept. I was hunting, not shooting. I've been skunked before, and I will be again, I'm sure. However, I'm not a charity case, and I don't need to shoot pet springbok to feel like I accomplished something. I would have gone home chastened but knowing that I had done my best.

Well, it could have been worse, the springbok could have had a collar......

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

I'm glad that as a whole, your family had a great trip and am really sorry that your hunting experiences were so poor. You were much kinder in this report than I would have been to your PH referring to your earlier post "19 days out, etc.".

I did not know that it was the travel agents responsibility to notify the airlines that you were carring firearms. But if I had saved and planned for 6 years I think that I might have researched that it was required.???

ARTP,

This was my first safari, so I did what I thought was the right thing by leaving the technical stuff to the professionals. I was not going to risk my first safari on a "do it yourself" job. When I booked my tickets with Annelise at Gracy Travel, she sent me an e-mail with all of the permits that I needed to obtain - firearms transit permit for Amsterdam, and import application for Namibia. I also obtained a firearms export permit from Canada Customs. ALL of my paperwork was in order, I did all that was required on my end, and I expected that Gracy Travel would do what was required on their end. That's why you book with a travel agent, isn't it? They were obviously aware that I was travelling with guns.

However, I was told by KLM that when the travel agent makes a booking, there is a box that needs to be checked off to notify the airline that firearms will be in the passenger's checked baggage. Annelise didn't do that, and Debbie Gracy fully admitted that it was their mistake, which she couldn't fix, and ended up costing me a days holiday.

Here's a quote from an e-mail from Steve Turner at Gracy "while it is true that Annelise did not put a notice about firearms in the record, we have consistently found that airlines (including KLM) are willing to accept firearms anyway." This suggests to me that Gracy routinely makes this mistake. If it's required information with the airline, and it's something that the agent is paid to do, why was it not done?

For the record, KLM made some calls to Amsterdam and got authorization to take the guns, but they could not reach Air Namibia, which is closed on weekends, and so could not get authorization to transfer the firearms from KLM to Air Namibia in Frankfurt. Apparently it is an offence to transport the firearms without this authorization in place, and KLM could be fined for it. So they refused to transport my firearms without having another carrier to legally hand them off to.

Do you want to book with a travel agent who doesn't follow protocols? Annelise booked the tickets, not me. She had the booking screen in front of her, not me. Waiting at the baggage check-in is a helluvatime to find out that somebody didn't do their job.

WannabeBwama,
You definitely had the worst travel experiences I've ever heard and I you have my sympathy. However, I wonder if your hunting expectations were a little idealistic. There aren't too many places in RSA or Namibia that aren't fenced in some manner. The truth is that most of those fences aren't really an obstacle if the animal really wants to get to the other side. I hunted with Dirk last May and they switched my original destination because Dirk thought the hunting would be better another concession. I didn't mind because I won't know one concession from the other. There were a couple of other hunters that came and went while I was there. I never saw them in the field and enjoyed their company in the evenings. The weather was cloudy and windy when I was there also. As you know, this kept the animals in the thick stuff. After my first day, I went 5 days without shouldering my rifle. At the end of day 6, I was also discouraged so I have some insight into your frame of mind . As far as your Springbok goes, none of those animal are tame and there is no telling where that particular Springbok came from or how long it had been in the area. But, that situation along with the travel issues seemed to be the last straw. I'm sure you also had the pressure of worrying about whether or not your wife and kids were having fun while you were hunting that was on your mind.

In my opinion, non-hunting wife and/or young kids and hunting don't mix. This is especially true for a first trip to Africa.. I hope you get another chance to go to Africa. I suggest you go without the family and just enjoy being there when it can be all about you without outside pressures.

RSimmons,
I believe his concern was with a high fence. Many ranches have only low cattle fences (four or five strand) that pose no impediment to game movement. The high fences do impede game movement. That is one of the principal reasons for their existence. Many hunters find the high fence undesireable for various reasons. There are a lot of low fence/no fence options in Namibia; however, it is something the prospective hunter needs to ask about as, in my limited experience, few operators advertise that their property is game fenced.

RSimmons and High Desert,

You're correct in that I did not ask about high fences, and Dirk didn't mention it. I was naive in that respect, wrongly assuming that Namibia was "wild". The subject never came up when I checked his references, and the hunt reports from others who had hunted with him (including yours, RSimmons) never mentioned fences. Maybe it's just something that people don't want to admit to if they're hunting outside of RSA.

As well, the operation I hunted was completely different than the one I booked with originally (you'll recall that he took up association with Rita's brother Gunter and, I would guess, gave up his previous concession). Despite all that, after talking to Dirk and seeing the property, I didn't find the fences to be a real problem. Not my ideal, but the concessions were large enough that they weren't a real impediment to my potential enjoyment of the hunt. So, maybe, that's why no one talks about them.

However, in my correspondence with Dirk prior to booking the hunt, there was never any mention made of hunting over waterholes. It was all drive and stalk.

Having said that, I'll re-iterate that I accept that the weather and other conditions (kudu rabies, post-rut) had a lot to do with the poor hunting. I'm not laying that on Dirk, and am big enough to understand why it's called "hunting" and not "killing". We both made some choices about how and where to hunt that could have gone either way. But the springbok incident was still very disappointing.

AFA pressures due to my wife and kids having a good time, didn't happen. I started planning this hunt long before I even met my wife. She knew and understood that this trip was for me and that, while I would certainly be available at lunch and evenings, they were to do their own thing, while I did my own thing. And that's exactly how it worked out. They had specific plans to do things that they wanted to do, without me, and they did all of them. I got to hear the stories and see the pictures afterward. We did discuss some tentative family sightseeing alternatives if by chance I got lucky and got my animals early, but when push came to shove, the hunting came first. So I would not change that aspect of the trip at all. They had absolutely no impact on my hunt, or my state of mind during the hunt.

btt

Why btt? If there were more than a passing interest in this post, it would be there.

Perhaps he wants more people to read about the "service" he got from Gracy Travel.

Wannabe,

The over booking and swapping of hunting areas is not an exception with Dirk, its the norm in my experience, and others I've spoken with since my return.
Imagine how it feels to meet your PH in Windhoek after two days of travel to be told your suddenly hunting somewhere else. My wife was very pissed as she was looking forward to the things offered at the original place. We also found out we would not be the only ones there as promised. The hunt turned out OK and the other couple were very nice but it still bugs me.

elkfitter:

I don't think it's the "norm" but since you've hunted over there one time with Dirk Rohrman and he did the same thing to you and your wife, it may indeed be a "norm" for him, which is a damn good reason NOT to EVEN CONSIDER booking with him EVER. I detest liars and he is obviously one of them. He should be disciplined by NAPHA IMO but apparently people who have been screwed by him, like you and your wife, and apparently Wannabeebwana, won't or don't file a complaint.

I brought this to the top because, as Gato suggested, I've only gotten about 4 ounces of my pound of flesh.

Gato, AFA complaining to NAPHA, I've considered that but, based on my 15 years experience in a senior position with a professional association, I believe it would be a complete waste of time.

Similarly, I've checked, and Gracy Travel is not a member of the Texas BBB. Small wonder.

The marketplace is the only way to exact some satisfaction, and AR is the biggest safari site on the 'net, so that's where I'll air my grievance. The other parties are welcome to come here and tell their side of the story. They ARE members here, after all.

Elkfitter, I know where you're coming from. You have my sympathies, but I'm glad your hunt turned out OK.

quote:

Gato, AFA complaining to NAPHA, I've considered that but, based on my 15 years experience in a senior position with a professional association, I believe it would be a complete waste of time.

It might be, but unless you file a complaint, you'll never know for sure, will you?

quote:

Originally posted by elkfitter:
Wannabe,

The over booking and swapping of hunting areas is not an exception with Dirk, its the norm in my experience, and others I've spoken with since my return.
Imagine how it feels to meet your PH in Windhoek after two days of travel to be told your suddenly hunting somewhere else. My wife was very pissed as she was looking forward to the things offered at the original place. We also found out we would not be the only ones there as promised. The hunt turned out OK and the other couple were very nice but it still bugs me.

I have second what Gatogordo said.

It is NOT normal for your hunting area to be swapped.

It never happened to me in all the years I have hunted.

Any outfitter or PH who does this without prior agreement should be avoided like the plague!

I know, there are some bad apples in the hunting industry. But, there far more good and honest ones too.

FWIW, I just received an e-mail from Omalanga Safaris that Dirk and Rita Rohrman have resigned and will not be with the company next year.

Is this the same Dirk Rohrman who is at this moment offering hunts on this forum?

Is the the same PH?

One and the same.

Apparently, for some unknown reason, I am on their emailing list. Their new company is called Ongeyama Safaris. Caveat Emptor.

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
Apparently, for some unknown reason, I am on their emailing list. Their new company is called Ongeyama Safaris. Caveat Emptor.

And I'm not. Funny that.

I've read the raving reviews of these guys but sorry to say it just makes me a little uneasy when you see they've changed names and hunt areas 3 times in the last 2-3 years. Just smells fishy

Just got word from the federal vet that my trophies have passed inspection, and are ready to be picked up! He said that 90% of the incoming shipments don't pass inspection, and need further cleaning and dipping - usually the nasal cavities. He said maybe the overseas taxidermists are finally getting the message, or maybe I'm one of the lucky 10%. Finally something about this trip went off without a hitch.

Since they've passed inspection, and there are no CITES animals, I'm clearing the shipment myself.

I'm picking them up at the air cargo tomorrow - 1 year and 2 weeks since I left camp. Not too bad a timeline.

Thanks to Nyati Wildlife Art and Pam Foerster of International Air Cargo for getting this done. I doubt this was in record time, but I'm pretty happy with the delivery time.

quote:

Thanks to Nyati Wildlife Art and Pam Foerster of International Air Cargo for getting this done. I doubt this was in record time, but I'm pretty happy with the delivery time.

Based on my PH's rec I used Pam Foerster to handle my shipment and she was a peach. Highly recommended.

Set these up in my office today!

Wildebeest Euro mount, with Wildebeest fly whisk and Oryx hide with Oryx fly whisk



Oryx Euro mount. This is right behind my desk. The windows face south, and get sun most of the day. I don't bother to turn the lights on in my office, cuz whenever it's a sunny day and someone comes into my office, the light in the windows gives me an "aura".



Springbok Euro mount over my plant, and a close-up

nice trophies

Africa is always Africa -- best just to shake off the inevitable bad experiences and plan the next trip, the good experiences will soon overwhelm and make you forget the bad times.

Somehow, I just picked this thread up today.

I am absolutely astonished at the majority of the replies, which seem to fall into one of two camps, or both:
1. Really, most of this is your fault; and,
2. Aw, it's Africa. Give it another chance!

Translation: save up another $25,000.00, close your eyes, and see if it's still there when you open them.

Geez.

My thoughts, for what little they are worth:
1. No, NONE of what went awry was your fault. "Luck" had nothing to do with anything other than the paucity of game (about which you DID NOT complain). The rest was either incompetence or outright dishonesty.
2. If you don't want to go back, ignore the cheerleaders here on AR (and elsewhere) and do something else. Here's an amazing fact: THERE ARE GAME ANIMALS ON CONTINENTS OTHER THAN AFRICA.

Keep your heels dug in and remember, it's your dime, not the cheerleaders'.

quote:

Originally posted by WannabeBwana:
Set these up in my office today!

Wildebeest Euro mount, with Wildebeest fly whisk and Oryx hide with Oryx fly whisk

.....

Oryx Euro mount. This is right behind my desk. The windows face south, and get sun most of the day. I don't bother to turn the lights on in my office, cuz whenever it's a sunny day and someone comes into my office, the light in the windows gives me an "aura".

.....

Springbok Euro mount over my plant, and a close-up


.....
.....

Bwana,

Since its been over a year, could you reflect back and tell us some "lessons learned" - What one could/would do (if anything) different planning such a first time hunting trip in the future?

PS: Con-grads on the nice trophies!!!

Ray, I've thought about this a lot in the last year, and there are few things I can think of that I could have done. To offer the simple advice of "trust no-one" would really suggest a pretty shitty outlook on life.

Before I booked this hunt, I sent Dirk Terry Carr's excellent list of questions, and got satisfactory answers to all of them. I did naively leave off question #5, because every report I read about Namibia NEVER MENTIONED FENCES!

I also talked to half a dozen references, but really, by their nature, references are going to be the happy clients.

One thing that I noticed was that it was only Dirk and I in the truck each day. Never any trackers or staff. Given the conditions, it would have been much better to have another set of eyes to spot game (at least while we were driving between waterholes ). Dirk was driving, and I was in unfamiliar territory looking for unfamiliar game. At least it should have been an option. Some may wish to only hunt with the PH. This is one question I would add to Terry's list. I found, overall, that we were really "insulated" from the locals and staff.

AFA the rest of the trip, you're at their mercy. The airlines have legislation they are bound by, as far as any "passenger's bill of rights", but if you have to initiate legal action in order to get them to comply with it, then it's not much good.

I chose Gracy Travel based on recommendations from this site, and a simple but critical error by their staff had a major impact on my trip. The "compensation" offered for that was ludicrous and insulting.

I was honestly shocked at suggestions on this thread that I was expecting too much, that sharing this trip of a lifetime with my family was wrong, or that I really just need to learn to roll with the punches. There were several things that happened on this trip that I didn't report on, because it was just "roll with the punches" stuff. I reported the major "lowlights". As I said previously, one or two issues can be attributed to "shit happens", but when a cluster-fuck hits, then you really learn the integrity of the people you are dealing with.

There are two general categories of guides in Namibia: The first category is composed of those who hunt their own farm plus perhaps one or two neighbor's farms. The second category consists of guides who don't own any land, but rather "lease" the hunting rights to various farms (or conservacies). Either can provide a great hunt, and either can give you the "short shrift".

I tend to be a little more cautious about the second ("Dirk") type. While many of them no doubt provide excellent hunts, having no land of thier own, they sometimes take what is available -- and at the least cost. This means that you could end up in some over-hunted, smaller piece of land that the guide leased at a bargain after it was hunted out by himself or some other guide. These farms are typically either abesntee-owned, or owned by financially stressed owners who will take what they can get. (From your description of the relative scarcity of game, this sounds like what you encountered. By comparison, game was so abundant on the farm where we hunted that I and my two companions had killed almost half of what we came for on the first day -- and all by open stalking, NOTHING at water holes.)

The same problems can happen with a landowner-guide, however, the landowner usually isn't interested in exploiting his land for quick gain, but rather in its long-term return. So landowner-guides usually
provide quality hunting on their own (and neighboring) land. There are, of course, exceptions. One such landowner I checked out (through ACCURATE RELOADING!) turned out to be an alcoholic who had run his wife off and was trying to stave off bankruptcy by taking hunters out (or sending his adolescent son in his stead) on his relatively small place in between alcoholic stupors.

The high-quality non-landowner guides will establish a longstanding relationship with their landowners, pay them an attractive lease (or fee), and take care of their land and game for the long term. Lower-quality guides may overhunt a place, get kicked off, then go looking for some other places to rent at a bargain.

My impression is that Namibia has more of the "good" guides (in both categories) than the "bad". Researching sites like this one and asking questions is about your only preventative medicine.

And yes, you would think that a travel agency which bills itself in specializing in hunters would, when necessary, inform the airline that their client has guns in his baggage. You have paid them to take care of details like that for you, but as you found, it also pays to research these things for yourself so that you are not totally dependent on someone else's competency.

It's unusual, and disappointing, to come back with only one of your most desired species. Kudu can be a challenge, but most other PG is, or should be, a walk in the park. Namibia is normally a very good destination for Kudu, but they do go through population cycles. It's the mecca for Oryx and Hartebeest, both cheap, but quite expensive for Warthog, which are not as plentiful as in some other areas.

Hunting only 5 days is really too short, and again you had very bad luck with your travel. Running into bureaucracy is extremely frustrating. However, it's quite well known that going via Amsterdam with guns is tricky and you probably should have done some homework on this site regarding that subject.

I think the first lesson learned here is that first time hunters should use a reputable booking agent. This is more important than using a travel agent. The outfitter and the booking agent will keep you out of trouble between the two of them. The travel agent, frankly, doesn't do much and in my experience, they don't save you money either.

The booking agent will not send you to an area that is devoid of your key species, nor will he allow the outfitter to jerk you around. Agents shy away from unreliable outfitters.

Note, it's the norm, not the exception, to arrive in Namibia without your firearms and/or your bags. I always advise my clients to plan on it. This means packing essentials in your carry-on; and doing a day or two sight-seeing before the hunt commences. This doesn't add a lot of cost to the trip, but it can double the pleasure and half the pain.

Lesson two: always buy trip insurance. Especially when traveling through JNB. Delays, medical emergencies, lost baggage, airline fees and theft are all covered. As is a failure on the part of the operator, to deliver the contracted trip.

Lesson three: never take a shot that you are not comfortable taking. Keep two green lights in mind ... both you and the PH must be OK with the shot.

The final lesson, one that I apply personally, is to run at the first sign of trouble. It's usually just that, the first sign. I learned this early in life and each time I make an exception to my own rule, I regret it.

As a PS, you are not likely to find the "Real Africa" for $300 a day. To hunt in a very large unfenced concession, with dangerous game present, expect to pay 3x that amount at least. Having said that, $300-400 per day to hunt on a large ranch (this one was 50,000 Ha) is a bargain, and the fence is not a big deal. Regarding property size, 30,000 acres in Namibia hunts like 10,000 acres in the Limpopo drainage and like 3,000 acres in Zululand. It has to do with game density, terrain, and vegetation.

I know of only two places where a PG hunter can experience something approaching the "real Africa", complete with 3 or 4 species of DG, for $400 a day. One in Zim, one in RSA. Both very large, and fenced or partially fenced. Oh, and there are $3-400 areas in Namibia that are unfenced and very large, but you won't find DG in them.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ Gould:

...I know of only two places where a PG hunter can experience something approaching the "real Africa", complete with 3 or 4 species of DG, for $400 a day. One in Zim, one in RSA. Both very large, and fenced or partially fenced. Oh, and there are $3-400 areas in Namibia that are unfenced and very large, but you won't find DG in them.

Really? You sure about that? Because I've hunted 3 different open areas in Namibia that also held dangerous game. I would certainly classify each as "real africa" as they were communal areas.

You make a good point though. A reputable and knowledgable booking agent should be able to find such an area in Namibia or at the very least be able to point a hunter in the correct direction to find such an area.

I hunted with Dirk in 2007 and had a great time. When we originally booked, it was when Dirk was running his own operation, but we were told (well in advance) that their previous concession had experienced a fire and were given the choice of hunting two different camps (Omamaru or Oryx Camp). We chose Oryx Camp. Kudu was high on our list, and we didn't get one, but it wasn't for lack of trying . . spent 5 days at Oryx camp with a few sightings mostly because the Kudu were not in rut, all back in the brush, and we had very windy and cool conditions. After 5 days of not finding our Kudu, we transferred to the Mopane Camp to hunt waterholes for 4 days because that was to have increased our odds of seeing Kudu - which we did, just not any bigger than 50" . . . according to Gunter, there were two tremendous bulls shot (over water holes) the day after we left. I did get the impression that there was a bit of "brother-in-law" rivalry between Dirk & Gunter (but I could have been projecting, as I don't get along with my brother-in-law at all).

At times I was a bit discouraged, and it did take me a few days to warm up to Dirk, but all was great at the end of the time we were there. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't gone over on my first safari quite so "dead set" on a Kudu and instead just "taken what Africa offered". Probably would have spent more time out of the vehicle stalking game and less time looking for the elusive Kudu.

Dirk (along with Omalanga Safaris) both went above and beyond what was required of them for us. We booked 2x1 (my wife & I both hunt), but while we were at Mopane Camp, Dirk & my wife hunted together, while they generously provided me (free) with the services of another PH since we were basically just sitting waterholes. I hunted with Philip part of 2 days and Elias (tracker/PH) for 2 days. I had more fun with Elias, but part of that was the trying to communicate, since he spoke no English. "GOOD springbok, you shoot". "Zebra, nice . . . (mimes stroking skin) . . . you shoot", etc.

We ended up with 2 Springbok, 2 Blesbok, 1 Oryx, 1 Steenbok, 1 Wartie, and 1 OLD(!) Hartebeast. Next time (June of this year), we are still looking for Kudu, but I'll put a deadline on the deal and if we don't get one by day "x", I'll be back to hunting "what Africa offers" and just have a good time. Oh yeah, and we are hunting with Dirk again . . .

Troy

quote:

Originally posted by Russ Gould:
However, it's quite well known that going via Amsterdam with guns is tricky and you probably should have done some homework on this site regarding that subject.

Going through Amsterdam wasn't the problem. I had all the permits in order for that - thanks to a heads up from Gracy Travel. The problem was, despite knowing I was travelling with guns and even giving me the info on the permits I'd need, when they booked the tickets, they didn't check off the little box on the computer program which notifies the airline of firearms being transported.

Its a shame that your trip was a cluster F%^*k.As an African Hunting operater its not good for business to hear stories like this.It is in my experience the first bad report on Gracy Travel.

-Its kinda shitty that you had to hire a rifle though after loosing yours.
-Its not common to sit at a waterhole ALL day ,except maybe bow hunting or looking for warthogs.
- its weird that you never hunted with spotters or trackers?
As an African Outfitter I dont know how i can re-instill your faith in this continent and its great people.
Its just a shame that these things happen to good people. There are good outfits out there.
Best of luck next time
Dave Davenport
www.leopardsvalley.co.za

WOW. I must say, I don't know how I would have handled what you went through. Granted, I went by myself and am very easy-going when it comes to problems and issues, but even half of what you went through would have had me frothing at the mouth. You are VERY justified in having serious issues with and anger at Gracy Travel, KLM, Lufthansa, etc. I had one minor glitch leaving Orlando (cancelled flight) but things worked out and all went perfectly for my entire trip to Namibia, and the hunt. I was very fortunate to book with a booking agent (Geoff Hashimoto here on AR), and use Kathy Klimes as my travel agent, plus I bought travel insurance for peace-of-mind. Luckily didn't have to use it. I second what you said about Namibia and the people there -just top notch all around. It was the "First World" companies and people you have to watch out for these days - isn't that sad?

Great looking trophies, and your hunt descriptions are well-written. I felt I was almost there, and that experience you had with the Oryx was awesome!