Hunting Area: Gras Ranch, Namibia
Trip Dates: May, 15 – May, 31
Booking Agent: Wendell Reich
Airlines Traveled: Lufthansa, AirNamibia
Rout: Chicago – Frankfurt; Frankfurt – Windhoek
Travel Agent: DIY
Rifles: Two Blaser R93, 375H&H; 7mm.Rem; 375 H&H
Ammo: Federal Premium 260gr and 160
Bullets: Noseler AccuBond
Scopes: Zeiss Conquest 2.5-8x32 MC; Swarowski Habicht 6-18x50A; Kahles Helia 3-12x56
Professional Hunter: Errol Lambrechts, Jannie Spangenberg
Tracker: Piki
Hunters: Andrew and Paul (father and son)

I’ve got bitten by the African Bug while I was hunting in RSA with my wife in 2007. Last year I decided that it is time to get some treatment for my Africa Fever and started to do some digging though the Internet on Namibia safari. Finally I booked an eight days 2x1 hunt for me and my son Paul with Gras Hunting Ranch, District of Mariental Namibia ( www.zingelasafaris.com ). My booking agent was Wendell Reich (one of us) - great guy of a big help.
I am very glad that I did it almost a year before, because in later economy situation I would never do it. Several different bumps were on our way (my son lost his job last September, some health issues, business problems, etc.) Regardless of all the above, on May,15 we were on the Lufthansa flight from Chicago top Frankfurt. On this leg I used my United Miles. A few shots after take off and we were sleeping like babies almost all the way. I wrote about our dealing with German custom in African Travel http://forums.accuratereloadin...8121043/m/1101088801

Another few shots at the beginning of FRA – Windhoek flight and after a healthy sleep we are in Namibia! The landing was kind of rough but everyone was excited and smiled.
After a short time spent at the Police booth we were greeted by our PH Errol.
It took us about 3 hours to get to the Gras Ranch. But beautiful views through the truck windows made them short. The Gras is a more than 100 years old mansion. It was recently renovated and looks very impressive.
On arrival we had a quick shower, lunch, sighted in our rifles and headed to the field for a scouting ride. After a 20 minutes ride we spotted a small herd of blue wildebeest, got out of the truck and started a stalk. We got at about 80 meters to the bull, put up our sticks and were ready to squeeze. My son was up and after his shot the bull dropped on the spot.
A few seconds later he got up and we shot several follow ups and heard some “Wamps”
The bull was a bullet-proof one and we blood- tracked him for about 2 hours. Them we got on the truck again and drive around until we found him at about 300 meters with a blood spot on his shoulder. Paul sent another 375H&H and the bull was down. So the beginning was great!
A beautiful sunset greeted us at the Ranch. To be continued.

Before 6am we were up and after good breakfast we took off from the Ranch and our first official hunting day began. Morning coolness, pinkish sky and herds of animals here and there. I would say that this is we are living and working hard for!
We spotted a trophy springbok some 400+ meters away and I took an opportunity shot. We heard a bullet hit and followed the springbok for a while. Another shot at 350m another hit, but the poor animal still running. We followed the blood trail for a while and finally we run in to it and I finished him up.


We drove for some time looking for a good Oryx bull. It was quite windy and the animals were very spooky. They run from our truck in all directions as creasy as they could be. We spotted a herd of Oryx with a few nice bulls and continued on feet. After a 2 hours stalk we got closer and Paul took a shot at a bull @150m through a narrow opening between bushes. The bullet hit him in the neck and the bull was down 20 -30 m further the slope.





After a quick lunch we were hunting again. Paul shot a nice springbok at about 230m again in the neck.

We were on our way to the ranch at dusk through a quite impressive sunset

After the dinner it was a time for some war stories. Errol, Jannie and Boli - three PHs have a lot of them to tell

Day 3 May,19 to be continued

Great report.
I was there in 2005, and the place is fantastic.

keep it coming!!!

Congratulations on a successful hunt with your son!

Brett

Day3 May, 19 Early morning wake up,a few pictures of the sunrise, quick breakfast and we are on the way for a red hartebeest. . Several kilometers down the road we spooked a steinbok and I shot him at ~60m. It was another gold medal trophy (smile)


While we were looking for a hartebeest, we took one more springbok at about 150m and then continue on the hartebeest. In a mid day we run into a herd with several very good bulls, but they were spooky and took off. There were no opportunity to stalk on feet (too open area) so we kept driving until we got closer to the herd and Paul took a shot at 170m. The bullet struck behind the shoulder to the right, but the bull was down after few paces. It was lung/liver shot.



After four Paul’s successful shots he admits that actually all the time he was aiming at the shoulder and there might be a problem with the scope. I suspected that he is just jerking the trigger and as the result all his shots go to the right from the aiming point. We decided to sight the rifle in the morning again. And advised Errol that we fill not so comfortable on the shots beyond 250m due the luck of training on long distances.

Day 4 May, 20 After the breakfast we drove to the sighting range and shot a few rounds. The scope was fine, but Paul got a scope kiss. This day we were after a kudu with a possibility to take a waterbuck. We drove to the neighboring ranch and kept driving along a long grove of trees and bushes. There were a few small waterbucks and kudu cows on the way but no bulls. Than our tracker spotted a kudu bul at about 90-100m away in the bush. I took a quick aim (he was facing us) and shot him in the chest. The bull took off and we started to track him . About 70 meters the tracker pointed at him and I placed the final shot. The kudu was down! 46+ inches very old bull.
After we were finished with pictures, gutting, loading and other related stuff, we got back in the truck and drove to the road. Another good bull under a tree! I will take him. BUM! WHAMP! I got off the truck and run into the bushes with the tracker. He pointed to the left, there was a bull facing away. BUM!. The bull took off . We were tracking him foe 2+hours. No even a blood drop! We came bake to the point of the second shot ant the tracker lead us for ½ hour to the bull. He was about 50m away, behind tall grass and bushes. I was aiming when my PH took a shot at him and dropped him on the spot. Well, there was the reality of the moment. The second bull was younger but with the same measurements of the horns. After we finished with loading, we drove to the skinning shed and met there the owner of the ranch – a very nice German gentleman, who invited us to his house for a beer. On the way to the house we spotted an old blessbok and the owner suggested my son to shoot it as a gift. Paul placed a solid shot, the blessbok was down and Paul had a second scope kiss…

To be continued

WOW..what a Steenbok.very nice
keep the report coming, thanks

The brindling on your B.W. is beautiful. I'm looking forward to more of the report.

Bobby B.

Great report and pictures. Keep on going . . .

Day 5 May, 21 This day was very special to me and my son. On his last birthday he got this:

So now it was the time for it endorsement. We got up at 2 am and at 2:30 we took off to another ranch where mountain zebras are. It took us about 3 hours and one tire to get there. The place is absolutely beautiful. We drove up to the mountains, then heard a shot, than 5 more and saw a herd of zebras going up the slope very fare away. Another hunter had shot a nice single zebra stallion up in the mountains and the whole our expedition was busy retrieving it to the truck. With the zebra loaded we went to the ranch for a lunch and a little break.

After 3 pm we took off for another scouting ride, found a zebra herd and finally my son shot one.
We arrived at Gras very late at night full of emotions and impressions.

Day 6. May 22 We decided to take it easy after a long previous day and did just cull hunting of springboks. I shot 3 and Paul shoot his second trophy springbok at impressive 270 meters.
Well, he got the third scope kiss on his forehead. So now he can bragg that he was attacked by a leopard

Day7. May 23-24.Some more cull hunting. Took 6 springboks and a lot of pictures.
Day 8. May 25. We were trying to take another hartebeest, but it was not my day. Either Errol replaced my ammo with blanks or something else had happened, but on that day I would miss a wide side of a sitting barn. After the dinner we went for a night jackal hunting. What an experience!!! All animals that were running away during the day were calm and just looking at us. Paul took a shot at a jackal over a fence. We did not see the result, so we considered it as 50/50 hit. That night hunt was a nice final accord in out Grass Ranch safari. We really appreciated that extra step Errol and Boli took for us to show us the beauty of a night hunt. Overall, in 8 days we took 11 trophy animals and 8 of them are qualified for a Gold medal. Beside of that we took 9 cull springboks. The Gras Ranch has a very unique habitat and I would recommend it for an excellent safari to my best friend. The staff is very friendly and the tracker Piki is just amazing. He thinks and feels like an wild animal. And he performed miracles in the field.

So the bloody part of our journey is over. The rest of our tour we spent as “normal” tourists on a self-driving tour across the desert. If you want to her about it and see the pictures, just let me know.

Enjoyed the report, great photos, and great trophies. I particularly liked the Gemsbok.

Great report and wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing. I, for one, would enjoy hearing about your driving tour and see those photos as well.

I enjoyed your report and pictures!

This sounds like a great outfit and fine place to visit!

I am particularly impressed with the amount of trophy animals and quality, especially the Blue Wildebeest, Steenbok, and Red Hartebeest! And that Oryx was a DOOOZT, too!!!

And with all the Springbok culls and Blesbok and night-hunting you two surely had a fantastic PG Safari!!!

Big Congrats!

I would like to hear more about your trip and your tour!

Feel free to PM or post here I think many of us would be thrilled!!!

Aloha!

Ro

Nice report! Please do write about your travel around Namibia- always looking for ideas for the next trip trip there!

Jimmy

Well guys, you've asked for this

The bloodless driving tour.
On May, 26 Jannie took us to Windhoek to the taxidermist and then to Advanced Car Rental. There we filled all the papers and took a 4x4 Helix by Toyota. Well 2.4 litters diesel did not impressed me at all. But what can we do? We did some groceries shopping and at about 2:30 we hit the road. It was about 250 kilometers drive with one pass over the mountains.

At about 6 pm we arrived at the Agama River Camp site.
Paul has a good experience in camping in US and he mentioned to me that it was necessary to come to Namibia to find the best campsite ever. The brai was outstanding!
The next day we were planning to spend in Sossusvelei and take a lot of pictures of the famous Red Dunes. The Guard at the Park entrance
After 105 kilometers on a gravel and paved road we stopped at the entrance to a 4x4 trail for refreshment.

Then we hit the “road”
Well, the 2.4 liter engine is a joke for that road, and when I shifted to a low 4x4 the gear box started to scrim and died on a spot.


That is nice! A tourist shuttle stopped by and the driver took over the situation from there. At first he tried to reanimate our truck, but failed and offered us to continue our tour with him. He took us to the Dead vlei. What a beautiful and unusual place! It reminds me Dali’s paintings


While we were hiking, our driver arranged a ride to the campsite for us with one of his friends.
After the hike we loaded all our belongings to the shuttle and left our dead Helix in the middle of nowhere. Upon arrival at Sossusvlei we contacted the rental company; they contacted a local mechanic and arranged the transfer of the keys for the dead truck. At this point we were officially homeless because our tent was on the top of the truck’s roof. But the sunset was just amazing!

A long after dark after a challenging ride on a BMW a little bit older than my son is we arrived at the campsite and in 15 minutes everything was arranged – a tent, some mattresses and lanterns.

AHolz,
How long is the barrel on the Blaser 375H&H,
and is it the STD weight barrel.
Thank Warren

Really great Report with outstanding Pics

Seloushunter

Thanks for the report aholz, sounds like you really enjoyed that trip, Gras sounds very nice, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

wmunro, both my 375 H&H barrels are 24" long. One has a Slim Line muzzle break

Next morning at about 8:30 a replacement truck arrived and we continued on our self-drive tour. There was a constant change in the landscape: from mountains to a stone semi-desert to a grass desert to a complete dead desert.










And then the sand dunes desert.

I cannot say that the surroundings looked very invited, but it is Africa after all! A short drive through a shifting sand and a dust storm was a very challenging experience

We arrived at Swakopmund at 3 pm and checked in to the Alte Bruke campsite – another amazingly maintained facility
The Swakopmund is a very civilized town with a lot of banks, shops and a very strong German influence everywhere.



We had a good dinner at a restaurant and then retired at our roof tent
Next morning was dedicated to a ATV dune drive . We have spotted an ATV rental company on our way in, so it was not a question where to go for a ride.

We booked a 1.5 hours drive and took off after our local guide. What an adrenaline rush!
The guide was very friendly and professional, so we learned a lot of tricks and techniques after him


After a while we were joined with this little fellow

Not everyone had made this ride

To be continued

The ride was over and we headed back to Swakopmund, spent some time at the souvenir market had a lunch and then drove to a local airport where we had booked a sight seeing 2,15 minutes flight on a small aircraft. By somebody’s mistake we were put on the route above the region we were driving a day before and I found it a good luck. It was very interesting to see the same places from the above.










At about 4:30 we have landed and took off to our final pre-arranged destination – Okapuka Game Farm (30 km from Windhoek)






.
On the last day we were planning to have a horseback game ride, but I have failed to make a reservation on that one, so we went to a souvenir market instead. We bought a few nice carvings, and other typical African souvenirs for friends and family. At 3:00 we were at our taxidermist, picked up our rifles, drove back to the car rental office and from there we had a ride to the airport on their courtesy van.

Fantastic reports, both the hunt and the tour. I thoroughly enjoyed both. I think I have to put Namibia on my list.

Andrew,

I enjoyed the report and pics!

You two had a fantastic time and certainly made wonderful memories to last several lifetimes!

A big CONGRATS to you and Paul!

Great job!

Aloha!

Ro

You've made me seriously consider Gras for my wife's first safari next year (our 20th wedding anniversary). Thank you for a great report. Do you think it would be a suitable place (and suitable PHs) for a woman first-time hunter?

John, absolutely with no hesitation! It is a great place to celebrate your anniversary. Your wife will love it!

quote:

Originally posted by JohnCrighton:
You've made me seriously consider Gras for my wife's first safari next year (our 20th wedding anniversary). Thank you for a great report. Do you think it would be a suitable place (and suitable PHs) for a woman first-time hunter?

Having been there myself with my wife (her as an observer) I can say it will be a great place to take her.

We're going back to Gras next year also.

Wow!! What a report! It must be so nice to have the opportunity to do all you and your son did on one safari. I think Namibia just jumped to the top of my list for a plains game, vacation tour.
Did you run into any problems transporting your rifles and ammunition around the country?

Rich
Buff Killer

Very nice report

My wife and I went there on our first safari in 07. We both had a great time, I took all the animals I wanted plus a few. My wife also killed her very first animal there.

Take your wife she'll love it.


Idaho

I think Namibia is probably the easiest country to import a rifle into.

For all of you that went - what were the Impala like? Did you see many and were they pretty nice? That is THE thing my wife wants most - a nice Impala for a shoulder mount.

some of the best pic's I have seen here
Thank you

Amazing Pics.

Great report on a great adventure! And you took some nice animals along the way.

Good Stuff!

quote:

Originally posted by JohnCrighton:
For all of you that went - what were the Impala like? Did you see many and were they pretty nice? That is THE thing my wife wants most - a nice Impala for a shoulder mount.

When I went to Gras, May 2003, there were no Impala at the Ranch. We traveled to another ranch for Impala.

Well, at Gras they have a few impalas, but if you want to get one, they will take you to the neighbor ranch. He has plenty and very good impalas

Jannie did say he wanted to bring some in.

He also mentioned that when you let a dozen or 2 of a certain animal out in 94K acres, you'll probably never see them again.

Great report! Looks like a fantastic place to hunt and the trophy fees seem about right. I'm going to do some more research on this place!

What a wonderful trip. Thank you for sharing the story with us!

Aholz: Thanks for sharing with us. Your journal took me back to 2007 when my son and I hunted on Nomtsas, a neighboring farm to the Gras and of similar size about 25 miles to the west. We enjoyed the same wealth of trophy game and the hospitality of great hosts. We even stayed our last day prior to leaving at the Okapuka lodge near Windhoek! Isn't that bar a great place to hang out!

You guys did some traveling and sight-seeing that we did not take the time for . . . but next time . . .

Thanks for sharing. Fantastic pics!

Great report. Your photos are excellent. Namibia is a beautiful place. Hope I can get there someday.

Aholz, you seem to have a quite good camera and really good experince with photographing!
The pictures are awesome!