Dates: June 13 to June 24, 2006
Country: Namibia
Ranch: OKANDUKA SEIBE, near Okahandja
PH: Dirk Rohrmann
Hunters: Muletrain, Muletrain’s wife, and Buddy W.
Observer: Muletrain’s daughter
Firearms and Ammunition:
Muletrain – Winchester Model 70 Safari Express LH .375 H&H w/300 gr. Hornady round nose soft pts.
Wife – Winchester Model 70 Featherweight 7x57mm w/140 gr. Swift A-Frames.
Daughter – Ruger #1 7x57mm w/140 gr. Swift A-Frames.
Buddy – Weatherby Fibermark 300 Wby. Magnum w/Barnes Triple Shok
Hunting Method: Drive ranch trails then glass from lookout points or rock kopjes then stalk on foot.
Vehicle: Toyota Land Rover, petrol, 4x4 with Waren winch, Hi-Lift jack, high seat, roll bar, bull bar, two spare tires, two way radio and cool box.
Accommodations: Very nice lodge with four private rooms, in suite baths, large kitchen, lounge, dining room, breakfast room, bar, front and back veranda, beautiful landscaping, pool, fire pit.
Other: Covered shooting range, covered skinning shed, cold storage, smoke house, well equipped garage.
Staff: Full compliment of well trained friendly staff in tidy uniforms or native dress.
Food and Beverages: FIVE STAR. A+. Unbelievably good. The cuisine was top notch.
Game Observed: Eland, Oryx, Kudu, Mountain Zebra, Bless Buck, Giraffe, Hartebeest, Impala, Klipp Springer, Baboon, Jakal, Springbock, Steenbock, Ostrich, Warthog, Bat-eared Fox, Ardwolf, Mongoose, and Rock Hyrax.
Game Hunted and Taken: Eland, Oryx x4, Kudu, Mountain Zebra, Bless Buck, Impala x2, Springbock x2, and Warthog x2.

The flight was pleasant as the new Airbus configuration allows more room than previous configurations. All luggage including gun cases was booked from Houston straight through to Windhoek. It was all there when we arrived in Namibia. We did not touch the luggage or guns at the Johannesburg transfer. Just waited in the lobby and drank coffee. On the approach to Windhoek we were surprised and a little concerned at what we were seeing out the windows. There was nothing but desert in all directions.

It took less than twenty minutes time from the leaving the door of the plane to loading up in Dirk’s truck. Windhoek International Airport is a lot like the airport in Casper, Wyoming. Not much traffic and plenty of folks to process things.

We all introduced ourselves to Dirk and headed for the farm. The route skirted the edge of Windhoek then North towards Okahandja. Then after a fuel and refreshment stop we continued North and then West for a little while. The route then turned to a dirt road that was graded and then on to a two track ranch road. That was the longest ranch road I have ever been on. It was approximately fifteen miles from the gate to the lodge, all first gear.

It was dark when we arrived at Okanduka Seibe and we were greeted by Rita, Dirk’s lovely wife and lodge manager. We were served a nice fruit beverage by the camp fire and then were shown to our rooms. A hot shower made me feel human again and I can’t recall what happened after that. I think we all fell into our beds and went comatose for a few hours.

Wednesday morning we had a breakfast of cereal and fruit with lots of coffee and then headed out to the rifle range to check the rifles. There was a covered shooting bench with the target about a hundred yards out. The rifles were fine, one needed a small adjustment, and then we were off to see the property.

Okanduka Siebe is situated in high desert surrounded by low granite mountains. It is approximately 2,500 ft above sea level and the tallest mountain is around 1,500 ft to the top. The soil is decomposed granite and quartz. It looks like sparkly pink sand. There is lots of thorn bush and grass cover but very few trees. Dry river beds crisscross the landscape. Numerous rock kopjes are found dispersed over the property and make a fine elevated structure for glassing for game.













First to score was Buddy with a nice spring buck. That was his first African animal. He is now officially an African Hunter and hooked for life.



Then my wife got lucky and took a springbuck that Dirk said would be number 35 in the SCI book if we were inclined to enter it.



We returned to the lodge and had a nap followed by a fantastic lunch served on the veranda. At 2pm we mounted up and headed for the field. A short time later zebras were spotted and a stalk was planned. We walked for a while and then climbed up into some granite boulders. The zebras were out past 300 yards and feeding quietly. Not for long. Dirk and Manuel, the lead tracker, identified the stallion and made sure that I was looking at the right one. I placed my hat on the rock and rested my fore hand on the hat. I was more or less leaning over the boulder and shooting slightly up hill. The zebra was facing me. When he finally turned slightly quartering to me I placed the crosshairs about mid way up on the shoulder and fired. I will admit that I was praying that I did not screw things up. The 300 grain Hornady round nose bullet hit with an audible smack and the stallion began to buck and wheel to the right. The second shot was in the hip. It was not necessary but I believe that one should keep shooting as long as the bigger animals are in sight and still on their feet. He fell quickly just a few feet from where he was standing when the first bullet struck him.



That ended the hunting for the first day. We returned to the lodge and were greeted to a nice camp fire in the back garden. Drinks were served and we had a pleasant conversation until dinner was ready.



I can’t say enough about the dinners. Rita set the table each evening with a different theme. It was artistically decorated with candles and a nice centerpiece. Soup was served followed by the chef, Leopold, bringing out the main course. It was served buffet style. A great local wine was served with each meal. Each meal was ended with a wonderful dessert and coffee. The food was fantastic.

The next few days pretty much followed the same pattern. The dinners were astonishingly creative. One night was seafood night. The table was decorated with sea shells, and just about every type of sea food was served. Another night was wild game night with the table decorated with big bore rifle casings, porcupine quills etc. Another night was a surprise outdoor dinner down in the dry river with lamps on all the surrounding rocks and a big fire in the sand. Rita had the staff move a table and chairs from the house to the river. Leopold cooked most of the food on a grill. It was really magical.

Also notable was my birthday. Apparently in Namibia they celebrate one’s birthday all day long. We had a birthday breakfast, birthday lunch, and a birthday dinner. Rita and Dirk were very kind and presented me with a nice gift. Leopold made a cake and the staff was assembled and sang Happy Birthday. That was really unexpected.



We went on hunting game until everyone was satisfied. There were no serious problems encountered with the exception of a Gemsbok that Buddy shot a little high. It went down hard then jumped up and ran off. Dirk, Manuel, Jeffrey, and another staff member who is a retired tracker went after it just after mid day. It went over several mountain ridges attempting to evade them. Dirk got in a second hit in the neck which was not sufficient to convince the wounded animal to lie down. It may have even encouraged it to run harder. It all ended well five hours later with one dead Gemsbok and four exhausted men. I believe they all had an extra ration of beer that evening. They deserved it.

















Finally it was time to say goodbye. We were presented with a traditional handmade Herero doll by the staff and a book about Namibia by Dirk and Rita. Very thoughtful gifts to remind us of our new friends and the wonderful time we had together. They will be displayed in our African room.

The trip home was uneventful. All the luggage and rifles made the trip and were waiting for us in Atlanta.

Very nice report and it sounds like a great hunt. Dirk and Rita run a first class operation and are great people. My wife and I are hoping to return in 2008 with leopard on my mind.

Muletrain,

Nice report and excellent photos..Tell those youn ladies nice shots and great looking trophies...


Mike

Muletrain,

Thanks for the great report. You're really getting me psyched up about our trip Dirk and Rita's in '07. You gave some really great descriptions of the camp and landscape and thanks for all the pics. I can't wait.

Muletrain, sounds like you had a wonderful hunt and Dirk and Rita were superb hosts. We are hunting with Dirk and Rita in June of 07 and the time cannot pass fast enough. Send me a PM regarding any details that were not covered in your post. Two of the ladies going with us are pretty much nonhunters and they are curious as to other activities available when they are not going out in the bush with us. Thanks, Jerry Hoover

Great report and nice trophies. Namibia is always a fun hunt!

Great report and photos, but where are the photos of the Kudu?

Congratulations on a successful trip. Great report and photos. Thanks for sharing.

thornell - It was Buddy's Kudu. He, Dirk, and Manuel made a very long stalk about mid-morning down a rocky saddle and then up a boulder covered ridge. After the shot it took off and went down the back side of the ridge. It was impossible to get the truck up in there and all the cameras were on the truck. Buddy was done in when they finally got back to the truck and did not want to hike back up to the Kudu to take photos. Dirk called the skinners on the radio and had them meet us in the field with another truck. Dirk then directed the skinners to the dead Kudu and we continued on with the hunting. The next time Buddy saw his Kudu it was caped out in the skinning shed.

We went on to collect two nice Gemsbuck that morning before lunch.

Thanks All for the kind replies.

For the hunters planning a trip to Namibia I would suggest sighting in for 200 yards and practicing shooting off of sticks at that distance.

Also the terrain is really rough. If you are a flatlander or spend most of your time at a desk it would greatly improve the quality of your hunt to realy, really, get into shape. Do an hour walk every day after work and take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Excellent hunt & pics of the area. Rita & Dirk run a very nice operation.

Ahmed

Excellent report, but you are killing me. My wife and I will hunt with Dirk & Rita in September. Linda is also a non hunter so We would also be interested in any comments or suggestions for the non hunting partner. Thanks for a great report. I will have Linda read your colorful and very discriptive report, it will be her first visit to Africa.

Jerry Hoover, ARTP - The ranch is very remote, one of the things that we found so very nice about our trip. It would not be practical to drive to town for sight-seeing excursions as it is five hours one way to Windhoek. The non-hunting activities are horse riding, hiking, game drives, photography, swimmng if you are inclined to swim in very cold water, relaxing on the veranda reading a book and drinking coffee, napping, rock hunting and star gazing. I did not see a television in the lodge and would have asked for it to be removed if I did see one. Our daughter started to go a little nuts after the first week without a computer so Rita let her use the one in Dirk's office to log onto MYSPACE.com, that seamed to satisfy her and she quit walking around with her lip sticking out.

We were there to hunt and relax and got plenty of both. Maybe next trip over we well plan an extra week to go sight seeing but probably not. I would rather sit at a water hole with a shotgun and kill one or two birds than go shopping for tourist crap.

I spend an average of about two hours a year at a shopping mall, usually just before Christmas, and that's too much.

Muletrain,

Excellent report and great photos. Everyone in your party looks like they were having a grand time.

Just curious - did you guys use two PH's or hunt 2x1 with Dirk???

Phil

Small world .. A buddy from British Columbia phoned me tonight and told me that he and I had hunted this very same property a few years ago for mtn. zebra and hartebeest. It was owned by a German doctor back then ... he and I had climbed a hill and I was hacking out my lungs having picked up a darn cold a few days earlier. He stopped and gave me a quick appraisal and then diagnosed me with ... Ebola virus !!! Ha! I told him that I had a damn cold and they hadn't given me any medicine 'cause it was a cold !! He then mentioned that his friend in camp was a urologist from Germany and when we got back the guy could give me a complete checkup and then install a catheter !!! Grrrrrrrrr !!! He offered to carry my rifle for me .. He was 64 ... I was 11 years younger. I turned him down. Later on his girl friend was arriving from Germany. She was beautiful .. very petite .. and 27. I have since heard that they married. Is he still the owner ?? Is he still married ?? Do I still have both Ebola virus and a damn catheter ??

Scruffy, The property is still owned by the same German doc. Rita & Dirk manange the farm for him.

Phil - It was a 2x1 hunt. My wife likes to take a day off now and then on our hunts and Buddy did not follow the usual profile of a first time hunter to Africa. Most first timers want everything on the trophy list plus photos of every bird and bug they see. Buddy was a little different. He just wanted three animals, Gemsbok, Springbuck, and Warthog. He later decided to add Kudu to the list. We booked for a ten day hunt and were basically finished after seven days. So it was really a 3x1 hunt with two of the hunters not hunting every day.

Muletrain
It's really nice to see hunters bring their families and friends. Even the young girl will some day cherish the days she spent in Namibia.
Okandukan Siebe is one of the truly great ranches in Namibia! Remote, good grass, lots of tree and most important year round water! Even in the worst of droughts there is some water available.

A lot of times you hear someone say "You get what you pay for" But Dirks operation is that one exception to the rule! His daily rates and trophy fees are unbelievably low, literally half price of what some outfitters in the same area charge. Honest hard working staff, First class service, World class trophies, Affordable rates = Booked solid for two years. If you looking for a truly affordable plains game hunt in 08 with the chance to harvest world class animals. Give Dirk a email. For the money I think he offers the best deal in Africa!

I forgot to mention in the writeup - THANK YOU ROBERT JOHNSON for your initial hunting report on this ranch.

Just out of curiosity .. when I hunted there about 4 years ago with the owner .. he was very very adamant that we not shoot zebra stallions !!! He explained that if I shot the stallion .. other stallions would fight for the herd.. My answer was, ' So?' So to keep him happy (I didn't want to shoot a mare and take a chance on her being pregnant) I shot one slightly smaller than full size .. and got a young stallion ... he was shocked that I would shoot one so small (about 9/10th regular size ..) and offered me the beast for 1/2 price and I could go and shoot a mare .. I declined .. The next day, my fine hunting partner .. hunting with his guide .. shot the biggest baddest meanest coolest looking zebra stallion I have ever seen close up .. Scarred .. blind in one eye .. e frickin' normous !!! I could only stand, stare, and ponder ... Looks like their philosophy has changed .. ???

Mule train Thanks

Scruffy
I don't know anything about the landowner. But Drik told me there are way to many zebra on the ranch. I think he said the quota for Zebra on the ranch is 20. He said the wildlife biologist in charge of setting the quotas for the area loved Zebra, and he resisted all efforts to increase the quota. The biologist wants the size of the zebra herd to increase in the whole region. At times of low water large herds of zebra will come from miles away, into his watering stations and drink all the available water leaving very little for the resident Kudu, Steenbok, Warthog . The owner has spent ten's of thousands of dollars drilling solar powered water wells to insure they have water even in the worst of droughts. A few hundred extra zebra can be a real pain!

Muletrain,

Great report and nice photos.
There is nothing like hunting with your family and friends.

hamdeni

Mule train
Did Namases taxidermy do your dipping and crating? When I was there I used him and his prices were very fair.
David just finished hunting with Dirk hopefully he will give us his hunt report when he gets back to the US.

Robert - We are having skull mounts for some of the animals done in Namibia and then shipped finished to us.

Scruffy,

The joys of hunting Zebra

Muletrain,

Great photos and good to see the family along. Gotta love Namibia, don't you.............

Muletrain,

Amazing.

My wife and I just got in from Okanduka Seibe a few hours ago, and I log on to see what has transpired during our absence, and am greeted by your post. Amazing times we live in!

Will post our hunt report as soon as I can trim the fat from the meat of my journal. Until then, my report consists of "ditto". Excellent report.

Acer,

Did you shoot that 59 inch rock crawling Kudu that we saw?

Looking forward to seeing your hunt report.

Y'all are driving me crazy. We are booked with Dirk and Rita from june 6th to the 20th 2007.The time cannot pass fast enough.Please post any other info you may have. Thanks, Jerry Hoover

Muletrain,

Shot a nice bull early in the week, but saw a HOG later on. They were sure staying up in the high ground where hunting would be difficult! Shot a picture of a really nice bull from a ways away - even Dirk seemed a bit excited about him!

Got to see all your horns drying - some reminders of good times I'm sure!