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I just returned from a hunt with Jan Oelofse Hunting Safaris in Namibia. You can check out their website at: http://www.janoelofsesafaris.com . Our PH was Rudie de Klerk, and we had a fantastic trip.
First, let me say that this was my ninth trip to Africa, and I don't give out praise readily. But praise is deserved, and earned, by this group, and our expectations were met and exceeded throughout the hunt. This was the most organized property we have ever visited, and the lodging and meals were first class. Camp is situated overlooking a waterhole (dam), and shooting is not permitted from camp, so the animals are relaxed and frequent visitors to this water throughout the day. It wasn?t uncommon to look out the window of our room and see 8 or more species at any given time drinking, including elephant, rhino, sable, roan, giraffe, waterbuck, kudu, gemsbok, zebra (Hartmans and Burchell), wildebeest (black and blue),springbok, warthog, impala, and many others.
One of the unique features of this property was the large number of dams and watering holes for the animals, keeping the animals well dispersed and healthy. Namibia is an arid landscape, much like southern Utah in many respects, and the development of water is key to establishing healthy game herds. I lost count of the waterholes and lakes we saw, and the resident hippo population attests to the quantity and size of these water features. It was very unexpected to find hippos in this region, but there is sufficient water to support a stable and thriving population. Overall, this part of Namibia is experiencing the start of a drought, however, and grass was not particularly long even this early in the season. The developed water holes will pay great dividends this year, but as responsible managers and stewards of the wildlife, some limited culling operations were underway to ensure adequate feed and water for the continued health of the herds going forward.
On to the hunting. A typical day began with breakfast cooked to order at 5:30. Eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, cereal, fruit, grits, cold cuts, croissants ?. There was no shortage of options to start the day. By 6:00 we would be on the hunting truck and leaving the lodge. It was full shooting light by about 5:45, and the sun would rise about 6:10. We were hunting within a mile of the lodge, and the game was unbelievably plentiful and calm.
This was not a volume hunting operation, but rather a quality experience where we focused on finding mature, older animals, and looked over countless specimens before selecting our targeted animals. A first time hunter here could have a real hard time controlling his trigger finger, as opportunities at representative trophies abounded. The only species present here we had not previously shot was Hartman?s (Mountain) zebra, however, so we were content to really enjoy the hunt, and we really didn't shoot all that much. Either we found some exceptional animal to target, or just targeted an animal that required a particularly difficult and long stalk, which did not always turn into a good shot opportunity. True hunting, and this approach was respected without any pressure to shoot more just to rack up larger trophy fees.
We didn't shoot anything the first day, but on the second day I broke the ice with a really nice red hartebeest. We spotted him over a mile away from a high ridge, and spent several hours stalking to within 100 yards of the bedded group, before one clean shot rolled him over in bed.
Later in the day, my wife found a kudu with beautifully formed horns, and although they won't stretch the tape particularly well, the overall appearance and maturity of this bull?s horns sealed his fate.
If we were hunting near camp, we typically returned about 12:00 or 1:00 for lunch, which was much more like a dinner at home, with a hot casserole, vegetables, soup, sandwiches, meatballs, coldcuts, sausages, and other delicacies prepared hot and fresh each day. A short nap afterwards or a just a rest watching the animals at the waterhole, and we would be back out for the evening hunt. Some days we would hunt the further edges of the property for zebra, in particular, and we would take a cold box on the truck and have lunch in the field. With much the same menu minus the hot casserole, we didn't suffer any hardship on these days, and actually enjoyed just relaxing under a good shade tree during the heat of the day with great food and a relaxing atmosphere.
A couple of days later we came upon this gemsbok while tracking mountain zebra, and my wife shot her first gemsbok. She used a Kimber 84L in 30.06 with handloaded 168 gr Barnes TTSX bullets. I used a Kimber 8400 SuperAmerica in 300 wsm with handloaded 150 gr Barnes TTSX bullets. The loads and bullets performed perfected, as we have come to expect.
Mountain zebra turned out to be one of the most challenging species to hunt, and we spent the next couple days tracking and stalking these herds without ever getting a clear shot. Sometimes we would stalk them for 6-7 hours straight, often within several hundred yards, but a wayward giraffe or gemsbok would spook them before we got the shot, and another mile or two of tracking would ensue, before we began closing in on the ever alert zebra. Sorting out tracks on the arid, hard ground, was no easy task, but with a good black tracker we usually persisted until dark or circumstances dictated we try again another day. Daytime highs were often in the mid 80?s, and intense, quiet stalking took a toll on everyone in the thick bush. When the opportunity finally presented itself, my wife made an excellent shot from about 75 yards, and her stallion went less than 50 yards before piling up with a perfect heart shot.
While I wasn?t doing most of the trophy shooting on this trip, I did keep myself amused by shooting several jackals and the occasional warthog for bait. A leopard hunter would be arriving a few days after our hunt, and another PH was actively preparing baits and always welcomed any bait animals we encountered. We weren't charged for these animals, but rather thanked profusely for assisting the operation, and I rarely turned down an opportunity unless we were in the middle of another stalk.
We did see a very large springbok late one the evening early in the hunt, and I admit to becoming a bit preoccupied with thoughts of this trophy. He was in an area we rarely hunted, however, as the mountain zebra and other targeted animals lived in a different area. Finally on the eighth day of our trip we began looking in earnest for this springbok again, seemingly a needle in the proverbial haystack, as we typically saw over 1000 springbok a day. It was the morning of the ninth day before we found him, and I connected with a high spine shot, which dropped him on the spot.
I knew the springbok was big, and so did my PH, Rudie, but this was one of those rare animals that just seemed to grow the longer we studied him. Not only was he long, but incredibly massive and well proportioned, which somewhat disguises his true dimensions. After much discussion, a tape measure was finally produced, and everyone was astounded to see the tape stretch over 19? long on each horn, with bases over 7 ? ?. I was thrilled to take this really magnificent springbok, and it is a testament to the genetics on the property that no one had even seen this particular springbok until the week we arrived. My wife also shot another fine springbok in the 16? class, which is exceptional, but not uncommon on this property. Later in the day we got a call from the main camp on the radio, with the news that my springbok should easily become the new #1 SCI springbok, easily eclipsing the current record. Quite a shock, and while I'm not really much of a ?numbers chaser?, I am quite pleased with this great springbok, and the ranch was thrilled to have produced the largest springbok on record. All on a true fair chase hunt, with a natural breeding wild population. For all I know there are even larger springbok on the property, as we never took the time to study even a fraction of the springbok we saw, and many large springbok were seen throughout the hunt.
Springbok aside, it was still a great safari, and my wife and I had a grand time. The Oelofse?s perform their own dip / pack service, and while I have only been home for 8 days, my cleaned trophies are already at the freight transporters office, and should be here in the states in a couple more weeks. This is unheard of in Africa, where it is common to wait up to a year to receive your trophies. Just another example of the incredible organization and service provided by this outfitter. If you are looking for a plains game hunt in Namibia, I can highly recommend Jan Oelofse Hunting Safaris.
Bill
First, let me say that this was my ninth trip to Africa, and I don't give out praise readily. But praise is deserved, and earned, by this group, and our expectations were met and exceeded throughout the hunt. This was the most organized property we have ever visited, and the lodging and meals were first class. Camp is situated overlooking a waterhole (dam), and shooting is not permitted from camp, so the animals are relaxed and frequent visitors to this water throughout the day. It wasn?t uncommon to look out the window of our room and see 8 or more species at any given time drinking, including elephant, rhino, sable, roan, giraffe, waterbuck, kudu, gemsbok, zebra (Hartmans and Burchell), wildebeest (black and blue),springbok, warthog, impala, and many others.
One of the unique features of this property was the large number of dams and watering holes for the animals, keeping the animals well dispersed and healthy. Namibia is an arid landscape, much like southern Utah in many respects, and the development of water is key to establishing healthy game herds. I lost count of the waterholes and lakes we saw, and the resident hippo population attests to the quantity and size of these water features. It was very unexpected to find hippos in this region, but there is sufficient water to support a stable and thriving population. Overall, this part of Namibia is experiencing the start of a drought, however, and grass was not particularly long even this early in the season. The developed water holes will pay great dividends this year, but as responsible managers and stewards of the wildlife, some limited culling operations were underway to ensure adequate feed and water for the continued health of the herds going forward.
On to the hunting. A typical day began with breakfast cooked to order at 5:30. Eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, cereal, fruit, grits, cold cuts, croissants ?. There was no shortage of options to start the day. By 6:00 we would be on the hunting truck and leaving the lodge. It was full shooting light by about 5:45, and the sun would rise about 6:10. We were hunting within a mile of the lodge, and the game was unbelievably plentiful and calm.
This was not a volume hunting operation, but rather a quality experience where we focused on finding mature, older animals, and looked over countless specimens before selecting our targeted animals. A first time hunter here could have a real hard time controlling his trigger finger, as opportunities at representative trophies abounded. The only species present here we had not previously shot was Hartman?s (Mountain) zebra, however, so we were content to really enjoy the hunt, and we really didn't shoot all that much. Either we found some exceptional animal to target, or just targeted an animal that required a particularly difficult and long stalk, which did not always turn into a good shot opportunity. True hunting, and this approach was respected without any pressure to shoot more just to rack up larger trophy fees.
We didn't shoot anything the first day, but on the second day I broke the ice with a really nice red hartebeest. We spotted him over a mile away from a high ridge, and spent several hours stalking to within 100 yards of the bedded group, before one clean shot rolled him over in bed.
Later in the day, my wife found a kudu with beautifully formed horns, and although they won't stretch the tape particularly well, the overall appearance and maturity of this bull?s horns sealed his fate.
If we were hunting near camp, we typically returned about 12:00 or 1:00 for lunch, which was much more like a dinner at home, with a hot casserole, vegetables, soup, sandwiches, meatballs, coldcuts, sausages, and other delicacies prepared hot and fresh each day. A short nap afterwards or a just a rest watching the animals at the waterhole, and we would be back out for the evening hunt. Some days we would hunt the further edges of the property for zebra, in particular, and we would take a cold box on the truck and have lunch in the field. With much the same menu minus the hot casserole, we didn't suffer any hardship on these days, and actually enjoyed just relaxing under a good shade tree during the heat of the day with great food and a relaxing atmosphere.
A couple of days later we came upon this gemsbok while tracking mountain zebra, and my wife shot her first gemsbok. She used a Kimber 84L in 30.06 with handloaded 168 gr Barnes TTSX bullets. I used a Kimber 8400 SuperAmerica in 300 wsm with handloaded 150 gr Barnes TTSX bullets. The loads and bullets performed perfected, as we have come to expect.
Mountain zebra turned out to be one of the most challenging species to hunt, and we spent the next couple days tracking and stalking these herds without ever getting a clear shot. Sometimes we would stalk them for 6-7 hours straight, often within several hundred yards, but a wayward giraffe or gemsbok would spook them before we got the shot, and another mile or two of tracking would ensue, before we began closing in on the ever alert zebra. Sorting out tracks on the arid, hard ground, was no easy task, but with a good black tracker we usually persisted until dark or circumstances dictated we try again another day. Daytime highs were often in the mid 80?s, and intense, quiet stalking took a toll on everyone in the thick bush. When the opportunity finally presented itself, my wife made an excellent shot from about 75 yards, and her stallion went less than 50 yards before piling up with a perfect heart shot.
While I wasn?t doing most of the trophy shooting on this trip, I did keep myself amused by shooting several jackals and the occasional warthog for bait. A leopard hunter would be arriving a few days after our hunt, and another PH was actively preparing baits and always welcomed any bait animals we encountered. We weren't charged for these animals, but rather thanked profusely for assisting the operation, and I rarely turned down an opportunity unless we were in the middle of another stalk.
We did see a very large springbok late one the evening early in the hunt, and I admit to becoming a bit preoccupied with thoughts of this trophy. He was in an area we rarely hunted, however, as the mountain zebra and other targeted animals lived in a different area. Finally on the eighth day of our trip we began looking in earnest for this springbok again, seemingly a needle in the proverbial haystack, as we typically saw over 1000 springbok a day. It was the morning of the ninth day before we found him, and I connected with a high spine shot, which dropped him on the spot.
I knew the springbok was big, and so did my PH, Rudie, but this was one of those rare animals that just seemed to grow the longer we studied him. Not only was he long, but incredibly massive and well proportioned, which somewhat disguises his true dimensions. After much discussion, a tape measure was finally produced, and everyone was astounded to see the tape stretch over 19? long on each horn, with bases over 7 ? ?. I was thrilled to take this really magnificent springbok, and it is a testament to the genetics on the property that no one had even seen this particular springbok until the week we arrived. My wife also shot another fine springbok in the 16? class, which is exceptional, but not uncommon on this property. Later in the day we got a call from the main camp on the radio, with the news that my springbok should easily become the new #1 SCI springbok, easily eclipsing the current record. Quite a shock, and while I'm not really much of a ?numbers chaser?, I am quite pleased with this great springbok, and the ranch was thrilled to have produced the largest springbok on record. All on a true fair chase hunt, with a natural breeding wild population. For all I know there are even larger springbok on the property, as we never took the time to study even a fraction of the springbok we saw, and many large springbok were seen throughout the hunt.
Springbok aside, it was still a great safari, and my wife and I had a grand time. The Oelofse?s perform their own dip / pack service, and while I have only been home for 8 days, my cleaned trophies are already at the freight transporters office, and should be here in the states in a couple more weeks. This is unheard of in Africa, where it is common to wait up to a year to receive your trophies. Just another example of the incredible organization and service provided by this outfitter. If you are looking for a plains game hunt in Namibia, I can highly recommend Jan Oelofse Hunting Safaris.
Bill
