My African Adventure

LAST EDITED ON Sep-07-11 AT 02:59PM (MST)[p]Outfitter: Thorm?hlen & Cochran Safaris
PH/Owner: Phillip Fourie / Herman Coetzee
Country: Namibia
Concessions: Omujeve / Ehirovipuka Conservancy
August 21-27 2011

I hope to put into words the adventure I just had in South Africa and Namibia. I probably won't do this trip justice. There are many things that cannot be expressed by words or pictures. Many people say and I thought at one time that this would be a once in a lifetime trip. Now that I'm back I can only dream of the time I can get back to Africa. The trip started out as a Hunting trip and turned into so much more.

We started this trip out by going to Cape Town South Africa. We thought while we were going to be so close to South Africa that we needed to go Cage diving with the Great Whites. We took a half a day tour to go around Cape Point and see the beautiful scenery of that part of the world. It was breath taking to say the least.


Cape Point and Cape Hope are one of the prettiest sights I have ever seen. The pictures really don't do it justice.



Cape Point



Cape Hope


Cape Town is one of the prettiest cities I have been too.


Hoyt Bay


After our tour around Cape Town the next day we headed off to our Shark Diving Trip. It was an adventure in itself. We drove down around the coast and seen some very scenic sights and a lot of whales. We finally got out on the boat to head out to the dive spot.

It didn't take long for the big sharks to show up.




We got into the cage. I was very surprised at how cold the water was. When the first shark came by it was the last thing on my mind. It was such a thrill and rush to be literally inches from a 13-14 foot Great White Shark. it was an adventure in its self. We still had our hunting trip before us.

We flew up to Windhoek Namibia and were met by our two professional hunters. The one and only problem on our trip that we had is that our guns were not there yet. They did eventually catch up to us though. 4 days latter but just in time for our hunt.
The PH's took us not far from the airport to Omujeve Safaris. This was a surprise to us because we thought we were heading out to the bush. We hunted with Omujeve for two days. We were there to hunt game that we were not going to be able to hunt where we eventually went. I was very pleasantly surprised at how we were treated and the accommodations that we had while we were there. I had never heard of this place before and now that I'm back I have heard and seen many good people that have stayed and hunted there. While we were there we took

Blesbuck


Impala


Blue and Black Wildebeest




Red Hartebeest


Kudu


We hadn't seen very many Kudu. The animal I wanted the most was a Kudu Bull. The wind was blowing very hard and had them bedded down all day. We decided to split up to cover more area. So my PH and I headed off in the morning. The wind had stopped that day and the air was very crisp. It didn't take long until we started seeing animals. We drove a high road and started seeing Kudu. We parked the truck and went over a ridge to do some glassing. It wasn't long when we spotted two Kudu bulls two ridges over. One was a shooter. We made a plan to go after him. On our way down the hill we kicked up a bunch of Baboons and Warthogs. We tried to get to the side of them so they wouldn't be chased into the Kudu. We started side hilling it getting the wind in our favor. I looked over to the left on the far ridge there were 10 giraffe feeding. i thought to myself WOW this is Africa and I'm stalking a Kudu. It seemed very surreal. We started up the ridge line staying in the cover of the bushes. Then all of a sudden my PH in front of me puts up his sticks. I looked and the Bull was about 100 yards away. i put the .375 H&H up on the sticks put the cross hairs on the bulls shoulder and fired. Boom and Whack was the sound. He was hit hard and did not go far. It wasn't much of a tacking job. He went maybe 20 yards from where he was hit. I couldn't believe what i was looking at. Not sure if there is a better feeling when the PH looks over says great shot well done and shakes your hand. The PH and tracker and skinner went back to get the truck and left me alone to savor the moment with my trophy. It was a time to burn the feeling and memories in my mind forever.


The next day we headed out from Omujeve and went 6 hours north to the Ehirovipuka Conservancy. This area was as remote and wild of an area that I have or probably ever be in. Even though we were in the middle of nowhere the camp and amenities were very comfortable.
The first day hunting there we went 6-7 hours away from camp. We were in free range. Not a fence for mile and miles in any direction. We drove through some small little villages that had some very nice and friendly people.

For lunch we stopped at a real Oasis.



We kept going until we came upon this valley. We see some Zebra ahead and my buddy Scott decided to take one. He made a very nice shot. As the skinners were taking care of the Zebra we walked over the ridge. As we were glassing a nice Gemsbuck bull came out. Scott made another nice shot at him 200 yards away. Then as we looked to the left in the river bottom a nice springbok came out. Scott turned and shot him at 250 yard. Boom -Boom- Boom. Three shot three animals in less than 15 min. Now we had a lot of work to get done. We started making our way back to camp and stopped at one of the small villages we had passed to drop off the Zebra meat. These people were so very grateful.




We gave the kids some candy and had a great time taking pictures. Not many people can say they have actually feed some people in Africa.



Not far from this village was the Himba tribe. These people were tight out of the pages of National Geographic. The women had the red clay in their hair on their body. They were pretty muck naked. This was a real as real. Not a tourist stop or anything like that. They lived in these stick huts.

The next day it was my turn to be the shooter. We went out early from camp and down a different road. We came upon these two very nice Gemsbuck. We put a stalk on them but the wind was blowing right to them and they went over the ridge. We drove around to get a better angle for a stalk. We got out and stalked within 300 yards when I put my first shot into the big Gemsbuck. It went down then got back up. We hiked up closer to where it went and put one more into her. I was so shocked when i got up to this animal. The horns were so long. It was a female with long thick horns. They measured 40.5 and 41 inches long. A true trophy for me. My PH thought it was a bull because of the thickness in the horns.
We were not far from camp and took the Gemsbuck back to be processed. For the afternoon hunt we were after a Zebra for me.
It wasn't long out of camp when we came upon a good group of Zebra. My PH and I set off on the stalk. We come upon three that were separated from the rest of the group. My PH put his sticks up and Boom. The shot hit true. The Zebra ran and the tracking began. This was one of my favorite parts of the hunt. The thoughts go through your mind hoping you made a good shot and that the animal doesn't go far. But it was a thrill to find the blood trail and let the tracker do his job in following it. it didn't take to long and I seen my Zebra piled up under a tree. Such a rush of emotion runs through your body. It's why we do what we do.





The last day of the hunt my buddy decided he wanted an Ostrich. We drove all daylong and seen very few ostrich. We see some wonderful country. We finally came upon this one lone male. We had to chase him down as they don't stand still very long. Scott finally made a long shot and got his Ostrich.



On our way back to camp it was about 15 min till dark and we came upon this giant of a bull giraffe. We tried to put a stalk on him but he covered too much ground in a short amount of time. it got dark on us so we gave up.
Back at camp we got ready for our nightly ride to go out and call for Hyena and Jackal. We never did see wither but the thrill of the hunt knowing there were all kinds of animals out there that could eat you was fun.

There is so much more to the stories that are inside of the basic report I just told. I'm so glad I took over 3000 pictures and kept a good journal of each day?s events. The sight sounds and smells of the trip will be forever burned into my mind. From the brightest stars I have ever seen to the sounds of being awaken from a pride of lions in the morning. These things will always be cherished by me. Thank you for all of the good advice and wisdom that is shared by very good people on here. I hope to return the favors to anyone. To anyone who has ever thought about going to Africa make plans and do it. You will not regret it at all.

As I keep telling my friends. Words and pictures do not really describe Africa. It is so much more than can be described. So amazing. I cannot wait to go back. I am addicted to that place. you will be so thankful for the pictures and your journal. I go back and read mine from 2 months ago and have already forgot a few minor things and am so thankful I have it all written down. Congrats and thanks for sharing.

Awesome sights and great trophies taken guys. It must have been a rush being in that shark cage and up close to that Great White.
Thanks for sharing your incredible trip and hunt.

Eldorado

awesome post! story and pics are amazing!

Great post Troutcarver!! I had to chuckle when you said it was hard to explain in words.... As fun as it sounds, it sure exceeds expectations when you get there.

I'm glad you had fun and it sounds like it changed from a "Once in a Lifetime Trip"!!!!

Great report and really nice animals taken and your photos show them off well. The shark dive looks neat. We told you Africa was an amazing place, didn't we. Now you can look forward to a return trip! David said to tell you hello if I talked to you; he returned from Omujeve today.

Superb and congratulations! Thank you for the story and posting of the photos! Please post more if you have them....

See Blank!!! See that monstrous black thing!!!

I will not leave Namibia without one, I tell you!

Thanks Troutcarver for the report, you just made my sickness that much worse....

You want to shoot an ostrich?????????????????????

I told my PH when we saw Ostriches to drive the other way. For fun he took off after them; they can sure run fast. That was the one animal that I told my PH I just could not shoot and had zero interest in. We did see quite a few of them. Very large and fast. Interesting animal.

>You want to shoot an ostrich?????????????????????
>


You, sir, are a cad.

I laugh at the conversation I had with my PH about shooting an Ostrich. I said, who really wants to shoot one of those? His response was, "the only people that I can think of are those that have everything else in their trophy room and don't have an ostrich". Great fun to joke about it but I could not shoot one; just not my thing.

Hey, thanks for a great post!
Can you comment a little more about how you set up the hunt? I visited your PH's website and see that they offer several packages. Did you guys choose one of these packages, or hunt on the basis of a daily guide fee and additional trophy fees for each animal?

If anyone else would like to comment on this issue, I'd love your input: Package deal vs individual trophy fees.

I'm more interested in a package deal, but it's hard to find my dream package. For example, I'm not interested in shooting a jackal or a baboon so I don't want them on my list.

Thanks for your thoughts.

rcutchen,
My hunting buddy won the bid at a Pheasants Forever Banquet. It included a 7 day hunt with 1000 dollars going towards trophy fees and one observer. In Namibia you have to have a tag for each animal you take. So our PH's got a tag for all the animals on our wish list and then some. When I shot my animals I was charged a little more from an observer to hunter just for the days I shot animals. So then with each animal we shot we were charged the trophy fee. This in my opinion is the best way to go. its more flexible than being stuck to a list with animals that you might not want. Let me know if you want more details.

Any good, honest Outfitter will work with you. Tell them what you want, and then plan on adding several others after you get there. Any PH who will not budge on this, most likely wont stay in business long JMO...

Call them personally, they will work with you. I did this and it worked out well. But, whatever you think you want to shoot, and whatever you think you want to spend, go ahead and multiply it by 2...

I did not do a package as I knew that I was not 100% sure what I would shoot. I just went with an open mind and shot what interested me. Trust me, when you see a black backed jackal or have a baboon screaming at you they are pretty cool and you will shoot them. I never planned on a blesbuck or a couple of other animals and ended up taking them and glad I did. Just go with an open mind. I talked with the Rudman's several times. I met them face to face at SCI and the SLC show. I called every reference I could come up with. I literally researched for two years before pulling the plug and booking it and it was absolutely perfect and the trip of a lifetime. I would go back with them in the blink of an eye. Highly recommend. Lots of good ones out there but they were really good for me.

I have done both. On the package hunts, I also added a couple days with the option to take additional animals at the normal trophy fee rate. Worked out great and Safari Company liked it and was cooperative.

from the "Heartland of Wyoming"

No matter where you go and what you do; make sure you have a minimum of 10 hunting days. Anything less and you will regret it.