Daily Hunting Journal

8-23 July 2007                  Troy & Marla Hibbitts

Our outftter was Omalanga Safaris.  The trip was booked directly through Dirk & Rita Rohrmann (then operating on their own running the game farm Okanduka Seibe), who have since merged operations with Gunter & Reinhild Schwalm (Rita's brother & his wife), operators of Omalanga Safaris.

Overview:  

PH:  Dirk Rohrmann

Game Taken: Gemsbok, Red Hartebeast, Steenbok, Warthog, 2xSpringbok, 2xBlesbok, Black-backed Jackal

Game Hunted but not taken: Kudu

Game Seen that I wish I could have talked my "financial advisor" into letting me shoot: Monster Eland Bull (LOL)

Game Seen but not hunted:  Impala, Duiker, Damara Dik Dik, Giraffe, White Rhino, Leopard, Plains Zebra, Hartmann's Zebra, Eland, Waterbuk, Blue Wildebeast, Black Wildebeast, Sable

Rifles:  CZ 550 American in 9,3x62; Bullberry Custom T/C Encore in .358 Win; both rifles with Sightron 1.5-6x42 scopes

Ammo: Personal Handloads - 9,3x62 using 250 grain Barnes TSX; .358 Win using 225 grain Barnes TSX

Travel Arrangements:  Gracy Travel International

Daily Journal:

8 July 2007 

Left San Antonio via United Express for Dulles International, where we switched planes to a United 747 for the flight to Frankfurt.  The 747 flight was very comfortable. 

9 July 2007 

Arrived in Frankfurt about 9 a.m.  Had a 15 hour layover in Frankfurt and booked a "day room" at the Airport Sheraton.  Very nice hotel.  Took the bus into Frankfurt: 

 to go bird watching at the Stadwaldt Forest for a few hours (basically trying to stay awake all day to acclimate to the time change):

Left Frankfurt via Air Namibian Airbus at about 11 p.m. 

 The airbus wasn't as comfortable as the 747 . . . but by this point, sleep wasn't really a problem LOL

10 July 2007

Arrived at Namibia's Hosea Kutako Airport at about 9 a.m.  Were picked up at the airport by a driver and driven to Hotel Palmquell in Namibia where we had a day room: 

 Were met at the Hotel at about 1 p.m. by Rita Rohrmann and her sister Erica and niece Annamarie, who took us to lunch in Windhoek before the drive up to the Oryx Camp.  Met Dirk at camp, and were treated to the first of many great meals prepared by Chef Leopold.

Oryx Camp: 

The Oryx Camp sets in the middle of a 175,000 acre concession and is a tented camp, with semi-permanent tents.  It was very comfortable, and offered a nice blend between comfortable sleeping and being out in the bush. 

11 July 2007 

Rita woke us up with a quiet "Good Morning" just before sunrise:

 and we ate a light breakfast and loaded into the back of the Landcruiser.  I must admit that this first day was a bit overwhelming.  I'm very interested in all sorts of wildlife in addition to hunting, and everywhere I looked there were new species of game and birds.  It actually took me a couple of days to settle down into "hunting mode" given all the new sights.

 We went off in search of Kudu, and saw two nice bulls that were in very thick brush that offered no shots (a theme that came to repeat itself, unfortunately). 

 Were watching a group of sable on the left side of the truck

 when Dirk points to a gemsbok on the right side and asks, "Who wants to shoot a nice Gemsbok?"  We'd been seeing gemsbok all morning and it took me a second to sink in . . . my wife responded, "That's Troy's animal . . ." so I broke of the 9,3 and shot . . . a clean miss . . . I asked, "How far was that?" and Dirk said, "about 250 meters" . . . No wonder I missed, I aimed like it was at 100 yards. 

Back in camp, were treated to an omellette and the sight of birds filling the water-drip so I broke out the tripod and 135-400 lens and started shooting photos . . .

 After lunch, we went back out around 3 p.m.  Shortly, we spotted a Gemsbok Bull that looked big even to my untrained eye.    At about 225 meters, I line up the shot and fired.  It sounded like a hit, and Dirk said it looked like a perfect heart shot.  However, when we went looking for the gemsbok, there was no sign of blood and he kept running.  Even Dirk, with experience shooting literally 1000s of Gemsbok, thought it was odd.  I'm feeling pretty low at this point . . . I'm not used to missing, much less apparently wounding game (although none of us were sure what happened with this gemsbok).

12 July 2007

Next morning, we're off again.  We put a stalk on another nice Gemsbok that never offered a clear shot, then Marla missed a very nice Red Hartebeast.  After the miss, we put on a stalk on that animal again, but he got into a bunch of spooked Impala.  We stalked another Red Hartebeast in some thick stuff that never offered a shot.  Shortly after, we came out into an open area full of game - Blesbok, Springbok, and Gemsbok.  Eventually, the Blesbok and Springbok went off to the right, leaving the Gemsbok off to the left.  Dirk, Marla, and I put on a stalk while our tracker, Manuel, distracted them by driving off in the truck.  We stalked up behind a large brush pile and Dirk set up the sticks for me at about 250 meters.  He said, "See that bull scratching his back with his horns?  Shoot that one please."  I fired, the bull bucked up and ran in a circle with the rest of the herd.  I'm extremely confident of my shot.  We went looking for the animal.  Manuel came up and said they ran off into the thick stuff.  We can find no blood and no dead gemsbok!  Now I'm feeling really sick and frustrated (this is the low point of the entire trip).  After about 15 minutes searching in the brush, we came back into the open area, and I looked up and there lay the gemsbok!  Shot right through the heart, it barely bled at all . . . and when it ran in a circle, it fell behind another brush pile and we lost track of it in the herd.  First animal down. 

Back at Camp, Dirk & Rita's neice and Manuel's daughter admired the Gemsbok before it was taken to the butcher facility (its too nice to call a "skinning shed").

 More time spent photographing birds at lunch:

That afternoon, Rita took Landcruiser #1 into town for gas and to pick up the patched spare tires.  So we set off in Landcruiser #2 in search of a Red Hartebeast for Marla.  This second landcruiser was tricky to drive, so Dirk was driving and Manuel was in the back with us.  About midway through the afternoon, we dropped the truck into a warthog hole, actually breaking the springs and shock on the left side.  After we got the truck out, we kept hunting and shortly spotted a big herd of Hartebeast off to the east.  With the sun at our backs and the wind in our faces, we set off on the stalk.  After the first attempt at shot resulted in no opportunity, I sat out the remainder of the stalk while Marla continued on with Dirk and Manuel

 and I sat down to shoot some scenery photos:

 Two shot attempts later, I hear the shot.  There had been at least 3 good bulls in the herd, and Marla shot the first one that offered a clear shot . . . at 300 meters, Dirk told her to aim for the top of the hump and she connected with a perfect shot through the shoulder.  So much for the .358 being a "short-ranged brush gun" LOL.  The animal was really nice and really old (estimated at 13 years), with tips that swept back dramatically. 

13 July 2007

 Awoke this morning to stiff, chilly winds.  Headed out in search of Warthog and Kudu again.  For warthog, we pulled up to a known feeding area and waited to see what would come out:

 But we only spotted young ones

 Coming back around towards camp, spotted three kudu bulls in thick brush (notice a theme here?) but they we only about 50 yards away from a white rhino cow and calf . . . so we couldn't put on a stalk (the wind was blowing right at the rhinos).  Don't really know if those kudu were big or not . . . got photos of some black wildebeast, despite the blowing wind and dust

 Back in camp, found 2 harmless "grass snakes" (Striped Skaapstekers), here is a shot of one from the hill behind camp . . .

 Coming down the hill behind camp, got photos of a Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

 and this Pritrit Batis female was feeding on flies attracted to the "defleshing tub"

 That afternoon, we continued off in search of warthog and kudu.  Spotted a group of young leopards dashing across a lane (we'd call it a "sendero" here in south Texas).  I was looking right and they were on the left, so I only spotted one . . . Marla saw 2 and Dirk said that there were 5 in the group.

14 July 2007 

This morning, continued in the hunt for Kudu.  Spotted one very nice bull, only about 50 meters off into the brush . . . but there was no shot - the brush was too thick.  Also got good photos of Giraffes . . . the Kudu was in brush exactly like the Giraffes were in, and if that brush can hide a giraffe's body, you can imagine how a Kudu can dissappear into it:

 In the afternoon, I spotted a great trophy Steenbok, maybe 4 3/4" . . . but it was sitting facing away from me, and since I wanted a full-body mount I was afraid I'd ruin its hide with the 9,3.  We tried to get it to stand, but when it did, it ran off and disappeared.  Later that afternoon, we found this Leopard Tortoise walking down a fence line

 We finally saw a nice warthog (offered no shot) and a really old one with a broken tusk.  We also saw a mature kudu bull that was running and never offered a shot.  Right before dark, we saw a troop of Baboons near a waterhole.

15 July 2007 

Still looking for Kudu and Warthog, I spotted a Steenbok ram in the brush.  Dirk examined it and declared it a "very nice one", so I trotted out the 9,3 (overkill anyone?) and shot him at about 50 meters.  Although he's not as long as the one we had seen the day before, he's much thicker horned and Dirk described him as an "old one". 

Later that morning, we spotted a mature kudu bull that eluded us in the brush

In the evening, continued to look for Kudu, but saw only one young bull.  We found a nice warthog, and Marla put on a stalk, but they lost in the the brush.

 Late in the day, found a pond/stock tank that still had water despite the drought.  Decided to sit on it the next morning. 

Dinner with Dirk and Rita

16 July 2007

 Sat on the waterhole hoping a Kudu or Warthog would come in, but only saw a variety of birds, including this Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk

 At lunch, we had a visitor to our camp water drip that the songbirds weren't happy about - this Gabar Goshawk

 Sat a waterhole in the afternoon . . . saw one mature warthog, but unfortunately with a broken off tusk.  Saw 3 young kudu bulls 

 and this very pregnant gemsbok cow

 That evening at dinner, Dirk told us to pack a light bag and our rifles and that we'd be moving to the Mopane Camp (run by Rita's brother Gunter Schwalm) where they had been seeing Kudu bulls come to water more regularly. 

In order to ensure that we ate well, Rita sent Chef Leopold with us.

17 July 2007 

Woke up early and drove north to the Mopane Camp.  Arrived and ate breakfast.  Since there were no other hunters in camp, and we were going to be sitting waterholes, Dirk arranged for us to hunt 1:1, with Marla hunting with Dirk and me hunting the first day and half with Phillip and the last 2 1/2 days with Elias. 

Mopane Camp

 The Mopane Camp is situated in an area of Mopane scrub (or wet savanna).  This is an established camp owned by the Schwalm family.  I never caught the acreage.  As an established camp, it is a bit more luxurious, with larger tents (with enclosed bathrooms), electricity supplied by power lines (not solar cells), and a swimming pool (too cold in July!).

 17 July (cont'd) 

After breakfast, Marla & I went out hunting separately - Marla with Dirk and I with Phillip.  We sat in permanent blinds over waterholes (just like many Texas deer blinds):

I saw lots of game this morning, including Duiker:

  one of several Warthogs

 And several Kudu that were either too young

 or didn't quite measure up to what I was looking for . . .

Finally got decent photos of the ubiquitous grey louries

 Meanwhile, Marla finally got her Warthog.  She hit it a bit low with the .358, and Dirk gave it a finisher with his .458 Lott when they jumped it up while tracking it.

 That afternoon, I again went back out with Phillip.  Upon arriving near the blind, we spotted several bull Kudu at the waterhole and tried stalking in on them, but the wind wasn't entirely in our favor (shifting back and forth) and they spooked before we got there.  Sat the blind

 and saw a good selection of game, including gemsbok 

 Blue Wildebeast

 Damara Dik Dik

Zebra, and Kudu, one of which Phillip described as a "good last day bull". 

18 July 2007 

In the morning, drove around before sitting in the blind.  We had a tremendous Hartebeast that, had I not been hunting Kudu, I would have definitely shot.  In retrospect, I probably should have shot him.  He wasn't particularly long, but was incredibly thick.  Sitting the blind, saw 20 some odd kudu, but all were cows and very young bulls. 

In the evening, hunted with a different PH named Elias.  Elias spoke only Africaans and very little English, but we communicated just fine.  Sat a different waterhole.  Several nice Hartebeast came out, and by this time I had decided that I'd shoot one if it was like the one I passed on this morning - although these were nice bulls, none caught my eye. 

 After the Hartebeast drifted off, I spotted a Springbok.  This was the very first Springbok ram that I'd seen, and I didn't know what I was looking at, so I had the camera up taking photos when Elias said "Nice Springbok, VERY nice Springbok" and started making motions for me to put up my camera and get my rifle.  One shot high through the shoulder at about 75 meters anchored him on the spot. 

 It was still early, so we dropped him off at the butcher's facility, then drove to another blind.  The only game that came out there in the last 30 minutes or so before dark was a Black-backed Jackal which I shot for the pelt and skull (for my skull collection). 

 19 July 2007

 Elias and I sat a different blind where Gunter had seen a nice big Kudu (shot 2 days after we left, about 57") early in the morning.  Saw lots of game at that blind, including Mt. Zebra and Springbok.  Elias urged me to take the Stallion, but I was still hoping for Kudu.

Also finally got nice shots of a Red-billed Hornbill (one of 5 species of Hornbill seen)

Right before dusk, this Namibian Dwarf Gecko came out and was running around on the inside of the blind, which (to Elias' amusement) I caught in order to photograph and later release 

20 July 2007 

Elias and I sat the same blind this morning, and had lots of game, just no big Kudu.  Did have several nice Gemsbok and a big group of Eland come in, including a nice mature bull (but not a huge one). Also had another Stallion Mt. Zebra come in (again, Elias suggested I shoot it, but I was still hunting Kudu). 

 Meanwhile, Marla & Dirk stalked and shot a very nice Springbok - longer and heavier horned than mine.  Unfortunately, Dirk's camera batteries had run down and they were not able to get photos. 

At lunch, Dirk informed us that we would be heading back to Oryx camp after the evening's hunt.  While we were packing, the sprinkler system in front of our tent came on, and I was able to get some more quality bird photos as the birds came to water.

 That evening, with only a day and half of hunting remaining, I decided I'd take "what Africa offered" - Mt. Zebra, Hartebeast, or anything else that I hadn't already taken.  All we saw though were Eland and Kudu cows, Duiker, and Dik Dik.  Marla & Dirk saw a really big Eland Bull and a very beligerant cow Gemsbok.

21 July 2007 

Back at Oryx Camp for our last day of hunting, we made a last stab at Kudu.  Saw a nice bull that actually offered a shot, but Dirk declared it to be too young.  Then we came upon 4 of the biggest Eland I've seen - the smallest of which was as big as the one photographed above.  One old bull was almost solid blue-black.  I suggested that we forget about Kudu and both put lead into him - the problem was we'd have to spend some of the cash we'd alotted for the wood-carvers market and gifts for friends and family.  Marla declined.  The Eland trotted off.  I suggested that if we saw them again, "Africa" would be "speaking to us" . . . 20 minutes later, we came upon the same 4 bulls.  My "finance minister" again declined.  I've definitely got something to shoot for next time . . .

 That afternoon, we decided to go for Blesbok for me and Gemsbok for Marla.  We quickly found a nice Blesbok bedded down out in an open pasture.  While Dirk, Marla, and I stalked into position, Manuel "pushed" them our way.  One shot into the shoulder at 200 meters, and he was down and my hunting was over for the trip. 

We dropped him off at the Butcher shop, and then went out in search of a Gemsbok for Marla.  For some reason, the Gemsbok seemed to know that her trigger finger was itching, and none wanted to sit still for her.  She got in a stalk on one nice bull, but wasn't able to get a shot

 She then missed a shot at a Plains Zebra, and not 5 minutes later we came upon a herd of Blesbok.  I said "Hey Marla, there's some Blesbok . . ." and she said "Ok, lets get one".  They tried a stalk on them, but the herd was milling about and trotted off - the good herd bull never offering a shot.  With the light fading, they hurried back to the truck and we drove around the corner to find the Blesbok standing in the right of way.  Dirk said, "4th one from the left - shoot as soon as the little one clears".  Marla fires, the herd runs off.  We're certain she hit him well, but a little worried about sorting out the trail in the fading light.  As we drive up, he's laying there in the lane and the hunting part of our trip is done.  Realizing a great photo opportunity with the setting sun, I hurry Marla into the photo session . . .  

 (Her Blesbok was about 2" longer than mine - she made me put that in there) 

The last day's sunset was spectacular . . .  

 As our last night in camp, we had a big barbeque and celebrated not only the last day of a successful hunt, but also Rita's mother's birthday.

22 July 2007 

Settled the bill and then reluctantly headed back to Windhoek.  Stopped at the Wood Carver's market in Okahanja - next time, I think we'll plan on buying only one or two things and on getting out quickly - those guys have never heard of the "soft sale"! 

 Dirk then took us for a late lunch in Windhoek, and then off to the Airport.  The sunset before our flight was also spectacular: 

Flew back to Frankfurt via Air Namibia Airbus, then to Chicago via Luftansa 747.   

23 July 2007

 Cleared customs in Chicago and hopped a United Express commuter flight back to San Antonio.  Only problem here was that when repacking the rifles in our Tuffpack after clearing US Customs, I apparently didn't get them packed well enough, and the Exhibition Mesquite stock on Marla's Encore was cracked at the wrist - however, Bullberry guarantees their stocks and replaced it.  Although they didn't have a piece of regular mesquite, they fixed her up with an extremely attractive and unique stock in screwbean mesquite.

Final Impressions 

3 days after we got back, I emailed Rita and asked her to block us two weeks in June of 2010.  Our daughter and maybe my Dad will be going with us.  I think that pretty much says it all in regards to how much we enjoyed the hunt.