NAMIBIA: A Fantastic Leopard & Plains Game Hunt With Ozondjahe Hunting Safaris

[kudukid]

Congratulations on your first safari in Africa. Some incredible trophies and I really like the wide shaped horns on your impala.

 

[LWPhunt]

Well done and we could feel the sentiment in your writing. Glad you made it. Put the pennies in the bank and try to get back. Great trophies and sounds like you hit the nice mix of relaxed and having that "hunting itch" at the same time. Safe travels next time.

 

[rinehart0050]

Congrats! Way to start your first safari off right with a great Tom!

 

[slam8031]

here"s to dreams! especially the ones that take awhile to fulfill! congratulations!

 

[Gemsbok45]

Mike,
I do not even know you and I’m proud of you! Your exactly what this sport needs. It is as cool as you make it out to be! Just give it a try! I looked at that Impala again.Wow!

 

[Paul G]

Applied for my leopard Import permit pre-hunt, May '22. Letter of Acknowledgment dated 5/24/2022, and my check for $100 cashed. I'm "In the queue for processing". Leopard killed 7/26/2022. We'll see how long it takes. Using Kings Taxidermy in Otjiwarongo to D & P, Rainer Sentefol of African Shipping Services to forward to Tom Kelly at @TROPHY SHIPPERS in Chicago for US entry. Brad Coulson of Ankeny, Iowa will do the taxidermy. Mike.

Mine only took about 5 months.

 

[Ozondjahe Hunting Safaris]

Mike, reading your experience at Ozondjahe and seeing your great trophies and realizing the accomplishment that you have achieved by making a dream come true, I salute you for that. It was a great pleasure being your PH and sharing your dream safari in Africa with you and your wife. We look forward to sharing more campfires, great stories and adventures with you. Phillip Fourie

 

[Frederik]

Well 50 years of waiting and then Bang what a list of superb trophies.

Congrats.

 

[Mike Wachtel]

Congratulations on a very successful safari! Some great animals in the salt! So, now that you have had your first safari, when are you going back to Africa?

While in the final year of actual planning, my phone and email mentor Greg Mensik told me that when I was departing Africa, I would be asking myself the question; "How soon can I go back, and how much longer can I stay". He was dead-on correct! There's a Kudu out there waiting for me. Mike.

 

[wildwilderness]

Applied for my leopard Import permit pre-hunt, May '22. Letter of Acknowledgment dated 5/24/2022, and my check for $100 cashed. I'm "In the queue for processing". Leopard killed 7/26/2022. We'll see how long it takes. Using Kings Taxidermy in Otjiwarongo to D & P, Rainer Sentefol of African Shipping Services to forward to Tom Kelly at @TROPHY SHIPPERS in Chicago for US entry. Brad Coulson of Ankeny, Iowa will do the taxidermy. Mike.

I’m considering a leopard hunt. Is it necessary to apply for the import permit pre-hunt? If so how far in advance?

 

[Mike Wachtel]

Ill be headed to Namibia next summer. How did your leopard hunt all come together? The more time i spend on here the more It seems Namibia has more quality leopards than I assumed.

Thanks for sharing!

I will write a detailed report on a most exciting, emotional roller coaster that was my leopard hunt! Mike.

 

[Mike Wachtel]

I’m considering a leopard hunt. Is it necessary to apply for the import permit pre-hunt? If so how far in advance?

You don't have to apply before, but you can; I did out of an abundance of confidence I would be successful! It's "only" 100 bucks, and hopefully will now put me a few months ahead in "the queue" (USFW lingo). Don't apply too soon, as I believe it expires in one year. Mike.

 

[Mike Wachtel]

I'm just back from 2 weeks in Namibia at @Ozondjahe Hunting Safaris. My first time in Africa at age 67. Crazy me, I booked a 12 day leopard hunt. What are the odds? But assured I would pick up plains game, off we went after a year of planning and over 50 years of dreaming. Lots of stories behind every memory, but here's my "bag"--Morning of day 3, scored on a 7'-6", 119 lb. Tom! Then a good Impala, chosen from 100's on the 120 square mile property. Then a great stalk on a lone Zebra, interrupted by a nasty-tempered Honey Badger, but ultimately successful, shot from the sticks. A Damara Dik-dik from the higher ground was next. Used a .222 on him, the .300 Win. Mag. would have made "mince" of him. If I were so inclined to enter, he would go way over the minimum RW, a giant with 3-1/4" horns! Will look nice mounted with the leopard. After much enjoyable blind sitting (my wife recorded 52 species of birds, with the help of our PH, Phillip Fourie), a herd of Eland filtered in. PH whispered that he'd tell me when the bull arrived. He didn't have to! The majestic bull towered over his harem of 25+ cows and calves. I made a good shot, and he was down at 50 yards. Then, after seeing many cows, calves, and young bulls (they all looked great to me!) Gemsbok, we finally found an old lone bull hanging well back from a waterhole. Waited for a broadside shot, and he ran 50 yards and dropped! 3 days left, and I decided to take it easy, do some Guinea and Francolin shooting, visit the taxidermist with my trophies, sight see; but always had the rifle available in case a big Kudu appeared. He didn't, a reason to go back. Thanks for pre-hunt tips from Charlie Austin and many hours talking with Greg Mensik to allow me to plan such a fantastic adventure for my wife and I. Mike Wachtel, Lacona, IA

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The story of my leopard hunt; Baits were hung a week or 10 days before my arrival. Good reports of activity from PH Phillip Fourie via WhatsApp and email. I discovered that WhatsApp is the communication means of choice in Namibia and South Africa. Arrival day; Jo'berg to Windhoek on a 2 or 3 hour flight, picked up in Windhoek by Phillip, 3 hour drive to Ozondjahe, meet Anagrette, Philip's wife and Camp Manager/Hostess, and eventual best friends, and their 3-month old baby Liam. Settle-in to our bungalow, drinks and dinner in the open-air lapa, with a lighted waterhole 75 yards out, visited by a parade of Impala, Kudu, Gemsbok, Baboons, Ostridge's, on and on, at all times of the day. Morning of day 1 -- shoot the Winchester Model 70 chambered for 300 Win Mag that I would be using for all big game, including leopard. I had been practicing at home with my Remington M700 .30-'06, so the transition was nil, as I had owned a Win Mag years ago. We had a slow, head-scratching time sighting in to dead-on at 100 yards with 180 grain soft points. Phillip wouldn't settle for anything less than an inch from perfect, thinking of the precision needed for leopard. After 4 or 5 strange shots after adjusting the Leupold 2-1/2-8X gold ring scope, it was determined that tapping the adjusting dial didn't "set" the adjustment...it took an actual shot to settle in! A couple confirming shots after that discovery, and we were good to go! Still early morning, out to check baits. That first morning, we got a fleeting glimpse of a mixed herd of Black Wildebeast and Springbok through the acacias. That would prove to be the only sighting of those two species on the safari. Huge numbers of Impala and Gemsbok, I was just enjoying the open air drive, stopping every few miles to check baits. One had been regularly visited by a female and her young, another by a young male, another bait was at a natural waterhole where we saw 3 male Eland bolt at our approach; Phillip said 2 were shooters, but moving too fast away to mess with. That leopard bait didn't show feeding, but potential big tracks. Head back toward camp and came across a troop of baboons at a waterhole. "Get your gun, shoot the biggest one" was said in an urgent half whisper. "We can use one for leopard bait!" I was completely unprepared and fumbled my first shot, a clean miss. As they ran off, they would pause, but I couldn't get a full sight picture in the scope and passed up a couple shots. Then I got my head/cheek position ingrained and I killed a small male at about 200 yards. On to camp for a gourmet lunch of gemsbok steak...I'm from Iowa, and our corn-fed beef rib eyes can't compare to a medium rare Gemsbok steak. And great deserts after every lunch and dinner. We ate game at almost every meal. Back out at around 3:30, after a bit of rest after lunch, to hang the baboon at yet another site. It had been hit, so we hung the fresh baboon, and decided to sit in the permanent blind at that site. A bait animal must be eviscerated to be attractive to a leopard; Phillip did the honors as Godfrey, our great Driver/Tracker/Game Spotter, hung back in the bush gagging, as it seems he can do anything except cut a baboon open! He left us and drove off to park a mile or so away and await a call to pick us up. We heard what Phillip thought were birds indicating something going on, but nothing showed up that first night in the blind. Day 2-- we decided to do a morning "combo hunt"; we'd head out to the bait at the site we saw the Eland, Becky would join us, and we'd go ahead and shoot PG if the opportunity came, to put me on the scoreboard. A half mile out so tracks were seen on the "road". Hyena? No, a nice male leopard, headed in the correct direction. We proceeded toward the waterhole/bait/blind, and when within 100 yards of the blind, Becky, Godfrey, and Phillip said "Leopard!". I didn't see it, but it bounded off through some taller grass. All concerned said it looked huge! So we decided to sit in the blind, send Godfrey off with the truck, and wait a few hours. It's now 10:00 AM. We saw 100+ Impala, and a lone Waterbuck that Phillip said was young, but we weren't going to shoot PG now that we'd seen a cat! Back to camp for lunch, stopping for abundant giraffe and other game viewing. Phillip and I sat in that blind after lunch, stayed until dark. A Brown Hyena appeared as a shadowy shape near the bait tree as we waited for Godfrey to pick us up, but no cat showed. At the bar that evening, stories regarding the huge size of the cat were exchanged by Godfrey, Becky, and Phillip. Darn, I didn't see it! Since this cat liked to hang around after a possible daylight morning feed, Phillip called for a 4:00 AM departure from camp the next morning, day 3. Of course Godfrey was ready and waiting at the truck, and the 3 of us left on time, drove 45 minutes or so toward the bait, but by a different route. Stopped the truck a quarter or half mile from the blind and bait tree. Dismount, rifle with 3 in the magazine, not chambered, sling on my shoulder. Ready to go...I look ahead and can't see a thing ahead of me. I had intentionally booked no-moon dates. I've had cataract surgery/lens replacement, don't know if that was the problem, but easily solved when Phillip said to put one hand on the butt of his 500 NE double, and follow behind him. Godfrey had another 300 Mag and a jug of coffee, and we slowly moved toward the blind. I don't think we cracked a single stick as we crept in and got the rifle settled into the clamp sticks we had left in place the previous evening. Look through the scope, and can at least get it set on the bait tree; it is a Leupold, after all. A bit of glow in the distance. I lean back and close my eyes and listen. Don't know how long. Then Phillip whispered that he was catching a glint of eyes, a cat laying down, well to the right of the bait tree. His Lecia's out-performed my Zeiss, but I think it was the viewer, not the glass. Then nothing. Nervous time passes. I check the scope every few minutes, very slowly. Then Phillip whispered "He's in the tree". I got on the rifle, not sure that it was slowly enough, because I got a clear sight of him facing left, at the bait, but he immediately turned right and down and all I saw was hind end then tail descending via the back side of the tree. But the easiest way down, without leaping, was to wind around to a limb in the front. He made that mistake, and paused for a second, and I was steady on him, broadside, now facing left but head lower than tail, some twist to his body. I aimed just behind his right leg, a bit lower than center, and the gun went off. I felt good about the shot. Then the whispered conversations began. Remain still and quiet. Don't push or aggravate a wounded cat. At the shot, I lost sight of the cat. Phillip and Godfrey said he hit the ground hard, but got up and ran toward a large grassy area to the right; Godfrey said it looked like he was not using his right front leg as he disappeared in the grass. Then began the longest half hour or hour, not sure how long, of my life; we waited for full sun over the trees to check out the tree and look for a blood trail. I prayed the entire time that I had not put Phillip and Godfrey in a dangerous situation of tracking a wounded leopard. After full light, the first order of business was to exit the blind, guns always ready. Phillip set up the gun rest as a tall tripod for his binocs and glassed for a long time, as Godfrey headed cross-country to bring the truck up to the blind. Good that the truck was in an opposite direction from the cat's escape route. When the truck arrived, Godfrey drove, Phillip and I in the truck bed. We stopped a bit short of the last sighting. Godfrey and Phillip glassed from there, then down to look for blood. I was glassing from the truck, and had an African Wildcat slowly walk by at 20 yards. No blood, let's head to the tree and check out the shot site. Big splash of blood near the base, where he landed. Then a bit of a blood trail. Phillip detected lung tissue/blood (I'm happy) then 20 yards further on said the blood smelled like stomach. The trail was followed toward where he was last seen. Godfrey then walked back toward our tree, and saw him laying dead in an open area perhaps 80 yards from the tree! He had headed out into the grass after the shot, as seen, but did a quick unseen U-turn and fell dead. Phillip confirmed he was dead, and I bent at the waist and cried dry tears 10 yards short of my cat. I was most relieved that no one was hurt, those prayers were answered; then the overwhelming feeling of a gratitude for everyone who helped me reach what I consider the pinnacle of my over 55 years of hunting. I'm sure Phillip and Godfrey looking on at this old guy from Iowa breaking down was a sight to see. He was pulled out a few yards into a nice spot, and I spent some time with him by myself. Then the cameras came out. I tried to lift him, but immediately tweaked my shoulder, so Godfrey did the honors. Phillip took great photos with my I phone the entire safari. Unknown to me, Phillip had contacted camp and informed them to get the Champaign and glasses and gather the troops for the special event of a leopard coming to camp! They didn't tell Becky, and when we were arriving told her to head to the truck. She questioned what the cook was doing with wine glasses and a big bottle, was told by Annegrette "just going to clean them". When Becky rounded the corner, a group of 15 or 20 people were assembled near the back of the truck and I pointed and said look here! Hugs and kisses! I'll admit I gave the first Champaign bottle a bit of a shake to ensure plenty of bubbles; hunters and all the staff got a taste and a toast! Post mortem shows the bullet entered behind the right front leg, caught some lung, then raked through the cavity and lodged in the left rear leg.

 

[Mike Wachtel]

Ill be headed to Namibia next summer. How did your leopard hunt all come together? The more time i spend on here the more It seems Namibia has more quality leopards than I assumed.

Thanks for sharing!

There are definitely Leopard at Ozondjahe in Namibia. From the high ground of our property (120 square miles, they have their own mountain range!) we were within sight of the south side of the Waterberg Plateau. In addition to the cat I took, later in the safari we were driving back to camp in fading light, but Godfrey stopped and pointed to a big leopard 40 yards from the truck! He was sitting looking at us for several minutes, but interestingly, an Impala stood looking at him just another 40 yards out. We had busted his stalk, and he eventually ambled off into the bush. Also one bait was regularly visited by a female with young, and yet another by a young male. All ID's made by their tracks and method of feeding. Mike

 

[jacques smith]

Excellent report Mike; I was surprised to see Godfrey holding up your kitty
He and I became friends in 2014 while kitty hunting also. Great guy and I’m not surprised he’s doing well. Thanks for great memories. Oh yeah I got a huge cat also, just took 11 days and nights

 

[Uncle Sauce]

Wow! Great first trip with wonderful trophies, congrats!

 

[Cbourg]

What a great story. Congratulations on the amazing hunt of a lifetime!

 

[Paul G]

I’m considering a leopard hunt. Is it necessary to apply for the import permit pre-hunt? If so how far in advance?

I did mine after, but wish I had done it prior.

 

[WyoBull]

Great trip and excellent trophies! Congratulations!

 

[Mike Wachtel]

Mike,
I do not even know you and I’m proud of you! Your exactly what this sport needs. It is as cool as you make it out to be! Just give it a try! I looked at that Impala again.Wow!

There were so many Impala, PH Phillip Fourie recommended we take our time and wait for an above average trophy. After my leopard was in the salt, we stalked a couple nice Impala on day 4, no luck; after we made it a couple hundred yards into the bush, they scented, heard or saw us, and were gone. Back to the truck and bounce along for a half mile and stop! Driver/tracker and superb game spotter Godfrey saw big Impala rams 300 yards off. We got a bit closer, but no shot due to the high grass. Crept along in the truck, and stop again, a couple more nice rams. I got on the correct one, but he went behind one of the acacias that dotted the savannah...wait, he turned around and came out the other side, paused, and I hit him hard with the 300 Win Mag. But he didn't drop, he ran! Without a functioning heart he managed to run 100 yards, requiring Phillip and Godfrey to track and drag him out of the brush. Phillip commented that he looked like an East Africa Impala, and I said I thought he looked like a Lechwe!