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- RSA, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Cameroon, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Austria, Australia, TX, NM
Well folks I did have a great adventure in Namibia! I had this trip planned out for about a year and it was to begin with my first visit to a sheep show in Africa. I am a sheep rancher raising Dorper sheep in Texas and have gotten to know many farmers in Southern Africa. The first part of my trip was to the Namibian Dorper Sheep Championships in Stampriet. This little town is in the central part of the country and like most of Namibia is an arid area. So when I arrived at the airport in Windhoek I was met by my PH Gysbert ver der Westhuyzen owner of Aru Game Lodges. You have to get used to the Dutch names in this part of the world! As luck would have it he and his father raise a few sheep and cattle in addition to the hunting business so he was keen to visit the show as well. So yes my PH went with me to the sheep show before our great adventure was to begin! Due to not having daily flights from Windhoek to Katima I wound up with a day to hunt with Gysbert at Kalakwa Farm where his home is located. I told him I really wanted to hunt a giraffe but did not know if that would be possible with just a day before we left for Caprivi. A neighbor had just phoned and said they had a problem giraffe. Now that is another story for another day but suffice it to say after a hard hunt I got my giraffe. Late in the evening we went to look for a baboon which happens to be one animal that has eluded me for many years. The typical scenario with baboons far away in trees mocking us as the sun went down. Knowing there was little chance for a baboon today I began to think of the next day and travel to Caprivi when a male baboon appeared and stopped in thick brush. As he moved out of the thicket I had to make something out of nothing and nailed him!
The following 12 days were spent at Balerwa Conservancy in the Caprivi achieving my dream of beginning to hunt the Big 5. I was fortunate enough to take a non trophy elephant, and very nice trophy buffalo, hippo, and red lechwe. A very encouraging part of the hunt was delivering the meat to the respective villages. All of the meat belongs to them and hunting is keeping the animals on the land period! It was a hard hunt to say the least. We waded through water each day up to chest high and walked many many miles each day as we pursued these amazing animals. We napped under trees during the day and had a picnic since it was too far to return to camp. This area has many large game animals but few small game. The only low point of this hunt was the realization of how many people and cattle are now inhabiting most of wild Africa. I only saw one steinbuck and one bushbuck the entire time so the small game has been taken for meat by the villagers for the most part. I encountered many elephants, buffalo, Chapman's zebras, roan, lechwe, kudu, waterbuck, and warthog. I never saw a trophy elephant but great numbers none the less. I was well cared for in my camp and they made sure I knew it was "my camp". I had a tent on a deck overlooking the river where I could hear frogs and hippos each night. The high point of the trip was likely taking a buffalo from a herd of 500. That is something hunters only dream of.
Whether it is an adventure to the Caprivi or simply the best plains game hunting that can be found in Southern Africa I recommend Aru Game Lodges. Their farms Veronica and Kalakwa are simply the best in terms of game numbers, quality, and quality of lodging and food. It would take a book to further describe how professional and pleasant Gysbert and his lovely wife and PH Danene are. Go hunt with them in Namibia!
Kind Regards,
Philip Glass
The following 12 days were spent at Balerwa Conservancy in the Caprivi achieving my dream of beginning to hunt the Big 5. I was fortunate enough to take a non trophy elephant, and very nice trophy buffalo, hippo, and red lechwe. A very encouraging part of the hunt was delivering the meat to the respective villages. All of the meat belongs to them and hunting is keeping the animals on the land period! It was a hard hunt to say the least. We waded through water each day up to chest high and walked many many miles each day as we pursued these amazing animals. We napped under trees during the day and had a picnic since it was too far to return to camp. This area has many large game animals but few small game. The only low point of this hunt was the realization of how many people and cattle are now inhabiting most of wild Africa. I only saw one steinbuck and one bushbuck the entire time so the small game has been taken for meat by the villagers for the most part. I encountered many elephants, buffalo, Chapman's zebras, roan, lechwe, kudu, waterbuck, and warthog. I never saw a trophy elephant but great numbers none the less. I was well cared for in my camp and they made sure I knew it was "my camp". I had a tent on a deck overlooking the river where I could hear frogs and hippos each night. The high point of the trip was likely taking a buffalo from a herd of 500. That is something hunters only dream of.
Whether it is an adventure to the Caprivi or simply the best plains game hunting that can be found in Southern Africa I recommend Aru Game Lodges. Their farms Veronica and Kalakwa are simply the best in terms of game numbers, quality, and quality of lodging and food. It would take a book to further describe how professional and pleasant Gysbert and his lovely wife and PH Danene are. Go hunt with them in Namibia!
Kind Regards,
Philip Glass
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