NAMIBIA: Eitaalo Hunting Safaris Report

[BigSteve57]

My wife and I just came back from a wonderful hunt with Eitaalo 8/20/2013-8/26/2013.
Andre & his wife Anel were the perfect hosts.
Andre was a great guide and teacher which was especially important to us as we have never hunted this type of game or in Africa before.
He worked us hard but it was worth it!!!

I took the following: Zebra, Black Wildebeest, Eland, Steenbok, Warthog, Springbok & Kudu.
My wife: Oryx, Blue Wildebeest & Red Hartebeest.

 

[BigSteve57]

Eitaalo Hunting Safaris Report

Rifles:
1. 30-06 Browning Bolt Action & Leupold Vari X II 3.5x-10x scope. Safari Ching rifle sling. Federal Premium 180 gr Nosler Partition P3006F
2. 375 H&H Magnum Blaser R8 Kilombero Safari topped with a Zeiss Victory HT 1.5x-6x scope. Vero Vellini Safari double rifle sling. Federal Premium 300 gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claw P375T1

Monday 8/19/2013: arrived Eitaalo, checked the rifles and relaxed and enjoyed the first of Anel's gourmet cooking.

Tuesday 8/20/2013: I took a Zebra (30-06) and a Black Wildebeest (375).

Wednesday 8/21/2013: my wife took an Oryx (30-06) and we all enjoyed a great sunset.

Thursday 8/22/2013: I took an Eland (375) and a Steenbok (375) (please no jokes about the hair as it is my best Jack Nicholson imitation) and my wife took a Blue Wildebeest (30-06). Along the way we spotted a herd of Giraffe!

Friday 8/23/2013 we both hunted all day and got nothing. Very Windy day, btw.

Saturday 8/24/2013 we paid a visit to the Taxidermist (Trophaendienste - Taxidermy Trophy Preparation Namibia) & saw troupe of Baboons outside the state house Windhoek.
You might imagine the jokes regarding the Baboons and the irony of them hanging around Namibia's main legislative building and presidential residence.
We also did some sight seeing in Windhoek, had a great lunch at a place called Joe's and visited some tourist traps.

Sunday 8/25/2013 I took a monster Warthog (375) and my wife took a Red Hartebeest (30-06).

Monday 8/26/2013 I took a Springbok (30-06) and a large Greater Kudu a.k.a The Ghost (375).

Tuesday 8/27/2013: headed to the airport for the long ride home, exhausted but happy.

Not bad for 6 days of hunting !!!

 

[bluey]

nice animals you and the wife took there steve
congratulations on a successful hunt mate
thanks for showing us all

 

[Bobpuckett]

Great job you and your wife had a blast and took some great trophies,Congrats! Thanks for sharing.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

A whole bunch of nice trophies, well done Steve!

 

[enysse]

Thanks for the hunt report, nice pictures! I love your wife's red hartebeest!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Not bad at all for six days hunting. Wow.

Dropping into Joe's Beer House for a break is not a bad use of a lunch hour.

Good to drop by the taxidermist.
I missed out on that opportunity, as they were closed when I was heading through town.

Thanks for sharing your pictures and timeline.

Do feel free to add some of the story, if you have some time.

 

[BigSteve57]

Thanks for the hunt report, nice pictures! I love your wife's red hartebeest!

She was glad to hear that!!! It was indeed beautiful and will make an awesome mount. Getting that animal was a very hard slog. It was stalked for almost 2 hours by her and the PH and then taken with a 200+ yard shot. Following that it was tracked for 1 1/2 hours where it was finally found with minutes to spare before dusk. We very nearly lost it.

 

[BigSteve57]

Not bad at all for six days hunting. Wow.

Dropping into Joe's Beer House for a break is not a bad use of a lunch hour.

Good to drop by the taxidermist.
I missed out on that opportunity, as they were closed when I was heading through town.

Thanks for sharing your pictures and timeline.

Do feel free to add some of the story, if you have some time.

The Taxidermist visit was extremely valuable to us. Aside from our first bucks we never mounted anything. We learned a great deal and got great advice on mounts as well as the sizes of mounts like Eland and Kudu. Taxidermy is a real mix of art & science. We are beside ourselves trying to decide where we are going to put that Kudu!!!
My wife thinks we should build a new house.

So you've been to Joe's! What a great place to have a meal and chug away some beer.

Attached is a picture I took at Joe's of two Kudu skulls interlocked in a death grip. I was told that Kudu bulls often fight and sometimes they get their horns locked thusly, ultimately dying.

 

[Stretch]

What an adventure you were able to share with your wife. Super.

 

[BigSteve57]

What an adventure you were able to share with your wife. Super.

Yes but sometimes it's tough being married to a woman who shoots & hunts. We constantly argue over priorities like me wanting to go out to dinner or buy a new outfit vs. her wanting to go to the local gun shop to buy a new handgun.

 

[Nyati]

Congrats on a great hunt and very nice trophies.

Thanks for sharing !

 

[BigSteve57]

Congrats on a great hunt and very nice trophies.

Thanks for sharing !

It seems like a dream. The following photos are two of my favorites. The first is me answering the question from the PH when he asked how I felt about the shot I just took. The answer is written all over my face! It's also my avatar.

The 2nd photo is the PH Andre Rousseau congratulating me on what was for me a very tough neck shot through the branches of the Shepherd's Tree which is shown directly behind the Kudu. The shot resulted, according to him, in an instant kill and being a neck shot there was no damage to the meat or hide whatsoever. It all happened so fast I didn't see it as I was reloading for a possible 2nd shot which proved to be unnecessary.

 

[sanderson0203]

What a great story and amazing trophies taken by both of you on this trip. Thanks for sharing.

 

[JANEZ L]

This was a hunting and a half! Congratulations.

 

[James.Grage]

Looks like you had a sunup to sundown safari.

Nice trophy's and story line.

 

[BigSteve57]

Looks like you had a sunup to sundown safari.

Nice trophy's and story line.

Well it was sunup to sunset indeed! There were get up at 5AM days for local hunting and then there were get up at 4AM days when we had to drive an hour to a particular hunting area. I believe we had at least 2 4AM days which were the days we got the Eland and the Kudu. On 5AM days we were close enough to the lodge to get back for lunch and a snooze until 3PM. On 4AM days we didn't get back to the lodge so no afternoon break - we were out all day.

We both had to come back home to our jobs so we could rest up after our vacation.

 

[bluey]

We both had to come back home to our jobs so we could rest up after our vacation.

every great vacation ends with that statement :clapping:

 

[Blue Skies Hunting Adventures]

Congrats on your great safari, I just got back and really enjoyed using my .375 from the little ones to the big ones. great all around caliber. Congrats again.

 

[Stretch]

Yes but sometimes it's tough being married to a woman who shoots & hunts. We constantly argue over priorities like me wanting to go out to dinner or buy a new outfit vs. her wanting to go to the local gun shop to buy a new handgun.

That is tough. I feel for you man.