Throwback
AH veteran
PART I: Best Laid Plans
Well, this started off as a plan for my hunting buddy and I to hunt Namibia for plains game, for a second year in a row. This would be done in connection with a work trip to Angola which would precede traveling to Namibia. We did this same thing in 2024 (hunt report on AH) hunting with Kowas Safaris and it had worked out great. Therefore, starting months before I had everything set up for us to spend 4 hunting days (6 days total) with Jan Oelofse Hunting Safaris. Our plan was for each of us to take a Sable, dik-dik, klipspringer and hopefully a warthog. Other targets of opportunity as well if time allowed. We would obviously rent rifles as we had business in Angola first, and we would be traveling light on gear as well.
Then, two weeks before we were to leave my buddy broke his wrist and elbow resulting in a cast on his arm. He could not make the Africa trip, period. Well, damn! Oh well I thought. Hunting alone would not be as fun but it sure beat cancelling the trip altogether. I was committed to going solo; I was just mentally trying to figure out a way to not spend a boatload of money on this as I was going to be hunting 50% more of the time than I had planned. Haha, well, I was halfheartedly trying to figure this out. Little did I know all of that figuring would go out the window soon enough.
Forty-eight hours before I was to board the plane for Angola, the plan changed again. I received an email from the outfitter informing me they had a problem bull elephant on their hands. The bull needed to be hunted, and soon. The trophy fee was 10,000. USD. Was I interested? That was all the email said. I pondered on it for about a whole twenty minutes and responded that I was interested, but had a few questions. A call was set up for the next day.
I spoke with the outfitter the next day and learned the bull had smashed and flipped over a vehicle, with the outfitter and a PH in it. They were lucky to be alive. All my questions were answered and in a very positive manner. The main points I had are below.
Was it exportable to the US? Yes.
Would I have enough time to find the bull? Yes, in fact, if he sees us he will likely come our way as he has been aggressive to people as of late.
Bull was 35-40 years old and tusks were likely 30-40 pounds.
Shot distance would be 100 yards or less.
Shot placement would hopefully be broadside heart/lung if we could sneak up on him or frontal brain shot if he sees us. Study up on both.
Rental rifles available were a .375 H&H or a .458 WM.
I told them I would study shot placement and that, yes, we had a deal.
2 Photos of vehicle Elephant attacked
I was as excited as I could be as I had not yet hunted dangerous game, and only vaguely dreamt of hunting elephant as price wise it is normally quite the reach for me. I also thought dangerous game in general would come later during retirement when I would have more time. Now, all of this was coming on quick, very quick. I knew some people trained for this kind of hunt. I am the type of guy that would, if I had had the time. A rental rifle on top of everything else was not ideal but I had to make it work. No other choice. I just had to focus. Knock out three days working in Luanda, Angola and then get on the plane to Windhoek, Namibia.
Fast forward to the day I was to leave Luanda. Flight delayed four hours. Once we did board, another 90 minutes on the tarmac. Flight was pretty full and it was baking on that plane. I stayed calm, went over shot placement pics on my phone with my ipods playing my music. As I sat on the tarmac, I received a whatsapp message from the outfitter. I would arrive too late in Windhoek to travel to the lodge that night. It was more dangerous at night and they had just received record rains in Namibia (a good thing to help with the drought actually). They had arranged a room for me in Windhoek that night. Then, that TAAG flight finally took off. Two and half hours later I was in Windhoek.
After some homework to find my driver after the baggage claim area as he did not have my name on his sign, but some other hunter’s names who had arrived the day before, we piled in his car for the hotel. It should have taken about 30 minutes to get the hotel but many of the roads leading there were flooded out. After over an hour and a half, I arrived at the Olive Grove guesthouse. It was now about 930pm. I told the driver to pick me back me up at 630am to make the 2 ½ hour drive to the lodge. I was going to lose some hunting time of Day 1 but I wanted to minimize it. It had been a very long day but one step closer.
PART II POSTING SOON
Well, this started off as a plan for my hunting buddy and I to hunt Namibia for plains game, for a second year in a row. This would be done in connection with a work trip to Angola which would precede traveling to Namibia. We did this same thing in 2024 (hunt report on AH) hunting with Kowas Safaris and it had worked out great. Therefore, starting months before I had everything set up for us to spend 4 hunting days (6 days total) with Jan Oelofse Hunting Safaris. Our plan was for each of us to take a Sable, dik-dik, klipspringer and hopefully a warthog. Other targets of opportunity as well if time allowed. We would obviously rent rifles as we had business in Angola first, and we would be traveling light on gear as well.
Then, two weeks before we were to leave my buddy broke his wrist and elbow resulting in a cast on his arm. He could not make the Africa trip, period. Well, damn! Oh well I thought. Hunting alone would not be as fun but it sure beat cancelling the trip altogether. I was committed to going solo; I was just mentally trying to figure out a way to not spend a boatload of money on this as I was going to be hunting 50% more of the time than I had planned. Haha, well, I was halfheartedly trying to figure this out. Little did I know all of that figuring would go out the window soon enough.
Forty-eight hours before I was to board the plane for Angola, the plan changed again. I received an email from the outfitter informing me they had a problem bull elephant on their hands. The bull needed to be hunted, and soon. The trophy fee was 10,000. USD. Was I interested? That was all the email said. I pondered on it for about a whole twenty minutes and responded that I was interested, but had a few questions. A call was set up for the next day.
I spoke with the outfitter the next day and learned the bull had smashed and flipped over a vehicle, with the outfitter and a PH in it. They were lucky to be alive. All my questions were answered and in a very positive manner. The main points I had are below.
Was it exportable to the US? Yes.
Would I have enough time to find the bull? Yes, in fact, if he sees us he will likely come our way as he has been aggressive to people as of late.
Bull was 35-40 years old and tusks were likely 30-40 pounds.
Shot distance would be 100 yards or less.
Shot placement would hopefully be broadside heart/lung if we could sneak up on him or frontal brain shot if he sees us. Study up on both.
Rental rifles available were a .375 H&H or a .458 WM.
I told them I would study shot placement and that, yes, we had a deal.
2 Photos of vehicle Elephant attacked
I was as excited as I could be as I had not yet hunted dangerous game, and only vaguely dreamt of hunting elephant as price wise it is normally quite the reach for me. I also thought dangerous game in general would come later during retirement when I would have more time. Now, all of this was coming on quick, very quick. I knew some people trained for this kind of hunt. I am the type of guy that would, if I had had the time. A rental rifle on top of everything else was not ideal but I had to make it work. No other choice. I just had to focus. Knock out three days working in Luanda, Angola and then get on the plane to Windhoek, Namibia.
Fast forward to the day I was to leave Luanda. Flight delayed four hours. Once we did board, another 90 minutes on the tarmac. Flight was pretty full and it was baking on that plane. I stayed calm, went over shot placement pics on my phone with my ipods playing my music. As I sat on the tarmac, I received a whatsapp message from the outfitter. I would arrive too late in Windhoek to travel to the lodge that night. It was more dangerous at night and they had just received record rains in Namibia (a good thing to help with the drought actually). They had arranged a room for me in Windhoek that night. Then, that TAAG flight finally took off. Two and half hours later I was in Windhoek.
After some homework to find my driver after the baggage claim area as he did not have my name on his sign, but some other hunter’s names who had arrived the day before, we piled in his car for the hotel. It should have taken about 30 minutes to get the hotel but many of the roads leading there were flooded out. After over an hour and a half, I arrived at the Olive Grove guesthouse. It was now about 930pm. I told the driver to pick me back me up at 630am to make the 2 ½ hour drive to the lodge. I was going to lose some hunting time of Day 1 but I wanted to minimize it. It had been a very long day but one step closer.
PART II POSTING SOON
