 The
Toyota pickup drifted slowly down the dusty road, leaving me alone in the
dry desolate landscape. I hurried and shuffled my hunting gear up
the wooden ladder into the rickety tree stand. Minutes later all
was still except for the hot African wind relentlessly slapping the camo
netting surrounding my treetop blind.
I was sitting quietly in the middle of this vast Namibian desert when
the reality of my bowhunting adventure sank in; 'I can't believe this,
I'm finally in Africa!
To a bowhunter from Idaho, an archery safari to Africa is about as exciting
as a baseball player going to his first World Series, it doesn't get much
better than this! As I was to find out, my 7-day Namibian adventure
had all the excitement of a championship series.
July 15, 2003 - Hunt Day #1:
We arrived at camp early this morning and after unpacking gear, fell
into bed around 2:30 am. All 5 hunters in camp slept late that first morning
still reeling from the effects of jet lag and the forty plus hours of grueling
wear and tear travel on our bodies. After a quick brunch and shooting
and sighting in equipment, we piled into the Toyotas and headed out to
the bush; enthusiasm and excitement was running high. Mushie Nichols,
a professional hunter and operator of Ombengu Safaris, took us to our various
blinds (or hides as they are known in Africa.)
Most hides are placed near water, however my stand today was known as
the salt hide. It is a platform tree stand overlooking a mineral
block, positioned in the middle of a flat desolate valley. On the
ride in, we spotted small herds of blue wildebeest, kudu, impala, gemsbok
and an occasional ostrich. Observing the variety of game only added fuel
to my overflowing cup of anticipation. I'd been on stand less than
an hour when I spotted a large gray mass moving slowly across the plain.
A lone bull elephant fed nonchalantly through the scrub brush 300 yards
away. I had a picturesque view from my lofty perch and filmed the
bull for half an hour or more. Suddenly, movement in the bush snapped me
out of my 'National Geographic' moment and back to the hunt.
Prior to leaving camp, Mushie advised each hunter, "Don't shoot the
first animal that walks in. Watch a few bulls so you'll have an idea
of what to look for." I was off the hook for now as only kudu cows
and calves came to the salt. Suddenly, a huge gemsbok trotted in
and then ran back out. In less than ten seconds, my heart flipped
flopped with adrenaline, then sank in disappointment! The majestic
gemsbok was the premier animal on my trophy 'wish list.'
In my opinion, the gemsbok, or oryx, is the most impressive of all the
African plains game antelope. Their animated black and white faces and
matching leg markings are simply beautiful! Their dagger-like horns
truly menacing and impressive!
So why did it run away? What could have spooked it? I pondered
over the scenario of what went wrong and simply concluded, Dang, these
African animals are flighty! For the next 2 hours, cows and calves
licked salt with no sign of a big kudu bull or the jumpy gemsbok.
Finally satisfied, the kudu herd gave up on the salt block and grazed
off into the bush. Minutes later, the lone gemsbok reappeared; again
sending my heart racing into the triple digits!
The earlier counsel of Mushie echoed in my mind. 'Is this a shooter
gemsbok'? I really had nothing to compare it to, as this was my first
close encounter with a mask-faced oryx. Previous bowhunting experience
has made me a firm believer in the proven 'bird in the hand' theory and
this long-horned gemsbok looked plenty good to me as it walked cautiously
to the salt block.
As bowhunting luck goes, it was facing me, straight on, content on not
giving me a shot opportunity. I didn't realize this at the time but
it stood there in the same spot licking salt for over 30 minutes (as verified
by my camcorder)! I felt like a pinned-down bandit and didn't dare
move. The blind was fairly open with no roof for shade and every
time I tried to change positions, the stand would creak.
Thank goodness for the wind. It covered the occasional squeaks
as I shifted around to get comfortable. After what seemed like an
eternity and several stare downs later, the oryx finally turned and took
three steps sideways. Instinctively, I came to full draw and vaguely
remember telling myself to aim straight up the front leg and a third of
the way up the body. The shot was true. The gemsbok turned
to run but fell and rolled. It struggled to it's feet and bolted
30 yards before expiring.
Elation, relief and shock all overcame me! I had just taken my
first African animal! I radioed Mushie and shortly he and the trackers
arrived. We took pictures, slapped backs and enjoyed the moment.
After loading the gemsbok, the trackers took the animal back to camp
for skinning, caping and meat preparation. The game harvested at
Ombengu is prepared by the camp chef for our evening meals, with the majority
of the harvested meat being consumed by the Namibian people. Nothing
is wasted here. Hunters truly sustain and support the local community.
July 16, 2003 Hunt Day #2:
The mood in camp was upbeat. We had taken three animals yesterday
and everyone's expectations for a day two repeat were high. I was
placed in a deluxe ground blind called 'the jackal'. This thing was
posh. It is a pit blind built out of concrete and looks like a potato
cellar on steroids; complete with a custom designed sitting bench and wooden
carved bow hangers bolted securely to the wall. The outside is bricked
with cobble rock and grass. It looked "a la natural". I felt
ready for the next animal on my African plains game wish list, the coveted
'gray ghost of Africa'.
My Idaho hunting buddy, Boyd Burbank, arrowed a nice kudu bull yesterday
and after watching his action packed video, I was pumped with kudu voodoo.
Impalas were the first critters to water this morning. A small ram
with six ewes drank at 8:30 am, followed by a sow warthog and three little
piglets. At 9:00 am, a group of gemsbok milled in the bush and shortly
thereafter the kudu parade began. Small bulls appeared first and
drank twenty yards from the hide. Other kudu bulls soon arrived and
pushed the little ones out of the way.
I was going crazy! Which of these bad boys was a 'good' bull?
Some had wide horns while others donned shorter headgear with heavier curls.
One kudu bull in particular looked like the dominant male as all of the
other bulls cleared out of his way when he moved in to drink. I anxiously
watched and debated for several minutes before deciding to take him.
The big bull turned broadside and my arrow zipped through both shoulders.
He busted and ran out of sight. I got on the radio to Mushie and
soon he and the trackers came in. We only had to track the kudu bull
ninety yards before finding him lying flat in the middle of the trail.
After the ever-enjoyable photo session (this was getting fun), the five
of us loaded the bull into the truck and I settled back into the blind
for the remainder of the day.
 I
hadn't been in the hide thirty minutes when a 'behemoth' kudu bull walked
in. Man, I wished I could have taken a 'mulligan shot' about then!
This bull made everything I had seen up to that point look small!
'Hum' I thought. What was that thing Mushie told us not to do?
Oh well, no need to get greedy. I was more than thrilled with my
bull! He wasn't the widest or tallest bull of the bunch but a very
respectable bull with dark horns and heavy tight curls. I couldn't
be happier. This beautiful animal represented a perfect 2 for 2 on
my preferred trophy list and if I was lucky enough to take another animal
during the remainder of this hunt, it would be just icing on the cake.
Around 2:00 am, we were awakened by a strange bird-like sound coming
from outside the bungalow. We crept to the window and peered out
into the property surrounding camp. The full moon was bright and the visibility
good. There it was again, that eerie sound. It couldn?t be
more than forty yards away. Immediately, there was a reply a couple
of hundred yards away. I strained to see movement in the moonlit
scrub but saw nothing.
The next morning, I asked Mushie, "What kind of night bird makes this
weird sound"? I tried to imitate it.
He replied, "That weird sound is a group of hyenas prowling through
the area."
Yep, we're definitely in Africa and it's a damn good thing there's indoor
plumbing!
To Part 2 Of The Hunt |
