USA INDEPENDENCE DAY in Namibia

Monday 4 July 2016  USA Independence Day

Up at 6 a.m. breakfast same as usual -- 5 pound bread, jelly, cheeses, scrambled eggs real good.

We are starting the day hunting near where we have taken the blue wildebeest and my trophy springbok.  Early in the hunt and we see a leg injured kudu with broken horn on his left side.  Sigi says to shoot it but we can't get a clear shot.  It is limping around in the tall brush and we actually run to get a shot in a higher location.  The kudu runs off to the east through the tall brush and small trees and we track him at high speed at first and then slowly for about 2.5 kilometers in the dense veld.  We can't see more than 40 yards around us at times but we continue on tracking and looking for opportunity to put down the injured animal.  I am rather tired at times am pressed to keep up.  I am not in very good shape.  I am old, lazy, and recovering from a battle with radiation and chemo-therapy.  I wait and watch lots on the long stalk feeling real "old".  Sigi is using his dog to smell the animal lots.  We also are constantly looking for tracks in the soft red sand of the Kalahari Desert.  We get to within 60 yards of the injured kudu and he busts us.  He takes off as fast as his injured legs can carry him, which is way fast, to the west.  He is gone this time.  Sigi sends Tobis the tracker to get the truck and we hike to the road just 1/2 mile south of us to meet the truck. 

Back to the ranch house for lunch.  Lunch is potatoes cut like french fries and baked in the oven, baked banana type squash, springbok meat with a light creamy gravy over the fries and meat.  Tossed salad with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers then dessert is lemon pudding.  The food here is great.  Best hunting camp food since my son and his pal tried to out cook each other on top of a mountain while looking for elk in October 2014.  Janne the oldest son of Sigi is at lunch and wants in on the lemon pudding.  I show him the pudding bowl is almost empty and I grab the serving spoon and pretend to start to eat all the remaining pudding.  He is a cute little manipulator and I end up giving him all the remaining pudding in the serving bowl.  Heck, it is his house and he wants it -- so why not?  We have a rest for about one hour and then back for cookies and diet coke on the patio. 

We are off for more game at 2:45 p.m. sitting in the back of the truck on the hunting benches with our rifles in soft gun cases in the lumber rack type carrier.  As we drive south from the main house we see about 40 to 50 baboons of all sizes run across the road from east to west.  There are lots of baby baboons in the troop.  We stop right in the middle of the main gravel road to and from Farm Garib and Sigi calls out from the drivers seat  asking me if I can shoot one of those baboons?  He tells me to shoot the big one bring up the rear of the crossing troop.  I stand up, grab my rifle from the case, open the bolt and chamber a round.  I take quick aim at the loping baboon rear guard and fire a round.  The baboon rolls over about 75 yards away.  Sigi gets out of the truck and looks me in the eye, then in his best Texas accent says, "Niiice shootin..."  I laugh to realize Sigi also speaks Texan.  The baboon was moving pretty fast yet I was lucky enough to nail him in the chest and roll him over with the impact of the .338 Win. Mag. round.  We drive over and examine the animal.  He is really a big one and not real old but not young either.  He has seemingly really large canine teeth and is a bit scary even though he is dead.  Sigi tries to scare his dog with the dead baboon.  Sigi lost a dog to a large baboon recently.  The baboon grabbed the dog and bit half his face off.  The dog died a painful death bleeding to death.  Tobis takes the head for my skull mount trophy and we leave the carcass for the jackals and to scare off other baboons.  Baboons should not be so comfortable near the house and cattle.

location 23º08.190' S 17º28.497' E

We drive to the east for just a short distance and we see a warthog grazing in the tall grass off to the south.  We just drive on by and stop near some trees about 1500 yards further east.  Dax and Sigi get down and make a wide looping south stalk on the warthog.  Tobis and I wait in the truck and watch with binos not to make additional scent or noise while they are on the hunt.  They take some time to play the wind to their advantage.  The warthog has poor eyesight but a nose that knows.  He also can hear rather well so they need to be quiet as they sneak up on the old bruiser.  Sigi puts up the sticks and Dax waits while holding a sight picture for a broadside presentation for his shot.  Finally, after about 3 to 4 minutes the shot rings out.  Tobis and I jump down and head over to where the warthog was last seen.  Dax and Sigi are also approaching the spot quickly from a southeastern direction.  As we arrive at the intended location we see Dax and Sigi posing the warthog for photos.  Waidmannshiel! Congratulations are in order.  Dax has a nice one down.  I am amazed to think we have two animals harvested in just a few kilometers and 45 minutes from the main house.  We take photos and load the pig.

location 23º07.660' S 17º38.436' E

We continue on the hunt.  We still head east and occasionally turn to the north for short distances.  We see various animals but nothing note worthy.  Then some oryx catch our eye.  On further examination we see there is another nice warthog  between us and the oryx.  We stalk on the warthog.  I want one and it is my turn.  Sigi and I go alone about 1,000 yards from the truck and keep some taller bushes between us and the unknowing warthog for cover.  Sigi puts up the sticks and I take a shooting position.  I am steady and the warthog does not know we are on him.  He is rooting around and eating ants and fresh green grass.  Sigi says wait for a broadside shot.  I wait and I wait and I wait.  The hog never turns broadside.  The warthog is only about 140 yards away and it is a do-able shot.  I can't seem to wait any more so I take a quartering toward us shot on the chest cavity of the warthog.  The warthog runs almost at light-speed north and east I take another running shot but it is 200+ yards away, I miss and he is gone.  The whole event takes place in a matter of seconds after waiting for many minutes for just the right shot.  Sigi is rather unhappy with me.  One, for missing.  Two, for not taking a broadside shot.  He really emphasizes I should never take other than a broadside shot at a warthog.  We go look for blood spoor.  There is none.  Tobis is even down on his knees looking in the sand and on small blades of grass for blood.  Tracks yes, blood no.  I am way sad I let Sigi down and I missed my chance at a nice warthog.  We retrace our steps to find out why I missed.  My bullet hit a branch and was deflected in route about 30 yards from the critter.  The sun is almost down and none of us could see the branch in the way of my intended shot.  CRAP-O-RAMA.

We head back to the farm house and call it a day.  We make an acacia wood fire off the back patio and have a cold drink.  All in all, it really has been a good day of hunting.

We are relaxing around the fire pit waiting for dinner when Ronnie and Herman come visit again.  They apologize for interrupting our evening but came over for a couple of "sun-downers" with us.  Ronnie has had a couple before arriving so he is feeling no pain, so to speak.  Herman is a writer for several hunting magazines and is interested in why we are here from Utah and is very interested in Dax's work for the State of Utah in game management.  I think it is so cool my son is an expert and he is being interviewed by a journalist.  It just makes a dad way proud.  Ronnie and Herman invite us to their house for dinner and sundowners on Wednesday.  Sigi accepts for us.

Tomorrow we go to another area to hunt zebra.  We will leave at 5 a.m.  I have lots of cuts from the thorns in the veld.  It is as if every plant in the veld has a great desire and lots of ability to hurt me.  I have 7 cuts on my left hand, 15 cuts on my right hand, and three on my face on my left cheek.  Off to bed after cold cuts and cheeses for dinner.  Must get up early tomorrow.