Folks I would like to share my hunt with Roy van der Merwe at Otjandaue Hunting Safaris in Namibia. To start, I would like to say thanks to Roy and Janet for a wonderful time and for making Deb and I feel so welcome. You see, in 2010 I did my first hunt in South Africa for my 55th Birthday and I’ve been back to South Africa several times since then, but I have never been to Namibia and had been talking to Roy for several years about doing a hunt with him.

Yeah, sometimes it takes me that long just to talk myself into cutting loose some of those retirement funds, which made this hunt kind of special due to the fact that it would start with what was not only my 62nd Birthday but the very first day of being fully retired, June 2, 2017.

This was just to be a 5-day hunt to get our feet wet and only had two animals on the list, a Damara Dik-Dik for me and a Mountain Zebra for Deb.  

We arrived in Windhoek late night on the 31st of May. Roy and his Daughter were there at the airport to meet us as we came in, and because it was so late, Roy had organized an overnight stay at a bed and breakfast there in the Windhoek area, so we settled in and got some rest from a very long flight. The next morning Deb and Igor got up and walked down to the eating area to have breakfast and coffee. Lord knows I need my coffee. 

By the time we got back to the room Roy and his daughter were waiting for us, so we loaded up and headed out to Roy’s place at Otjandaue Hunting Safaris on the Otjandaue River. I laugh when I say that because this time of year it is dry and they use it for a road, but I only recommend crossing it in well-packed areas in anything other than a 4-wheel drive.

We arrived at Roy’s about mid-day, so we got settled into our room and had lunch. After lunch, Roy took us for a ride around the place to show us what it was like. Lots of thick brush but none of those rocky mountains we were climbing on the Eastern Cape. When we got back to the lodge, Roy got out the rifles that we would be using as I hate the hassle of bringing rifles through Customs, so most times we just loan of a rifle. I would be hunting with a .22 Mag and Deb would be packing Roy’s .30-06 and we went to the range to get familiar with them. 

Plains Game Hunting in Africa

So the next morning, June 2nd, we’re up having breakfast and it’s my birthday and Damara Dik-Dik is first on the list. Dik-Dik is number 6 of my tiny 10 and I am really looking forward to the hunt because just driving around the day before we had seen several. Well, we spent the day spotting and stalking them, but it seemed just as I was getting ready to take the shot it would dive back into the brush and it was gone. This went on for a couple of days, but it was worth the ride as we were seeing lots of other game including Black Back Jackal in the middle of the day no less. Something I never saw on the Eastern Cape. There we hunted them at night and I still didn’t get one. Oh, I would see them. but they would see me as well.

Well, after two days of stalking Dik-Dik, and we were seeing plenty, in fact, I had one good one that must have been well educated. He had two females with him and when they spotted us they would walk straight away with both females between him and me to make sure I didn’t have a shot, then they would get to a good spot and make a dead run for the brush. They pulled that one on me twice, so the first two days turned out to be stalking and game viewing days.

So on the 3rd day, we decided to give them a break and go for Deb’s Mountain Zebra. We drove around and were seeing them, but they were staying in the bush where Deb couldn’t get a good clean shot. Then all at once they ran out onto the trail and stood looking at us. Yeah, they were bunched up so Deb couldn’t get a clean shot without possibly getting another one so we just stood there waiting. That’s when the tracker decided he would help. Now I’m sure he meant well, but as you can guess, it didn’t turn out well. The tracker decided to start whistling to get them to move a little so they would spread out, well they moved alright at a dead run for that stinking thick brush not to be seen again for two days. Again, another great day for animal viewing and seeing the scenery in Namibia.

Well, we’re on day 4 of our 5-day hunt and I’m back looking for Dik-Dik and like I said we’re seeing plenty. By now I had already counted five really good males and I lost count on the females plus Steenbok and Common Duiker. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m having a blast doing these stalks. There’s nothing like getting the adrenaline going while stalking through the brush and coming upon some fresh Leopard tracks; gets you watching your backside as well. Well, we weren’t five minutes out of camp when the tracker signals that he thought he saw one in the brush, so we park and start the stalk. 

Now I’ve been practicing shooting that .22 Mag at 50 to 60 yards and that thing could shoot. What I didn’t expect was to walk through the brush and walk up on him at 10 feet! Yeah, he just stood there like I couldn’t see him so I aimed, squeezed the trigger and that’s where I messed up. 

You see I didn’t take into consideration at that distance the height of the scope from the barrel. Oh, I had the scope aimed for the heart shot, but at 10 feet 1 hit 1.5 inches below my aiming point and for those of you that know the size of these little buggers that’s dang near a miss. Well, I did draw blood, so the tracker got on the trail and Roy turned his dog loose to help find it. Now you talk about a well-trained dog, that Dik-Dik was wounded and hadn’t gone 30 yards to a rock outcropping to hide from us, and just about the time the tracker spotted it the dog did too. Now I get really worried about dogs getting a hold of these little trophies, but he did exactly what he had been trained to do. He ran up and grabbed the Dik-Dik pinning it to the ground, no biting, no shaking, no chewing, just held it so it couldn’t get away until I got there to finish what I had started.

Oh, Happy Days number 7 of my tiny 10 is in the salt.

So it’s back to the lodge to get it put in the salt, have lunch, and head back out for Deb’s Zebra. Well, after lunch we headed out to do some stalking, and this time we’re headed to a part of the farm that has no roads through it, so it’s a walk and stalk hunt this afternoon. Well we spent the afternoon literally in the bush, we were seeing Gemsbok, Springbok, Impala, Warthogs, all kinds of critters, ah, but no Zebra, and Roy was trying hard to get her one. 

Now I have added Springbok to my list in the event we finish our list because Roy had taken some in the area in the 17 and 18-inch size and at Roy’s trophy prices, I’d be stupid not to. Well, the afternoon was about gone when we got back to the truck so we headed back to the lodge to get cleaned up as there were going to be some friends and family joining us at the fire that night for a few cold ones and after all that walking I could use a few cold ones.