(Top left) The author with a 40-inch oryx taken in Namibia. Despite the abundance of game, prices here are still relatively low, making this an affordable hunting destination for your first safari. (Top right) There is a wide variety of game to hunt in Namibia. In this single herd are oryx, blue wildebeest and springbok – all great trophies if you can decide which one to pursue.
the right way, and have been doing so with great success,” says Danene van der Westhuysen, owner of Aru Game Lodges and the president of the Namibian Professional Hunters Association (NAPHA). “Namibia
is at the forefront of conservation through sustainable use, and is the flagship to all other African countries with our community-based and custodian programs.” On our first morning on safari the
NAMIBIA HUNT PLANNER Here are some informative websites that will help your safari be a success:
Mafuba Safaris: mafubahunting.com Bijorn LeRoux, owner of Mafuba Safaris, has access to some of Namibia’s best big game areas. Additionally, the rates are reasonable and the accommodations are far better than most hunting camps in the United States
Gracy Travel: gracytravel.com Before your hunt you’ll have a lot of questions – what flights should I book? What paperwork do I need when I arrive? What if a flight gets canceled? Should I buy medical evacuation insurance? The experts at Gracy have booked thousands of hunters to Africa and can help you with each step of the process.
Coppersmith Global Logistics: coppersmith.com When your trophies are ready to be shipped home they’ll need to clear customs in the States. That can be a complicated process, and having someone like Coppersmith on your side makes the process much simpler. Plus, they’ll give you tags to attach to your trophies so there are no mix-ups in shipping.
Namibian Professional Hunters Association (NAPHA): napha-namibia.com NAPHA’s website offers a great deal of insight into Namibian hunting and offers a list of members with whom you can hunt. They also offer medals based on the size and age of the trophy you harvest.
African Sporting Creations: africansportingcreations.com Aside from African artifacts and art, ASC offers a range of invaluable tools for the field. Their shooting sticks are outstanding and can be customized to your liking, and they sell Courteney boots – the go-to African hunting boot for many professionals. 64
American Shooting Journal // July 2017
cloudless sky stretched over miles of Kalahari grass that looked much as it did when the first European settlers arrived in the country. Bijorn, Jeremiah and I climbed on a kopje – a low rock formation jutting out of the otherwise flat plains – and began glassing for game. It didn’t take long to find the animals, either; to our left a large mixed herd of wildebeest and springbok fed in groups spread across the vast grass plains. Straight ahead, under the shelter of a grove of acacia trees, a half-dozen zebra with their striped backsides facing us. We were deciding which group of animals to pursue when a dust-colored oryx bull moved out from the thorn bush a quarter-mile away. Bijorn decided that we should try for the zebra, and we climbed down from the rocks and made a wide arc through the sandveldt. We walked single-file with Jeremiah in the front and Bijorn just behind him, trying to stay downwind of the herd while avoiding the outstretched arms of waita-bit thorn. It was a long, slow stalk. TEN MINUTES INTO THE HUNT, a wrinkled warthog boar crossed our path, his long mane and twitching tail just visible above the grass line. We froze, hoping that the boar wouldn’t see us, but he turned and blinked his narrow eyes twice before bounding away into the thorns. Luckily, he hadn’t spooked the other game, but soon we had another problem. The wildebeest herd had moved into position ahead of us, essentially