A light western wind blows over the desert plain. It’s dry season and the dust picks up as a herd of Zebras walk over the plain. The sun is setting slowly and turns the sky from blue to reddish yellow and that slowly gives way to a red glow. As I look over the African plains and appreciate the sunset in front of me, I know the year is also coming to its end.
With the reflection on my mind of the great hunting days that have passed, I know that tomorrow will be a new day to guide some of my clients, that are by now friends, to the game they seek.
As it gets dark, I start looking back over this year and some great hunting for 2014. Though it is impossible to put every detail on paper, this story is some of those trips I would like to remember. All are good, but maybe because of a special animal that was hunted, but also for the good times that was shared in the hunting camp and around the camp fire.
With a good rainy season that came between end of March and in April, I went up to the Erongo Mountain to do some really great hunting, from Mountain Zebra in the rain to Blue Wildebeest on a day that we thought we would not find anything, to the biggest Leopards that had taken our bait.
As the rainy season stopped and the grass turned to yellow, it was breeding season for Kudu, Waterbuck and Impala. The Rut is a wonderfultime to find the big Bulls and Big Rams. With this happening, an old friend joined me for a short but great trophy hunt. Andrea harvested a nice big Waterbuck along with gold medal Impala and a magnificent Letchwe to end his trip. His friend Peter was not left out of the action taking himself a nice Kudu and Impala. The trip was ended with some good shark fishing on the beach of Swakmund.
As the year moved on, the hunts have moved also; it was time to start to go west and stay west. My new hunting area, Puros. It had seen little hunting activities before, but now it was time to give it the real test. With a fly camp on board and two hunters with us, we took the long road, and arrived after some long but really good 4×4 driving through some of the most beautiful landscapes Namibia has to offer. We set up camp in a river bed between great old thorn trees that lay between mountains.
On this hunt there was no holding back, as Richard and Lance had a lot of hunting to do. Richard opened the hunting and made history again. Just last year he became the first hunter to take a Blackface Impala Free Roaming in over 40 years. This year he became also the first hunter to shoot a Brown Hyena in the conservancy when it was opened. We started with some good hunting but it just got better. Four Springbuck were shot around the 16 inch mark, some great Oryx and Kudu with a Mountain Zebra. Lance added one beautiful old Leopard male to end the great time on the Great Plains off the west.
As I got back there was some more plains game hunts to do and then it was time for me to go and test my skills in South Africa. Three old friends arrived on a charter flight and we were in the area. As lucky strike, we got a lion that tried to sneak into Botswana after being at a big game ranch but he was spotted. So it was one of the best first day hunts that you could have. By late in the afternoon we snuck up on an old lion male laying and resting under a bush. With some fine shooting it was in the salt.
On this hunt two more buffalos were added to the list before it was time to get home again for the hunters and time for me to head into my next adventure.
With all this great hunts for this year, ‘we all think now what about next year?’
For next year 2015, my previous hunting areas will stay as is, but one more western area, ‘conservancy ‘ will be added next to the Kunene River for great big Crocodile, that includes good Leopard area and some of the best Springbuck and Oryx. The hunts in South Africa will become standard procedure. The area against the Kruger Park will become the place where most buffalo hunts are to be done.
As you all know, I moved over a year ago to Swakopmund now, and my family have never looked back and keep enjoying every day. My wife Ronel, as a lot of you have notice, has taken over the office work to give me more free time in getting everything set up for my hunts and make the work easier on me. Arizhia is getting bigger by the day and it will not be long before she will be out there to try her luck on some hunting. Geremy will follow his sister at a much younger age, but soon, he too, will get something right.
With this I want to wish you a nice couple of days toward the end of the year.
Pricelist and specials for next year 2015 will be out soon, those that still think about a trip, please do not hesitate in contacting me, as I will be gladly assisting and happy to give everybody the hunt of a live time.
Happy hunting and may the winds stay true to you.
Regards,
Gert
