May 30, 2018 | News, Yester Year
South Africa: 2015
A Zebra for Carole
By Archie Landals
Memories of our Namibian hunt in 2012 frequently rekindled our desire to return to Africa, and Carole and I discussed animals we would like in our trophy room, and our priority was a zebra skin.
Carole had learnt to shoot in Canada with her own rifle, a Savage Lady Hunter in 30-06, and she wanted to be the one to take the zebra.
We had worked at the African Event in Calgary, January 2015, for Louw van Zyl, our Namibian friend from Track a Trails Safaris. Our booth was next to Izilo Hunting Safaris, Mark Oberem and Dave De Coning from East London, South Africa, and during the course of the show we chatted about the possibilities of a safari. Mark and Dave said they would organize a tour between Cape Town and East London to make the experience even more interesting.
The upshot was our first trip to Africa by ourselves, on a personalized tour with Trevor Ankiewicz, a retired forester and university professor as our guide and driver. Trevor was an excellent choice. He knew every nook and cranny of the region as well as all the plants and animals, and took us to botanical gardens and nature hot spots that were not on our itinerary.
Our adventures over the course of two weeks included monuments, parks, wineries, breweries, farmers markets and scenic viewpoints. We visited Cango Caves and had tours at Cheetah Land, an ostrich farm, primate rehabilitation center and an elephant rescue center. Boat tours took us to seal and cormorant colonies, whale watching and cage diving with the Great White Sharks. Shamwari Game Reserve, a photographer’s paradise, could be a stand-alone holiday. With the exception of leopard, we photographed the rest of the Big Five. Plains game was everywhere. The evening sound of wildlife during our sundowners was enchanting. For us, it was African magic.
A four-hour drive from Shamwari got us to East London where Mark was waiting. We picked up Wilson our tracker and headed for Maweni Lodge, near Queenstown, three hours north. Maweni is a storybook hunting lodge: thatched roof, red sandstone buildings in a natural setting surrounded by mountains, with impala grazing on the lawn. We had one of three fully furnished guest cottages. Meals were in a beautifully constructed central lodge. Gary and Dag were gracious hosts with a lifetime of stories, especially about hunting leopard with hounds.
Millions of years of erosion of flat-lying red sandstones sculpted the landscape around Queenstown. Mountain ranges were separated by wide basins with streams in the valleys. Several truck trails provided access to the mountains at Maweni. There were always panoramic views. Giraffe, waterbuck, eland, kudu, impala, warthog, mountain reedbuck and zebra were visible every time we stopped to look.
The first evening we watched kudu, impala, giraffe and zebra on the mountainside and discussed where we might make a stalk on a zebra for Carole. We were confident we would have ample chance to get one while we looked for nyala.
Up at 6:00 we had a quick coffee and were off at first light with plans to return for a hot brunch mid-morning. Ten minutes from the lodge, Wilson tapped on the roof and pointed out an Eastern Cape kudu on the mountainside. Although not an animal we intended to hunt, Mark said it was a very good bull and that I should take it. Grabbing the rifle, I started up the mountain behind Mark. The steep slope was strewn with large sandstone boulders concealed in tall grass, making footing tricky. I was so out of breath I could hardly stand when I caught up to Mark. And after spending two weeks with Trevor, I did not need to ask Mark what an aloe was when he said the kudu was above the tallest aloe!
My first shot wounded the kudu, and as he emerged from the bush at 400 yards I hit him twice more, but he did not go down. I quickly reloaded and saw him standing facing Gizmo, the Wire Haired Fox Terrier.
“Don’t shoot,” said Mark, “Gizmo will chase him down the mountain.” He did. By the time I got to the bottom, Wilson and Gizmo were there, standing near the kudu lying in the brush, where I finished him off. When skinned and quartered it weighed over 800 pounds, the heaviest ever taken at Maweni.
The morning still young, our hunt continued. Passing up several large waterbuck, we neared the top of a mountain trail and spotted eland across a steep valley. With the spotting scope we confirmed a couple of good bulls, but the wind direction and lack of cover ruled out a stalk. Glassing the surrounding mountains turned up three bulls on our side of the valley. With a favorable breeze, we started a long fast stalk on the bulls that were moving quickly. I finally got a chance at 368 yards. Using a 7mm Remington Magnum with a 4 to 12 scope that belonged to Mark, I put the cross hairs just above the eland’s shoulders and heard the bullet hit. He took a few steps forward, staggered back and tumbled down the mountain. I had a magnificent eland bull with a large red ruff. Regrettably we settled for a European mount, as it was far too large for our trophy room.
Happy hunters, we returned to the lodge for brunch. During our stay, Dag cooked what we had shot, a great treat. The afternoon and evening we spent looking for nyala as we did the following evening and next two mornings. Nyala would appear like phantoms, peeking out of the thick brush on the steep rocky slopes. Some were immature bulls; others appeared as shooting light was failing. One exceptional bull gave us the slip on an unsuccessful stalk.
The second morning we passed up two solitary zebra stallions on a rugged mountain slope with little cover, before spotting five stallions with a group of giraffe. These were in more accessible terrain and looked like a better bet for Carole. Making careful note of visible landmarks, a long circular stalk was planned to take advantage of the wind and available cover. The giraffe towering above the bush helped the stalk. Quietly following Mark and obeying his hand signals, Carole was eventually in position. The zebra did not go down after two solid hits at 180 yards. Staying out of sight and downwind, Mark continued the stalk with Carole following close behind. Mark was an excellent PH, with all the patience in the world coaching a first-time hunter, and soon had Carole in position and back on the shooting sticks. This time it dropped. Carole was ecstatic – she had her first African animal. I was more excited for her than I have been in many years of hunting. Photos in a beautiful African setting capped off a magical morning.
Imvani, a fabulous landscape of open savannah between sloping mountains was our destination on day three. We were hoping to get Carole a chance at a black wildebeest or red hartebeest. From the mountain slope we were able to glass vast areas of the plain. Hundreds of animals, wildebeest, hartebeest, impala, zebra and blesbok grazed below. A wildebeest some distance from the herd was a possible stalk. A mile later we were getting close. I waited while Carole followed Mark. After several attempts they were in position, and Carole dropped a good bull with one shot. Following Mark, she ran so hard she had the dry heaves. She need not have run – she had a second beautiful trophy.
Before leaving Imvani, I got a red hartebeest. As a group of them moved quickly through the bush, the best bull passed through a small opening and I dropped it. Mark commented that he had not yet found it in the rangefinder. I would like to say that when I shoot I let out a deep breath and squeeze the trigger, but that is seldom true. I have always shot fast, handling my rifle on a moving target much as I do my shotgun; it is an automatic reflex.
We left Maweni without finding the elusive nyala. We headed for the coast and Crawfords Beach Lodge a resort with all the amenities, pool, spa, lounge, dining room, laundry service, drinks on the beach; all part of the hunting package. They did their best to get us hooked on cappuccino, and might have succeeded if it hadn’t been for the local beer and great South African wines. The balcony of our thatched-roof suite looked out on the Indian Ocean, with palm trees and waves lapping on white sandy beaches. Izilo Safaris is really on to something for those with non-hunting partners. Izilo has access to nearby properties with most species of plains game. We were hopeful we would find a nyala and bushbuck, but were unconcerned as we had already had a great hunt.
On my first chance at a nyala… I shot over it twice! My second chance was a good hit and it dropped with the second shot. Mark quickly congratulated me, told me to wait, and headed off at a run for the truck. Wilson, a second tracker, and Gizmo headed toward the nyala. With Gizmo barking and the trackers yelling, I had visions of them trying to finish off the nyala with a rock. (I later found out that all the noisy excitement was caused by a swarm of bees from a nest they had stepped on.)
Then I realized why Mark had run – I was out of shells. Returning, he handed me his .300 Remington Ultra Magnum, told me to plug my ears and go finish it off.
Before our hut was over Carole got a fine impala ram, again with a single shot. A hunter for less than a year, she had shot at four animals and got them all.
I missed my first four!
Bio: Retired after 40 years in parks and conservation, the author has hunted for as long as he can remember. He has hunted across his native Alberta, Canada as well as New Zealand, Namibia, South Africa, the western United States and the Canadian Arctic. In 2013 he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his work in conservation.
Oct 27, 2017 | News, Yester Year
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Volker Grellman Early
Since the 1930s, the SWA Jaeger Verein was founded to organise and control the local sport hunters who could also be classified as local trophy hunters. The hunting times were limited to the same as the meat-hunting season, being June and July of every year. In that time also, the South African biltong hunters flocked in numbers into the country.
It was not until the late 50s and early 60s that some international hunters showed interest in collecting trophies in Namibia. Among the first was Elgin Gates, a famous hunter from the US. He had contacted Basie Maartens, requesting possibilities to hunt some “desert” species. Since 1959, a clause in the Ordinance no. 18 of 1958 stated that the administrator was allowed to give permission to VIP visitors to also hunt during the non-hunting season.
In these years, Kenya and Tanzania were still fully operational with safari hunting, which only made it possible for Namibia to play a role after the closure of Kenya. The East African Professional Hunters chose to move to Botswana, not only because of the language, but also because Botswana had open concessions with big game to offer. Apart from the local languages, in the then South West Africa (former German colony), German and Afrikaans were mainly used, and the country lacked big-game hunting possibilities.
In the early years, game on the SWA farms was considered a liability and definitely not an asset. The rural farming community was still fairly poor because of the constantly occurring droughts, where food and water shortages were rather the rule than the exception. Any additional mouth to feed was a burden and loss to the cattle breeders. Newspaper adverts by someone selling a farm stated, “Good cattle farm for sale – guaranteed no game.” Furthermore, the game belonged to the state and was only allowed to be hunted in June/July for biltong or own-use purposes. That was no incentive for the cattle or small-stock farmers to keep game or large numbers of grazers and browsers on their property.
In the late 60s, the Jaeger Verein and some visionaries assisted the Nature Conservation Agency to influence and adapt the law so that the landowner in future should also be the owner of some huntable game species and huntable game birds, and be able to utilize them in the best way possible. This brought about dramatic change.
In 1970, we started a small conservation/hunting organisation (ANVO Safaris). This grew with time to such a size that at a general meeting of that organisation, we could establish in 1974 the first Professional Hunting Organisation, which later was renamed NAPHA after the independence of Namibia in 1990. There were no laws or regulations controlling the “profession” at that time. In 1975, the Ordinance on Nature Conservation No. 4/1975 was proclaimed. Then, immediately following that, the early visionaries jumped into action to build up the regulations on trophy hunting and, under the leadership of Nature Conservator Mr Stoffel Roche, these regulations – No. 240/1976 – became official in 1976. While going through the old files, for the first time we found words like, “wise use of natural resources”, “sustainable utilisation”, “the importance of biodiversity”, etc., in the discussions among conservators and in the hunting community.
Because we only fixed the terms in the Laws and Regulations after 1976, we had no terminology fixed for Professional Hunters or Hunting Guides. Anybody involved in guiding hunters in the country considered themselves Safari or Hunting Operators. The first guide in this country who comes to mind was Basie Maartens. Basie was 10 years my senior – I would therefore probably fall into the second generation of PHs, together with Paul Klotsch (mainly Botswana), and some others who did it part time.
If we look at the game that was available for the early trophy hunters – it was kudu, oryx, hartebeest, springbok and warthog. Later, it included protected species like steenbok, duiker, Hartmann’s zebra, eland and wildebeest. Only in 1991, were dik-dik and klipspringer allowed, after careful scrutiny of population numbers.
In the very early years, the Department of Nature Conservation was heavily opposed to trophy hunting, but as game populations grew, attitudes changed, and today we probably have the closest working relationship imaginable. Animals in the big-game category were only allowed in the late 70s in my big game concession in Damaraland, where our clients hunted lions, leopards and elephants (later dubbed “Desert Elephants”). The last trophy bull, named “Skeur Oor” hunted by us in 1983, also drew the first anti-hunting organisations into the picture. Although we had a quota of black rhino, we voluntarily did not utilize any as we did not have any scientific evaluation of their status.
Big-game concessions became possible after 1988 in Bushmanland for really heavy old ivory carriers – also in the Caprivi (now Zambezi Region), East and West. After Independence in 1990, all the communal areas in the North-West and North-East were given concession rights on established limited quotas for elephant, buffalo, hippo, crocodile, lion and leopard.
Trophy prices in 1975 were:
Kudu – R125;
Oryx – R100;
Springbok and warthog – R40;
Mountain zebra – R180;
Ostrich – R50.
Daily rates 1×1 were R48 per day, and R18 for observers. A three-course lunch at a better hotel cost R2.20. The first Land Cruiser we bought out of the box cost R3 500 – can you believe it!
(Today’s exchange rate is plus or minus R13.30 = $1)
PLEASE GET A PICTURE OF THE EARLY LAND CRUISERS FROM TOYOTA
One of the greater challenges that we experienced in the earlier days was to convince the Nature Conservation authority that selective trophy hunting, when done properly and through targeting over-mature male animals, could be beneficial to the species and, through the trophy fees, beneficial to the landowners. Another great challenge was to influence legislation to change and make international trophy hunters feel more welcome to visit this country, as well as needing to market the country as a hunting destination, and find the clients to assist in this program.
The main success for trophy hunting in Namibia is that it started from virtually nothing and developed into a well-established “industry” that is very popular. The game nowadays is treated with respect, and trophy hunting practices are on an absolute professional level. Game numbers have increased to their highest level ever and are gradually pushing domestic animals off their former primary position. Game is definitely not a liability anymore, but rather one of the greatest assets to landowners, conservationists, and tourism in general. Now Namibia can offer some of the best hunting in Africa, not only on plains but also on big game.
As with everything in life, change happens. The wildlife industry in Namibia developed quite steadily and sustainably. But, as always, where money is involved, excesses can be expected, especially on some farms that have developed in recent years to get involved with breeding programs that were imported from South Africa. Luckily, those practices were not allowed. For instance, no predator breeding is allowed at all. Breeding of color variants reared its head, but presently seems to be fading.
Many large portions of land were converted to wildlife ranches with just one outside game-proof border fence and no internal fences. Hunting offered there is also done on fair-chase rules. Wildlife ranches are normally without any cattle or domestic animals, and have introduced African species on condition that they find a suitable habitat on such lands. Otjiwa, 10 000 hectares in extent, was the first one to be established in 1969. From early times on, virtually all trophy hunting took place on cattle farms that also hosted good populations of wildlife species. Such farms are still the mainstay of trophy hunting in Namibia. Legally, they have to be registered as hunting farms, and the persons guiding hunting clients should be registered as Hunting Guides. ***
Presently, after 42 years, Namibia Nature Conservation authority is finalising the Protected Areas and Wildlife Management Act that will replace the Ordinance of 1975. Also, the regulations on trophy hunting will be updated, Additionally, we at NAPHA are presently working on a new, all-encompassing Code of Conduct which could become the National Code.
Yes, we are very proud of having achieved the highest ranking of good standing in hunting standards and levels of hunting ethics. This was possible through good leadership and the doings of many passionate landowners and hunting professionals. That includes the dedicated Nature Conservation Officials.
After 42 years, we all feel it is time to adapt to more modern conditions, though without discarding the old trusted and proven good portions of the former Act. For the first time, Namibia envisages having a Council of Professional Hunting (Statutory Body). A two-decade-long dream becomes reality!
Looking at the present situation, one has to get the impression that all the role-players in hunting in Namibia will be able to meet the future with full optimism, even with droughts, anti-hunting pressure and climate change. Everybody seems to be prepared and better trained and educated to face the challenges. One of the main aims for the short-term future would be to improve the image of hunting in general, as well as trophy hunting in particular. We might even have to change the terminology of some debatable definitions.
Regards,Volker
(Mr) Volker Grellmann
ERPHAN
NAPHA Ombudsman
Cell: 081-124-4848
e-mail: vgrellmann@afol.com.na
P.O. Box 90161, Whk
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”12505,12506,12507,12508,12509,12510,12511,12512,12513,12514,12515,12516″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
