Worldwide Hunting Adventures: Memories of the Hunt

By Robert Berndt

In this write up I try to capture the feel of hunting in different countries, for game that is indigenous to these locales, experience new and different cultures, and to hunt unique and unfamiliar animals.

I have hunted extensively throughout the countries of Africa, my favorite location, but have also been lucky to have had the opportunity to hunt in many other countries throughout Europe, the South Pacific, and North America.

While I don't describe all of my hunts in this book, I have tried to highlight a mixture of my hunting adventures that took me to the most storied, remote, and exotic locations to hunt and capture memories.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 25, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483646183

Robert Berndt

The author has hunted for 50 years getting his start in the fields and woods of Michigan but his dreams to travel to exotic and storied locations around the world with their unique animals in time evolved into a reality. His hunting travels have taken him to 23 countries spanning 4 continents in search of adventure but it is his African safaris that have captured his hunting passions. The unique variety of big game in absolute exotic locations are the draw that keeps bringing him back to hunt the countries of Africa.

Book preview

WORLDWIDE HUNTING ADVENTURES

Memories of the Hunt

Robert Berndt

Copyright © 2013 by Robert Berndt.

ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-4836-4617-6

Softcover 978-1-4836-4616-9

eBook 978-1-4836-4618-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

Rev. date: 02/24/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

599771

Contents

ACKNOWLEDEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

PART 1

EUROPE

DISCOVERING EUROPE

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

PART 2

AROUND THE WORLD

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CONCLUSION

PHOTO GALLERY

ACKNOWLEDEMENTS

I would like to thank my children and their families for their understanding of my hunting passion and the hit their inheritance has experienced:

Jeni Berndt Oakley and Mike Oakley

Jason Berndt, Tracy Berndt, and Brayden Berndt

I would also like to thank my friend Don Black who assisted with opening many doors for me to hunt in Europe, and the late Michael Luke of Coat of Arms Hunting that arranged and coordinated the hunts.

And last but not least, I recognize my deceased parents, Melville and Louise Berndt, who supported me in all that I did. I thank my father, an avid hunter, for it was he that created the hunting spirit in me, and my mother for understanding and supporting our hunting passions.

I would like to dedicate this book to my dad, Melville Berndt, who passed on to me the hunting passion.

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Deer Camp 1952—Dad on far right

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Author with Dad—1954

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The Author on Safari

INTRODUCTION

For many years Whitetail Deer hunting in Michigan was the extent of my big game hunting.

However, I was always a hunter that wondered what was over the next hill and it was with this desire to seek new horizons that I developed the drive to hunt in new places for unfamiliar and exotic game.

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Hunting in remote places

As time and money became more available, my hunting adventures expanded to the Western States and Canadian Provinces, hunts that created a lot of fantastic trophies and memories. My first international hunt was to discover Africa, a destination that provided great adventure, a taste of danger, truly exotic animals, and wild remote locations. As chronicled in my book, ‘Sunrise on the Zambezi—Memories of Africa’, hunting in Africa has become my favorite place bringing me back many times.

Never losing the draw to explore what was over the next hill I soon discovered opportunities to hunt around the world in many diverse and unique locations. I was fortunate to be able to experience hunting in the outback of Australia with the Aborigines, above the Arctic Circle with the Eskimos [ now called Inuit ], the Northwest Territories with the Native Indians, and many countries in Europe on the same grounds hunted for hundreds of years by nobility, a place where old world traditions and postcard beautiful scenery exists.

While every hunt is different, all create fantastic adventures and memories that can’t be understood unless experienced first hand, and the memories garnered from these adventures are priceless. I often get asked which hunt was my favorite, to which I can only reply, all of them. Every hunt is different; different travel, people, animals, scenery, and hunting conditions, unique and different from one another yet all are special. What is important to remember, however, is that when it comes to hunting wild game on their turf sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, but that doesn’t really matter because just being able to play the game is what it is all about.

Every hunter has a different passion. I grew up a Whitetail Deer hunter and many I know continue to live solely for Whitetail pursuits and that’s ok, however, some of us seem to have more wander in us to travel to new and distant locations to be able to experience different cultures, to hunt on their grounds, to eat their food, observe their customs, and to share that camaraderie that binds all hunters regardless of language and cultural differences.

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Diana—The Goddess of Hunters

PART 1

EUROPE

DISCOVERING EUROPE

Hunting in Europe wasn’t even something I had thought of . . . . never even considered it a possibility. Europe was simply some place out of the history books, with images of its historic sites, old buildings and castles, and many diverse cultures and languages. For centuries past, what hunting existed was set aside for royalty or the well connected, not for the common man. Today, however, hunting possibilities are available to foreign hunters.

I had always hoped to visit Europe some day but never thought that it was something that would ever materialize, much less to be able to hunt. My ancestors all came from Germany and I have many relatives there today that I have never seen or even know about. Europe just seemed so far away and distant, too daunting a task to even think about visiting there on my own and I certainly wanted no part of going with some large tour group.

You never know when a chance comment can alter your life plans completely, when fate steps in to open new doors. I had read a few articles of hunting in Europe and one day when talking hunting with a fellow SCI member I remarked that hunting in Europe was an interesting concept but not a reality. He proceeded to tell me about a guy named Don Black who had recently hunted in Germany and said, he knows a guy, someone over there that has connections. Unlike here, you can’t just go over there, walk into a sporting goods store and buy a hunting license, find some public land, and go hunting. Because of the vast holdings of private land and tightly controlled hunting laws and regulations, you need an ‘in’ to even begin to plan a hunt.

Having peaked my curiosity, I called Don who told me about several successful hunts he had completed in Europe and had coordinated all with a contact he had over there. Hearing his stories fired me up and I knew this was something I needed to pursue. In talking to Don I was surprised to learn that Europe has a wide variety of game to pursue and an abundance of wildlife with as many as forty different species to hunt and that their hunting seasons are generally in the tourist travel off season. The game is intensively managed and harvested as a crop, therefore it has much value and as a result the hunting areas generally have what are called ‘game keepers’ [ managers of the hunting estates to watch over game populations ] that know their areas and game well. Don explained that he indeed ‘know a guy’, Michael Luke of ‘Coat of Arms Hunting’, who arranged and coordinated all his European hunts. Michael was from a wealthy family and in addition was well connected to be able to open doors for hunters like us to have an opportunity to enjoy the hunting possibilities that exist. As a bonus, Michael was readily agreeable and available to act as a tour guide, a win/win situation to be able to hunt and tour and to be able to see the different countries and sights off the beaten path that most tourists don’t. Michael knew his way around and seemed to know people everywhere.

Don connected me with Michael who was located in Germany and after several conversations with Michael I realized that opportunity was once again knocking and as I have learned before, when you hear the knock . . . . answer it! A plan was set and I would be heading to Europe in October of 2003.

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The European Castle built by my family in the 1600’s

—Germany

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Coat of Arms Hunting

CHAPTER 1

CHAMOIS IN THE ALPS

So, my European hunting odyssey began with a plan to hunt the Alpine Chamois, pronounced [ sham—wah], in the Julian Alps of Slovenia in October. The diminutive Chamois