Biography of Boet Nel

Boet Nel was born in the western portion of Namibia in the town of Omaruru, in 1961.  He grew up on a ranch rich with wildlife, and received his first pellet gun at the age of six.  He shot his first Kudu Bull with a 30-06 at the age of eight and from then on was enthralled with hunting.  He began taking big game like Kudu, Gemsbok and Springbok to fill the table needs of his family and for sale to the local markets, as is the custom in Namibia.  The biggest problem was that hunting was all that he was interested in.  He started spending every moment possible in the bush, so much so that his father found it necessary to hire a Bushman to accompany Boet everyday on his hunting expeditions just to be sure that he returned home in the evenings. This provided a valuable safety factor and a training experience at the same time.

Boet shot 26 kudu in his very first year and along with a good number of gemsbok and springbuck. He spent nearly every day in the bush and on the weekends he would disappear completely.

At the age of twelve Boet's farther passed away and a year later he was sent off to Secondary School, Kroonstad Agriculture High located in South-Africa.  It was here, that he came to know his uncle, John Joubert, a lot better.

Uncle John was a big game hunter who had a large gun shop, and who hunted all over Africa.  He became a mentor and a farther figure to Boet, and a person with whom he would share many camp fires and experiences in the years to come.  John Joubert opened the hunting world in a new way to Boet, that being the previously unknown world of Trophy Hunting .

After graduating from school Boet joined the South-African Defense Force and was selected for the Special Forces were he become a Corporal in the 1st Parachute Battalion.  He spent two years in active duty fighting in the Namibian and Angolan Bush War.

After school he work on the family ranch and then as a apprentice PH and become a PH in 1984.  He then went to work hunting for the well known outfitter Ben Nolte.  After five years he began to hunt as a free lance PH for Mr. Jan Oelofse of Mount Etjo Safaris, before he moved to Gobabis, in the eastern section of Namibia, where he began ranching and free lance hunting for various safari companies.  By this time three sons had been born to him;  Guillaume, Ian, and Liam.

In 1992 his wife passed away in a tragic car accident and he was left alone with the 3 boys at that stage seven, five and three years of age.  With the responsibility of raising the boys alone, he could no longer hunt full time, and did only twelve  safaris that year to keep his hunting license.  In 1995 his mother moved to Gobabis to help take care of the boys, enabling Boet to start free lancing full time again.  In 1997 he started Boet Nel Hunting Safari’s building a steady clientell of mainly European hunters.  He also began to donate hunt to the SCI Chapters in the states and received his first American Hunters in 1999.

All of Boet's boys my boys are excellent sportsmen, of whom he is especially proud.  Guillaume (now 21) and Ian (now 20) represented Namibia in the IRB - under nineteen age group - rugby world cup.  Liam (now 17) represented Namibia in the under sixteen age group - rugby tournament. 

In 2000 Boet met the new love of my life, Karen, and they have a new daughter (Kali) born in 2006. 

Boet says;  "Together we are a great team!"