SOUTH AFRICA: Spiral Horn Safaris

[monish]

Louis,

Great photos , thanks for sharing with us.Shall be there soon .

Thomas- classic eland trophy , congrats BWANA !!!

Monish

 

[LouisB]

Thank you for the compliments Monish.

I did not do much just walked with Thomas.

Cheers Louis

 

[ThomasBeaham]

May 2nd
After discussing the option of a giraffe around the fire last night, I've decided to hunt an old bull Louis has available on quota. We were very lucky to locate the exact bull just 20 minutes out of camp first thing this morning. We drove past him, parked the truck and checked the wind. Louis got me positioned for a frontal heart/ lung shot. I fired and we immediately followed up on the trail. No blood. We continued on the track and eventually started to find good blood. Louis was very confident we would catch up or find the giraffe dead and sure enough, we found him down and dead. After checking the old bulls eye there was some back patting and hand shaking. Louis immediately called in help from his friend Frank, and two of his guys Johannes and Mpopo came to help with the enormous task of processing this animal. The dissection took five hours and was fascinating. What an experience!

 

[ThomasBeaham]

Fellow hunters,
Louis is being way too humble. His knowledge, skills, and expertise made it all come together and happen for me and I will be forever grateful.
Sincerely,
Ty

 

[LouisB]

Thomas's Old Giraffe bull.

 

[monish]

Louis,

WOW!! massive bull Girraffe amazing trophy, hope to take one with the .458 Mag. Great Great Great !!!!!!!

Monish

 

[monish]

BWANA Thomas,,,,

Thats called classic Hunting !!! I bet you had a wonderful time bagging all these amazing trophies . Reading your hunt report was great.

Thanks

Monish

 

[TOM]

Great report Ty. Glad to hear you had a blast with Louis, he is a truly great PH and person.

 

[LouisB]

Hi guy’s thanks for all the positive comments it is appreciated.

Here is a video of Ty’s Giraffe.

Please click on the link below.

Cheers Louis

Giraffe Hunting Video

 

[LouisB]

Ty had another encounter with snakes.

Click on this link to watch the video.

Snake Video

 

[ThomasBeaham]

Parents Please,
Mute your audio before viewing the "Snake video " clip.
I naturally let a few expletives slip during the course of this prank.
Thanks,
Ty

 

[TOM]

Wow, doesn't look like that snake is all the way dead! HA. Great prank. Better the bed of the truck than your bed!

 

[ThomasBeaham]

May 3rd
I awoke at 2:30 am to the sound of gusty wind and rain pouring off of the thatched roof. When I rolled over, one of the legs of the bed fell off and I couldn't help but think.....Tokoloshe.
The alarm chirped at 5am. I was in low gear when Louis knocked on the chalet door and greeted me with a much needed cup of coffee. I pulled my gear together and joined the rest of the team for some toast and more coffee. We headed out shortly thereafter. Louis will be driving today and Juan my PH. Our first stalk of the day was spoiled by several Grey Louries. Now in my opinion the Grey Lourie has a wonderful song and a trip to Africa wouldn't be complete without hearing it. BUT....
On to plan B.
Juan directed Louis to a different spot and we jumped off the bakkie and were off. Within the hour Juan had located a different herd of zebra. This small group contained a stallion, a mare with dependent foal, and several sub-adults. We played cat and mouse through the wet grass and thornbush for a half an hour until we had positioned ourselves for a shot at the stallion. The last 30 yards we had to crawl. I picked a spot on the stallions chest and pulled the trigger.
When we located the stallion again he was lagging behind the herd and obviously hurt but not dying. In haste I made another poor shot as he walked through the brush and another which missed completely. Much to my dismay, I realized my magazine was empty. For the prior 7 days,when I left the truck I made sure to have a couple extra cartridges in my pocket. This morning I overlooked this important part of my kit. It did however turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It forced us to stop while Frans returned to the truck for more ammunition. The stallion finally bedded unbeknownst to us and when we all picked up the trail again Juan spotted the stallion laying in the open with his head up. When he stood again we finished it.This was a hunt during which I learned several valuable lessons that I will be taking home with me.Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?
The stallion itself was an old boy. Beautifully striped, hardly marked but for a couple of nicks from his ears and missing half his tail. What character he has! I will never forget the 8 days it took to bag what many hunters feel is the animal that epitomizes Africa.

 

[LouisB]

Ty's Zebra.

 

[monish]

Louis,

A great war horse, superb tailless zebra trophy.

Monish

 

[LouisB]

He was an old guy all right.

Ty and ph Juan did very well on this one.

It would seem that he lost a fight with another stallion years ago and walked away minus his pride and his tale LOL.

Cheers Louis

 

[ThomasBeaham]

May 4th
My last full day here and will wind down today with a photo/gamedrive. This morning we saw: warthogs ,eland, impala, steenbuck, giraffe, gemsbuck, wildebeest, zebra, francolin, collared dove, white breasted crow, grey hornbill, tickbirds, Egyptian geese, green rock pigeon, a troop of vervet monkeys, a troop of banded mongoose, and a dwarf mongoose.
Late in the morning we rounded a corner and surprised a Marshall eagle on the ground. It took flight and dropped the cobra it was eating.
This afternoon Louis graciously lent me his Grandfathers Sauer side by side 12 gauge to shoot some birds. Shooting this beautiful shotgun reminded me of shooting my Grandfathers Parker 20 gauge 40 years ago and brought back many memories. I was lucky to shoot 4 crested and 1 Natal francolin.
Pieter stuffed them with sliced jalapenos,select spices,and wrapped them in a fabulous bacon then grilled them to perfection over sicklethorn and redwood coals. They were a delicious appetizer and followed by an equally delicious main course of eland fillets.
After dinner we all gathered around the fire for my last night in camp. I told Louis,Pieter and Juan that I am proof positive I will never be able to top this first time safari. But I would like to try.
This has been an excellent experience and I only wish I had come sooner.

May 5th
I'm on the big bird over the Atlantic as I write this.
Where did the 10 days go?
Louis was so generous,thoughtful, and kind,as were his team and all the South African people I met while on my all too short journey.
Louis, thank you for offering me the opportunity of a lifetime, for all the planning before and the hard work during the hunt. You, Pieter, and Juan are three young gentlemen who give me great hope for the future of hunting and I wish you all the best that life has to offer. Sincerely.

Jerome,
I haven't forgotten about you my friend. Your website is where this all began. A great place where respectful, like minded hunters can share their dreams, realities, and important information. Your "Ultimate Safari Planning Guide" was a GODSEND.
I did not use a booking agent and I am sure that without the aid of the planning guide I would have been "a day late and a dollar short"
So, thank you also for your hard work and making this opportunity of a lifetime possible for me.
Sincerely,
Thomas "Ty" Beaham

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Ty, Thank you for the kind words, I am happy that AH was so useful to you in preparing for your trip. I am really glad to know that your hunt went so well and that you had such an exceptional first safari. I really appreciate members like you who come back from their trip and take the time to share all of the details and pictures with everyone who visits the site.

 

[LouisB]

I would like to thank you first and foremost for the kind words and your support we cannot do this without clients.

Ty reading your report brought back some very good memories for me as well “hunting a blue wildebeest in mist” it is not something that happens every day. You came over here with an open mind and never gave up rain or sunshine.

Thank you for making my hunting experience a good one since it takes team work to ensure a hunt is successful.

Pieter from Spiral Air Charters should also get a special mention thank you for some great flying I appreciate all the preparation and the fact that you take such good care of us whilst in the air.

Jerome I would also like to thank you for hosting this competition as well as your contributions whilst it was going on.
AH is a great forum and full of very useful information!
Thank you Jerome for accommodating everyone it is appreciated.

Guy’s here are some more pictures for everyone.

Cheers Louis