MY 2016 SEASON

CAMEROON

Having just completed my 2016 season I can say that it was once again a good one. More importantly it was a safe one. Northern Operations Africa is who I deal with for all my Cameroon hunts. Dave and Maria with Jacques help run a tight ship and I can honestly say that they are a great pleasure to deal with. The game density in this particular area we hunt in is very high. Roan, Buffalo, Hartebeest and Eland sightings occur almost daily. I can’t imagine Cameroon is an easy place to operate in and I take my hat off to NOA and to Patrick for their consistent hard work in keeping and maintaining the high standards. Trust me when I say that not all areas in Cameroon are full of game and well managed like this one. I did 3 hunts there this yr and all 3 hunts were with members of AR. Thank you Ross Murphy, Chris Peccia and Will Parks. Writing is definitely not one of my strengths so I’ll let the photos do the explaining



To be continued...

Keep it coming!

ZIMBABWE

My country and my home. Yes, politically it’s a horses arse, yes, National Parks Authorities are incompetent for the most part and yes, we’ve been having bad publicity but despite all of this we still manage to offer and provide some of the best hunting there is on the Continent. Most of my hunting this year as always was done in the SVC and mainly on Sango. I also did a number of hunts on Mokore and the odd one on Hammond and Senuko. I also had the great pleasure of hunting lion in the BVC with good friend, Brent Hein. The BVC is an extremely well run and managed area and is in my opinion the best lion hunting destination. Having hunted in numerous areas in Zimbabwe and indeed Africa, when I’m asked what my favourite area to hunt in is, I always without hesitation say it’s Sango. The abundance of game, quality of the camps, variety of vegetation and topography all make it without doubt one of the prime areas to hunt in. In my opinion there is no better place in Zimbabwe for a BIG 4 hunt with a mixture of general plainsgame.


SANGO

As I explained earlier most of my hunts are conducted on Sango. Zambezi Hunters handle all the paperwork, logistics, meet and greet at the airport, dip & pack etc and have done so with utmost efficiency and professionalism. Thanks Winston and the ZH team for your hard work and efficiency.
Sango lodge and Sango tented camp are amongst the finest I’ve ever hunted out of. Attention to detail is remarkable and our hosts, Jannie and Cathy do a tremendous job of waiting on you and making sure everything is in order from the tented camp. Nevin and Lindsay, for your great hospitality out of the lodge. Dave and Cheryl, for overlooking everything, for your tireless work day in and day out, of having to deal with the politics and coordinating the logistics for the general smooth operations that Sango is in its entity. Thank you all immensely. Below trophies were taken on Sango.


MOKORE

Without doubt one of the easiest and most flexible operators to work with. Your very well managed camps and management team make it a pleasure to do business with you. Gary, Mel, Don and the rest of the Mokore team. Thank you. The below trophies were mostly taken on Mokore with some from Senuko, BVC and Hammond.



MAURITIUS

This relatively unknown little island is situated about 2000km off the South East coast of Africa and is where my parents and son Jake were born. It’s truly a paradise with warm seas, white beaches, coral reefs, golf courses, fantastic hotels, good fishing and of course some seriously good hunting for the Java Rusa Deer and feral hogs. Having loads of family and relatives that live there enables me to organise hunts for very competitive prices. It’s only a 3.5hr flight from Johannesburg which makes it very easy to get to and so adding an extra 5 -7 days at the start or end of an already booked African Safari would be ideal. There are two methods used to hunt in Mauritius. Spot and stalk, which is self explanatory and driven hunts. The driven hunt is the more traditional way of doing it and it really is more of a shoot than a hunt. It’s all about the ambiance of hearing the hounds and beaters and the big luncheon after the hunt where all the stories of the day’s events are embellished. This yr I was fortunate enough to get myself a cracker of a stag during a driven hunt. Dan Milton who travelled all the way from Canada also managed to get himself a nice heavy antlered Rusa on a spot and stalk hunt.



FINAL THOUGHTS

At the end of the day there are many factors needed to make these hunts a success and I strongly believe that there are none more important than the clients themselves, so for all those that continue to support me yr after yr and those I’ve met for the first time this yr I’d like to thank you on behalf of my family, trackers and myself. None of this would’ve been possible without you and you all played a major role in me getting the award for “Best PH of the year” for the second time in my career. Thanks to Jonny Hulme for his help, support and advice. There are few PH’s who have the experience that he has and he very kindly shares his ideas and thoughts with me. Special thanks to my wife Suzie and boy Jake. Their continued love, understanding, support and encouragement is was continues to drive me. To Mudini and Ishmael thanks for your hard work and excellent tracking skills. Not much gets away from you guys.


Merry Christmas everyone and I hope 2017 brings you all good health and happiness.



For those that will be attending Dallas and SCI, please pop in for a chat. Dallas booth # 4608 and SCI booth #1531.

Thierry,
Our hunt with you was one of the best we ever went on. If I had shot better, there would be more pictures!
You are a pro's pro - inspite of what Pete says!

See you in Dallas and we will "make a plan".

Ross

Congrats Thierry, looks like you and your clients had a tremendous season.

Great pictures and nice summary of your season.

Always enjoy hunting with you and can't wait for the next adventure.

Now I've got Sango on my mind again...

EXCELLENT! What a great season.

absolutely phenomenal. Congrats!!!

Superb trophies all the way around! Looking forward to more good times!

Nice one Thierry .Looking forward to making movies with you Next year. Congrats on Being THE BEST. See you in Dallas for a chando one.

Thierry congrats on a fantastic season and the well deserved PH of the year award.

My god are those some exceptional trophies.
Congrats Thierry

Another great year! Congratulations. You are the man. Some of the best trophies overall for a full season I've seen from anyone. That is a great family photo.

Beautiful animals Thierry, it looks like your clients had great hunts.

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
Thierry,
Our hunt with you was one of the best we ever went on. If I had shot better, there would be more pictures!
You are a pro's pro - inspite of what Pete says!

See you in Dallas and we will "make a plan".

Ross

Thanks Ross. A great compliment from someone who's hunted Africa extensively. I look forward to "making a plan". See you in Dallas.

Thanks for the compliments everyone. As the saying goes: you're only as good as the area you hunt in eh!

Hunted Sango with Thierry in 2015. Remarkable place, remarkable guy. Glad to hear all is well !

Spent some time in camp with Thierry. Very good guy and had some excellent rifles to loan to his hunters.

talk about big black stink bull giraffes

Thierry,

Really well done on all your hunts and regardless of the drought Zim produced some excellent safaris this year.

Mark

Lots of nice trophies with some familiar faces. Great season!

Wonderful Trophies!!! EXCELLENT Impala!!!

Well done Thierry awesome trophies and very happy clients to boot!!!

Looks like a busy year. Well done on some fantastic animals and hunting. Cheers.

.

Congrats on what looks like a great year! Well done. Love the grysbok!

Happy holidays.

Charlie

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Congratulations on a fine year Thierry.
Many luck hunters got to take some fine trophies with you.
Happy New Year!
Cheers
Steve

PHENOMENAL mate!
Well done on a fantastic year. Sango really has produced some amazing experiences this year!

See you in Dallas

congratulations outstanding trophies thanks for sharing

quote:

Originally posted by Phillip Smythe:


PHENOMENAL mate!
Well done on a fantastic year. Sango really has produced some amazing experiences this year!

See you in Dallas

Awesome year!!

Thank you gentlemen. I look forward to catching up with most of you at the conventions. Cheers and Happy New Year.

About seven years ago I joined AR and reported that this "Thierry Labat" fellow was a rising star . . .

Kidding aside, well done Knuckle and congrats on an outstanding season and another well deserved Best Overall PH Award.

See you in Vegas then Addis.

Congratulations on both trophies and the price you got Those Elands looks amazing. Both the derby and the others

Congrats Thierry! Your dedication and persistence have served you well!

Nice set of trophies. Thanks for sharing.

BH63

Happy New Year

Busy guy - congrats

Morten

Well Done Bro!!! Well done!! I see you're still smashing some amazing animals. I wouldn't ever doubt it would be otherwise. Congrats

Congrats OX on a fantastic year capped with Zim PH of the year.