Sporting Gun UK – May 2019

Great subscription deals at http://www.sportin MAY 2019 SPORTING GUN 29

steadiedmyself,letmybreathoutgentlyand

squeezedthetrigger.

Desire

I grewupreadingRuark,Hemingwayand

JockoftheBushveldandhadalwayswanted

tohuntinAfrica.ButI assumed,wrongly

asit turnedout,thatit wasbeyondmy

IN THE FIELD

African safari

indensecover,wouldcontinuetoleaveme
inawethroughoutmystay.
Owen,theprofessionalhunterinourtrio,
peeredcarefullyarounda bush,drewback
andslowlysetupthetripodshootingsticks,
andmotionedmetoreadytheborrowed
7x64mmrifle.A fewhoursearlierI hadcheck
firedit andknewthatit shotslightlyhighat
100m,givinganeffectivepoint-blankra
morethantwicethat.AsI peeredthrou
telescopicsight,I couldseetheherdcle
“Theonewewantisontheright,mo
slightlyuphill,”Owenwhispered.I look
wherehehadindicatedandpickedup
thekudu,limpingheavilyona backleg
whichwelaterfoundtobebadlybroke
I heldthecross-hairsonhershoulder,

my Icelandic friend and keen hunter, had

persuaded me to accompany him on a cull

hunt with Lanka Safaris in the Eastern Cape

of South Africa. Lanka is run by brothers Owen

and Llewellyn Poultney and covers land that

has been in their family for four generations.

At fi rst I had been sceptical about the high

game fences that lined the local roadsides

but my fears of “canned” hunting quickly

evaporated. “We have 6,500 hectares of ground

here and over 5,000ha on our other property,”

Owen told me. “That ’s enough wilderness for

animals to be born, live and breed in entirely

natural home ranges and without ever coming

into contact with a fence or being bothered by

a hunter. And besides, as you’ve seen already,

more than enough space here for

disappear into completely.”

achers

ences are essential as marks of

rship and to help discourage an

r-present poaching problem. Poaching

erally involves snares or packs of

s. It is indiscriminate and potentially

ative. If caught, offenders are

ished with heavy fi nes or prison

Twenty-twenty vision:

a Xhosa tracker

scans the terrain

A trophy warthog will set you back

Lanka Safaris

The hunting season tends to start in

April or May and runs to late October,

when African temperatures start to

soar. Lanka Safaris operates in the

heart of the Eastern Cape Fish River

Valley. It will tailor packages to

a client’s requirements. The rolling

hills provide a natural home to

a wide variety of species from the

elusive Cape bushbuck to the native

Eastern Cape kudu. Veteran or

novice hunters are offered an ethical

and lasting safari experience while

accommodated in Lanka’s hunting

camp. This consists of eight double

bungalows, hand-built from local

rock and thatch that blend with the

surrounding bushveld. The main lodge

has a terrace, spacious dining room,

kitchen and a well-stocked bar. All the

lodges are equipped with solar panels,

hot and cold running water and other

necessary conveniences.

• Find out more at Lanka’s website at
  http://www.lankasafaris.com