Edward Folmar’s Third Time Around – RSA: 2007

As usual, the plane rides were lousy – four different flights, both going and coming between the state of Idaho and Africa.

But arrival in Jo’burg was a snap as we’d had our permits taken care of by Afton House far in advance. They supplied the greet-and-meet service as well as a great overnight stay in their beautiful guest house. (The service includes the next day’s flight out, as well as meeting you at the end of your safari as well as ensuring your drop-off at the international terminal for your return to the States.)

Ernest and Marita of Spear Safaris met us at the local airport. The gun case and baggage were cleared, and we were on our way to camp. This camp was different from our 2005 hunt. Ernest had a more rustic design built, though with en suite showers and toilets. The tents had hard floors, and thatched roofs overhung the walls protecting the tents – quite exciting when the local pride of lions paid a visit.

The main purpose of this hunt was for an old lioness for me. My wife, Deena, wanted a nyala, if time allowed. The pride that my lioness belonged to had made a kill on a Cape buff cow four days earlier, and that was where we started. As we drove down the trail you could smell the kill before you saw it. Two young male lions were guarding the kill when we approached but took off into the brush. There was no sign of the rest of the pride.

Ernest decided to steal the kill and move it to a better position for a later stalk. Then we headed back to camp for breakfast, doing some game watching along the way. Ernest spotted what was a very good steenbok for his area, and I decided to go for it. We drove past and stalked back. When we were about 60 yards away we could see the female, but the male was lying down. So we played a waiting game, ready on the sticks. The male stood up suddenly, and I had my first trophy.

Later, back in the truck, we made good time and saw that the pride had found the kill and finished it off. It now became a game of tracking to relocate the pride as they would not be coming back to this kill, and Ernest said that they would not kill again for three or four days as their stomachs were now full.

Each day depended on the tracking ability of Ernest and John, his head tracker. Time passed slowly but was always full of excitement. One afternoon, while heading back to camp, we came across a beautiful nyala bull that Deena wanted. Ernest stopped the truck, and he and she bailed out and started what became a very long but exciting stalk that ended with Deena taking a magnificent trophy bull nyala with ivory tips and a great mane. She has great success with her scope-sighted Thomson Contender in .35 Remington.

On Day 6 of the lion hunt we found where the pride had crossed over to a different block, so we decided to try a stalk. We found the pride on three different occasions, but they always knew we were there – busted! Ernest finally decided to hang bait and put up a blind.

I shot an impala, and the tracker cut out the guts and spread them behind the truck as we drove along, dragging the bait where the pride had been walking. We hung it in a tree and set up the blind 50 yards away, and left for the afternoon. About 4.30 p.m. we came back and prepared for a long evening’s wait. But not 20 minutes later, Ernest said, “Get ready.”

I followed his gaze, and right in the middle of the trail was the lead female lioness looking right at us. Then the second female strolled into sight, also looking at us. No doubt about it - we were being stalked. Ernest had connected a cable to the hanging bait, and started yanking on it to distract them. This noise and movement became the focus of attention for both the animals. But at that point the old lioness that I was supposed to take came onto the trail and started right for us. She was awesome.

More yanking by Ernest. Then she was looking at the moving bait and stopped broadside for a few seconds, and that was when I started my squeeze on my scope-sighted Thomson Contender in 45-70, loaded with Corbon 350-grain bonded core soft point ammunition. A clean, one-shot kill, full penetration. She did three somersaults, and with a continuous loud roaring she disappeared from sight. The rest of the pride took off into the brush, and all was quiet except for a final sigh. I had got my lioness.

All three of us had shaking hands. Ernest called for the truck to come, and we left the blind and went to find my lion. It took four of us to carry her out on a canvas stretcher. The usual pictures and congratulations took place, and I just settled into a comfortable sense of success. A full mount of my lioness for our trophy room will be forthcoming.

After that, we just took it easy for the rest of the safari. On our last dinner we had ‘lioness back strap’ for the first course – excellent. It looked and tasted like chicken nuggets. Then there was that lost feeling of the safari being over, packing, back to the airport, goodbyes, and the long flight home and thoughts of next time - the fourth time around.