Can you believe they actually granted me a passport?? I woulda thought for sure they woulda denied anybody who took their passport photo in overalls....
On September 28th, me and Dan (DHR)left the United States, bound for Cape York, Queensland. This trip had been in the making for almost 2 years. Started out with a couple emails back and forth with Andy Ivy, who had started guiding with Trophy Bowhunts Australia. I'm a sucker for putting an arrow in feral animals, and by the things I had heard, Australia was right up my alley for that stuff. A couple of emails swapped, and Andy put me in contact with Dan and the ball got rolling. To me, it all seemed a little surreal, like it was all just kind of a "maybe I'm going" type trip. Then we started wiring money over seas. Still, it didn't seem like it was really gonna happen.
Then, when I walked into the D terminal at Dallas International Airport, and saw this monster plane sitting out there, crap suddenly got real!! I was gonna go on my first international huntin trip.
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011005.jpg)
Giddyup !
Cameron, do I need work on some more photos for ya? :) Looking good!
Bring it on Cameron, looks like you're going to take us to Australia with you :thumbsup:
:campfire: :coffee:
Come on Cam!! Hey lil' buddy, did you "bust any moves" or "shake that groove thang" for our brothers in OZ?
I waiting to see how this turned out. Sounds like a dream trip in the making.
Dan will hopefully be along sometime soon with his sides of the story and his pics. Till then I'm gonna entertain you with mine.
I dont travel much, but I can't see where getting to Australia could have gone any smoother. I left Dallas at 10pm and arrived in Brisbane, Australia 16 hours later. The flight was pleasant and pretty much uneventful. I had contacted Marty (Buff) and Alan (Amar911) about what to expect, and they pretty well gave me the rundown as to what to expect while traveling abroad. Thanks again guys!
Upon arrival in Brisbane, I had to get thru customs. For the most part, it went pretty smooth. Except for when I admitted I was gonna be hunting, and a cute customs girl wanted to go thru my gear and look at my knives. My dad had tried to get me to take along his beloved Randall Model 5, with the 8" blade, with hopes that I could use it to tune up a hog with in the outback. Good thing I decided to leave it at home, cause it woulda stayed in Australia.
I hopped another flight from Brisbane to Cairns and arrived there at 9:30am. Dan was due to arrive about noon, but due to some circumstances beyond his control, we finally met up at about 5pm and headed to the hostel that Mick and Andy had arranged for us to crash in for the night.
The hostel was inexpensive, and basic. Perfect for us. After all, this was gonna be the last stop of civilization for the next 10 days!
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011006.jpg)
That night, we got a lesson on Australian culture. We drank their beer, ate their kangaroo meat, engaged in conversation with some locals, and got to witness how quickly a couple of female cops can take down a belligerent drunk and drag him out. I was really liking the place, and me and Dan both agreed by the end of the trip that we shoulda taken another day or two to spend around town before we went back home.
The next morning, Andy pulls up outside the hostel to pick us up. We loaded up our gear, and began to head out of town. But first, Andy had to submit to a mandatory breathalyzer test at a roadblock at 7AM!! I'm not sure, but I was beginning to think that Cairns was a hellraisin town! (For this record, Andy was sober...this is apparently just something that just gets done on the streets of Cairns.)
I love this pic....
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011007.jpg)
QuoteOriginally posted by Mike Bolin:
Come on Cam!! Hey lil' buddy, did you "bust any moves" or "shake that groove thang" for our brothers in OZ?
Mike. You know me brother. I can't go anywhere...dont matter if its in Tulsa, or on a whole nuther continent....without making an a$$ of myself! Haha! But at least I didn't walk around with a corncob hanging from my neck. This time.
From Cairns, Dan, Andy and I traveled north. In the town of Mareeba, we met up with Mick, owner of Trophy Bowhunts Australia, and two other hunters from other areas of Australia.
After a short breakfast stop, we continued our trek up north to Cape York.
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011009.jpg)
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011010.jpg)
About halfway thru the trip, I came to the conclusion that Oklahoma Department of Transportation must obviously take care of the road maintenance thru the Cape York area as well, because the road we were on, was only slightly better condition than your average state highway in Oklahoma.
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011013.jpg)
I'm a bit of a gearhead. Especially when it comes to 4wd vehicles. Australia has it made when it comes to this stuff. Apparently their pickups, or "Utes" as they call em, are loaded down standard with all the stuff we have to pay big money for to have. ARB bull bars, diesel engines, solid front axles...all sorts of cool stuff!
Anyway...several hours later, we arrived at our home for the next week, Crosby Station. There's a handful of you guys who have been to this place before. Welcome back, fellas!
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011014.jpg)
Been wating to hear from you Cam.
doug77
I sense something big coming. Welcome back, Cam.
The first evening in camp was for the most part spent putting bows together, assembling arrows, unpacking gear, lobbing arrows at a target, and getting ready to hunt.
The next morning we split into pairs, each with a guide and headed off to make trouble. The first morning, it didn't take us long before Andy had us into hogs at a swamp. In fact, there wasn't a time during this 10 day hunt that Mick and Andy didn't have us into hogs. It blew my mind to see hogs in the daylight, cause back home, if you see a good boar in the daylight, you're either hunting with dogs, or there's a brush fire moving thru!
As my luck would have it, on the 2nd day of the trip, I woke up with serious sinus drainage, which would later blossum into a sweet little respiratory infection. Id like to get my hands on the cretin who was on the plane who gave me this little gift. Seems like everywhere I fly to, this ingrate is on the same flight I'm on.
The respiratory infection really slowed me down, but I didn't keep from hunting. It did however remind me that even though this was a hunting trip, I was still on vacation, and even if I didn't get to hunt as hard as I wanted to, I was still hunting in Australia, something I'd wanted to do for years. I just needed to kinda pace myself and enjoy my time there. Sometimes I didn't feel well enough for a morning or afternoon hunt, so I hung around camp and took photos.
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011019.jpg)
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011041.jpg)
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011057.jpg)
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011037.jpg)
:campfire:
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011050.jpg)
I'm a bit of a bird nut. Between my dad hauling me along on his bird studies for the universities when I was a kid, to the collection of racing pigeons and game cocks in my back yard, I've always learned to love and know birds. Australia is a birdwatchers mecca. Every morning at 6am the cockatoos, lorakeets, doves and everything else the place has would wake up.
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011113.jpg)
Nice read! I use to own one of those Hillux Surf...I roled it down a 60'hole... They are indeed great truck!! Nice pics! Can't wait for the rest!
Really enjoying this, thanks for taking the time to share with us.
A very nice read, thank you.
Makin me home sick you are, and we have not even got to the game on the ground yet either, and as an Australian it would be remiss of me not to say, "you lucky bastard"!
Great so far!!! Very much enjoying this as Oz has been one of my dreams as well for a long time!
Thanks alot for sharing this with us.
One thing I can't get over is that they would actually keep your knives...that just ain't right!
:campfire:
What a great experience...can't wait for the rest!
Josh
Its impossible for me to recall all the stalks and shot opportunities of this hunt. Most of em ended up with us getting winded by the ever changing breeze that seems to be what Cape York hunting is known for. If a pig or bull was spotted, we had to be johnny-on-the-spot trying to get in range before the wind swirled. Sometimes the pigs were just on alert and busted us from afar, and other times they just disappeared by the time we got to where they were.
On the 4th day, while I was doubled over, coughing up brown stuff that was the consistancy of bearing grease, Mick said, "Lets go kill you a hog." I grabbed my pack and my longbow and we set off for a small swamp that was about a mile down the road from camp.
We eased up to the swamp and took a seat on some logs, so we could over look the area and see if any hogs were moving. The ducks, spoonbills and parrots had caused a ruckus when we walked up, which could've ruined a stalk for us if we had seen any pigs. After about 10 minutes or less, a tree about 50 yards away with a large exposed root system seemed to come alive with pigs. Me and Mick slipped our boots off and proceeded to try to slip into bow range of one of them. However, before we got there, the boss sow had lead the rest of the pigs around the edge of the swamp to the opposite side. Me and Mick backed away into the surrounding trees, and began parallelling the pigs on the opposite shore, hoping to cut them off. Mick stopped often to glass the hogs to keep them in sight. Suddenly, Mick said, "How did we miss that boar that was laying there?" Sure enough, a boar had been bedded on the opposite side from us, but had only gotten up when the birds started raising hell at our movements. When the birds stopped, the boar laid back down.
Me and Mick then focused our energy on trying to get me within bow range of this boar. Once, we came within 20 yards of the group that we had originally set out to stalk, and I nearly killed that sow, but Mick pulled me away from her, and assured me that I wanted this boar.
The boar had repeatedly laid down, stood up, and laid back down. All his actions were governed by these squawkin birds that were trying to give us away. Finally, the birds went silent, and the boar laid on his side, with his belly facing me, and his head to my right. Mick turned the stalk over to me about 40 yards out, and told me that the boar had a tree in front of his head, and that I needed to keep it there, and not expose his head, otherwise he'd see me, and the gig would be up. I knew how correct he was, as I had made a bad shot on a boar on the 1st morning of the hunt, because a boar had seen me move when I was trying to draw while hiding behind a tree. Its amazing how fast a boar can go from laying to running...its faster than my longbow, anyway.
So, I close in. Finally at 13 yards, I run out of cover. I can't lean too far out, but I need to get my bow limb clear of an overhanging tree limb. Then, I need to lean out even more because I got a stick in front of the hogs vitals that I need to shoot around. I musta looked like a fat gumby trying to stretch out around all the trees and stuff in order to get into position. I looked back at Mick and nodded. He gave me the thumbs up, and I began my draw.....
I remember coming to anchor...and thats about it. I always have trouble remembering details about the shot. I've always had trouble concentrating on important stuff. I remember ambushing a pig back home one afternoon, and as I'm waiting for the pigs front leg to come foreward, I was thinking about where the closest pro-shop was that would resurface my bowling ball for me. Whatever. I'm not gonna start taking Riddlin before I go hunting to help me concentrate!
Anyway, I came to full draw on this boar. Next thing I remember was the boar blowing up out of his bed, running about 10 yards and turning and looking at/for me as I was loading another arrow onto the string. The hog caught the movement and had enough, and began trotting away with my red fletched arrow sticking thru his truck about where the back of his lungs would be. Before I could react, Mick is just Carl Lewis'ing it, barefoot, across the mudflat after this hog! I slid my arrow back in my quiver and took off at a jog following the pig and Mick. I say "Jog", because I aint built for speed! There's nothing about me that screams "long distance sprinter!"
I kept Mick and the boar in sight for most the distance, until I lost them in the trees, but then I came across a blood trail. I figured the blood trail would lead me to either Mick or the boar! Hopefully they weren't too far apart. I finally caught up to Mick and the boar, and the boar was wearing down fast. Mick would distract the boar while I slipped in and could get more arrows into the pig. My first 2 shots hit low, so I began to figure that this hog was bigger than I first thought and looked closer. Thats my story anyway!
I finally steadied myself and put another arrow into his lungs, then closed even closer and finally when the hog quartered away, I slid another arrow right into his heart. The hog laid down and gave it up.
I leaned my bow against the closest termite mound, doubled over and coughed up more of the brown axle grease out of my lungs, and blew some more out of my nose. Mick was standing over the boar hollering to me to come over and look at "this bloke". I couldn't really hear him over the sound of me coughing up my insides, but I finally walked over to see what he was raising hell about.
Then I finally got to lay a good eye on my first Cape York boar.
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011070.jpg)
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011076.jpg)
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011079.jpg)
Great story and a really nice Boar,congrats :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Thank ya Grinch! And thanks to all you guys who's had kind words so far.
There's more to come tho. And just wait till Dan gets on!
I thought I'd take a minute and talk about my gear and equipment and what not while I'm still awake.
I only took one bow down yonder. The longbow is one that I had made this past summer by my good friend Doug Rutter up in the Tulsa area. He goes by RocDoc here on TG. Between him, Mike Bolin and a few other guys that I met while I was stuck in Tulsa, those are the guys who got me into this trad stuff 6 short years ago.
The bow is 64", 60# at my draw, and hurls a 570gr arrow with the quickness. My shafts are Beman MFX Classics tipped with Ace 160's with a 75gr insert. There's nothing really that special about my setup, other than it works for me, and the same arrows fly perfectly out of 3 other bows, ranging in weights from 48# to 60#. Cuts down on costs of building more arrows.
My hunting clothes consisted pretty much of cheap stuff. $5 camo shirts that I'd find at walmart, and $15 Wrangler shorts that I found on sale towards the end of the summer. For footwear, I wore a pair of Rocky Outback lightweight boots, with a pair of TexasHuntCo gaiters like the ones Alan used on his water buffalo hunt a few months back. Really good to have! If I didnt' wear the boots, I wore Chocko sandals, which were easy to slip off and go barefoot with while stalking.
Carried a 100oz Camelbak Ranger, which proved to be worth its weight, cause that sun was hot and the humidity was high.
Me and Dan decided that we both had grossly overpacked for this trip. Truth be told, 2 pairs of shorts and 3 pairs of shirts were all that were really needed. But, I felt the overwelming urge to bring an extra pair of britches and (for some reason) a pair of overalls anyway.
Gonna end it here for the evening. Hope you fellas are enjoying it so far, and continue to, as there's still more to come!
Cam
Some great hooks in that one! Congrats! Looking forward to the rest. :campfire: :coffee:
That is one very good boar; congrats!!! :thumbsup:
Jeff
Great story and a good boar!
:archer: :coffee:
:thumbsup:
Great story, thanks.
:archer:
I'm loving this!
Congrats on your boar.....toothy lookin' fellow ain't he? Can't wait to hear more of this trip. Thanks for taking us along.
What a trip!
great boar Cam.
doug77
Thanks for sharing your adventure. Great boar and I love the pics!
Wonderful adventure!! :thumbsup: :archer:
Now that is some serious tusks! Great Job, that is my number #1 dream hunt.. Keep it coming...
Great Story, Congrats on the great Tusker. Looking forward to more on your adventure to Down Under.
Howler of a boar. Well done!
Way to start this off Cam, it's almost like I'm back there!
This was some of the just downright most enjoyable hunting I've ever done. for me it just really doesn't get any better than what we did there on Cape York. Long walks, lot's of stalks, lot's of close calls....and sometimes you even connect. On the very first day I learned that these hogs were literally a different critter than anything I've dealt with in the past. They take some serious killing! Here's my first boar of the trip.
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA010741.jpg)
My first shot took him far back, but slowed him down enough that Andy and I could keep him in sight. He headed into some really crunchy forest and getting a follow up shot was tough. After an hours long game of cat and mouse which involved a km of so of sprinting he finally eased up in a stalkable location. I remember feeling like I was on another planet. The lanscape was so surreal and foreign to anything I'd ever seen before. Anyway I slipped in and got a good arrow into this hog, and like a flash he turned and charged. I didn't have time to do anything except sidestep and whack him on the head with my bow as he ran by. One more arrow and he tipped over. Whew what an introduction to aussie pig hunting!! I was hooked from there on out.
Good job guys! Looking forward to more.
This is awesome. Still listening.
Man, Dan the long nose on that boar just kills me!
Yes! these are the kind of threads I like! :archer:
Man what a trip. Fantastic guys. I wish I knew you were going I would have had you get Andy's autograph for me.
Hope this isn't over and there is more to come.
Very cool thread, thanks for sharing guys!!!
Oooooh good stuff. Thanks.
Wow those are some great looking hogs and wonderful memories!! :clapper: :clapper:
Seriously great job, guys.
Thise hogs carry for sure big and sharp tusks.
Congrats to both,wait for the rest!
:clapper: :clapper: :coffee:
wow some big cutters on that one !! congrats ! sounds like a great hunt..
QuoteOriginally posted by DHR:
. . .and like a flash he turned and charged. I didn't have time to do anything except sidestep and whack him on the head with my bow as he ran by. . .
Wow, I bet that got your heart pounding. Sounds like you guys had a blast. Can't wait to hear more. :campfire:
well done lads ! Mick and Andy know their stuff !
those are a couple of great hogs !
:thumbsup:
Cool pics and great stories!
Well done guys! Really enjoying this and looking forward to the rest :thumbsup:
Wow! The cutters on those pigs are *awe - some*!
Keep up the good shootin'!
And thanks for takin' us along on your hunt!
Shoot straight, Shinken
:archer2:
Here's one of my favorite pic's, Mick and Cam working on the skull of that gigantic boar that Cam killed. You're looking at probably the only person ever to wear blue denim overalls on a cape york hog hunt. Rumor has it he's also wearing them in his passport photo.
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA050812.jpg)
Plenty of stalks fell apart at the last moment. Here I am thinking this boar is toast, until he decides to walk right at me forcing me to shoot from an awkward position with my bow totally horizontal. Normally shouldn't be a problem but on this shot my bowstring hung up in my shirtsleeve and the pig got away unscathed.....Ahhh the breaks of bowhunting.
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA080837.jpg)
But man it feels good when it works out. Here's the look that says I drilled it.
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA020756.jpg)
"It" in this case was a sow that had been feeding with a big mob of pigs on the margin of a swamp the stalk had been right through the swamp, and Andy and I both donated some blood to the leaches. The pic was snapped right after the shot. And here's the result. No tusks on this one, but every bit as satisfying to me.
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA020759.jpg)
Man, I've been to the Wild Australian Outback three times.
A total of nine weeks with bow in hand. Bloody arrows the whole time.
I can assure you, outside of the Yukon, there is nothing like Australian bowhunting anywhere in the world.
That first boar you saw in this post? Until you kill a 420-plus bull elk, you won't understand.
Now, excuse me while I pull out my Australian maps and try to figure out how in the world this working-class Idaho boy can kill a boar half that size.
2012--------here I come!
DHR,
That look "when it all works out" and "wjen you've drilled it" is pretty much the ultimate experience we are all looking for.
Let me say it for you-------------WOOOO-HOOOOOO this bowhunting is FU-UN! WOOOO-HOOO!
Thanks for taking us along guys! Good stuff! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Ha! Dan you'll to send me the full size shot of that pic with the overalls!
Hey man, that stalk where you're bellycrawling thru the sand and cow crap with your bow is on my video camera. It turned out great! Problem is, I have no idea how to get it to my hard drive. I'm sure Heather will know how tho. I got the good looks, but she's the brains of this operation. Good thing shell never read this!
I'll be posting more pics tomorrow when I get in from huntin.
Cam
:clapper:
:thumbsup:
What an amazing adventure. Thanks for the great story and great pictures. I love pig hunting
Wish I could see the pics! Good read though, congrats on fufilling your dream.
Oh Yeah!! Awesome read and great pics guys. Sounds like a blast. Keep it coming. Congrats on some super Hogs.
Gosh, I am soooooooo jealous! I want to go to Australia imore than anything. Pigs, bulls, and buffalo!!! Keep it coming boys :notworthy:
Them boars got some choppers on'em :thumbsup:
One day I hope I will be there
Very nice :archer: :coffee:
That looks like a blast! Good work.
Great stuff guys!!!...Very COOL!
Thanks for sharing.... :campfire:
Great story, thanks for taking us along. I also hope to get there some day. My little brother is a doctor in Sidney, so I have a good excuse to take a few months off and go. Maybe soon. Congrats again on the hunt. Don
:clapper: Well done fellas and glad you enjoyed visiting our beautiful country.
Jeff
Thanks for reading through all this guys, and for all the great comments.
Rik I couldn't agree more, there is nothing like australian bowhunting. I'm already trying to figure out how to get back. and what you say about Cam's boar is completely true. A guy could hunt the cape for 20 years and not kill one that big. Truly a hog to be proud of.
Cam if you can figure out how to get that video up of me crawling through the cow crap do it by all means. That was a stalk to remember.
One more for tonight. I was hunting for the morning with Doug, a great bowhunter and all around great guy from Victoria. We'd split up and each taken one side of a fairly large pond (aussies call 'em dams). We could each see the other guys side better than our own so we were keeping a close eye on each other, and before long Doug's giving me the "pig ahead on your side signal". Well I spotted him sure enough belly deep in the water and by the sound of it sucking it down by the gallon. This time it all went according to plan. The stos head did it's job quick and the pig never made it back to land.
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA080848.jpg)
I'll have to print that pic out of you and Doug. Good pic for sure.
Great stories, guys! Cam, we will get together when the shipment arrives. Super boar! :thumbsup:
Allan
Guys,I am pretty excited about Australia,thanks for sharing!
Love these Ozzy threads, congrats and thanks for posting.
great thread guys ,keep it comming .
would love to make it to oz one day
QuoteOriginally posted by amar911:
Great stories, guys! Cam, we will get together when the shipment arrives. Super boar! :thumbsup:
Allan
Thanks Allan! Just give me a call or a PM and I'll come up and pick it up. Maybe bring Pat Kelly with me and we'll hit up an archery range and make a day of it.
Cam
We ate a lotta redclaw. Locals call em yabbies. They're like a genetically mutated crawdad. I was perfectly content to peel and suck the tails, but Andy made an excellent etouffee out of em one night. Andys a great cook, and we share a lot of the same tastes in culinary artistry (yall like that?) Between the two of us, we destroyed a lotta Tabasco sauce! I still owe you a bottle, Andy.
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011024.jpg)
Dan, testing his luck with the Barramundi, Saratoga, and other leviathans.
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011032.jpg)
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011027.jpg)
Towards the end of the trip, I had started finally feeling better and went out with Dan, Andy, and Corey, the other Australian bowhunter. While sneaking up a gully, we got caught out in the open by a bedded boar.
The way he looked at us, he musta thought we were lost. A coupla whiteboys wandering around in the outback in the heat of the day...how dangerous could we be, really?
Well, this boar found out when I sent an arrow into him at about 25 yards. I think I took him thru the liver, and maybe got a piece of the lung. He got sick immediately and was slow moving. He wandered over to a fallen tree on the edge of a pond and buried up in the roots, and I was able to get in close for a follow up.
Well, that was the plan, anyway. I've never flat out missed anything so close like that before. That pig was in the roots standing up, MAYBE 5 yards away. And I missed. No excuses, I just sucked at that particular moment in history. The hog rolled out and trotted a short distance, coming to stop in an open area, where we closed back in on him and I hit him with another arrow. He whirled around as if to charge, when a chartreuse arrow from my left came from nowhere and caught the hog high in the lungs, changing his mind. He turned around, and I was able to sneak another arrow into his lower chest cavity, taking out the heart. My 2nd hog down.
Dan, Andy, and I on the hog that me and Dan doubled up on.
(http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb277/swollengoat05/AustraliaOct2011132.jpg)
I can finally see the pics. Wow! What a trip!
This thread is a bad, bad influence.
I hope some responsible person takes it down before it costs us the rest of us lots of hard-earned money.
----- Oh who am I kidding? Money? It's like water flowing over a rock. It just keeps on going and going.
Ahhh. . . but memories are everything. They stay forever.
This thread just pushed me over the edge. Outback wild country-----get ready, here I come again!
. . . the rest of you? Avert your gaze from this thread, lest ye be in for the wildest ride of your life. Ye be warned. . . the Outback has not been tamed. There is some seriously wild country out there. Oh, and those Yabbies taste really, really good!
Nothing like gourmet bush tucker after a day of great hunting. Mmmmm-mmmmm!
Lotta truth in your words, Rik! I may be over there with ya someday cause I'd love to go back!
Great stuff, guys!
Vanilla, I have one of Rutter and Biles bows. Sandy Biles made it for me this past spring. a 62" recurve..about 56# at my draw. Shoots really fast and smooth. Waiting to shoot something with it. Took a nice doe with one of his longbows last year.
By the way...great job down under -- looks like a lot of fun!
Awesome batch o' pics Cam. I'm getting hungry just thinking about those red claw!
I did manage to catch one fish on the trip, which amply justified bringing a flyrod all that way. I'd read up online about baramundi and saratoga fishing and convinced myself i needed some serious gear so I brought an 8 wt rod set up with a 20# leader and steel bite tippet.
Here's the leviathon that I subdued with said setup.
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA040773.jpg)
It's a saratoga. Caught him on a bass popper in the lily pads. A 5wt would probably have been better, but I was stoked just to catch a fish.
great story and pics! :clapper: :clapper:
Thanks Felix!
Time for another hog killing story
This one was pretty much total luck, but it ended up with a hog on the ground so I'll take it. We came across this boar while trying to put a sneak on a bedded sow. Andy and I watched him move to the edge of a small swamp and bed down. I moved in on him but just before I would have gotten the clear shot at an unsuspecting pig he heard or smelled something and jumped to his feet. I made a rushed shot and watched my arrow fly low. dissapointed in the shot i nonetheless tried to stay with the pig as he departed. Then I noticed he wasn't moving quite right, apparently I'd hit him but didn't know where. A second shot missed, but I got the next arrow into, but only through the guts. This is when things got interesting. Earlier in the morning I had killed a sow, so I was down to three broadhead arrows and a blunt in my quiver. The three broadheads were now used up and I had a fairly angry boar facing me...so I shot him in the head with the blunt. It had pretty much no effect, except maybe to avert a charge as the boar started moving out at a pretty good clip. I did the only thing I could do which was follow and try to keep him in sight. Meanwhile Andy and Corey were trying to dig my arrows out of the stumps they were stuck in and make them functional again. Miraculously they accomplished this and were able to relay the fresh arrows up to me, which I proceeded to shoot into the pig, finally killing him two arrows later. And the first shot.... it had passed through both front legs at the knee and stayed there, which explained why he'd slowed up in the first place.
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA040789.jpg)
Here's a couple more sows that hit the dirt....
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA050808.jpg)
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA040777.jpg)
I am so stinkin jealous of you guys! What a great hunt some fine trophys!
Thanks for letting us enjoy it with you.
Awesome adventure fellas! :notworthy: :notworthy: :clapper: :clapper:
Daniel, You throw a nice tight loop brother ;)
Livin' large! Killer stuff!
Great thread guys. Thanks for sharing.
Congrats to you both!
Thanks for the thread. What an adventure.
What a blast! Damn Dan, you sure get around!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
(BTW, I managed to derail a proposal in Twisp to ban archery practice on private property in town. I'll tell you about it when you get back. No prob.)
Don't know how I've missed this but,
THIS IS AWESOME!
congrats fellas. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :campfire:
Top freakin notch there boys!
Thanks guys, I appreciate all the comments.
couple more random pics before I wrap up my end of this thing.
Andy with one he ran down, not a bad size pig really!
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA070826.jpg)
Goanna at camp
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA030768.jpg)
Bowerbird nest
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA030764.jpg)
The misty early morning hours
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA110907.jpg)
Very cool adventure!!
Pleasure to have you guys along for the ride. Hope we can do it all over again some year. Keep safe and well and Cam your Hog skull is on the way.
Cheers
Mick
looks like you had a great trip guys. cape york is a truly great place.
Awsome cool stuff.
Great read guys.
Geez,I blink and Pirate Dan is at it AGAIN!
Wow, :clapper: what an adventure!
Awesome pics and story. Thanks for sharing.
Cam you are one funny dude! Well done!
Finally had a chance to catch up on this guys, iv been Flat out since your trip, and already back in SA right now.
Really was a great trip, got the timing just right for the rains as well. One of the best hunts of the season.
we nicknamed Cam "Boss Hog" after killing that monster. He was pretty chuffed about it, and well deserved after hunting hard after picking up a bug on the plane. Cam had us all well entertained back in Camp.
Dan and I got into a few adventures over the trip, i could not tire him out "the only hunter of the year that i could not"
Dan's got a great hunting Instinct on game, not scared to try anything and just pushes on and on.
Really was awesome to have you guys out there!
all the best for the rest for the rest of the year.
Dan we need to chat NZ high country for 2013
As good as it gets! What a trip!! :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Awesome story and great boar, congrats!!
Hey Mick and Andy, good to see you guys on here, hope all is well. Andy I'm looking forward to hearing how things wrapped up for your last trips on the cape.
I'm glad this came back up to the top. I realized I have one more tale to add. Saving the best for last as they say. This one wasn't the biggest in terms of ivory in the mouth, but for me it pretty much summed up the cape york hunting experience.
It was the last day and Andy and I had been walking all morning, several miles through some of the best looking hog country a person could imagine. It was so good I knew that at any moment we were going to be right on top of a boar. Well this went on and on and the day got hotter and hotter,and eventually it started getting hard to stay focused. The pigs should have been in there but they just weren't. when we were about 100 yards from calling it a day we finally found what we were looking for. The boar was bedded on a small water hole, the wind was OK, and he wasn't aware of us-so we had a chance. The stalk was a crawl through tall grass with Andy giving me hand signals so i could keep my head down. When I peeked up to check on the pig he was still asleep in the mud and laying at a good angle. The arrow was the way I wish they all could be and hit right where I was looking. The penetration worried me a bit, but a look through binoculars revealed a river of blood pouring out along the shaft. What a great way to wrap up a wonderful experience
(http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab306/1sharp2blade/PA100893.jpg)
WOW! Way to go guys!
Great story gentlemen. Wish I could do that some day.
That's awesome Dan! Did you ever get that flashdrive back from Corey? Lemme know when you want me to send you a disc to load up for me. And ill do the same.
Man no Idea how I missed this thread before.
Wow what a great trip it looks to be! Now that looks like an international trip I'd love to try.
However, BAREFOOTING it through that country....????