Well, Here it is at long last. Sorry it's taken so long to get around to this but I did have a wedding to attend on the way back. Will asked that I start things off and said he'll jump in as it gets going, or to call BS. So here we go! We all arrived in Darwin on Sept. 3rd on time and without any problems. Even all our bows and gear got there with us and in one piece! Qantas was a class act of an airline! Our Kiwi friend Scotty met us at the airport and we were off to get supplies and a good night's sleep in Darwin before hitting the road for two days of driving starting at 03:30 the next morning. We hit the road and were greeted by a glorious sunrise on the way into Katherine. Everything was going great! Until our left rear tire passed us as we were doing 50 kph on the Arnhem Hwy., half a day from nowhere. Luckily the local coppers were on the road not far behind us and stopped to give us a hand piecing things back together. 5 hours later and we had studs robbed from the other side holding us together with four on a side. We started seeing buffalo off the road not long after and the blood started pumping. You could feel the anticipation crowded into the Ute with the five of us as we worked our way down the road to rendezvous with our friend Ben. Due to our wheel coming off the hire truck we were late in meeting up with Ben and we ended up camping under the open stars the first night... along with a few mosquitoes! We made it into the first camp the next day and got set up in anticipation of getting on some buffalo that evening. Will and Ben went off on the four wheeler and saw a couple really flighty buff. Rex and I hunted out of camp and ran into controlled burns set by the native Aboriginies. These fires were all around camp so after Will killed a nice pig there we decided to abandon that spot and head for greener pastures. I'll stop here for now and give Will a chance to interject with his pig hunt... then we'll get back to chasing buffalo!
Rob, You left the part out about not having a jack handle, and thus the means to raise the damaged rental vehicle. The police officers literally saved our butts! We borrowed tools from David Sheppard (thanks again David) to repair the Nissan Patrol. Just prior to the wheel’s departure, it was cool seeing wallabies, roos, buffs, and dingo dogs as we were driving. I'll get those photos up when I can (they are stored on my office computer). Yes, Ben and I took off on a four wheeler to hunt buffs. We put in a lot of miles while searching. We came across four of the Asian bovines- a smallest bull, a cow, and two calves. They darted the moment they saw us, they also had the wind in their favor. It is amazing how quickly an animal their size can disappear! On our way back to camp, three young aborigines stopped Ben, Jason, Scott, and I. They were screaming, "Pig, Big Pig!" Jason and I followed them on foot back to where they had seen the boar. The pig had crossed a small stream and was browsing on the other side. I had a young ten year old aborigine lad at my side. His name was Wesley and he was too precious! The two of us stalked within 50 yards of this enormous feral hog. I bent down and whispered, "He's all yours." I preceded to hand Wesley my 80 pound PSE X-Force. I wish I had photographed the look on this boy's face, it was priceless! My bow was literally as big as him! He was dumbfounded! He shook his head "no-no" and handed the bow back. I asked, "Are you sure?" I got a nod "yes". We move forward together...I truly wanted the boy at my side for the entire stalk. I ranged the now broadside tusker at 30 yards. I settled my 30 yards pin behind his shoulder, tripped my release, and sent an 860 grain buffalo arrow on its way. The shaft found its mark. The pig took ten steps and collapsed. Wesley started screaming, "BIG PIG, BIG PIG...GOOD SHOT, GOOD SHOT!" Thank goodness Jason was there to take photos (the batteries in my camera expired). Jason (when you join and get a chance), if you wouldn't mind, could you please provide the photos of me with Wesley behind the boar. I'll throw this up for now. Notice the soot on my face and arms. The aborigines were burning everything in sight. Here's a link to the Goyder River Crossing..just part of the adventure. Screw up and you're croc bait! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns5AHetVeh0&feature=related Carry on Rob
Awesome... simply awesome guys. LOVED the part about you handing your bow to the young lad, Will. Most excellent job, my friend!
So far sounds like a trip of a lifetime....speaking of lifetime, I hope I get to read the rest before mine is over!!!! lol
Well, Will should have kept going as the action was still with him. After abandoning the camp that I cringe to think of as "Chez Mosquito" for greener, less burned country Will was the first to get bloody. On our way into our second camp, with Will and Ben in the lead in the Land Cruiser, they spotted some buff that were fair game. We pulled up behind them in the Patrol to see Will out and excitedly pointing into the brush. Rex was up and he stepped out with the rifle. (Rex has a bad neck and so is a crossbow hunter. He wasn't able to get his crossbow into the country due to legal restrictions on them in Oz so he was shooting Ben's .338-06). Just as he was about to touch the trigger off on the buff he had lined up I hear "click" and think "miss fire!" only to see Will's arrow sticking out of the beast. Apparently the two had unknowingly taken a bead at the same time on the same critter. In any case the encounter with those buffs didn't go so well for this one; Will had successfully managed species number what was it Will, 172?! Big smiles, high fives, hand shakes all around and we were off for camp again. There was a lot more game in this section (since it wasn't on fire!) including wallabies, dingoes, cockatoos, emu and all the not so cuddly ones too. We got in around mid day and got camp set up feeling much better about this spot. It was nice having a big tarp and cool running water to escape the blistering hot sun. Justin and I even got out for an optimistic look around down the river that evening. The next day out Rex connected with a small bull with the .338-06. He was asleep in the back seat when we spotted it and when I tried to wake him up you'd think I'd just stole his beer! He was pissed! Until I finally convinced him that we were in Australia buffalo hunting and that he might want to get the rifle out and go after the bull we had spotted. He finally came to his senses and complied. These things are tough! I was getting a bit uneasy about penetrating them when this thing took three 250 grain bullets to put it down, and it wasn't even a big one! Justin was about to set me at ease on that score. We went farther into the bush that evening and spotted a dandy of a bull. Justin was up and he got on the bull without it even knowing he was there. He put a dead on 50 yard shot on him that couldn't have been placed better. The 80 lb bow shooting the PSE X Weave Black Mamba shaft with a weight tube in it to get it at, if I remember right, 750 grains got complete penetration with the arrow hanging about 2" out the offhand side. The bull went just 20 steps and collapsed in sight of us all. This thing was a true brute of an animal! (I was trying to video it all using Justin's camera, unsuccessfully I have to shamefully admit, so I don't have a photo of it on my camera.) We rough measured it at about 90" which should put it solidly in SCI for archery tackle. This is where I was most impressed. Justin wanted a head mount so we commenced to caping this beast. I have NEVER seen hide like this before. 1" of hide as tough as the bottom of your shoes! I have beyond razor sharp knives and it was a chore to hack through this stuff. We had a great cape with no trimming to do because you could cut right up hard against the hide without worrying about going through it. I guess the cape weighed well in excess of 100#'s and maybe pushed 140! Everything about these animals impresses me! Here's the sidebar. Remember in the beginning I said I had a wedding to go to on the way back? It was my wedding! For my bachelor party I got to cape a water buffalo! How cool is that?! More to come tomorrow, and this is where it gets hairy!!!
Steve, This was, by far, the best bacholar party I've ever been to! We did everything to talk him out of it, but honestly he's marrying a swell lady. I hope she can put up with all of Rob's beer drinking friends, especially Rex! The road into Arnhem Land, as you can tell, is much less than a highway. Rob forgot to mention the orientation we had to go through with the "traditional owners". We were given the wheres and whats prior to hunting -half in english and the other half in a native dialect. If Scott and Ben would not have been there, none of us would have had a clue. It's amazing how much goes into a hunt like this. Also keep in mind as you read, we were all deathly afraid of snakes, cain toads, spiders, and crocs. There were signs everywhere, "Crocodile warning". Mosquitos were the least of our worries!
Good stuff Will!! Congratulation's on your Water Buffalo!! I'll have to call you one of these days to catch up on everything and hear more about this hunt. Been thinking about you guys the last couple weeks on how things were going. Good to see you all made It back safely.
I've heard it once on the phone, but I can't wait for the story again written out this time. The "hairy" part is hilarious getting Will's insight on his train of thought. Amazing trip guys!
