Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

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Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#1 Post by rodlonq » Fri Nov 09, 2012 4:23 pm

Not having much spare time, it has taken me years to learn to make my own trad hunting gear and the time had finally come to put it to the test. I really wanted to make sure I gave it a fair chance so I booked a 10 day hunting trip in Cape York with Mick Baker of Trophy Bowhunts Australia. We were joined by a gentleman named Bruno, who turned out to be a good hunting companion and a great bloke to boot. We spent 4 days on the first property and the remainder of the trip on a second property along the Mitchell River.

I had 3 bows with me, all needed blooding and in fact none of them had ever been hunting except for a short two hour walk with my first bow. The bows are;

The very first bow I ever made, a 68" NTN straight laid longbow, 47#@28". I draw 29" so around 50# at my draw. Sitka Spruce arras 560 grains.

My third home made bow, a 68" NTN D/R longbow, 57#@28". I draw 29" so around 60# at my draw. Bamboo arras 720 grains.

The reflex Gringa I won in Bludog's Optiminds auction last year, 70" NTN, 55#@28" so I'm guessing around 58# at my draw. Bamboo arras 720 grains.

Plus I took my virgin Abu Garcia Master Series 5'6" rod and Shimano Caenen reel for fish hunting :mrgreen: .

After dropping off gear and the trailer we went out for a look about and found some pigs on a cow carcass just on dark. Bruno shot this one, however we didn't take the photo until early the next morning before heading out for Day 1.
CY2012Day0 1BrunoSow1.JPG
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The country was surprisingly tame, I expected all sorts of spiky and thorny growth at all levels but it was mostly only grass and fine sand with a thick layer of very dry leaves almost everywhere. This time of year the pigs are most easily found on water during the heat of the day so we visited various sources including natural waterholes, lagoons and teatree swamps as well as dams.
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CY2012Day1 2Lagoon.JPG
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CY2012Day1 4Dam.JPG
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Stalking in on game was tricky unless you could find a pad going in the right direction, because of the dry leaves or even the dried mud around the dams was very noisy to walk on. Adding another level of difficulty is this property is on the top of the Great Dividing Range so it is windy, but not consistently :x . The wind swirls in all of the low spots where water accumulates, changing direction by anywhere up to 180 degrees sometimes several times in a minute. I found it very difficult to get close enough to suit my confidence and was busted on a dozen different occasions before lunch.

On one dam there was 3 mobs of pigs maybe 100 m apart from each other, so I worked from the predominant downwind end (South) to the first mob and got busted, moved on to the next mob and got busted, and then had to circumvent a lot of country to come up on the third mob in the shade right beside the dam wall itself. I got a shot away this time but it was high because I overestimated the range badly :oops: . Meanwhile Bruno has set up ambush to the East and picked off two pigs fleeing from my curses :lol: Onya Bruno.
CY2012Day1 5BrunoBoar1Sow2.JPG
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The same story was repeated for the rest of the afternoon with Bruno bagging another nice boar from 40 m with his compound. I don't have much description of his hunts because I was in ambush while he was stalking in 8).
CY2012Day1 6BrunoBoar2.JPG
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After the first day I realised that needing to get into 10-15 m with my longbow was going to minimise my opportunities so I set up a target and got to practicing at 20 and 25 m to give myself half a chance. I wasn't feeling the most confident with Bruno bagging 3 pigs and me none, also I had developed a huge blister under the ball of my foot - on both feet :surprised: (man do I have soft feet :oops: ). A couple of stiff drinks for the pain (or whatever reason :lol: ) and off to bed to ponder the strategy for Day 2.

More to come fellas, this is going to take a while. Sorry my ramblings aren't as creative as some of our very gifted writers out there. I come from a technical background so you'll mostly only get a bland description.

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#2 Post by Stickbow Hunter » Fri Nov 09, 2012 4:41 pm

I've been lookin' forward to this report Rod. :biggrin:

Jeff

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#3 Post by hazard » Fri Nov 09, 2012 5:35 pm

This is great Rod no mistaking!

Keep it coming 8)

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#4 Post by Roadie » Fri Nov 09, 2012 5:54 pm

Great Effort Rod. Cheers Roadie.

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#5 Post by bigbob » Fri Nov 09, 2012 6:03 pm

Wow Bruno's stepped up to the plate! Good pigs with nice hooks, hope you get in there too Rod , love these hunting stories, and don't worry about your narrative style,its got my interest for one! Looking for ward to a trad boar and couple barra!
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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#6 Post by Gringa Bows » Fri Nov 09, 2012 10:31 pm

Enjoying the story so far Rod,keep it coming :biggrin:

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#7 Post by Benny Nganabbarru » Sat Nov 10, 2012 12:06 am

I've been waiting to read this story, Rod! Looking-forward to the rest.
It's the great, big, broad land 'way up yonder,
It's the forests where silence has lease;
It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It's the stillness that fills me with peace.

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#8 Post by RobHunter » Sat Nov 10, 2012 8:11 am

Rod

Nothing wrong with your writing style. And is that a bicycle Bruno has, I see 2 wheels, it would make it easier to chase down
the pigs.

Rgds

Rob

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#9 Post by longbowinfected » Sat Nov 10, 2012 8:34 am

Pretty good read. Thanks for that. Pix pretty good too and really underscore the story.
cannot get over how open and flat it is.....pretty tough country to sneak up on something with a longbow in hand.
Just don't get nervous. Enjoy the moment.

Kevin
never complain....you did not have to wake up....every day is an extra bonus and costs nothing.

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#10 Post by Slackshot » Sat Nov 10, 2012 4:03 pm

Looks like a good fire has been through that area ,makes it hard to hunt without cover with the longbow.Stick at it matey your time will come.Love those pics
Slackshot aka Gary Case

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#11 Post by rodlonq » Sun Nov 11, 2012 8:49 am

Thanks for your kind words fellas.

Rob, yes mate Bruno brought his bicycle on this trip but by the end of the trip he was saying that he wished he had brought his longbow instead. Perhaps there is hope for his salvation yet :lol: .

Well Day 2 started early with Bruno and I making a quick jaunt to check out the cow carcass from the first night, while Mick was cooking breakfast. There was a mob of young pigs feeding on it and I was up for a stalk. The carcass was right next to a fence line so the break on both sides of the fence made a fairly large clear area. I took a wide berth through the bush to the south of the carcass in hope of coming up behind a small clump of tea tree. I was still about 60 m out when the wind swirled and I was busted, even this early in the day. This was not a good sign for things to come because as the day heats up the wind only gets more unpredictable :roll: .

The morning was fairly uneventful as the pigs don't seem to congregate on water until it gets pretty hot. By midday it was plenty hot and we were seeing a lot more pigs. We'd both been busted a couple of times and I had got a couple of longer shots away, one too high and one too low :oops: . I think I was shooting OK but making a mess of guessing the distance... somehow - I don't gap shoot or anything so I was getting pretty frustrated. Bruno was up next and he took this nice boar in a wallow from about 35 m.
CY2012Day2 1BrunoBoar3.JPG
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I was beginning to think I'd never get close enough but my determination was also growing, however it was patience I really needed. Mick had spotted a boar wallowing on the last remains of a swamp that would probably be dry in another few days. We were still a long way out to the West with a Northerly (mostly) breeze so I made a compromise between cover, the wind and the position the pig (facing North with his back to me). I made it in to about 30 m before the pig got a slight sniff of me and lifted it's head for a better smell. After a while it put its head back down in the mud and continued resting while I very slowly made my way towards it. In the photo below it was laying in the wallow next to the small log where the green ring is, and I was standing where I took the photo from about 25 m out.
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The boar winded me again and this time it sort of got up to have its whole body upright but still laying on the ground. The time to act was now, I very slowly drew back and my arrow was on its way to the spot behind its shoulder where its body met the mud. The shot was good and the boar very quickly covered about 20 m where it expired with very little fuss (where the blue ring is in the photo). Apparently the shot was spot on and I was one happy trad bowhunter. The was the first animal I had taken with a bow I had made myself and I can assure you it was a very gratifying experience. Up till now I have been using my D/R longbow which has been my favourite bow ever since my first shot from it, but I'm not biased :lol: ..... much. From that point on the rest of the trip was a totally different experience to the beginning.
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The afternoon went on with a lot more pigs being seen but we got busted every time. After returning to camp I put away my mosaic bow and changed over to my 50# stick bow bow so I could blood it next. While Mick was preparing dinner I went back to the cow carcass to lay ambush and Bruno went a bit further onto a dam where there was also a carcass. I glassed into the further reaches around the area and there were no pigs walking in so I set to work building a screen to hide behind, lacing tea tree suckers into the fence to sit behind and wait for the monster boars to come in. After a short time the blind was done and I was comfortably sitting behind it waiting and glassing to the Northern quadrant thinking that would be the only direction I wouldn't be winded immediately. I put down my binos and blow me down me if there wasn't a young boar walking along the fire break (on the same side of the fence as me) looking for a feed on the carcass. The boar was only about 20 m out so I slowly grabbed my bow and moved it into position to take a shot. I thought this is good, it will get a slight wind of me and turn side on to sniff the breeze better and I will take the shot. It is amazing how a chubby little boar can transform into something that looks like a jet plane so quickly. It was out of sight in no time. I promptly set about moving my hiding position away from the carcass another layer so I may take advantage of any other pigs coming along the fire break. It didn't happen but I was contented to sit and sip a cool drink while awaiting for something to come along :mrgreen: . The greenery you can see in the photo below just to the right my bow is the blind in the fence and the carcass is behind that. A very smelly hide when the wind was right :biggrin: .
CY2012Day2 5CarcassHide.JPG
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On Day 3 I will be getting more serious about blooding my stick bow and as this was the very first bow I made myself. More to come later........

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#12 Post by rodlonq » Sun Nov 11, 2012 11:10 am

Day 3 started with a visit to our local carcasses while brekky was cooking. No luck there but a lot of the carcasses had been consumed through the night. After breakfast we loaded up the vehicle for a full day of touring a different quadrant of the property casing dams and waterholes for game.

About mid-morning I had blown a stalk on a mob of pigs resting in the shadow of trees growing on a dam wall that was holding back a good amount of water in a deep creek on the sloping side of the range. The wind had beaten me to the pigs and they had scattered :oops: . Walking up onto the dam wall to look downstream and see if any pigs were camped in the heavier timber along the dry creek bed, Mick was gesturing me to be quiet and still. About 100 m downstream (and upwind thankfully) was a young boar trotting along a pad that came straight along the creek bank towards us, and crossed over the dam wall in 2 places. One crossing about 8 m to my right was a gradual steady climb and easy walking, the other was a lot steeper and had a washout across it and ran straight up the wall to where I was standing on it. The two pads split apart from a single pad only about 15 m down the the creek. The boar was oblivious to all until it got to the fork in the pad just in front of me, where it seemed the boar got a sniff of us and hesitated. I thought the pig would turn and run but it tentatively took a step onto the pad to my right and I was semi behind a large tree planning to loose an arrow at it as it crossed the top of the wall 8 m away from me. :surprised: To my surprise, it promptly changed course and began walking up the pad that I was standing on, bow already half drawn and thinking it was going to walk right over the top of me. I had to do something, so I completed my draw and the boar saw the motion but I wasn't moving fast so it wasn't spooked it turned side on to give me a gift shot about 5m away and down about a 35 degree slope. I made the shot and saw the arrow go in right where I had hoped, the boar now running, turned 180 degrees and headed into a patch of dead woody weed on the top verge of the creek bank. A quickly got another arrow on the string but from the sounds it was clear that the pig was expiring rapidly only about 30 m away. I was pleased to have made my first kill with my first hand made stick bow and the day was still young.
CY2012Day3 1Boar2.JPG
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About an hour later we had been to a couple mare dams and Bruno got busted after a long open stalk. I was up and the game this time was a mob of young pigs camping on the edge of a dam under a clump of trees. There was not a lot of cover on the downwind side of this mob so I just took my time using two small clumps of trees as cover to advance on the dozing mob.
CY2012Day3 2StalkingIn.JPG
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I had closed the distance to about 25 m when the dozen or so piglets (about the size of a beer can) that I hadn't seen busted me and alerted the sleeping hogs. The pigs got to their feet and were milling around looking for the danger. I drew back on a young boar and was about to loose when they detected my motion and the whole mob and fled, but only about 50 m or so away.
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They weren't really sure what was the problem. Being patient is not one of my stronger virtues but I had to have a go this time. I just let down and stood fast with my bow arm still fully extended ready to draw again.
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Patience paid off in this case, the mob for some reason returned to their camp over a period of about 10 minutes. While they were milling around I was looking for the best boar of the mob (none were very big). A nice little boar came up to about where the large branch is laying on the ground to my left in the photo above and I took a broadside shot to see my arrow penetrate a little back from where I was aiming. The boar took off running directly away from me and all the other pigs too. Then a strange thing occurred. I heard the young boar collapse and shuffle about. Then the rest of the mob set on it like a pack of wild dogs, boofing, barking and making a lot of strange noise, very loudly. I was already in pursuit and this was an opportunity too good to miss. I moved in quickly and as quietly as I could to within about 20 m of the mob, that had calmed down and was now milling around the now expired boar. I took the first opportunity at a good shot that turned out to be a sow a bit smaller than the boar. The shot was also a bit far back and the sow ran about 100 m before piling up. This was another first for me, a double kill resulting from the one stalk, only about a minute or so apart. I was had it and too footsore to drag the sow back to the location of the boar to take a photo of them together so you will have to trust me (not that I'd spin any yarns.... ay fellas :mrgreen: ). Edit - I forgot to mention, I was initially a bit concerned that a 50# longbow would be up to the task. Admittedly both of the above pigs are small, but both shots resulted in clean pass throughs as you can see by the two intact but bloody arrows in my quiver.
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CY2012Day3 6SmallSow.JPG
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While I was doing all this Bruno was at the other end of the dam keeping up his assault on the Cape York pig population. A nice young boar and it was still before 11 O'clock.
CY2012Day3 7BrunoBoar4.JPG
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It had been a pretty big morning and I was very happy to have harvested 3 animals with my first bow. We made our way back to the vehicle and moved on. We were going back along our outbound path and at the next dam we drove past a mob of scrub cattle that we had seen from a fair distance earlier on. Bruno had said he was tempted looking through his binos but didn't accept the challenge at that time. I think he didn't see anything that he thought worthy of the $500 flagfall. Now we were only about 100 m from the mob and Bruno couldn't get out of the car quick enough. The big brindle fella with the nice rack looked soooo much better from this range :mrgreen: . After a long stalk and lots of times when the mob looked like fleeing, Bruno was finally having a stare down with the big brindle scrubber who wasn't too happy with him. He soon expired and Bruno had himself a tidy one arrow kill and a very nice set of scrubber horns to recover 8) .
CY2012Day3 8BrunoScrubber.JPG
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We had lunch before moving on and revisited all of the spots we had looked into on the way out. Various opportunities presented themselves but we both kept getting busted by the wind that was by this time, continuously swirling from all directions. We headed back to the homestead early on Day 3 because on Day 4 we had a 4 hour (with stops for hunting) across the next property and one night at the homestead, then camping on the Mitchell River. Now the trip was really getting good. I love camping by a river and just being there, whether the hunting and fishing is good or otherwise. Another change of tack. This time I was putting the bow quiver onto the Gringa....... Stay tuned.
Last edited by rodlonq on Sun Nov 11, 2012 11:36 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#13 Post by Benny Nganabbarru » Sun Nov 11, 2012 11:27 am

Hey, congratulations!
It's the great, big, broad land 'way up yonder,
It's the forests where silence has lease;
It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It's the stillness that fills me with peace.

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#14 Post by bigbob » Sun Nov 11, 2012 12:40 pm

Envy envy envy!!! :sad: :wink: :mrgreen:
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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#15 Post by rodlonq » Sun Nov 11, 2012 4:09 pm

Thanks Fellas.

Day 4 we once again visited the local carcasses while Mick packed up the gear, but to no avail. A quick breakfast including one of Bruno's amazing short black coffee shots and we were away. This time I was carrying the Gringa, also on it's first ever hunt. About 15 minutes after leaving the homestead we were passing a dam and Mick spotted a small boar trotting away from us. I was up so he says, "what the blue blazes are you waiting for, thats a Cape York Rattler". I must have had a somewhat disinterested look on my face :roll: . Mick sounded frustrated now, "that pig is about a hundred years old and can't go any faster than that, if you want a good set of hooks you'd better get your backside out of this truck and get onto it" or something to that effect :lol: . Finally the penny dropped and off I went. I trotted off after the boar with Mick yelling out "just keep on it and when its sick of the pressure it'll turn on you and you let him have it". Thats just the way it went too, another hundred yards and I was 30 m behind the boar when it got sick of being chased and turned to face me. I was on the open ground left by the receding swamp with no cover and no trees to climb either. The old boar had enough and I wasn't too keen to get too much closer to him... hehehe, this must have been good entertainment for the blokes watching (I was still pretty tender underfoot too :oops: ). I sort of very slowly advanced on the pig but in a kind of 'I am a tree and you cant see me sort of way', bow ready and the arrow partially drawn. After a Mexican standoff that seemed to last for hours the boar started to turn away from me to trot off into the bush. As it came broadside I let loose and the arrow found its mark a couple of inches further back than I would have liked however the damage was done. The tough old boar trotted another hundred yards or so before falling over and succumbed to a finishing off arrow. This boar would only be about 50% of the weight he would have been in its prime years I guess. Here he is with the Hairy Oak and Osage Gringa made by LB Rod 55, complete with matching Hairy Oak handled knife made by Kimall. I may not be the toughest bowhunter in the bush, but I know how to accessorise :lol:
CY2012Day4 1Boar3.JPG
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A couple of hours more driving and a few busted hunts later we arrived at the homestead, unhooked the trailer and had a light lunch. It was getting pretty hot by so we went out to the Mitchell River crossing point for a dip and wash some clothes. I thought it was a lovely spot until Mick told us about the 14 foot swamp dog that lived in the big hole upstream of the crossing..... most of the time :wink:
CY2012Day4 2MitchellRiverXing.JPG
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Later that afternoon we checked out a few more dams and got busted on all occasions until we were driving up to the last dam. Trotting away from us was another Cape York Rattler and I was up. The whole process from the morning was repeated nearly carbon copy, except when it turned around it was an old sow. You cant tell very easily from behind when they are on the move because the old shrivelled up boars usually prominent testicles are dried up to almost nothing, making them hard to pick them from old shrivelled up sows :surprised: .
CY2012Day4 3Sow2.JPG
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That was it for hunting for the day. Unfortunately Bruno didn't get any game to ground on Day 4 but I was more than happy with the results from hunting with the Gringa reflex bow, "what a beauty Rod". Now I was a less anxious and more relaxed traditional bowhunter, having achieved my goal of blooding all three longbows within the first four days of the trip. As my mosaic bow now had the lowest tally, I transferred the bow quiver back onto it for the Day 5 hunting trip. Back to the homestead for the night then off to the river tomorrow. Did I mention how much I was looking forward to camping on the river :biggrin:

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#16 Post by rodlonq » Sun Nov 11, 2012 5:04 pm

Day 5. The campsite we were heading to was quite a distance from the homestead so we hunted our way there, stopping by dams, channels swamps and waterholes. The significant difference here was density of the timber and in particular in the swamps. Both Bruno and myself were eluded by the pigs for the whole day, however I still have some photos to show for the day.

Over the past 4 nights the fellas kind of noticed that I snore a little bit :roll: , so I was banished to a nice shady area away from the immediate campsite, supposedly so they could get some sleep. I don't know what they were talking about, 3 or 4 Smirnoff Double Blacks each evening and I was sleeping like a baby :biggrin: . Heres my camp, at least I had a chance of some pigs coming in to feed on the figs falling all around me all night :wink:
CY2012Day5 1MyCamp20mAway.JPG
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One of the key features to look out for in this part of the country is seeding Cape Palms. Apparently when these palms reach full maturity they drop their fronds and set about 2 tonne of seed, which they subsequently drop over a couple of months as it ripens and then they die. The pigs love the seeds and the also love to eat the fibrous material inside the trunk of the palms. The bunch on top of the tallest palm trunk is all seeds and immediately below that is a short palm with fronds still intact.
CY2012Day5 2SeedingCapePalm.JPG
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As you can probably see from the above photo and reinforced by the photo below, the country is much closer here around the water. In places it is so thick you just have to pick a different way to go through it.
CY2012Day5 3CloserCountry.JPG
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At lunch time we went up to the beginning of the deep hole we were camped on where there was a long stretch of shallow water to have a cool off. You could not pay me enough to get in the water in that deep hole after Mick telling us (seriously) of the many large crocs living there and also bull sharks. We later saw several large crocs on waterholes a long way from the major river holes.
CY2012Day5 4SharkHole.JPG
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The afternoon hunting was very hot and in the close swamp country the sweat pours out of you. Still the day was very enjoyable and now was the time to get out the fishing gear. It appears the small fish live a pretty hard life in the river and they are very hungry, these blokes were keen enough to try to eat a lure nearly a big as themselves :shock: .
CY2012Day5 5HungryCatty1.JPG
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The fish were biting but not staying on, an issue I had never faced before. As the sun went down I couldn't resist taking a photo to make up for the lack of game photos for the day.
CY2012Day5 6SunsetOverSharkHole.JPG
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I had a lot of good strikes that evening from the bank but only landed one small barra and lots of small cat fish. A quick photo of the first decent fish to be landed by my new rod and reel then back into the river to be caught when it grows up.
CY2012Day5 7LittleBarra.JPG
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Back in camp I had a closer look at my lure. It was brand new but the hooks were as blunt as the end of my big toe. A quick going over with the EZE-Sharp diamond stick and they were ready to be tested properly. I also had learned by example from the other blokes that I should have brought a headlamp instead of a hand held torch. As much as I like my P7, when you stick it in your gob to hold it while you take the trebles out of a fish, it doesn't taste nice with catfish slime all over it :lol:

Hope the story is going OK guys. It seems I may have gone overboard with length but I probably wont get a chance to write another for a long time so I'll make this contribution a worthy one. Till later........... Day 6 we'll be hitting the swamps with increased vigour.

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Stickbow Hunter
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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#17 Post by Stickbow Hunter » Sun Nov 11, 2012 5:25 pm

Fantastic stuff Rod!!! :biggrin:

It seems it was a trip of many first for you and certainly one you will remember for a long time to come. I know it would have been something very special taking that first Trad kill with a bow you made yourself. It doesn't get much better than that. A big congrats mate!!!

Jeff

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#18 Post by bigbob » Sun Nov 11, 2012 5:33 pm

Just as Jeff says it doesnt come much better Rod especially blooding all your trad bows and in particular two of which you've made yourself.I am green with envy.I love the cape area and still hope to make it back there one day for a bit of reminiscing and a bit of a hunt if these bung legs will carry me. Have fun for the rest of your stay and keep us posted.
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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#19 Post by Bill » Sun Nov 11, 2012 5:45 pm

:smile: Great story Rod along with some truely great pictures. If you keep this up, you could write a book, for the viewing and reading is very enjoyable. 8)

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#20 Post by Jeffro » Sun Nov 11, 2012 7:45 pm

Thats awesome rod,you got some good pigs there mate.Mick sure knows how to find them eh.
It looks like a different place than where I went with him.That was a good write up.
That scrub bull looks mean as.
What a great trip.
Jeff

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#21 Post by hazard » Sun Nov 11, 2012 7:52 pm

Great Pickies and write up, Thanks for posting it up!

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#22 Post by Benny Nganabbarru » Sun Nov 11, 2012 10:48 pm

Good-oh!
It's the great, big, broad land 'way up yonder,
It's the forests where silence has lease;
It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It's the stillness that fills me with peace.

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#23 Post by Hilly » Mon Nov 12, 2012 7:30 pm

you have done well Rod the second property you were at is a great place that the one my son used to work at i have been there a few times my self
Hilly

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#24 Post by Gringa Bows » Mon Nov 12, 2012 8:49 pm

Top story Rod,some good pigs taken,good to see the Gringa got to taste some blood too :biggrin:

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#25 Post by rodlonq » Tue Nov 13, 2012 9:00 am

Glad you like it gents, thank you for your encouraging comments. I don't have any spare time at the moment to write the rest, because I have a lot of work to catch up on and BAS is due tomorrow as well :roll: . Will get back to it soon though.

Cheers..... Rod

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#26 Post by bigbob » Tue Nov 13, 2012 3:04 pm

Really enjoyed it Rod and hope you complete the last bit before too long.Glad I dont have to do those @#%!# BAS thingos these days.
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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#27 Post by Keith Lee » Tue Nov 13, 2012 5:37 pm

Good pics good story good Boars well done Rod.

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#28 Post by rodlonq » Tue Nov 13, 2012 7:22 pm

Day 6. Heading out to some channels to look for pigs. The day was already very muggy due to a brief shower the afternoon before, settling the dust and resetting the pads to show us only the most recent animal movements. Unfortunately it didn't seem to quieten down the crunch of the leaf litter underfoot but you can't have it all :smile: .

On the way out we drove past a tree that looked like the leaves were covered in black mould. In the photo below the small bush in the foreground and most of the tree branches above it looked like the section in the orange ring. When we drove through it (with the windows down) we discovered the black mass was thousands of little shield shaped bugs that make a rotten smell when you disturb them. We got out of the car and left the doors open to let them dissipate. The overhanging branches on the left were almost at the same level as the top of the bush when a huge mass (maybe 100 kg or so) of the bugs dropped of the branch to the ground and the branch catapulted the rest into the air, just before I took the photo.
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Soon after parking the car and making our way along the channel we came across a couple of young boars feeding on a fallen Cape Palm trunk. There was plenty of cover so I got in close fairly quickly and only had a few metres to get to a thick patch of woody weed that would stop me like a road barrier. The nearest boar got a sniff of me so the last few metres took a long time to cover. There was now only 5 or 6 m between me and the boar so I made ready to dispatch an arrow as soon as a good shot presented it self. After a seemingly long wait the boar settled and finally turned side on. Immediately I drew and the arrow was on its way to the boars vitals. After travelling only 3 m the arrow glanced off one of the more solid woody weed stems and changed course by about 45 degrees. As my broadhead penetrated the palm trunk about a full body length behind the boar, both of the pigs were fleeing into the distance being followed by curses :lol: At least I was happy to get into to that range and have the opportunity to loose an arrow.

On the next waterhole we came across a lone spotty boar and Bruno was up for a stalk. I was dragging the chain and had fallen back a fair way (did I mention I have really soft feet and they were giving me curry :oops: ) so I didn't see the hunt transpire. By the time I caught up Bruno and Mick were up on the top level of the bank looking in the long grass and woody weed for Bruno's boar. It hadn't gone too far and Bruno was pleased to find it, having been eluded by a black and white pig on both of the previous days.
CY2012Day6 2BrunoSpottyBoar5.JPG
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A bit further down the channel Mick spotted a pig sleeping under a cane palm and behind a big log. I couldn't see it, even after a lot of explanation where to look. There was only the ridge of its back above the log so this was going to be tricky. There was a long stretch of open ground on the downwind side of the boars camp so I took my time hoping for the wind to stay steady and not give me away. By the time I was within 5 m of the boar I realised I would not have a shot until I was close enough to lean over the log and shoot from almost above the boar. This was the only time I ever appreciated a wind change, the boar got a slight clue something was not right and sat up. Before it got a chance to wake up properly my arrow had passed through its vitals. After a 50 m bolt the pig expired and I was lucky to recover my arrow undamaged. At last my mosaic longbow had taken its second boar.
CY2012Day6 3Boar4.JPG
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A little further down the channel we came across a group of young crocs on the sandy creek bed that were seemingly have a disagreement about something. By the time I got my camera out all but one had disappeared into the waterhole.
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After returning to camp for lunch and a cooling swim, the wind played havoc with out hunts for the rest of the afternoon. We were making good time to return to the vehicle before dark when Mick propped and indicated pigs ahead. I could make out a small mob through the woody weed patch in front of me but Mick was in the open on the top of the creek bank in full view of the pigs. A small boar came along the creek bank within a few metres of Mick and then walked behind him and when the pig was a safe distance from Mick I drew back. Mick was furiously mouthing a silent "NO" and I finally cottoned on to his message. One of the pigs on the other side of the woody weed patch was a cracker :wink: . I slowly approached and passed Mick, moving on till a good shooting lane through the weed patch presented. I was now 10 m from the mob and the closest pig was another Cape York Rattler. I waited for an opportunity to draw on him and just before dark finished the old boar off 100 m away with a second arrow.
CY2012Day6 5Boar5.JPG
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It was good to get back to the camp for a rest and a feed. It had been a big day and I was had it, but I couldn't resist trying to take a photo of the moon peaking through the only gap in the clouds. There was a lot more of the bright silver clouds to the naked eye, but the camera doesn't seem to see it the same. Thought I'd show you the picture even though it didn't turn out any good.
CY2012Day6 6MoonPokingThrough.JPG
CY2012Day6 6MoonPokingThrough.JPG (28.38 KiB) Viewed 6205 times

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#29 Post by Hilly » Tue Nov 13, 2012 7:31 pm

good on ya Rod that last Boar is a good lookin one
Hilly

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Re: Cape York Safari October 2012 - lotsa pics

#30 Post by Benny Nganabbarru » Tue Nov 13, 2012 7:33 pm

Good hunting!
It's the great, big, broad land 'way up yonder,
It's the forests where silence has lease;
It's the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It's the stillness that fills me with peace.

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