AUSTRALIA: Back Country Hunt - NT Australia

[deewayne2003]

Great story as an Australian, i have done similar things , waiting to hear the rest of the story a lot of people do not realize how big Australia is.

Damn right!.... If you wanted to recreate our hunt in the USA you would have to drive from NYC to LA and hunt for 2 weeks and drive back.

Not to mention you would be doing it with no cell coverage for most of the drive while dodging a Noah's ark list of animals crossing the roads in front of you at night..... Jesus I thought whitetail had a deathwish for their ability to run in front of vehicles NOPE; the world champion of vehicle suicide is the Kangaroo!

 

[Tintin]

the world champion of vehicle suicide is the Kangaroo!

The Kangaroos are bred and released by the crash repair industry here.

 

[deewayne2003]

Day 6:

We take a day off, head to Darwin and pick up some supplies and stop by an associate of Mick's in Darwin and take a look at the recently cleaned buff skull of @Tintin and make arrangements to pick it up after we're done hunting and bring it back with us after we finish hunting.

@Tintin I'm hoping this doesn't spoil the surprise but I shared this pic with you before and figure you'll post a pick of the completed version after you pick it up from Mick.

Tintin's buff head

We also stop and take a look at these 2 buff being raised in a paddock.

 

[deewayne2003]

Great adventure! There has also never been a cooler “borrowed rifle” than the one you used!

You are correct sir!

I appreciated the chance to get some trigger time with a .404J on BRNO action; as Dennis Olson has mine finishing the conversion from .375H&H to .404J

More days of write up to come but that'll be tomorrow of the next day as I've got some work to do with the flooded laundry room and it is deer season now.

 

[Ku-winda]

DW2003, What a fantastic, chronological journal of your adventures - you've got our attention now and we anxiously await the rest of the story. I could almost smell the hyptis and feel the adrenaline pumping as you described following up the wounded buff, nothing you ever take for granted, regardless of size! Well done sir!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The most common sight on the road are kangaroos and road trains - Trucks pulling up to 5 trailers behind them for the long hauls needed to keep the least densely populated nation on earth supplied with everything from food to fuel.
View attachment 563446

On through to Alice springs and on the road again and continuing north to Katherine and a quick stop at the hot springs for a quick swim as a welcome relief to the driving schedule.

Mick in the hots springs
View attachment 563447
Yes I swam too but with with my head on a swivel, as there were freshwater crocodile warning signs all around.... for some reason I can't get the pic to upload.

A final stop at Adelaide River for ice and a quick stop by the 303 Bar for a meal, pint and say hello to Charlie - the iconic Water Buffalo from Crocodile Dundee who lived out his later years in a paddock beside the pub before being immortalized by taxidermy.
View attachment 563461

@deewayne2003
And you thought everything was bigger in Texas.
Australia is a big place with plenty of wide open spaces that take your breath away. Our trucks are some of the biggest in the world.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Barramundi is amazing! Hold the vegimite please. Great so far!

@Bullthrower338
Cody where your sense of adventure. Vegemite on toast for breakfast and your set for the day.
I know you would prefer to be chased down by a scrub bull while armed with a daisy red Ryder BB gun than eat Vegemite tho.
Bob

 

[Bullthrower338]

@Bullthrower338
Cody where your sense of adventure. Vegemite on toast for breakfast and your set for the day.
I know you would prefer to be chased down by a scrub bull while armed with a daisy red Ryder BB gun than eat Vegemite tho.
Bob

No mate, you will put your eye out with that Daisy! I do regret not shooting a scrubber while I was there though! Next time

 

[Tintin]

@Tintin I'm hoping this doesn't spoil the surprise but I shared this pic with you before and figure you'll post a pick of the completed version after you pick it up from Mick.

Huge thanks to you and Mick for bringing that down for me

 

[deewayne2003]

Huge thanks to you and Mick for bringing that down for me

Your most welcome, it is a small world.

 

[ChasingHemingway]

What happens to all the meat taken from the animals harvested?

 

[deewayne2003]

What happens to all the meat taken from the animals harvested?

Eat what you can fresh and move on, we’re 10k from the Ute with heat and sun so bad the buff start turning pink almost immediately.

Also this is T.O. (Traditional owner/aboriginal) land; they(one car with 4 adults) were the only other hunters we saw and they were hunting wallabies and turtles, their native foods. FYI it’s strictly taboo to take pictures of these people; but they were friendly, said hello and told us what they were doing and went about their day hunting and we never saw them again.

That’s the win win of this system; you get high shot volume but the invoice has SWEAT & shoe leather written on the amount due line.

The results speak for themselves; invasive numbers are down and native numbers are rebounding…. Except for the Goanna lizard.

Sadly it went completely out in the area because of the poisonous cane toad that was introduced from Brazil to fight the cane beatles.

Cane toads were a constant site in and around camp and are only poisonous if eaten.

 

[Tintin]

What happens to all the meat taken from the animals harvested?

Some of the meat ends up like this

 

[264]

Here's a few more pics-
waiting ,back strap over coals

chicken season salt

pretty good

 

[Tintin]

MasterChef Mick

 

[264]

Resting up around 14:00, about 9km in

pigs win 338-06

Mitch Kimber 300WM

Topping up water supply at a spring

 

[rifletuner]

Mick and Joey are good people

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Damn right!.... If you wanted to recreate our hunt in the USA you would have to drive from NYC to LA and hunt for 2 weeks and drive back.

Not to mention you would be doing it with no cell coverage for most of the drive while dodging a Noah's ark list of animals crossing the roads in front of you at night..... Jesus I thought whitetail had a deathwish for their ability to run in front of vehicles NOPE; the world champion of vehicle suicide is the Kangaroo!

@deewayne2003
Plus kangaroo can't read. You see a sign warning of kangaroos for the next 50km. You can bet you won't see one in that 50km. At 55km you belt one. If only they would play by the rules.
Wombats do more damage, they have a tendency to go under the car and rip font ends apart and/or roll the car. They're like hitting cinder blocks/ besser blocks full of concrete.
Bob

 

[Hunter4752001]

@deewayne2003 Glad you had a great trip to the Top End, quite an adventure for you.

I'm a bit confused about some of your requirements. Why did you need an R-Licence and SSAA membership & insurance? Were you headed down to NSW for another hunt afterward?

ps While I doubt there's a requirement for liability insurance in the NT, it's undoubtedly a good idea.

 

[BourbonTrail]

The more of these trips through the land of Oz, the more I want to try it for myself. The rifle thing sounds like a major PITA, but definitely not a dealbreaker.

Congrats on a good trip fellas.