Hunting isn’t always about meat or trophies. I believe all public land hunters are explorers at heart. In my experience, even those hunters who have not had the opportunities to backpack and travel as I have, still have the travellers twinkle in their eye and share many of the outlooks on life that I do. They’ve fulfilled their desire for adventure with the abundant variety of environments that Australian national parks and state forests provide. Not to mention the adventure on the way, towns, events, history and some lovely interactions with the people of our different regions.
New places, new species, new terrain, new flora, fauna and a host of other factors with different areas of public land all present their own unique challenges to the success of the hunter. The resolute purpose of our sport and the variety of challenges combined with love and respect of the animal, has made public land hunting in Australia the most rewarding aspect of my recent life. Below are a few photographs of some different terrains and beneath that is an interesting little adventure I had with my partner while hunting in a forest.
Adventure can be had in so many forms, one of those forms that I need satisfied is of the rugged unknown. Hunting seems to fulfil that need in the most unexpected ways. A recent example was during a bow hunt in a state forest, the neighbour spotted us camping near his fence line and decided to bring us his pet goat just to make sure we knew not to skewer her ifs he wandered into the forest, we had a great time playing with his pet, giving it a scratch every time she nudged us with her blue-painted horns. Not only did we have a nice time meeting a local but also had a great time hanging out with his goat long after he had gone:
Unfortunately my partner was winded by this Nanny but we had a nice encounter regardless.
About the author:
Luke is an avid public land hunter and backpacker who enjoys travelling off the beaten track as much as he does hunting the Australian back country
