Opportunity-Australian Buffalo!

[Don Thomas]

Last August, I made an exploratory trip to a new wilderness hunting area in northern Australia and found unbelievable hunting opportunities. Unfortunately, I couldn't shoot because of a neck injury and surgery the previous month, but I'm going back to take care of unfinished business and have room for several more hunters. I am not a booking agent. If you are interested in a tremendous trip to a highly remote area with tons of big game, drop me a line at and I will send you a synopsis of last year's hunt. Best, Don Thomas

[Al Kidner]

I 2nd what Dr Don T says. I know of the last trip he and a few mates made to this spot and the hunting area is top notch. Just have to start doing a few more push-ups to draw the poundage and your set......


 From Oz... Alan..  

[herb haines]

Don , sounds like you are improving . very glad to hear that .been wondering how you were doing .
Oz is out for me for a few years but if i keep finding more companies from Oz to sell stuff for may have to go there just to meet some of them .they sure have a lot of pigs LOL will start with pigs and work my way up  -- herb

[Don Thomas]

No doubt... Oz is my new favorite foreign country. As a destination, it's sort of replaced Africa for me (not that anyplace really can... )The buffalo hunting we found there last year offers the best dangerous game bowhunting opportunities I've found in a lot of years of looking. And there's axis deer, pigs and goats. And red deer, rusa and sambar. And the most exciting saltwater fly-fishing in the world. And great people, an amazing number of whom are now great friends. And... oh well; you'll just have to see for yourself. Don

[Rick McGowan]

Dons, saying the same thing that I have been saying for years, I think Australia has the best opportunity in the world for a bowhunter to hunt buffalo and lots of other things as well. On the area that I hunt buffalo we took four this year that would have been in the top five had they been taken with a bow, we just didn't happen to have a bowhunter when we ran into them and one or two of those could possibly been a new #1. Those are huge buffalo. Some days we saw over 500 buffalo. Rick

[JC]

Rick, what about us chikens who don't want to hunt buff? You mentioned "lots of other things". I assume besides hogs and axis, theres all the feral donkeys and camels and such.  Anything else? I've heard, because of lack of big predators like Africa, the game in Austrailia is a little more stalkable.

[Glenn Newell]

JC I think that the reason for large numbers of game out here especially the pigs and goats is that the conditions just suit them down to the ground and they breed up in large numbers. Pigs for instances have had a war wages on them for as long as I can remember and I have been bowhunting pigs for thirty years now.
The numbers of pigs in sheep country when they lambing at times have to be seen to be believed. There are six species of deer in Australia to hunt as well as our native dog, rabbits, hares, red fox, cats, wild horses.
Back in the seventies I was hunting on a sheep station in Central Queensland and the grazier told me that between him and his neighbour across the road they had a wild goat population of around 50,000 goats. After getting directions from him I went to a dam on an open plain he told me to go there were about 3,000 goats that I could see stretched out across the plain there were so many goats goats leaving the dam and waiting to get on the dam for a drink before bedding in the scrub for the night.
Almost all of the feral game in Australia has had huge eradications run against them over many years now but they have never been able to get compelety on top of them.
There are plenty of opportunities for bowhunters in Australia and with no bag limits and hunting seasons it makes for some very good hunting...Glenn...

[Al Kidner]

Only just , JC only just a little more stalkable.............................


Alan In Oz.

[Rick McGowan]

I think Glenn covered it pretty well. We have a station in Queensland that has about 30,000 goats and the daily fee is a box of stubbies(case of beer) and the trophy fee for a trophy goat is another box of stubbies! I don't know of anyone hunting camels, but donkeys are a very sporting animal and pretty difficult for bowhunters. Scrub bulls also, but they are about as dangerous as the buffalo. Rick

[Glenn Newell]

I have never hunted camels but from what I have been told there are very dangerous game to hunt. Rick some of the station owners in the outback be dangerous game also. A mate of mine use to hunt a remote station in New South Wales and you had to leave a carton of stubbies in the mail box at the gate on your way home as you weren't allowed to directly give it to him and if you didn't you were never allowed back on.
Same station owner had a very well known Australian artist ring him up and said that he had flown over the porperty the week before and asked if he could fly up in his plane and spend a couple of weeks painting there. The station owner agreed to this but when the artist arrived and got out of the plane the artist had very long hair and was wearing a cheese cloth shirt and before he could introduce himself the station owner told the artist to get back in his plane and leave because he wasn't going to have any hippy bastards on his station...Glenn...

[JC]

Thanks for the info guys....maybe Australia for the next big trip.

[Badger Matt]

Sorry Don, but you can't go to Australia.  You don't have time.  We've thought it over and are about ready for another bowhunting book from you; something along the lines of Longbows Around the World.  Now if Australia is absolutely necessary to the book, go ahead.  If not, it's back to the grindstone with that nose  

[Al Kidner]

Hay Glenn,... next time your up my way, and if I can swing it from the station owner, i'll take you hunting Camels. I know of a place that has a few hundred not far from Chital country. I'm just waiting on my elbow to mend and I'm away.

  There a hard animal to stalk being tall and all. I'll scan some pics of my last trip out there and put the on the "Daily hunting pics" thread for all to see........


Alan in Oz......     ...

P.S you get my last email about Simmon and I being down your way on the 11th/12th Glann...?

[Glenn Newell]

G'day Al, no worries mate I would like to have a hunt on the camels. I did get your email, just been a bit busy of late, I had a bit of bad luck on a house I was renovating at Chinchilla a couple of weeks ago, the bloody house burnt down about 2:00am and my work truck and all of my tools burnt with it, I only made it out of the house with the clothes I was wearing, so I have been busy buying neww tools and looking around for another work vehicle, done my knee in as well lifting bearers by myself so I can't walk real well right now, anyway I will be around when you and Simmon come down, I am having about as much fun as a busted knee right now, I think I will have to go hunting and forget about things for a while...Glenn...

[Al Kidner]

SHEEESH............ mate what you been doing            

Have to sort some things out mate, look after your self. Your dead for a long time !


Alan.

[Rick McGowan]

If anyone is interested in going to OZ for buff, in 05, NOW would be a good time to get serious about it. It will take at least that long to work up good arrows. Also the sport shows start up in January and thats when alot of the hunts get booked, so if you want to go, you have a much better choice of dates now than there will be in a few weeks. Also I have been getting some good sales prices on flight from the US to Darwin for May/June lately, they will go way up, before they come down again. Rick

[stickandstring]

The neat thing about Australia is that most animals are feral or introduced species and are available for hunting. In fact, most farmers are very receptive and need help in erradicating the vermin. When I lived there, you had no problems with access and it was wide open for whatever got your fancy.

Nick Horton

[The Lost Viking]

Great thread.  Looking at trip to Oz for my 25th anniversary - two years from now.  I have already planted the seed with the wife about doing a little hunting while there.  Keep the info flowing.

Regards

Todd

[Rick McGowan]

Todd, most of hunters that come to OZ where I go, bring their wives and or kids, everybody has a great time and they all want to come back. They all also say that they wished they had stayed longer. Lots of things to see and do.

[Extremist]

Rick, I'm transfering from Sicily to Chicago this April/May, but I would love to start working out some details for next year.  The wife and two daughters would most likely be going as well.  Just trying to plan ahead; a good idea when dealing with the Military.  Thanks.