* Leaving for Oz!

[Charlie Lamb]

Let me say that those "Basalt Warriors" LOOK like what I think a wild hog/boar should look like. FORMIDABLE!!!

Maybe they should be nicknamed "Assault Warriors".

[bohuntr]

Cool story and pics Joseph. Keep um coming.  Dan

[Randy Morin]

Great story so far Joseph.  That is one bad-ass lookin pig bro.  Lookin forward to more.

[Joseph]

I was very happy after getting this pig.  Earlier in the week I had shot my first pig.  It was right at dark, next to a big lake.  The grass was right at knee deep which turned out to be just about right for stalking. I was trying to catch up to a pig that was walking along a fence with the light fading fast.  I got a good broadside shot at 10 yards with a very audible hit that brought about an instant reaction from the pig.  I wasn't able to see where the arrow hit however.  The pig went through the fence and ran into a small depression and then all hell broke loose!  The squeeling from my pig suddenly stopped and it was real quiet for about 20 seconds then it sounded like the hog battle royal had broke out and pigs came boiling out of the depression going in all directions and all of the snorting & squeeling!  Amidst all of that there was one pig that was only on 3 legs with the right front leg not working.  This was the side I was shooting at so I think I might have put the arrow into or through the shoulder blade.  I stuck an arrow in the ground at the last place that I could identify that the pig had walked and we left until the next morning.  The following days search revealed no blood, no arrow, and no pig!  :confused:  Between that and my poor shooting at the other 2 had me feeling pretty shaken.  This hog was just what I needed to get my head right and refocused back on task.

[Joseph]

The Chital deer are very visible around the ranch homestead and the stags could be heard roaring every night while we were there.  My friend Dom and Bill spent a lot of time stalking the stags and he was rewarded with 3 shots for his efforts, none of wich resulted in a stag on the ground.  Watching them on video, it was educational and humblimg to see how these deer reacted to the shots.  I know they get killed with bows because I have seen it done on video and I know people that have done it but after a couple of weeks of chasing them I can see that I have a lot more work to do.  One of the other rewards from stalking deer was Spear Grass.  Now we have spear grass in Montana but it is just a minor nusiance.  This stuff over there was like Zulu spear grass and removing it from your body became a daily activity at breakfast and supper.  The scalpel blade got a real good workout, especially after a barefoot stalking session.

[Joseph]

A typical day would have one of us sitting in a blind in the morning while the other went out stalking deer with Bill.  About 0900 or 1000 we would converge on the house to eat and figure out what we were going to do that afternoon.  Then we would take care of whatever task needed attention such as laundry, touching up broadheads and the like.  The was usually a balloon shooting contest somewhere in there and then depending on where we were going in the afternoon we would head out at 1430 to 1600 and hunt until dark.  
 
This is a typical afternoon spot that we would sneak into and watch or go from swamp to swamp  looking for pigs.

[Joseph]

I mentioned previously about the blind I sat in and the deer would appear out of the fog and grass like wraiths, here are 2 pictures out of that blind just as it was starting to get light
 

 
It was a really neat place to sit and I saw deer within range almost everytime I sat there.

[Joseph]

Toomba station is located in an area of Queensland known as the Great Basalt Wall.  It is an area of extensive lava flows that ran for about 120 miles.  The basalt usually follow riverbeds but there are also areas where it covered the ground for miles in every direction.  The water that flowed in the river beds before the lava came now flow underneath it and pop up in springs leading to a lot of wet ground.  Toomba also has a large area outside of the lava flows that is considered dry ground.  A lot of this looked very similar to southern Africa.  I had heard mention several times of the "waterfalls" and decided that this is something I needed to see so we headed out there one day and this was the site that awaited me.
   .
The other waterfall was just off to the left of this one but it dry.

[Joseph]

You can see in the picture that the Basalt which is black has flowed over the original land surface which is the white stone.  Here the grass and other plants have completely grown over the basalt but in other areas the ground was nothing but cracked basalt with only sparse vegitation growing up through cracks and trees in the low spots where water collects.  On the way back to the house we also ran across the walking thorn brush control program
 
Nine camels were turned loose to control a type of thorn brush that was getting excessive in one part of the ranch.  They are doing a good job and it was neat to see them strolling around.  Another animal that I haven't mentioned much about yet are the Wallabies and Kangaroos.  Again, a cool animal to see hopping around when you have grown up in Montana but I soon learned that they have a dark side!  They have a very annoying habit of sitting and watching you sneaking up on a deer or hog and then just when you think you might be going to get a shot they do a double thump on the ground with their back feet and send everything running       They were off limits to being shot with a bow so all you could do is get mad and look for something else to stalk somewhere else.

[Shakes.602]

Welcome Back Home Joseph!! Some Great Pictures and that Boar just "Looks" Ugly, Mean, & Nasty!! Good Shooting!! What would they let you bring home with you on the Plane? One More Question, What kind of Arrow did you Snuff that Fugly Critter with??

[Randy Morin]

Bring it Brother, Bring it.  I'm lovin this Joseph.  Thanks for sharin like this.  It'll be a while before we can hook up I think.

[Joseph]

My total for this hunt was 2 hogs, 1 not recovered, 2 hogs missed, 2 dingoes missed, numerous close encounters with deer, and a whole new treasure trove of memories and new friends!  I think there was only one day out of 14 when I didn't have an oppurtunity to stalk deer or hogs and usually it was multiple stalks per day.  I was very happy with this considering the unseasonably wet weather and long grass that in many areas was over my head.  My friend Dom got 3 shots at Chital and he shot 6 pigs and 1 dingo.  We spent another week after the hunt with Al Kidner and his wonderful family doing the tourist thing and seeing more of Australia.  It was a wonderful time and I am already planning on going back in 2008.  My return to Africa is going to have to waite another year.  Australia is a really fascinating country and the people are the friendliest of any country I have been in which is a few.  There is also a wide variety of hunting oppurtunities there to cover just about anyones interest.  We did our hunt with Bill Baker who owns Pacific Bowhunting Safaris.  He can be reached at; [email protected]
He does Axis/Chital deer and hog hunts at Toomba station and Aisin Buffalo hunts on Melville Island off the north coast of Australia.  Bill had some video with him of buffalo hunts including Don's buff he shot last year.  This trip was also a bargain compared to Africa but I think they are both money well spent.  They are two different experiences, each one unique unto itself.  Hope you all enjoyed it. Joseph

[Joseph]

To answer a few questions, I used an Ipe arrow when I shot the hog.  It's total wieght with the 4 blade, 145 grain Eclipse on it was 1025 grains.  A little excessive but it was cool to see everything it went through.  I was really happy with the 4 blade broadhead.  Bill had told us that the shield on hogs would close up around a shaft and there would not be hardly any blood trail.  My hog had blood running down his side the instant the arrow hit him and when Bill was fleshing the cape you could see how the cross cut from the bleeder blade had opened up the cut both through the hide and also the fighting shield.  When I came back through customs in LA I had my hog cape and the back skin from a cull deer.  They had both been well salted and were dry.  I declared that I had animal products and when the customs officer asked what the were I said animal skins.  He said okay and let me through.  Wether or not things would have been the same if he had inquired further or looked at them I don't know.  I also brought back the upper and lower tusk from my pig.  The lower ones are going to go on a plaque next to the shoulder mount and the upper ones just look like bow limb tips to me.  Joseph

[Shakes.602]

I am Glad to hear that Customs didnt give you a Big Hassle!  :rolleyes:   Congratulations on Your Expidition, sounds like a Great Time was Had By YOU and everyone Else!!    
  Memories to last a Lifetime!      

[Steve H.]

Joseph,

I also asked Don this questipon, where did you get your ipe shafts?

Oh, and thanks for the story!

[Joseph]

Steve, sent you a PM.  Shafts came from Allegheny Mountain Arrow Woods.  Joseph

[Rick McGowan]

We have all our buffalo hunters bring their horns and capes home with them as checked baggage. Australia has disease free status with US so no "dip and ship" is required. As compared to Africa, you get your stuff home months and sometimes years earlier and can save hundreds or even thousands in fees.
The basalt comes in both black and red, a geologist told me that the black is lava that flowed under the sea and a chemical reaction caused the color.
The "roos" and wallabies, nothing like following up a buffalo or scrub bull and having a big roo coming busting out of the scrub at your feet, really gets the blood pumping!

[jindydiver]

Glad to see you made it back safe, and that you had a great time  

[Guru]

Good stuff Joseph...congrats on a great hunt bud        

[Terry Green]

SORRY!!!

   

Just had to see that one again!     :D  

Congrats Joseph!