havgunwilltravel
Active member
Well that's at least what my mate was describing to me on the phone the other week when talk turned to camel hunting and he said it was about as close as we could get to chasing dinosaurs around in the desert. I was in my lunch room at work and one of my colleagues was listening to the phone call and when i got off the phone she asked if it was ok for her and a friend to come along on the hunt. I was quick on my toes and told her it would be ok so long as they cooked the meals and were our bar girls. She compromised and said perhaps it better we cook and the girls keep an eye on the esky. So we struck a happy medium, booked tickets and soon enough found ourselves landing interstate, picking up a car, driving 7 hours into the night in very remote country with hardly another car on the roads.
The outback is truly amazing, its a place i find serenity from the hustle and bustle of daily life and the complications often found from living in a big city.
Eventually we met my mate who works as a professional roo shooter, he had a couple more roos to knock over for his night before he was done and i gave him a hand with that.
Sleep came easy when we got to his house and a few hours later we were packing the 4wd to push off even further into the bush. The dusty roads deteriorated and eventually all that was left was a narrow two track running parallel along the dingo fence.
The elevated view from up top on my mates landcruiser tray was helping us see further into the bush and scrub as the girls took turns driving and learning about 4wds, sand and corrugations, so far so good with the girls and the complaints were few and far between.
The dingo fence is an Australian icon and has been used to keep dingoes and feral game from crossing through public lands and into farm country where livestock is a precious commodity and the number one prey for the dingoes.
Eventually after 100kms on the dirt we located a fresh set of camel tracks, decent in size and made that morning.
The bull had padded the road like many before him and was trying to work out how to get across the fence and over the other side. Some just push it over, other step over, but either way the camels aren't liked in the outback and their numbers are controlled at every opportunity by most ranchers and government agencies.
We passed this skull on a fence post and also saw dozens of dead skeletons rotting in the sand from previous encounters with hunters and ranchers who all carry a gun in this country.
The sign at times was quite thick with heavy browse on native shrubs, tracks, droppings and beds in many places.
I was trying to work out what tree species the camels were eating in this area and putting together all the pieces of the puzzle as to why there was a lot of sign in certain habitats and a lot less in other areas. I find it challenging but good fun to keep the brain ticking over hunting different species in new locations as it all becomes relevant and fits into the bigger picture of adapting and being versatile when you need to.
Covering country in the 4wd may not have been the most sporting method of camel hunting, but the country is simply huge and so vast that distances do need to be gained in order to increase odds of animal encounters. Especially in areas with marginal or pressured populations of camels.
We nearly hit the 200km mark for the day when eventually a bull camel was located in a small clearing. I wasted no time and took a front on neck shot with a spare rifle of my mates. The little .25wsm spitting out a V-Max dropped the bull on the spot, and as we walked up to the huge beast i put a finisher in the armpit. He was done and we all stood there in awe at the size and the features of this outback dweller. The girls didn't hesitate to get in for some pictures and we all were happy to have finally come across a camel.
Their pads were amazing.
By the time we got him sorted, took a few good cuts of meat it was getting on in the day so set up camp on a sand ridge and us guys cooked dinner while the girls set up tents and took a few pictures. A simple camp is efficient and practical when constantly on the move and pushing further into new areas. They had done plenty of travelling, but never been into the outback and were enjoying all it had to offer.
In the morning, one of the phone picked up a signal, and the girls thought it best they send a message out to let family know they were ok and we hadn't hit 'Wolf Creek' as yet. But the signal was weak, so my mate climbed a tree to get a bit of extra height and that did the trick.
I thought my mate might have been putting on a bit of a show for the company, but when he dropped down a metre then started swinging of the horizontal branch and doing a few morning chin ups 4 metres off the ground i knew he had spent a little too long out west by himself!
Continuing on we had a big day ahead of us and there was always something to look at. From the wild flowers, to keeping an eye out for dingoes and camels to searching for opal there was never a dull moment. I collected a few different rocks for my boys back home and i quite enjoyed taking pictures of these ant nests.
The outback is truly amazing, its a place i find serenity from the hustle and bustle of daily life and the complications often found from living in a big city.
Eventually we met my mate who works as a professional roo shooter, he had a couple more roos to knock over for his night before he was done and i gave him a hand with that.
Sleep came easy when we got to his house and a few hours later we were packing the 4wd to push off even further into the bush. The dusty roads deteriorated and eventually all that was left was a narrow two track running parallel along the dingo fence.
The elevated view from up top on my mates landcruiser tray was helping us see further into the bush and scrub as the girls took turns driving and learning about 4wds, sand and corrugations, so far so good with the girls and the complaints were few and far between.
The dingo fence is an Australian icon and has been used to keep dingoes and feral game from crossing through public lands and into farm country where livestock is a precious commodity and the number one prey for the dingoes.
Eventually after 100kms on the dirt we located a fresh set of camel tracks, decent in size and made that morning.
The bull had padded the road like many before him and was trying to work out how to get across the fence and over the other side. Some just push it over, other step over, but either way the camels aren't liked in the outback and their numbers are controlled at every opportunity by most ranchers and government agencies.
We passed this skull on a fence post and also saw dozens of dead skeletons rotting in the sand from previous encounters with hunters and ranchers who all carry a gun in this country.
The sign at times was quite thick with heavy browse on native shrubs, tracks, droppings and beds in many places.
I was trying to work out what tree species the camels were eating in this area and putting together all the pieces of the puzzle as to why there was a lot of sign in certain habitats and a lot less in other areas. I find it challenging but good fun to keep the brain ticking over hunting different species in new locations as it all becomes relevant and fits into the bigger picture of adapting and being versatile when you need to.
Covering country in the 4wd may not have been the most sporting method of camel hunting, but the country is simply huge and so vast that distances do need to be gained in order to increase odds of animal encounters. Especially in areas with marginal or pressured populations of camels.
We nearly hit the 200km mark for the day when eventually a bull camel was located in a small clearing. I wasted no time and took a front on neck shot with a spare rifle of my mates. The little .25wsm spitting out a V-Max dropped the bull on the spot, and as we walked up to the huge beast i put a finisher in the armpit. He was done and we all stood there in awe at the size and the features of this outback dweller. The girls didn't hesitate to get in for some pictures and we all were happy to have finally come across a camel.
Their pads were amazing.
By the time we got him sorted, took a few good cuts of meat it was getting on in the day so set up camp on a sand ridge and us guys cooked dinner while the girls set up tents and took a few pictures. A simple camp is efficient and practical when constantly on the move and pushing further into new areas. They had done plenty of travelling, but never been into the outback and were enjoying all it had to offer.
In the morning, one of the phone picked up a signal, and the girls thought it best they send a message out to let family know they were ok and we hadn't hit 'Wolf Creek' as yet. But the signal was weak, so my mate climbed a tree to get a bit of extra height and that did the trick.
I thought my mate might have been putting on a bit of a show for the company, but when he dropped down a metre then started swinging of the horizontal branch and doing a few morning chin ups 4 metres off the ground i knew he had spent a little too long out west by himself!
Continuing on we had a big day ahead of us and there was always something to look at. From the wild flowers, to keeping an eye out for dingoes and camels to searching for opal there was never a dull moment. I collected a few different rocks for my boys back home and i quite enjoyed taking pictures of these ant nests.
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