The girls were heading off today to host a dancing workshop so I figured another run up into the hills chasing some hairy things would do me good
Forecast was for light SE winds, but I knew from past experience that the warm anabatic/thermic draw up the gullies would likely overwhelm the atmospheric winds. The plan as usual was to head up a smaller side gully, cross into the top of a bigger one and descend - hopefully against the wind!
Parking the car I grabbed my gear. Ahh crap, I'd forgotten to switch my bino harness onto my lighter backpack I'd picked for today. Loading up, I headed up through the longish grass. There were spider webs everywhere - and I mean EVERYWHERE. It was impossible to walk in a straight line in any direction without running into one, and my trekking pole was in overdrive knocking them down. I'd just finished reading Errol Masons Hunt Smart book so I was keen to try and put a bit of it into practice with some scouting of areas I knew and see how they linked up.
Crossing the small flat towards the gully, I heard a rustle in the dry brush and the scratching on the side of a large red box. Positive it was a lace monitor, I managed to edge enough around the trunk about 20m away, before I picked up the identifiable claws and dark eye staring at me. As soon as it saw me, it started the 'ring-a-rosy' to keep the tree trunk between me and it, so I left it and kept going.
Heading up along a game trail some 30m or so off the bottom of the gully a fox jumped up 20m or so uphill of me and took off. Unfortunately for me, it headed for the skyline and i wasn't able to stop it so it managed to escape over the ridge. Continuing on uphill, I pushed my way through all the spiderwebs and stepped over some fresh sambar droppings in my quest to reach a gully V that gave me a choice of paths - left into my favourite large gully system or right back towards the car through a smaller and tighter gully. Almost reaching the junction, I spotted some bright orange on the rocky dry creek bottom that screamed FOX. Stopping, I spied a youngster heading towards me slowly. It must have seen or heard me as it stopped and looked at me directly but I was partially covered by a prickly coprosma so I waited motionless until it turned and started to climb out of the bottom. Sitting down, I threw the rifle up and sat my elbows on my knees. Through the scope I could make out the shape of the fox broadside to me about 15m uphill from the gully bottom, but just covered by enough brush to make me hold the shot. If it kept going in the same direction, it would break out behind a stringy and give me time for a quick shot before I swung too far and tangled with the coprosma on my right. Something made it turn and head diagonally downhill towards the creek bottom again. As it broke cover it stopped facing directly towards me in a triangle window between two fallen logs and the stringy. Lining up the cross hairs on the center of it's chest, I squeezed off a shot and watched as the small form tumbled into the gully bottom. Another native and lamb killer down!
- IMG_4605.JPG (493.64 KiB) Viewed 338 times
Reaching the junction, I took a break and a drink before turning left and heading the long way home. Climbing the steep rocky and slippery face through the dry leaves wasn't easy - particularly with a sharp eye out for wriggle sticks, loose rocks and spider webs. Reaching another split, I climbed the point of the mini daughter ridge then slowly moved into the right hand side. As I neared the middle of the gully head, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and turned in time to see another fox heading across the opposite face, but there was a lot of vegetation between me and it and I quickly lost site of it again. It didn't come to my whistle, so I pushed on and shortly after head a
crack in the left hand gully had me cursing my lack of binos but calling it another wallaby/roo. A minute or two later a white shape came into view and a youngish billy contoured across and disappeared into some thick stuff. Slowly stalking in, I was fairly confident that my scent had been carried towards it on the warming winds but in hope that it had just bedded down but I didn't see anything further other than a single fresh print where he'd stepped down off a game track.
Pushing onto the top of the ridge, I joined an illegal motorbike track that follows the top of the ridge all the way up to the road at the top of the main divide. In the soft dirt, there was evidence of ungulate tracks but they weren't clear (and I wasn't good enough) to pick them for species, though one did look kinda piggy. Reaching my cross over point, I stopped for lunch then slowly dropped down the gully, crossing a few smaller ones all the while listening, looking and smelling for the familiar target species. The blackberries have made a huge come on in recent months, this area used to be a slightly damper one with a few blackberries between all the native bush, but this thicket greeted me. Picking up on Errols tip of chucking rocks into big thickets in the hope of flushing something I threw a handful of big rocks but nothing bolted.
- IMG_4609.JPG (534.34 KiB) Viewed 338 times
Slowly dropping down the gully bottom to the main valley floor had me wondering why I'd stopped bringing my trekking poles - they sure keep the knees in better shape! As I crossed a large patch of bracken a large dark round shape crashed off from my right, and for a heartbeat I thought I'd spooked a sambar but when it stopped I could see a big buck roo staring at me. Turning downhill, I played tag with a passing 4wd on the perimeter road before reaching the farm fence. Following the fence to check for sign in the dust/gravel I reached a corner post and had to make a choice - turn right and follow the fence or left onto the road and the easy way out. I was contemplating the fence, but in the end turned and nearly stepped on a large cast sambar antler.
- IMG_4610.JPG (537.19 KiB) Viewed 338 times
Given the amount of time I've spent traipsing through the bush, I find it somewhat dispiriting that this is the second antler I've found (the other was a tiny spike). Reaching the car stuffed but happy I headed home for a cleansing ale.
When my wife and daughter returned home, I showed them the antler which they were both interested in. As my daughter was spinning it on the point while sitting on the couch, it slipped and the full weight of the heavy antler slammed down on my wife's toe culminating with all the force impacting with just the fine point of the brow tine.
Once things had settled down again (it's amazing what people who speak english as another language can say in the heat of things!!!!!) we had a good laugh when I said that her boss wouldn't believe a phone call the next day "Sorry, can't come in because my toe was broken yesterday.....How?...My daughter dropped an antler on it....."
Best hangover excuse ever
No Floods or Cyclones ???????
