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Thar Hunt

Can't access that section..... How do we get access ? Can you cut and Paste ?

I might join you. No, Seriously :)
 
Well I've had some bad runs of luck, but he's due for some good Karma. Still wouldn't hunt with him though, might end up being on his Lost or Busted list...
 
Hell, I'd hunt thar with about anyone! Though the owner of Swazi gear looks a bit too axe-murderish...
 
Busted shit
Feb 02nd, 2009, 9:10pm It's been a while since I last posted, as I've been on a busmans holiday for about three months, including a stint working with Headcase, where a remarkable set of misfortunes have plagued my hunting and fishing opportunities.
It started about 4 days after my employment finished in October last year and I found myself yearning for a sabbatical amongst the wilds.
I started with a road trip to Lake Rotoroa, in the Nelson district, for a combined Kayak, hunting and fishing trip. I had loaded up the yak and was about to depart to the start of the Sabine River when I noticed a couple of trout rising out in front of the jetty. Whipping out the trusty (and reasonably antiquated) 4 piece CD pack rod, I proceeded to kit up and cast. Looked easy - they were rising and smashing what looked like cockabullies, so a nice dark fly was added to the tippet and then the first cast of the season was launched. Alarmingly, there was immediately a "CRACK?, like a stock whip and the rod sagged limply at the first ferule. It had literally exploded before the rod had even loaded fully, and that was it, kaput!
"Ah well", says I, "looks like just a hunting trip then". Silly boy - the omen was ignored and I carried on to hunt the river flats along the valley.
I stopped at the Sabine hut that afternoon and, to my delight, was soon being fed and beered by a happy group of fisherfolk that had gathered for their annual Labour weekend expedition, which consisted of sporadic bouts of fishing followed by soporific bouts of solid drinking. They even had the water taxi bringing ice out each day to keep their various liquid refreshments nice and cool. They were tremendously hospitable and eventually I was dining on their paua, deviled sausages and whitebait fritters, followed by (bless their souls) a can or two of THEIR beer! Robustly funny and loud and always well fed and watered, I drifted off to sleep amongst their good natured and obviously familiar banter. An invite to fish with one of the boats the next day was accepted and a few fat trout for lunch and then I was away, pack shouldered, for the campsite at a previously successful hunting possie.
No luck on the first night or the early morning stakeout, so a quick search with the binos and a suitable target seen on a slip a few hours climb above camp, and I was off for a climb up the only sensible access, a rather steep waterway that took me to within (hopefully) a few hundred metres from my intended quarry. About two thirds of the way up I lost my balance and, rather than an unbalanced fall, I jumped and bent at the knees to land in a about 18 inches of waterafter a dozen or so feet freefall. I was fine, but an unseen rock had lodged between the bolt shroud and the eye piece and it was kaput! Thank god my camera still worked and the scenery was just amazing, or the whole trip would have been buggered.
The binos, however, had also succumbed to moisture and the right side lense was like looking through a fish tank.
So, back to the Sabine and then out in a few hours of paddling, right into the teeth of a wind storm that whipped the previously quiet water into a frenzy. Great challenge to keep moving forward, but mission accomplished and I packed up and drove back to Christchurch for the necessary repairs. Surprisingly, both the scope and the binos were replaced under warranty, so big ups to Weaver and Bushnell.
It took only a few days to get sorted and after saying hello to mum in Dunners, I headed off for a brief trip into the Waitaki to hunt and fish with my cousin at Aviemore, stopping for a hunt in some interesting looking country along the way. Didn't take long to bust the radiator with a misplaced branch and then, after paying a grand for that repair, to root the exhaust on a gnarly rock in a river bed.
So, back to Chch and further (expensive) repairs and then on to Headcase, Amina and Sharons place in Tekapo for some work with Head and a few hunting and fishing trips around the area, largely curtailed by shit weather and the worst floods in 50 years.
All was well until I decided to put a new floating line on my Scierra cartridge reel, which I proceeded to utterly smash by pulling the alloy spindles away from the cartridge, rather then the cartridge away from the reel. I had a spare BFR reel, so all was not lost, just stuffed. Lost my mobile around this time too, the victim of too many places in too short a time. Shit!!
Worked a while with Head, then took off up the Godley and broke the binos for the second time, this time bending the barrells so badly that "parrallex" semd like an arbitrary term at best.
No luck there, so back to Tekapo and lo and behold, lost my hunting knife in a night time incident that I'd prefer to forget, followed by the breaking of my .22. Got that back, but re broke it today adjusting the scope mounts and now the safety doesn't work at all.
Oh, and buggered the Coleman up the Godley too, resulting in Shacklock cooking for the three day trip, during which I had the car flooded once and suck three times in the shifting sands from the previous months floods. Got helped twice, and a big thank you to those whom know, but spent an hour and a half continually jacking and then re-jacking a sand bogged 4WD. 30 years worth of track washed out, so what did I expect??
Finally, took the cell phone(one week old and new) for a run along the beach owing to an expected call from a potential new employer and lost it in the sand along Brighton beach. Missed the job cause the (hopeful) boss couldn't get a hold of me and the only record I had of his number was in the new phone. By the time I was home, he'd called number two who'd pounced and already accepted a lesser package than I was to be offered, apparently. Guess it was his way of saying "stay in touch or fuch off"Bitch!!!
Also burnt a hole in my thermarest with solvent supplied by a reputable camping store and shredded my hunting boots too. Got a hole in my tent and I've got bulk down coming out of a mystery orifice in my winter sleeping bag.
So, in summary, lost or busted;
Bino's (twice)
Cell phone (twice)
Car (twice)
.22 (twice)
Fly rod
Scope
Fly reel
Knife
Thermarest
Sleeping bag
You know what? Shit happens. Headcase and Amina and Sharon treated me like family and fed me so well I actually put on wight whilst working harder than I have in decades (thanks to Amina, with occassional help from Head and Sharon) and saw some sights I will never forget. I guess it's a bit like hunting; If you put enough lead in the air, you'll miss some and if you use your gear for what it's made for. it'll eventually give up.
Wouldn't change a moment though. Loved it, and a big thanks to everyone I met and all who helped.
Now, all I need is a job. Any one got anything they need broken or lost? I am an expert, as you've seen!
Anybody else out there had such a run of crap luck in such a short time?
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