Deer Down Under

READER ADVISORY- If you are opposed to hunting for your own food, you might want to skip over this week’s blog and check out next week’s next post. Don't worry the story is still G rated. 

Much like my father, whenever I need a break from work, I always find my solace in the woods, be it hunting, fishing, hiking or any other outdoor activities.  As I spend more time in the woods it always draws you back and I find that I need that future trip to keep me motivated.  Since Singapore is an island in Southeast Asia, there are not many opportunities for this escape, so you need to get off the island.  So why not head down under to Australia to see what they have to offer?

A few months back, Amy being the good sport that she always is, decided that she would checkout hunting camp for a few days with me and take in the whole experience.  Ian from Tru Blu Hunting was a gracious host and provided us with a bed, hot shower, food as well as loads of coffee and animals to look at!

Tru Blu hunts a property called Water Valley Ranch which is about three hours outside of Adelaide, Australia.  This ranch is one of the largest privately held ranches in the world and they claim that from one end to the other it is 200 km (about 124 miles)!  The property was absolutely gorgeous and made the entire experience just that much better.

The two species that I was looking for during this hunt was a Javan Rusa deer and a Sambar deer. The Javan Rusa and a Moluccan Rusa came very easy with perfect one shot. We now had some great venison to take home. Amy was able to be a part of the successful day of hunting as the winter sun set over Southern Australia.  Since this was her first true hunt, the expectations were high to continue to have great days like that.

The next few days did not prove to be as successful as the weather didn’t cooperate and the Sambar would not be as easy.  We saw numerous animals (kangaroos everywhere!), but there was one Sambar that stuck out. Ian said it was the biggest he had ever seen in on the property in his 15 years there, so I knew that I would have to holdout for this special deer.  After numerous attempts to take down this beautiful Sambar, we came up empty handed but had a great time regardless.

To wrap up a great trip at hunting camp we spent an evening in Adelaide where we had some amazing food and wine before heading back to Singapore.

When deer season came to an end in Australia, I called Ian to see if that large Sambar was still around. He is and it looks like I will have to find another time to make a trip to Water Valley Ranch to try again. Obviously Amy is more than welcome to join... but I am guessing she will take a rain check. Something tells me she’s cheering for the Sambar.

Amy & Hound holding down the fort during the hunt. 

While there is no hunting season, fall or cooler weather in Singapore, we made cranked down the air conditioning, made venison chili and watched college football (go Irish and Sun Devils) yesterday. Hey we can pretend!

Until then,

rhs & AB