Hunt Australia – 2009 Season Newsletter
Well,
2009 was an interesting year – that’s for sure! There is no denying that the
GFC (who wants to forget about it???) had a big
effect on everyone and at Hunt Australia we are just a little happy to see the
end of 2009 and looking forward to a much more productive 2010!!
For us
the downturn in the global economy meant that so many of our regular clients
pulled back on their hunting holidays, to concentrate on consolidating their
businesses, assets and jobs - most putting off a lot of their travel until 2010
- making 2009 a little quiet for us. The upshot of that is that 2010 is going
to be REALLY busy, with two of our NT camps being close to booked-out already
and with solid bookings into 2011.
So if you
have any interest in 2010 hunts or beyond now would be a great time to look at
some South Pacific options. With the way the economy is, a lot of hunters ARE
looking for a ‘deal’. While we don’t heavily discount our hunts we are always
keen to look at any kind of reasonable proposal, especially when it involves
more than one hunter. Some of the culling opportunities may appeal too – you
can get a good number of animals for a very fair price and the airlines will be
running some good package deals ‘Down Under’ to go with our exciting
hunting and culling packages in 2010
Talking
about airlines – some clients will be interested that Delta have started
services from West Coast USA down to Australia – taking the total number of
carriers to five (Qantas/AA, Virgin, United, Air New Zealand), which will mean
a bit more competition and hopefully lower ticket prices. Most of our clients
choose to fly Qantas/AA from the USA, as it links the international and
domestic flights better BUT other clients would sure like to use their United
and Delta Airmiles if they can
– so this gives you lots of options!!
We have
also learned that European clients can now fly directly through Singapore on
the Qantas/Jetstar connections to Darwin with their
guns - rather than having to go through Brisbane and then back to Darwin. This
will make it a lot easier for those clients and reduce the hassles and extra
travel time for them. Great News!!
2009 Arnhem Land Buffalo
Gan Gan buffalo area was up
to its typically high hunting standard this. June was really quite busy and
despite the wet conditions underfoot, all of our hunters were very successful -
taking great bulls to 107 inches. This season we hunted later into Sept and
were able to hunt further and further into the ‘unknown’ wilderness, as the
country had totally dried out. That said we hunted big trophy bulls from the
first week of the season till the last... you can get them at any time!! No
need to say any more - we will let our great results - the trophy image gallery
below speak for itself!
Boar Camp & Culling
With our
new camp building up and running, the situation at the Boar Camp is very
comfortable, allowing us even more time to spend in the field hunting. This new
structure and our continued successes in the area have meant that this camp is
very full for 2010 with both trophy boar hunters and cullers.
This
hunting area is expanding in size, as we are currently making contractural arrangements for much of the surrounding
country. The Boar Camp is well known for producing quality trophy ‘tuskers’ in
big numbers and the greater area and game numbers will allow even more
successful hunts. This surrounding area will be our main donkey/horse/pig/wild
dog culling area for 2010 and much of this greater land has not been seriously
hunted for more than 30 years!!
2009 Trophy Image Gallery
To see an
image gallery of 2009 Gan Gan
& Boar Camp trophies ... just click the following link....
More Culling Opportunities
Coming
into 2010 there will be many new and existing culling opportunities becoming
available. At this stage the most opportunities will be with buffalo, camels
and perhaps donkeys and horses. If you have any interest in culling large
animals or a combination of both culling and trophy hunting – just let us know
and we will put you in the culling ‘list’.
Crocodile Hunting - Still No Action
Recently
we heard from the Federal Govt that the Safari Hunting proposal in the
Crocodile Management plan had been rejected yet again. This was a disappointing
outcome but not unexpected given that the minister charged with this decision
is a former environmental ‘activist’. The decision was made while ignoring best
advice from the Northern Territory government, the local Parks & Wildlife
service, station landowners, safari outfitters, crocodile harvesters and
traditional aboriginal landowners!!
We will
bide our time and continue submitting applications for this to take place. If
anyone is offered crocodile hunts in Australia – you can be assured that they
are NOT legal.
Camel Country
Some may
have seen in the media about the problems we have here with camels and a lot of
hunters have contacted us about getting involved in camel culling. While
Australia has the world’s largest population of dromedary camels and in some
Australian desert regions their populations are way ‘out of control’ – the
difficulties in establishing safari hunting/culling in these very remote,
mostly aboriginal-owned, areas goes far beyond the logistical difficulties in
running such an operation.
We at
Hunt Australia have been negotiating with some of these aboriginal communities
over the last two years but people in the more easily accessible areas reject
the notion of recreational hunting/culling of their camels.... Most cite
‘cultural issues’ for their main reason to reject the idea but as a consequence
many of these communities now face forced government-sponsored aerial culls of
their camels and serious environmental and structural damage in the meantime.
In addition in many cases there are significant beaurocratic
‘walls’ that prevent us from establishing these safari operations.
For an
insight into these ‘cultural’ issues ... click the following link to see a very
recent news item from Australia....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/08/2764631.htm?section=justin
The GOOD
NEWS is that we have found one very large area in the most remote part of
the Western Australian desert, where we will be able to conduct some camel
hunting/culling on a trial basis in late March/April/May 2010. The only
drawback is, given the location, there will be considerable effort to get into
this area BUT if you are looking for a unique experience and up for some really
wild adventure.... then this might be for you??
While
this is essentially a cull, for the most part, we will however have to pay some
fees per camel... that is our concession to the traditional owners to give this
area over to recreational hunting/culling and thus avoid future
government–sponsored culling (where they get no return). We can only show them
it will work by getting numbers of paying hunters on-the-ground. This hunt
would work best for a party of four hunters at a time. If the early season
hunts are a success then we may schedule some other dates for October as well.
Note:
There is talk in that area of building a golf course on a nearby salt lake.
Clients may well get the opportunity next year to play a round on the most
remote golf course in the world!!
2010 Convention Schedule
The
January convention season will be upon us before we know it! Matt is leaving
for Dallas on the 1st January and will be there on the night of the 1st –
thanks to the International Date Line – and if anyone in that area would like
to meet with Matt privately before the DSC convention just let him know us soon
as possible so we can schedule a meeting.
Also if
you require additional information about the convention schedule, dates and
locations – do not hesitate to ask. Clients planning on visiting us at the
conventions may find it helpful to notify us, so we can put them on our guest
list – and be sure to identify yourself to our staff at the booth – lest you be
ignored when we are really busy!!
Dallas
Safari Club - Booth
#1604
www.biggame.org
Houston
Safari Club – Global Adventure Outfitters Booth #901
www.houstonsafariclub.org/
Safari
Club International - Reno Nevada - Booth
#1625
www.scifirstforhunters.org
Wild Deer
Expo – Rutherglen Vic Feb 6-7th
Booth#2
Merry Christmas – Happy New Year
Well that
is about it at, this time..... Hunt Australia staff would like to wish all of
our friends, clients, agents and suppliers a very Merry Christmas and safe and
prosperous New Year. Hopefully we will see many of you at the upcoming
conventions and if not stay tuned for more Hunt Australia updates through
2010!!
Stay safe
and well – happy hunting -
from the Hunt Australia Team!!
Hunt
Australia Website - www.HuntAust.com.au - click me!!