“ This was the best day of my life!”
yelled out“ Run!” I took off after them, through some bullrushes, across the creek and up the other side. I nearly caught up and they did a dodge back down to the creek. Fine by me – they couldn’ t run so fast in the bullrushes and I caught one with a big dive. We took some more pictures, then I set it free and we carried on back for tea.
On Monday the work started. My job, with Loyal, Jessica, Dania and William, was mainly picking up the lambs and chasing sheep into the pens. It was a good time but it was still work.
After work Dad and I and Ken went down to the killing shed, where Buster had left us a sheep for mutton. We cut it all up for everyone at the shearers’ quarters.
On Tuesday the sheep were wet from the rain so it was a bit of a short day and some of us got to go for another hunt. Dad and I went with Peter and Loyal. The first mob we saw split up, so we did too. I had a crack at a goat about 120 metres away below us and dropped it with my first shot. We caught up with the others back on the track and Loyal had just shot a hare.
Next we saw another mob on the ridge and sneaked over the edge. Dad spotted them and shot one straight away. The rest turned and ran. Peter and Dad then shot another one. Then it was Loyal’ s and my turn. We shot our one quite a long way off. We both fired at the same time and it just dropped dead on the spot.
After we had moved the dead goats into the blackberry we split up again. Peter and Loyal went back to see if they could get more goats from some that had got away( they did), while Dad and I climbed another ridge towards home.
On reaching the top we were surprised by a deer watching us only about 30 metres away. It was a hind and not that frightened. Dad and I stood very still and watched her. She walked about a bit then trotted over and gracefully jumped the fence. I asked Dad to let me have a shot. After a lot of begging he agreed.
We carefully stalked over the next rise where we could just see her head. To get into a good position for a shot we commando-crawled then lifted our heads up carefully so we could see her properly. Just like with my first goat, I took aim and fired. She toppled over, but when we walked up there she was gone. After a search Dad found where she had rolled down through the blackberry and then he spotted her, dead, part-way up the next hill. I was so happy. This was the best day of my life!
We dragged her to a good place under the trees to gut her. Dad took some photos and I gave her a hug and thanked her for letting me shoot her. Dad put her front legs through the back legs to make her easy to carry and off we went back to the shearer’ s quarters. It had been a great day.
Wednesday was our last full day. The other kids and I had fun, trying to catch frogs, naming things in the clouds and playing in an old car. And we also did a little bit of work.
Our last day was Thursday. We did some work docking the lambs and killed some goats that had been rounded up with the sheep. They are a pest because they eat the new trees that people on the farm are planting.
Then it was time for another long drive home. We stopped in Rotorua to get Dad’ s new gun, which he had arranged on the way down. We stayed at Trish’ s place in Tauranga for the night. It was fun on the farm but nice to get home from my best adventure ever.
NZ Hunting & Wildlife 196- Autumn 2017 37