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 East 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....
Gallery

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/sto...1.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!!

Hey Matt,

I'll be in Houston for the HSC show and will be attending on the Sat of the show. It would be interesting to talk with someone from your group about buffalo cull hunts in Australia, tho the earliest I would be able to do something like that would be 2011.

Willi

quote:

Originally posted by bisonhunter1:
Hey Matt,

I'll be in Houston for the HSC show and will be attending on the Sat of the show. It would be interesting to talk with someone from your group about buffalo cull hunts in Australia, tho the earliest I would be able to do something like that would be 2011.

Willi

Hey Willi - I'll look forward to meeting you at Houston. Be sure and ask for me on the Global booth and say you are from AReloading forum..

Cheers
Matt