The only other story in this thread looked lonely
Managed to get another block in the Wap ballot for 2017, the Cats eye block. The 3 of us were supposed to be my son and a friend from Dunedin who was in the Wild Natives with us last year, but a couple of days after applying my son got a roster change on his job in Korea so couldn't make it so Gary's son Steven filled his spot. While a friend was out from Denmark for 3 weeks in Feb doing a bit of fishing managed to slip over on the boat ramp and totaled my already bad right knee so spent the next 3 weeks hobbling around on crutches. So being too late to cancel decide to still go knowing I wouldn't be able to do much but with the block being one of the easiest in the Wap area to get around might be ok. So the time came for us all to meet in Te Anau things got off to a bad start with Garry's son Steven being stuck in Wellington due to fog so we got in a day late, the other party of 3 ended up being a party of one so we jumped in the one chopper. The weather going in was a bit dicey but managed to get over the divide down George sound and around into Cats Eye bay, being a wilderness block in was land below the high tide mark out from the lower camp.
That was the Saturday and the weather packed it in with strong wind and rain Sat and Sun morning clearing to showers Sunday arvo and clear Mon morning so us 3 packed up and headed the 1.8ks up river to the other camp site and Ross from the other party would bring my pack and some other gear up in the afternoon in the boat " a must for this block " , the going was pretty good avoiding any real swamps with a few roars being heard. Ross arrived in the dinghy with the gear with tails of woe, he had managed to drop his rifle over the side when the pack dislodged, we all thought it would be just pick it up at low tide but no it wasn't so one sako to the hunting and river gods.
We went for a short walk up stream but couldn't get onto anything they tended to shut up when getting in close, so it was the next morning to get up river and get them going. We were away up river early and wasn't long before we had on going well with a high pitched roar the cross breeds have with a bit of a squeal at the end. He came in well and appeared across the river looking quite big so Steven dispatched him. He appeared to have good Wap blood but was a very small animal which made him look a lot bigger. After carrying up river and a small nap in the sun we got another one going well and while I kept him interested Gary and Steven went into him for a look, he was dispatched as the head was not good for the heard a big animal but shit head gear.
The next day was uneventful not being able to get onto any, so back to base camp the next day me in the dinghy and Gary and Steven walking back, they didn't get onto anything but a couple were roaring.
The rest of the time was spent at the bottom camp with animals in the immediate area roaring off and on Gary and Steven went for a walk up river and managed to down an 11 pointer quite nice timber and an older animal with one very long brow tine. I was confined to camp pretty much as the knee had given up.
All in all was a good trip and a block I would go back to we saw about 10 animals all up with all but 2 being stags with 3 just across river from camp, the weather for Fiordland was exceptional with only 2 days of bad weather. So it was with a small 9 and and11 pointer and 1 lost rifle we said goodbye to Fiordland till next time which will depend on the old right leg
upper river
lower river at base camp
the 2 heads
long brow tine
poor old right leg before the trip
This all gets taken out at the end of the month and see where we go from there
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Cats eye 2017 (Read 3217 times)