WE GOT OUR GOATS

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 29, 4 February 1939, Page 12 (Supplement)

WE GOT OUR GOATS

r - were conversing on 'general topics in the workshop of a local garage, when the subject got round to shooting. A young fellow on a motor cycle said: "Have any of you chaps ever been goatn shooting?*' Then added: "We go goat shooting occasionally. "Stalking them is hard work sometimes but we have a good time." "Where do you go?" I inquired. Cf Up Hunua way. I live up there and there are plenty of wild goats in the hills," he replied. This sounded too good to be true but further inquiries revealed the fact that in certain; parts of the Hunua Ranges there are herds of goats running.. wild, , descendants of domestic stock. According to our informant, they were a species of Angora and had large horns, some of them measuring 21 inches in length. When our young friend found we were eager to try our skill at stalking, he offered to act as guide as far as the house of the man on whose property the goats roamed. The consequence was that on the following Saturday, we loaded our car with camping gear, two .303 rifles and one shotgun. Approximately 30 'miles from Auckland we pulled up at small homestead in the hills. We were introduced to the owner who gave consent to our proposal,, for it transpired that much damage was done on his property by the goats. He was quite willing • to grant occasional permission to small shooting parties provided they were content with taking one goat each as he did not want them completely exterminated. Our guide returned on his motor cycle but we pitched camp. Smoke from our camp fire attracted a young bull fenced an the same enclosure. Although he was only curious we had a job in keeping him. at a respectful distance. This was done by throwing small lumps of clay and sods at him—a process that had every appearance of becoming continuous for, although he would scamper - away at the first hail of earth, he was never long in returning. However he soon realised that it was better to keep . at a safe distance. i Leaving my companion in charge ol ; "the culinary department," I picked up the shotgun and took a stroll over- the : hills. My object was to get a view of - the ranges in which we were to do < our stalking, also to bag a rabbit or two on the way. I got both—a splendid view of the ranges alight with tlia

2 glow of the setting sun, and two rabbits. With a feeling of contentment, 3 returned to camp. After dinner we lay in our blankets and, by the light of a candle, talked and smoked far into the night, making plans and suggestions and infcerspers- * ing theni with records on our portable i gramophone. In the cold stillness before the dawn [. I awoke to a sense of the unusual. [. Silvery moonlight filtered into the , tent. Directly over my head there appeared, a dark, oval shadow on the [ tent then it vanished.. then it came . again in a different place, disappeared again, came- back again. No sound save a slight hissing noise, and a slight In- , dentation of the canvas at each appear- » ance. I lay for a long time contemplat- ■ ing this phenomenon. i Attack And Remorse '' 2sot wishing to wake my companion for fear it would disappear and my story, would go unbelieved •or be considered a,;nightmare, -I picked up a boot and, on the next appearance of that aggravating -black blob, I let fly at it. Then I knew, what rit • was and felt sorry for my hasty action for, with a snort and*a thud of hooves .on the hard ground, a horse bolted. .He had, been licking the dew off the roof. of the tent and that dark, oval blob was his tongueJ We were up at five o'clock and after a breakfast of bacon and eggs we packed a few sandwiches, two tins of sardines and a flask of tea. Shouldering our rifles we set off into the hills. We also carried a pair of prismatic binoculars and a small slasher for trailmaking or cutting our way through undergrowth, and these two items proved invaluable. Our first objective was the summit of one of the larger hills in our immediate vicinity. Arrived'there, we scanned the ranges in every direction in the hope of seeing goats, but there was not a sign of any living thing. Laboriously we climbed to the summit of a hill on the other side. Again we drew a blank, so decided to hold a conference. We were surrounded by hills; away to the east piled range upon range.' Scanning these with our binoculars we

j A Week-end Shooting Trip In : The Hunua Ranges

i By--I W. H. Moore

e noticed that the third range seemed to be the most likely country, for we could 11 see scattered clearings and hills rising 1- steeply in the more open places. e We decided to' push oil in that directioii along a razor-like ridge, ..We came e to an abrupt end and, far below, we e could see a bush—and valley through which we would have to pass. 0 Lying on the coarse grass, with the wind in our faces, we were able to make out on the distant range some greyish forms moving slowly about. This raised our spirits and gave us the exhilarating feeling that is one of the chief joys of hunting. It was with eager anticipation 1 that we descended to the valley below, r For a short while after entering the . bush the going was easy, but gradually I the undergrowth grew thicker and k thicker, until we were forced to make continuous use of the slasher to make [. our way through it. We took turns with it* every 15 minutes, yet it was over two hours before we emerged on the other side of the valley. Without the slasher I doubt if we could have ' crossed in double the time. From the top of the next ridge we . were able to establish the fact that the moving objects we had seen were goats, r They were still about a mile distant, on . the next ridge. | Arriving at the slopes of the final hill, we deposited our packs and gear at the base of a dead tree. Taking only our rifles, we set out to stalk the goats over the last half-mile. We had noted that there was a herd of 20 or more goats on a small plateau near, the top of the ridge and, on the highest point, one lone sentinel. This fellow we agreed should be my prize. We formulated-the. following plan of action. I was to remain where I was until ray friend had stalked to within range of the herd, when he would signal to me and then wait until I had stalked round the other side of the herd to within 150 yards of the goat on the summit. I was then to take my shot, this being the signal for him to fire at the one he had.chosen from the herd as his trophy.

The actual'stalking took an hour and a quarter and the plan worked splendidly. As a result, I have a pair of horns each 21 inches •in •. length, while my companion was* even? more fortunate as his horns are 24 inches.

By the time we scrambled .up to the bodies of our victims, all the other goats had completely disappeared, nor did Ave see them again that day .....

Looking back over the country we had covered, we realised ho\v utterly impossible it would be for us.-to carry away any more than the horns as trophies if we were to get back to camp before dark. The business of having to get back to work on Monday morning is? a perpetual "nigger in the woodpile" to our week-end excursions. No doubt, we were trying to accomplish too much in a short space of time.

"We therefore left all save.* the horns to rot on the mountain top and, with a last look at the remains of the.two animals whose lives had been forfeited' that we two humans might enjoy ourselves, we set off on the return trip. This, owing to our tired condition, seemed endless, and darkness arrived before we reached camp. Shortly after dark it began to rain and that last halfhour of groping blindly through scrub and fern, soaked to the skiii, with water squelching from our boots at every step, seemed to be the last straw.

Fate had still another misfortune in store for us, for when we reached our camp we found that dogs or cats had forced their way into the tent and eaten the remains of • our provisions. This meant nothing to eat until we arrived back home. •

What a mess to clean up, the two of us dripping pools of water where we stood! There were condensed milk, butter, breadcrumbs, and blankets in indescribable confusion on the floor. Somehow we got things cleaned as well as possible and repacked in the car. At 9.30 p.m. we headed for home.

It was a strenuous day—but we got our goats!