Beyond The Divide

Cape York is a bucket list destination for hunters, fisherman and adventurers all over the world. It is synonymous with large, aggressive Razorback Boars that frequent the creeks and floodplains. Rob heads to the remote Kendall river station in the late season heat to start tracking down the pigs.

The hunt is off to a great start, the location and the landscape is stunningly beautiful. The immense size of the station with its seemingly endless unexplored wilderness lures the guys further and deeper into new territory as they seek out true Cape York monsters, and the results are worth the sweat!

In 2020, Victoria and the city of Melbourne endured one of the toughest and longest Covid-19 lockdowns in the world. Understandably it was tough on everyone, but those who call the bush and the outdoors home suffered immensely under the house arrest conditions. This hunt is the first one out of lockdown for Rob, and it sums everything that is good about being out in the bush, stalking deer and the challenge that is Victoria’s mighty Sambar Stag.

The cultural tradition of hunting and sustainable wild harvest started in 2000BC, and Victoria’s duck hunt is an entrenched part of that culture. With Duck hunting under severe attacks in recent years, there has never been a better time to celebrate the excitement and rewards of a genuine duck hunt. Rob joins the industries elite and gets straight into the action hunting a wetland which is arguably one of Victoria’s greatest conservation stories.

Together with a bunch of Australian keenest waterfowl hunters including Simon Webster, Sav and Jake from Fowltalkers, Graham “Dr Duck” Eames & Gary Howard, this episode is a feast for those that love their duck hunting and love their wild harvest.

Victoria is home to the only huntable wild population of Hog deer in the world, and Snake Island located in Gippsland Victoria, provides a unique wilderness experience for hunters who are lucky enough to win a place in the balloted hunt. Rob joins friend Joel Fulton and accompanies him on his adventure.

The varied challenges of Snake Island are well known; however, Rob and Joel are finally across and finding are few more! Meanwhile, Covid-19 hits Australia hard, Victoria goes into lockdown and the outside world changes. With their gear sorted after the amphibious landing the hunt is finally underway and they soon realise that it’s all or nothing if they are to achieve success.

Located at the farthest southern end of New Zealand, Stewart Island is remote wilderness area and is an iconic destination for hunters, hikers, fisherman and adventurers. New Zealand is home to the only population of Whitetail deer in the southern hemisphere, and one of their two home ranges is this rugged expanse of coastal wilderness. Rob joins his friend Geoff and a local crew of Kiwis that have made frequent trips here and he soon understands the attraction of this unique place that is rich in wild bounty from both land and sea.

Stewart Island is living up to its reputation and the fishing, diving and food is fantastic, however the hunting is proving particularly challenging, as predicted. Rob and Geoff chose to pack their fly camping gear and get dropped off by boat on a remote piece of coast to try and focus on a new area to hunt, but they need a change of better weather. Not easy when the next stop South is Antarctica…!

The spring of 2020 in Victoria delivered massive rainfall to the Sambar range, and combined with the regrowth after the bushfires of early in the year, the conditions provided a unique “time of plenty” for the Australian bush. Straight after the covid-19 lockdowns in Melbourne, Rob teams up with mates Andrew and Loui to explore a wild and remote part of the high country, targeting lower elevation creek flats in late Spring, and they stumble into a very rarely witnessed localized peak in the Sambar Stag rut.