Wild Guide Magazine Wild Guide Winter 2018 Digital | Page 20

wild guide abroad: maui bound Acknowledging the angle, we decided to give it some time and head back to the lodge for lunch. Enjoying a wonderful meal of barbecued hamburgers prepared by Dawn, we then returned to collect Heather’s prize. Reviewing the shot on video, Heather’s shot placement was good. The footage revealed a pass through, so we fully expected to find the arrow a few yards away from the point of impact. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Puzzled by the lack of blood and no arrow, we began walking every possible avenue of escape until finally, an hour later, we discovered the arrow under a log 60 yards away. We were confident that her goat was down but without a blood trail or tracks, we were left to exploring every possible option. Finally, checking down a steep draw, we found her billy stone dead. It was apparent that he’d expired quickly. It was just unlucky that it took so long to find him. The one thing about Maui is that the sun rises and sets at the same time every day. This meant there was only a couple hours of daylight remaining. After hauling him out, taking a few photos, and shooting some wrap up video with Heather’s goat, there wasn’t much time left for me to hunt. Even still, we put in a good effort. Managing to get within close bow range of another big billy, I did get to full draw, but he was bedded below a rocky outcropping and just wouldn’t stand. Rather than waiting him out, given our limited time, we attempted to roust him. To make a long story short he vanished from my life forever. As the sun began to set, Rodney led us up another ridge and, again we sat in wait as several goats migrated up the mountain past us. None were of the trophy quality we were looking for, but what an experience! For our last half hour, he took us to a high point where we witnessed one of the most spectacular sights I’d ever seen. Best described as a mass exodus, literally hundreds of feral goats could be seen migrating out of the lowlands up an open draw. Heading back to high ground for the night, this was part of their daily routine. A sight to behold, we stood and enjoyed the view as our Spanish goat hunt came to an end. Suffice it to say, we’re hooked. Hunting on Maui has captured a special place in our hearts. Rest assured, we’ll be going back and will definitely hunt again on our favourite island paradise. 19 Wild Guide . Winter 2018