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