Paul R
17-06-09, 05:43 PM
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/Panorama1.jpg
Maurice from “Upindi Bowhunting” recently invited me for a 3 night bowhunt on the operations flagship property, which is a 15500 acre block situated in southern QLD. Maurice wanted to gain an independent assessment and I jumped at the chance, offering to write a review on its hunting potential.
"Upindi Bowhunting" is a new hunting operation run by Maurice Kloppers, catering solely to bowhunters. Upindi is the Swahili word for Bow and with Maurice’s African heritage it seems a very appropriate name. Maurice will be offering paid bowhunts in all forms from un-guided to fully guided on this property, as well as offering other properties in the future. He will also be offering several different packages available to cater for bowhunters of all levels and types, from beginners wanting to learn how to bowhunt to the more experienced. Maurice is also organising bowhunts in Africa on behalf of a couple of huge properties in Namibia, who interestingly enough will cater to those wishing to stalk game instead of just sitting in hides. So if you’ve dreamed of hunting Africa Give Maurice a call.
The 15500 acre property I hunted is a sheep and cattle station situated only 4 hours from Brisbane in the Texas/Bonshaw region, close to the QLD/NSW border on the QLD side. This property has only minimal numbers of stock animals on it at the moment and after the recent good season has plenty of feed about and large numbers of game animals.
My first impression of the place was one of vastness; this is a big property for this type of country. It consists of rugged pine covered traprock hills and mountains typical of the area, to rolling hills, creek flats and open grazing land. Add to that huge Ironbark forests and countless gullies with many rocky gorges and creek systems, most holding water in some beautiful picturesque rock pools and you’ve got a whole lot of land to hunt. There is a large dam bordering one side of the property which adds to the fantastic scenic views and provides the adventurer with another means of travelling the place by canoe or boat. The dam is also full of cod and silver perch and is renowned for its yellowbelly fishing.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/Panorama4.jpg
If this place doesn’t inspire adventure in the visitor then nothing will, it is an adventurer’s playground and there is so much to do and explore on this place that you won’t cover it all in a few short days. In my visit we didn’t even see half of the place and we were trying to cover as much ground as possible by 4wd, canoe and foot. Let me tell you there is a whole lot of country in them there hills.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/Bowhunter2.jpg
Accommodation consists of your choice of the many bush camping sites, comfortable shearers quarters and there is even a modern 3 bedroom Villa built on a small rise overlooking the lake available for those who want to stay in a more comfortable setting. The cottage is absolutely perfect for a couple to spend a private weekend away, where you can fish and hunt while your partner relaxes with a good book on the veranda in front of a panoramic view of the lake. When the days activities are at an end you can snuggle up for a romantic dinner and a late drink of wine in front of the fire place. It's also big enough to take the kids if you can't find a baby sitter.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/Frost1.jpg
The camping is spectacular with some of the best campsites available that I have had the privilege of camping at. Waking to the early morning mist flowing through the standing timber in one of the peaceful inlets, with the sound of fish slapping the surface and goats bleating in the distance, was simply magnificent for this bowhunter.
There are several designated sites available or you can choose your own. You can base yourself somewhere to your liking or move each night to take advantage of the different game, exploring the place more thoroughly as you go.
Maurice who will be running the hunting operation is a very experienced bowhunter and has hunted in Africa and Australia for many years. He has a degree in Conservation Science and has worked in Game management in Africa. Maurice has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to hunting and other subjects like animal behaviour, tracking, game meat preparation and camp cooking to name just a few. Those wishing to take advantage of his fully or semi guided services will not find a better guide anywhere, his knowledge and experience is impeccable and his camp side manner is professional and friendly, with the campfire stories of his life in Africa simply enthralling. As for his camp fire cooking, well you will not find a better camp cook, the smell of his camp oven meals and fresh warm bread will have your mouth watering in anticipation of the satisfying meal to come.
Now that I’ve given you a run down on everything else that will make a hunt with “Upindi Bowhunting” one to remember, let’s take a look at the hunting that’s available. This property has a lot of game to be found on its 15500 acres. There are goats, pigs, foxes, rabbits, cats and deer roaming free and unfenced in this magnificent countryside. For the 2 full days plus the morning and afternoon that I hunted there, I personally saw literally over 500 goats without even looking for them. This place must hold thousands of the animals and as far as trophy potential goes, we saw some decent billies and I am sure that there must be some really big horned old billy goats tucked away in those thick gullies and steep hills, you’ll just have to get up there and find them.
For the meat and skin man, there is a smorgasbord of tasty eating sized goats on offer with a variety of different coloured skins; this place is definately a goat hunter’s paradise. I managed to take a couple of goats with a hybrid longbow, a Belcher "Longhorn" during my stay, but was presented with many, many more stalking opportunities and could have arrowed a far greater number. You can read the story of the hunts here: http://www.aussiebowhunter.com/showthread.php?t=19584
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09105.jpg
Although the number of goats is high, these animals aren’t stupid and still present a great challenge to the bowhunter. The stalking opportunities are many and varied on this property and you need to be ready for some fast and furious action at times.
If you want an even greater challenge then you can try your hand at the local population of feral pigs, which are present in good numbers. We saw 7 pigs while we were there, 4 of which were boars, with a lot of our stalks on both pigs and goats conducted with in sight of camp. In fact we were kept that busy hunting the animals spotted from our camp site that we ran out of time to do much hunting on the rest of the place.
There are good numbers of rabbits and foxes and there is also a small number of Chital deer roaming around to really challenge your stalking skills. I am sure that if we had spent more time on the property we would have seen many more pigs and perhaps some of the elusive chital deer which calls this property home. The owner told us that he has seen a herd of a dozen chital deer but they are very elusive. The last time he musted the back paddock they saw about 28 pigs for the day. Maurice also saw 22 pigs in the same paddock the last time he was there, but we just didn’t have time to hunt that particular area this time around. All I can say is hunting opportunities abound on this place.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09043.jpg
I had a fantastic time for my three night stay on this unique property, with a heap of game sighted and unlimited stalking opportunities being presented to me. To do it all in such a picturesque setting was magnificent. With its size and the different terrain encountered, there is so much ground to cover and explore that you will probably run out of time to do everything you planned to.
I have hunted a lot of places but this property simply inspires adventure with unlimited opportunities to camp, backpack, canoe, fish and hunt and all this only 4 hours from Brisbane. This is a great destination for those wishing to backpack hunt or hunt from a canoe, or a combination of both and these activities can be organised with Maurice, either guided or unguided.
If you are looking for a real adventure for your next hunt then contact Maurice at "Upindi Bowhunting", this may just be the place for you.
***Please note: Maurice is taking a break for a while due to other commitments, so you will need to contact Paul R here at TBGA by sending a PM or an email at paulrea@dodo.com.au (paulrea@dodo.com.au)
Prices
Camping: $45/car per night
Shearing cottage accomodation: $75/night
Air conditioned modern Villa: $180/night
Hunting: $50/hunter per day
Guiding: $150/day for 1 hunter, $200/day for 2 hunters(1 guide)
For fully equiped and catered guided canoe/backpack hunts:
$750 for 3 days for 1 person, $1200 for 5 days for 1 person
Or bring a friend and save:
$600 each for 2 people 3 days, $900 each for 2 people 5 days
Longer hunts are also available by arrangement.
***Please note: Maurice is taking a break for a while due to other commitments, so you will need to contact me (Paul R) here at TBGA by sending me a PM or an email at paulrea@dodo.com.au (paulrea@dodo.com.au)
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09045.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/Waterhole.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09051.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09113.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09087.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09079.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09042.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09041.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09027.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09039.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09002.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09091.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/Bowhunter1.jpg
Maurice from “Upindi Bowhunting” recently invited me for a 3 night bowhunt on the operations flagship property, which is a 15500 acre block situated in southern QLD. Maurice wanted to gain an independent assessment and I jumped at the chance, offering to write a review on its hunting potential.
"Upindi Bowhunting" is a new hunting operation run by Maurice Kloppers, catering solely to bowhunters. Upindi is the Swahili word for Bow and with Maurice’s African heritage it seems a very appropriate name. Maurice will be offering paid bowhunts in all forms from un-guided to fully guided on this property, as well as offering other properties in the future. He will also be offering several different packages available to cater for bowhunters of all levels and types, from beginners wanting to learn how to bowhunt to the more experienced. Maurice is also organising bowhunts in Africa on behalf of a couple of huge properties in Namibia, who interestingly enough will cater to those wishing to stalk game instead of just sitting in hides. So if you’ve dreamed of hunting Africa Give Maurice a call.
The 15500 acre property I hunted is a sheep and cattle station situated only 4 hours from Brisbane in the Texas/Bonshaw region, close to the QLD/NSW border on the QLD side. This property has only minimal numbers of stock animals on it at the moment and after the recent good season has plenty of feed about and large numbers of game animals.
My first impression of the place was one of vastness; this is a big property for this type of country. It consists of rugged pine covered traprock hills and mountains typical of the area, to rolling hills, creek flats and open grazing land. Add to that huge Ironbark forests and countless gullies with many rocky gorges and creek systems, most holding water in some beautiful picturesque rock pools and you’ve got a whole lot of land to hunt. There is a large dam bordering one side of the property which adds to the fantastic scenic views and provides the adventurer with another means of travelling the place by canoe or boat. The dam is also full of cod and silver perch and is renowned for its yellowbelly fishing.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/Panorama4.jpg
If this place doesn’t inspire adventure in the visitor then nothing will, it is an adventurer’s playground and there is so much to do and explore on this place that you won’t cover it all in a few short days. In my visit we didn’t even see half of the place and we were trying to cover as much ground as possible by 4wd, canoe and foot. Let me tell you there is a whole lot of country in them there hills.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/Bowhunter2.jpg
Accommodation consists of your choice of the many bush camping sites, comfortable shearers quarters and there is even a modern 3 bedroom Villa built on a small rise overlooking the lake available for those who want to stay in a more comfortable setting. The cottage is absolutely perfect for a couple to spend a private weekend away, where you can fish and hunt while your partner relaxes with a good book on the veranda in front of a panoramic view of the lake. When the days activities are at an end you can snuggle up for a romantic dinner and a late drink of wine in front of the fire place. It's also big enough to take the kids if you can't find a baby sitter.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/Frost1.jpg
The camping is spectacular with some of the best campsites available that I have had the privilege of camping at. Waking to the early morning mist flowing through the standing timber in one of the peaceful inlets, with the sound of fish slapping the surface and goats bleating in the distance, was simply magnificent for this bowhunter.
There are several designated sites available or you can choose your own. You can base yourself somewhere to your liking or move each night to take advantage of the different game, exploring the place more thoroughly as you go.
Maurice who will be running the hunting operation is a very experienced bowhunter and has hunted in Africa and Australia for many years. He has a degree in Conservation Science and has worked in Game management in Africa. Maurice has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to hunting and other subjects like animal behaviour, tracking, game meat preparation and camp cooking to name just a few. Those wishing to take advantage of his fully or semi guided services will not find a better guide anywhere, his knowledge and experience is impeccable and his camp side manner is professional and friendly, with the campfire stories of his life in Africa simply enthralling. As for his camp fire cooking, well you will not find a better camp cook, the smell of his camp oven meals and fresh warm bread will have your mouth watering in anticipation of the satisfying meal to come.
Now that I’ve given you a run down on everything else that will make a hunt with “Upindi Bowhunting” one to remember, let’s take a look at the hunting that’s available. This property has a lot of game to be found on its 15500 acres. There are goats, pigs, foxes, rabbits, cats and deer roaming free and unfenced in this magnificent countryside. For the 2 full days plus the morning and afternoon that I hunted there, I personally saw literally over 500 goats without even looking for them. This place must hold thousands of the animals and as far as trophy potential goes, we saw some decent billies and I am sure that there must be some really big horned old billy goats tucked away in those thick gullies and steep hills, you’ll just have to get up there and find them.
For the meat and skin man, there is a smorgasbord of tasty eating sized goats on offer with a variety of different coloured skins; this place is definately a goat hunter’s paradise. I managed to take a couple of goats with a hybrid longbow, a Belcher "Longhorn" during my stay, but was presented with many, many more stalking opportunities and could have arrowed a far greater number. You can read the story of the hunts here: http://www.aussiebowhunter.com/showthread.php?t=19584
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09105.jpg
Although the number of goats is high, these animals aren’t stupid and still present a great challenge to the bowhunter. The stalking opportunities are many and varied on this property and you need to be ready for some fast and furious action at times.
If you want an even greater challenge then you can try your hand at the local population of feral pigs, which are present in good numbers. We saw 7 pigs while we were there, 4 of which were boars, with a lot of our stalks on both pigs and goats conducted with in sight of camp. In fact we were kept that busy hunting the animals spotted from our camp site that we ran out of time to do much hunting on the rest of the place.
There are good numbers of rabbits and foxes and there is also a small number of Chital deer roaming around to really challenge your stalking skills. I am sure that if we had spent more time on the property we would have seen many more pigs and perhaps some of the elusive chital deer which calls this property home. The owner told us that he has seen a herd of a dozen chital deer but they are very elusive. The last time he musted the back paddock they saw about 28 pigs for the day. Maurice also saw 22 pigs in the same paddock the last time he was there, but we just didn’t have time to hunt that particular area this time around. All I can say is hunting opportunities abound on this place.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09043.jpg
I had a fantastic time for my three night stay on this unique property, with a heap of game sighted and unlimited stalking opportunities being presented to me. To do it all in such a picturesque setting was magnificent. With its size and the different terrain encountered, there is so much ground to cover and explore that you will probably run out of time to do everything you planned to.
I have hunted a lot of places but this property simply inspires adventure with unlimited opportunities to camp, backpack, canoe, fish and hunt and all this only 4 hours from Brisbane. This is a great destination for those wishing to backpack hunt or hunt from a canoe, or a combination of both and these activities can be organised with Maurice, either guided or unguided.
If you are looking for a real adventure for your next hunt then contact Maurice at "Upindi Bowhunting", this may just be the place for you.
***Please note: Maurice is taking a break for a while due to other commitments, so you will need to contact Paul R here at TBGA by sending a PM or an email at paulrea@dodo.com.au (paulrea@dodo.com.au)
Prices
Camping: $45/car per night
Shearing cottage accomodation: $75/night
Air conditioned modern Villa: $180/night
Hunting: $50/hunter per day
Guiding: $150/day for 1 hunter, $200/day for 2 hunters(1 guide)
For fully equiped and catered guided canoe/backpack hunts:
$750 for 3 days for 1 person, $1200 for 5 days for 1 person
Or bring a friend and save:
$600 each for 2 people 3 days, $900 each for 2 people 5 days
Longer hunts are also available by arrangement.
***Please note: Maurice is taking a break for a while due to other commitments, so you will need to contact me (Paul R) here at TBGA by sending me a PM or an email at paulrea@dodo.com.au (paulrea@dodo.com.au)
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09045.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/Waterhole.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09051.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09113.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09087.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09079.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09042.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09041.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09027.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09039.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09002.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/GlenlyonJune09091.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/PaulRea/Bowhunter1.jpg