More to the hunt

FEATURE by Penny Cumming

With 2021 being in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic it certainly had its challenges, including the continuous lockdowns while juggling home schooling and working from home. So, when the opportunity to head high up into the hills arose, I took very little convincing and I had my gear packed and ready to go in no time at all.

With Melbourne still in lockdown and the weather outlook not looking so great, I had the mountains all to myself. It was early September and the snakes were already out and about despite the winter snow still hanging around.

I took it pretty easy on the first arvo, checking a trail cam I had set up and glassing a few deer feeding along unalarmed until the sun went down. After returning to camp I went through my trail cam photos to find a beaut stag among them.

The following morning, I woke before light to the wind howling and my tent shaking, so I decided to get up and set off in the dark. I dropped down and glassed into some gullies protected from the wind. It wasn’t long before I spotted a spiker and on stalked in to 30m above him I also spotted a hind laying down in the long grass.

I watched them both snoozing for a good hour, taking a few photos before the wind swirled and they both jumped up. The hind bolted without a second glance while the spiker was more curious and circled around looking at me, stamping his foot a couple of times and giving me an opportunity to get a couple of photos before he decided to make a run for it.

Getting up close and personal to deer in general has always been something I’ve loved. However, in the past 12 months I’ve taken a real passion to photography. I am definitely no expert, but it certainly gets the heart pumping trying to sneak in and capture them completely unaware.

Over the next couple of days, the weather closed in with snow falling, but I continued to put plenty of miles under my legs exploring new areas, regaining fitness and enjoying the simplicity of life in the mountains.