Troy lives in the north Island and said to me “Dad I want to come down and go on a hunt for a couple of days with the Llamas”.

When Troy arrived we did a little bit of planning then we decided to go down the back to sight our rifles in.

After we fired the first shot with the 303 the llamas knew a hunt was coming and they both were looking over the fence with great interest in what we were shooting at.

The next day we got all the gear and food together and had lunch. After lunch I groomed the boys and about 1pm we decided to get going

By this time the boys were raring to go!

I opened the back door of the little van and immediately they both jumped in.

Off we went and arrived at the end of the road for the van. After parking and getting the boys packed up which was around 1.30pm we set off to where I thought we should camp for the night.

Straight to the top of the hill we went and by the time we got to the top of the hill the boys were puffed and with good reason – we had packed as if we were going in for a week not one night.

I said to Troy we should set up camp here just above the pass so we can look down on them for our morning shoot.

We tethered the two boys on a ridge just behind where we set up camp and once they were settled we put the kettle on for a brew.

Troy decided we should go for a walk and see if we can make a plan for the morning. So after a cuppa we got Joey and Rip and set off with the wind behind us so if there was any animals in front they would be well gone by the time we got there.

I said “lets keep up high and when we come back we will go lower where I thought the stags would be, the wind would then be in our faces”.

On our way back there was a little sigh and Joey was looking back from time to time as if there was something he saw, I couldn’t see anything so we kept on walking.

Again he looked back and I said to Troy “Joey is looking at something, can you see what it is?”

Troy said after looking for a while that he couldn’t see any thing and just as he said that Troy saw what he was looking at – “it’s a young stag Dad”

While we were sitting there wondering whether we should go down and hunt this stag Troy said “Dad there is another one and hell he is a big one”.

This big boy was chasing the young one away from his hinds.

We watched for a short while then Troy started down to get the big boy while I stayed up the top watching. The big stag went out of sight for a while and showed up strait below me and the boys.

Troy was in a bit of a hollow and couldn’t see him. I couldn’t call out to tell him he was just there.

Joey hummed and the stag heard and was just focused on Joey, he just couldn’t make the llama out. He stared for quite a while until he spotted Troy then he bolted never to be seen again.

I called out to Troy “the other one is still there go get that for some meat” so he set off and after 15 min he was in range, he squatted took aim and the old faithful 303 did her bit as the stag fell.

Troy dressed him and left him there ready for pickup in the morning as it was getting late and we were to get back to camp just on dark.

We tethered the boys, watered and fed them then it was time for a cuppa.

“Not a bad night” said Troy, “I didn’t expect that tonight did you”.

“No” I replied.

We settled in and about 8.30 pm we started to get some grub going for dinner – we had venison sausages with rice risotto and bread.

By the time we had dinner it was around 9.30pm and we were just having a cuppa relaxing and all of a sudden Rip let out an almighty danger call, frightened the hell out of us he did, we dropped our cups and scrambled for our torch and rifle as we new there was something there.

I said “see where Rip is looking”, he was looking straight over us so we shone our torch in the direction he was looking.

We couldn’t see anything for a bit, then Troy said “there he is right in front of us”.

I had the torch and again the old faithful 303 spoke – wham he was down.

I straight away went up to Rip and praised him for a good job well done then went and had a closer look at the stag – wow, he was a nice eight pointer and in great condition too.

We prepared him for the night and went back to the camp for a review and another cuppa. “What a great night we have had Dad” Troy said, “Ten at night and we just got a stag great, if it wasn’t for Rip we wouldn’t have had a chance of getting this stag. And before with the first one as well. Joey new he was there, These Llamas are better than dogs Dad” Troy said.

Just as we decided to bed down which was about 11pm Rip let out another cry. “Go!” I said and by this time we had things down pat, the rifle and the torch came up together in the direction Rip was looking.

“Can you see anything Troy?”

“No I think it is too far for our torch.”

I think it was the hinds coming looking for the stag and they were just out of range but Rip could see them, I said to Troy “I wish we had just as good eyesight.”

We finally got to bed at around 11.30pm listening to the roar of the mountains.

In the morning I woke around 6.30 put the billy on and had a scout around with my glasses, could hear plenty roaring in the distance but not daylight enough to see them.

Over breakfast we decided we had better get the meat out before it got too hot so we packed up camp boned out the stag and packed the panniers.

We put all the camp gear in Rips bags and put the venison in Joeys pack then set off down too the first stag Troy got. dressed it and put it in Joeys pack.

He handled both deer very well and carried the head out as well. He is a champ is my boy.

After a quiet walk and a couple of stops on the way we got back to the van around 11.30am and back home at 12.30pm

A great evenings hunt.

I couldn’t have wished for any thing better than to be out on the hill with my son and two special Llamas Joey and Rip. If it wasn’t for the them we wouldn’t have had such a successful hunt.

We’ll be updating the site as we go with new content, photos and stories, so there’s plenty more to come.