Thread: Near-Miss

I recall one time about 30 years ago my brother in law and I were hunting pheasants around lake Otamangakau. It was a misty bitterly cold day and nothing doing. To the east of the lake was a rolling plateau type area thickly covered with low heather - spanish heath so we decided to sweep it with the dogs as a last resort. We traversed this large area about 200m apart. Siddenly I stepped into nothingness and hit water about 3feet below ground level in a narrow hole approximately 75cm diameter. I was very fortunate that I was carrying my shotgun across my body and as I fell into the hole it wedged across the rim and luckily I did not lose my grip on it. It took me about 15minutes to eventually haul myself out of there after my yells for help went unheard by my companion. Had it not been for the gun wedged across the top I have no doubt I would have succumbed to exposure and drowned. I didnt touch bottom with my feet. Took hours later on to warm up enough to stop shivering. Very lucky that time.