Thread: Hi all

Raised in sunny Nelson. Grew up hunting deer with the uncle and grandad in Maruia. Target practice was hares and possums and fitness was running the hills chasing pigs and a ton of sports.

Studied exercise science and sport management up in Wellington before I got bored of that and decided the to have a go at living a nomadic lifestyle - booked a one way ticket to Canada and two nights worth of accommodation. Hitchhiked for 15 months through Canada and America, hiking the mountains, sleeping on couches, school fields and parks. Made my way from Vancouver on the lower West coast up to the Arctic circle for hunting and Aurora Borealis and then took off all the way across to little old St John's, Newfoundland on the far far east coast. Winter probably wasn't the greatest time of year to hitchhike in Canada with temperatures reaching -53c.

Did a fair bit chainsaw work while in Canada in exchange for hunting trips. Got out and hunted Moose, black bear, Dall sheep, Cariboo and Bison. All of this was done in the ranges bordering on Alaska in Yukon Territory. Felt like I'd overstayed my welcome and took off down south again.

Moved on to work for a couple months on a Bison farm in Manitoba in -40C Cry

After that silly decision I decided I'd go on a ridiculous winter hitchhiking trip to the crazy French part of Canada and get up to mischief before I ran out of money and headed even further east. Explored for another couple of months before I got bored and headed into America (Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion) for a month before I did a stint in Vegas and came home.

Back in NZ now, I've moved down to Christchurch and got a job working as a Youth Coordinator for 180 Degrees Trust. Taking young at risk teens out into the local ranges on hiking/mountain biking/kayaking adventures with an aim of turning their lives around, getting off drugs and out of court.

Got my firearms licence, a decent truck, a couple .22s and an old single barrel shotty. Still waiting on purchasing a centrefire, will probably go with a t3 stainless synthetic chambered in .243. Have done very little hunting solo so would absolutely love the opportunity to head out with some guys with experience in the area.

Cheers