Deer

This week Logan and Brown journey to the Southwest corner of Southland to hunt down some wild venison. Their first port of call is the Bracken Hall tea rooms in Mossburn where Al and Steve try their famous venison pies. They're well impressed with the big pieces of fresh, wild venison that have been supplied by local hunter, Callum Hughes. Brownie reckons Callum must know where a few wild deer are so he joins him on a hunt up the Whitestone River, near Te Anau. After a forty five minute, four wheel drive journey through Glen Echo Station, they arrive at Jock's hut - a hunters' hangout with a large fire - just the place to be cooking some venision back-straps. After settling in, they take a wander trough the bush out the back of the hut. While Brownie's out hunting, Logie heads off to find out more about the deer and to find something to have with the venison. At a roadside stall he finds the perfect match. "You couldn't come to Southland without including the swede in the cook up, it's everywhere here." (Steve) After buying two swedes for a dollar and getting a few tips from the grower about how to cook them, Logie heads off to meet Derek 'Woody' Wilson, a hunter turned farmer who has been involved in the deer industry for over thirty years. Woody worked initially as a deer culler and then became involved in capturing them live. Steve helped Woody feeding the deer on his farm and in between hay bales heard a few stories about the live capture days. "It was a real buzz, an adrenalin buzz... if you didn't scare the hell out of yourself everyday you weren't working hard enough!" Woody Wilson With the deer fed, Woody takes Steve to meet his long time hunting partner, helicopter pilot Richard 'Hannibal' Hayes who is about to fly into Fiordland with Ron Peacock. Richard and Ron are part of a group trying to preserve the blood lines of the Wapiti deer which are the largest and most majestic of the seven species of deer found in New Zealand and Fiordland i