I've always loved the outdoors and think it's a pity that most men today know how to use the fax machine and photocopier, but have been emasculated when it comes to real survival skills, the great outdoors and relationships. Many men in their forties (and beyond!) seem to have 'gone to sleep' and got stuck in a rut that the previous fifteen to twenty five years of working life and pressure have moulded them into. It's also a sad statistical reality that while the average woman has 1.5 close friends over her adult life time, men have only 0.5!  Hey guys - it's time to wake up!!!

I reckon it's time to come alive and get some passion back into life!  It's time for men to be men, and to make friends with other men. As I often say from the pulpit, 'Men need men in order to be men!' Our young men also need positive role models and mentors. Our very sons need to connect with their fathers!   At the end of the day, that's the purpose of my website and recreational activities. For me, this IS a part of my ministry as a pastor, friend, father and husband.

The beauty of the bush, of shooting and trapping - is that we all become equal - the 'ground is level'. No longer are we lawyers, pastors, computer analysts, or office workers - we are friends - we are brothers - we are united through a common cause of adventure!

Enjoy my stories and become part of the adventure!

Just a note - make sure you take your rubbish home with you after a walk in the forest or park - rotting food attracts pests like wild chickens, rats and possums. Let's keep NZ clean and green.  

2002.  I'd been doing some pest removal for a Park Ranger at the Arataki Centre in the Scenic Drive, mainly rats and ferrets, but found this was too far to travel each week. Work (as a pastor) was also getting a little stressful, and I was getting too intense, so I began going for bush walks at farms and properties belonging to friends/family members at different locations to de-stress and for some re-creation. I noticed a lot of damage by pests and varmints along the tracks and in the bush. Well - I decided to do something about it - and have heaps of fun in the process!

In may 2004 I bought my Hatsan air rifle. It was grunty enough at 1000 fps - but being so fast and only in .177 calibre, unless you hit a vital organ, the pellet goes straight through your target and they hardly feel it! Anyway, I bought the rifle and headed off to where I'd seen some wild roosters doing damage. I spotted this one in the bush and loaded a pellet. Lined him up in the fibre-optic open sites and let the pellet rip. Instant kill! My first rooster - and the journey begins!!!