On arrival I was a little apprehensive as it is IRAN afterall.  When have you ever heard any positive comments about the country ! Those fears soon evaporated as we were made to feel very welcome by everyone that spoke to us.  There was a genuine interest in where we were from - I was travelling with an American - and we were encouraged to go and see as many of the historical and cultural sights we could.  The people are very proud of their country but not so proud of how Iran is portayed on the international stage.

We were there primarily to hunt the differnet species of sheep found in their mountains and spent 3 weeks travelling through a variety of areas.  All areas were very arid and protected by the game department who have done a great job ensuring the animals have a secure future.  Animals were in good numbers in most areas but were extremely 'flighty' and would be off at a dead run at the slightest hint of trouble - often from 1000 metres away !! We suspected poaching in some areas as people farm the valleys that the animals live in. We were also quite close to the Afghanistan border so people had easier access to illegal guns.

We had little success with the sheep as they were very wary and the game scouts that had to be with us  - althugh they were very good at spotting animals - were a constant source of frustration as they exposed themselves time & time again on ridgelines - they are not hunters. No amount of discussion could stop this and the trend continued in every area we visited.

We did manage some success on other species - notably the Ibex and Gazelle.

I can't recommend Iran highly enough as a hunting destination.  Your patience will be tested but the animals are there. You need to have a rifle that can shoot well at 4-500 metres - along with the hunter of course - as opportunities were rare at distances under this.

The people, hospitality, food and sights werer wonderful and if you get the chance to hunt there or just visit you will not be disappointed.

Jason intends to come back in April 2011 to experience Red Stags in the ROAR.

New Guinea is a pretty wild place - towns and bush - the buffalo hunting was very good with some exceptional animals seen.  The Buffalo here seem to be quite aggressive compared with their Australian cousins and need to be watched carefully !  We had an incident with one of our party and he was lucky to survive.  I now have a new respect for these animals after seeing the results of an unprovoked mauling.

Any one else been up there recently ?

It was typical of everything I remeber about hunting goats.  We got on to a mob that were in steep bluffy terrain and scrambled and slid our way down to them as they fed away from us over the course of the afternoon. 

This was the final result.

A couple of happy young men that were challenged physically with the terrain but came away having had a great experience.  I haven't hunted goats myself for many years but must say I thoroughly enjoyed it and it is a great way to keep fit.  We hope the boys enjoyed it enough to want to do it all again another time and it was a pleasure to introduce two new hunters to the sport.

Deer were there in low numbers with a lot of walking between animals.  Even though we were there at the height of the roar we never heard a thing.  We saw several youngish stags which we left to grow out for another few years.

The odd good animal comes out of this area each few years so it obviously has potential.

Many of the reports I am hearing suggest the 'roar' in the South was a very mellow affair.

How did you get on ?