Chalk and Cheese
I loved this trip.
I had been to Australia a few times for vacation to visit family and on business. I have seen Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. All cool cities and super friendly people you can understand - most of the time. I knew one day I would return to Australia to hunt but didn't know with whom, where and how.
The phone call invitation from Jason Vincent to suss out a potential future Field Ethos Outrider adventure to hunt Australia was the easiest and quickest "yes" for me. And now that we have done it - it should be for you too.
To say this was an adventure of a lifetime would be an understatement. From watching people surf at Bondi Beach in Sydney to traveling human isolated dirt roads in the true Outback of the Northern Territory with all the top notch hunting in between. These hunts were with the best guys behind guns, cameras and our new mates from Big Country Safaris and The Last Frontier Safaris beside us.
To hunt a big Asiatic Water Buffalo with their broad sweeping black horns was always a target goal which I accomplished - twice. To get a buffalo is not a matter of if but when. The buffalo country is big and the huntable areas are vast and varying from the tree dotted flat lands to the rivers and wetlands. You will have choices and like with many trophy animals the mature, big animals are there. The smart ones are big. Your guides will get you on them, just have enough gun and ammunition to ensure success.
The underrated trophy hunt is the Banteng. This is a tough hunt. These beautiful animals are smart and easily spooked. You will put some miles on your boots and sweat through your clothes in some of the most awe inspiring landscapes in the world. From alongside the saltwater crocodile infested Timor Sea to the inland bamboo jungle swamps and gum tree dotted flat lands you will find the elusive Banteng and you will earn and admire him - I did.
Each camp is rustic but comfortable. When you take a step back, you will be amazed with how well these guys outfitted their camps so far from civilization. You will eat well with no shortage of liquid refreshments. Aussies love their beer and some of the best also underrated wines of the world come from Australia.
No, you won't see koalas, you may not see a kangaroo; but you will see wallabies because at least one of these little bastards will thump the ground with their hind legs and potentially bust your stalk. If you're lucky, you will see a dingo or two and if you're really lucky you will see a frilled lizard race across the road on its hind legs, neck skin fanned out in full display.
If you see a wild pig, shoot it. Doing so from your buddy's shoulders, a la Jason Vincent and Geoff Rowley, is up to you. If you see a big "scrubber" wild feral cattle known as scrub bulls, give it a whirl. They are just as easily spooked and a challenge to hunt as any wild game animal.
This is a big boy adventure. You will be in places more remote than most huntable places in Africa. You will see flora and fauna only found in one place in the world. You will breathe the freshest air and see some of the most stunning and unique sunrises and sunsets. You will do all of this with some of the best professionals in the hunting industry who are committed to keeping you safe, having fun and to putting you on some monster animals.
And you will remember this adventure for the rest of your life - I will.
Uncle Dave Costarella, FE Outrider Expeditionary Logistics Quartermaster
So what does “Chalk and Cheese” mean? Well if you go to the 9:10 mark of the video “The Lost Frontier - Australia | Hunting Banteng and Water Buffalo” you will hear it said when Alex Jagars refers to hunting these two animals (banteng and water buffalo) is like chalk and cheese. I liked the phrase, but didn’t fully understood how it related so I did what people do these days I looked it up in Chat GPT and here is what I found out.
“When an Australian says something is like "chalk and cheese," they mean the two things being compared are completely different—as different as chalk is from cheese. It’s a common British and Aussie idiom used to highlight a stark contrast. It's a colorful way to say, “They couldn’t be more different.””
So there you go!