Yowies in the watagans

[blace]

hey guys im new to the forum and i'd like to report some interesting experiences i've had up there. i've been looking on this website for a while and have found alot of the information here really interesting. about a year ago camping up near the pines forest with some friends i had an interesting experience where i woke up about 2am to hear multiple sounds of bipedal foot steps sneaking around through the bush. seemed very odd. i wanted to go have a look but i was sorta paralysed by the fear of what if. the next day i went and had a look around and found what looked to be very large footprints around the edges of the camp site.

anyway this weekend i went back up to the spot with some friends to see if i could find some more to photograph and sure enough i found a number of impressions that look like large footprints. have a look for yourselves and tell me what you think. (edit: Ps my hand is 20cm fingertip to wrist so you can get some sense of the size of the print)

Img01_17-09-2011 outline.JPG

[Dion]

Its a Maybe from me they look quite skinny though I have to say I have seen some pretty odd footprints before.

The area in question has a long history though so I'm not surprised you heard what you did, id be sticking with it.

Thanks for the upload.

And welcome to the Forums.

[Dean Harrison]

I think from memory, you mentioned they were roughly 35cm long. The consuming paralytic fear aspect is also interesting.

Welcome to the Forum Blace. Nice to have you on here.

Thanks for sharing your story and pictures.


DMH

[blace]

yeah they are pretty big. just to give you an idea of the scale my hand is 20cm from fingertip to wrist so that print would be easily 30 to 35 cm

thanks for the warm welcome i look forward to chatting with you guys more

[Dean Harrison]

Hi Blace,

We are glad to have another set of motivated boots in the Watigans. Hope you can get out there more often for us.


DMH

[blace]

cool. yeah next time i go up there im gonner take some plaster and see if i can find one to cast

[Rusty2]

Keep up the great work blace !!

[blace]

returned to the watagans this weekend and learned a valuable lesson in yowie hunting. it can get really frustrating! returned to the area where i found the prints last and didn't find a single new print. even journeyed deep into the scrub and nothing. I noticed that there were alot of people up in the area, probably due to school holidays and was thinking that maybe they were shying away because of that, or maybe im just being unrealistic. i mean people spend 3 years in the himilayas searching for snowleopards and can turn up nothing, maybe i just need to learn that when looking for rare animals patience is king.

im sure you guys have had similar frustrations in your own hunts

p.s. going for a camping trip to the cells river in the hills outside taree next weekend. will definetely go for some inquisitive bushwalks with phone camera ready if i find anything

[Rusty2]

Hey there blace !

It sure can be very frustrating to put in all the effort and hike for miles only to find nothing .

Your gonna run into something at some stage , provided your looking regularly , it's a statistical fact .

Your gonna know when it happen's too , but you may not actually see the creature . If your hear something BIG stomping and crashing around the bush near you , realistically what will you do ?

This has happened to myself and other's quite a few time's . And for me , that is the biggest question while out hiking . What to do ..........approach.........freeze...........or...........tactical retreat .

When you hear or see 1 of them you suddenly realise the difference in size between you and him . It can be quite a shock .

Good luck with the cell's river mate and please be careful !

[blace]

yeah fair enough. no worries man ill try some common sense and not get to eager. i guess for alot of people they become so preoccupied with trying to find these things that they dont really think about what happens if you find it. but yeah dont worry ill be careful and ill keep you guys posted if i find anything more anywhere

[Pertys80]

I'm keen to get up there for a proper look around, been up there a few times even camped there once, but Yowies werent on my mind at the time.. The Pines are only a 45 min drive from home.
From what I gather though, the Boarding house dam would be a good place to start..
If anyone can think of a better place, please don't hesitate to point me in the right direction..