Yowiehunters Forum

This only happened last night. Well, this morning. Just as before was getting light. Couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a walk, see if I could get the whole "god i'm tired" thing happening (epilepsy meds do that to you sometimes).

I thought i'd go visit my favorite spot (which is here, on Macleay Island) where I've had some.. well, strange yet fun encounters before with Junjadee's before. Wanted to head down to the beach, watch the sun-rise if I could.
This was totally different, and if anyone can provide a rational explanation, please do. I still can't get my head around it.

So i'm walking through that track in the link, doing my thing - basically ambling along, having a smoke, see what happens. Then out of no-where I smell.. best way to describe it is like, a cross between sulfur, wet dog & off meat. So, soon as I started smelling that I pretty much went to Defcon-1. Out comes my little LED torch and i'm looking all around me. Not a damn thing to be seen. Looked on the ground. No footprints besides my own. Don't know if you can make it out on the map, but as the track goes down it forks in two ways, one towards that quarry, and the other down towards the beach. I was just before the fork. Its kind of like an unofficial dump. Loads of old stuff everywhere. So i'm training my torch around this stuff too, still nothing; smell still lingering. Then, down around the track I was intending on going down, I hear like a.. i'm not sure how to explain it. A cross between chittering & yipping? I know it wasn't a curlew or anything. No bats. Weirdest thing was, there was two distinctive "voices"; like whatever the hell it was, was talking. So I took it slow slow footsteps, trying not to make much noise, torch off. Waited until I thought I was pretty close, out comes the torch; same chittering/yipping for about 2 seconds, then stopped, then not long after, smell went away. I've never smelt that smell around that area before.. heard similar noises, but not like that. It got me totally stumped, and to be honest - it scared me a little, because i'd never experienced that type of thing before there. I mean, i've had encounters with Junjadee's there before (and here too). Second map is mostly, off the road, paperbark and swampy type land. But this one.. blew my mind. I know this sounds stupid, but this morning.. it spooked me that much I wish i'd had my camping knife with me at the time. Not like I feared for my life or anything, but - it felt "different". I felt like I needed.. something with me. A $4 LED torch, in my mind at the time, would not have done anything.

As I said earlier, very hard to explain, but thats the best way I can put everything. So if anyone can rationalize any of this, please do.

I don't really have any answers for you Alex, but I think in situations like this, it is the 'right thing' to follow your instincts. To be honest, I think a substantial chunk of aluminium baseball bat or hunk of timber would be far more effective for defense, as you wouldn't have to get so close to ward off or even just brandish at anything attacking you. You've never had 'smelly' experiences before with these entities, have you, so this does sound unusual.

Could the odour have been a warning to other Little Hairy Men that a human/threat was approaching? Maybe you interrupted a couple of them trying to stalk prey and that annoyed them, so they wanted you to know it. I also wonder if there were more than one of them, if there could have been some aspect of breeding potential - you could have interrupted something else, LOL!

Not sure why this time you smelled the odour for the first time? Do the LHM consume carrion? Could there have been something dead/rotten dumped in that area, since you mention it is a bit of a dumping ground, and they carried it off, so you could no longer smell the smell? (I consider this to be unlikely, but just putting it out there).

Can't help you with the noises either, unless you taped them. Got an iPod you can use to record next time if you're game to go back again?

Kind regards,
Shazz

A camp knife.... if was me, the word "remington" comes mind .....lmao

Deadpool,

It sounds to me from your description of the event you stumbled upon some unknown type of animals engaged in some activity that when said animals figured out there was a third party closeby.... left the area without making noise or leaving tracks....lol I am curious if this has encouraged you to follow up or to let that area sit for awhile to allow the local population of unknown animals recover their normal activities.

I also hear what you are saying.... there are very few "things" readily available in those "bump in the night" circumstances that will stop a larger animal (two and four legged) enough to allow escape. There are products out there that we can use to decrease the probability of harm to us and still distract "animals" enough to allow us to retreat, in saying this, we need to be responsible in our actions to prevent making a situation that results in a territorial misunderstanding or a resource competative environment (like fishing or hunting or even perhaps the veggie patch) thus provoking a negative response ( possums around my place get positively pissy when I pick the veggies from the patch ). Having said that, from what I can read, most of the time in most of the encounters it's a chance meeting and all sides are surprised with the first to react tending to be the one who "wins".... hence the need to have something that allows a bit of "stand off" that allows a person to retreat to safety.

I'm very interested in hearing how you plan to; first, continue the area investigation if you choose; and secondly, your plan in the event there is an aggressive response to you being there... and perhaps thirdly..... getting some photographs if you can figure out how (expect me to copy your methods if ya'll have some level of success !!!).

I think that a well thought out plan can take care of the questions you now have in a safe and responsible manner.

And I second what Shazz said.... ya hafta follow your gut feelings and if they say run... run fast !!

(edited because Shazz is too right)

Shazzoir wrote: Do the LHM consume carrion? Could there have been something dead/rotten dumped in that area

Some bush things prefer their meat well hung. stop laughing in the back there

I wonder if reports tending to mention the Smell just as often as they mention no smell, is down to someone having certain dietary and hunting routines that means sometimes they are encountered heading for the pantry, and othertimes, heading off from it.

Really only so many sources of that stink. The OP does mention being in paperbark swampland, could be marsh gasses, or carrion, or a combination of the above.

Or they just have very refined tastes...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garum

http://www.gourmetbritain.com/encyclo_e ... ?item=3256

I can just see something dragging the day's kill back to it's murky, dank little haven, wedging it into a crevice and then taking a meal down from the older, riper end of the row... this would offer both a concealed reserve for times when it was too noisy to go out wandering around, and also for bad weather/fires/times when other predators were on the move.

Om nom nom.

Where I had the encounter, in the past i've had a lot more friendly ones. Playful would be one word i'd use. Nothing dangerous as such. I just guess at the time I was thinking of all the worst case scenarios that could have happened if it was the LHM. Note the word "if" there, cause i'm still not too sure. I'll wait til this rain eases off and go back and look for prints/signs. Go in with a camera during the day to take some photos if I see anything photo worthy. Then come back at night and see what happens (and no, I won't be be bringing a thing with me, not even my camping knife, as it just shows a sign of aggression, or as bearindawoods so put it, and know where this is going, my BOOMSTICK). I don't shop at S-Mart

You know what really irks me is that, a lot ppl on this site have a cuddly teddy bear attitude and this 1 of the reasons I left, ppl have got in their head that going armed in some way is a bad thing, I don't feel like being a martyr for the cause, you are dealing with an apex predator, who if threatened will respond accordingly, so yes running is an option if you want to be his lunch... But do your research..... ppl, running is not an option, for it seen as a prey response, if these guys are similiar to mountain apes, standing your ground in the face of a charge has been proven as positive by primate scientists, I believe if a 8ft Yowie charges you in the scrub and you stand your ground, he/she will stop, and you will be calling its bluff because thats all it is... a bluff, to sort the men from the boys.....
In Dean's case I feel the Yowie was threatened and responded accordingly, feeling out-numbered, by noisy, flashing lights, strange smelling animals, it defended it self, but only as means of escape, unfortnately it chose a path of escape that had Dean in the way, it hit Dean not as sign of aggression but a "get out of my way", I believe if wanted to do damage, Dean would be pushing up daisies..... This is their backyard not ours.......
Question:If you were researching other apex predators would you not be armed in some way, to protect yourself?????

bearindawoods wrote:You know what really irks me is that, a lot ppl on this site have a cuddly teddy bear attitude and this 1 of the reasons I left, ppl have got in their head that going armed in some way is a bad thing, I don't feel like being a martyr for the cause, you are dealing with an apex predator, who if threatened will respond accordingly, so yes running is an option if you want to be his lunch... But do your research..... ppl, running is not an option, for it seen as a prey response, if these guys are similiar to mountain apes, standing your ground in the face of a charge has been proven as positive by primate scientists, I believe if a 8ft Yowie charges you in the scrub and you stand your ground, he/she will stop, and you will be calling its bluff because thats all it is... a bluff, to sort the men from the boys.....
In Dean's case I feel the Yowie was threatened and responded accordingly, feeling out-numbered, by noisy, flashing lights, strange smelling animals, it defended it self, but only as means of escape, unfortnately it chose a path of escape that had Dean in the way, it hit Dean not as sign of aggression but a "get out of my way", I believe if wanted to do damage, Dean would be pushing up daisies..... This is their backyard not ours.......
Question:If you were researching other apex predators would you not be armed in some way, to protect yourself?????

Okay, yeah - thats fair play. I was just saying that usually the encounters I have are non-threatening in any way whatsoever. It was just that one particular time that I felt the need to have something more than a torch in my hand. But also on that, i'm/we're not dealing with predators here. Example: say it was lions instead of hominids, they'd go for you no-matter what you did. Whereas the hominids in question won't go for the throat 90% of the time. They're just as curious as we are about them. I don't feel the need to go armed/have something on me that would do damage unless I knew for a fact whatever it was, was out to kill/put the hurt on me intentionally. These things aren't out to kill. Yeah, they'll bluff charge, etc. But they won't actually kill you, unless hypothetically speaking a) you put it in a position where it had no other means of escape, b) you somehow inadvertently threatened its mate/young/etc, c) it had serious anger issues (we've all read about the SAS encounter and why it happened). Yes, i'll freely admit, the thought has crossed my mind the best way to "catch" one is go in fully locked & loaded - but then I thought about it some more and... well, to me it just doesn't work ethically. If I wasn't dealing with something more than 4ft high? Yeah, of course i'd be carrying my knife with me. And a torch. A nice, shiny blinding torch.

But thats just my two cents on that.

bearindawoods;

I read a line recently that sums it up well for me;

"There's several ways to put any man into a killing mood, give him the impression that either A) You're stealing the food off his table. B) You're trying to evict him from his home. C) You present a danger to his offspring. D) You may be competing for the affections of his mate." "In other words, Sasquatch is probably about as harmless as your next door neighbour."

I think that may fit the yowie situation as well.

Yeah, they're an apex predator, but I would have a more immediate concern about someone walking down a track in the early morning hours with a firearm at port arms (this would be based on probabilities and statistics of someone having a WT* moment). There needs to be a middle ground in there someplace so we don't cause hate & discontent in the community and at the same time still provide for the personal safety & well being of the chasers.. and chased. I know what I do and have done and we need to think out of the box a bit perhaps to make certain all of us go home at the end of the day or night.....

If you set out to hunt one, then so be it; you need the Remington. If you are out hunting with the intent to habituate enough to "collect evidence" then some type of active measures kinetic or otherwise should be around. If you are out on a walk as deadpool was, and most encounters seem to happen this way, this is where the middle ground lies, in my opinion.

Just a random series of thoughts because I don't pretend to know any answers let alone a lot of the questions.

Well lets see... you have me wrong and you missed the point, the point of what I was saying, don't go rambo etc..be sensible, be smart, think of the "what if moment," you can't honestly say to me that their "harmless", butterflies are harmless, Yowie's are omnivores like us, Yowie's well... can rip your arms out their sockets, they have sharp pointy teeth, their built like a brick sh*t house, they average 8ft tall, they know their backyard better than you know yours, they've been here for much more than 200yrs + the aboriginals say their basically bad karma. Look the moral here is, don't put yourself in a situation, where you the lose control to something else, of course their curious, sharks are curious, thats why they do test bites, because they don't have arms and hands to grab you to see what you are before they decide to eat you or not, the same goes for Yowie's, what about the unexplained disappearances over years of bushwalkers never to found again in prime Yowie country, do you want test the theory of whether he sees you as alternative food source or a science study.

Well lets see... you have me wrong and you missed the point, the point of what I was saying, don't go rambo etc..be sensible, be smart, think of the "what if moment," you can't honestly say to me that their "harmless", butterflies are harmless, Yowie's are omnivores like us, Yowie's well... can rip your arms out their sockets, they have sharp pointy teeth, their built like a brick sh*t house, they average 8ft tall, they know their backyard better than you know yours, they've been here for much more than 200yrs + the aboriginals say their basically bad karma. Look the moral here is, don't put yourself in a situation, where you the lose control to something else, of course their curious, sharks are curious, thats why they do test bites, because they don't have arms and hands to grab you to see what you are before they decide to eat you or not, the same goes for Yowie's, what about the unexplained disappearances over years of bushwalkers never to found again in prime Yowie country, do you want test the theory of whether he sees you as alternative food source or a science study.
Well lets see... you have me wrong and you missed the point, the point of what I was saying, don't go rambo etc..be sensible, be smart, think of the "what if moment," you can't honestly say to me that their "harmless", butterflies are harmless, Yowie's are omnivores like us, Yowie's well... can rip your arms out their sockets, they have sharp pointy teeth, their built like a brick sh*t house, they average 8ft tall, they know their backyard better than you know yours, they've been here for much more than 200yrs + the aboriginals say their basically bad karma. Look the moral here is, don't put yourself in a situation, where you the lose control to something else, of course their curious, sharks are curious, thats why they do test bites, because they don't have arms and hands to grab you to see what you are before they decide to eat you or not, the same goes for Yowie's, what about the unexplained disappearances over years of bushwalkers never to found again in prime Yowie country, do you want test the theory of whether he sees you as alternative food source or a science study.

You forget that these creatures are extremely intelligent! I believe many encounters occur due to their shear curiousity in humans. Maybe they observe us as a related species? At the end of the day any animal (or human for that matter) can and will do you harm under the right circumstances........ to put them on par with the predatory behaviour of sharks is unrealistic! I`m not discounting the possibility of humans having been killed by yowies..... but I believe it would be an extremely rare occurrence.... I do not believe them to be blood-thirsty entities in search of human flesh.... maybe in the movies but not in real-life.

Harm from a yowie - a remote possibility... being hit by a car walking across the street - a remote possibility - but I`m still going to cross the road! What are you suggesting, lets all become armchair researchers and study the phenomenon from the safety and comfort of our living rooms???

don't put yourself in a situation,

Any situation where you are in the vicinity of a yowie in the bush is a SITUATION! You need to understand that these beings have the upper hand in the bush..... your ability to control the encounter will be extremely limited... if any! Even a weapon will not stop them.... people get false confidence from going into the scrub with knives and other weapons..... in all honesty if these things want a piece of you than nothings going to stop them short of an RPG! In fact, one of the best defensive weapons (from what I`ve learnt) is to have a torch! During nocturnal encounters these creatures will go to great lengths to avoid direct light, that being the case a high-powered torch would probably be your best defence in the event of an attack.

Perfect example of weapons vs hominids: The Ape Canyon incident in 1924.

The only time we shot our guns that night was when the creatures were attacking our cabin. When they would quiet down for a few minutes, we would quit shooting. I told the rest of the party, that maybe if they saw we were only shooting when they attacked, they might realize we were only defending ourselves. We could have had clear shots at them through the opening left by the chinking had we chosen to shoot. We did shoot, however, when they climbed up on our roof. We shot round after round through the roof. We had to brace the hewed-logged door with a long pole taken from the bunk bed. The creatures were pushing against it and the whole door vibrated from the impact. We responded by firing many more rounds through the door. They pushed against the walls of the cabin as if trying to push the cabin over, but this was pretty much an impossibility, as previously stated the cabin was a sturdy made building.

These guys were using a Remington Auto & a 30.30 Winchester. I'm not a gun nut or anything, but I know those are both pretty powerful rifles.

The reason these guys were "attacked" in the first place? One of them took a shot at one earlier on.

Either way, here's the full link to the story for those who don't know about it.

If you had something like an M4A1 SOPMOD with an IR scope or a U-SAS 12, thats about the only chance you'd have, remotely. But by the time you'd locked, loaded & aimed it'd be on-top of you anyway. So, in short, it'd be like throwing rocks at a grizzly. Not a chance in hell.

As SAB said, your best defense is a simple torch. Hominids have excellent night-vision. I'd assume it'd be like being in a dark room and someone shining a torch in your eyes. You go totally night-blind. Hell, being outside at night & lighting a smoke is bad enough. I've learnt to close my eyes when lighting up, so I keep my night vision. So you can just imagine, if you were wearing NV goggles and someone shone a torch in your face, you'd be "blind" for at-least a minute. Thats the way I see things, anyway.

I think as you quoted nothing short of RPG would stop 1 , a highly improbable statement. I have in my past used firearms of various calibre's, shot various sized animals, including the imfamous Water Buffolo, who is one the most feared animals in Africa, next to the hippo.....
Am I to assume that you think that Yowies are more intelligent than......us
Where did you get your info from, what source, because there is nothing but speculative guessing because no1 knows exactly what their mental/physical abilities are and nothing short of anatomical study with wildlife specialists over many years in close observance would be the only proof you'd have. As for eye witness accounts a few fleeting photo's, recorded sounds, foot prints, bits of hair/fur, are the only things we have, so don't make baseless statements, until some1 finds remains, or able to view 1 over period of time and gather hard undeniable proof this arguement will continue....

I think as you quoted nothing short of RPG would stop 1 , a highly improbable statement

Noooo! We actually managed to gather a dozen yowie volunteers and tested a firearm on each..... eventually we discovered that only an RPG would stop one!!! Yes, specualtion..... the majority of stuff on this forum is speculation based on what little we do know!

I have in my past used firearms of various calibre's, shot various sized animals, including the imfamous Water Buffolo, who is one the most feared animals in Africa, next to the hippo.....

Am I supposed to be impressed now??? Wow, you almost remind me of Kootamundra Hoags!
I`ve used a lot of weapons too maaaan.... including Mr. Grenade Launcher and even had ballistics training into what nasty bullets can do to animals and humans!!! Still not an expert though, unlike yourself!

Where did you get your info from,

Hundreds of witness sightings.... discussions with fellow enthusiasts (God forbid even a little speculation)... Even gathered some information from the illustrious members of the AYR forums!!!!
There have been previous reports of the Yowie (and Bigfoot) being shot (or shot at) on numerous occasions! Yet still we don`t have a body. Hence I conclude that rifles in general (except maybe for your elephant gun) would not be enough to kill one outright! Logical speculation-assumption? NO? Maybe a head shot between the eyes would do the job - I`m sure you`d be capable of the job famous hunter man!

so don't make baseless statements

I`m assuming you`ll be taking your own advice!

Am I to assume that you think that Yowies are more intelligent than......us

No! Otherwise I would have said that!

until some1 finds remains, or able to view 1 over period of time and gather hard undeniable proof this arguement will continue....

Well get out there and get us some proof bearindawoods or was that ozcryptoindawoods???

Let's step back and take a deep breath...... There are valid reasons on both sides here and that is what makes this site very special.... Everyone's able to express an observation and opinion. In expressing these, we need to remember that while none may be the same, we can appreciate and possibly even respect the other expressed observations and opinions. Through reasoned responses the opinions can be enforced or discarded as required.

As I see it, this board and site are to exchange information, seek help and assistance, and have fun discussing fringe animals that have no taxonomy and for which there is nothing more than circumstantial "evidence"; paranormal events and situations and those pesky flying things that have created more heartburn than I could ever imagine.

We, as mostly mature adults can do all of that without thinking we have to get defensive or obsessive ....... maybe, kinda, sorta.....

cheers

Its amazing as soon as you mention a weapon and a hominid in the same sentence, it kicks off for young and old intellectually. All I was saying was, at the time, when the incident, as it was happened, I wished I had something on me more than just a packet of smokes & a lighter. My first thought, at the time, was my knife. Split second thought. Not like I actually want to go out there and knife one. Or if it came to it, go out there & shoot to kill.

... But on that, a thought has been rattling around in my brain for some time. Say theres an area with repeated sightings. Paintball marker? If you can get a shot off and actually hit one, run like hell back to wherever you think is safe. Come back in x amount of days, and if you see a yowie with a yellow backside you know that its his/her territory. And not to shoot them again, cause, obviously, they'd be a bit pissed about it. If someone came into my home and shot me with a marker and ran, i'd be annoyed. Its bad enough playing paintball with your mates and they take a pot-shot in your direction.

While i'm here i'll post two links, one serious one, one that made me laugh.
1) the serious one
2) one that made me

edit: turns out theres like 4 or 5 of the same type of videos as the second link. hilarious as hell.

I don,t use Knifes or guns , "Im a real man " just a log that looks like a base ball bat . Works good for a pack of wild dogs and Emu,s nesting.

I was making a point about self protection..... All I was suggesting was to use your common sense.. And not once did suggest about being an expert... your words not mine, you don't know my past so don't make assumptions, are we clear on that....
Its unfornate that we don't know some important things about Yowie's like......We don't know about their mating rituals, we don't know what a Yowie needs to consume on a daily basis to support its health system, we don't know how far a Yowie will walk or whether they migrate to other locations, we don't the breeding cycle of female's or their family structure, theirs a lot of don't knows, and this will slowly decrease as more detailed info becomes available by us investigating this, we know their curious, bears are curious, but unlike Yowies/Bigfoot, we know vast amounts about the the daily living of bears, we know their very intelligent and we know that they recognise certain plants and trees for medical purposes, 1 of the things we don't know about Yowie's is why do they build those tree markers. Is a boundary marker to other Yowie's???
We don't know and we don't know because we weren't there to see them do in the first place, what we do know is there are exact copies of the same tree structures in the USA......

Bearindawoods,

i understand your original point, i go to remote locations on a regular basis around the NT for up to 2 weeks at a time for work, and yes i take my trusty 357, BUT, if i go strolling through the scrub specifically for the purpose of sussing out yowie stuff , i leave it in the vehicle...i believe that if your packing they will stay away and hidden, why take a gun with me?.
.1. Lots of weirdos in remote parts of Oz,
2. madass feral Donkeys ,Camels, Dogs and Cats...( big Motherf*#&$g ones at that).

i do agree that best protection at night is a super bright good quality torch of 200 Lumens+, one of the torches mentioned is a LedLenser P14...can pick em up for around $180

Let's step back and take a deep breath...... There are valid reasons on both sides here and that is what makes this site very special.... Everyone's able to express an observation and opinion. In expressing these, we need to remember that while none may be the same, we can appreciate and possibly even respect the other expressed observations and opinions. Through reasoned responses the opinions can be enforced or discarded as required.

As I see it, this board and site are to exchange information, seek help and assistance, and have fun discussing fringe animals that have no taxonomy and for which there is nothing more than circumstantial "evidence"; paranormal events and situations and those pesky flying things that have created more heartburn than I could ever imagine.

We, as mostly mature adults can do all of that without thinking we have to get defensive or obsessive ....... maybe, kinda, sorta.....

The people on the forums are reflective of life NoPolys. Some people enjoy a fiesty debate... so be it. Not everyone is lovey dovey in life.....so why should they be that way on the forums. I generally respond to people in the same manner as I`m approached. Hence, if someone wants to communicate in a respectful manner than I`m more than happy to repay the courtesy. If people want to attack other points of view, again, I`m happy to respond as such. Obviously this little exchange made you uncomfortable.... my apologies. But I will not be changing my approach! A little bit of spice on the forums should not do any harm.... after all, as you say, we are all adults here!

because there is nothing but speculative guessing because no1 knows exactly what their mental/physical abilities are and nothing short of anatomical study with wildlife specialists over many years in close observance would be the only proof you'd have.

We don't know and we don't know because we weren't there to see them do in the first place

Your right bearindawoods WE DON`T KNOW anything 100%. But we can still theorise and speculate! That is the whole purpose of the forums. Much of our science begins with speculation and theories. Sometimes it takes decades until breakthroughs in technology or science prove theories to be correct or incorrect! I think we are learning more! I attempt to base my beliefs and theories around witness sightings, my own observations, and experiences from fellow enthusiasts. When the collective material is studied in detail reoccurring pattern`s emerge and understanding of the species can develop further. For example, your thoughts on tree markings are a perfect example. In the past the argument may have been more targeted at do these creatures even use tree markings or are these markers/markings just a natural occurrence? There have been enough cases throughout Australia and the US to conclude that these creatures probably do use markings for some purpose (in my opinion)! The big question now is why? Territorial markers….probably? There are other options! My whole point is that we are gaining an understanding….. this is but one example, much of this understanding has been developed through speculation, observation, theories and viagrous debate.

wow you have had a very good encounter, weather or not it was the Big Guy we will never know but never the less something was Bloody well talking to each other...i say you busted in on there conversation Bro....dont worry it may not be the last encounter for you my freind...well done

Oh, don't worry about that, i'm sure i'll have quite a few more encounters to come until the council decide to develop the land into some kind of estate type thing or something. Going out in about an hour to have another look-see - will report back if I see/hear anything interesting. Just a stroll, torch, my smokes.. nothing better as far as i'm concerned.

deadpool,

By any chance you have a way to get some audio? I have no idea how important it is, but it would be interesting to hear and compare if you get something. If not, then describe it well and I'm certain my active imagination will fill in the blanks and maybe even draw a few new lines . Seriously, make sure the batteries are full charge and have a great walk !

Got back about 15 minutes ago from my walk. Nothing much happened. But i'll tell it as it went:

So I got to the area I've had the most encounters in the past. Freezing my wossnames off, had a sit down on a log with my back to the scrub, facing the track. Lit a smoke and waited to see what'd happen. There was curlews, etc making their general racket, etc.. then it all went quiet. Then, not long after, I hear movement behind me. Like something was slowly walking behind me. Didn't sound like.. I don't know how to describe it, but it wasn't like, stalking movement; think creeping up as close as you can to get a closer look at something. (during this entire event, there was no sense whatsoever that there was any aggression) So I waited until, basically I couldn't stand it anymore and turned around & trained my torch on where the movement was approximately coming from. One problem, where the noise was coming from, I didn't realize until I trained my light onto the direction, there was a big gum-tree in the way. So whatever it was, i'd say it stopped behind the tree. From the tree, whatever it was had a clear FOV (field of vision) of where I was. So, essentially it was a stalemate. It could see me, and, well, essentially I could "see" it if it popped out from behind the tree. I kept my light on the tree for about a minute, to no avail. Nothing. So I switched it off and turned back around like nothing had happened. Got a bit colder, no further signs of movement, and I knew if I went towards the tree it'd have ran like a mad thing towards the thicker scrub to my right (when facing the tree). That, or backpedaled and ran away with the tree behind it. Either way, I knew I had no chance of catching a glimpse of whatever it was. So, I tried an experiment. I've heard/read the LHM like cigarettes. I don't know if its the smell, or what. So, I lit up another one, had maybe half of it, put it out, left it on the log I was sitting on and walked further up the track. Checked up on where I smelt that awful smell & heard that chittering noise the previous time. Not a thing. Heard "something" further up the track making its way across the track, as I could hear twigs snapping and rocks moving/ grounding against each other. Once again, torch on, followed the general movement, saw some scrub moving for a second then nothing. (i need to get some better A/V equipment, and/or some kind of camera that pics up good quality sound. my mobile just doesn't cut it). At this point I was sick of playing "chasey" as I like to call it. Came back along the same way i'd come in, checked the log, and what do you know? Cigarette gone. I checked under/around the log - nothing at all. So whatever it was, while I was further up the track (50m tops), the little sod had nicked my smoke! So, no visuals as such, and one smoke gone, i'd decided to call it a night. Walking back, I heard something walking pretty much inline with me to my right, all the way back up to the road. Every now and then it'd do this weird skip/hop kinda thing, as if it was trying to keep up with me. I was walking pretty fast, as I was cold and wanted to get home back to warmer surroundings.

I'll go back tomorrow & check for signs of footprints/foliage damage, etc. I'll bring my proper camera this time and take some general happy snaps of where I was, etc. Just to give you guys a good idea of what type of terrain i'm dealing with.

deadpool,

That's great information! Good Luck tomorrow too, I know what you mean about mobile cameras, they like lots of light and no shaking.

Have you by any chance looked at Rickrocket / Tony's youtube videos? He has one set up he demonstrates where he puts a tripod on his chest so it's mostly hands free and hangs a mirror off to the side so he can use it like a rear view mirror. Just a thought, but if you take some pics with his general set up, you can flash your torch behind ya and maybe see what's moving. Just an idea because I'm not there so don't know your position.

Thanks for letting us know your update.

Hey Thanks NoPoly i have used that mirror set up a few times now...It does work quite well surprised myself...lol

You will find the Tripod setup on my other channel guys bigfoot gadgets on youtube....we are also working on a very very small sound grabber, small cam bag or even pocket sized.... but will have enough ummph to pull out any sounds heard....take care guys...

Hi deadpool... It sounds like you got the same tipe of yowie . The first two times thay check you out. Then after that thay like to play game (high-ding-go-seek). The one's in my area do wood knocking and then I got to find them.
Thay do'nt through rocks at me , but if Im close thay will through rocks to the left or right of them . To put me off.

I can give you a rough description of what they are. I call them LHM (little hairy men) as they're not 8+ ft tall and built like a wrestler on horse steroids. They're more.. say 5ft max, dark hair, skinny, can run through the bush like theres no tomorrow. Also they somehow have the ability to be there one minute, gone the next only to appear 10ft away like they were always there in the first place. More often than not, no smell. I've had sticks thrown at me a few times. No real aggressive feelings I've felt. I do however get the occasional "you're not wanted here" vibe.

The "local" folklore around here says "they've" been here since the aborigines from North Stradbroke island used this place as as fishing spot. Depending where you go, you can still see the large mounds of shells, etc. The women of the tribes at the time weren't allowed to come here as it was, I dunno, a "man's spot" or something. That, and it was apparently "dangerous" or something along those lines. Where I live theres three other islands around me, and on one of them, theres apparently a "monster" that hangs about this swampy part that a road goes through. I've heard lots of stories about people being growled at (one being my friends girlfriend, since then she won't walk along that road at night alone). You get the occasional story on other islands saying that someone has seen "something dark and hairy" running across the road/chasing them through the bush, but I can't really tell whats legit & whats total bollocks half the time. These stories only really come out after said person telling the story has had a few drinks. I don't outwardly advertise that i'm actively looking for signs/whatever it is, but, I will say something like "oh, I could have sworn I saw something sprint across the road the other night" and then the stories start. As I said above, don't know if its actual facts these people are telling me or just total garbage, but either way it gives me a good insight into places to look.

On the sound grabber, you could always use this.
* Personal sound enhancer
* Produces an adjustable 50 decibel gain
* Acoustically engineered sound boom that swivels 180 degrees
* Boom is fully enclosed in a foam windscreen
* Comes with high quality stereo headphones
* Takes one AAA battery
* Dimensions: 6.75″ x 1.75″ x .87″

Don't know if it'd be any good, but i'm going to get one either way as a starter. It would be easy to turn it into a sound grabber too. Just get a double ended 3.5mm mic jack, one plug into the sound enhancer, the other into the line in port of a recorder of your choice. Hit record, and whatever the sound enhancer gets, the recorder, well, records.

Tony;

Ooops sorry, I didn't put the location for the video in there, it kinda slipped past me as I was burning up the keyboard at my usual blistering 10 words a minute. You guys are doing a great job on the Gadgets Channel I hope to see more soon!