The Isolation Fallow
IN late March 2020 I was on the South Island of New Zealand, preparing for an April of chasing roaring red stags and bugling wapiti bulls in Fiordland, whitetail bucks in Stewart Island and bull tahr and chamois in the Southern Alps. That all changed very quickly when the coronavirus pandemic struck, with no other option but to return home to Australia I was soon back at the family farm in NSW under strict instructions to self-isolate for 14 days.
For some people not being able to leave the front gate for two weeks might drive them a bit crazy, but fortunately my front gate was a bit further away than most, and between me and there just happened to be a pretty good population of fallow deer. As the first days of April rolled around the rut was kicking into gear and most nights I could hear bucks grunting from the house. With plenty of maintenance and odd jobs to complete around the farm I was kept pretty busy but always made sure I
