Thread: Older Members?

Greetings All,
When I was a little younger I knew a chap called Arthur. Arthur had been a skin hunter after the war and had done well enough to have bought a brand new Landrover in 1958 from the proceeds. He was not a big chap and his hips had taken a beating. I ran into him up town one day and stopped for a chat. He was using a walking stick and it turned out he had just had his second hip replacement done. Being a bit cheeky I asked "Now you've had both hips done will you be back in the Kaweka's chasing deer again soon?. Arthur paused for a moment and I was sure he was thinking about his hunting days. Shortly he replied "Yes" another pause and then "On some of the flatter stuff mind".
At that stage Arthur was likely younger than I am now and have always been impressed by his candid answer. Currently, engaged in my own scrap with mobility, I often think of him. He died of cancer a few years later and I don't know if he ever got out in the bush again. It hardly matters.
Regards Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Unfortunately that is the way many New Zealanders think Phil. They took away some of our freedom, but not all of it so that's ok.

A bit like when some radical idea is put forward by a council (or any other organisation). They go in hard knowing it will be appealed and trimmed back. And the proposal gets trimmed back to about where they were aiming for to start with. And the population sits back feeling content that the original proposal didn't get passed, not even realising they still got screwed.
Slowly but surely we get conditioned to being screwed. And not so slowly in some cases

Both views equally valid I think, and important in that without both, you lose something precious. On another note,2 days ago, bollocked a good friend for absailing down 80ft drop to finish off a wounded animal. At 12ft short of the ground, he considered 'dropping'. Commonsense prevailed and he came back up. He's 76 this year. The long-way round, resulted in the animal being put out of its misery, couldnt be retrieved though, because the river was too high to cross

For my 65th birthday my kids gave me a skydive voucher... So family off down to Franz, grandad's into the gear, into the plane, and off up to 13,000 feet ... whereupon the guy opens the plane door (he was strapped onto me) and just says jump out. Epic fun - and special moment when that bloody chute opened after 40-50 seconds freefall...... What's age???

Good inspiring stories above. In 60s-70s you have to look after the body more - all the old battle wounds and breakages talk to you some. But do the work and you're good to go. I do 21 minutes stretches/physio movements/light weights every morning, then three 40 minute circuit weight sessions per week at local gym. That keeps you strong - some of the grandmas and grandads in their 70s there are seriously fit. I definitely need to add more walks/biking/aerobics..

Once past 50 or so what you into your body is exactly what you'll get out of it.

What is the work you do walking 150km a week?
I do heaps of stairs and ladders at work.
Use google fit at do 6-9000 steps most days at work.

Yep @rdbang. The knees get more and more buggered with the years. I'm beginning to regret the carefree abuse of my body, when younger. I'm 70 and heading out next week but will be avoiding too much of the up-and-down stuff. I need a new knee, the left shoulder is munted and the stump (left foot gone) is developing a bony spur which gets pretty painful when wearing footwear, which is made by the good folks at the Orthotic Centre in Auckland. So the spirit is all for it, but the body is fucked. Anyway, I'm still having a whack at it; just need to be realistic about how far I go and how rugged the terrain. It's still therapeutic io get out in the bush though, while hoping my rifle isn't redundant - I'd hate to spot one and have to try to drop it with a rock

Originally Posted by keneff

Yep @rdbang. The knees get more and more buggered with the years. I'm beginning to regret the carefree abuse of my body, when younger. I'm 70 and heading out next week but will be avoiding too much of the up-and-down stuff. I need a new knee, the left shoulder is munted and the stump (left foot gone) is developing a bony spur which gets pretty painful when wearing footwear, which is made by the good folks at the Orthotic Centre in Auckland. So the spirit is all for it, but the body is fucked. Anyway, I'm still having a whack at it; just need to be realistic about how far I go and how rugged the terrain. It's still therapeutic io get out in the bush though, while hoping my rifle isn't redundant - I'd hate to spot one and have to try to drop it with a rock

nice..

A little late to the party but here goes: I'm almost 78, out of shape and stiff in all the wrong places. Still look forward to my yearly 500 km. drive north so I can be in the woods. For a week I walk a km. into the bush to sit in a blind, make a noise like an apple and wait for the deer to come to me. If that fails depending on the weather I will sit for another week with a black powder rifle surrounded by more apples. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Hi (Huntfisheat)you sound like a guy i know who had the same storys about on the Two Thumb Range and sea kayaks befor.

A difference to me is having to exercise enough (or similar work) to keep fit enough to get up hills. usually Mt Biking and hill climbing (with pack), and gym when I can
fortunatley am close to a farm with plenty of hills
otherwise weight gains and get slower
although when younger work was enough to keep reasonably fit
Probably biggest thing that slows me down over last 2-3 years, is knees, on rocky or downhill bits. not keen on river beds now
Cant complain, nearly everyone I began hunting with has stuffed knees, or hips or similar and cant go far

Being 20 in the 70's was a lot better than being 70 in the 20's

@Brian. Is that a cave residence behind the plastic?

Overhang. Just big enough to shelter under and cook.

Good stuff.