Author(s): Darren Shields

Hunting & Fishing

Darren Shields was taken by his father on a pig hunting adventure to Great Barrier Island at the tender age of 6. To say the trip made an impression on the young Darren would be an understatement. He was hooked. Growing up in the semi-rural environment of Whitianga in the 1970s most activities revolved around the outdoors. Pigs were plentiful and handy to home and access was no problem as everybody knew everybody else in those days. Playstations had not been invented so what was a boy to do. Hunting became an after school activity at first in the company of Dad, and later with school friends. Cutting the odd class to leave early for a hunt was no problem and weekends revolved around hunting and fishing. These are not the memories of a miss-spent youth, rather the memories of youth well spent.