Andrew put the rod on his roof and yanked the tie-cable tight with a grunt. He walked around to the boot, took stock, and nodded, apparently pleased, and closed the boot.
"Have fun! Text me when you get there," the lean, dark-haired woman called from the doorway.
"Okay," Andrew said with a wave, before rounding to the driver's side and slipping in.
Sun streamed through the window and glinted on his light-brown and red-tinged beard as he started the engine, returned another wave, and reversed out of the drive.
Even as he slid out onto the quiet cul-de-sac, she waved once more, but he kept his focus on the road as he drove off.
The drive was long enough, with a small stop to charge the car and get a coffee, it had taken just under 3 hours to reach the bottom of the foothills, and an additional twenty minutes to find the side road that would lead him to the location.
There were no signs on the route, but his GPS navigated to the marked sport without any problems, as he drove away from the small town and into the solid forest.
Andrew drove through the woods along a dirt track, and after one twisty bend and another, he reached a small clearing.
Perhaps 5 other cars were parked in this particular spot, and each had taken liberty to park however they'd wanted, so Andrew did the same.
It took less than a couple of minutes to load himself up with his chiller, cauldron, deck chair, tent, food, snacks, water and tent before he locked the car and trudged up the path to the location.
The sign warned anyone entering with a list of what they'd encounter, and even had a graphic image that made Andrew chuckle.
In the distance, he saw tendrils of smoke from a small fire, which made him adjust his course away to the east slightly and up a new mound. From this vantage point, he was able to see various clearings and just how thick the woods were in most of the area. The area itself was spread over quite a large distance that even the map struggled to capture.
About 10 minutes in, Andrew found his ideal location and was surprised to see it unoccupied. A small creek ran alongside a tiny clearing that gave him barely enough room for his tent and fire but he set down his belongings anyway. Within 20 minutes, his 5-man tent was setup, his little fire was on its way and he prepared his food.
The stream was less than a meter wide, certainly easy enough to jump over and cross. A man appeared through the bush wearing a security guard's uniform. When he saw Andrew, he tipped his hat and smiled, slowing enough so that Andrew could choose whether to engage.
Andrew stood and walked towards him, but stayed on his side of the stream.
"Hey, how's it going?" he asked, his light-blue eyes glinting in the late afternoon sunlight and his hair appearing more red than brown.
The guard seemed pleased with the interaction, and stepped forward with a beaming smile. "I'm doing great thanks. I'm Paul, just started an hour ago. This is the end of my first lap. Looks like it should be a good night," his eyes narrowed and his smile conveyed meaning that Andrew seemed to appreciate.
He smiled in return, and bashfully kicked a pebble into the water. "Sounds like fun. I just got here and set up. I'll probably eat in a minute then head out on a hunt shortly," he looked away as though shy, but then seemed to gain enough confidence to return Paul's gaze and smile.
Paul nodded, and began to turn away. "If you need anything, I'll be in the guard post, just over that mound and about a 5-minute walk in that direction," he pointed further to the east so Andrew could follow his directions.
Andrew nodded. "Thanks, I'll give you a shout if I need anything."
When Andrew waved him off, Paul appeared disappointed, though he smiled and bid him a good evening.
Dinner was partially prepared, which he ate while he chopped vegetables, filling the cauldron with them, and various herbs and spices, and a few litres of water from the stream.
When the fire embers were red, Andrew managed to scoop some up with sticks and put them into a hole he'd dug, then placed the cauldron over the top and put the heavy lid on it. After pushing in the sand around the cauldron, it mostly buried and secure it, with just the top and the lid exposed.
He left it to simmer and went to hunt.
