The lodge has not been damaged, but outfitter Mick McCormick of Australia, who operates the hunts out of Bensbach Lodge, fears that significant numbers of rusa deer may have drowned. It will be impossible to determine this until the waters have receded, and that may take some time. Booking agent Harve Hollek of the Hollek Company, who told us about the lodge's closing, says he hopes to have a better handle on the status of the deer population and next year's hunting season by this coming March.
For those unfamiliar with Bensbach Lodge, it is a unique place in that it offers luxury in the midst of a very primitive area. It also offers a very appealing mixed-bag hunt. The standard package hunt costs $4,900 from Cairns, Australia. That includes round-trip charter flight, six full days of hunting and fishing, licenses for three rusa deer of any size, one wild boar of any size and unlimited ducks and pygmy geese.
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