Edition 08, September 2021

After Lockdown BRANCH OFFICERS

Kia ora everyone! It’s great to be back! Hope everyone has Rob Howey
had a good season. Times are truly unpredictable these President
days, who would have thought we would have a 2nd m: 027 4972672
lockdown for a couple of weeks. Lucky for us in the re-
gion, things quelled down quietly giving us time to get Graeme Blanchard
our barrels hot again when we went down to level 2. Vice-President
m: 027 4285843
In this edition we will feature a few scheduled hunting
trips, and our face to face branch meeting to be held in
David Roache
one of our member’s homes. So keep on watching this
Secretary
space.
m: 027 6718143

Jaymi Singson
Branch Meeting Treasurer
m: 022 1560893
Our much awaited face to face meeting will be held on
the 5th of October, 7:30pm at 173 John Burke Drive, Ao- COMMITTEE MEMBERS
tea. Morné Hunter will be sponsoring this meeting where
he will talk about hunting in South Africa. Parking will be  Dave Raoche
along John Burke Drive and a short walk along the private  Dan Driscoll
driveway. Be in for a rare treat and some great company!  Jun Hernandez
RSVP to Jaymi at singson.j@gmail.com  Nick Collins
 Patrick Harsvelt

Branch Hunts
Date Location Details

16 October Makowhai Station, Ngamatapouri Want to come for a Fallow meat DAY HUNT?
Plenty of animals and guiding included. $100
per animal.
Leaving Porirua at 6am and returning at 8pm.
Phone Graeme 0274825843 to secure your spot.
TBA Tauanui Hut, Aorangi Range Join us for an overnighter and develop your nav-
Early Novem- igation, camp cooking and hunting skills with a
ber weekend couple of hours helping us tidy this cozy historic
hut.
Phone Graeme 0274825843 for EOI
Ruahine Forest Park Hunt
After the cancellation of our first plan due to poor weather, we had another crack
on the weekend of July 24th. Three hunters left Porirua full of anticipation as we
drove past the Remutakas, then the Tararuas then saw just how little snow there
was on the Ruahines. There were wisps of clouds on the tops but otherwise it the
mountains were clear. So clear we could see quite a number of DOC huts glistening
in the morning sun. As we continued on our journey in the truck we scoured the
hills for the public land boundary, for the property we were using for access and for
the ridge we intended to use to get to Hinerua Hut and access the open tops.
We were guided to the end of the road by the owner
of the property and then shown where to go to get to
the public track.
Everywhere we went we saw deer sign. Plenty of it
fresh. Upwards we went, following the ridgelines
working our way along a well-cut track through the
native bush. When the door of the hut loomed out of
the trees it came as a bit of a surprise. We sorted out
who was sleeping where, unpacked our gear then set
about loading up the new firewood shed. The hut was
renovated recently and looked great. New roof, new
firebox and the firewood shed.
We had lunch, packed our hunting gear and headed
up the steep climb for our first glimpse at the Ruahine
tops. After rising 300m we cleared the bush only to be
enveloped by fog. Bugger.
Taking turns at leading we crept forward, peering through the fog hoping to see a
deer out feeding in the gloom. We didn’t have to wait long. A hind and her yearling
ran off in front of us. Allowing time for a quick shot. It sounded like a hit, so we
waited for 5 minutes before following their escape down through the alpine scrub.
No blood trail and too much fresh sign to distinguish. Next time.
We carried on up through the fog. Peering around every spur and over every hill.
But nothing.
45 minutes before dark we called it quits and headed
back down, hoping to get to the hut before dark. We or-
ganised our dinner, cracked a beer and lit the fire as it
was pretty cool without it. It was winter after all and we
were 1100m up.
We made a plan for the morning. The fog meant there
was no point heading back up to the tops, so we agreed
to get up early and try and be at a likely spot at first light.
With that we settled in for the night.
Sure enough, the fog was still thick outside when we
stepped out of the hut with our headlamps switched on
early the next morning. We made good time and quietly
set up at the spot, hoping to get lucky.
Two of the hunters saw a hind but didn’t have time for a
shot, so we headed back to the truck, clearing some ob-
stacles from the track as we went.
We stopped off to chat with some other hunters in a pri-
vate hut along the way. They had a great set-up, were
great company and full of hunting stories from the years
they had hunted the area.
As we packed up the truck we took the time to share
our excitement for hunting in the area. Plenty of fresh
sign so plenty of deer. We definitely need to get back
there soon.
Another great hunting trip.
-Graeme Blanchard