Thread: Hi all kiwi hunters

I have been looking at doc.govt.nz for a long time, and might have found a couple areas that I find interesting, but I can't decide whether to go to the northern island or the south, I have been looking at Otago and maybe canterbury, for chamois, red deer and fallow deer, not that we are hunting for any big trophies og specific animals. But also looking at the Whanganui and central north island for red deer, fallow sika deer. By looking at maps and reading the internet I got the feeling, that the South Island is steeper mountains but very open, and the north is smaller mountains but dense forest is that correct?

Good idea with the back up spots, the hunting areas is my main concern right now, mostly getting to an area that isn't going to be to dangerous and preferably a hunting block where you can park you car and walk around for a day in the block and go back to sleep in the car.

Originally Posted by Young dane

Good idea with the back up spots, the hunting areas is my main concern right now, mostly getting to an area that isn't going to be to dangerous and preferably a hunting block where you can park you car and walk around for a day in the block and go back to sleep in the car.

No such thing as a hunting block where it isn't going to be dangerous, @Young dane. Shit can happen anywhere, especially if you are on your own. There are only spots that are either more or less dangerous then somewhere else. Lots of day hunters get rescued out of country that isn't that remote, after breaking a leg or similar.

The central North Island is great. However a lot of the hill country to the west can be pretty treacherous in terms of gradient and in particular in the papa-rock country, through the Taranaki and western Ruapehu regions down towards Wanganui. The gullies and gorges are basically vertical gradient and have caught out many a hunter (and many a pig dog). So whilst day trips are a good idea, don't for a moment think that something is less likely to go wrong just because you are planning to go back to your car...

(I can say this because I've got myself into real difficulty a couple of times, including knocking myself out by falling on a steep slope.)