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hey team ,
at this stage depending on the cyclone im flying into harkness hut next week.
anyon have any good possies for a person whos comign with me to sit and watch morning and night who has a bad back/neck?
additionally any good other spots you recommend to check out here ? I have a few little clearings on my maps ready to go, but just after a lil more homework of real life hunting experiences.
thanks
Lars
Send me a pm
Was thinking these spots worth a good Crack.
You staying at harkness or Tussock? All of what you have circled is a bit of a hike from harkness, and is up by Tussock. Harkness is the next hut down. Bottom of the Tussock valley is the easiest open country to access from harkness and is a good spot. All other open country is a climb.Quote:
Originally Posted by Larskramer
They could go for a cruise along the ngawapura sidle track as well, fairly easy going and holds animals
A few years since last at Tussock hut. I've found Sika in all those circles except the top one. Good sign through there though so they are there but I couldn't get a sighting. The bush creeks to the right of the Tussock Hut main clearing were also good. Slow going as a bit choked up with windfall but that probably helped getting onto the animals. I've sat a glassed mornings into that bottom circle and seen deer on the edges or in small openings. A bit of a long shot across depending on where you're positioned.Quote:
Originally Posted by Larskramer
sorry, your right! harkness is down river a bit. Will upload a new pic
These spots I've pin pointed look pretty good to perch up on a rock for a few hours, looks to be open sporadic small shrub with bigger green trees around them with some long views.
Additionally, is the valley towards tussock a good hunt ?
I can happily shoot out to 870m, ( hitting a 12" gong almost dead centre at that distance), all wind dependant, havent had much windy shots and would prob not pull the trigger in more than 10km of wind.Quote:
Originally Posted by 30.06king
Impressive. I certainly can't shoot that far. I wasn't ranging any animals that far away and can't remember how far but probably no further than 400 yds. So you should be good to go.Quote:
Originally Posted by Larskramer
awesome, thanks mate. appreciate it.Quote:
Originally Posted by 30.06king
if anyone else has any spots theree to check out please feel free to flick me a message or post on here! cheers guys! stay safe in this cyclone!
Don't be afraid to go up the valley towards Tussock. A few nice little open fingers that come down to the track/river.
Hopefully the rivers would have subsided by the time of your trip. Regardless of river level, you will get wet feet/boots crossing and weaving tracks just so you know. Let us know how you go.
Purple area there's a big sika living but you need to climb behind hut if you go the other way around the valley the stag will find you.The red and yellow lines are ok but i would head up the tussock valley and come down the red or yellow areas .The wind is always an issue up there
There is another party at Tussock while you are in there.... its your call but pretty poor etiquette to hunt essentially 360 degrees around them as like you they aren't flying in to catch butterflys.
The other thing you could do is push your trip back 2 days from Tuesday to Thursday and just go to Tussock?
Anyway from Harkness i would definitely consider heading up the Te Rua tops maybe even for a fly camp in the bush edge so you are Johnny on the spot at dawn, i've always found it to be pretty productive.
Head North up valley & then cut up petshop ridge to the west, if you didn't pick an easy one going up you will hit the top & then head South stalking through the saddles & eventually you'll break out onto the northern end of the Te Rua tops, there is a good campsite just inside the bush.
Or spend the day stalking up the creek& stay at the Harkness saddle biv, dropping into Herbs creek from the Te Puke track, the options are endless really....... You probably won't even need to go that far to pick one up if the weather plays the game.
Good luck, its a pretty special area of the park :)
Bottom of Tussock Valley is an awesome spot. Shot my first 8 there. Easy access for your mate too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Larskramer
@Sika 8, That's a harsh comment when your saying one hunting party to not venture too far in one direction, where the other party will probably push down as far as Harkness valley. Its a big valley! Tussock hut has access to great areas north so they should focus their intentions that direction if there was to be any etiquette. The new booking system is great for allowing transparency on where other hunters may be, but being public land its all fair game.
ill try to stick down the bottom half of the valley, im not interested in pissing off other hunters. were all in it for the same thing, and i have paid my trip. so i get 50% of the say also. My trips been booked for ages, so meh. We aint changing any dates hahaha.
I guess as long as the hunters who are flying into tussock keep to their region there wont be any problems! ;)
Hey sorry if I came across as being harsh Lars, was not my intent at all.
Clearly you get what I meant.
Hot barrels 👍
are you the other party in at tussock ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Sika 8
Ha ha unfortunately not this time!
well good news is no one else will be there as tussock hut flyw out the day after we fly in for the week.
Hi
Have you cancelled?, it's a great spot with heaps of bush edge and like all paces it has good bush and not so good bush. Just checked the booking site and see your booking has gone. I hope you get there one day, it's an iconic spot to visit.
Cheers
Ruger7mm
The booking for Otutu from today is gone too, and the one for Tussock later in the week that only appeared recently.
Helicopter availability may be the issue with all the need in Hawkes Bay
Also, DOC has closed all the Kaweka huts, campsites and tracks
With only 6 weeks to the start of the roar, I am not confident the Kaweka huts will be available in time. DOC are known for not getting out of first gear for anyone. There will be a lot of checking to do, and their risk averse approach will see most of the network put under a cancellation notice. Better start getting a walk in trip planned in case the flyin plans get shelved.
I suspect the DOC is cancelling all the bookings with the heli operators :(
Id be surprised if some of the huts are still there given the rain
It looks like pretty much all of the rain dumped on the eastern side. Otutu recorded less than 10mm while other sites like Puketitiri and Kuripapango recorded several hundred mm as did sites in the foothills and plains
Yeah i was thinking about that as well, I would think Omar biv would be particularly at risk..... Fingers crossed all the structures are all good.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nathan F
I think it will be some time before we find out unfortunately.
Be good to find someone (maybe a Regional Council employee?) who has access to a tool like Planet? Assuming coverage of the subject areas, if a hut has gone that should be discernable...
I see Helisika have stopped flying to huts in the Kaweka FP due to DOC closing down access so they can assess any damage and be sure it is safe. Shouldn't be much damage as the storm appears to be east of the main range. The rain gauges at Poronui (41.6mm) and Otutu (5 mm) have recorded less than dangerous levels of rainfall so hopefully all is well in the western portion of the FP. There was however a large rain event back on Jan 28 where Poronui recorded 180mm, and Otutu 75.5mm which may have caused some damage, but DoC weren't interested in looking then? I look forward to hearing soon that the FP is open for business. It may take a while for access to the eastern side due to road damage etc. It has been heart-breaking to see the damage to property, people, their livelihoods, and the sheer size of the recovery. My thoughts are with them and will be heading over to help some out in the near future with their recovery.
If there is any damage on the western side it's more likely from the wind, the photos of tree damage around Turangi are pretty shocking
Saw of the backcountry huts FB page today that Leon Kinvig hut in the Ruahines has been undermined/damaged by floods. Thats on the Pohangina river so looks like plenty of rain in over the west side of the Ruahine ranges. They are trying to tee up latest satellite imagery to check on other huts. In the scheme of things loosing a few huts isnt major in comparison to HB/Gizzy.
I sure we will hear more over the next few weeks as DOC get in there and do the assessments. My sister is suppose to be heading into Whirinaki with DOC to do assessments on tracks and huts this week.
Edit: Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ FB page has latest updates and closures'
How'd you get on Lars?
The good news is that the Kaweka Forest park is open for business. Sounds like the huts have been checked but not the tracks, and are asking for info from hunters about windfalls and damage. Looking forward to my week in there in mid April:)
Where are you heading?
Harkness hut is our destination for a week. Have been there for the last ten years (except covid) and have slowly learnt about where the animals generally are located. There are some good places and some not so good. Are you heading in this year?
Good stuff, Yep mate & i are headed to Manson hut 7th-14th, can't wait!
Probably not the best roar location but we'll jump into the bush at some stage
I heard yesterday a party got flown out of the Kawekas a day early because the weather was turning crap, they had got 8 deer. I think it must have been a private block coz the public bookings don’t match up
That's pretty good going, my local nzda branch is flying in today.... hopefully they have a good trip, its amazing to see the holes in the booking calendar since EKH have left the market!