Thread: hunting trips and hygiene

not something talked about but thought I would put something down for the new hunters setting off on their first trips in the scrub - not talked about and not ever really covered yup hand and butt hygiene - when we were culling we washed - in winter one had to be brave - race down to river yes race this whole exercise was done at speed - strip into river -out soap up - in and rinse of - out violently dry and back to hut /camp before one froze - but had to be done - actually was more scared of the eels than cold - but what if no river and water is limited - go down to your local chemist and get a tube of Fucidin or other anti fungal cream , a small spray bottle of hand sanitizer and a pack of baby wet wipes - take those in and use them and yes you are going to take them out with you - but you must wash your hands and ya butt - the consequences of poor hygiene are 1) ya give ya mates deli belly when its your turn to cook 2) you develop nasty case of crutch rash from not washing those parts - not pleasant at all - ask me how I know - the anti fungal will fix quickly - when I did my hut rounds as a Ranger at Waikaremoana I was asked regularly by trampers / school groups for vaseline or petroleum jelly or similar for crutch rash caused by sweat chafing - can be debilitating -be prepared

Your spot on there barry. Took a long time to learn but a quick wash and a small pot of Vaseline can make huge difference.

yrs especially working in the Southern Te Urewera with multiple waist deep river crossings

But please (pun intended) be aware of contaminating our water ways with giardia. It came here with either infected visitors or returnees from overseas washing their butts and bits in running water or too close to it and/or dropping their business where runoff takes it into a waterway. Giardia lives a long time and once into soil/water it's there to stay. Too late for some areas but don't be the one to spread it, especially in the back country. I've picked it up a couple of times fly-fishing and it's not pleasant. Unfortunately, the body can get used to it and so it doesn't get sorted and the contagion/dispersal continues. Don't be that person.