Thread: Lower matakuhia hut

Hey has anyone hunted out of this hut in the whirinaki before? Heading in those ways in a couple weeks so any advice is appreciated


Cheers Ben

if that's in off napier taupo road forget it..... she a fly in only job at the moment with logfall all over the show. main tracks are a mess and will take a heck of a lot to clear...if it gets done at all.

Hunted the Upper Matakahuia hut area when there was a Railway tarp camp where the hut is now. Were a lot of deer around then (70's and 80') but would imagine there will still be animals about.
There is a big side creek below the hut on the true right that we hunted a lot and shot a lot of deer in there. Not sure how far apart the Upper and lower huts are but if not to far would be worth a look. If Micky Duck is right about the tracks it may be a mission, pay to check with DOC.

At one stage it was a non maintain fro DOC, a couple of guys from Tokoroa were keeping the track open. I was in over the Christmas / New Year period and a trapping programme was going and the track was 100%
improved to Upper Matakahuia I haven't been below the hut I would be prepared for a hard slog though

my old man carried that tarp in there.....and yes the track is rooted at this time. I'm also very closely related to the Tokoroa fellas and they haven't even managed to get down to first creek the windfall/snow damage is that bad......rooted about sums it up.

Yep you're on the money there. She's a no goer.


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Has access gotten any better in the last year?

Originally Posted by septic

Has access gotten any better in the last year?

I only hunt for pigs in the upper areas towards the Plateau and it’s crap throughout bush wise unsure of the the actual track into the lower Matuk. As far as hunting was concerned throughout that wider area I always remained unconvinced (deer) as far as value for money was concerned.
I’d call DOC and ask mate. The road is open now but I thought the track it is now a (route) like the Te Hoe tracks.


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Originally Posted by septic

Has access gotten any better in the last year?

Go for a look mate ;-) I'm sure access will have improved now only one way to find out ? I will be taking the rifle for a walk in their over xmas

It's a shame the track is bugged that area used to be ( back in the 70's) a great area to hunt. I don't think it will ever be as good again as deer numbers aren't what they used to be. When we were young we spent a lot of time in there and on the main stream you could see from one corner to the next. The last time I was down there in the 90's at the upper hut there was hardly any clear areas at all.
Still I have great memories of hunting that area with mates now passed.

Originally Posted by Bonecrusher

Go for a look mate ;-) I'm sure access will have improved now only one way to find out ? I will be taking the rifle for a walk in their over xmas

I will go for a wander in their next week as I am down in Taupo for night or two

Be interested to hear what you find or see.

Originally Posted by Mooseman

It's a shame the track is bugged that area used to be ( back in the 70's) a great area to hunt. I don't think it will ever be as good again as deer numbers aren't what they used to be. When we were young we spent a lot of time in there and on the main stream you could see from one corner to the next. The last time I was down there in the 90's at the upper hut there was hardly any clear areas at all.
Still I have great memories of hunting that area with mates now passed.

Yes my old man and poppa shot 27 in there one weekend. All the size of skinny goats they reckon. I got a stag up higher two years back and I’ve never got a better animal condition wise.

https://youtu.be/cav0llYm7mQ
Last time I was down there 2015
Dunno what condition the track is now credit to the guys from tokoroa for maintaining the track to the upper hut

Originally Posted by Danny

Yes my old man and poppa shot 27 in there one weekend. All the size of skinny goats they reckon. I got a stag up higher two years back and I’ve never got a better animal condition wise.

Yep the deer were small back then when we were meat hunting up there, the animals have improved big time over recent years. That whole area up around there has been a great hunting spot for many years despite being hammered with 1080 in recent times and helicopter hunting during the 80's and 90's.