Thread: Northland hunting - Opua Forest

Hey team,
The family and I came up to Opua for some R&R and while looking for local tracks to tramp on NZ Topo 50 I noticed that Opua Forest has some legal public hunting land, specifically off Oramahoe Traverse track.
Anyone been in there for a hunt recently at all? Keen to know if there’s any animals running around as we’ve found a great spot to stay up here and will definitely be back.
Cheers.

Google and you will find that DOC recently did a campaign to kill the last remaining sika which the locals regard as pets.

Apparently theres animals there but I think the cullers go pretty hard up those ways..

There have been circa 50 Sika ID'd left in the (Russel?) forrest.
They are currently fawning. A bit into the new year an op is beginning with a private contractor. Helicopter, thermal and then final mop up using dogs and other devices.

I know its just a job to some and it probably needs to be done but fuk it must feel good killing fawns....

Originally Posted by blip

I know its just a job to some and it probably needs to be done but fuk it must feel good killing fawns....

Has to be done at times. Better to find and kill them than let them starve to death if they havn't started eating tucker on their own. No different to goat/kid shooting or sending bobby calves away to the works for that matter.

Oh grim. Doesn’t sound like there will be much left up here other than pigs then. I suppose it has to be done, but a bit sad for northern recreational hunters.

My mate had a friend who was managing a 2k acre farm next to the big forest near KERIKERI and killing between 300 to 500 pigs a year. Where is the pest problem considering their living area was around kauri millions of years old. His chiller was constantly chocker with big pigs.

Yes, there are lots of pigs, but they are either a private land thing or hunting with dogs thing. I would be very surprised and interested to hear if people are regularly taking pigs on DOC land with a rifle and no dogs.

Thanks for all the info guys. Sounds like it might be tough in Opua. Looks like beautiful country though so might have a sniff around next time we’re up there.

Always worth a look