Thread: Rookie mistakes!

Originally Posted by Nibblet

Good advice, just look at that farmer in waikato the other day, add plb to that. Mine lives on my belt.

Damn, PLBs are a godsend. I'm going to save up one day for sure - worth the price to save your life! Luckily in Nelson I know some SAR guys who'll rent one out to ya real cheap (compared to other places...). In Christchurch hit up the CUTC for cheap hire too.

This really goes out to everyone - invest in one of those things, hire or buy. So many kiwis have that "Eh she'll be right" attitude. I was a committee member for the Canterbury University Tramping Club and last year one of our most experienced mountaineers hired out a PLB, but decided to leave it in their car as they went out. DOC didn't have full information on how low the snowline would be, so they got caught out without crampons on an ice ridge (all these rookie mistakes!) - slipped and fell down a pretty steep cliff damn far, the both of them!!

Now their trip intentions said they were heading out for about 4-5 days! And on day one, they were at the bottom of a cliff - broken pelvis, bashed in heads/losing eyesight, broken ribs. Had to share a sleeping bag, urinating on each other, trying to cook and stay warm (thank goodness they had all the other decent survival equipment! Proper -30 degree sleeping bags, survival blanket, the right amount of food and all that; no PLB ) - it was 4 more days out there before finally a chopper came in and they were on their last legs really, that much pain and internal bleeding.
Could have been saved within the day with a PLB.

INVEST! As these very, very highly experienced trampers/mountaineers/climbers will tell you - even the best of us can get caught out in nature, and a PLB was the ONE thing they needed. Luckily fully recovered now, we tell this story to all the newbies/international students that come into the club and wanna organise their own little trips.

Originally Posted by Nibblet

Good advice, just look at that farmer in waikato the other day, add plb to that. Mine lives on my belt.

A PLB would not of been of use as he was not injured or disabled. What he needed was a compass or a means of navigation...he did not know of the twig on the thumb...he does now.

Originally Posted by GravelBen

Another one that seems pretty basic when you think about it but easy to get complacent and forget... always have your navigation tools (map+compass / GPS or both) with you when you go walkies, even if you're only planning a quick scout up the hill behind the hut. Even experienced people can stop paying attention to the terrain/weather at times, next thing you know its dark or clouded in and you aren't quite sure which way you should be going...

Mmm very true, especially in winter when getting caught out by how quickly the sun sets and darkness in valleys. Casually went to watch a sunset in the Richmond Ranges, climbed a hill 20 mins behind a hut - on way back down with the sun just set reflectors were hardly visible and bush was pretty thick! Pretty rookie but I had a wee torch on my cellphone to catch the reflectors so that worked out fine. Good to have some markers of some point I reckon - snap a few branches, make a few cairns in thicker bush if it's rough - that kinda thing.

Sounds like you have enough experience from others to be more than fine.

So what's a good pub? Important things

Originally Posted by Nibblet

Sounds like you have enough experience from others to be more than fine.

So what's a good pub? Important things

Smugglers Or Sprig & Fern, Honest Lawyer, or Vic Mac's Brew Bar... depends on your tastes haha

I like the taste of alcohol

Originally Posted by Nibblet

I like the taste of alcohol

Oh you'll fit right in, in Nelson haha

Mint. See if I can pick up some more weird hitchhikers like last time.

yep smugglers and the honest lawyer are good.

The clubs in town are pretty Shit and you have a good chance of being kicked to death by 20 kids or stabbed.

I can't think of/wouldn't read a book dedicated to wind movement,even the forecasters can't get it right
Just use ya brain as long as your are thinking about the wind your on the right track.
In the absence of any prevailing wind air will move up faces and gullys once the sun hits them and down shortly after its gone.
In a prevailing wind air moves over ground features much like water over a rock.

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If a river or streams dirty and you can hear boulders moving stay put. I speak from experience. Drowning in the backcountry would be one of our biggest killers.

Oh and don't skimp on boots. When your four days walk from a road end your feet are the most valuable asset you have

If in doubt don't pull the trigger

That's all

Um rookie stuff....

Learn how to pack a rucksack correctly
Learn how to navigate without relying on GPS
Look after your feet - spare dry socks
Always take a hat and beanie
Learn how to start a fire using several techniques
Watch the wind and move slower
Get off the tracks
Do a river safety course

My first rookie mistake, there were many but this one pissed me off....always be ready for a shot......left the campground with an unloaded rifle, no bolt in the rifle, as 'there'll be no deer near a noisy, smelly campground right'

less than two minutes later, on my way to the 'hunting ground' i spooked a Sika hind who stood up barked and just stood staring at me for about 5-6 seconds before hitting 'warp factor 10'......

if only i had a round up the spout and my bolt half cocked.....!

All ways take your time when going for the shot. This is after you have properly ID the target. You can waste a lot of time looking for wounded deer, when an extra 30 seconds a better shot opportunity may present itself. Way to many deer get lost and die slow deaths because of this. Also when I shoot I want the deer dead and to drop so I don't have to carry it so far.

If you end up getting more than one rifle, make sure you take the correct bolt for whichever rifle you take and even then, don't leave the bolt on the front eat of the truck

Make sure if you have a detachable magazine that the bloody thing is in the gunbag before buggering off made that mistake once and lucky I was only going to the rifle range to sight the rifle in and could get away with single feeding each round