Thread: Solo trip - Tararuas

Cheers for the report. Sounds like a bit of forward planning wouldn't go astray there mate. Before a trip use as many resources as you can, doc website, topomaps, google earth, wams.co.nz etc. Suss out a planned route, what tracks you intend to use, where you plan to head, when you're expected out etc before heading into the bush. Then let someone know these plans! If you hurt yourself and can't walk out, and no one knows what track you took, you're up sh*t creek without a paddle.

Hunt in with your pack on, take your gear with you and camp on the go, ie find somewhere where the animals are while hunting and set up. This kills all of your downtime, maximising time on the hill looking for animals. Take a headlamp, map, compass and GPS with spare batteries to ensure you can find your way back to the camp in the dark should you get caught out.

Get off the tracks. Use them for easy access, but if they're popular it is highly unlikely you will bump into animals on them. Similarly with rivers, especially ones that get fished often. While you might see an animal, it won't be where the larger population is, and what's there will be very wary of humans. Get a few hundred metres into the bush off the tracks and sign should pick up.

Identify a ridgeline or terrace on the map, a gully head or basin, and bee-line it for that. I've never hunted in the Tararuas, so don't know what the bush is like, or numbers of deer etc, but for example, going by your 2nd to last photo, I'd be heading up the leading ridge in the centre to gain access into that creek head, and over the top into the next watershed for a look. Alternatively up the ridge and sidling out into the country on the left, heading towards the far hill in the background. If there are animals in there, there'll be trails and sign for sure. If you find it, that's where you need to hunt.

The marks you have in your last photo aren't deer, it looks like hare/dog/cat type sign. Deer marks in silt or sand look like this;








Good on you for getting out and about, solo trips will teach you a lot about yourself and hunting in general. Next time, take notes of things you are unsure of and post them on here. There's a wealth of knowledge on here, and many guys are quite willing to help.