Yea pretty much that's what we do.
I'm not saying you won't find any it's just a lot less effort to go to the Ruahines.
You could look around the Patea dam but watch out where you go.
Like I said join the NZDA as I know there are guys there that will let you tag along.
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And to add to my story, my mother now lives down by the Patea river, she has a boat that i cruise up and down the river on, and yes just make sure you mark the dock land out, there are huge problems with poachers on the river and its getting quite exhausting for some farmers so just be understanding if you come across an angry farmer haha, there are also cameras in some areas all around Patea dam as well as farmers using drones (no joke). but there are deer in the area, only fallow as far as i have seen.
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