Thread: Wellington Hunting

Originally Posted by Bagheera

The country most like Canterbury is the Rimutakas.
Either go around the Lake Wairarapa side (search forums and ask DoC about access). or go up the Orongorongo Track to the Orongorongo river. Check carefully where the legal hunting limits are because quite a few people use the valley. There are a lot of private huts on the bush terraces above the river and half a dozen can be booked through DoC. This is not really bush stalking - more open slips usually.

Next would be the Eastern Tararuas. Start up the Tauherinikau from Smith's Creek. Tramper and hunter count will be 10x what it was down south so take care !
There are flats there but not much will come out except in the spring or at night.
Bush stalk sidle on the north facing slopes. Experiment to find the best vegetation and altitude. Sign stays fresher than down south and there seems to be more of it. Look for broadleaf like down south, stinkwood (Coprosma foetidissima) in the understorey. A good strategy is to climb up a track or else easy spur then hunt down in zigzag or spiral. Creeks can develop waterfalls so don't leave it late in the evenings. Rivers rise very quickly during rain so keep an eye on where the nearest bridges are. There are more huts and tracks in the Tararuas than in Canterbury so make use of them on your first trips. Don't go into the upper or lower Waiohine Gorges nor the Ruamahanga upstream of Roaring Stag hut. Avoid leatherwood.

For country more like the Craigieburn and Mt Thomas, take a long weekend (significant driving) and go to the Kawekas, around Makahu Saddle. There are sika there and the climate is generally dry.

Once you've done three or 4 weekends on the eastern side, try the western Tararuas, say Otaki Forks, Kapakapanui or the Ohau valleys. Later on, look up on the tops say next summer but with their legendary mist, rain and severe unpredictable weather, they require a much higher level of bushcraft and experience than anything on the eastern South Is.

NZDA have a range at Upper Hutt.

Well you can't get more indepth report than that.
That's a load of information there.
I'm sure that will be much appreciated

Thanks for all the feed back guys, much appreciated. I feel like now all i have to do is plan, get out there and get into it! Hopefully will be able to post something soon on my (fingers crossed) success.