Thread: 12 days/11 nights in the Kawekas

Good.
Im guessing you used Heli-Sika. Who did the other party you referred to coming to BR Biv use?

Originally Posted by Tahr

Good.
Im guessing you used Heli-Sika. Who did the other party you referred to coming to BR Biv use?

Yes, I used "they who shall not be named"
I don't know who the other party were using, they hadn't arrived before I left. I knew from the DOC spreadsheet that a group was due to fly in.

Day 5 – Monday 5th December
Up earlyish, and a bit of glassing with nothing seen. I had some breakfast and then packed up my gear ready for “moving day”. At about 9:45 I carried my main pack up to the helipad, and as I dropped it I heard a helicopter getting close, and quickly. I rushed back down to the biv, gathered up the last of my gear and put the lead on the dog as the helicopter landed. The pilot met me just below the edge of the helipad and took the dog. We piled the dog then myself into the chopper, the pilot loaded the gear and we were off for the short flight to Otutu hut. When we got to Otutu, a message came through on the InReach to say the pilot was on his way to drop off some fisherman and then to pick me up – I had already worked that out by then!
What a neat little hut Otutu is! Woodstove, 6 bunks, two tables and a bench, covered deck with bench seat. And well stocked too, with firewood (though all small stuff), half a bag of coal, firelighters, matches, pots & pans, dishwashing liquid and brushes, etc.


As I was going to be there for a week I unpacked all my gear and got settled in. A read of the hut book revealed I was only the 4th “group” to visit since May, and the first hunter since late October – I hoped that meant the deer would be plentiful and not too nervous!
I went for a walk down the start of the Burn track to the clearings. There was a bit if sign, but the freshest was where the track leaves the main clearing. I went back to the main clearing and had a wander around glassing and sorting out a lookout spot for the evening, using the rangefinder to measure the distance to various “deery” looking spots. I found a handy spot so went back to the hut. The poor dog was getting very footsore, but forgot about it when she saw or smelt a hare, though she didn't see the one grazing next to the hut earlier in the afternoon.
Mt Manson

Manson hut is on the other side of these peaks I think.

After the obligatory freeze-dri dinner, the dog and I headed out around 7pm for an evening glass with high hopes. Once we set up at the lookout I tried chambering a round and had major issues, the bolt just wouldn’t close. After a bit of mucking around I realised I had 243 ammo, and I had brought the 308 rifle! I had grabbed some extra rounds from the safe, and had obviously not checked properly what I grabbed. I knew the ammo in the wallet back at the hut was definitely 308 (or was it…), so started to get up to head back to get it, then thought Nah, I don’t really want to shoot anything a whole week before I leave, and would be happy just to see animals, so I stayed put.
I glassed the Otutu clearing, across to the Manson and the Burn, but no animals seen. Then just before 9pm I looked down to a deer-shaped manuka and swung the binos onto it to double check. As I thought, it was a manuka, but not far to the right were two deer looking in our direction, I think they had seen the dog moving around. They initially appeared to be a couple of newly-evicted yearlings, but once they moved it was obvious it was a hind and yearling. I ranged them at 416m. Since I had no ammo, I lined them up in the scope and “shot” both of them a few times as they fed amongst the scrub. Once it was fully dark I walked back to the hut, wondering a bit if I would have let the deer walk if I had the right ammo with me.

Day 6 – Tuesday 6th December
Up early and out the hut door at 5:30am, to find the world buried deep in a thick mist. Oh well, back to the hut for breakfast.
Later on I wandered out again and walked through the mist down to where I had seen the hind and yearling. The previous evening I had used the Project waypoint function on my Fenix watch to mark a waypoint where they were, and wanted to see how accurate it was. It was quite hard finding the right spot in the mist, pretty much every tussock and manuka looked the same. Eventually the mist started to lift and I was able to glass the various open areas, but no deer were seen.
I wandered back up to the hut, grabbed a bit more gear, and headed off to the Otutu Bush tops about 2km north of the hut. There was a bit of sign on the track, but once I got to the tops the walking track had heaps of deer prints on it, going both directions. My guess was that the deer were using the track to head to the tops in the evening, and to come back to the bush in the morning, and figured an early morning ambush would be a good option for Marcus and I to try later on. The knees were starting to get pretty sore by the time I got back to the hut for lunch.
I collected some firewood in the afternoon, and had a bit of a nap. After yet another freeze-dri dinner I spent the evening glassing but nothing spotted. The dark clouds were starting to build up, backing up the forecast for a cold wet day tomorrow.

Day 7 – Wednesday 7th December
Out the hut door at 6am to head out glassing again, nothing seen, back to the hut for breakfast. It was pretty chilly, with rain and a high of 8 forecast, so once I noticed the dog shivering I cranked up the fire.

It quickly warmed up the hut, and the rest of the day was spent reading a book someone had left in the hut, and cutting firewood when the weather allowed. Freeze-dri dinner number 7, then out for an evening glass with nothing seen.