Thread: 12 days/11 nights in the Kawekas

Originally Posted by Tahr

Helisika quote for 2 to Back Ridge. Eye watering.
$2020 incl GST for the H500 (max 400kg payload) + DOC land fees of $50.60 each.

Yeah ... and prices of some of their more sth-eastern private blocks over $2k for H500 too. Be interesting to see if there are many takers.

Originally Posted by bigbear

@Cigar enjoyed the read.

Gem enjoyed herself, I was worried she might complain about having to sleep in the kennel alone when we got back home!

Originally Posted by Tahr

Helisika quote for 2 to Back Ridge. Eye watering.
$2020 incl GST for the H500 (max 400kg payload) + DOC land fees of $50.60 each.

Yep, that's correct, that's the price for both ways (in and out) for the chopper, for 1-4 people (with 4 you ain't taking much gear!), but there is a 10% discount for NZDA members. Half the price for a one way trip.

Good read and photos there Cigar.Look after those knees,i allways carry a few pain killers.Sounds like you had a lot of gear to carry around.Pretend you are not using a chopper,Your pack load will stay lighter.

Day 8 – Thursday 8th December
Out the door at 7am, and despite the poor forecast and a very cold easterly, it was surprisingly pleasant if you were out of the wind. I headed down the bottom of the clearing again, glassing on the way, and checked out the recent sign on the clay pans. It looked like the hind and yearling were still around, and some large tracks as well, possibly a red, or maybe a large sika stag. I headed my way back towards the hut, looking for a new lookout point closer to the sign than the 400-500m of my usual spot. I found a likely looking spot and got the rangefinder out. As I did so I looked across the gully and saw a deer feeding amongst the manuka. I ranged it at 260m, so set the CDS to a couple of clicks past 2.5, took the bino harness off and lay down. The spot was no good, with the tips of scrub in the way, so I moved to another spot a few metres downhill between two small manuka bushes. Much better. I could see through the scope the deer was a young stag, so I lined up on the shoulder and sent a 178gr ELD-X on it’s way. Admittedly the crosshairs weren’t as steady as when I was pretend shooting the hind and yearling a couple of days earlier, but I saw the deer stiffen and tip backwards into the scrub so I was confident of a good shot.
It looked like a steepish climb down to the creek then up to the deer, and I thought maybe coming along the ridge on the other side then dropping down might be a better option. I took some waypoint projections, and decided to head back to the hut for a quick breakfast before recovering the deer.
After grabbing what I needed (pack, trekking poles, etc) and leaving what I didn’t (bino’s and rifle) I headed off to find my deer. I decided to head down the gully as I figured it would be easier to find the right spot from below rather than from above.

I got to a small bluff just before the scrub area the deer was in, then saw the creek dropped over a waterfall just ahead of me. Bugger. I started to head uphill to climb above the bluff, then noticed there was a small patch of beech trees on the other side a bit further downstream. I figured they might provide a better pathway, so crossed the creek again, climbed up a bit, and sidled over before dropping into the patch of beech. Looking down, it didn’t look hopeful, with a steep face with not many trees to hang on to, but by following some deer tracks I found a good track to the bottom, then started climbing the other side, trying to work out which grass patch was the correct one. The dog was sick of waiting for the slow human and went on ahead, coming back to check on me now and then. After quite a bit of climbing and searching I was starting to think maybe I wasn’t going to find the deer when I peered through a gap in the scrub and spotted some pale grey – yay, I had found dinner!

The deer was caught up in some manuka on a steep little face, and I considered trying to throw it down the hill and do the butchering on flat ground by the creek, but I was worried it might get hung up where I couldn’t get to it, so I decided to butcher it where it was, using the manuka trunks as footholds. At one point I put a backsteak on top of my pack, and told the dog sitting next to it not to eat it. As I was removing the second backsteak I heard a noise, and turned around just in time to reclaim the first backsteak from a dog who now has the new nickname of the Backsteak Bandit.

I'm bored now Dad, I'm gonna have a nap

Once the butchering was done, I loaded the meat in my backpack and headed uphill into the beech, up to the top of the ridge, then along the ridge back to the hut, and loaded the meat into the meatsafe. The recovery had taken 2.5 hours – 45 minutes walk/climb each way and 1 hour for butchery.

After a cleanup and lunch, the rest of the day was spent collecting firewood and relaxing, and a bit of a hut tidy-up in preparation for the family arriving the next day. Dinner that night was venison eye fillet, heart, and of course some freeze-dri.

Loving this tale mate. Good stuff.

Originally Posted by Trout

Good read and photos there Cigar.Look after those knees,i allways carry a few pain killers.Sounds like you had a lot of gear to carry around.Pretend you are not using a chopper,Your pack load will stay lighter.

Oh, I had a good selection of painkillers...paracetamol, ibuprofen, tramadol and codeine! I only took some ibu on one night though, as I'm wary of masking the pain and carrying on and doing more damage.
But yeah, I had way too much gear, and that was the main cause of my problem, though I do randomly have knee issues occur on downhill walks, even with just a daypack. I packed and repacked several times at home in the days prior to the trip, trying to decide what to leave. My pack was around 30kg, so looking at around 35kg when you add rifle and binos.

AWESOME! Keep the story coming. PLEASE.

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

The walk in is really enjoyable

I’d pay to fly back out but not for the way in

Bugger paying that. Just walk. Back in the day it was not uncommon to go from makahu to BRB or vice versa in 4 1/2 hours. I think 3:45 with a small pack was my PB.

Originally Posted by Tentman

AWESOME! Keep the story coming. PLEASE.

Will do, it gets a bit boring thanks to the weather, but that's hunting - or I could do a Bunjii and jazz things up a bit....

The best pain killer out of Tramadol,Brufen SR 800MG and Codeine that worked for me when i had both knee replacements was BrufenSR 800mg.Didnt sleep for the first 3 nights under Tramadol,the pain with the slightist movement was killing me.I asked for Brufen 800mg,pain nearly went away 98% and could sleep at night.There was just enough pain in the knees to remind me to be carefully trying to walk again.
Now back to Cigars hunting trip.

Originally Posted by Nathan F

Bugger paying that. Just walk. Back in the day it was not uncommon to go from makahu to BRB or vice versa in 4 1/2 hours. I think 3:45 with a small pack was my PB.

Thats cool. So you guys will come along and carry the bulk of my gear. I reckon I will max out at about 10kg including gun. Nathan and 7mmsaum are my new friends

Originally Posted by Cigar

Will do, it gets a bit boring thanks to the weather, but that's hunting - or I could do a Bunjii and jazz things up a bit....

Keep going. Its real. Real is good.

Day 9 – Friday 9th December
Up a bit later at 6:30am and out the door to a wet, drizzly morning. The mission now was to find out where an animal was hanging out so Marcus could shoot his second deer. Uh-oh…it’s very foggy…maybe the family won’t be arriving today…
I messaged Sharon and said if the helicopter can’t fly to stay in a motel in Taupo for the night.
It ended up that the helicopter couldn’t get in. I ducked out whenever there was a break in the weather to glass what open country I could see, but no animals seen.
It turns out it was the Taupo Ironman this weekend, but Sharon and Marcus managed to find a motel for the night and will try again tomorrow. The dog biscuits had run out, so the dog had a venison shank for tea and we shared herb and garlic backsteak wraps.

Day 10 – Saturday 10th December
Another drizzly morning, but not too cold. Reasonably clear to the south (I can see the trig on Mt Meany), but still a solid wall of cloud in all other directions. No helicopters flying in today. Bugger. No accommodation available in Taupo so Sharon and Marcus headed home to Hamilton. Another day of ducking out to glass during let-ups in the weather, but nothing around.
Herb and garlic backsteak, instant mashed spud, dehydrated peas and gravy for tea for me and the dog.
Day 11 – Sunday 11th December
Misty and wet – again! Bugger again. Used the last of the coffee and milk powder.
The rain got pretty heavy in the afternoon, then it started to clear a bit. I was hoping the deer might be out and about in the evening after 3 wet days, but the rain came back just before dark.
Herb and garlic backsteak, instant mashed spud, and gravy for tea for me and Gem again. Cleaned all the dishes and tidied up the hut.
Lying in bed about 10pm I heard and felt something trot past the hut. From the tracks the next morning it looked like a hind and yearling had been visiting.

Day 12 – Monday 12th December
I hope I can get out today, the chopper is due at 1pm. Looking at the forecast if I don’t get out today I could be here for a while. The weather is looking good, I can see the Otutu Bush tops and the top of Mt Manson for the first time since Thursday.
A quick morning glass, then back to the hut to pack my gear and finish tidying up the hut. I moved most of my gear up to the helipad. Other than venison, my (and the dog’s) food supply is down to
• 4 Belvita breakfast biscuits
• 2 servings of instant mashed spud
• Half a pack of Surprise dehydrated peas
• A Back Country berry smoothie
• Some salt, cooking oil, and about a teaspoon of brown sugar
About 12:30 I hear a chopper, so grab the meat out of the meatsafe and put the dog on a lead. The chopper lands with Sharon and Marcus on board, we load up and fly back to civilisation (and real food!). I have bread and butter for lunch at 4pm once we get back home, it was the food I was missing the most in the bush.

Originally Posted by Cigar

Oh, I had a good selection of painkillers...paracetamol, ibuprofen, tramadol and codeine! I only took some ibu on one night though, as I'm wary of masking the pain and carrying on and doing more damage.
But yeah, I had way too much gear, and that was the main cause of my problem, though I do randomly have knee issues occur on downhill walks, even with just a daypack. I packed and repacked several times at home in the days prior to the trip, trying to decide what to leave. My pack was around 30kg, so looking at around 35kg when you add rifle and binos.

Mid 90's I did a 9 day trip the length of the Ruahines. Pack started at 65 lb (29.5kgs) plus Sportco 222. Lots of freeze dry but none of the flash harry lightweight gear we have access to now. Got the weight down by eating a lot then shot a spiker along the Sawtooth, but only carted the yummy bits along for the rest of the trip.

Concur about carrying a pharmacy with you. Not to keep on slogging out buggered joints, but to get you out, or back to camp if you twist or tweak anything.