Hunting in the Snow

Someone asked a question about this so I looked back at some old pics.

I hunted the Ruahines a lot over the winters during the meat hunting era. By myself and with a mate. 45-50 odd years ago.

Mainly in this area: https://www.wildernessmag.co.nz/whanahuia-range/
Up the Mangoira/Mangawairiki and Pari mainly.

The Whanahuia sub range is lower than the main Ruahine range and the fringe around the tussock holds deer right through the winter and even better the warmer faces in the creek head waters and down into the Orua. We would sometimes battle our way through the snow and camp at the Triangle hut junction and hunt those creek heads or head down to the hut. On the better days we would strike deer out in the tussock during the winter. I would in particular hunt the clear weather eye in behind a southerly.

We had tracks cut that gave us good winter access - a couple of them are still there and kept open by people -Ive seen pics of Philipo on one of them.

Winter hunting can be good and I really enjoyed it. And dangerous I guess if you aren't careful. Some of our gear was pretty basic but we seemed to get by. I can remember my swanny often being frozen stiff while wearing it.

Its worth noting that for some of the winter you wont get past the Rangi hut, but can hunt around the tops on the more southern end of the range above the Mangoira.

These old and not so old pics will give an idea of what it was like (and likely still is).

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Living your best life mate

Back when they built men hard. I have some half decent gear and still second guess if I can handle being out in the winter weather.

Had a mate get exposure in the wet snow above triangle. It was a battle to stop him sitting down.
He was stuffed by the time we got back to Rangi hut but came right overnight in his sleeping bag.
Must have been about 1968.

This is in very good weather in 2015 Queens Birthday (as it was then).

I can show these spots because we didn't see any deer but they do show several sunny areas with no snow.


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Its a lot more gruesome hunting in the bush where the snow is wet. and not so photogenic.
You really need to have good experience of the NZ mountains in all weathers to launch into North Island ranges when there's snow on the ground. Carry a spare set of gloves and dry socks at all times. Don't get injured. Know how to get down below the snow from wherever you are. Keep yourself dry. Don't sweat.

Warmer in the snow hunting,just too cold in the hor frosts.Yesterday was minus something 600mtrs below the fog cloud.Attachment 228652

is that a young Tilly I spot in those photos??????

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Someone asked a question about this so I looked back at some old pics.

I hunted the Ruahines a lot over the winters during the meat hunting era. By myself and with a mate. 45-50 odd years ago.

Mainly in this area: https://www.wildernessmag.co.nz/whanahuia-range/
Up the Mangoira/Mangawairiki and Pari mainly.

The Whanahuia sub range is lower than the main Ruahine range and the fringe around the tussock holds deer right through the winter and even better the warmer faces in the creek head waters and down into the Orua. We would sometimes battle our way through the snow and camp at the Triangle hut junction and hunt those creek heads or head down to the hut. On the better days we would strike deer out in the tussock during the winter. I would in particular hunt the clear weather eye in behind a southerly.

We had tracks cut that gave us good winter access - a couple of them are still there and kept open by people -Ive seen pics of Philipo on one of them.

Winter hunting can be good and I really enjoyed it. And dangerous I guess if you aren't careful. Some of our gear was pretty basic but we seemed to get by. I can remember my swanny often being frozen stiff while wearing it.

Its worth noting that for some of the winter you wont get past the Rangi hut, but can hunt around the tops on the more southern end of the range above the Mangoira.

These old and not so old pics will give an idea of what it was like (and likely still is).

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Well Bruce , reading your post brought back memories of my time in that area , hunted there from age 16, walk in Friday night ,sleep on the floor of the original ski hut ,up before daybreak walk back to the tarns other side of Mania Ridge camp there Sat night , mate shot a deer above us on one of the slips in his torch beam , that was a close call , almost took us out as it came cartwheeling down the slip , the old wooden swing bridge was always interesting to cross .

We also had our tracks down into the Oroua , spent a lot of time at Triangle , stayed at the old tent camp until the hut was build , we took a log book into Triangle Hut , wrote on the inside ( rest and be both respectful and thankful ) Hunted High Ridge a lot via left branch , climbed out onto Pourangaki - Oroua dividing ridge we had a great access creek at head of Oroua , which we called the staircase , around to Te Hekenga and back down High Ridge to Triangle , a good day trip , the bush hunting was good , especially the feed belt , our best weekend tally at Triangle was 10 .

One Labour weekend we struck a mean sou wester on the Monday coming out must have been around 71 , we came across another 2 hunters and urged them to come with us as they did not know the area , they chose not to , it was 4 days before they where rescued .

Spent a winter cutting dead mans track , carried a few out of there before DOC found it , the ridges Mania & Dirty Spur always produced , i am now 74 and love my hunting as much as ever , one trip we decided to walk in to Triangle up river from Alice Nash , as we walked past the rifle range there were 2 deer at the far end , which was dam inconsiderate of them as it meant a quick trip back to the Apiti Chiller .

Like all the other members Bruce ,we really enjoy your Write ups

Bloody awesome, thanks for cutting those tracks Tahr! When we first started hunting up there we would blindly charge off into the bush near the tops and it was a great relief to bump into the odd track some thoughtful bloke had cut. I'll never forget one of the early hunts on a crispy winters morning, we had planned a bush stalk but it was far too still for that, we'd have been heard miles off. Off we trotted until we broke out into the scrub up the top- what an absolutely brilliant morning we had struck, nothing could go wrong on a day like this, surely? There it was; the other side of the leatherwood filled gully- broken scrub and tussock glowing in the sunlight just beckoning to a couple of keen and ignorant young men. Well, thinks I, we either walk up and around, missing the best part of the morning or make our way through 150 metres of Leatherwood, then out we pop into hunting mecca. Go and grab a cuppa, readers, we all know where this is heading.......

An hour into our disastrous venture, I stopped moving. I sank down in to a squat, hung my head and damn near cried. I had made the important discovery that Leatherwood actively discouraged travellers from going underneath, through or over any part of it, and I was only halfway to the top. Now, these were the days before PLBs, and I didn't smoke, therefore smoke signals for rescue weren't an opttion, so there was only one way I was getting out of here, and it was the hard way. It was two very downcast and demoralised blokes that tore themselves from the clutching grasp of the devils own garden that morning, trudged up the hill, saw no deer and took the long way home that day. We stopped at the Chelty on the way home for some reason or another, 1 beer and it was nearly goodnight nurse, off to bed. I happened to be working with a bloke at the time who'd spent a lot of time in the area we'd been in, so told him my tale of woe and misfortune at smoko. "Eh?" says Taffy M "You went up there, then down there, then up the other side? "Yip" says muggins. "Why didn't you go up the track through the Leatherwood?" asked Taff. "Well, it was a bit far going up and around, I thought, so it'd be quicker straight up the other side". "Nah, I meant why didn't you go up the track up the other side through the Leatherwood, we cut one up there ages ago, you probably weren't far from it, it's straight over the creek where you pop out".

A while later on my return, I saw what he was on about. I'd spent bloody near two hours on my hands and knees getting poked stabbed ripped scratched bruised and sliced, all within 5 metres of the track up to the tops. I damn near shed a tear again then just thinking about the thoroughly rotten time we'd put ourselves through, all for the sake of 5 metres. So, when fellas ask where to go for a hunt, do I tell them how to get to the track through the Leatherwood? Nah, I'm going to wait until they tell me about getting suicidal, then homocidal in the Leatherwood, then I'll tell them!!

PS A few years later I spent a bit of time in the bush knocking over P. contorta, everytime I went past a Leatherwood bush it got the treatment as well

Great read boys. Wonder how overgrown the ngamoko range is now, that leather wood seemed to creep up n up every yr, that was in 68.

Nice to read all the hunting history above,thanks.

If there was one hut I hated, it was the triangle. Not the hut itself but the mind tricks the walk back up to tops played on me. There is a continual number of benches with skylines. You never ever seem to reach the top. You aim for the skyline and get there to find another, and another, and another. I always preferred heading to the head of the Orua and being able to see the top on my climb out.

One winter trip I did up along those tops with My brother and mate, we hunted hard for a couple of days with no result. The last day My brother went one way and Rex and I another. We all agreed if one or other of us saw a couple of deer, to shoot them so the rest of us had meat for trip out.
Rex and I get back to turn off down to kelly Knights and heres five standing in the snow on opposite ridge. We drop 3 thinking one each is a comfortable load. Go over and bone them out etc. As we are doing so about 20+ trampers in a group appear on ridge we shot from. We give a friendly wave but they dont return it and hurry along.
It wasn't until we had finished and packed the meat across to that ridge and looked back that we realised why. Blood on snow! it looked like an absolute massacre! Blood scattered over a good half acre of hill face.

We got back to camp with our loads to find Mike there already. He had shot 2 stags. Bugger.

More random old pics from the same area in the Ruahines.

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Stopping out for the night with a deer shot right on dark. Sometimes did this. Safer than floundering around in the dark. This was in the Pari. Only about 13 years ago.

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People who walk the ridge track above the Mangoira should recognise this tree. We had permanent camp gear here and opened up the old Thompson bridle track access out onto the tops (along with various new side tracks including into the creek and onto the next ridge north).

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This one made me smile. Me, 30 odd years ago. :) Parked at the Triangle hut junction.

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Epic spot that, I do need to get back up that track you guys cut.

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Originally Posted by 199p

Epic spot that, I do need to get back up that track you guys cut.

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Do you know where the track forks and cuts into the creek and then picks up on a spur onto the tops? Last time I was there it was getting overgrown but its good access.
For years there was a slasher we left in the Totora at the camp but I guess its gone now. And the hidden hut on the way up from Scanlon creek? Ever stumbled onto that?

Lovely spot up there!

Last time i was up there i shot a scrubby stag on the southern face of the triangle turn off, i should have spotted him earlier from the high point as i had taken a spell and was getting some photos but never thought to get my binos out.
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Got to here and saw him trotting off as he was on to me well before i saw him, quickly took the shot and dropped him only to see the biggest Ruahine stag i have personally seen run over the shoulder at a high rate of knots heading towards the big Tarn
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I bolted off after him with just my rifle only to watch him get further and further out of range, I don't think he stopped until he was in the Pourangaki
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Camp on the Triangle turn off
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Sun coming up over Te Hekenga
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North to Maungamahue
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Spectators!! there was a group of hinds up above me watching the whole thing play out and they were still there the next morning, i suspect they wanted to cross over into the Oroua but i was in their way
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That stag must have damn near run through where we always camped.

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Originally Posted by whanahuia

That stag must have damn near run through where we always camped.

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Yep that's where i was originally heading & normally camp at to!

Nice photos,thanks.

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Do you know where the track forks and cuts into the creek and then picks up on a spur onto the tops? Last time I was there it was getting overgrown but its good access.
For years there was a slasher we left in the Totora at the camp but I guess its gone now. And the hidden hut on the way up from Scanlon creek? Ever stumbled onto that?

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Yes stumbled into the hut twice after losing the track on the way back down.
Definitely going to take my saw along. Lots of windfall last time I was up there.

I think thats where i went wrong didnt go to the creek and just bashed into leatherwood.

Might have to do a winter mission me thinks

Got caught up there in a blizzard up there back in the 70's. Wet snow is something a lot of overseas visitors struggle to understand. On a good day you can see both coasts from the Tops of the Tararuas or Ruahines. That close to the coasts, any snow stays wet, and keeps all your gear saturated and slightly below zero. Far from acting as an insulator as it can in Northern America and Europe, it acts as a refrigerator, pumping all the heat out of you.

Anywho, great day going in on Saturday. Not a bit of snow anywhere.

Half way though Saturday night the sound of the stream outside Triangle hut stopped... Its snowing heavily.

Up on the tops in a wet snow storm, howling southerly gale. Turn back to the hut after about 20 minutes after hitting the Tops...and our footprints had disappeared in less than 50 yards. Headed down out of the gale into the headwaters of the Mangawharariki stream. Stopped and built a snow shelter to which we attempted to attach our fly to. Thermal mats had only just become a 'thing', so only about half of us had them. So it was two people per sleeping bag, second bag thrown over the top, those with bivvie bags (Ha!!! big orange plastic bags to keep you wet all night from condensation) and we chattered and froze all through the night.

As soon as it was light we were up and out of there. Blue sky. Heaps of snow that only just took your weight, till you broke through and skinned your shins on it. 15 minutes of that and swap around and let someone else have a go and forging a path through the snow. An hour later a fixed wing flew over, spotted us, waggled its wings and buggered off. Our parents come to see how we were getting on!

Didn't stop at Rangi for long, as it was always a cold hole unless you spent considerable time foraging for firewood.

I think the Rangi Hut has been replaced at least twice since these photos were taken.

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Originally Posted by Sika 8

Lovely spot up there!

Last time i was up there i shot a scrubby stag on the southern face of the triangle turn off, i should have spotted him earlier from the high point as i had taken a spell and was getting some photos but never thought to get my binos out.
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Got to here and saw him trotting off as he was on to me well before i saw him, quickly took the shot and dropped him only to see the biggest Ruahine stag i have personally seen run over the shoulder at a high rate of knots heading towards the big Tarn
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I bolted off after him with just my rifle only to watch him get further and further out of range, I don't think he stopped until he was in the Pourangaki
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Camp on the Triangle turn off
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Sun coming up over Te Hekenga
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North to Maungamahue
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Spectators!! there was a group of hinds up above me watching the whole thing play out and they were still there the next morning, i suspect they wanted to cross over into the Oroua but i was in their way
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Your second photo. Not sure about now but 45 through to 25 years ago it always held velvet stags. There was a well defined track up out of the creek to those old slip/ feeding areas. I too saw the best Ruahine stag Ive seen on that face but he was in the velvet so we left him (it was after my meat hunting days).

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Originally Posted by XR500

Got caught up there in a blizzard up there back in the 70's. Wet snow is something a lot of overseas visitors struggle to understand. On a good day you can see both coasts from the Tops of the Tararuas or Ruahines. That close to the coasts, any snow stays wet, and keeps all your gear saturated and slightly below zero. Far from acting as an insulator as it can in Northern America and Europe, it acts as a refrigerator, pumping all the heat out of you.

Anywho, great day going in on Saturday. Not a bit of snow anywhere.

Half way though Saturday night the sound of the stream outside Triangle hut stopped... Its snowing heavily.

Up on the tops in a wet snow storm, howling southerly gale. Turn back to the hut after about 20 minutes after hitting the Tops...and our footprints had disappeared in less than 50 yards. Headed down out of the gale into the headwaters of the Mangawharariki stream. Stopped and built a snow shelter to which we attempted to attach our fly to. Thermal mats had only just become a 'thing', so only about half of us had them. So it was two people per sleeping bag, second bag thrown over the top, those with bivvie bags (Ha!!! big orange plastic bags to keep you wet all night from condensation) and we chattered and froze all through the night.

As soon as it was light we were up and out of there. Blue sky. Heaps of snow that only just took your weight, till you broke through and skinned your shins on it. 15 minutes of that and swap around and let someone else have a go and forging a path through the snow. An hour later a fixed wing flew over, spotted us, waggled its wings and buggered off. Our parents come to see how we were getting on!

Didn't stop at Rangi for long, as it was always a cold hole unless you spent considerable time foraging for firewood.

I think the Rangi Hut has been replaced at least twice since these photos were taken.

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That's insightful (bold underline, above)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sika 8

Lovely spot up there!

Last time i was up there i shot a scrubby stag on the southern face of the triangle turn off, i should have spotted him earlier from the high point as i had taken a spell and was getting some photos but never thought to get my binos out.
Attachment 228771

Got to here and saw him trotting off as he was on to me well before i saw him, quickly took the shot and dropped him only to see the biggest Ruahine stag i have personally seen run over the shoulder at a high rate of knots heading towards the big Tarn
Attachment 228772

I bolted off after him with just my rifle only to watch him get further and further out of range, I don't think he stopped until he was in the Pourangaki
Attachment 228773
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Camp on the Triangle turn off
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Sun coming up over Te Hekenga
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North to Maungamahue
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Spectators!! there was a group of hinds up above me watching the whole thing play out and they were still there the next morning, i suspect they wanted to cross over into the Oroua but i was in their way
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Te hekenga & High Ridge rear right of photo

Camped up above Rangi hut back in May, there was a bit of snow around too, in hindsight a bit too much. was hoping for a nice sunny day and deer out enjoying the sun but woke up to more like a blizzard so had breaky and trudged on back to my ute. better luck next time!!Attachment 228837Attachment 228838

Its amazing how many people use that site, and yet in all mine and brothers trips up there, we never arrived to find it in use. That campsite could tell some stories of its own!

Wow. I too have thought of a bit tops snowy winter mission but it has yet to transpire. The excellent feedback here reminds me of an absolute freezing school trip to the Rushine in snow. And then I remembered the wet, slushy snow. Thanks to all for tracks cut long ago, the great stories and amazing photos. It is a stunning place indeed

Presumably you’ve put your knees and hips through a fair bit doing that. Are you still on your originals?

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Originally Posted by Lauries Hut

Presumably you’ve put your knees and hips through a fair bit doing that. Are you still on your originals?

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Only just. Dose myself up with anti-flams before I head out the door for a hunt. Grin and bear it in between hunts. Knees and a hip. Wrist. Arthritis. Had an X-ray for chest pains last week. Results were that I have a "healing" broken rib - that injury was 9 moths ago - I thought that would be well healed by now.

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Only just. Dose myself up with anti-flams before I head out the door for a hunt. Grin and bear it in between hunts. Knees and a hip. Wrist. Arthritis. Had an X-ray for chest pains last week. Results were that I have a "healing" broken rib - that injury was 9 moths ago - I thought that would be well healed by now.

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comfry has been called knitbone for many centuries...a tea made with the leaves beats a green tea hands down...... I know of many people myself included who swear by it for helping to heal bones quickly.

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

comfry has been called knitbone for many centuries...a tea made with the leaves beats a green tea hands down...... I know of many people myself included who swear by it for helping to heal bones quickly.

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Interesting as I've always believed it to be poisonous and can cause pretty severe liver damage. Perhaps it's if you drink it a lot. What dosage do you use ?

just a bit about size of a mint leaf in cup of boiling water...... like many old herbal remidies....do your due diligence research wise and make up your own mind.

Nice, days well spent!

@Tahr try this for your knees, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NbeEibKmt0
Guarantee an improvement

I think it went that way boss.... hare prints?https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...198db1f311.jpg

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

Yes definitively hare