Thread: Just a couple of little goats from the Catlins

Usually work in the weekends lately so went for an overnight trip in the Catlins forest park Maclennen Range Tuesday/Wednesday to get some meat, exercise, fresh air, and a break from the disheartening political bullshit that is plaguing radio, internet, TV....

Been to the Catlins for hunting a few times in a bunch of different areas but never had any luck with red deer, never even spooked one before. So I was at least hoping to get a goat. And I did, just two little ones. First one I spotted eating some grass in a small clearing next to the body of a red deer another lucky hunter had gotten maybe 10-20 days before. It stunk to high heaven, was in a stage of decay called black putrefaction (had to look it up).

Anyway, I shot the wee kid right in the heart and he fell over instantly, no whining no fuss. His friend which he was grazing with checked to see if he was okay. I tried to get that one too but missed.
I carried the body into some nearby bush to get away from the smell of the dead deer but the swirling wind ensured I did not work without its revolting presence.



Being a small animal I could carry the meat around without much extra effort so went deeper into the bush. A couple hours pass and I hear some bleating in the distance. I decide to bleat back with a meh eh eh eh eh goat sound best i could. The goat in the distance responds positively by getting closer and bleating in response. It did not take long before I saw some movement between the vegetation and out pops another little goat! I was crouched halfway peeking from behind a tree and the little goat stares at me suspiciously about 10m away. I forgot exactly what happened but it turned sideways maybe to walk away and I took the shot. He made a terribly sad whining sound and leaped a wee distance before struggling on the ground. Not quite as clean of a shot as my earlier goat. He tried lifting his head quite a few times, a little fighter. It made me feel really sad and I patted him until he stopped, about 20 seconds. Cant help it, i like goats and I think they are super cute and personable.
Shot was slightly too far back as it caught the front edge of the guts which was upsetting. Still, got two legs, two shoulders, and backstraps. Little ones, mind you, but should be really tasty.



Decided to head back to the hut at this stage. Was hoping to find a deer on the way out as it was approaching sunset but only found their poop and tracks, which is the usual for me and red deer.



Went back into a different area of the Maclennen range that Ive never been into before the next morning, aiming for a full 14 hour day hunt to find a deer or at least figure out what the area has to offer.
The first animal I found was a hare. Tried to take a video of it through the scope. Didn't turn out great but at least the animal is visible. Of course didnt shoot it as apparently not allowed to without small game permit, which is a pain in the arse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYAqmb_xsSQ




And the moment of truth... my first close encounter with a red deer. This occurred when I was climbing up into a higher area of the bush where I turned a corner and a big hind was within 5 meters of me. Both of us got a very big fright and she instantly crashed away. I tried to follow her in hopes that she would stop and look back at some point, but she disappeared real quick. Nothing else happened. Not even the bleat of a goat. Oh wait actually, found a very old looking container of salt.



Left the bush at 8.30pm empty handed apart from the salt container which I took home to throw into the trash. Still, was a good experience and got some points of interest saved on my topo map such as bedding areas, potential feeding areas, and high traffic areas with lots of hoof prints. Drove home tired and sore and arrived back at Dunedin 11pm knackered. Good fun.

Nice. NZHS Goat Club is a thing! Btw, I'm pretty sure you don't need a special permit to shoot small game, only to use a .22 or shotgun. Enjoy your goat meat, both animals ideal eaters in my opinion.

Great place the catlins.

Make the most of it jessica.
Always a feed of cockles on offer at Papatowai


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You will have sweat up when u finally catch up with a red down there ,some big body critters in the Catlin's ,nice work on the goat harvest

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agree you can shoot hares with big rifle...you spooked a deer....that means you got that close without it detecting you....sooner or later you will get the drop on one.... good work on the goats.
Ive seen dead sheep get to that stage of wrigglyness in 4 days in heat of summer...enough to put a fella off rice for dinner.

Top marks on a good couple of days in the bush, some nice goat meat and a close encounter with a red skin, won't be long and you will have one on the deck, enjoy the meat and stick with it ...you will succeed soon.

Originally Posted by MB

Nice. NZHS Goat Club is a thing! Btw, I'm pretty sure you don't need a special permit to shoot small game, only to use a .22 or shotgun. Enjoy your goat meat, both animals ideal eaters in my opinion.

What is the NZHS goat club? Id probably fit right in. Really enjoy hunting and eating goat. I also enjoy cuddling them when i am not hunting. Wouldn't mind a pet goat or two.

Originally Posted by kukuwai

Great place the catlins.

Make the most of it jessica.
Always a feed of cockles on offer at Papatowai

Yeah really happy to live reasonably close to the Catlins, that area is really beautiful.
Cockles at Papatowai? You mean to harvest them from the muddy sand there? I remember the air having a strong smell as I drove by. Have zero experience with fishing or collecting shellfish so will need to look up the laws. Do people just take a wee bag and dig them up?

Originally Posted by NRT

You will have sweat up when u finally catch up with a red down there ,some big body critters in the Catlin's ,nice work on the goat harvest

Yeah the red hind I bumped into was MASSIVE, im more used to seeing goats and fallow. Got quite the scare, and I think she did too haha.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

you spooked a deer....that means you got that close without it detecting you....sooner or later you will get the drop on one.... good work on the goats.

Thanks! And yeah I was happy to finally bump into a red in the bush even though I didn’t get her. At least I know I was doing something right.

Originally Posted by Mooseman

Top marks on a good couple of days in the bush, some nice goat meat and a close encounter with a red skin, won't be long and you will have one on the deck, enjoy the meat and stick with it ...you will succeed soon.

Yep I will keep going when I have the time and wont give up till I get one.

cockles/clams.....yes in the shallow mud flats,great feed....simple is best...steam them open and scoff them on bread n butter.
pretty sure there is folks who do it semi commercially down that way... cockles n pipis have milder flavour than muscles...all are great tucker.

Great story JC and nice photos.
I remember there's a big bush plateau down there that was quite a challenge to navigate across.

Originally Posted by JessicaChen

What is the NZHS goat club? Id probably fit right in. Really enjoy hunting and eating goat. I also enjoy cuddling them when i am not hunting. Wouldn't mind a pet goat or two.

I also think goats are nice animals and have learnt to enjoy hunting and eating them. With some variation in cooking style, I think everyone in our house would now choose goat over venison. Don't think I want to cuddle one though!

I know goats are generally are not hard to hunt, the challenge in Northland is the bush itself, so it's probably a good thing that we have realistic target species.

Originally Posted by MB

I know goats are generally are not hard to hunt

@MB I hunted a farm once where the goats got continually hammered. Hunting them was like hunting really spooky deer. Was really hard. They obviously learned fast!

Originally Posted by bumblefoot

@MB I hunted a farm once where the goats got continually hammered. Hunting them was like hunting really spooky deer. Was really hard. They obviously learned fast!

Hence the generally bit

I was chasing a heavily hunted mob that could move freely between DOC and farm land. At the first site of a human, they were gone!

Have had a few pet goats over the years. Wicked critters very loyal. Had one for about a year then put it in a mob of nanny's 3 years later will come up to the bike for pats while shifting them. Some nice bush in the Catlin's. Only hunted it once and the same just saw sign but plenty of it. Few piglets and possums kicking around to. Could possibly find a kid or 2 for a pet next year if interested . Just need a reminder closer to the time

Great write up and photos.
Missed the days back when I was in the Clutha. My hunting skills have improved but opportunities up here have diminished.
Lucky to be in a special part of the country!

That’s a great pic looking up at the canopy