Thread: An uneventful walk in the Kaimais

A lovely day yesterday for a walk with Steve who was down from Auckland
Upland Road - 45 minutes up to the North/South track - then headed north towards Thompsons track - about 4 hrs on the signpost

I still had rib problems so didn’t take a rifle - Steve sneaked off the track in various places and put up a deer about 20m away in some supplejack but didn’t get a shot - plenty of supplejack in that bush
North/South track is pretty good but in solid bush with very little outlook - would be lucky to see 30m ahead in most places - up and down through three creeks going North

Down the stairs into the third creek - the track crosses it a few times - we had burnt up four and a half hours - so turned back

Yes - there is a deer in the Kaimais - up by the staircase - he lay down here and got dirty - but generally very little deer sign on the main track

Coming out - we met a couple of hunters heading towards Kauritatahi Hut for a couple of nights - then we met another couple of hunters with a dog who were heading back down a ridge to the farmland - they reckoned they always got something in there with their dog
So an uneventful 9hr trip - sore feet this morning

Yip very lucky to get one on the track in there. Sounds like a good walk though

its just good to get out tho

Wow, that old pack should be in a museum!

I've been up to Kauritatahi Hut and back in a day as well as trying to find a short cut down I turned it into a 25km nightmare. Beautiful walk though, might stretch it into a 2 dayer next time though.

Last time I was out I followed very fresh prints/sign round in a circle only to gwet stuck in the thick shit for an hour before getting fed up and circling back out to the track, only to find a steaming pile of fresh shit in the middle of the track at about 3 on a sunday, place was crawling with hunters to, saw no fewer than 10 that day

Originally Posted by Ricochet

I've been up to Kauritatahi Hut and back in a day as well as trying to find a short cut down I turned it into a 25km nightmare. Beautiful walk though, might stretch it into a 2 dayer next time though.

Lines up with what I just learned Ricochet -

One of the hunters we met on Saturday afternoon around midday - about halfway across the North/South track to the stairway called me this arvo about 5pm - they had just got home
They got to Kauritatahi Hut at 7PM on Saturday - reckoned it was very hard work climbing out of the third creek up onto the top - a number of very narrow ledges with steep drop-offs - when they got to the top they had to go further North to get to Thompsons Track and then go round and climb again going South to the hut - hope I got that right
Sunday - pea soup fog but got out for two hours and saw a couple of deer
They got a call from a mate early this morning and were told to get out quick due to incoming weather - they went back to Thompsons Track and decided to go over the West side - very slippery on the hard clay surfaces - had to get someone to go round the other side and pick them up
They said the trip was a bloody nightmare - hard country, wet weather and didn’t shoot any animals

Originally Posted by Nick-D

Last time I was out I followed very fresh prints/sign round in a circle only to gwet stuck in the thick shit for an hour before getting fed up and circling back out to the track, only to find a steaming pile of fresh shit in the middle of the track at about 3 on a sunday, place was crawling with hunters to, saw no fewer than 10 that day

I've taught the Kaimai deer well. Round and round you go

Plenty of deer in the Kaimai's, Just gota no where to look Good amount of deer and pig sign around the Aongatete area, The last 2 times I went in for a look through there, There was no other hunters ! Unlike Wairere ..................

Originally Posted by time out

Lines up with what I just learned Ricochet -

One of the hunters we met on Saturday afternoon around midday - about halfway across the North/South track to the stairway called me this arvo about 5pm - they had just got home
They got to Kauritatahi Hut at 7PM on Saturday - reckoned it was very hard work climbing out of the third creek up onto the top - a number of very narrow ledges with steep drop-offs - when they got to the top they had to go further North to get to Thompsons Track and then go round and climb again going South to the hut - hope I got that right
Sunday - pea soup fog but got out for two hours and saw a couple of deer
They got a call from a mate early this morning and were told to get out quick due to incoming weather - they went back to Thompsons Track and decided to go over the West side - very slippery on the hard clay surfaces - had to get someone to go round the other side and pick them up
They said the trip was a bloody nightmare - hard country, wet weather and didn’t shoot any animals

Haha, now that sounds like a hell of a day. I was trying to go south from the hut to the North South track to turn it into a loop, as I hate going back over the same track, but I couldn't see a way down and was running out of daylight quick. I got to the hut at 12:30pm and fought my way back there again at 2:30pm and had to go all the way back down to Uplands road. Spent an hour or so at the end walking in the dark.
@stretch here helped me find an old track that runs south which I'll be trying again this summer, but yeah, I'll turn it into a 2 dayer and spend the night at the hut.

I saw heaps of sign up top there, but by this time my eyes were too awash with tears and longing for mummy to see any deer.

I live up Wright's Rd and yes there are deer in the Kaimai's. Some hunters do well on a regular basis but a lot burn hours and plenty of energy for little return.
The bush is hard and tight in a lot of area's but there are some fantastic spots also.
Good luck up here and be safe.