Thread: Navigation

watch and finding north - crude but does work - very rough- point 12 at the sun north is half way between 12 and hour hand - digital watch yes does work - you just need to know the time and imagine a normal watch face on it - but none of that beats time spent with a map aligned to north and work out which way the ridges rivers and streams lie- stick to that catchment for awhile until the lay of the land becomes a lot more clear and half way to not getting lost - Stewart Island and Pureora probably the two hardest hunting areas in terms of ease of becoming very confused - the biggest problem we had at Waikaremoana finding lost hunters was they persisted in keeping going - so were often miles from where their mates reckoned they would be - one guy walked 25 km and came out 3 days later on a sheep station to the south - said he was not going to be a burden to SAR - to bloody late 50 search and rescue and quite a few helicopter hours spent- but we were proud of the fact we always got our lost one even in one case a week later

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

- Stewart Island and Pureora probably the two hardest hunting areas in terms of ease of becoming very confused

I haven't hunted enough of of NZ to say which area is worse than others however I can confirm it is VERY EASY to get spun around in Pureora.

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

watch and finding north - crude but does work - very rough- point 12 at the sun north is half way between 12 and hour hand - digital watch yes does work - you just need to know the time and imagine a normal watch face on it - but none of that beats time spent with a map aligned to north and work out which way the ridges rivers and streams lie- stick to that catchment for awhile until the lay of the land becomes a lot more clear and half way to not getting lost - Stewart Island and Pureora probably the two hardest hunting areas in terms of ease of becoming very confused - the biggest problem we had at Waikaremoana finding lost hunters was they persisted in keeping going - so were often miles from where their mates reckoned they would be - one guy walked 25 km and came out 3 days later on a sheep station to the south - said he was not going to be a burden to SAR - to bloody late 50 search and rescue and quite a few helicopter hours spent- but we were proud of the fact we always got our lost one even in one case a week later

manganuiohau ????

Originally Posted by mpf

manganuiohau ????

now how did you know that - yup more buggers lost at the lake over there than virtually any where else - the top part is easy country so hunter gets confused and heads down the valley - the one that walked 25 km was missing for a no of days over there - I think from memory 3 days - rang us from Mangataniwha station below lower Waiau Gorge - I am ( name ) I am at a sheep station - no one home used phone - okay true right - yes - bull dozer in shed - yes - stay we will get you - Andy Shaw was at Aniwaniwa with Jet Ranger - him and I flew over and got him - prick of a flight in a JR blowing and drizzle but we did it - he said did not want to be a burden to SAR- I am a member of Wellington SAR - Andy Shaw our local pilot then was sadly killed in a huey doing heavy lift in Wellington - how that hunter got thru the lower Waiau gorge beyond me on his own - I have done it as a group and its bloody nasty - we had a number of searches in the Manganuiohau for lost hunters but most would hit first clearing and stay there - the hut down in there the Otuanoa I wonder if that survived the Tuhou blietzreig - we did it up around 1990 - difficult to find but neat little bivy