New Zealand DIY Free Range Hunt of a Lifetime!!

[wilkes]

Man this is great so far! I can't believe your buddies bailed out on you like that. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Thanks for coming on the ride brother.

 

[Brodie]

This is a wild story and we haven't even heard about the hunting yet!



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[extreme minnesotan]

I agree, great story and can't wait to hear about the hunting trip.

 

[WRO]

Tagged in

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[Bl704]

Good story, nice bite sized vignettes and pics to boot. Subscribed to follow along.

 

[realunlucky]

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[ozyclint]

sounds like you are headed over there with the 'right' attitude. it is refreshing to hear someone value the experience above the desire to kill something.

carry on.......

 

[ozyclint]

This is true... I don't know if it's human nature or hunting but there is one thing I have learnt. There are very few times when you can trust another man when it comes to hunting.

when you find a bloke who shares your passion for hard won success in whom you would and do trust your life with in the mountains you realise that is one of the many gifts the wilderness can bring. shared hardships, disappointments, accomplishments and triumphs result in a friendship forged in the crucible of the wilderness.

 

[wilkes]

when you find a bloke who shares your passion for hard won success in whom you would and do trust your life with in the mountains you realise that is one of the many gifts the wilderness can bring. shared hardships, disappointments, accomplishments and triumphs result in a friendship forged in the crucible of the wilderness.

I appreciate that you are able to put that into words. I will continue shortly.

 

[Liv2Hunt]

Awesome story so far!

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[wilkes]

Part 4

I was blown away at the thought of his girlfriend coming... Did she WANT to be there? Did either of them really consider the fact that every day we would push to our physical and mental limits? Would this mean I would have to water down the trip so she can handle it?

My buddy pulled every rabbit out of his hat to convince me it was a good idea having her come along. On the other hand, I tried convincing her just how difficult it would be. She was a really nice girl and loved the outdoors...

I was out of options at this point anyway. We would make the best of this trip together and see how things play out.

The day finally arrived and our little trio arrived at Queenstown Airport - If you have never been to South Island New Zealand, let me just say that you couldn't imagine a more scenic landing. We floated over the top of Fiordland National Park and my mind wandered back to the planning and dreaming of bull Wapiti... but only briefly. We were to push ourselves higher and further for a different quarry.

Into the hire car we went with gear packed and high spirits. We literally pulled into a McDonalds, whipped out the maps and made a final call on the location we would go - that is how far my planning degraded, but it was also exciting. I had no idea what to expect and for the first time, that didn't scare me. I was just pumped to push deep and far and see this beautiful country.

We settled on a West Coast trip. I don't think a single hunter on planet Earth would recommend a trip to the West Coast for first timers. Weather reports weren't great. We didn't care. Our thought process was to get as deep and far from civilization as possible to get away from hunting pressure. We also picked a valley with a trail marked as 'Advanced, Expert' - How bad could it be?

The 5 hour drive began with high spirits and full bellies. When we finally arrived at the mouth of the river system we were almost jumping out of the car to get started. We had arrived later than expected and only had about 2 hours of light. The trail lead to a hunters hut and was marked as a 5 hour trip. We figured we would get started and make camp to reach the hut easily the next day.

The trail head marker pointed toward the river... After spending what seemed like hours (minutes in reality) trying to figure out where the trail was, we realized we were staring at it. Straight down a rock-slide and along the banks of the roaring river. Little did I know that the majority of the trip would be spent dancing a thin line between crawling over car sized boulders and slipping into a glacial river.

This place was truly as beautiful as it was dangerous.

Rest stops were frequent. Once that weight is dropped you can't help but be amazed by the scenery.

Eventually we popped out on a fairly flat area and made our first camp by the river. I got to know the locals quickly. Sandflies filled every open patch of clothing and bit every area of exposed skin... But, watching the sun go down over the mountains by a fire was worth every single bite.

At the site of our first camp - Feeling like conquerors

Coming up... The push to the hut.

 

[PA 5-0]

You have my attention Brother. Camels?? WTF!!

 

[ozyclint]

i can relate to every word.

you have my silent nod of approval......

 

[BackcountryMT]

Watching for more on this! thanks for sharing

 

[wilkes]

You have my attention Brother. Camels?? WTF!!

That's right! Australia is the last country in the world with free range single hump camels. There are more camels than humans and they are at plague proportions. You can take as many as you want, whenever you want. We will thank you for it!

i can relate to every word.

you have my silent nod of approval......

Your adventures are part of my inspiration to do this in the first place. Grateful to have you along for the ride.

 

[wilkes]

Part 5

A little rain throughout the night but a good rest was had by all. Forgetting for a moment our constant adversaries, we swung our tent doors open to be greeted by a hoard of biting demons. After a quick scramble we got back into tents to hide and prepare for the next leg of the journey.

Then we were off again, climbing and crawling from one rock to another along the powerful and windy Wanganui river. I noticed that depending on how the sun hit the rocks, certain sections of the bank were more slippery than others and needed better footing. Every part of the body was being pushed, like I was in some kind of never-ending workout plus 20kg weight on my back! Every kilometre or two a small patch of green meadow would appear and provide a brief flat walk to ease the back and legs. Side creeks cut their way toward the river every hundred metres or so and gave us more fresh clean water than we could ever need. Small trout would dart behind cover as we stepped through and pressed on. Blue ducks and wild birds seemed to have kept this valley a secret to themselves.

It was a cat and mouse game with the valley. As soon as the boulder hopping pushed us to the brink of exhaustion, a small green meadow or forested area would appear with a slither of trail to walk. How could a place this beautiful be so hard to move through? The wildness of the valley forced the mind to remain present to stay safe. Any carelessness at this point would mean a cool dip in the river that would have ended more than just this journey.

After hours of grinding we finally reached a milestone point of the hike. The famed suspension bridge:

After photos and renewed confidence we continued. The trail turned into the forest. It seemed as though every tree or plant, while beautiful, was designed to scratch or sting. Our legs were covered in grass seeds, hands trying to keep the spike covered trees away from the face and eyes while dodging stinging nettle. Stiiiiinging Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttllllllllllleeee!!!! My first experience with this stuff. It seemed to grow and overhang the trail at every tight corner and tricky creek crossing. “STINGING NETTLE!” Became the warning cry for the entire length of forest trail.

We popped out of the jungle/forest and slipped back down onto the rocks. There were huge areas of land where a trail may have existed, but washed away with time. I didn’t want to be there when the weather was bad enough to push some of the truck sized boulders around that river. That must be where the trail went…

The river started to gain a glacial hue. That milky sky blue colour gave hope that the glacial mountains we were heading towards were getting closer. Slowly…

Back into the thick stinging forest and out onto the rocks again. In, out, in, out. Sometimes we climbed and sometimes we crawled. We remained mentally tough, but our unseasoned bodies started to wear down. I wondered to myself how anyone could possibly hunt the forest here. In an instant the blue skies turned grey and now we were soaking wet. The rocks were more slippery and the forest trail quickly pulled you into its muddy arms up to the knees.

Then we saw it.. another ‘bridge’ in the distance. I swear the only thing keeping me from collapsing at that point was the vision of that bridge. The bridge marked the final push until we reached our destination. So… push we did. We arrived and couldn’t wait to see how this contraption worked…

Spirits were now high. We knew the hut was close and a REAL trail appeared and it was almost flat! After a short walk through an incredibly beautiful section of forest… we made it.

The rut was just starting and I hadn’t heard a roar yet.. When would the valley fire up? I wondered what the morning would bring… The stove fired up and off to sleep, dreaming of beasts that surrounded us.

 

[highside74]

Following along and enjoying the read.

 

[beachbunny]

yeaah brother!

 

[slvrslngr]

Great stuff, looking forward to more! And I can relate to your feelings of flying into Queenstown. My wife and I went there a few years ago and I spent the entire flight looking out the window dreaming about hunting those mountains.

 

[Shrek]

Every time you write stinging nettle the hairs on my body stand and my skin crawls !