New Zealand Gear help/suggestions

[MTcasualhunter]

Hello all, I am looking for any suggestions on gear for a march/April DIY hunt. I am planning on a South island east side heli drop hunt, I found a transporter that I believe I am going to use once they start booking for next year. It would hopefully be 4 days for stags and 4 days for tahr (or something like that). Camping wherever I get dropped.
The main questions:
1) Does anyone have input on tents? I am looking hard ar the kuiu Morningstar or storm star. But open to reasonable suggestions.
2) What rating sleeping bags are best for that time frame?
3) other than rain gear does anyone have a suggestion for an indispensable price of gear that I will likely overlook coming from Montana?

Any and all input is welcome!

 

[Te Hopo]

Take a comfortable alpine rated sleeping bag.
Mine is rated for -10°c and I also use a Thermal liner, occasionally even in summer I've needed every bit of that warmth.
Warmer times I sleep in the liner on top of my sleeping bag.

With nothing between us and Antarctica, southerly fronts can see extreme temp drops in less than hour, even in summer.
So when hunting for the day even if its 30+°c, I carry a puffer and lightweight waterproofs just in case.

Good luck bringing it all together

 

[Jt89]

What Te Hopo said! March into April can have really warm days but it will still drop to freezing or just below overnight. My bag is rated to a sleep limit of minus 6°C and if I need more than that I try to be hut based

Number one suggestion from me, is to pay for and download the "NZtopo 50 offline - south island" app. It's available both for android and Apple. This is without a doubt, the single best tool for E scouting and digital mapping in the backcountry here. It's not that expensive, I think it cost me about 5 bucks. It has layers for the public land hunting areas, and shows all the huts and shelters on public land.

Tent, if you have a helicopter doing the lifting for you and you're not planning on shifting it round much then maybe pick the storm star over the mountain star. You can always take a lightweight fly tarp and overnight on a different ridge if the weather forecast is looking good, but keep an eye out for our little green alpine Kea parrots if you do choose to leave a base camp unattended for a few days. If they're in the area the little buggers are quite inquisitive and, unfortunately, can be very destructive. Pitching a fly over your tent helps prevent a hunt ruined due to Kea shredding holes in your tent. They like to steal stuff too.

A couple of questions, will you be solo or guided/have a buddy with you?

Have you perused YouTube in research/daydreaming for your trip?

 

[MTcasualhunter]

Take a comfortable alpine rated sleeping bag.
Mine is rated for -10°c and I also use a Thermal liner, occasionally even in summer I've needed every bit of that warmth.
Warmer times I sleep in the liner on top of my sleeping bag.

With nothing between us and Antarctica, southerly fronts can see extreme temp drops in less than hour, even in summer.
So when hunting for the day even if its 30+°c, I carry a puffer and lightweight waterproofs just in case.

Good luck bringing it all together

Awesome thank you! That gives me a lot more comfort on my bag choice currently I believe I will be picking up a new 0°f bag for the trip and for the future since being cold is one of my least favorite things. I've got a pretty decent amount of layer I will be packing with so hopefully I'll be able to flex with the conditions well.

 

[MTcasualhunter]

What Te Hopo said! March into April can have really warm days but it will still drop to freezing or just below overnight. My bag is rated to a sleep limit of minus 6°C and if I need more than that I try to be hut based

Number one suggestion from me, is to pay for and download the "NZtopo 50 offline - south island" app. It's available both for android and Apple. This is without a doubt, the single best tool for E scouting and digital mapping in the backcountry here. It's not that expensive, I think it cost me about 5 bucks. It has layers for the public land hunting areas, and shows all the huts and shelters on public land.

Tent, if you have a helicopter doing the lifting for you and you're not planning on shifting it round much then maybe pick the storm star over the mountain star. You can always take a lightweight fly tarp and overnight on a different ridge if the weather forecast is looking good, but keep an eye out for our little green alpine Kea parrots if you do choose to leave a base camp unattended for a few days. If they're in the area the little buggers are quite inquisitive and, unfortunately, can be very destructive. Pitching a fly over your tent helps prevent a hunt ruined due to Kea shredding holes in your tent. They like to steal stuff too.

A couple of questions, will you be solo or guided/have a buddy with you?

Have you perused YouTube in research/daydreaming for your trip?

Thanks for the help!
I've just downloaded the topo 50 and it seems like it will be a huge help. I will plan on a tarp as well in addition to the tent and based on your recommendations with the keas I may have to add it to the tent if I start seeing them at camp.

I will be solo as it stands right now. I know this will limit me some as I don't want to get into any real bad situation solo. But I'd rather go solo than count on a maybe from someone else. (That could change but so far I'm planning for solo).

I have seen and watched a TON of videos from YouTube whenever I can find a true free range public lands video any suggestions?

I feel like i have very realistic expectations for this hunt and know that I may not have much success as this will be very different from Hunting at home but a harvest won't make or break the trip for me.

 

[Te Hopo]

I use topo50 all the time in the field, but at home I like to use Walking Access Maps (WAMs)

Outdoor access maps (WAMS) | Herenga ā Nuku Aotearoa, the Outdoor Access Commission

Find public access areas to walk, cycle, hunt, fish, horse ride or otherwise enjoy Aotearoa New Zealand's outdoors.

www.herengaanuku.govt.nz

It has the boundaries of private/public land laid out clearly.

For hunting vids, these guys do some big missions into the backcountry

South Island Rifle Walkers

We're three kiwi mates who can't get enough of the mountains. We love to hunt New Zealand's vast backcountry searching for a range of big game animals. If you're into hunting adventures, exploring the mountains or just admiring the landscapes our natural world provide then hit that subscribe...

m.youtube.com

 

[Jt89]

I use topo50 all the time in the field, but at home I like to use Walking Access Maps (WAMs)

Outdoor access maps (WAMS) | Herenga ā Nuku Aotearoa, the Outdoor Access Commission

Find public access areas to walk, cycle, hunt, fish, horse ride or otherwise enjoy Aotearoa New Zealand's outdoors.

www.herengaanuku.govt.nz

It has the boundaries of private/public land laid out clearly.

For hunting vids, these guys do some big missions into the backcountry

South Island Rifle Walkers

We're three kiwi mates who can't get enough of the mountains. We love to hunt New Zealand's vast backcountry searching for a range of big game animals. If you're into hunting adventures, exploring the mountains or just admiring the landscapes our natural world provide then hit that subscribe...

m.youtube.com

These were exactly the lads I was going to suggest! Probably the realest example you will find on YouTube of DIY, public land hunting without major money and sponsorship behind them. These young fellas aren't "influencers" their sponsorship extends to free boots and a jacket here and there. A lot of east coast as well as west coast hunting. They don't really tell you where they are, but you can use what they get up to as a really realistic guide.

 

[Jt89]

Thanks for the help!
I've just downloaded the topo 50 and it seems like it will be a huge help. I will plan on a tarp as well in addition to the tent and based on your recommendations with the keas I may have to add it to the tent if I start seeing them at camp.

I will be solo as it stands right now. I know this will limit me some as I don't want to get into any real bad situation solo. But I'd rather go solo than count on a maybe from someone else. (That could change but so far I'm planning for solo).

I have seen and watched a TON of videos from YouTube whenever I can find a true free range public lands video any suggestions?

I feel like i have very realistic expectations for this hunt and know that I may not have much success as this will be very different from Hunting at home but a harvest won't make or break the trip for me.

If you're going solo in a helicopter you can afford yourself some luxuries over a DIY backpack hunt. A small folding chair or stool for glassing from camp, couple of beers for the last night of the hunt, hefty gas cooker, spare gas and a couple of real food items that will last are my suggestions - especially if the weather is looking average. On my fly in trips previously I've packed things like bacon and eggs, real milk for coffee, a block of cheese and salamis, a book for the three days of rain (seven day trip) sausages, a goat curry frozen down and vacuum sealed (that was a hit round the campfire after a crappy wet day bush bashing) we don't go overboard but you've got a Hughes 500 doing the heavy lifting so find out what weight they'll let you fly in and pack the kitchen sink if it fits! Just leave a little weight for meat and a head on the way out