Thread: Anyone participating in the Whanganui River Valley Hunting Competition?

The Report

So we headed of on Wednesday and right from the start there were indications that this was going to be a trip where if things could go wrong then they would. First up Jono didn't arrive at Rolly's place at the specified nine o'clock timing (no surprises there as he will be late for his own funeral one day) so at nine thirty we rang him to say don't come over, we will drive all the way to the north shore and pick you up. Ha ha ha what a joke.

Into Rolly's Safari and bugger me she won't start as one of the batteries is flat. No worries says Rolly's, we will jump start the bugger. So we gave that a go first with the jumper leads strapped between the assisting car and one battery, and then when that didn't work, the next battery. No luck there either so we took the battery out of the assisting car and put it into the Safari to get her going and then swapped them all back while the Safari was running. Mid way in this fiasco there was another call to Jono (who had already unpacked his car) to say change of plan, you need to come over here while we get the Safari going. It is worth of a mention that Jono got a flat on the way over so our nine o'clock kick off eventually occurred at eleven thirty.

After a good trip down which included a Boysenberry milkshake in Taumaranui we arrived at the place we were staying to find the army in situ conducting a combat survival exercise on the other side of the river with three of the directing staff staying where we had planned to stay.
We pitched the tent and then climbed to the top of a near by knoll to survey the other side of the river. I should say at this stage that this was private land bordering DoC land and there were shit loads of sheep, cattle and feral goats to be seen on the face opposite where we were.
We had a meal courtesy of her majesty (was almost as if Rolly's and I had never got out of the army) and went off to slumber land.

Next morning we breakfasted early and as dawn broke we were glossing the big face over the river (pictured above) and bugger me there were three fallow traversing across followed by another three traversing in the opposite direction. The range finder showed 240 so I suggested we take a shot. Nope says Rolly's, it is only eight o'clock and the competition doesn't start until three. Being the invitee I respect this wish but secretly I am thinking fuck the competition lets get some meat under our belts.

The decision is then made to cross the river and go for an up close and personal look around. We need to skirt over the top of these sheep says Jono otherwise they will alert the deer. So that is when we (needlessly in my opinion) start the ascent higher and ever higher up the ridge line on the right of the first photo which proved to be mostly between nine and twelve inches wide, not quite but almost vertical with sheer drops off either side. 180 metres further up I asked "what the fuck are we doing up here, the deer are in the bush way down below us"? So the decision was made by Jono and Rolly's to down climb the ridge despite there being a far more obvious (to me) way to descend through a gut that we could have reached. I have to say readers that I am getting to old to be climbing up and down shit with thirty and forty year olds (especially shit that doesn't need to bet climbed in the first place).

After getting back down into some really nice bush we hunt around for a while and then pull the plug as it was time to go to the Matahiwi Marae to be welcomed and to press multiple foreheads and noses. Rolly caught up with our host and several other former squadron mates of his that were also participating in the competition and then to was time to head in to Wanganui to pick up our fourth member (Simon) from the airport.

That evening we were told of the change of plans by the organisers. It turns out that we were perceived as a bit of a threat to the locals ability to win so we were to be split up and not to hunt as a team.

Next morning when Simon and I had worked out that the other two members of our new team were not anywhere to be seen, the two of us crossed the river in darkness to lay in ambush where I had seen the fallow crossing the face. By nine when there had been no deer to be seen we headed off into the bush to do some real hunting. Well as the hunting gods would have it, at around eleven we encountered a small ravine that I chose to stay on one side of (my knees were giving me gyp from the unnecessary scaling of Everest the day before) and Simon popped down and over the other side. Neck minute readers bang, bang. So I cross the bloody ravine any way to find that Simon had scored a doe and had also shot the fawn that was with it.
So we get to gutting and back packing both back to the camp. I swam back across the river as it was so hot while Simon to the packs, rifles, deer and himself in the dinghy. A quick skinning and boning by a helpful Rushy and the meat was in the freezer just as Rolly's arrived to say come on up to my block, there are deer everywhere, we have already got a good buck for the competition and three other spikers on the hook.

Long story short, we got a spiker which the ever helpful Rushy also gutted, back packed, skinned and boned out and put that meat in the fridge and freezer.

Now I won't rabbit on much longer but will cut to the real funny bit. All of the competition entry animals ( well over 20 good bucks and a similar number of good boars) were nicked from the Marae on the friday night. I learned of this around ten o'clock on Saturday morning but Rolly's never learned until the competition was over at three o'clock. Not only that but when the organisers found out, they headed up to the woolshed and put one wrong right with another wrong by nicking Rolly's spikers that were hanging there so that they had some meat for the stalls to sell.

Fuck what a hoot. I am still laughing. A good trip but not as you would necessarily like it to be and as it turned out, I gutted , carried and boned out a few animals but never even fired a shot.

Definitely will be going back.