Thread: Best peaks/slips/flats parks for glassing? (keen to try this out over bush stalking)

Originally Posted by Bagheera

A lot of the tararua tops are actually leatherwood with just spurs in tussock.
Without giving away a spot X quite a good place to visit would be kime hut / mt hector. Go in from otaki forks (sorry theres a poxy road walk to start). Theres a good amount of open country there and a hut and well marked track for some safety. A few people have died up there but take it easy and you’ll be fine. Will give you an idea of the middle end of the spectrum of north island tops hunting. Not many people hunt up there ( a long way to walk) so deer should be quiet. A long drive from Auckland (full day) plus a full day to walk in so youll need a pretty long weekend,

Cheers for that. I think I was mainly thinking about the tussocky higher country of around Ruapehu etc. I will go look at Kime Hut after this. What have the peopled died from up there, what safety issues should I be aware of?

Everywhere is a fair drive from Auckland to be fair. But thats ok. I use to commute 5 hours a day in Aus and once drove my 100 series, my 20ft boat and all my gear in it, straight from Wollongong to Perth, only stopping for Gas and pee breaks, took turns with the GF, 5 hours on 5 hours off. Took 54 hours, not bad for a ~4500km drive haha. Even though the big 8cyl uses a lot of fuel they have a massive reserve tank so was getting about 900km between tanks.

Originally Posted by Shearer

Kimanawa and Kaweka tops offer some fantastic hunting.

Yes indeed, scouting some good areas. I know a lot of people Fly into hunt, I cant afford that and to be honest for me, walking a full day is part of the enjoyment.

I have a big pair of Nikon binos, they a bit heavy for hunting, I might have to invest in some good budget friendly glassing gear. Perhaps a scope that I can attach my cellphone to, just to record memories of seeing animals not just for killing them.

Im mostly interested in meat hunting, but like anyone if I see some mutant Elk come out Id love to bag a trophy stag. But in between the kia moana, I want to fill the freezers. Despite buying directly from purely organic pasture fed meat. free range chooks and eggs, I still have the yearning to hunt for everything we eat. We grow our own Vege at home.

In saying that Im not sure if hunting is cost effective given the cost of gear, but it must pay for itself fairly quickly, 30kg of meat lets say, minimum avg of $20 kg (back straps would not be cheap and that eye one under the ribs, where something like the fronts only good for mince) thats $400-600 a trip, $150 petrol. $300 of meat, 10 successful trips and gear is largely paid for.