Thread: Looking for info on Tararua Forest Park

If you are experienced enough to be safe out there then I suggest that the hunting is best beyond two to three hours walk from road ends. You can always get lucky though. Flag Holdsworth area. There are better places to hunt. Think nice wide river valleys and tops areas. You are fine hunting from huts. Aside From Holdsworth any valley showing good grass flats will be OK and same goes for tops. From Jan on the tops are worth a look, plus high mossy beech forest, plus slip hunting higher up creeks. Flats are burned off from January but worth a look if pissing down or just after. The country is really tough in many places and the weather savage. This is not a place for the inexperienced. Everyone talks about the South Island but the Tarries sit on Cook Strait. Worst wind in any mountain range in NZ. If you can get the weather right they are great. Look for cloud coming over the tops on the eastern side and if flowing over is visible then flag the tops. It can be calm in the farm and howling up high. Smiths Creek gets hammered but you can get lucky. Hope this helps. Plenty deer in there especially in the bush as no one hunts it any more. All the best.