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Hey guys, thinking of quading down the Mangapurua track from Ruatiti to Johnsons campsite, (bridge to nowhere track)
anyone have an idea on deer numbers around there?
worth taking the quad in for a few days? Any info would be appreciated.
cheers!
( also if anyone has any private land me and a mate could hunt for a couple days happy to swap in a chartered fishing trip up the Coromandel peninsula)
There few round if you know where to look but I can't help you there as I don't hunt that end just be careful in there as the gullies can be hard to cross if you don't know where the crossings are but it a great place to camp down there if you want know anything else just asking & I'll try help you out
several years ago we went in and hunted the Waipapa - the track in turns of to the left (south) just down the hill from a gateway on main Mangapurua track over first big hill -Its like the main dividing ridge overlooking the main Mangapurua valley - we had a hell of a job getting quads down the track in there and likely now not passable . but was impressed with deer numbers in there - just down the track from junction thru first cutting say 200 metres there is a horse track down a ridge to the right and will take you down onto a big series of clearings -well used - a lot of clearings further down that valley - we camped by some macrocaparas down the valley - would only take an hour to walk to macs from junction along an old road -well worth a look but watch that track - scary to say the least ( if it is still useable ) look it up on WAMS maps select aerial photos and you will be able to see all the clearings - leave me a message if you want more info - we did have a look down main valley but seemed well used and not a lot of signQuote:
Originally Posted by bergaraB14
It's not for the uninitiated during winter. The greasy papa is like ice.
DoC don't do any track maintenance at all from 30 April until week or so before queens bday. They only maintain it during dry/er months mostly for the TA Trail and cyclists. The track is closed to cycling in this winter peeiod. The original rd was abandoned for good reason, the country is wet and marginal in winter and lots of slips happen.
There is currently a large slip south of Johnsons.
It pays to take a shovel and saw when going in to clear the way.
There are plenty of goats in there . Reds and fallow in there too. There was some heli shooting of goats and deer in August. There has been a dose of 1080 in the neighboring matematemaonga and waitotara in August. There is a good shelter and water supply at Johnsons but is in the valley floor so can get really cold, really, I've been warmer hunting tahr.
To find animals you will need to hunt off the main trail.
You also can't quad all the way to the bridge. Bartrums is as far as you can get on quad.
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I grew up on a hunting block down the Ruatiti and hiked the Mangapurua many a time. Have shot both decent Fallow Stags and Red on the Mangapurua.
One thing I realized down there is the Deer sleep in , unsure for what reason but I've not seen it anywhere else - they seem to come out a lot later and stay out a lot longer in the morning.
There are plenty of deer down there but they can be quite skittery at times due to the amount of people using the track. best thing to do is to get off the main tracks and hunt the gullies and water sources.
Can be pretty bloody mucky in the winter so go prepared. Lots of nasty fucker little guts and Tomo's around there.
*if* you can find clearings , best to sit on them in the evening , have shot deer under 20m by just staying put on a grassy spot.
The other thing is the deer are very big bodied down there , and while the heads aren't the greatest , you will get a lot of meat from an animal.
Awesome thanks