Thread: 12 days/11 nights in the Kawekas

Day 6 – Tuesday 6th December
Up early and out the hut door at 5:30am, to find the world buried deep in a thick mist. Oh well, back to the hut for breakfast.
Later on I wandered out again and walked through the mist down to where I had seen the hind and yearling. The previous evening I had used the Project waypoint function on my Fenix watch to mark a waypoint where they were, and wanted to see how accurate it was. It was quite hard finding the right spot in the mist, pretty much every tussock and manuka looked the same. Eventually the mist started to lift and I was able to glass the various open areas, but no deer were seen.
I wandered back up to the hut, grabbed a bit more gear, and headed off to the Otutu Bush tops about 2km north of the hut. There was a bit of sign on the track, but once I got to the tops the walking track had heaps of deer prints on it, going both directions. My guess was that the deer were using the track to head to the tops in the evening, and to come back to the bush in the morning, and figured an early morning ambush would be a good option for Marcus and I to try later on. The knees were starting to get pretty sore by the time I got back to the hut for lunch.
I collected some firewood in the afternoon, and had a bit of a nap. After yet another freeze-dri dinner I spent the evening glassing but nothing spotted. The dark clouds were starting to build up, backing up the forecast for a cold wet day tomorrow.

Day 7 – Wednesday 7th December
Out the hut door at 6am to head out glassing again, nothing seen, back to the hut for breakfast. It was pretty chilly, with rain and a high of 8 forecast, so once I noticed the dog shivering I cranked up the fire.

It quickly warmed up the hut, and the rest of the day was spent reading a book someone had left in the hut, and cutting firewood when the weather allowed. Freeze-dri dinner number 7, then out for an evening glass with nothing seen.