Whirinaki Hikoi

Day 1 Upper Whirinaki Hut.
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Walked in from Plateau Road end. Just an easy start to the mission.

Next day on to Upper Te Hoe. With heavy packs it took us 7 hours.
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But there was heaps of cool bush scenery.
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There was a family already at Upper Te Hoe. They walked in from Pukeroa road end. We didn't have a hunt but their son managed to get one.
Next Day it was onto Central Te Hoe.
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The dreaded Te Hoe Bluffs.

They weren't that bad really.
We got to the hut in good time so we had time for a hunt. After a feed first.
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We tried downstream first. There was an abundance of Ongaonga and the river was swift and powerful,to the point of being dangerous. We turned back and had a look upstream. It was the right call and Oliver soon had a deer in his sights. He thought it was a spiker so smacked it. It turned out to be an in milk hind. Bit of a bugger but an pplhonest mistake.

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Central Te Hoe is in a cool spot. Very steep though.
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Next day we headed to Mangakahika Hut. Oliver carried the back steaks and hindquarters meat.
Stopped at the Bullring campsite on the way.
Found a huge wok hanging up.
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Looking back down towards Centrl Te Hoe.
Mangakahika is a neat spot. Didn't go hunting, but there would be a few around I'm picking.
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I put the boy to work getting wood while I put a feed on.
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I can assure you it tasted better than it looks. :thumbsup:
Next day was a big one. Head to Roger's and on to Moerangi.
There was a couple of choppers at Roger's.
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One of them turned out to be an old time meathunter in to celebrate his birthday. He was interesting to talk to but we had to push on to Moerngi.
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Next day was another mission to Mangamate.

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next day we had a quick hunt and Oliver smacked a fawn.
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Today we got back to the truck to be greeted by this.
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Bit of a stink end to the trip.
Luckily the truck was still drivable. Unfortunately I left my wallet in my truck.
My credit card got a good hammering before the bank stopped it.
All in all a fantastic trip.
My son has proven himself a good shot and can carry a load as long as required.
Our next trip will have less tramping and more hunting though.
Thanks for reading.

what a cool trip heading down there in a couple of weeks

That was great. Father and son bonding trumps a low life break in. You are still on the right side of the ledger.

That is a shit end to the trip!

Cool account of your trip, some good memories/photos to look back on when you get old. bit shit about the ute . Theres some arseholes out there alright.

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Originally Posted by charliehorse

That is a shit end to the trip!

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First time is ever happened. Was probablya bit complacent. Left a bit of stuff in there to nick. :oh noes:

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Originally Posted by Tahr

That was great. Father and son bonding trumps a low life break in. You are still on the right side of the ledger.

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Correct.
I pity the shit heads that did it.

Awesome work mate, spending time in the bush with your kids and dog has to be one of my favorite pass times.

Bummer about the ute and the CC.. hope damage to back pocket wasn't too bad.

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Sadly the dickheads that violated your truck are unlikely to recieve the punishmenf they deserve.
But, thanks for a very good report and I'm glad you and your boy had a great hunt.

Hey thanks for posting this, bloody inspirational stuff right there. Man that boy is lucky to have a real kiwi dad!

Roger, his birthday during the weekend, great guy and a legendary hunter, we used to fly in when I was a wee chap. Great stuff.

Unfortunate about the Okahu road end but it happens everywhere, even around town these days aye.

That Pukeroa track end isn’t like it used to be so big ups to them going in from that side.

Great to see mate, and congratulations to you both. That’s a great hikoi.

Roger. That's the one. He featured on the Deer Wars podcast. Got shot in the arse with a 180gr 308. We've been listening on the way around. Was a hard case coincidence. Would have lived to continue yarning with him.
Truck got broken into at Plateau Road. Been hunting there for years and the first time I've ever been broken into.

Excellent trip report, nice to see all them huts are still there, are all the Whirinaki huts separate from Te Urewera?

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Originally Posted by Chur Bay

Roger. That's the one. He featured on the Deer Wars podcast. Got shot in the arse with a 180gr 308. We've been listening on the way around. Was a hard case coincidence. Would have lived to continue yarning with him.
Truck got broken into at Plateau Road. Been hunting there for years and the first time I've ever been broken into.

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The farmer who shot him was prosecuted but got off. Repesented by a legendary lawyer from Auckland.

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Originally Posted by RUMPY

Excellent trip report, nice to see all them huts are still there, are all the Whirinaki huts separate from Te Urewera?

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Apparently Roger's is right on the boundary. The others are separate.

Glad to see the bluffs gave you no trouble.....And its refreshing to read a report that names names :thumbsup: Your readers can relate to places they may have been to.
Sadly, there was some vehicle glass in a couple of spots at that carpark when l parked there during the 2023 roar :( But you can't let the bastards win and put you off.

great write up..awesome to see how the young fella is progressing... fawn tastes great done like KFC.... sorry to read about the ute.... but as Tahr has said..your still on plus side of the ledger.

That’s an awesome walk alright. Great to see rogers hut didn’t get burnt. Shame about the end to the trip.
I’ve started putting up a trail camera near the ute. It won’t stop them breaking in but at least you might get a photo of the c*nts that did it.
Worthwhile doing, I got photos and video of a guy looking in my ute. Nothing happened but if they had broken in I had the rego on their car.

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Awesome trip looks like great weather too. Same about the truck getting broken into which would have put a damper on the trip, I hope they get their just reward someday.

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Originally Posted by 30.06king

Sadly the dickheads that violated your truck are unlikely to recieve the punishmenf they deserve.
But, thanks for a very good report and I'm glad you and your boy had a great hunt.

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I hear what you're saying 30 06 re the punishment, but actually, their whole life is punishment. And good bloody job. Living life as a sh*tbag, skulking around like the feral dogs they are, they deserve every bit of sh*t karma they've got coming to them.

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Originally Posted by Mistral

I hear what you're saying 30 06 re the punishment, but actually, their whole life is punishment. And good bloody job. Living life as a sh*tbag, skulking around like the feral dogs they are, they deserve every bit of sh*t karma they've got coming to them.

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I would think these delinquent sorts probably do live a crappy life and are society underdogs. How they came to be there is another discussion. But, personally, I don't wish that upon them. All of us and the country would be benefitted much, much more if they were upstanding and contributing members of Kiwi society. However, despite their unfortunate station in life I believe they still well know the difference between right and wrong ( certainly they would be highly indignant if the same vandalism occurred to their own vehicles ), what is regarded as anti-social behaviour and likely to bring consequences if they are identified and apprehended. The damage and inconvenience they caused deserves to be punished, by either dictate of law or karma, but I also would not expect that to radically change their lawbreaking habits.
On a certain level I feel sorry for them. They could make their lives so much more fulfilling and rewarding just by pulling their socks up and taking advantage of everything worthwhile that life offers us all, and become respected people. I know it would not be overly difficult to do as certain far sighted individuals do see the light and go for it but sadly most seem content to continue wallowing in a life of crime and poverty.