Going Bush - March 2018

Our hut down by the river

A friend of ours lives in, quite seriously, the middle of absolutely nowhere!  The road in from Minginui was so washed out that at times we had to get out of the truck and fill in some ruts with tree branches.  Thank goodness for our more than adequate 4X4.  The trip was well worth it though.  The peace and tranquility in a place like this is second to none and one of the things we love most about New Zealand.

Pete is the property manager for the guy who owns this block ... Pohokura ... and another that, incidentally, Clare used to live on back in the late 80s. They are now private hunting blocks but Pete is also working hard at conservation - kiwi preservation and regeneration of the native forest.

The view of our digs from across the valley

Private parking

The main purpose of this trip, apart from the fact that we just love to experience the joys of nature, was for James to shoot his first deer.  A word about hunting:  We hunt ONLY to eat.  We are not interested in killing anything for the sake of it, the sport of it or the glory of it. We also believe that this is a more sustainable way of eating (meat) than popping down to the supermarket for dinner.  So if you have read any more of this blog, you will know already that we like to hunt and gather a wide variety of natures food for our table.

BINGO!!!

The meat that came off this spiker (young male) was so tender and delicious.

Hung, butchered and ready for the fridge/freezer

On the table

Job done, and it was time to enjoy a couple of days wandering around the bush.  GPS makes this leap of faith much easier and Pete and friends have done a great job opening up many of the tracks.

Our favourite walk was up/down Midway Creek.  The bush really was unspoiled and we spent quite some time roaring back at some stags that were on neighbouring ridges.   It was a very surreal experience.  Not to mention the near death experience of scrambling down the steepest track into the bottom of the creek!!!

There is no better place to experience the unique and very special flora and fauna of New Zealand.

Rare Blue Ducks ... one of five pair we saw on our wanderings

A cute little robin

Not snow!  but a really soft and pretty moss

Side story:  at the other block mentioned above, Maungataniwha, Pete and others have been finding fossilised bones and teeth.  Take a look at this interesting article about it:

NZ Herald Article

The teeth of a Mosasaur found by Pete in Maungataniwha