I seldom hunt the "Roar" period these days, preferring to be on the hill after things have quietened down and most Roar hunters have been and gone. It's just my preference. Either hunting alone or with a few good friends or family. I have a good friend, Roger, with whom I had not hunted for several years and when we last talked about hunting spots he mentioned a worthwhile area to hunt for freezer filling. He hunted there last year and reported good animal numbers. So, my son Kenny and I organised a trip with Roger for early May. Another good friend, Gary, said he would join us but later pulled out when he realised our fly in dates clashed with opening of Duck Shooting. Instead another old acquaintance, Nelson, whom I had not spoken to for over 20 years came along and it was a great old catch up. Apart from greying hair Nelson remains his effervescent self. He is a great cook and appointed himself Kitchen Kommandant. Both Roger and Nelson have farming, hunting, culling backgrounds and heaps of experience in the hills. The area we hunted this trip holds Red Deer, Goats, Pigs and some Chamois. We all took opportunities to reduce the resident Goat numbers. Roger and Nelson put in the larger effort here while Kenny and I tidied up some random individuals encountered. The final tally on Goats was 52.
We saw no Chamois at all, not even any sign. Pig sign was common and widely distributed but very little was fresh. The only Pig seen was a boar spotted asleep under tussocks by Nelson. He was stalking in when somewhere Roger opened up a fusilade on Goats. The pig jumped up, immediately worked out where the disturbance was and took off for the nearest bush cover. Nelson said his jaw was pretty good from what he saw fleetingly.
Deer were abundant, Actually, overabundant. I believe they need thinning here. Increased Deer numbers are apparent in some back country areas here currently. A big reduction in aerial game recovery ( partly Covid related ) has allowed some Deer to show their true reproductive ability. This area is not noted for trophy stag and tends to produce poor antlers. We had no plans to shoot selectively. We were here to hunt for meat.
Between four of us we shot 11 Deer in 8 days. While not having large bodies as found in some herds, and being the post-rut period, we were pleasantly surprised to find good body condition on most Deer. Most carried some body fat, even the two bigger stags Kenny and I shot. Only one hind Nelson shot was in poor condition but was a very old animal, clearly in decline.
The other surprise was to hear in the surrounding bush and gullies a number of stags were still roaring heartily, mainly from evening to early morning but a couple of more enthusiastic stags were sending the odd roar during daylight hours too. The main Roar period is commonly regarded as early to mid April with noticeable slowing of activity after that period. Judging by the quantities of cast antlers ( sheds ) we found ( all rubbish quality ) we guessed the stag population might be quite high here. I don't know if that fact alone might prompt late roaring but I surmised it could be related to high stag numbers and is probably done by secondary stags. The dominant stags get the cycling hinds in the early Roar while keeping lesser stags at bay. Then I think the big boys drift away, allowing lesser stags in, hopeful of mating with late cycling hinds. One morning, high on the scree slopes above camp and well above any bush, a stag roared as he followed his band of hinds.
Only one wet day was forecast for our time there but this never arrived giving us a clean sweep of fine weather for the whole trip. Most of the time temps were too warm for the time of year and we were pulling off layers to avoid overheating. A couple of nights I slept under rather than inside my sleeping bag. On the colder nights we ate dinner beside the little firebox inside the main tent. We hung all our meat in dry shade with a steady breeze and it set very well without spoilage. Off course blowflies and wasps were ever present but we largely managed to keep them from doing any harm.
Roger borrowed a proper stand up headroom tent for this trip, with it's own firebox. The tent is made in NZ and I must say was both comfortable and convenient. It's reminiscent of tents I have used in Canadian hunting camps except for the smaller scale. It all packs down to a reasonably compact size and easily fitted into the helicopter.
One disadvantage of this particular spot is lack of a water supply. We flew in with 50 litres of water which kept us going a couple of days. There is a small stream a few hundred yards downhill involving a steep descent and climb to refill water containers. Luckily, Nelson found a small water seep probably less than 200 yds from camp and was able to dig out a small reservoir to collect water and he managed to get about 40 litres daily. Once the sediment settled in our containers it was good, potable water.
For all of us it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip with ample and rewarding hunting. I really enjoy those days on the hill with old mates and my hunting son, the joking and laughter and all pitching in to do their share. It makes for good times and fond memories.

I've posted some pics below with captions where appropriate.

After camp setup completed. From left: Nelson, Roger, Kenny.


Camp is the little white square at about 3 o'clock.
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Our frontal hunting area. Pacific Ocean in background. Might just in pic top see where the mighty Clarence River empties into the sea.
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Our team. Left to right: Nelson ( Brno .260 Rem ), Kenny ( Blaser .270W ), Roger ( Tikka .260 Rem )


Our team with me this time ( Tikka .300 WM )


Kenny got first runs on the board with a hind and fawn ( actually thought it was a yearling. Evening shot, steep downhill ). About 180 yds shot. The fawn ran and dropped into a gully. I saw the Hind drop further away. Got too dark to find them so we returned early next morning. Didn't find the Hind but she fell into a very steep, thick area of loose rocks. I didn't risk going in there. Found the fawn in the pic and recovered the meat.


Kenny shoots very well. This stag shot at 292 yds resting on his pack on his knees. Broadside shot central shoulder, Hornady SST 130 gn. Double lunged this stag dropped dead on the spot ! Really surprised us, never had a shoulder shot DRT before. Bullet remains recovered inside opposite shoulder. The antlers are rubbish for a stag of this age.


Kenny's eyesight beats my old eyes hands down. Spotted this hind in shade at 222 yds, shot resting on his pack on his knees. First shot disabled her, second shot finished her.


Well, the old man can still shoot OK, most days at least. Lost a deer we were pursuing but came across a small group of four moving steadily uphill. Hustled to close in and they popped into view at 400 yds plus. They were in shade and I had sun in my eyes, dust on the scope lens. Thought this was a big Hind. Holding on shoulder over my pack I shot at 407 yds. Felt the rifle slip on the pack just as the shot went. Deer dropped immediately and I lost sight of it, Kenny, higher, said it tumbled off the hill. Walked up and found it on the scree at base of some small bluffs. The shot was actually an instant kill neck shot. In falling the stag smacked his face hard ( you can see the broken jaw ) and had a big, bloody bruise on his thigh. The antler beam was broken by fighting, not the fall.
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Next day, shoulder shot this Hind, 238 yds.


Walking up to recover the Hind above, saw a blur moving downhill ahead of me. I knew instantly it was a deer. I was too slow getting sights onto it going through a small opening but then it stopped behind small Totara trees about 60 yds away. All I could see was spikes and ears. Estimating the jaw / neck junction I held and squeezed, shooting through the Totara foliage. Deer was DRT.


Beautiful morning to be on the hill.


The main faces above camp. Spotted Deer through here every day.


Plenty of Deer and Goat traffic in these hills.


The first time we cranked up the firebox and had dinner inside the tent.


Bloody feral cat broke into the meat safe one night and ate some meat. When it returned Nelson put it down.


Kenny checking all is well inside the meat safe. Do this at night or blowflies and wasps enter.


Patched up meatsafe after feral cat damage.


Roger likes the Kuiu meat bags. Might try these too.


Camp activity.


Nelson, Kitchen Kommandant. Turned out fantastic meals on his camp stove. We ate very well.


Maybe a couple of general interest pics.




Before this land returned to the public estate some years ago it was part of a high country station. Some old fences remain. As the pics shows humans are not the only hazards facing the deer.


Got some nice scenic pics at the right moment. First is early sunrise on the faces above camp, looking almost bathed in blood. Next is suspended fog that rolled in off the sea late afternoon and hung around into the night. We were above it. Last is early morning sunrise on high cloud. I though the colouration was spectacular.






Kenny with the meat we took home.


Our ride out arrives. Great helicopter, very smooth, roomy, quiet and comfortable


Roger's great trophy Red Stag from Molesworth. I'm applying for a Roar block there next year. I know I said I don't hunt these days during the Roar but most Molesworth blocks are ballot and exclusive so, fingers crossed.


Hope you all enjoy the report.
Cheers to all.

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Great report and pictures! Thanks so much for posting, nothing like getting out and spending time with mates on the hill. Well done!

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Lovely report and photos. Must have been great.

Thanks for sharing, great pics and looks like a great time

Awesome trip! Some of that country can be pretty harsh to travel around. harsher than it looks. How was your area?

Thankyou guys. Glad you enjoyed the report.

Hi Shanks,
Yes, probably gnarlier country than the photos depict. It's a dry landscape and underfoot, even in vegetated spots, crumbly soil and loose stones and rocks abound. It's quite easy to roll a foot while navigating until you adjust how you get around. Carrying a load of meat back to camp it's best not to hurry along. I took several tumbles but luckily, landed well. There's also reasonable amounts of Matagouri to push around, through and under to add to the overall fun.
Kenny and I hunted Goats with Roger one morning. I shot 1 Goat up high and dropped it then shot a "twofer" and saw both Goats go down. Roger's keener eyes could see that at least one of the Goats was still alive so Kenny and I borrowed his Tikka .223 and went uphill to finish it off. We got onto the opening higher than planned but had a good downhill view and saw that one Goat was barely alive while the other was immobile but very much alive. Kenny neatly despatched both. Working our way down to them was hazardous. Unbeknownst to Kenny, above me, he dislodged a large rock that rocketed down, smacking me painfully on the elbow. A few moments later he dislodged another rock but shouted a warning, enabling me to sidestep in time. I was going to walk under a huge boulder, about car size, until I realised it was barely sitting on the slope. I backed up, walking behind instead and giving it a wide berth. Had it let go at the wrong moment it would have been lights out very quickly.
It's not impossible to get around in that landscape but it just pays to be aware of where you are, have good situational attention and stop and consider first if unsure of what's in front of you. You are responsible for your own safety on the hill.

Yep Guys I know that hunt that area much prefer the steeper, but solid rock of the west coast.

A good read and a great report of your trip.

Nice report. Looks like a great trip.

Loved the report mate. Thanks.