My Happy Place - Hunting the Tararuas

This being my first blog post I want to give the reader a sense of who I am, not just as a runner, but an insight into something else that I am passionate about....

Hunting, which, coincidentally is the perfect form of x-training for Ultra Marathon running. Please enjoy the writeup from my latest mission in the Tararua's...

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Picture of my go to quick energy fix - overlooking the East Coast from the Tararua Range

I use the bush as an escape. Some people go and have a lie down on the beach to relax, I go to the bush to find solitude. A place to refresh the mind and in turn refresh the body.

My past trip to the Tararuas was no different. The past three weeks have looked like this...

Week 1 - 200km week of running with a focus on achieving max vertical gains

Week 2 - 200km week including SK Valleys (length of the Tararuas) 70km FKT* mission

Week 3 - 170km week including Tip Track (hill) marathon FKT (2600m vert)

*FKT - Fastest Known Time

It's fair to say my body is fatigued and my mind wants a break so I make a plan for a hunt up the Tararuas. These hunting plans are usually pretty loose and are based around a x-training mission of walk/jogging around the hills with a pack and rifle.

Day 1.

At 1pm I leave the van at Putara Rd end with a plan to get to Dundas Hut 🏠 and depending on the time, continue on to Arete so I can hunt an awesome area first thing the following day.

The weather is as forecast, with standard Tararua range winds but blue skies and balmy temperatures.

I make good progress walk jogging the ridge lines and by 6.30pm I'm overlooking Dundas hut, placed out of the winds a couple 100m off the main ridge. By this stage I've started glassing and have made the decision that I'll carry on to Arete hut.

However, as I scan a gut down in the valley, my heart skips a beat as I pick out the first animal of my trip, grazing a dusty side creek.

It's a hind, and I have no qualms in saying that I hunt primarily to provide a lean source of protein for the dinner table. That hind will do just fine. That being said, I still had to position myself for a shot. This was made very difficult by the alpine nature of the terrain and lack of places to hide behind as I made my way down through shitty leatherwood scrub, trying to duck behind small knolls so the deer wouldn't become aware of my presence. Getting close was difficult and the deer kept looking up, it was weary. I knew I didn't have much time before it's suspicion would turn to caution and it would take off. So at approx 250m I found a rest and lined it up.

The shot took milliseconds, but the proceeding recovery took near on three hours. The deer dropped, but it was the bush bashing through monkey scrub, locating the deer (hidden behind/under a bit of scrub), then the butchery and bush bashing back to the ridge that led to my revised plan of staying at Dundas hut, stumbling through the door at 10pm.

Food, tea and sleep and I was happy.

Day 2

A fairly late start had me leaving the hut at 7am, which was no worries as in standard Tararua fashion the clag had rolled in and the wind had picked up. I walked around ridge lines and glassed when sporadic the clearings of the mist allowed me. I spotted another hind out past Arete hut towards Bannister, but I had my meat for the freezer and was keen to find a stag.

The day passed and in my head I was making plans for a massive night walk back to the van to get in some solid training as I knew the next day would likely be unhuntable due to more cloudy conditions.

As I wandered along the ridge back towards Dundas I spotted a group of 4 deer with at least one stag.

This stalk in, proved to be a lot easier as I had the ridge to conceal myself while I snuck in for a shot.

There were no issues or signs of the deer becoming aware. With the wind blowing into my face I lined up at 150m with a good rest and that was deer number two.

The stag was an interesting one, 10 points but smallish timber and tines poking all over the show (See pic of bottom tine). Not a bad one to take out of the gene pool, plus there was a younger stag with the two other hinds.

So the hard part... I butchered the stag, which had a lot more meat then the hind, and want not waste not, I had a good carry getting back to Dundas hut.

There would be no walking out tonight as getting back to the hut it was 9pm so time for a sleep.

Day 3

All I had to do was get back to the van. It only took 5 hours to walk jog in so how hard could it be. My only nervousness came from a time constraint where I had to be back in Wellington for a wedding at 6pm. Ideally I would give myself 3 hours for the drive and a quick shower so out of necessity 3pm became my ETA.

The wind had picked up to gale force overnight, and a misty sideways rain had started, which would become really helpful in blurring my vision. I loaded everything into my pack, and could barely lift it off the ground (I later weighed it in at 44kg). The stag head would not be returning with me so I hid it behind a rock for a future less successful trip.

Walking back required complete focus in foot placement, balance and mental fortitude. The wind tried to blow me off the ridge, while the rain tried to blind me and my pack tried to bring my body to the ground and crush my spirit.

After a couple hours my muscles were spasming with each highpoint I traversed along the ridge line.

The thoughts running through my mind were along the lines of "no-one else is doing this, you will crush people with this training" with other thoughts of "why the hell am I doing this, what an idiot" and "shit I'll be cutting it tight, I told Michelle I wouldn't be late, I'm in the shit here".

Picture of me wet, windblown and shattered 😂

I just walked and walked, sometimes I hit the wall and sometimes I felt I was making progress. But everything grew sore. I adjusted the straps on my pack countless times to take the load off my shoulders or put the load on my shoulders if my glutes were burning. It became the question of what is hurting least... Then I arrived at the Van, eight hours later, cutting it fine, but making it all the same.

I tell ya, taking your pack off for good, physically you're floating and mentally you're euphoric.

I made it. So now I look to my ultramarathon coming up...

Will 100km feel easy, no it won't. Will it feel easier now, no it won't. Have I hurt before, yes I have so bring it on 🤙