Dave’s Hunt Part 1

Dave’s Hunt Part 1

Dave was waiting for me at the Lodge.

I was 45 minutes late – I’d missed my alarm – and knew my guide wouldn’t mind the delay, but I was frustrated to miss one of my favourite parts of the day: the cool stillness of the Poronui landscape at dawn. The hunting would be good for hours more, I knew, but that gentle anticipation of the first catch of light on the rolling hills would be gone until the next day.

It was my second visit to the Lodge, and so far, it had been a busy one. Over the last couple of days, I tagged along with Jon and Kayla from California, guided by Mark, towards a trophy Red, to capture their story. I’d been speaking to the kitchen team and countless people working behind the scenes to make Poronui happen. Each night, the dinner table was full to the brim with hunters and anglers. The first pheasant shoot of the season also brought in more visitors to the Estate, making the Lodge a hive of activity.

The kitchen of the Lodge was humming, and Darrin, my guide, was waiting patiently with his coffee, checking over the weather forecast. I apologised for being late, knowing that the deer love the early hours and will be that much closer to hunkering down for the day. Darrin was relaxed; he has the patience that a deer hunter needs, used to waiting hours for the right circumstances to line up. So after I washed down some fresh coffee and granola, we jumped into his four-wheeler and headed down Poronui’s ‘main highway’ in search of venison.

Like so many Kiwis, Darrin grew up in the town of Te Puke in the Bay of Plenty, hunting with his dad and uncles from an early age. Deer and pigs came first, then he got his own pig dogs, and helped cull invasive possums in the Te Ureweras in his 20s. About a decade ago, he came to Poronui Estate, managing the fences for the beef and sheep, adding in guide work over summers when the deer are going strong.

We were aiming for the south-east, where the Estate borders the Kaimanawa Ranges. Sika appear in strong numbers in the Ranges, and the brave ones venture out from the thick native bush to fatten up on Poronui grass before the winter sets in. Darrin said a few have been spotted coming over, so that corner would be our best shot.

It was a grey, drizzling day as we wound our way around the eastern end of the Estate, the Kaimanawas rising in the background in soft grey layers.

Darrin parked the canam, and we stepped out with binoculars, a spotting scope, and Darrin’s Remington 7mm. We began our stalk, on the lookout for an eight-point Sika.

We had a challenge ahead of us. The rain was drifting in and out, and the wind swirled around the hills, carrying the sound of Fallow grunting and the Reds bellowing from the far corners of the Estate. Sika are notoriously elusive, and in these conditions, they could just as easily be out feeding, or moving under low ferns, hunkering down and trying to stay dry. But the deer don’t come to you – you have to meet them on their territory. So the stalk began.

We climbed over the first crest, low to the ground, into a modest draw on the leeward side of the hill, spotting a pair of young Sika.

We glassed them for a few minutes while they browsed and grazed, one ear always turned to the wind. It’s rare to get a chance like this to simply watch the deer – especially one as elusive as the Sika, with its movements that seem somehow both relaxed and extremely alert. When a sliver of sun broke through the clouds, the light caught their chestnut coats with the distinct black stripe down the spine, their creamy bellies low to the ground. Then the sun would fade and they’d disappear into the background.

But the conditions were against us. The changeable wind blew up our backs and into the draw; the Sika caught a scent of us and they were gone before we pulled the trigger.

Dave Taylor is a writer based in the Waikato.