NZ Hunter Adventures Season 12 Episode 5
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FunTranscript
00:00Hi, I'm Roger Talbot from Continuous Group Northland.
00:03Up here in the windless north, we're bringing you tonight's episode of NZ Hunter Adventures.
00:10New Zealand is an outdoor paradise full of endless towering mountains
00:14that are inhabited by a variety of impressive big game animals.
00:19Join us as we explore these wild places and challenge ourselves physically and mentally
00:24while harvesting delicious game meat for all to share in the spoils.
00:30Life is a mountain. Start climbing and don't look back.
00:35This is NZ Hunter Adventures.
00:40This week we're trucking to the depths of the South Island,
00:43bound for the scenic adventure town of Te Ano,
00:46our liftoff point for a week chasing the mighty Wapiti.
00:50Leading our charge is Roy Sloan, GM of the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation,
00:54and joining him are our keen guests, Britt Davies, founder of Wahine and Wapiti,
00:59and local adventurer, Hannah Ray.
01:02With the steady hands of Sir Richard Hayes at the controls for our early morning flight in,
01:07we were soon airborne and beelining for the heart of Fiordland National Park
01:11into its vast and formidable Wapiti country.
01:14And if you're wondering why there's so much white stuff sprinkled across the landscape,
01:18yep, this isn't our usual early autumn rut mission.
01:21It's the middle of winter and we're heading in after a decent dusting of snow.
01:25So, adventurous, brave, or just plain silly, I guess we're about to find out.
01:30Very cool and crisp flight in this morning to the head of Lake Thompson,
01:34the start of the Georgetown track.
01:36Hunting grounds for the next week or so, and yeah, girls, what do you reckon?
01:40Winter Wapiti hunt.
01:41Looks pretty chilly.
01:41Yep, pretty excited, pretty nervous coming in, but we're here now and it's pretty scary
01:46looking at all the snow, thinking, have I packed that extra puffer?
01:50Yeah, it's going to be fresh.
01:52We're prepared for that, but yeah, just excited to be back in Fiordland
01:56and having a wee break from civilisation and we holiday with good humans in the bush.
02:03Yep, looking forward to catching up on some sleep and the rough plan from here, Roy.
02:07I know you don't like plans, but what are you, you must have a bit of a plan.
02:10The plan is not the whole plan, Willie, so we'll just tick on up the track to the
02:14Wards of Ruggabur and we're only too much snows up there and hopefully the balls will
02:18be pushed down a little bit.
02:19Yep, and what are we after?
02:21We're after a decent animal actually, or a nice old animal, you know, and possibly
02:25this time of year they relax a little bit more, we might see a few around, so fingers crossed.
02:30I'm not panicking too much because these girls are doing the shooting, so the pressure's on them.
02:34I guess we'll nose you on for a few hours and then try and make a camp before that snow
02:38hits.
02:39Get your bed before six.
02:40The forecast looks okay, I think the warmest temperature is about two degrees, so.
02:51Pretty awesome to be back down on Fiordlands, rugged and remote rainforest.
02:55Been a few years now, and yeah, probably only the second ever winter Woppy trip I've done.
03:00It's early June, so yeah, temperatures are getting low, obviously got snow on the tops.
03:06Not really sure what we're going to encounter or what sort of conditions to expect.
03:10If we could find an old mature bull for one of the girls to shoot, that'd just be fantastic,
03:15but if not, it's just going to be a cool tikitua week of adventuring and trying to stay warm,
03:20so bring it on.
03:27Woppy hunting has always been pretty dominated by males, but what we've seen in the last few years
03:33is a lot more females getting involved actually hunting, and I guess, you know, I look at myself
03:38having daughters and living in that sort of world and understand that they're as capable
03:44as well as even more capable than a lot of men in the hills, and it's given that opportunity.
03:49And winter tripping in Fiordland is the ultimate challenge of endurance and keeping warm.
03:54You know, it's never about males and females, but it's actually about enabling girls to get
04:00involved more and giving them more courage and more confidence to be in here.
04:04Because it's a big, scary place.
04:12What am I still on?
04:16Having fun there, Britt?
04:17I love it!
04:25How's the trip going so far, Hannah?
04:27It's good.
04:30In what Roy calls crocodile country, I think.
04:35It is crocodile country.
04:38Graceful.
04:40Probably halfway.
04:42Fingers crossed.
04:44Range just starting to set in.
04:46Yep.
04:48How are you going?
04:50Good.
04:51It's nice that it's a bit flatter, but there's a bit of mud, so we'll navigate that.
04:56How are you, Hannah?
04:58Good.
04:58Finding my field and legs again.
05:01It always takes a wee bit.
05:02Getting there.
05:04What about me?
05:05What about me?
05:05I'm just trying to keep up with these girls.
05:07And Roy?
05:09Two titanium knees and he's...
05:15I am actually a graphic designer by trade, and I started helping out with the foundation
05:20a couple of years ago now, doing some comms and marketing for the first Wapiti weekend,
05:26and since then have come on board with the committee and now get rung up pretty much every day,
05:32asking to do one thing or another for Roy.
05:34So the first trip, I went with some of the chefs in worthwhile across to the Glaze Knot
05:39during the Wapiti weekend.
05:40It was my first exposure to this amazing place, and it's what got me hooked.
05:45And from there, I've been on two wahine and Wapiti trips, and this is now my fourth trip
05:50that we're about to embark on.
05:57Yeah, we found a good log crossing and time for a cup of tea or a cup of coffee for
06:02warm-up.
06:03We've been going for about four hours and a couple more to go this afternoon.
06:07So, quick break, and we'll be on our way.
06:10I'm quite cold, but this will sort me out.
06:14Barasta-style coffee.
06:18Winter hunting undoubtedly tests your mental fortitude.
06:22The freezing temperatures alone are a battle.
06:24And when you throw in persistent rain, sodden bush, and miles of energy-sapping swamp travel,
06:30well, let's just say it's seriously character-building.
06:35We're just pushing through a tight bit of bush at the moment, following Roy, our fearless leader.
06:46Yeah, haven't checked the forecast, but I'd say she's wet.
06:49She's pretty wet, eh?
06:51Pretty wet and miserable, but yeah, another hour or so, and hopefully we'll find somewhere to make camp.
06:57But tomorrow morning should be the one.
06:59Hopefully we'll get a look at our first Wapiti, but we'll just keep following that old boy up the front,
07:03Roy.
07:03Can't slow him down.
07:05I've been into Fiordland a handful of times before, but this is the very first trip where we'll be chasing
07:12Wapiti with a rifle.
07:14So I'm pretty excited about that, although it is middle of June, and as long as I can keep all
07:20my fingers and toes warm, we're going to have a really good week.
07:26Steadily tracking in the right direction, a few solid hours of Type 2 fun later saw us finally roll into
07:32our intended lakeside camp.
07:34As for the dry flat tent sites, well, clearly Fiordland didn't get that memo.
07:40Trying to clear a campsite, and yeah, a bit of work, but we think we've got two tent sites that'll
07:44do the trick.
07:49Current mood, Brit?
07:50Pretty keen to get inside, eh?
07:53How are you feeling Hannah?
07:56I'm ready for dinner.
08:01Well, two tents are up, girls have retired, off duty now they reckon.
08:06Roy's getting dinner on.
08:08We're soaked in the barn, how good?
08:15So girls, how'd your night go?
08:17Very nice and toast there last night, once we got all dried off and tucked into our sleeping bags.
08:23Three puffers and puffer pants.
08:25Are they a bit of a game changer?
08:26Game changer.
08:28Yep.
08:28But, man, mid-morning now sun's come out and-
08:31Beautiful.
08:31Roy's already spotted a Wapiti cow down the other end of the lake, which is pretty cool.
08:35And maybe pull camp and nosey up the edge of the lake to the head and hopefully a bit more
08:40country to glass.
08:41Did hear a few noises up that way this morning.
08:43We did, we actually heard a bull bugle a couple of times.
08:46Half-hearted bugle, which is crazy to hear in June.
08:50There is a fair bit of snow on the tops.
08:52We're hoping we'll help push them low.
08:54Big bull out on the lake flats.
08:58So we're just heading up to the top of the lake, but we've had a pretty leisurely morning.
09:02And I guess the good thing about it being this cold is there are zero sand flies, so that's been
09:07nice.
09:08We were toasty and warm last night, so we're all rejuvenated and ready for a big bull today.
09:22With a solid blanket of snow still smothering the upper alpine country and head basins, our focus was forced lower,
09:29onto the slips, clearings and lake edge margins below.
09:32Would a big bull slip out to soak up a touch of winter sun?
09:36Well, there was only one way to find out.
09:40Hopefully a camp spot round here somewhere.
09:42Oh, this looks pretty good, Roy.
09:44Yeah.
09:44We're picking a wapiti hunter who might have camped here before us.
09:49How good.
09:50Looks like camp two, girls.
09:53Alright, tense up and go for an evening hunt.
09:57Much drier and flatter than last night's camp.
10:00Yeah, it looked drier.
10:01Long way from the deer, too.
10:04And we've got about half an hour of daylight left, maybe an hour, so we'll shoot back, try and watch
10:09those flats in the prime country up the head of the lake.
10:12Bring on the big bulls.
10:19One, two, three, four out in that back corner over there.
10:24Yeah, all cows from what I can see.
10:28So we've just come up to the head of the lake in the spot that we want to be for
10:32last light this evening
10:35and starting to see the action that we were hoping to see.
10:40I've seen a handful of cows over the other side of the lake, so we're on the right spot.
10:48So cool being in here and watching wapiti, even if they are cows, but it would be awesome to see
10:54a big bull come here.
10:58What do you reckon, Roy?
11:00Yeah, it's getting dark enough, isn't it?
11:02So if you turn your back, those bulls will walk out.
11:04A few animals about, just got to find that bull tomorrow.
11:08Waiting game.
11:09We've got a good camp, so I guess we head back and have dinner and warm up.
11:14Bit sick, nice late night at seven o'clock or something like that.
11:17I love these winter trips catching up on sleep. Almost the best part.
11:21Even better if the temperature got over zero degrees.
11:25It had been a promising start, locating a handful of animals living in the surrounding country.
11:31And although we were yet to lay eyes on a bull, we slept easy as in this remote and vast
11:35neck of the woods.
11:36You just never know what could show up.
11:58I think Willy just scared all those ducks away.
12:02Just seeing if any of those animals that were here last night have come back out.
12:09There's a couple over that other side there.
12:12He's feeding on that point.
12:14Just on the water's edge there.
12:16Oh yeah.
12:18Cow and yearling.
12:19Yeah.
12:21It's a good start.
12:23It's a good start.
12:24Not quite as many as we saw last night, but...
12:29Roy reckons a few more might come out once the frost burns off.
12:34It's interesting watching these ones, like that cow's just picking amongst the frosted grass.
12:40They're feeding it right on the water's edge, even almost in the water.
12:44Have you seen them do that before, like feeding in the water?
12:48Not wapiti, but I have seen deer eating green slime out of a big tarn before.
12:56Really, like actually packing up the weed?
12:58During summertime.
13:00Yeah.
13:01Maybe they love it, or maybe they're just really hungry.
13:05It's a cup of fio.
13:07Yeah, a lot of bird life, eh?
13:09We've got native skor, fio, paradise duck, even a cup of cheeky mellows.
13:14It's gorgeous, so...
13:17Still time for that big bull to walk out.
13:19Yeah.
13:23Well, our duck and wapiti blind hasn't been as productive this morning, has it?
13:27No.
13:28Still pretty cold in here.
13:29We're just treating ourselves to hot chocolate to warm the bodies and the spirits.
13:33And now sort of the tricky one is making a plan what we do from here.
13:37We've got an easterly south-east wind for the next few days,
13:41which doesn't really support going up these big valleys behind us where we hope to go.
13:45So we're just waiting on an in-reach forecast and, yeah, make a plan.
13:50Obviously a lot of cows in this area of Rory, but are there bulls here too?
13:53Yeah, I mean, there's certainly bull population around.
13:57I mean, we heard one bugling the other day.
13:58But middle winter, animals don't move as much as they normally do
14:02and you've just got to spend the time and one could pop out.
14:06What we've decided for the rest of the morning is just to push a bit further up
14:09to get a better angle into both the valleys left and right.
14:12That way we're not really scenting all this prime lake edge, but we get a bit of glassy.
14:17So, see what we're seeing, make a plan from there.
14:19While our main assignment on this trip was to film a wapiti hunting expedition for the show,
14:24we also wanted to shine a light on the increasingly popular Wahine & Wapiti programme,
14:29a woman-led initiative designed to encourage more females from a diverse range of backgrounds
14:34into the often intimidating mountain environment of Fiordla National Park's Wapiti country.
14:39Fresh off their third Wahine & Wapiti expedition,
14:42founder Brit and guest-turned team leader Hannah have watched what began as a simple idea
14:47empowering Kiwi woman in the outdoors, grow into something far more meaningful and successful
14:52than they ever imagined.
14:54So the first year, that was 2024, we had close to 130 submissions,
14:59so it was quite difficult to narrow them down to just seven.
15:02We had people who were really avid hikers through to people who hadn't had much experience at all.
15:08I actually applied, but didn't get in, and then a couple of weeks before they were set to go off,
15:15I had an email from Brit saying,
15:17hey, we've had someone pull out, and do you want to take their spot?
15:21And yeah, it was a straightaway yes.
15:25One of the most self-healing things I've ever done in my entire life.
15:31Fast forwarding to 2025, we had five groups, they went up different valleys.
15:36What inspired you to sign up?
15:38I am a mum to three young girls, and I wanted to show them that mums can do anything.
15:46That's wonderful.
15:48We're a really outdoorsy family.
15:52Excited, but very nervous as well.
15:55Very happy to be here.
15:57Very thankful.
15:59Personally for our team, we managed to push quite high up into the Upper Glaze Nock.
16:04Being able to actually push through, and as a team, and work together with potentially people you've never met before,
16:11it just creates this amazing atmosphere and environment for growth and challenge and boundary pushing that you can't really get
16:19anywhere else.
16:21Roy asked me to be a guide to be leading one of the groups.
16:25We had the Henderson Burn as our area, walked up the Glaze Nock trap line for a couple of hours,
16:32veered off into the bush, and we didn't see another track for the next four days.
16:36And when we broke out, out of the bush line, everyone was just so stoked to be able to see
16:41these great big glacial formed head basins,
16:44and we did see a handful of animals up there too, which was really special.
16:48And it's just such a reminder that everything that we are moving through is truly magic,
16:53and to be able to appreciate all of what that experience means and is.
16:58I've heard it said before that no one ever comes back from Fiordland the same.
17:03From my own time spent in this raw and deeply spiritual place, I can only imagine the challenges faced,
17:09the personal growth earned, the camaraderie forged, and the emotional roller coaster these teams ride together.
17:15For a landscape that has traditionally seen very few female participants, to now hosting more than 30 wahine exploring and
17:23experiencing the beauty, wildlife and rugged terrain of Fiordland,
17:27in the space of a single week, is nothing short of remarkable.
17:31It's the kind of experience you can almost guarantee will be life changing for everyone involved.
17:39At the end, we had a dinner at the Te Ano Club, which allowed for everyone to come together and
17:46celebrate what they'd just achieved,
17:48and to talk about it and to mix and mingle with the other teams and other guides,
17:52and people got up and shared the highlights and lowlights, and that was really special.
17:57It got quite emotional, as you might expect, and you could see the real impact that this had made on
18:03some people's lives.
18:04Yeah.
18:33Woooooo
18:43Back on the hunt, we'd ventured further up valley
18:45to try to open up some fresh faces and head basins to glass.
18:48Yet one stubborn factor continued to limit our ambitions,
18:52and it didn't look like it was moving on any time soon.
18:55Yeah, I'm not sure what to do, Roy.
18:57There's just a lot more snow around than what I thought there'd be.
19:00Hard not to think what we've been doing.
19:02Hunting the lake edges is probably the best percentage chance.
19:05Walking around here, you certainly see there's deer in the bush.
19:08There's deer that's got to come out in the open, really.
19:10Just got to give it time.
19:12My vote would probably be do one more night in the morning here,
19:15watching the lake edges.
19:17We've got about three or four hours of dark, so short days.
19:22Cold days.
19:23Does that sound all right, girls?
19:25Back to camp, warm up, and get ready for another afternoon, evening hunt?
19:29Sounds like a good plan.
19:30There's just got to be a big ball in there.
19:33Where are the ones you've tied up to the branches and the trees?
19:36Next time I'll have to use chain, I'll use rope, and I'll probably chew through it.
19:40Escaped it.
19:40Yeah, up the game a little bit.
19:48Well, Roy, that prime evening time's drawing near, eh?
19:51What are you thinking?
19:53We'll take the girls down the bottom end of the lake,
19:55and the sun's flicked around there now,
19:57so hopefully all that frost is thawed.
20:00Who knows what will come out?
20:01Yep.
20:02It looks like I'm going to be positioned here on stack out for the bottom edge of the lake,
20:07stay in radio contact, and if either of us see something, we'll be joining up.
20:13We're only 10 minutes apart, so it won't take long, so...
20:15Yep.
20:16...probably tonight.
20:17Could be the night.
20:21We've just come back out to where we were sitting this morning.
20:24Temperature's probably exactly the same.
20:28What I'm particularly enjoying is just the peace and quiet.
20:32Is that when I'm not talking to you?
20:34Oh, it's still the only background, even when you're yabbering away.
20:38Like, just being out in Fioreland and being in Wapiti country really is such a treat.
20:45Even though my toes maybe wish they'd be somewhere else, the rest of me doesn't.
20:50It's a different style of hunting, being winter.
20:53We're not on the tops, and it's kind of nice not climbing those big hills,
20:56but it requires a lot more patience and waiting around,
20:59so it's tough on the toes, as you said, but it's good fun.
21:05I've just come down to my stakeout spot to watch this first clearing,
21:09and there's a bit of an opening on the face above it,
21:11and put the binos up, instantly spotted what looked to be, you know, the body of a Wapiti.
21:16Big grey body.
21:19Race back, got the spotter.
21:20I've now had a good look at it.
21:21It's a bull, which is, yeah, pretty awesome start to the evening.
21:24But, yeah, not a monster.
21:26He might be middle-aged, could be a cull, about eight or nine points.
21:30Big body.
21:31But, yeah, not quite sure of his age.
21:34We'll just keep glassing.
21:35I'll let the other guys know, and we'll see how the evening finishes.
21:42Copper girls, copper girls.
21:43I've got a bull, I've got a bull.
21:48Shall we run down, then?
21:51No, don't think he's a shooter.
21:53Had a good look at him.
21:54Big body, but antlers are, hmm, eight or nine points.
21:58Might be a cull, at best.
22:01Nice.
22:02Well, it's still, um, looking pretty sparse here.
22:06Do you reckon we should come meet you, or you come up here?
22:09Oh, probably hang ten.
22:11I'll just keep glassing, see if anything else comes out.
22:13We'll just stay in touch.
22:15Cool, sounds good.
22:16I'll go to the cull when you get coming.
22:25It's unreal just how crap your luck can change.
22:29For a while there, I was thinking, I'm not sure if we're going to spot a bull this trip.
22:32Now I've seen two bulls, all in the space of about 20 minutes.
22:36Looks like he's got eight strong points, or thereabouts.
22:39Nice creamy coat.
22:40Not sure if he's a really odd bull, but, yeah, certainly more impressive than the first bull.
22:46And something to, you know, study that footage and look a bit closer at tonight to make a call.
22:52You won't believe my luck.
22:54A second bull's now popped out on the same face.
22:56Do you guys want to come and have a look at him before he walks off?
23:01Absolutely.
23:01We'll come down now.
23:03See you soon.
23:04Good job, Willie.
23:06Thanks, Willie.
23:09We're going to head off down the lake back to where Willie's got his lookout, um, and have a look
23:15at these couple of bulls.
23:16And we'll leave Roy on stakeout up here at the head of the lake, who can keep an eye on
23:21the action up this way.
23:22No pressure.
23:31We could have just stayed at camp and had a little nap, instead of going all the way up there.
23:37The third bull just came out, across on the flats.
23:42Young one.
23:43You've got a big home spot there.
23:44Ah, it's been going off.
23:46Three bulls now.
23:47It's so good to actually see some bulls.
23:49Yeah.
23:50Yeah.
23:50Maybe all the cows are up that end and the bull's down here.
23:54Winter has a funny way of slowing everything down.
23:57The mountains, the bush, even the animals that call it home.
24:00Covering as much ground as possible is normally my go-to instinct,
24:03but perhaps for this hunt, the better move was restraint.
24:06To sit back, to glass with patience, and to let the country and its animals dictate the pace.
24:13Oh, that's cool.
24:18You were right, Anna.
24:22I've just got this bull on footage, putting his head under the water and grabbing out some weight to eat.
24:28Wow.
24:29That's so cool.
24:30Awesome to see that the Wapati are doing that too.
24:33I wonder if that's something that they normally do, or if they're low on feed.
24:39Is that what the most do as well?
24:41Well, yes, Mr. Ken Dustin tells me that they're native North American.
24:46That's a large part of their diet, eating underwater stuff.
24:49Not so much the ones here in Fieldland.
24:53But yes, it's not surprising to see the likes of Wapati and Red doing it.
24:58He's having a field day.
25:00He's feasting on lake weed.
25:09So the wise words of our modern day Mr. Wapati, a.k.a. Roy, had proven spot on.
25:14The bulls were in fact here.
25:16We just had to give them a bit of time to reveal themselves.
25:23Willie came through on the radio saying that he'd spotted a bull.
25:27I thought he was joking.
25:28It was like day three of the trip, pretty epic to finally, you know, see the real thing that we
25:34came here for.
25:35Yeah.
25:35To be honest, I had started to yawn a little bit while we were sitting there getting cold again.
25:39Yeah, it was pretty stoked.
25:44Came down here in our PJs before the boys.
25:47Had a glass and can't see anything on the faces, but this young bull's come back out from last night.
25:54So we're just watching him.
25:55And then a field came in and Roy managed to call it into the beach.
26:00So it was some added entertainment for the morning as well.
26:03It's quite a lot of action before breakfast.
26:17Got a bull, guys.
26:18Just up there.
26:21Where is it?
26:23Down to the right of where that one in the bush was last night.
26:28Oh, yeah, great spotting Brit.
26:30That's the strong eight from last night.
26:34Good shape, bit of length.
26:35Just needs some more points and grow out a bit.
26:39Young to middle age, so probably not a shooter, but awesome bull for the future.
26:46Oh, where's the big boy?
26:47That's what we need.
26:48We're all set.
26:49You're comfortable in the gun.
26:50Fingers crossed.
27:13So far, no sign of anything.
27:16But, yeah, keep waiting.
27:18I've had a few dry fires through the gun, which has been nice to get comfortable there.
27:25And just in case something comes out, ready to go.
27:29Yeah.
27:30And play the waiting game, eh?
27:31Mm-hmm.
27:33With the sun setting and the prime evening hunting time upon us, anticipation rippled through the crew.
27:39In the fading light, anything could emerge from the bush, and we were ready.
27:45So the girls have been on fire.
27:47They spotted a nice 10-point bull up the face.
27:50We thought he might be on the younger side.
27:52And then just as we're evaluating that, I think the Carl 9-pointer from last night has now popped out
27:58on the lake edge.
28:00I'm pretty sure he's at hold six, seven maybe, and he's a Carl 9-pointer, so the perfect first bull
28:08for Brett.
28:09So she's just getting lined up on her.
28:11We're hoping Roy can race back and make the final evaluation, but both Emo and I have had a good
28:17look.
28:18And it looks to have a bit of age and certainly nothing spectacular going on, so probably a great Carl
28:23bull.
28:28You just stay on him, Brett.
28:30Yeah.
28:31How are you feeling?
28:33Lots of deep breaths going on.
28:35You're pretty steady.
28:36Very steady.
28:38He's just cruising, so.
28:42I'll just check that range, Brett, so 450 yards.
28:47So when we're going to shoot, you'll just have to pop the safety forward,
28:51get your breathing sorted, and then just squeeze off that trigger in the middle of the shoulder.
28:55Yep.
28:56We'll pop the shot, okay?
28:58It looks like he's got that age in his body.
29:01He's kind of droopy.
29:03His head's quite low.
29:07Pretty stoked if it'd be my first bull.
29:12We reckon he's the Carl 9-pointer, probably six or seven.
29:16Carl, yeah.
29:18Come on, come have a look here if you want.
29:22What do you reckon, Rye?
29:25Because I can't go, Rye.
29:26You're happy, Rye?
29:27Oh.
29:29Okay, Brett.
29:34When you're ready, squeeze it off the middle of his shoulder, Brett.
29:37Okay.
29:37Steady your breathing.
29:41Not when he's walking.
29:48Squeeze it off.
29:56Squeeze it off.
30:00Drilled him.
30:01Great shot.
30:04He's down.
30:05He's down.
30:07He's down.
30:07He's down.
30:09Well done.
30:11Me.
30:13That was awesome.
30:15Perfect.
30:20Thanks for running.
30:22Oh, couldn't be better.
30:23Yeah.
30:24Fantastic.
30:25The girls spotted quite a nice 10 up on the face, and then, I don't know, someone said,
30:29oh, the bull's back out.
30:30I thought it was the younger six.
30:32Oh, yeah.
30:33And Emil said, well, that bull's, are you sure it's the same one?
30:35We had a lock.
30:36It's the coal nine from up on the face yesterday.
30:38Yeah.
30:39Yeah.
30:39Big old bull.
30:40Couldn't be better.
30:41Stoked.
30:42Well done.
30:43Well done, Brett.
30:45Just when you start to lose a bit of hope, I said to Hannah in the tent earlier, you know,
30:50I was kind of surrendered to the fact that nothing might happen, but I'm blown away.
30:55It's awesome.
30:56Stoked.
30:56I was almost going to say this might be my last winter trip, but I don't know now.
31:02I mean, what a spot to take it.
31:04Lake, hills, snow.
31:07Yeah.
31:07Oh, well.
31:08All day job for the morning.
31:10Retrieve him and then make our way back out.
31:12Yeah.
31:13Let's hope he doesn't sink into that mud.
31:20It's a bit sad this morning.
31:21What a camp we've had here the last few nights.
31:23We even heard kiwi again, male and female calling to each other last night.
31:27Weka, ruru.
31:29Very noisy this morning.
31:31It was kind of a weird snoring noise.
31:33I don't know what animal.
31:34I don't know what tent that was coming out of.
31:37And a cow barking quite close by as we went to bed last night too.
31:42And the camp got the job done.
31:44Two duck blinds here and your bull hasn't gone walkabout overnight, Britt.
31:49No.
31:49Still lying there on the shore.
31:50Yep.
31:51It's definitely down.
31:53And that's the plan.
31:55We're going to head down the edge of this lake, drop gear, whip over, check out the bull,
31:59take as much meat as we can and the antlers, and then drop out down the valley and make
32:05a plan from there.
32:06Yeah.
32:06So it's going to be a big, long day.
32:09I've had a few days of not walking too far, so I'm feeling ready.
32:13How are you feeling, Roy?
32:15Yeah, good.
32:16Good.
32:16Not tripping fielding.
32:17How could you feel any different?
32:22Back at the scene of night one in the rain.
32:24This is where we'll drop gear and go light over to Britt's bull to retrieve it and cross
32:29that river.
32:30It's going to be cold.
32:33This is our attempt to keep dry feet.
32:38Oh, that was a bit slippery.
32:41Yep, nice.
32:43Oh, God.
32:46Enthusiasm's great, Britt.
32:49Going good, girls.
32:57When you're hunting in the freezing cold temperatures of wintertime, a puffer jacket is usually the
33:02first item that gets thrown in your gear.
33:04And we're pretty lucky these days with most hunting brands producing a good variety of
33:07insulated jackets that offer high warmth to weight ratios and will keep you feeling toasty
33:12on the hill.
33:13You're going to have to decide between down or synthetic.
33:16And while down offers the best warmth for weight, when it gets wet, it can lose its loft
33:21and its insulating properties.
33:23Some down jackets will mitigate this by having a waterproof outer or adding hydrophobic treatment
33:28to the down, whereas a synthetic jacket will keep 80 to 95% of its performance even when
33:33it's wet and is typically harder wearing.
33:35Your own hunting scenarios will dictate what is best for you.
33:39We live in our lightweight synthetic jackets year-round and then carry a down jacket as a
33:44backup for the cold.
33:45And the season and predicted temperatures will influence the exact loft or fill power and
33:50weight of down in that second puffer jacket.
33:52So if you're still carrying endless layers of fleece around to stay warm on your hunts,
33:56I highly recommend you pop down to your local Hunting and Fishing New Zealand store to
34:00chat through what down or synthetic jackets could be best suited to your own adventures.
34:12It's been a long night thinking about this.
34:16It's been even close, huh?
34:29How are we going to get him out?
34:35What have you done, Brett?
34:38A bit of a mission, Brett dragging him out of the mud.
34:41Yeah, full team workout.
34:43But he's looking pretty now.
34:45What are your first impressions?
34:47To be honest, I'm still pretty speechless, eh?
34:50I'm still sort of soaking it in and a few waves of emotion.
34:54But yeah, it's still pretty surreal.
34:55And I think just having last night to dream about it nonstop and then come down this morning
35:00has kind of stretched it out and made it even more sort of surreal.
35:04So it's taking me a bit to actually come back to earth, I think.
35:09It's very cool to be a part of it and meeting you for the first time on the Wahine Wapare
35:13trip
35:14last year.
35:15And here we are.
35:17Yeah.
35:18Full circle.
35:19Taking a bull.
35:20Just stoked for you, Brett.
35:21And I think for me, getting over here, you know, he's even older than I first thought.
35:26So I'm just wrapped.
35:27If you just look at his antlers, you know, they don't really scream that he's super old.
35:31But once you look at all those key indicators, you know, his body, he's filled out.
35:35We saw he had the low belly, thick neck.
35:37And then his pedicles and coronets, they're thick.
35:39They're buried in his fur there.
35:41He's well over middle-aged.
35:43He should be a lot better than that if he was going to stay in here as a breeder.
35:46So, no, perfect one to take.
35:48For me and Emil, we're super stoked.
35:50And what do you think, Roy?
35:51You know, when you see him walking along the side of the lake, you're kind of thinking,
35:55that's the old enough, and every now and then you aren't going to be right.
35:59But most of the time, if you go through those steps that we keep preaching,
36:03you'll get most of them right, and that's all we can ask.
36:06And here we are.
36:07We've got a good old bull.
36:08The other thing to mention is that we had two other bulls on the face behind us
36:12that far superior antlers, great big points,
36:16would have been a better set antlers to carry home, but they're far too young.
36:19So the choices you make are pretty important to the future of the herd,
36:23and this is one of those things.
36:25All right, I think the real hard work's coming up,
36:27so let's start the botchery, take the head,
36:30and then start the all-day-long fight out through the bush with those antlers.
36:40Before I had anything to do with the Wapiti Foundation,
36:43I really didn't truly appreciate the scale of the work that they're doing here in Fiordland.
36:49You know, for the 20-plus years that they've been working on managing this herd
36:53and the ecosystem, the environment, and really brought a whole new level of appreciation.
37:00And I've since joined up to be a volunteer on the stoke trap lines
37:05and had my first go at that a few weeks ago, soaking wet.
37:09I've been through swamps, up to my waist, and just, yeah,
37:14still buzzing with the opportunity to have a day out in Fiordland.
37:18As Hannah pointed out, the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation undertakes a huge amount of work
37:23to care for the Wapiti area.
37:25Their latest project is the construction of their very own venison processing plant in Te Ano.
37:30If you're keen to get involved or support their work, be sure to check out their website.
37:35Happy days?
37:36Happy days!
37:38I think the hang will start to sit in soon, but it's alright.
37:41We'll get through.
37:43Unlike our usual Wapiti hunts, where we range across multiple catchments on the tops,
37:48sizing up animals and making the most of a 10-day ballot period,
37:51this trip required an entirely different mindset.
37:54The relentless cold, dampness and snow-covered surrounds
37:57meant it became less about covering ground and more about enduring the elements
38:02and capitalising on an opportunity when it presented itself.
38:05We didn't uncover a headline-making giant, but we did take the right ball,
38:10an animal old enough to suggest he wasn't contributing the kind of genetics you'd want shaping the herd.
38:15For Brit, it was the ideal first Wapiti.
38:18Earned the hard way, meaningful, and backed up with a freezer full of meat.
38:22Do you reckon this fruit will halt?
38:25I'm coming down backwards.
38:27It's a good thing I'm not afraid of heights.
38:31Oh, why did we come this way?
38:35Oh!
38:40Just a quick check-in. How's everyone feeling?
38:42Pretty good.
38:44I just survived that, so I'm stoked now.
38:47Yeah, found a good route so far, Roy.
38:49Yeah, I've never been down this way.
38:51That's good for the confidence levels.
38:53Three hours into the trek, and another two hours should see us make camp tonight.
38:57Yeah.
38:58No regrets of shooting that big book.
39:04It's so much more than just hunting.
39:06It's about where hunting and conservation join to protect a really special place.
39:12It's about coming together as a community, and it's really about having this unique species available to us,
39:20and protecting that, and upholding it in a way that helps both the environment and the species itself in a
39:28well-maintained way.
39:32Woohoo!
39:35You did it!
39:36You did it!
39:37Well done!
39:38Good effort!
39:40Yes!
39:42Cheers!
39:43Cheers!
39:44Mission accomplished!
39:48Masterchef Fjorden Stiles, tenderised backstrap from Britsville.
39:53Emilio, the Danish Masterchef, on the job.
39:57Watch and learn, Darius!
39:59Let's try it!
40:01Yeah!
40:03Oh!
40:05Oh, wow!
40:06Oh, wow!
40:08Pretty good!
40:08Yum!
40:18That rain's finally cleared off, and we've chatted to Southern Lakes and the inreach,
40:22and they're going to head in to pick us up and get your meat and antlers out to Civilization Brit.
40:27End of a great Winter Wapiti experience.
40:29Thanks so much, everyone.
40:30Well done, girls.
40:30Just a heck of a trip.
40:32Very memorable one.
40:33Yeah, it was pretty cool walking out there yesterday, and I had a few moments of, you
40:38know, how is this my life, and very grateful to have got my first bull in these circumstances,
40:43so yeah, thanks.
40:44Yeah, it's just been an awesome trip.
40:46Great company of good humans and a magical place you can fuel them.
40:50Thanks, Roy, for leading us around.
40:53It's just another trip of a lifetime for me.
40:55It's like it's the first trip every time we come in here.
40:57It's such a cool place, isn't it?
40:59We'll just aim for a slightly warmer trip next time, eh?
41:01Yeah, wouldn't be surprised if we get the first choice in the ballot this year.
41:20So today we're cooking the Wapiti Denver Leg, and this is Brit's Wapiti Bull.
41:25Perfect mix of tenderness and flavour.
41:29What have you got?
41:29Some beetroot here?
41:30Something nice and fresh?
41:32Yeah, it's a simple grated salad with some beautiful fresh summer raspberries, and that
41:36should pair really nice with the Wapiti, yeah.
41:38We're gonna season this early, salt and pepper, and then we'll preheat a nice heavy cast-iron
41:43pan.
41:44Nice bit of olive oil there.
41:47Put a little bit more oil on top now, and then flip her over.
41:54And I'd say, by feel and by time, we're probably pretty close to it being ready.
41:58So what I'm gonna do is move that into a cooler pan, and that's gonna rest.
42:03So while our meat's resting, we're gonna make the salad, and we're gonna take half the raspberries,
42:08and we're just gonna add in red wine vinegar, and then just kinda break them up, kinda make
42:12its own little dressing.
42:14Beetroot goes in, a little bit of tarragon, and it's as simple as that.
42:18Cool, so I reckon the resting is done.
42:20We cooked it for about five minutes, and rested for almost ten now.
42:25So the rest is super important.
42:26All of the hard work you've done in cooking right is undermined by unrested meat.
42:31When you slice it, if liquid comes out, it's not rested properly.
42:34Really happy with that cook.
42:36You know, you've got a nice sear on the outside, a gentle gradiation to a nice rare meat in the
42:41middle there.
42:42There we go.
42:43We'll finish that off with just a last little hit of salt, just for almost as much texture as flavour,
42:49in this avocado oil.
42:52Shame our wahine.
42:53Britt and Hannah couldn't be here to enjoy it with us.
42:55Yeah, the fruit's their labour, but yeah, it looks amazing.
42:59I just love that, like, crisp on the outside, but so tender.
43:03It's just lively with the fruit.
43:06The leg meat, when cooked right, is easily comparable to a loin, even a fillet sometimes,
43:12you know, the tenderloin.
43:14Mm-hm.
43:15And if I didn't know, I would totally think that that is a backstrap.
43:19You know?
43:19Mm.
43:19It's just, it's almost buttery.
43:23Cheers to Britt and Hannah for providing the goods.
43:26Yeah.
43:26Cheers, Britt and Hannah.
43:27Cheers.
43:29A massive thanks to our major partner, Continuous Group,
43:33our retail partner, Hunting and Fishing New Zealand,
43:35and the rest of the sponsor family who allow us to produce quality outdoor television.
43:43I would have loved seeing that mile with Gooses that was on the lake when we first got here.
43:48Gooses?
43:49Gooses.
43:50.
43:54Is that loud, Emil?
43:57.
43:57Call them geeks.
43:58.
43:59.
44:00Thanks for watching.
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