Hunting and Wildlife Magazine - Issue 228 - Autumn 2025
Words By: Tim Taylor
The Mokau River has headwaters in the Pureoras and terminates on the West Coast. Most people know it as a stop when heading on a road trip to New Plymouth, where you can have your first black sand experience. In our case, we’re interested in the hunting opportunities; specifically goats.
It had been down as a club hunt for several months, but we’d received no interest. Relatively last minute, BOP Branch President, Reuben Hayward and I thought we’d just go anyway. The plan was to use the canoes and gain some tails for the National Goat Competition. I build these canoes, so it was also an opportunity to test them out and get some cool photos.
Now, if you’ve ever been on a river trip, the first thing you’ll know is that setting up a shuttle is the most important thing, as there’s no point getting to the end and wondering how you’ll get back to your car. This trip required a decent shuttle (around 1 hour), and as we were using a canoe, each vehicle required a trailer. Unlike the Whanganui River trip, the nice thing about the Mokau is that you can leave home on a Saturday morning and be home on Sunday evening. The only real consideration is tides, because the lower part of the river is tidal, making life a whole lot easier if you’re not fighting it.
Step 1: Drive from Tauranga to Mokau Valley Road (around 4 hours) and park a vehicle at the boat ramp.
Step 2: Everyone piles into the second vehicle and drives to the start of the river trip on Paraheka Road (1 hour).
Step 3: Paddle the river (2 half days)
Step 4: Everyone piles into vehicle number one and retrieves vehicle number two before heading home.
We couldn’t have asked for better conditions—it was warm and the river was running at a medium flow. Reuben, Ruby, and Jeremiah piled into their canoe, looking very organised, while I started figuring out how to run my first river trip with my dog Cooper… He was so excited he was a liability! It didn’t take long for the farmland to give way to regenerating Manuka country, and on cue, we started seeing goats. After a bit of mucking around getting into shooting position, Reuben opened on them. I’d spied some further up the hill, so I beached and raced up, dropping my first two at 150m and then watched the remaining 30-odd goats run into the bush. It was apparent we were in for a good trip.
The day settled into a steady game of leapfrog. One of us would shoot a goat or two, and while we were retrieving tails, the others would continue downriver and find more. Around every bend, we met a new mob, so it was a thoroughly enjoyable day. A goal of the trip was to get Ruby and Jeramiah in amongst the action, and because they were unable to support the rifle in the canoe, we needed to stop so they could stalk from shore. Ruby even had her bow with her, and she put on some very professional-looking stalks, trying to secure her first goat. A couple were spoilt by geese, but she soon found her mark. Congratulations, Ruby; you’re undoubtedly on your way to becoming a very proficient hunter.
As the day drew to an end, we started searching for a camping spot. The surrounding country is exceptionally wet, almost rainforest-like, and the geography appears to be mostly mudstone, so finding a dry spot to camp is quite difficult. There’s also a lack of clean drinking water, so make sure you bring your own, as the main river is the colour of milo due to the silt. We found a nice bench on the riverbank, and after dragging canoes up several metres, we pitched a fly in the bush. While Reuben and I enjoyed a well-earned beverage, Ruby and Jeremiah set to work building a cosy campfire, and with full bellies, it wasn’t long before the eyelids started drooping—a great day.
There was some light rain overnight, and the morning dawned overcast. It was cooler, and the odd spot of rain kept us paddling quickly. There appeared to be fewer goats, and those we did see were cagey. Interestingly, it was often the second canoe that got a shot because the first canoe had disturbed them, and as they moved off, you could see where they were. We soon encountered a few pig hunters in a jetboat, who confirmed that this section of the river was hunted a lot more.
Getting lower into the river catchment, the valley started opening up and with it came the wind. It wasn’t unusual for a gust to push you all the way across the river, which was rather frustrating when trying to line up a goat. We stopped briefly to stretch our legs and walked up to a historic site where bricks were once manufactured. This whole river was once a hive of industry, specifically for timber and coal, but this site was the only reminder of that era. Everything else had been swallowed up by the bush.
After a few uneventful hours, we were relieved to see the road bridge come into view. The wind had been challenging, so we were all pretty tired. The final challenge was getting the canoes up to the car. Earlier, I mentioned that we’d parked at the boat ramp. This is a bit of a misnomer because this ramp consists of a muddy incline with around 10m of vertical drop. Apparently, the locals use their truck winches to haul up their boats!
We drove to the top of the shuttle to retrieve Reuben's truck and began the drive home. As mentioned at the start of this story, it’s an easy weekend trip from Tauranga. We left home at 7.00am Saturday and were back by 5.00pm Sunday. This made a refreshing change from the usual; arriving home in the dark, then heading off to work on Monday, totally exhausted. We’d shot around 30 goats and had seen 150 odd throughout the trip, so it was a great weekend.
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