Learning the art of patience |

Hunting and Wildlife Magazine - Issue 225 - Winter 2024

Words By: Isabell Zitzelsberger

Nine eager and excited hunters, a stunning location, and two deer shot and processed sounds almost perfect, but as everyone knows, hunting isn’t that easy. Let me tell you the whole story…

We met at our house on Friday night and hooked up the boat with four of us travelling to Lake Tarawera, enjoying the last day of ‘low’ fuel prices. The other five hunters had arrived at Hot Water Beach earlier in the afternoon and even managed to go for a hunt. Nothing was shot though, just a few deer spooked and one wallaby seen. Well, this was just the warm-up.

When we arrived, everyone helped unpack our boat, which was heavily loaded with the club tent, a little tender with an engine, tents, chairs, you name it. The club tent was set up in no time, and we grouped around the table and planned the next day. It rained a bit, but luckily, not too bad, so the decision was made to get up early and head out into the bush.

We started the morning around 6:30am with a coffee and split up to drive across the lake to all the different hunting areas we’d mapped out earlier. Our group went on an extra mission. We travelled with our boat to a jetty further down the lake, where we tied it up, unpacked the tender and outboard and carried both across the hill for 1.2km. We arrived at Lake Rotomahana in drizzle and a submerged jetty but managed to pump up the tender and attach the engine. As soon as we were ready to leave, the rain stopped, and a rainbow appeared across the lake - this must be a sign!

Four people, a dog, four rifles and three backpacks in the little tender shot for approx. 45 minutes across the lake to hunt over there for the day. We dropped Jeremy off, who went on a solo mission, and the other three of us plus dog went a bit further down the lake.

With all the rain in the previous weeks, the area was super swampy. Little trees stuck out of the ground everywhere, and we had to manoeuvre around and try desperately to find a spot to park the tender - not an easy task. We also had to unpack the oars to navigate all the obstacles tactfully. But then we finally found an area to exit the boat, make it in on land and park up. Now, the next part of the mission was about to start…

We made our way across the extremely boggy area with mud as deep as my thigh (speaking from first-hand experience), which didn’t make it easy to find our way around. Despite this, it was a great area, just the place for deer to hang out – surely, we would get onto something here. After scrambling around for a few hours, we found a perfect spot to sit and watch - a . We climbed up the side of the valley, got ourselves comfortable, and decided that it would probably take less than a couple of hours to shoot a deer here. So, we sat there and watched…and sat and watched…what was the time? 11:30am. Okay, we have plenty of time.

I had forgotten to charge my phone, so there was nothing to entertain me. The sun was hiding too much behind the clouds for my liking, so every little ray of sunshine was appreciated. What is the time now? 11:45am. Okay, well, good things take time.

Looking over to Scotty, I could see he was focused. Sascha? Focused. I was a bit bored and a little hungry. Or was I just bored, which was why I was hungry? There's no harm in snacking on some almonds as it’s lunchtime anyway. One hour down, time goes so slowly if you stare into a clearing. Waiting. Hoping. Picturing a deer coming out of the scrub onto the clearing – any minute. 12:10pm… Wondering what Jeremy is up to? It's worth flicking a message to see how he is doing. “Good clearings, nothing moving,” he said. Oh well, at least he is moving, I thought. We are just sitting, practicing patience - it will pay off, I’m sure.

Then suddenly, a shot broke the silence; something was finally happening! A second shot followed. Scotty looked at us: “Sorry, guys.”

“What happened?”

"I am unsure if I got it; I can’t see it anymore. I’m so sorry, I should have said something.”

Sascha and I dropped down into the valley to look for the deer. Skip (the dog) was too excited to be a good help, so we climbed down the steep hill, hugging the bank, as Scotty guided us from the opposite side in our search to find a dead or wounded deer; nothing - no blood, fur or anything indicating a partial success. At least we got to move around a bit, which allowed us to warm up somewhat before returning to our viewing point. This time, all four of us huddled beside each other, reviewing what happened.

Was there a communication issue? Should he have waited and allowed the deer to come further down, possibly even onto the clearing? The adrenaline and excitement had kicked in; also, you never know – it could have been the only opportunity, so it was probably good that the shot was fired. No one is upset except for Scotty, who is now thinking about future behaviours and controlling his adrenaline levels. Surely, another deer will come along soon, although we might have spooked a few now with the shots and yelling directions in the search.

We have time, right? It’s 1:40pm. So, we keep sitting…and waiting. And a little whispering sometimes, not too often, though. We focused on the clearing, feeling the cold creeping up through the bones. A text message came through from Jeremy, who had got one, awesome! He is boning it out and filling his backpack and will make his way slowly to the agreed meeting point for pick up. At least there is some meat to be shared, but our enthusiasm is sparked even more now. They are here, one down; surely, we can get one too. Patience!

Around 3pm, Sascha shot off to pick up a very happy Jeremy while Scotty and I sat and waited - staring and focusing, checking, and doing it all over again. Sascha and Jeremy returned around 4pm, and we decided to continue sitting.

At 5:04pm, with sunset fast approaching (not that I was waiting), it began getting colder, and the dog fell asleep. It was prime time now; surely, a deer would be popping out of the scrub anytime. With the available light fading fast and visibility worsening, nothing was moving.

But then – there it was! A deer right in the middle of the clearing, no more than 50m away from us. Really? How did it get there, unseen with four pairs of eyes watching?

We sat there and watched it grazing, moving slowly before it turned broadside, presenting the perfect shot. First shot – miss! Lucky for us, it only walked off a few metres before looking in our direction, wondering what happened, before it started grazing again. The placement of the second shot was perfect, and the animal went straight down. Whoo-hoo! Suddenly, those six hours of sitting and waiting were worth it, and it didn’t seem so cold anymore.

We climbed back down into the valley and checked out the deer. It was too big to carry out whole, so with our head torches now on, we began breaking it down. Everyone got a piece to carry back through the mud, puddles, and bushes to the tender, which is now definitely overloaded. With the moon shining bright, we idled along at no more than two knots back across the lake - four rifles, three backpacks, one dog, two deer, and four pleased hunters. Back at the jetty, we realised that we must make a few trips, so we started packing up for two trips each over the hill.

Arriving back at camp around 9pm, it was too late for the promised BBQ, so we just had a feed, told our stories, and went to bed shattered. The following day started slowly, with a bit of a sleep-in, followed by coffee and a BBQ for breakfast - Patties and sausages. With the venison hanging in a tree, we started a butchering session. It was great as the more experienced hunters explained to the newer hunters where to cut, how to skin, and what pieces to take. With 18 hands on deck, it didn’t take us long.