A REASON TO HUNT

Wintertime in rural New Zealand usually means rain and mud. Working in a busy landscaping crew, this is planting season. Digging holes, planting trees and transforming mounds of topsoil into beautiful lawns is good for the soul but if one isn’t careful, winters can be long, drawn-out affairs. I have found that the key to avoiding this is to escape

Some people do this with an overseas holiday to a part of the world that is hot and dry, but equally good is to launch the boat from a remote Far North beach with a tank full of live baits, or to collar the dogs, load them into the box and try to track down the owner of a large print or the deep rooting found on a ferny hillside.

The freedom that hunting provides – both mentally and physically – is one of the reasons I love to do it. To roam the hills, searching for signs of game with every sense tuned to the task at hand, is an incredibly uplifting experience, and as old as humankind itself. It is not only a way of escaping – in a physical sense – the relentlessness of a busy working life, but also