DEER-STALKING IN NELSON, NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XIII, Issue IX, 1 September 1894, Page 208

DEER-STALKING IN NELSON, NEW ZEALAND.

The country around, after leaving the town by the Waimea plain, which is subdivided and cultivated like English farms, is for the most part backed by ferny hills and gullies which offer magnificent feed and cover for game ; these hills again are backed by wooded ranges which extend upwards and backwards into dense bush and forest, and culminate in the high snow capped peaks which addsomuchtothe grandeur and picturesqueness of New Zealand scenery. deer shooting. Excellent deer-shooting is to be had in the immediate vicinity of the town, both red and fallow deer are numerous. Their progenitors wt re imported by large hearted colonists and liberated on the hills close to Nelson about 1858, and were protected till about 1884 when the Acclimatisation Society for the first time opened the season. At present only red deer stags and fallow deer bucks are allowed to be shot, the binds and does are still protected ; the fee for a shooting license is £l. The open season for deer-shooting in the Nelson district (it differs, why I cannot say, in different parts of the colony) is from the middle of February to the end of March ; during this period the stags are in splendid condition, full grown ones scaling from 250 to 3501b5. Towards the end of March the stags commence to rut. Such country as that around Nelson is eminently adapted for deer, the low ferny and scrubby hills in front and the innumerable forest clearings sown with English grasses give abundance of feed ; while the deep wooded gullies and forest clad mountains afford a sanctuary and a protection which no device of man can well destroy. It is scarcely to be wondered at that the deer have increased and thrived so well, although at times the hinds are sadly poached when they come forward with their young in the early spring to get the better feed about the clearings and cultivations. There are ‘ Animal Protection Acts ’ in force in New Zealand, passed with a view of protecting native or imported game, but the Acts are looked upon with dislike by a large section of the public as savouring of the English game-laws, and are not suited to a new country where equality is the cry, and so the laws are often not very strictly enforced for fear, perhaps, there may arise an outcry and that the whole fabric may be swept away. A great deal of the high wooded country around Nelson on which the deer roam is still Crown land, being mountainous and forest country, too rugged and too poor for cultivation, and over this country, of course, any one can sport. Although excellent deershooting can be obtained, it must be understood it can only be had by right down hard work ; the very nature of the hills, mountain sides and steep gullies which the deer frequent makes it a sine qua non that the deer-stalker to be successful must be a good walker, must be patient and a good shot, and on account of the wide unlimited range of country over which the deer roam he must be prepared for disappointment, as deer are not found in every nook, and when once disturbed there is nothing to prevent their escape into the forest, into which it would be useless for the sportsman to follow. Towards the end of March the finest stags begin to come forward out of the back bush towards the lower grounds in pursuit of the hinds, and better sport and better heads are therefore more frequently obtained at the end of the season than at its commencement. The stags commence to roar about March 20th, and often towards the close of the season, when waiting for dawn, high up on some ‘ coign of vantage ’ one can hear their bell-toned yet guttural roar in the still, dark wooded valleys beneath—this guides the sportsman to his quarry, and many a noble stag has been shot, who, but for this habit, would have been still roaming the hills. I know of nothing more delightful than a week or more on the hills around Nelson after deer in the month of Maich. We start from Nelson for the Wairoa Gorge, distant some sixteen miles, taking with us tent, pack saddle, rifles, blankets, and ‘ tucker ’ for a week. We drive as far as the wheel-road goes, say about sixteen miles, then take ont the horse, put the pack-saddle on him, pack him with our kit, and lead him up the valley to our intended camping-ground. On arrival, pitch the tent, arrange the stalk for the morning, and turn into our blankets. At 3A M. turn out, boil the billy, have a snack, and start for the hills. After about an hour and a half of silent and steady climbing in the dark, we reach the summit of the hill we agreed upon the night before. It is not yet day-light, but dawn is breaking, so we sit down and silently wait. High up on this vantage-ground we sit, with the dark wooded valleys before and beneath us, and the snow-capped peaks lying white and cold in the starlight above and behind us, waiting for dawn—

‘ When the starry charm of the night is broken And the day yet lives as a child unborn.’

Gradually it lightens in the east, the stars one by one begin to fade and disappear, and a grey light creeps across the hills. As daylight advances, we raise ourselves, and eagerly scan with our glasses the hillsides and valleys below and around us ; nothing is visible, and the chill of disappointment is felt; presently, however, on the opposite side of the valley several hinds and calves are seen browsing oil the tutu* and koromiko.* We watch them, but to our disappointment no stag is seen with them—but look ! a magnificent beast is emerging from the scrub, which has hitherto hidden him. It is now broad day, many of the highest peaks are already tipped with golden sunlight, and we all

know that in a very abort while the deer will seek the bush, and our chance will be gone ; so we at once plan our approach, we look how the wind is, as to go down wind would be fatal. The wind, unfortunately, is against us, we have to make a dHour of nearly a mile, then the stalking commences. The deer, having fed through the night, are always on the alert at dawn, so great caution has to be used. We creep and crawl on, and get within 200 yards. The hinds are visible, but the stag is again browsing beneath a busby tutu and a fair shot cannot be obtained. Whilst peering over the fern one of the binds sees ns; she barks, and off the hinds go, down the hill like the wind, heading towards the bush—but between them and their retreat one of our rifles is fortunately posted—a rush is heard, a crashing of branches (noises familiar to the deer stalker), and ont dashes the stag in full pursuit of his vanishing harem. A shot is fired, but with no result, by our man behind at the fast receding beast, still half hidden by, and whose antlers at times are only visible above, the scrub as he crashes through it—the dogs are loosed and the chase commences—the stag has yet to run the gauntlet of our remaining rifle. We see the hinds sweep past, a hundred yards off the clump of scrub we know contains our ride—we know the stag will follow right in the track of the hinds, by this time he bears the dogs, and his speed down hill is. tremendous—puff! we see the white smoke burst from the clump of manuka, the stag leaps in the air and falls headlong, carried by his own impetus fully twenty yards, crash, stone dead into the scrub below. * Capital shot,’ we exclaim, as we hurry forward ; the dogs are already mauling him, we drag them off and behold a stag, with a splendid head of ten points, weighing over 300 pounds lies dead at our feet. We bleed and disembowel the beast, drag a long bag over the carcase (always carried for this purpose and to keep the flies off), sling our rifles on our shoulders and trudge back to our camp. The billy and fry-pan are again in work, and after a hearty breakfast off muttonchopsand tea, we put the pack-saddle on the horse and start back again up the steep ascent, to pack the stag down and camp. This return journey is the hardest work of all, but must be done if you wish to take your quarry home. Sometimes the stags are shot in such inaccessible places that it is impossible to get a pack horse to the carcase ; then, if the meat is wanted, it must be carried out on the shoulders ; in cases of this sort, however, which are very frequent, the head, if a good one, is often the only part carried out as a trophy. The fallow deer are much more shy than the red deer, and live almost exclusively in the bush, showing out but seldom, except during the night, never grazing far away from their retreats, and returning often before daylight. The sportsman who gets many fallow bucks during the season is not only a good but a lucky one. The fallow deer have not spread across the country like the red, but have kept very much about the locality where their progenitors were first liberated. To be successful at deerstalking in the Nelson district a man must possess time,

energy, patience, and be a lover of the sport, otherwise he will fail and soon tire, and probably end by stigmatising the deer-shooting as a failure ; but let him possess these qualifications and, if he is also a lover of the picturesque, let him spend the month of March deer shooting there, and I think he will say,* There is still something worth living for. GENERAL SPORT. For the sportsman who likes a milder and easier sport the quail shooting, though not nearly as good as it was, cannot well be beaten. The quail (Californian imported) are still very numerous on the low ferny bills, and with a brace of setters and a good retriever one can get most excellent and enjoyable sport. The quail are generally found in bevies of from fifteen to forty, and sometimes on the clearings close to the bush in much larger bevies—from the very first the quail were a success and from the commence ment increased amazingly. When first disturbed the whole bevy rises, but does not fly far before settling, then with good dogs the quail lie as close as partridges in turnips and rise singly and fly straight. To the novice they are somewhat difficult to shoot ; they certainly fly fast, but as most of the shooting is done on fairly steep hill sides it is the unevenness of the ground rather than the quickness of flight that makes them appear difficult. In size they are smaller than a partridge, have white flesh, and are excellent eating. A good shot and a good walker can still bag fifteen to twenty brace of quail a day. Hares are very fairly plentiful on the hills around Nelson, but not nearly so numerous since the protection was removed and they were declared vermin. Pheasants, once so plentiful, are unfortunately every year becoming scarcer ; their decrease cannot be accounted for, some attribute it to the quail eating their food and disturbing the hen pheasants when laying and destroying their nests. Very fair duck shooting is to be had some little distance from Nelson, and the bush at certain times is alive with native pigeons and kakas (the latter a species of parrot), both excellent eating though not affording much sport. Excellent rabbit-shooting can be had at all seasons of the year, the owners of lands where the rabbits are being only too pleased to welcome anyone to shoot to keep down the pest. Wild pig hunting and goat shooting can be had (especially the latter) in any quantity in the hills a little way out of Nelson. FISHING.

The rivers and streams, which are many around Nelson, are very well stocked with trout, and the angler can with ease and comfort obtain excellent sport. New Zealand is fast becoming famous for its trout fishing, and anyone wishing to know more about the best rivers and angling generally in New Zealand should not fail to read Mr Spackmann’s excellent book on the subject. From the above it will be seen that Nelson, New Zealand, is not to be despised for sport, and to any one in search of it, or of a climate which is'unequalled in the world, I say try it.—Perov Adams, front, Sporting and Dramatic.

* Native shrubs of New Zealand, the leaves of which the deer is very fond of.