trapping

by

The intrepid trapper: Week seven – 20-24 February

Day 21 – Mid-Pohangina trapline service

And just like that it was time to service the Mid-Pohangina trapline again. I will admit that this is not my favourite. Apart from the fact that a 4WD is needed to get around the farm, the first couple of kilometres involve puttering through a muddy, pooped, swampy paddock, before jumping a fence and making our way up the Pohangina River. This river will of course be problematic when it rains, and will no doubt be super cold in winter. Furthermore, the track is not maintained and runs along the edge of steep drop-offs or slips. Deer running down the mountain exacerbate the slippery areas and erode the track. Some areas are quite overgrown and I still have a niggle in my neck from our previous trip when I walked straight into an overhanging tree stump.

Continue reading →
by

The intrepid trapper: Week six – 14-17 February

After a couple of very warm, muggy weather days, ex-tropical Cyclone Dovi moved in over the country early on the Saturday morning. It created havoc everywhere; trees down, power lines down, and a neighbour’s huge pine tree cracked in half and fell down a slope. Fortunately, no trees were down at our place this time, despite other neighbours also mentioning tree damage.

Continue reading →
by

The intrepid trapper: Week five – 7- 9 Feb

It was another long weekend with lots of rain in the forecast. We tried frantically to get some water tanks up on our hill, to fill with water collected from the hothouse roof. The roof is a reasonable size, and we only have three cubes (1000 litre each) collecting water at the moment, so we lose heaps of water just running off.

Continue reading →
by

The intrepid trapper: Week four – 30 Jan – 2 Feb

Day 10 – Knights Track, Toka Peak to near Tunupo Peak

It was a beautiful Sunday morning when we set off to Limestone carpark for another trip along Deerford and Knights Tracks, and up the mountain. Jonathan came up from Wellington, and Gerry offered again to help carry traps up the hill, both as volunteers. Since we only had three frame packs to carry traps, Gerry took my two traps, and I carried  all our snacks, water, warm clothing and safety gear.

Continue reading →
by

The intrepid trapper: Week three – 24-26 January

Day 8

With 24 January being a public holiday, we had a long weekend, so Gerry and I finished digging a trench through part of our olive grove and installed a drainage pipe. Some of the trees suffer from wet feet, and with all the rain we had late spring, they don’t look all that good. Digging trenches and carrying gravel up a hilly property is no easy feat, giving the old gal a bit of a hammering.

Continue reading →