Club trip to Chew Tobacco, Stewart Island March 2023
Story & photos by Richard O’Driscoll
“There’s no way that’s all going to fit!”. That was my first thought as mountains of bags and boxes were
unloaded at the rental house in Bluff. Two ute-loads of gear had just arrived after making the long trek down the South Island. This added to the already large pile of bags and rifle cases in the living room that came with the four of us that flew to Invercargill. Nine members of the branch for 7 days and nobody was packing light!
As somebody more used to backpack or helicopter fly-ins it was all a bit overwhelming, but trip organizer Lloyd assured me that it was fine and they’d had MORE gear on his trip last year.
And he was right. When we met the charter vessel Aurora the next morning in Bluff all our gear was easily accommodated in five bins on the deck of the 17-metre catamaran, along with the two 4-m Frewza poonton dinghies we were hiring.
Our group consisted of five Stewart Island ‘virgins’, while the remaining four had done previous hunting
trips to the Island – some going back over 30 years! There were some nerves (and a few Pahia bombs
consumed) before the crossing of Foveaux Strait. It was a bit rough with a westerly swell – and was the first day that the oyster boats had stayed in port since the start of their season on 1 March – but we made good time without anybody losing their breakfast.
There was still a reasonable roll as we got into the shelter of the east coast of Stewart Island and it meant we had to deal with waves and surge on the beach as we unloaded gear and people to the hut. Took about five boatloads to get everything up the beach with Lloyd and me driving the dinghies.
Chew Tobacco is a Rakiura Maori Lands Trust block. The hut was a tidy 6 bunker. We put up two MIA tents for Liz N & Dave and Shane & Jake, while Lloyd & Kerri-Ann put up their tent too. While we were doing this the boats on the beach filled up with water as the tide came in much faster than we expected. We rushed out to sort this out and I took out the keel bung of one of the dinghies to drain the water and make it lighter to drag up the beach. I thought this was attached by a string and dropped it. But when Hamish asked, “Have you got that bung in your pocket?” 5 minutes later, I realised to my horror that it was gone. After an unsuccessful search along the tide-line, I spent an hour crafting a replacement out of a piece of branch and duct tape. This kept the water out for the rest of the trip so disaster (and ignominy) averted!
After a quick bite, most of us headed out in respective directions for a hunt about 3 pm. Jake & Hamish went round the rocks and up the central ridge, and I followed them 30 minutes later heading towards the north beach. Shane and Dave & Liz went up behind the hut.
My first animal encounter was a stroppy young male sealion just around the point that thought he owned the beach. Just past that was a leopard seal asleep in the grass. Gave that an even wider berth and went up the track just over stream and up the central ridge. Got to the high point where there was a big broad-leaf and a bit of sign then cut right towards north beach. Not a well-marked track and got into some crap including supplejack, crown fern, and lawyer, but eventually made it to the beach breaking out at mouth of Chew Tobacco Creek.
Looked like a steep descent so I backed out and re-traced my steps up the ridge. As I did so, I heard a deer crash off above me. I sat on the top knob until 8:30 pm but nothing came past. The leopard seal was still out on the beach so gave it extra room and scrambled round the rocks where Liz N met me after photographing a penguin. Nobody else saw a deer and both Shane and Dave lost their bearings somewhat – the Island geography will do that and we all relied heavily on GPS to get around (and back).
Day 2 and I was up at daylight and headed out towards East Cape. Followed a marked track for a start but quickly got into some really tight bush. Climbed to a high open spot then back down a steep slop to come out on grass slip just east of hut. Some sign but it was tiger country.
Shane wanted to be dropped at top end of north beach so Jake, Lloyd, and I got into our wetsuits to do a dive after dropping him. Wetsuits were a good idea as it was rough and rocky at the northern end with winds gusting 25 knots. Successfully dropped the still (mostly) dry Shane on beach and as we left saw Dave join him who had walked around.
Jake and I jumped in the water at Chew Tobacco Point and I went in search of paua. Found plenty but it was surgy, and I got completely rolled a couple of times. Visibility was only 2 m, which is good for Ngawi but not what you expect on Stewart Island. We relocated to East Cape where it was more sheltered and visibility was better (3 m). Quite a few butterfish and the odd trumpeter. I shot 4 butterfish and a couple of trumpeter, before taking over boat duties from Jake. He also got a trumpeter and Lloyd got one too along with assorted butterfish and banded wrasse (which he claims to like eating!). Back for a very late lunch and to process fish.
About 3 pm I headed back around to centre ridge to put up the trail camera near the big broadleaf. Stopped on the way to photograph the resident hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin). Then stalked up the main ridge. Very open and promising country. Heard a shot across in Chew Tobacco direction at 4:30 pm and presumed Shane had success (he confirmed later on radio that he’d shot a yearling doe). At 5 pm I got white-tailed by a big animal that bounded off at the opposite end of a ferny clearing. Only 30 m away but no chance of a shot. Carried out up ridge going very slowly and sat in 3 or 4 places but no more sightings. Came back down at about 8 pm and back round rocks. Hamish, Jake, and I went out with thermal after dark and saw a kiwi on the beach which we photographed.
Day 3 and I headed out about 8 am up behind the camp and up the ridge south of hut. Wind was strong and wrong and I didn’t see anything as I headed up to the top. On the way back down I dropped off the east side of the ridge by mistake. As I was crossing back across a ferny gut to get back on the main ridge I spooked a deer in the thick stuff. I then spooked another only 50 m behind old toilet.
When I got back Lloyd, Jake, and Kerri-Ann were just coming in from fishing. They got cod, trumpeter,
tarakihi, and gurnard. They dropped off Kerri-Ann and I went back out. Ended up with a couple more decent
cod and Jake got a good trumpeter. We then had another dive behind the island. It was butterfish central, but we already had heaps of fish, so Lloyd said only shoot something ‘special’. He came back to the boat himself dragging 7 big butterfish as well as two moki. “I like shooting stuff” was his only explanation, and we now had seafood for the week.
Another late lunch. Liz put a mutton roast in the camp oven on the fire. Dave and Liz N came back from a big walk at 3 pm behind camp having seen penguins and kiwi but no deer. After a rest we headed out
hunting. I went and sat on the clearing behind the toilet, Liz W sat on the beach (until it rained) and Jake and Dave headed out to check out clearings from the boat. They had success and shot a nice doe on East Cape. Jake hit it second shot from the rocking boat and Dave chased it up the hill and finished it off. They came back to collect Lloyd to help with retrieval. Two happy hunters – I heard the shouting from where I was sitting. I made fish in beer batter for tea and we toasted a successful day.
Forecast was for the best weather (lightest winds) on days 4-5 so I planned to fly-camp at Pikaroro, about 3 km south of the hut. This was based on a tip from Tim Barnett (of Hunters’ Club and South Sea Spearos fame) – who I’d shared a few beers with at a Seafood conference last year. I was going to walk there but
Lloyd offered to take the two boats around. Headed off about 9 am with me and Lloyd in one boat and Dave and Jake in the other. Quite a long way around past East Cape and across the bay and Pikaroro beach itself was protected by lots of rocks and islands with the only approach from the south and at high tide.
As we headed in Jake started to yell and we saw the three deer on the beach eating kelp. They were still
400 m away so rapidly unpacked the rifle and Lloyd tried taking me in. He hit the rocks and by the time we got 100 m away there was only one deer still on the beach and it was bum on. Couldn’t get a shot before it went back in bush. We landed on the north end of the beach and Dave announced he could see a deer up the face by a punga with his thermal. Couldn’t see it at first with binoculars but eventually made out ears and spikes of a spiker 200 m away. I lined it up across pack but wasn’t keen to try and shoot half a head and the deer moved off.
We were having a de-brief with the four of us standing by the two boats when Jake said “There’s a deer back on the beach” and sure enough Stewart Island’s dumbest deer was looking at us. I quickly lay back down, closed the bolt on the .270 and shot the buck at 185 m. He dropped then kicked back out on the sand coming to rest on water’s edge. It was a neat little deer with 2 points on one side and a broken pedicle on the other.
Pretty happy and hand-shakes and man-hugs all round. After photos, I dragged the buck a bit further down and gutted him while others got the boats. Before leaving, Dave went up and pissed on the kelp at the high tide line after all our careful efforts to avoid scenting up the seaweed salad….! Guys loaded the boats and I headed back to north end of beach and climbed up on ferny terrace to pitch the tent. Lots of deer sign in amongst the fern and picked a site with a bit of a slope about 100 m above beach.
After a brew I went for a walk along Pikaroro Point which was covered in head-high fern then out on the
ridge between the bays. A bit of sign but it was noisy going. Persisted until about 4 pm and found good buck sign on coastal faces to the north. Sat on a fern gully above the beach which looked promising then back to tent about 5 pm for early tea and a lie down.
Headed back to beach about 6 pm and lay on the sand doing my best sealion impersonation while glassing the kelp. About 7 pm a deer walked out on the beach which I shot at 150 m. Surprised to see how young and small it was when I got to it. The skin looked good though – until I rolled it over to reveal the insides had become outsides!
Dragged it down the beach and gutted it before hanging in tree. No further deer came out by dark, only a young sea lion that challenged me for my place on the beach. Back to tent for a restless night.
Day 5 and I was back on the beach before dawn, but nothing came out. The sea lion visited again and
attacked me as I was filming it. Had to throw a rock to keep it off! My pick-up arrived as scheduled at 10 am high tide. The two boats actually came past earlier but pottered around the coast to Sinbad’s Mistake first.
Dave and Jake were now committed boat hunters! Dave had shot a male fawn after dropping me on Tuesday morning and Lloyd shot another fawn at Laura’s Leg Tuesday night – one of 7 deer seen. There was a danger of us being labelled the Wairarapa “fawn slayers” club!
After a big feed, Jake dropped Lloyd, Kerri-Ann, and I on the north beach. Only animal I saw was the
remains of Shane’s one. Hamish had walked all the way to Laura’s Leg and saw 4 deer in the bush, missing one.
Day 6 and a more leisurely start. I got Lloyd to drop me on the north end of the north beach. I walked up the ridge and immediately spooked a deer, but that was my only animal encounter. Shane went for a big walk into headwaters of Chew Tobacco and saw a doe which he photographed.
We were all back in camp about 6:30 pm when police and fisheries officers arrived on the DOC boat. We
passed their inspection with chocolate fish handed out all round. Was a surprising but sociable visit. The cop was the same guy that visited me at Little Glory in January last year. They were just starting a
circumnavigation of the Island visiting all the hunters’ camps. Richard Leggett from Rakiura Maori Land
Trust was also there and he was pleased we had shot 6 deer. Many parties are unsuccessful apparently.
Day 7 was our last full day on the Island. I got up at 6:15 am and clambered round rocks in the dark to the central ridge. Climbed up to trail camera and waited until light before sneaking along ridge. Had only gone 50 m when a fawn stepped out from behind a tree only 3 m away and mewed at me before bolting. She stopped at 30 m and flashed her tail a couple of times before moving off. Decided not to shoot to add to the bambi tally.
Continued up ridge in heavy rain then headed down towards Chew Tobacco Creek. Finally broke onto beach at 11 am where there were fresh buck tracks in sand. Climbed up off south end of beach up a small gut and spooked a deer I didn’t see out of some dead supplejack. Much better going coming up and I sat for 40 minutes on a clearing as sun came out. Very promising but no animals wandered past. Collected trail camera at 12:30 pm and downloaded; four deer photos – all at night time. One was a 4-point buck.
Back to camp by 1 pm where pack-up was going on in earnest. Tidied up a bit myself then we arranged a group photograph before we barbecued my yearling for dinner = super tasty.
Day 8 was our final one on the Island. Aurora arrived early at 8 am, but by then we had gear in a pile on
beach and our five boatloads of stuff made their way back into containers on deck. We detoured past Bosom block in Port Adventure to pick up another party of 4 old guys from Wanganui. They had been in 10 days for no deer but had a good time. One guy was on 35 th visit to Island! Also stopped in Oban to drop off boats and eventually back to Bluff about 1 pm.
Time for one final drama, as Lloyd headed off to collect a rental car. He forgot his driver’s licence so took a couple of hours before he came back to collect me and remaining bags. By the time I finally got to the rental house in Invercargill for a shower about 3:30 pm, the two vehicle teams were already on the road north. Our remaining four had a day in Invercargill while we waited for our 3:50 pm flight. This proved expensive for some (ask Shane about his new scope!).
A great trip with a great team. Thanks to Lloyd for pulling it all together.
