Lower North Pig Hunting comp
This is the third year that I have been invited to judge this competition and I must be doing something right as the first year I arrived on the Saturday and come home on the Monday, second year I arrived on the Friday and came home on the Monday and this year they booked my tickets for the Thursday and back Monday.
I was picked up from the airport by Shane Demench and taken to his mate Mick’s hut that was situated in a beautiful bush setting right in the hunting area that we were going to walk around in the morning. Mick had cooked a good feed for us followed by a few cold ones until the early hours of the morning. The head had not been down long when it was time to get back up and after some pork. While we put in a good 10 km walk we did not come up with any big pigs so it was off to the next spot with another young lad, Jed from the club. There was a bit of a drive to the block that Jed’s father owned and after another 10 km walk we still did not have a big enough pig for the comp. To top the day off the Rimataka hill was closed over night for maintenance adding a big drive back to Shane’s place. 12.30am we finally arrived for a much earned sleep. Four hours later and we were back up heading out again. For this hunt Shane and I had again teamed up with Mick and another one of Shane’s mates Zak who is new to the sport of pig hunting but really enjoying it. Even though we did not get onto any pigs this day I did get to see a lot of back country that I would never have had the opportunity to see without the invite.
That afternoon I was picked up by Kane Ohagen and taken back to his parents’ Brent and Susan’s house and also got to meet his brother Ben. This was going to be another big night as we sat down to watch the All Blacks take on England, while the Ohagen’s were good hosts the All Blacks did not play their part, enough said. Another late night and while I was invited to go out to shoot a deer in the morning I turned the offer down as I did not want to be late for the weigh in in the morning. When I got up in the morning Susan showed me a photo of a good stag that the boys had just got and were on their way home. This Stag did win heaviest stag at the comp too.
Because this is the third year of judging this comp I am starting to get to know a few of their club members and it was good to see most of them turned up early to set up for their comp. Every competition seems to have one main person who does a lot more of the organising and at this comp that person was James Wineti. They had a 4 wheeler motorbike up for the main prize and you only had to enter to win this. Every year that I have been to this comp they have had a lot of prizes and especially kids prizes. Every child entered got a prize and at the end any other kids that were there even though they had not entered got to go and pick a prize off the table. Even the adult section had a prize for every person that entered.
Last year this comp had a two tonner / 239 pounds weighed in by Gerry Veneberg and Ethan Oliver, this year they had another two tonner / 209 pounds weighed in by Jules Martin and Justin Mullen. Jules had put a post-up on facebook about this hunt which with his permission I have copied as it is a great story about how they caught this big boar.
Epic weekend with me an Justin’s first 2 tonner, 209 pounder, and to get heaviest boar for our comp an heaviest boar to date in our Lower North Pig Hunting Club. I couldn’t be happier. There was times I thought we lost the big fella as he kept on breaking on a big Manuka face and I didn’t hear dogs open into a bail for ages, with dogs out at 6hundy meters doing loops, things seemed over. Lass got a decent rip under her chin which made her not want a bar of the big fella, and she ended up gapping 3km back to the hut, so the job was left to my Boi tiki massive bail up, and this boar started targeting me as the weak link in the pack chasing me up a few trees. My 2 dogs saving me a few times by arse ending the big fella. Most adrenaline an exciting hunt to date, was a relief when Justin Mullen showed up with the gun, boom big fella down. Lucky he broke close to an accessible track where we could get the quad, otherwise me an Justin would of missed the weigh in, awesome comp, happy kids, happy hunters, fullboar.
Results
1st boar weighed in 77 pounds Keil Collins, Simon and Josh
Heaviest boar 209 pounds Jules Martin / Justin Mullen
2nd 158.6 pounds Mason
3rd 154.2 pounds Keil / Simon / Josh
4th 146 pounds Gerry Veneberg / Ethan Oliver
5th 138.2 pounds Riccardo
6th 130.6 pounds Slade
7th 129.4 pounds M Rollston
8th 107.8 pounds Gerry Veneberg / Ethan Oliver
Average weight boar 107.8 pounds Gerry Veneberg / Ethan Oliver
Above average 129.4 pounds M Rollston
Below average 91.2 pounds Mason
Best tusks 17 1/8 Mason
Heaviest Red stag 176.8 pounds Kane O’Hagen
Heaviest Fellow stag 100.4 pounds John Renshaw
Lucky draw for the Honda 4 Wheeler Reihana Wineti