Wellington/Taranaki - Weekly Hunting report 29 May 2025

Long Weekend A Treat For Hunters  

It's King's Birthday on Monday so we've got a long weekend to look forward to - the perfect opportunity to gather your hunting crew once again and head out for a 'Second Opening'.

Also, why not invite some new hunters along to introduce them to the pursuit? They could get a day licence so that they can dip their toes into the game bird hunting water.

Happy hunter! Matt stoked with his first ever black swan (Photo: Derek Mitchell).

Meanwhile, consistent wet weather has finally started to roll across the lower North Island and Taranaki region, with some light but steady showers on Monday and Wednesday, including heavy rainfall in the Tararua Range.

Another rain band is forecast to arrive today, bringing more wet conditions for Taranaki and Manawatu with widespread drizzle further south.

This precedes a really strong westerly flow which will last through to at least midday Sunday before easing back. 

With high rivers limiting duck refuge, and very strong winds arriving tomorrow, there should be some awesome hunting on the cards again this weekend.    

Make sure you get your licence if you're heading out for the first time this long weekend, or taking a mate who hasn't been hunting! 

Please ensure you are also familiar with the game bird hunting regulations for Wellington and Taranaki.

If you require the regulations for other regions, please scan the QR code below, which is also on the front of your regulations book you will have received with your licence.

           

Big Westerly Blow On The Cards!

The brighter the colour, the more intense the wind (Windy.com)

The country is currently wedged between a high over South Australia and a deep low to the south-east of the South Island. 

This is creating a funnel which is channelling a river of south-westerly winds up the country which then bend westerly across the lower North Island. 

Tightly packed isobars mean the wind will pack some real punch, with the westerlies forecast to batter us from early Friday morning. 

You can see from the Windy.com chart above that these conditions will prevail until Sunday, easing from the south first and backing off further north around midday. 

The rain tracker has patchy light falls across much of the Taranaki region for the weekend, and into Manawatu and Wairarapa also. 

Should be great waterfowl hunting conditions for the first half of the long weekend! Get amongst it.      

Check out Windy.com for the very latest outlook. 

Notice - Drone's Over Matthew's and Boggy Pond 

All hunters using the Boggy Pond and Matthews Lagoon complex, please be aware that NIWA is conducting scientific research in the area using drones. 

The scientists are trying to differentiate whether methane in the atmosphere comes from farm animals or local wetlands. 

Depending on the weather conditions, the drone operations will start this weekend.    

 

Manawatu Duck Hunters - Wetland Planting Help Needed 

Volunteers are needed to help with a planting day at the Tiakitahuna Wetland on Wednesday, June 4. 

If you are available to assist, please get in touch with the Wellington Fish & Game office. 

 

Tip of The Week - Take A Mate Hunting 

With Opening Weekend well behind us and a few good shoots under the belt, the upcoming long weekend provides an awesome opportunity to introduce someone new to game bird hunting.   

Starting out in duck hunting from scratch can be a really daunting prospect for newcomers, especially if they don’t have anyone to show them the ropes, and it can lead to lots of wasted time and effort… 

Lack of success through lack of knowledge is the biggest cause of people giving up on a pursuit they’ve just started – any pursuit – not just duck hunting.

It takes a hunter, to make a hunter. It’s an old saying, but it’s stood the test of time because it’s true.

Since my bumbling first efforts to learn the ropes myself many years ago, I’ve become a reasonably proficient hunter and have, subsequently, introduced a handful of newbies to the pursuit who themselves are now flying solo.

It’s been really rewarding watching them grow as hunters, and become successful, without having to go through all the frustrations and trials I went through on my own.

While the number of game bird hunters remains strong nationally, we still need more shooters out there. Not only do more guns shift birds around and create more opportunities, but the future of game bird hunting relies on the strength of our numbers.

There are many forces at play trying to curtail our pursuit, either through fundamentalist and misguided ethics, or the ongoing restrictions being imposed on accessing public areas that have historically been set aside for game bird hunting.

A strong voice, backed by strong numbers of participants, can halt the intrusions on our hunting rights.

There’s a generous season length in place for the main waterfowl species in Wellington and Taranaki, so we’re encouraging hunters to take a day or two to introduce someone new to waterfowling.

Friend or spouse, sibling or a child, it makes no difference. Just spending a few hours to teach them how to hunt could be the best investment you can make for the future of your chosen pursuit, and it could end up making you a life-long hunting buddy too.

Fish & Game has information and advice on how to start out new participants, and we can even point you in the direction of somewhere safe to take them with a good chance of bagging a bird or two.

For more info, contact the office (06)359-0409. And grab your mate a licence and kick start their duck hunting addiction.
  

Win A $300 Hunting & Fishing Voucher

Steve Mawdesley and mates Daz and Ved had a good morning shoot on small pond in Manawatu last weekend. 

Send in your favourite photos from this game bird hunting season and you could be in to win a $300 voucher to spend in store at Wairarapa Hunting & Fishing.

We won't blow your secret spot, just include the name of the hunter(s), photographer's details, and general location in the Wellington or Taranaki Fish & Game region.

Click here to submit your entry.    

You can send us as many hunting photos as you like.

By submitting images to enter the competition you acknowledge that Wellington and Taranaki Fish & Game, and Wairarapa Hunting and Fishing, can publish and use the photos for publicity material.

Entries must be in by 8:30pm, August 31, 2025. The winner will be notified via email.

Video of The Week - Picking The Weather

Fish & Game officer Hamish Carnachan and Nathan Field share some tips for successful hunting on big water like Lake Wairarapa, and mix it up with some hunting action too. 

Click the screenshot above to watch. 

 

Need Some Advice On Your Duck Pond?

Looking to create a duck pond or improve your existing one? Wellington-Taranaki Fish & Game are happy to help with expert advice and may even be able to secure funding to assist with the project. 

Whether you want to hold ducks on your pond longer, or are aiming to create an entirely new wetland from that unproductive boggy paddock, we have the staff expertise and experience. 

Drop us an email and we'll call to discuss your plans and how we can help. 

Get Those Band Details Into Us

Wellington and Taranaki Fish & Game have had a good number of bands returned already which has been great to see.

Returning band information is extremely useful as it builds on existing population distribution data and aids management of hunting regulations.

If you shoot (or have shot) a banded bird, please let us know via our website – You are welcome to keep the band and we’ll send you back some interesting information about your bird, and you’ll also be entered into a draw to win various prizes as part of our Banding Together initiative.

Top Tip - What To Do With All That Meat

This is a space efficient method of storing your game bird meat (Photo: John Meikle)

Many hunters these days are keeping parrie and swan meat for sausages or salami. But the problem arises that all this meat requires processing at the same time at the butchers, so all the meat has to be frozen for a period which means you need plenty of freezer space.

Most hunters just throw their raw meat into a bread bag or grocery bag which, once frozen, ends up being round or odd shaped, leaving lots of voids in the freezer. These voids waste space and waste electricity maintaining the freeze.

A simple fix is to put the raw meat into empty 2l ice cream containers, about two thirds full, put the lid on and stack the containers in the freezer and leave until the meat is frozen. You can then remove the containers from the freezer, extract the frozen meat block from the container (place the full container in about 5cm of hot water in the sink for 30 seconds, and with the frozen seal broken the meat block should just drop out), and then tape up the meat blocks into plastic butchers bags.

Once all the meat blocks are in their bags, restack them in the freezer in a nice gap-free, orderly manner – square meat blocks in a freezer with rectangle dimensions – seems an easier fit!

Wash your ice cream containers in preparation for the next load of shot game bird, and when ready to take your meat to the butcher by stacking the blocks neatly into fish bins – easy. The butchers also love the square blocks for handling.

Duck Breast And Roast Vegetable Pizza

A quick and easy game meat pizza elevated with a flash (but not expensive) truffle mayo (Photo: Derek Mitchell)

This pizza is the creation of mad-keen Wairarapa hunter Derek Mitchell. Since he only sent me the photo and scant details, though, I've filled in the gaps...    

Obviously it can be made on store-bought or home made pizza bases; and having leftover roast veggies is awesome as it cuts out a step.  

• First you'll need to roast some vegetables if you don't have leftovers.
• Add chopped carrots, onions, kumara, pumpkin, beetroot and parsnip to an oven dish, coat in oil, season with salt and pepper and roast until tender. 
• Season two duck breasts with salt and pepper, sear in a pan on high heat with a little oil and a knob of butter (cook slightly under as they'll finish in the oven on the pizza). 
• Coat the base with pizza sauce.    
• Assemble the pizza using the roast veggies first; thinly slice the duck breast and place on top. 
• Lightly sprinkle with cheese - not too much - grated mozzarella is best. 
• Cook at high heat on a pizza stone or oven tray for around 10 minutes or until base is properly cooked through. 
• Finish by drizzling with truffle mayo ($6 from the Woolworths).  

 

Firearms Safety Authority - Registry Update

This is a reminder that after June 24, 2025, licence holders may have an activating circumstance when they purchase ammunition from firearms dealers and ammunition sellers if they have not had one already.

This means that licence holders who buy ammunition after June 24 may receive a notification from the Firearms Safety Authority – Te Tari Pūreke - that they are required to register all their arms items within 30 days after their purchase of ammunition, if they have not done so already. 

Licensed dealers and ammunition sellers will be required to record ammunition sales in the Registry as part of their legal obligations on and from June 24, 2025. 

This requirement is referred to in the Arms Regulations 1992 Section 42(3). 

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