“On a Mish” #143 Be Seen, Be Safe (Part Two). Boyd Creek Tops. Snowdon Forest Conservation Area. 18.3.2017. I recently got a new tent which is as bright as can be – be seen, be safe. My older Marmot tent is green and the more that I think about it the more I realise it isn’t the safest colour choice. While hunters like to blend into the environment it is best for photographers, hikers and all of the other outdoors folks to be visible and not mistaken for an animal. On a mish to the Boyd Creek Tops a mix of mist, hunters and helicopters had my girlfriend and I a little bit worried that we might get caught in the crosshairs…
After trekking the trail through the forest below the Boyd Creek Tops, we found what we were after in a campsite, we now just needed water for cooking. This turned out to be to be easier said than done. I remembered hearing running water near where the track was, and it turned out that the water was further than first thought. After battling my way through a mini bog and reaching out awkwardly to a small waterfall with a big drop below I returned to camp with the prize of precious H2O.
The afternoon drifted on into evening, just like the clouds that were gently rolling over Winton Peak which stood tall above our camp. During the night the sky cleared and there were countless stars above the Countess Range. The Boyd Creek track had provided the goods we were after, just like the much-needed dinner we consumed while looking up at all of the different consolations. After our meal it was time to retreat to the warmth of our sleeping bags where finding some shut-eye wasn’t a difficult task.
Early-ish the next day I unzipped the tent to find a completely different Boyd Creek Basin than the one we had seen before heading to bed. Thick mist mean visibility was down to only a few metres, and our tent was drenched like it had been raining. This isn’t a new thing to us and should be expected when camping in Aotearoa, so while the mist lingered, we boiled some water for coffee.
It wasn’t long after we sat down for breakfast that, to our surprise, we heard the buzz of a helicopter flying very close to our location. The surprise soon turned to the realisation that there must be clear skies above the inversion layer we were trapped in. The realisation then turned into worry as we heard shots ringing out. The large basin made the noise echo, and the peace and quiet that was around us only moments ago was now replaced by an intense situation. Having a green tent that blends in with the environment really didn’t seem like a good idea at this point in time.
Thankfully, the hunter must have struck his / her target and from a distance we heard the machine touchdown and load their prize under the chopper, before the blades fired up and the moments of mayhem settled back down to the peace and quiet we had heard 99% of the time we had been on this mish. The experience put haste in our steps has we packed up our camp and headed for the cover of the trees.
Before leaving the area, I wanted to check out a small hill I had seen on the map, and I hoped that from the top we might get a unique view of Lake Te Anau. The mist from the morning was now an afterthought, and we hoped that our movement and clothing (and the fact that we were two humans!) would save us from being blasted. En route to the small hill we discovered an old camp on the edge of the forest, and it looked like it might get used often. It is cool to know other like-minded outdoor people like us head to these stunning spots, but on this mish, we had the place to ourselves… apart from the moments of madness early in the morning!
After getting the view it was time to head back down the track to our car and the end of our mish. We had learned a lesson or two while out. Firstly, I would recommend you have a think about where you head during ‘The Roar’. This is when the stags start to holla for females and this not only attracts does (a deer, a female deer), it also attracts hunters looking for a trophy or freezer filler. Secondly, bright is best when out in the wild. Be seen, be safe. Blending in is only best when you want to hide from the creatures you seek.
