This originally appeared in the October/November 2024 edition of the NZ Hunter magazine

A beginner’s guide to planning a safe and successful hunt with Better Hunting

One of the big steps for new hunters is taking the lead and going solo. Often, it’s easy to follow our mates on a hunt, but taking the step to plan your own trip, and then executing it, is quite a big leap.

One of the reasons we developed Better Hunting was to support the solo hunter to get out there and give it a go. Better Hunting has heaps of resources to help hunters take that ‘big but small’ leap from follower to leader. Whether you’re a seasoned hunter or fresh as, you should find something useful for your hunt planning.

Example hunt plan

Showing you how it can be done

Learning theory is great but seeing how a hunt plan works is sometimes better than explaining it. Our selection of example hunt plans show the basics involved in a plan, and occasionally how the hunt went. There aren’t heaps of these, but they do a good job of showing you the essentials that make up a plan and that not every plan needs to be engineered to the nth degree.

Training modules to help you plan

Your brain is the lightest bit of kit you have on the hill. And no matter how much information you cram in, it stays the same weight. A very reliable bit of kit if you ask us.

For those who want to arm themselves with knowledge, the entire Better Hunting training suite is built to support your successful hunting decisions.

If you’re just wanting the main modules that can help you plan a hunt, check out the following ones on Better Hunting:

The multi-map tool

The multi-map tool provides quick access to New Zealand hunter-related maps from a single topographic map click. Novice and experienced hunters alike should find value in using this tool. It may not be immediately obvious how to use it, so let’s take a look.

Find an area of interest

Zoom in on the topo map to your area of interest. The tool is most useful for scouting new areas. Once you have a spot of interest, click on the map.

Explore maps centred on that point

Each of the buttons that appear link to a useful online map that is now centred on the location of your click. They’re all more or less handy, but key ones include:

  • DOC hunting and pesticide summary maps: check the hunting area, get the correct permit, and check the poison summary status to ensure the safety of your potential harvest.
  • Outdoor Access Commission property and topo: quickly view high-resolution aerial photography with property boundaries and access routes with the WAMS (outdoor access maps) links.
  • Windy, Weathermap and Ventusky: see graphical weather forecasts of wind, cloud, rain and more.
Images left to right: find an area of interest; explore maps; DOC summary maps; OAM/WAMS map; Windy weather map example

The multi-map tool is a simple one-stop-shop linking to New Zealand’s mapping giants, but it can prove very handy to the curious hunter; provided you know it’s an option!

View a short video of how to use the multi-map tool here.

A big thanks to topomap.co.nz for integration with the multi-map tool, and all the public map providers.

Intentions form

After learning to plan a hunt and finding a place to go, the solo hunter must leave their trip intentions. If you’re alone and get knocked out or trapped, it’s important for someone to know what your intentions were, to provide information for any search response. For the solo hunter, trip intentions are your ultimate security/recovery policy should your PLB be lost or damaged, or you are incapacitated.

Intentions form

There are many ways to leave intentions, from a good note on the fridge, a robust Plan my Walk trip, or even a hasty phone call. The Better Hunting intentions form is another option to suit some, which simply generates an email that you send yourself. Its simple format is designed for hunters who prefer a reminder prompt over a ‘required field’ – you can fill as much or as little as you want. It encrypts and stores you and your mates’ contacts (and emergency contacts) on your Better Hunting account, along with your old plans, so it’s easy to re-create the same plan if you hunt the same area all the time.

The links on Better Hunting’s intention form are integrated with the multi-map tool, so anyone you send your plan to, will have direct links to the specific places you clicked on the multi-map.

This helps anyone be a useful ‘alarm raiser’ – they don’t need to be an expert at map using or reading, just know when you were due out. Should the worst happen, they can just forward the email to the rescue team, and rescuers can read your plans straight from the horse’s mouth.

For those areas you hunt all the time, firing off the form is a quick and easy four clicks. Accidents happen to the best of us. Don’t get complacent with your safety.

Pick a brain

Everyone loves helping those who help themselves. When you’ve got a plan of your own together, ask other hunters what they think of them or if they want to join you. Having your own plan shows others you’ve been proactive and are enthusiastic. It also provides something you can use to start a conversation with others.

Just get out there

Remember the hunters’ adage: “animals are where you find them”. Animals can truly be found all over the place, whatever your plan was. Indeed, the only definite rule for finding animals is – you won’t find them if you don’t get out there.

If you’re hesitant to go it solo, that’s okay. It’s smart to be careful, and there’s a lot to hunting. Take your time and consider the Better Hunting resources to help you take that leap and work your way up to the multi-day monster trips you may find in this magazine. To get you there, consider:

  • The training modules on land access, navigation, survival and obviously planning a hunt.
  • The hunt plan examples to ‘lift the veil’ on what goes into a plan.
  • The multi-map tool for trip planning.
  • The intentions tool for ‘solo worst case insurance’.