Hunting Totara Flats in the Mighty Tararuas staying in Sayers Hut after 30yrs not much had changed!

Good mate Steve and I fly in with an old hunting buddy JD to spend 5 days in the Tararuas and end up at Sayers due to the weather - but what an awesome walk down memory lane for us all! Big thanks to the Sayer family for maintaining the hut and letting may generations enjoy its character and cosiness. Thanks for watching remember to like and subscribe! Cheers Kane

[@rollyipsc]

This is the real definition of friendship ❤

[@darylkeenan943]

Awesome place the tararuas, I went past totara flats hut back in 2003-2004 so its been there for a few year's nice stag!

[@colorado7215]

Ol tobys a good mate

[@manuelwebe]

Awesome place. Thanks for sharing.

[@thegrundinis4199]

Thank you for watching!

[@shanedavies9564]

Awesume guys , cheers , shaneo , nelson, 👍🍺

[@ruahinehunter7441]

Good to see plenty of hand saws too

[@LivinglandNZ]

Beautiful spot that, I was hunting there a lot in the late 90's. Good to see Sayers is just the same.

[@BackridgeButcher]

Another classic, great watch on a winter's day👌 Love the rich history of the place and how good to shoot that stag

[@thegrundinis4199]

Thanks Glen glad you got a kick out of it! I would love to learn more about the history of the flats and how it was farmed!

[@florisvisser4765]

That 9ptr in the hut was still there in April 2022 a shame someone took it .. love your video especially because I've spent a lot of time in there in the last 10yrs

[@thegrundinis4199]

Hey mate yeah real shame its gone! I remember Hoppy telling me a story about how a tramp was taking it down when he walked into the hut - well fair to say that tramp probably never set foot back in that hut again ha!

[@g0jsm]

Thanks for the video memories from fifty years ago came storming back

[@thegrundinis4199]

Hey John awesome stuff 50 yrs!

[@KIWIKEA]

Cheerz boys.. that 2nd stag lookd like the pill when above him hit the grass. . Cool vid massive

[@julianalderson3938]

Yer some buetiful country.

[@tostacey1]

Awesome vid!

[@ingridlowrie1029]

My father's (Alick Sayer 1905-1983) home away from home. He started heading into Totara Flats from a very young boy, as did his siblings. He never came back empty handed and placed venison, pork and fish on the table. Miss the old codger.

[@thegrundinis4199]

Wow that is interesting. Was he Dick Sayers son?

[@jesseadventures2066]

Awesome video mate That hut is a great hut been there a few times

[@chrisblester37]

These old huts are fantastic I'd love to spend a summer living in the bush staying in these huts there are also some older huts that are off the maps and maintained tracks. I found one in the early 1990s patched up the roof with a sheet we found under the hut cleaned it up abit and stayed there in the weekends for a few months did more repairs sealed the roof and painted it would hunt near buy and pan for gold cut a bit of a track in so I could ride the bike in and walk the last bit not to scare the game . We got a fair bit of gold and would shot a pig or dear and cook up heaps of meat the just pan .but I had to move back to Christchurch and my hunting partner died soon after .went back 30 years later to find it still there worse for were but our repairs in 1991 ment it was still there. I shot a deer and my mate got some pigs I more than paid for the trip wit the gold I paned the cooker was still in good condition but it needs a new roof I'd love to do that and spend 6 months there and get all the gold and show It to my young nephew to come to for his lifetime get away spot Ld

[@thegrundinis4199]

Wow Awesome story mate! Yes the back country huts are a pretty special place even if they are made by the odd hunter or trapper back in the day.

[@huttboynz4422]

Great vid mate, shot a stag on the grass flats, on the last hunt I did around Tutuwai hut area, back in 2020. I find the grass flats in these areas, quite productive over the winter months. Seen 7 stags before on the flats up top end of the Tauherenikau valley. Cheers for uploads.

[@thegrundinis4199]

Good stuff, yes great to see a few deer kicking around! in the 80s it was tough pickings with all the choppers doing venison and live capture.

[@julianalderson3938]

Young toby bro was happy. He went thro some weather 2. Cheers

[@thegrundinis4199]

Yep he's a little trooper.

[@drumsandstix128]

What a blast from the past for me too !...I used to shoot back there in the.late 70`s. Enjoyed your vlog, thanks!

[@thegrundinis4199]

Thanks glad you enjoyed it!

[@nickpowis4750]

Another good watch mate. Real down to earth NZ bush hut stuff. Love it. Ol stag icing on the cake with such a trip. Look forward to the next clip.

[@thegrundinis4199]

Glad you enjoyed it Nick!

[@grantkilmore9167]

Your short films are bloody great. Very real adventures captured really well thanks for sharing

[@thegrundinis4199]

Thanks Grant we enjoy making them and I am glad you appreciate them!

[@nzl5047]

Great place been there afew times my partner is a sayer

[@thegrundinis4199]

That’s cool 😎

[@lancehare8361]

Awesome filming Kane, I've a feeling we may have bumped in to each other in the nineties, yes a very special place, don't get in there enough anymore.

[@thegrundinis4199]

Hey Lance yeah we have mate!

[@toahuntergatherer6616]

Loved it🔥

[@mad_fisho]

Bloody awesome mate - was a great watch as always! Enjoyed the bits of old photos and stories. Nice work finally nailing one on the flats 👍 Cheers!

[@thegrundinis4199]

Glad you enjoyed it Mad Fisho! It was a fun trip despite the rain.

[@reubenhawtree380]

Well done Kane! Good reward for hunting in that weather mate!

[@thegrundinis4199]

Thanks Reuben hope the fishing has been good for ya

[@stuhastie1719]

Really enjoyed that! Cheers!

[@thegrundinis4199]

Cool thanks and your welcome!

[@danieljordan154]

Cool video, congrats to your boy on becoming a father.

[@thegrundinis4199]

Glad you enjoyed the clip. Thanks for the congrats too!

[@samsheaff3868]

Epic video as always! Planning on hunting down those ways later this year actually

[@thegrundinis4199]

Cheers Sam hope you have some good weather when you do.

[@berniehayes8425]

My uncles built Sayers hut..hey kane i probably bumped into you back in the day..i hunted wiohine gorge a lot and in towards totara flats

[@thegrundinis4199]

Hey Bernie yeah I think we did!

[@mcmenace4847]

Cheers, yas truly soaked it in alright . Don't blame yas for the good dint in that bottle on first night..

[@thegrundinis4199]

You got that right!

[@haroldsmith8454]

When I was hunting from Sayers in the mid 90's, the new totara flats hut was on the main flats and the old totara flats hut site was were the now new totara flats hut is, ha ha. Totara creek and deep creek were my best spots, and also the faces at the lower end of the gorge. was also worth the slog over into Neil forks for a few days..... they were pretty heavy on dropping 1080 on the main range then, probably still are.

[@thegrundinis4199]

Hey Harold yep good spot for sure! My first deer was shot in Deep creek some nice punga guts in there aye. Thanks for watching!

[@ruahinehunter7441]

Good looking spot man, it was wet for days played the patient game got the results,the amount of effort gone into filming is amazing alot of footage to go through good work your mate seems like a hardcase good bastard,id be keen to make some bread in the camp oven one day we have a few starched around the ruahines

[@thegrundinis4199]

Yeah labour of love that editing lark aye ha! Cant beat a bit of camp bread on a wet day!

[@Andy_M986]

I thought I heard you say " Good Whiskey ". 😉

[@thegrundinis4199]

Ha yeah too good I had to slow down after the first night on it!

[@Andy_M986]

@@thegrundinis4199 😊

[@pt4036]

excellent video ,73 now brought back many memories of totara flats with the old 303 /308

[@thegrundinis4199]

Good stuff PT glad you got a kick out of it mate!

[@rexnex277]

It looked like that shot went high when you went for the second shot.

[@thegrundinis4199]

Yeah I have re looked at that footage and if it hit it was very high or just over. Buggar!

[@BIDEFORDBASHER]

They used to run the cattle up from woodside and winter the cattle out on the flat that's why the hut was put there so the family could stay there

[@thegrundinis4199]

Hey thanks for that - interesting!

[@lyellclare9365]

Shoot the hinds not the stags ,especially small 6 pointers , leave them for growing. Years ago I hunted this valley,a lovely valley and we only hunted very early morning as there were a lot of trampers in the area during the day.

[@thegrundinis4199]

Thanks for your comment I needed some meat and no hinds seen for 3 days. Hunters these days should not be farming them, fine if you want a trophy but I wanted to make venison sausages.

[@thomasevans291]

ah my local go to.. havent watched the whole video yet, didn't find the chainsaw out the back? the sayers family have been up there in the last few weeks doing work on it. yes shame that head has found a new home.. always looked at the cobwebs on it.

[@thegrundinis4199]

Ha no chain saw but lots of other junk around which could do with a clean up. Yeah sad the head went missing!

[@violetflame22]

Great Vid. How long did it take to walk up to Totara Flats Hut?

[@thegrundinis4199]

Hey William It took us 1.5hrs due to the river being up and our old legs 😀

[@MsSexymanbeast]

Nice shot ! Went there 2 weeks ago and seen 2 female reds in the same spot ! I'm sure I see the remains of your deer also