Running from a Deer in the Forest! Coming Face to Face with a Deer on the Mt Titiraupenga Track.

[@parisrose8173]

Nice continuity in both the storyline and chosen soundtrack. It had a very pleasant disassociative effect on me... I might even get off the couch. HESR.

[@chrisellery3383]

Hey love your content... I'm an old guy now.. and I'm a hunter tramper bush fella... you definitely have nothing to worry about when it comes to any of our beautiful countries wildlife... deer in particular are extremely wary of people.. even big stags in the breeding season.. they will run a mile at the first scent of you...that will be how you got so close.. the wind must have been in your face... they don't worry too much about noise etc and if you stand perfectly still when you see one they will often carry on doing what they do... but if it smells you... it's gone... Keep doing what you do.. and you can certainly tick deer off your anxiety list!

[@GypsyGirl317]

What a lovely encouraging and informative comment. 💖 😊 🙆🏻‍♀️ 🌿 👍🏾 You are a genuine good Kiwi bloke. 🦌🐗🏕️

[@paulmason6860]

Lovely video. Music timed perfectly with the return to the centre on NZ

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Thank you Paul!

[@perrymartin5529]

Nice vid! Cool looking forest, almost like alpine meets swamp with all the moss and Lycian. Loved the music! Bet that Deer was running allot faster in the other direction...

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Such beautiful scenery, isn't it? I often feel shorthanded if I don't get to experience sweeping views on a trek, but some of these forests are just as stunning. The strange thing about the deer was that I'd somehow managed to sneak up on it (not sure how, I wasn't being particularly quiet). Our eyes locked for probably 15-30 seconds and we just looked at each other for a short moment before it ran off. It was a hind and my biggest fear was whether there would be a stag nearby that would take offence (because I know very little about these animals lol).

[@adrianmerrall]

Thanks for a lovely video. I really enjoy your commentary and openness. Happy Trails.

[@ednabrodie6935]

Thank you. Very much enjoyed

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

So glad!

[@GypsyGirl317]

Cool video! I love our central North Island forests, they are fascinating eh. 😊 You are looking very fit and healthy, and your content is immensely watchable. Keep up the great job at your own pace, and we will continue to enjoy your output. 🌿👍🏾😊🙆🏻‍♀️💖

[@melcomus]

Cool vid. I've been up there a few times. That little clearing you thought might be the way to the true peak is possibly and old slip.

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Good point, it certainly seemed like something along those lines! Shame I didn't go to the peak after all that, but important to be respectful.

[@ollydow5343]

Love your stuff! I've been keen to do this for a while now so it's awesome to have a very informative video. Thank you!

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Thank you so much Olly, glad you enjoyed it! A little hint, just make sure your car can handle the long and rough ride up the dirt road to get to the track (follow the signage for the cycle trail, then a bit closer there's a left hand turning which is actually signposted). And take plenty of water with you, it's a bit of a climb and there's not much to be found on the track!

[@OutdoorsmanDave]

Relaxing video, thanks. Deer will be more spooked than you, hence you got no shot of it?

[@nzmarty]

Was lovely to meet you yesterday :) biked up to this point from Mangakino a few weeks ago - it’s STEEP on a bike!!! look forward to seeing you toeing the line at least at the 70.3 !!! :) Stef.

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Thanks so much Stef, and great to meet you too! Can't imagine doing that trail on a bike LOL!!

[@chrisyoung4384]

Hi, thank you for sharing your adventures. Anxiety is a big part of my life and I have definitely found being outdoors and making small goals helps. Are you still tramping?

[@johnpaki1534]

Kia ora Michelle, wow this is going down memory lane for me practically lived there...lol i haven't been to the mighty and beautiful pureora Forrest in many years I was still just a kid last I was there...lol😂 and just to be clear wasnt out there hiking, biking or out leisurely for a walk but instead hunter gathering for a Kai to feed the whanau kai was plentiful back then not sure bot now...lol😂 you have brought back fond memories for me Michelle with this video thankyou, and if I remember correctly I think we would come in frm the arataki end from the north there you would find old unmaintained doc tracks and ancient unused trails made by the early maori you would walk right pass them if you didn't know they were there, some hikers unfortunately didn't take to kindly to us packing our totally legal open carry rifles for the world to see obviously intimidating so out of respect we would quietly slip away into these off the beaten tracks just to be mindfall to those who enjoy the outdoors, great video my friend and you are awesome hope all is well and thanx for rekindling my love and memories of Mt titiraupenga and the pureora forrest❤️🙌💯

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Oh this is so awesome to hear John, I'm glad to have been able to bring back memories for you! Yes I see now that there is also another approach from Arataki Rd, which I think I'd be keen to try maybe in the future. I've seen snaps of this from other tramper's adventures, and it looks like it might be a slightly easier track to follow? So nice to hear your story, thank you for sharing :)

[@rkctransportationvids]

Awesome seeing deer in the wild but try coming across a whole herd of them in the middle of the night while being lost in the Erua region of the National Park area as what happened to me and a work mate back in 2006. The owner of the company i worked for at the time had a private farm/hunting block in Erua and he invited me and another worker for a weekend. He told a young farm hand that he had working for him to take us two for a tour of the farm on quad bikes and to show us a small gully that had glowworms. Anyway this young farm hand had an attitude problem and didn't like us two being so slow on the quads because we weren't as experienced as him so he got angry and left us behind. It got dark and we didn't have a clue where we were and after a couple of hours we discovered that we were just going around in one big circle. We followed a well worn track and in the distance we could see all these glowing eyes in the headlights so we stopped and saw that it was deer and the noise they made when they ran off was unreal and the ground shook so much. We carried on and after getting no where fast we stopped had something to eat and drink and thought it through, so we decided to get to higher ground and we could see the lights from the ski fields on Ruapehu so we aimed for that and after some hours we came out at the North Island Main Trunk a couple of km's north of National Park station so we followed the railway tracks to the station and after that we just followed State Highway 4 till we came to where i knew the road to the farm was. We left at 1:00pm and were left behind at 5:00pm and got back to the main house at 3:00am. Us two were just lucky that i foresight to bring some warm clothing, food, drink and extra fuel. When we got back to the house the boss/owner told us that he had called up his neighbour who had a helicopter and they were going to start searching for us at first light. During the whole time we weren't scared but we just used our commonsense and thought through our options and we were fine. I had my video camera with me at the time and i wish i could have caught that herd of deer when they stormed off, it was a wicked experience. Oh yeah and the young farm hand got a right bollocking for abandoning us.

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Oh my goodness, what a story! And what an awful person to leave you behind... as you say, things could have gone seriously the other way, so just good that you were prepared with some extra clothing. I very rarely head out onto any kind of a track these days without carrying the essentials. As you've proven, you just never know what might happen, even on tracks and in areas you're really familiar with. I'm glad you both ended up safe and sound back at the farm! But what a story....

[@6foot8jesuspilledpureblood82]

Definitely a good idea to have some high visibility gear on in hunting season 👌

[@NZ-Culler]

There is no hunting season in Pureora, its open for hunting all year round

[@OAPAdventures]

I was there in late April to have a look at the Centre marker. I took an age of driving around and wrong turns to finally find the car park. Yes, hunters were everywhere but I didn't see any deer.

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Yes it can be very tricky to find the trailhead can't it! 45 minutes down the dirt road, but if you keep your wits about you and just keep following the cycle route signs you get there in the end!

[@BackcountryKiwi]

Nice video Michelle!

[@xiaoabrose]

Get into some winter hiking! Have you done Pouakai track? Looking good challenge. I will do later next month with my daughter. Hopefully some snow and ice!

[@ReviloNZwalks]

Another walk on my list, thanks for sharing! Great Muse song I heard there

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Now that i've done it I realise I could have ventured up towards the summit rock, and I might have seen a nice view as well! Never mind. Haha Muse rocks !!

[@ReviloNZwalks]

@@LongWhiteGypsy You sent me on a Muse binge after this!

[@wayneclark9733]

yeah easter and anzac weekend, not a good time for hunters... was in the urewera. they were all over the place

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

There were four or five trucks full of them that I saw on my way into and out of the forest... probably many more that I didn't see. Had a conversation with one of them on my way out and he said there was still quite a bit of game around at the time which was attracting people.

[@wayneclark9733]

@@LongWhiteGypsy yeah you're right to be wary... I'd seriously advise wearing high vis clothing... and if you hear a lot of shooting i'd think twice about going.... i know theres a lot of responsible careful hunters out there but unfortunately not all of them are and where there are a lot of them, be careful.

[@michael5089]

Subbed. I too suffer from mental health issues and am very interested in finding out about your journey to cope with this 💜😌

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Sorry to hear that Michael, but thanks for the sub!

[@michael5089]

@@LongWhiteGypsy Thanks for reply! Are you still doing stuff on this channel? I tried your blog but that failed? Maybe I can try Instagram and Facebook? 💙🤗

[@robertdean1579]

Any big hikes this summer? It seems like you haven't posted any new hiking videos in a while.

[@6foot8jesuspilledpureblood82]

Are you OK? Did you quit hiking?

[@saranga4]

Oh wow.. what a meet up :-D

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

New hiking buddy?

[@saranga4]

@@LongWhiteGypsy Indeed 😃

[@travellingdilse6670]

Nice video

[@Nora_meow99]

Take care,, Even though she's beautiful, she can be very dangerous for you 😸😸

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

This was what I was afraid of!!

[@CamSmith-s8g]

Random question, how long do you take to poop?

[@GeoffBlackmore]

Deer are afraid of people, they'll only ever run away from you.

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

I think in the moment I was more afraid of being shot at myself for being too close to the deer.... irrational thought I know!

[@GeoffBlackmore]

@@LongWhiteGypsy Quite a sensible thought me thinks :)

[@Gareth223338]

Shouldn't need to worry about hunters on DOC land if you're on a track. One of the rules on the hunting permit is not hunting within 250 meters of a track so stay on the tracks and you'll be fine. The reason you saw a deer there is because there are never hunters actively hunting on the tracks. Animals know where to go to be safe.

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Thanks for setting my mind at rest Gareth! Now you mention it, of course you're absolutely right... the deer was just trying to get out of harm's way :)

[@Gareth223338]

@@LongWhiteGypsy you're most welcome.