Taking the Plunge

@waynowski @gaiters @madpom @ ALL POSTERS Sorry guys, my original post was probably very incomplete, really was just wanting some ideas as it's been a while since i was in the bush, i spent 6 months on and off during my teen age years doing some culling of possums mainly, and i was smart enough to be able to have my own vege patch which did not get attacked as it was covered in milky white plastic to create like a hydroponic effect.... it served me well once the veges started growing, i lived off possum and wild boar, so i have no doubt i can do it, i have always wanted to get back to it.... I was more interested in placing my own hutt on land anywhere it was legal, as i will have it insulated and a pot belly installed, a lot of thought and planning going into it, and whilst most romance of the idea, i can assure you this is not a romance, this is going back to a lifestyle i enjoyed when i did it.... i just wasnt sure of the legalities and current climate may have meant the food chain had re-located....... when i did this i was in the Tararua's......

Hi. In that case I'd strongly suggest striking up a relationship with a private landowner somewhere on the boundary of a forest park. For instance maybe somewhere in the Ruamahanga or Northern Tararuas there may be someone who is willing to allow you to build a hut, in a spot with access to the kind of hunting and gathering you have in mind. I'd think most landowners will likely say no at first, but if you can show them you are trustworthy, know what you are doing, and perhaps be of some use to them on the land ... I could imagine someone giving you a go. If you were really lucky they may already have a place somewhere up a back paddock all set to go. Certainly such deal would be a lot safer than trying to build a stealth hut on public land. Sooner or later someone would find out no matter how careful you were.

Where in the Tarrys was your trap line?

I think if I was going to do this, I'd think about Stewart Island, there's several hunters huts in the Port Adventure / Tikotatahi or Port Pegasus area, if you could track down the owners for permission and get a lift down on a boat with a kayak or inflatable kayak you could do 6 months down there without annoying or being annoyed by anyone. With a kayak of some sort you'd have unlimited fish and shellfish, you could trap possums, with a gun you'd presumably be able to get a few deer, not sure of the need for permits and any seasons on the deer? I could imagine managing well enough if you took say 1 kg of food a week - say 10 kg flour, 5kg mung beans, 3 kg oil, chillies, salt, pepper, garlic for 6 months, rest gathered and hunted food. Two or three times as much would be better... Doing it completely living of gathered / hunted food would be really hard I think. I've done sea kayak trips on only a kilo or two per week of the above minimal brought food, everything else from seafood, and been quite comfortable. I've tried to see if / how I could manage only on gathered food, it was remarkable how quickly my energy levels dropped without the carbohydrate and fat, no matter how much fish and shellfish I ate. I lasted only a couple of days like that. Access to plenty of fatty food - eels, pork, mutton birds, seals would help a lot. How much fat does a possum have on it? I'm curious, you say you previously lived for 6 month periods on wild pork and possums and a few veggies you grew in the bush. How much if any other food did you bring with you? I'm not interested in arguing definitions of 'self sufficient', just curious as to your experience living of the land and what worked, what was difficult. Did you, could you preserve any of your caught food? Possum jerky, salt pork, smoked eel, rendering down lard? I would think having a way to build up a surplus to give you time to get some other things done and peace of mind to manage lean times / bad weather / injury or sickness would be important, less so if you had a sack of flour in the corner of your hut.