We are The Moa Hunters…

You have found the home of the Moa Hunters – a group of simple blokes with a simple goal: Find a moa.

Every year, we fearlessly venture somewhere near the back of beyond in search of elusive moa. Our preferred hunting grounds to date have all been alpine areas in the South Island of New Zealand. We figure that a smart moa choosing somewhere to hide would go somewhere with a spectacular view.

So far, we haven’t found one. Until we find a moa, we keep walking…

This site is a spot for us to record our memories of each Moa Hunting expedition.

Our Moa Hunts:

2005	Mt Tapuaenuku
2006	The Three Passes
2007	Cascade Saddle – Rees/Dart
2008	Lake Nerine
2009	Gillespie Pass – Rabbit Pass
2010	The Toaroha – Whitcombe Circuit
2011	Waimakariri – Barker hut
2012	The Wangapeka
2013	The Whitcombe – Toaroha Circuit
2014	Travers Sabine
2015	Rakiura Stewart Island NorthWest Circuit
2016	Whitcombe Pass
2017	Two Thumb Track on the Te Araroa
2018	The Dusky Track, Fiordland
2019	Lake Christabel
2019	Hawdon / Edwards Circuit
2020	Lewis Pass to St Arnaud
2021	Harman Pass
2022	Rakiura Stewart Island Southern Circuit
2023	Diamond Lakes Circuit

2023 – Diamond Lakes Circuit – three nights, six lakes.

2023/01/272023/02/27 by Adam, posted in 2023 - Diamond Lakes

Valleys, ridges, and peaks are all highly accessible. It seems you can walk almost anywhere from wherever you are.
Our all too short exploration of the Diamond Lakes area took us through shady beech forests, along gnarly razorback ridges, atop high peaks, and onto the shores of six beautiful alpine lakes…

2022 – Rakiura Southern Circuit – as far South as it gets…

2022/04/232023/09/11 by Adam, posted in 2022 - Rakiura Stewart Island

Rakiura Stewart Island is the home of New Zealand’s southernmost Department of Conservation hut. Nestled just below latitude 47° south, the Doughboy hut is as close as it gets to the south pole when walking DOC tracks. We were all excited to visit Doughboy, not only because it is a looong way south, but also due to it’s stunning looking location and intriguing name…

2021 – Harman Pass – Rain, Sleet, Snow and Rain

2021/08/172023/09/11 by Adam, posted in 2021 - Harman Pass

The Moa Hunt this year was to start at Klondyke Corner, strolling in to Carrington hut for a good lunch after cooling the feet in the gentle upper reaches of the Waimakariri river, arriving relatively fresh and ready to tackle the climb to Harman Pass the following day.

2020 – Lewis Pass to St Arnaud – Five…ish Passes

2020/01/262023/09/12 by Adam, posted in 2020 - Lewis Pass St Arnaud

As we walked this route, we debated just how many passes we could claim to have conquered. Ada pass, Three Tarn pass, D’Urville pass, Thompson pass, Waiau pass. We all agree the last four are legitimate passes. But Ada pass barely even raises a sweat. So lets call this trip “four and a bit passes”. or “Five…ish”, for the optimists out there.

Our Moa Hunts:

Recent Posts