Stina - Rod & Rifle

HUNTING 

By Simon Gibson 

The STINA BURN 

HISTORY 

Although the original wapiti were released at the head of 

George Sound in 1905, it was not until the 1960’s and 

70’s that the herd properly colonised the peninsula country 

between George and Bligh Sounds. 

Once they had, it didn’t take long for the word to get out 

that wapiti were booming on those steep, wet coastal ridges 

and hunters soon started to come in from the sea looking for 

big bulls. 

First was Bernie Chaney who crayfi shed the Fiordland 

coast for six years in The Alias. He discovered the area’s 

potential and secretly hunted it for nine years with various 

companions. Somewhat anti-NZDA, Chaney delighted in 

taking hunters down by boat to hunt mainly in the Catseye 

Bay area. The next we hear of The Alias it was being 

skippered by John Barber who sometimes had on board 

Ray Tinsley and Bill Harris whose hunting expeditions in that 

area are recorded in Tinsley’s two books; Call of the Wapiti 

and Call of the Moose. Harris recalls picking up a very big 

cast antler in the Stina Burn. This duo enjoyed good hunting 

in the unnamed river on the Stina Burn Block north of the 

Catseye which they called Catsarse Creek. Piki Amo Amo 

was another well known wapiti hunter who made several 

trips into the Stina Burn country. 

The name of the Stina is attributed to Alistair MacDonald 

after his fi shing boat Stina. McDonald explored this area in 

1957 and McDonald Creek is also named after him. 

Other names of interest on the Stina Burn Block are 

Woodcutters Peak (presumably because they cut wood 

there) and Bare Cone (a descriptive name), named by 

Captain J Stokes during the cruise of HMS Acheron in 1878 

on the fi rst real attempt to survey the Fiordland coast. 

Here is the immortal Ray Tinsley on a hunt for ‘Bigfoot’ in 

the Stina. 

“The sound of a pure wapiti bugling is never forgotten. The 

hybrids that abound in Fiordland cause some people to say 

14 ROD & RIFLE 

that there are no pure animals left. 

There’s one. 

From a solid, deep sleep, we both sat upright and wide 

awake to the incredible echoing sound of what seemed to be 

a half million cubic metres of compressed air tearing through 

the pipes of a Wurlitzer organ at an octave over high C. 

We said nothing, we did nothing, we just froze. The 

whole trip would be worth it for hearing just that one 

sound. 

We were away right on fi rst light after that 2.30am alarm 

and reached the valley fl oor in half an hour. 

Again he let rip. His bugle was so high that instead of 

dropping into a booming roar it went higher and higher 

until we could no longer hear it. 

We honed in on him, judging the distance to be about 

200 metres. 

Nearly every stalk in Fiordland, where animals see no 

or perhaps only one human in their lifetime, I fi nd it pays 

to walk straight to them and not hang round trying to be 

cunning. 

The last bugle was terrifying. The hairs on our necks 

bristled, we both went weak at the knees and I was 

positive I would give the show away because of the great 

hammering of my heart. 

We were within twenty metres from him when it 

happened. Cunning is what makes the old bulls live 

their full lifespan and this bastard was cunning. He had 

positioned himself so that he could smell the breeze from 

two quarters. The breeze in our faces suddenly changed 

and as we started an accelerated run into him, he winded 

us and with an almighty bellow and thunder of hooves 

was gone for another year. 

We pulled up, bewildered, exhausted and on the point 

of despair. His hoof marks were gigantic, deep into the 

hard packed ground showing his incredible weight.”

The Stina Burn-Block 4 

The Stina Burn block is located at the 

head of Bligh Sound on the Fiordland 

coast and offers great hunting with 

a mix of red deer and wapiti being 

present. This is a good bush hunting 

block with a small area of open tops 

above the seaward faces and is an easy 

block to get around on. The Stina block 

is part of the Glaisnock Wilderness Area 

so helicopter access is to the shoreline 

only. Access to the Stina is normally 

by helicopter from Te Anau or Milford 

Sound. If you are prepared to drive to 

Milford Sound the fl ight can be a lot 

cheaper and by fl ying down the coast 

the pilot can usually get you out if the 

weather is bad. For those with a good 

stomach a fi shing boat from Milford 

Sound is an option and the amount of 

gear you can take is unlimited. 

There is a very comfortable base 

campsite located at the mouth of the 

Stina Burn on the true left. The ridge 

immediately behind the main camp at 

the Stina Burn mouth offers good travel 

to the tops overlooking the coast and 

there is a good head basin at the top of 

it. During heavy rain the Stina Burn rises 

very quickly and becomes uncrossable 

at its mouth even after only a couple 

of hours rain however like all Fiordland 

rivers it also drops quickly. There is a 

gorge at the start of the Stina Burn 

which blocks access however there 

is a route past it on the true right that 

starts about fi fty metres upstream and 

follows deer trails at a height of about 

50 metres above the gorge. After about 

two hours travel a small river fl at will be 

seen below, signalling the end of the 

gorge so you can now drop into the 

river bed. Once back in the main river it 

is easy travel until the forks are reached. 

Leave the river here and head up the 

centre spur towards point 681 and then 

sidle into the Stina head basin. There is 

a good dry campsite in the head basin 

on the true right in the beech trees 

which is a good place to be based to 

access the rest of the block. However, 

by camping here you will ruin the 

hunting in the head basin so hunt it fi rst 

before setting up camp. Some hunters 

do this by climbing up onto the ridge 

north of Bare Cone and travelling along 

it to look into the Stina head basin. Kiwi 

Above; A good 12 point rack taken by Brian 

Head on the Stina Burn in the 2008 season. 

It measures 41” in length and scores close to 

300DS. Heads like this were very rare ten years 

ago but are now becoming more common. 

The head was taken at a range of 150 metres 

on the open tops. Photo Jon Wood 

Left; The author on the Tinsley Highway looking 

towards the mouth of the Wild Natives block in 

Bligh Sound on a beautiful Fiordland afternoon. 

ROD & RIFLE 15

HUNTING 

The collection of old antlers there can’t fail to get a hunter’s imagination running 

are present in the area and on a still 

night you will hear them calling. From 

here it is easy to access the Tinsley 

Highway which is a long easy going 

ridge that travels from the head basin 

along to Bare Cone and then to the end 

of the block at Wood Cutters Peak. This 

was a favourite route of Ray Tinsley’s 

back in the late 70’s and early 80’s and 

is described in his classic book ‘Call of 

the Wapiti’. A kilometre along from Bare 

Cone there is a slip that stretches from 

near the ridge top down to the sea in 

Bligh Sound and this is known as the 

Stair Way to Heaven in some of the old 

hunting books. The coastal faces of the 

Stina block offer excellent bush hunting 

for roaring stags and bugling bulls. 

Long ridges and faces go down to the 

sea and they have numerous wallows 

on them. There are some huge grassy 

slips on these faces however although 

I have seen them from a helicopter I 

have never been able to fi nd them while 

actually hunting the faces. 

Ray Tinsley and his hunting 

companion Bill Harris unoffi cially named 

the major catchment at the back of the 

block draining into George Sound the 

Catsarse Creek when they hunted this 

area extensively in the late seventies. 

There is an old meat hunters camp 

called Bernie’s Camp situated about 

700 metres down the seaward ridge 

that leads from the top of the Stina head 

basin down to the mouth of Catsarse 

Creek. The collection of old antlers there 

can’t fail to get a hunters imagination 

running. This is a great spot to base 

your self as it also gives access into the 

head of the Catsarse Creek. 

There is enough room for a helicopter 

to drop a party off at the mouth of the 

Catsarse however I learnt the hard 

way that there is no area suitable for a 

campsite there. The leading ridges on 

both sides of the Catsarse offer very 

good hunting. The Catseye/Catsarse 

ridge has a very rough area just before 

it hits the Tinsley Highway however this 

can be by passed by dropping into the 

head basin of Catsarse Creek. The Stina 

Burn block offers great bush hunting 

and like all of the wapiti blocks it is now 

starting to show its potential again so is 

well worth a look. 

And don’t forget to pack your fi shing 

rod, as the cod fi shing near the mouth 

of the Stina Burn is excellent. 


A Hunt in the Stina 

by Simon Gibson 

I had been on the Stina Burn block several years earlier chasing 

bugling bulls for two weeks in fi ne weather so when Dave rang to 

say our group had been successful in the wapiti ballot for the Stina 

I was rapt as it is a great block. 

On our fi rst visit we had started the 

trip at the base camp by the mouth 

of the Stina Burn like most parties do 

but this year was to be different. At the 

last minute we changed our plans after 

meeting a couple of seasoned wapiti 

hunters in the local pub who told us of a 

campsite at the mouth of the Catsarse 

on the other side of the block. Our 

pilot confi rmed he had dropped some 

Aussies there once so we were all set. I 

was looking forward to visiting this little 

inlet, as it was the spot where many 

of Ray Tinsley’s trips started when the 

fi shing boat ‘The Alias’ dropped him 

there. With the usual mountain of gear 

stowed we set off from Milford Sound 

in Geoff Shanks’ squirrel 

and headed over the 

Fiordland tops towards the 

Stina Burn. As we came 

into land at the mouth of 

Catsarse Creek my alarm 

bells were ringing. It was a 

very tight little creek mouth 

with very steep hills and 

rocky bluffs surrounding it 

and my doubts about its 

suitability as a base camp 

were soon confi rmed. 

Within minutes the noise 

of the chopper was fading 

into the distance as we set 

about fi nding the campsite 

and setting up our base 

camp. As we all rounded 

the fi rst corner of the creek 

loaded down with gear 

a large waterfall greeted 

us and it was then that 

we realised there was no 

campsite and worse still 

nowhere to camp at all as 

the only fl at areas were 

absolute bogs. We were to 

fi nd the so called campsite 

later but it was 200 metres 

up the side of a very steep 

slope and a terrible spot to be based. 

For me it was a valuable lesson learned, 

you should only heed advice from those 

who have actually been to an area. 

Making the most of the situation camp 

was set up on the best of the bogs 

and gear sorted for the next few weeks 

hunting. Dave and I were heading up 

the Catsarse/Catseye ridge while Mike 

and Barraclough were heading for 

Bernie’s Camp on the seaward leading 

ridge that ends over looking the Stina 

head basin. By nightfall we had made 

the ridge top and pitched camp, well 

satisfi ed with the afternoon’s efforts. 

Away early the next morning it wasn’t 

long before I had several wapiti bulls

ugling in response to my roars. One 

bull in the Catseye block was screaming 

its defi ance non stop with a lovely high 

pitched bugle. As we came to the start 

of a scrubby saddle a bull suddenly 

replied to my roars from only 50 metres 

away. Dave stayed back while Sako 

and I crept in as the bull kept bugling. 

Wapiti hunting doesn’t get any more 

exciting than this and as I got closer 

the tension was unbearable. It was so 

thick that I only had 5 metres visibility 

Above; A typical Fiordland camp in heavy 

bush. Most wapiti blocks cover a large area 

so it is essential to move camp around the 

block so time is not wasted travelling back to 

base camp all the time. By travelling to good 

areas when the weather is bad and camping 

you will be in prime hunting country when the 

weather clears and not waste the good days 

getting there. Left; 3/ The Stina Burn block has 

a relatively small area of open tops however 

these give good access to the ridges on the 

coastal faces. 

and then it happened. A huge creamy 

bull with massive lower tines suddenly 

appeared in front on me but as quick 

as Sako can be, the bull crashed away 

before we could get a shot off. Cursing 

my luck I headed back towards Dave on 

the top of the saddle who had a tale to 

tell himself. 

The bull had run along the top of the 

ridge and they had come face to face 

with the bull only two metres from Dave 

before it wheeled around and crashed 

downhill. Dave had his camera around 

his neck but had been taken totally by 

surprise and never got a picture. I had 

been unable to see the bull’s tops but 

Dave said that while he had tremendous 

lower tines his tops were weak and he 

was probably a young animal so it was 

good I never got a shot off. By now 

rain was starting to fall and the going 

was very slow through the thick scrub. 

By late afternoon and in heavy rain we 

came to a beautiful tussock area full of 

wallows and game trails but with the 

weather being so wet there was not 

a sight or sound of any animals. We 

were both soaked thru and very tired 

so we pitched camp and turned in 

early. The next morning was no better 

as we packed up camp in heavy rain 

and headed for the Tinsley Highway. By 

ROD & RIFLE 17

HUNTING 

late afternoon we were fi nally above the 

Stina Burn head basin and dropping 

down to the campsite in rain that was 

getting heavier by the minute. As we 

were getting the fl y up the rain became 

so heavy it was like someone had a fi re 

hose on us from above. No sooner had 

we got the camp pitched than the rain 

eased off and fi nally stopped. Twenty 

minutes later the sun peeped through 

and a red stag roared on the rim of 

the head basin. With only ten minutes 

of light left I wandered down to the 

tussock below and immediately saw 

a magnifi cent red stag roaring on the 

ridge top. Glassing him I could make 

out at least 12 points; he remains the 

biggest red stag I have ever seen. I 

raced back to camp and grabbed Dave 

but there was simply no time left to go 

after him. We planned for an early start 

the next morning however a southerly 

front put paid to that and we never saw 

or heard that stag again as we were 

camp bound for several days as rain 

As we came to the start of a 

scrubby saddle a bull suddenly 

replied to my roars from only 

50 metres away- Dave stayed 

back while Sako and I crept in 

as the bull keep bugling 

and hail lashed the area. Great gusts of 

wind came up the valley, sounding like 

a freight train and trying to tear our tent 

and fl y from their anchor points. The 

weather report from the mountain radio 

schedule that night indicated a few fi ne 

days so we decided to head onto the 

tops the next day. The Stina Burn has 

a relatively small area of tops but these 

give good access to the spurs running 

down the coastal faces. 

It was very frustrating listening to 

hunting parties on some of the most 

sort after blocks calling up to be taken 

out because of the wet weather; 

ironically they were being picked up as 

the weather cleared. 

We spent the day hunting and roaring 

on the spurs leading down to the sea, 

but with mixed results. Dave managed 

to photograph a young wapiti bull 

holding several cows and several other 

animals were seen but no trophies. The 

next morning we headed downriver and 

then up a steep ridge to camp near 

the basin above the Stina mouth for a 


Dave Cochrane took this heavy antlered eleven point hybrid after an exciting hunt with the author. 

few days. Despite many hours glassing 

this great area we saw only one wapiti 

cow in the distance although there 

was plenty of fresh sign about. During 

our stay there we heard several wapiti 

bulls bugling well in the valley below 

and a few others of mixed parentage 

bellowing down by the Stina River so 

this is where we headed. Dropping 

our packs we proceeded down river 

towards a stag that was roaring well 

in response to my roars. Dave was in 

the lead and he suddenly threw his rifl e 

up and fi red, downing a very heavy 11 

pointer on the rivers edge. The stag 

had been coming in on my roars and 

was a lot closer than we expected. 

Although the stag had been roaring 

well it had a slightly creamy coat and 

we surmised that it was a hybrid. After 

the usual photos we removed the rack 

and headed back to camp in the head 

basin. With rain falling again the next 

day we packed and headed for Bernie’s 

Camp where Mike and Barraclough had 

been for the last week. After a miserable 

wet trip I was really looking forward to 

catching up with the boys but the camp 

was empty when we fi nally arrived late 

evening. 

This camp has quite a collection of 

old antlers lying about and has been

used by wapiti hunters for decades. 

During Mike and Barraclough’s stay 

they had some tremendous stalking 

action as they chased bugling and 

roaring stags on the coastal faces with 

Barraclough taking some outstanding 

photos and video footage. Over the 

last few days one of my big toes had 

become badly infected and during the 

night waves of pain shot up my leg and 

I thought my trip was over. In the early 

hours of the morning as rain lashed our 

Above; The Stina Burn tops looking towards the head of Bligh Sound. 

Left; The late Charlie Tattersall holds Steve Collings big 13 from the Stina 

(1991); 42.5 inches long by 39 inches wide. 

tent I’d had enough 

so asked Dave if he 

would use his knife to 

open my toe to relieve 

the pressure. The relief 

was tremendous and 

after applying a liberal 

coating of antiseptic 

cream I had no more 

problems. After packing 

camp for the last time 

in the rain we headed 

down the ridge towards 

base camp at the 

mouth of the Catsarse. 

Arriving at Catsarse 

Creek we found a 

raging torrent and as 

we tried to work our 

way along the creek 

edge to fi nd a better 

crossing we could 

see the level rising 

rapidly making it far too dangerous to 

attempt a crossing. With nowhere to 

camp we had to climb several hundred 

metres back up the ridge to fi nd a fl at 

spot and it was here that we found the 

remains of the Australians campsite 

from several years ago. It had been 

left in a disgusting state with rubbish 

everywhere. As we cleaned up the mess 

some pretty angry words were directed 

at them and I certainly hope they never 

return to Fiordland. Huddled under the 

fl y soaking wet and with base camp just 

across the creek we both felt quite sorry 

for ourselves. By late evening the rain 

had eased so we dropped down to the 

creek to check its level to fi nd it must 

have dropped at least a metre. Leaving 

a river level marker peg in the sand we 

raced back uphill to break camp and 

returned to attempt a crossing just on 

dusk. On our arrival back at the creek 

an hour later it had dropped more so I 

called out to see if Mike and Barraclough 

were at base camp and sure enough 

they appeared on the river bank. Within 

minutes we were changing into dry 

cloths and downing cups of hot coffee. 

Packing camp up next morning in 

the sun was pleasant but sadly meant 

the end of another great Fiordland 

adventure. Our chopper arrived on time 

and we were treated to a fabulous trip 

out as our pilot took us on a scenic trip 

home looking for deer on some of the 

high ridges. 

This was the wettest trip I have done 

to Fiordland with only three fi ne days 

out of fourteen however we still saw 

some good animals. It’s the beauty and 

magic of Fiordland and her wapiti bulls 

that draws me back year after year no 

matter what the weather. 

Acknowledgements; The Banwell 

Archives; John Hall-Jones; 

ROD & RIFLE 19

Stina - Rod & Rifle

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