Hunting series premieres
The second series of Hunt With Me premiered on Ma¯ori Television on Tuesday night, the first episode featuring Joe Rolston (Nga¯ti Porou), a 30-year-old deer and pig hunter from Ruahine, and “the bros” scouring the Ruahine Ranges for deer; and Amber Smith (Nga¯ti Kahu, Te Rarawa, Te Aupo¯uri) — a keen angler and announcer with Nga¯ti Hine FM in Whanga¯rei — and her wha¯nau fishing in the Bay of Islands.
Next Tuesday’s second episode (9.30am) will feature Nore Martin (Te Rarawa), a 39-year-old customary fisheries officer who lives at Mitimiti, and his wha¯nau at their annual marae fishing competition, while Smith will also appear in the fourth episode, “chasing monsters from the deep”.
Hunt With Me executive producer Martin Cleave (2B
Media) said the new-look series celebrated a unique way of life in New Zealand. The use of actual footage and firstperson narrative meant the armchair enthusiast was literally taken along on the hunt in a range of stunning locations, from moana to maunga, by a diverse and engaging cast.
Importantly, the series was about exercising customary rights, showing respect for the gods of sea and forests, Tangaroa and Ta¯ne Mahuta, harvesting sustainably and gathering food for the table.
The series was an attempt to “drag” people back into the outdoors.
“As a child born in the 70s, hunting and fishing was as common as riding a bike without shoes and a helmet,” Cleave said. “You cannot appreciate what it is like to eat food straight from the ngahere to the plate, from the ocean to the saucepan, until you live it. It was the outdoors my wha¯nau loved.”
The cast also includes Cahn te Karu o Whakatihi Brown (Nga¯ti Kuri, Tu¯wharetoa), a 21-year-old hunter, bushman and fulltime student at Waikato University.