Hunters and anglers take turns to share their passion for the sport in the second series of HUNT WITH ME premiering on Māori Television on Tuesday March 30 2021 – at 9.30 PM.

Executive producer Martin Cleave from 2B Media says the new-look series celebrates a unique way of life in New Zealand.

The use of actual footage and first person narrative means the armchair enthusiast is literally taken along on the hunt in a range of stunning locations – from moana (sea) to maunga (mountain) – by a diverse and engaging cast.

Importantly, the series is about exercising customary rights, showing respect for the gods of sea and forests, Tangaroa and Tāne Mahuta, harvesting sustainably and gathering food for the table.

HUNT WITH ME is an attempt to ‘drag’ people back into the outdoors, says Cleave.

“As a child born in the seventies, hunting and fishing was as common as riding a bike without shoes and a helmet.

“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 whānau loved.”

The HUNT WITH ME talent includes:

•    JOE ROLSTON (Ngāti Porou), a 30-year-old deer and pig hunter from Ruahine;

•    NORE MARTIN (Te Rarawa), a 39-year-old customary fisheries officer who lives in Mitimiti in the Hokianga;

•    GAVIN WAIRAU (Rongomaiwāhine), aged 45, a glazier from Whitianga in the Coromandel; 

•    OWEN HARRIS (Tainui, Maniapoto, Ngāpuhi), a 30-year-old contract manager who lives in the King Country;

•    AMBER SMITH (Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri), aged 30, an angler and announcer with Ngāti Hine FM based in Whangārei;

•    CAHN TE KARU O WHAKATIHI BROWN (Ngāti Kuri, Tūwharetoa), a 21-year-old hunter, bushman and fulltime student at Waikato University;

•    THANE YOUNG, 52 (Ngāti Hineuru), aged 52, a deer hunter from Wellington.

Coming up on HUNT WITH ME:

•    EPISODE 1 – TUESDAY 30 MARCH 2021 AT 9.30 PM: Joe Rolston and the bros head to the Ruahine Ranges for deer; Amber Smith and whānau are fishing in the Bay of Islands.

•    EPISODE 2 – TUESDAY 6 APRIL 2021 AT 9.30 PM: Nore Martin and the whānau take us to their annual marae fishing competition; Gavin Wairau and mate TJ are deep in the bush on the hunt for a prize deer.
•    EPISODE 3 – TUESDAY 13 APRIL 2021 AT 9.30 PM: Tyran McRae and the Chums are heading to Hauturu to try to bag a 20 pounder; Cahn Brown and his brothers are deep in the Waimiha Forest hunting feral goats for their hīnaki.

•    EPISODE 4 – TUESDAY 20 APRIL 2021 AT 9.30 PM: Owen and Thane hike up high in the hope of spotting a deer but will the weather hold them back; Amber Smith is chasing monsters from the deep.

•    EPISODE 5 – TUESDAY 27 APRIL 2021 AT 9.30 PM: Nore Martin has a surprise visit from an Auckland ‘cuzzy’ intent on bagging a snapper; Gavin is out with his mate TJ in the west Ruahine Ranges stalking deer.

•    EPISODE 6 – TUESDAY 4 MAY 2021 AT 9.30 PM: Amber Smith is out on Wave Dancer in the Hauraki Gulf trying to land the Kingy of her dreams, and Owen and Thane are thick in the Ruahine Rangers, hunting for red deer hoping the weather won’t hold them back.

•    EPISODE 7 – TUESDAY 11 MAY 2021 AT 9.30 PM: The Brown Boys are in Tokoroa hoping to get a sizable pig for the whanau, while the Chum Lads have a big day planned slaying Kingy and Snapper off the rugged west coast of Muriwai.
•    EPISODE 8 – TUESDAY 18 MAY 2021 AT 9.30 PM: Nore Martin meets up with one of his cousins in the far north to target big Kingy’s off the bricks, and the Clarke Boys head to Ohakune to hunt down deer to fill their freezers

•    EPISODE 9 – TUESDAY 25 MAY 2021 AT 9.30 PM: Amber Smith is out wide in the Hauraki Gulf in search of the elusive 20 pound snapper, and the Clarke boys are on the hunt for pork in their back yard.

•    EPISODE 10 – TUESDAY 1 JUNE 2021 AT 9.30 PM: Angler Shannon Neho and his mate are off the Rangiputa entrance soft baiting for snapper, and master hunter Gavin Wairau shows us why he’s at the top of his game.

•    EPISODE 11 – TUESDAY 8 JUNE 2021 AT 9.30 PM: The Clarke Boys, are back at it in the bush tracking down deer, while Shannon Neho is off the coast at Houhora, in pursuit of big Kingy’s.

•    EPISODE 12 – TUESDAY 15 JUNE 2021 AT 9.30 PM: Social media sensation Jason Neute shows us some tricks of the trade on the water, and Joe Rolston is back in the thick of it, popping off deer in preparation for winter.
•    EPISODE 13 – TUESDAY 22 JUNE 2021 AT 9.30 PM: A look back over the most compelling hunts, from smashing Kingys in the north, to hunting goats and pigs in Tokoroa… all in a fun filled, action packed bundle of compelling appointment viewing.

The second series of HUNT WITH ME premieres on Māori Television on Tuesday March 30 2021 at 9.30 PM.

For images, interviews or further information, contact:

Kirk MacGibbon
Mātanga Tuku Kōrero / Communications Specialist
Māori Television
DDI: 09 539 7159
MOB: 021 20 33 777
EMAIL: kirk.macgibbon@maoritelevision.com