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    RUNNING THE GAUNTLET

    Oct 21, 2019 4 minutes

    “I’M NOT GOING TO BE ABLE to make it into Ikawatea,” came the scratchy radio call from Simon the chopper pilot, as we huddled in the ute. “The clag has set in and the wind is getting up.”

    Resigned to the inevitable, DOC ranger Pete Bird turned to me, shrugged his shoulders and said: “We call this the gauntlet.”

    Spring in New Zealand is a bad time to do an aerial 1080 operation, but it’s also the best time. Possums and rats are hungry and tempted by the bait. But choppers need to be able to fly safely, drop bait accurately and, at that time of year, the weather doesn’t always play ball. It can be

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