Field Review: Paintball Hokitika
Jamie Innes
March 3rd 2006
Well I finally got a chance to go and play at Paintball Hokitika recently, aka 'Mehrtsplace'.
I had heard a few things about it.
And I was not dissapointed or misled once I got there. Now in order to
appreciate the Hokitika field, you have to understand how it compares,
and is different from all the other fields in the South Island.
From Blenheim, Nelson, Kaikoura, Christchurch, Timaru, Dunedin,
Naseby, and Invercargill... most of the fields contain pine forest, grassland, stone laden flood plain, or gorse. Paintball Hokitika has NATIVE BUSH.
Yes, believe it or not, there is a place close to civilisation where
damn farmers haven't yet stripped the land of this previous forest.In Pine forest, you get pine trees that looks straight, vertical, and identical. You also get no foliage (leaves). On grassland, you get grass. Sometimes it's green, sometimes it's brown, sometimes short, or long... but it's just grass, it looks boring and gives you almost no cover. A few fields are on flood plains which means the ground is laden with rocks and sand. You also find that land laden with rocks and sand doesn't offer anything in the way of 'bush'. Then of course there's the gorse, the yellow and green SCOURGE of New Zealand highlands. Gorse can be fun to play in if it's kept under control and isn't too thick, but mostly... the stuff just grows wildy and consumes the land like a plague. Curse the english! :)
So after you've played in this kind've terrain for a while, there's something very special about finally playing in NATIVE BUSH.
The trees are varying thicknesses, some have vines hanging from them,
there are flax bushes of various sizes, leafy bushes, ferns, mossy
trees, and the sun shines through the canopy in fantastic random ways
(As opposed to playing in direct sunlight (Grassland), or complete
shadow (Thick pine forest)). Perhaps the niftiest thing about it, is
the way camouflage finally starts to reach the potential it's intended
to. When you play in the bush, the background is a constant collage of
greens, browns and shadows. The exact same colours you find in
virtually all camouflage patterns.Entry to the field is set up along a very simple, linear path. From the parking lot, you walk down the path past the house, and into the briefing shed. From there, you walk through the shed, down another path onto Field 1. Field 1 is the first of the 2 native bush fields. Field 2 is adjacent to it. The fields are seperated by coloured boundary tape. Both fields are rectangular in shape, and together form an approximate square. They can be played seperate or together. Sizewise each field is about 50x100m.
So
if you've been bushballing for a while, this may seem a tad small...
until you actually play. The thing is, you simply can't see that far
'through the bush'. It's a case of 'Can't see the forest for the
trees'. Now there's a few effects this has.- Small size means not much trekking long distance to find your opponents
- Engagements are usually medium range, or close quarters
- Stealth and flanking has maximum potential for success due to the thickness of the bush
Paintball Hokitika also has another field called 'The Valley'. Which is a speedball field atop a grassy hill. You can either play an attack and defend game up the hill... Omaha beach style, or play speedball on the grassy flat.
Overall, despite the small size, I am very impressed with the fields at Paintball Hokitika. Despite the small size, expect your camouflage to be maximised and your stealth to be effective. Happy hunting!
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