It's an occasion so big in some parts of the country, club rugby games have to be shifted to another day to accommodate it.
On Saturday morning, tens of thousands of hunters across the country will be sneaking into their maimais waiting for the sun to rise for the first day of the game bird season.
Fish & Game NZ chief executive Corina Jordan joins Nights to explain the ins and outs of bird hunting in New Zealand.
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Harry Graham, 15, from Kaikoura duck hunting in Canterbury. Photo: Fish & Game New Zealand