The occasion is the 23rd annual Alexandra Lions Great Easter Bunny Hunt, which has nothing to do with chocolate-covered Easter goodies but everything to do with eradicating pests from the Central Otago landscape.
Twenty-five teams of hunters from all over the country turned up for the briefing in the park before the 24-hour event got under way yesterday and almost the same number of hunters were balloted out of the hunt, because of a shortage of suitable blocks.
''We've turned on the best weather in New Zealand for you - I hope you appreciate it, '' hunt convener Dave Ramsay told the 300 hunters, on a clear, still morning.
''There's so much activity on this Easter, we've really struggled this year to get 25 blocks to shoot on and in fact, we've had to send home 20 teams, which is a major disappointment for us in terms of the money we could raise for charity, but that's the way it goes,'' he said.
Blocks on offer had rabbit populations varying from ''70-700''.
At the briefing, hunters learned which farm block they had drawn in the ballot. The farms included blocks in Cardrona, Cromwell, St Bathans, Poolburn and Alexandra.
''The farmer is the boss - he's the key to our event and so what he says, goes. We get report cards back from the farmers and if you get a bad report card, you won't be back at the bunny shoot again, '' Mr Ramsay warned.
Senior Constable Mike Colligan, of Alexandra, gave a safety briefing, which included advice for hunters to ''keep an eye out for the young fellas in the team'', to be wary of steel shot ricochets, and to keep to the speed limit when travelling on busy Central Otago roads.
Teams called the Calici Crusaders, the Smoking Guns, the East West Bunny Boppers and Half Cocked are among those vying for the trophy for the highest tally of rabbits shot over the 24 hours.
The teams will display their hauls in the park from noon today and once counted, the rabbits will be picked up by the Alexandra Scouts and taken away to be composted. Last year's tally was 18,695 rabbits, shot by 47 teams.
Mike Evans, of Arrowtown, his family and friends make up the Blasted Rabbits team.
This is his ninth bunny hunt and the fourth and third respectively for his son, Nicholas (13) and daughter, Mikayla (9).
''It's a great weekend and there's so much on in Central, it's just nice to get away from it all and take to the hills,'' he said.
Mikayla is chief ammunition-loader and ''bunny picker-upper'' but also planned to dispatch some rabbits, and had set her sights on bagging at least 10.
