mtcarter
FNG
I'm not sure if this is the right place for this thread so feel free to move.
In a few short weeks two friends and I are heading to New Zealand for two months, the first six weeks of which will be purely for hunting (final two weeks for sightseeing when the girlfriend arrives). This trip has been over a year in the making and I have learned a lot on this forum so I thought I would share this experience with everyone.
This is a large trip for us so I will share some information about myself and my experience hunting. In addition, I have a final few gear items to decide on so I'll post a kit list so that I can get everyone's opinions. While on the trip I will try to post updates at least weekly based on cell service and/or WiFi availability.
New Zealand is in vogue right now so I'm sure many of you are also planning your own trips. We had tons of questions and received help from many sources. However we are still winging a fair bit. In an effort to not give bad information on topics of which we know very little, I'll save those responses for after we've vetted the information.
The Plan:
On March 6 we leave the States for Christchurch, New Zealand. After picking up our rental SUV, we will head to the Department of Conservation (DOC) to get our permits and any advice they may offer. When we are legal we will make our final gear and food purchases and strike off for the West Coast.
We haven't made any final decisions on the exact locations as we wanted to talk to DOC first. Their website is invaluable in locating hunting ranges based on species available.
In an effort to staunch the hemorrhage of funds (and to bolster our sense of adventure) we will be hiking in from trail heads instead of using a helicopter. As many areas are closed to heli access except by draw we have a greater expanse of range open to us. The DOC uses language such as "extremely difficult to access by foot" when describing these areas. What we lack in good sense we make up for in time.
We've planned this trip with tahr in mind and that will be the focus. However, as the roar will be in full swing towards the latter stages for our trip we will chase red deer as well. We didn't apply for a "roar block" so we will only be allowed in open areas. I would love to hunt fallow deer but I don't know if that will happen this trip.
I'm going to be carrying just the recurve on this trip so I won't be overly dangerous. My friend is carrying a rifle in addition to his compound. While I crave the experience of the traditional bow I am not opposed to burning some gunpowder should the tahr prove too elusive. We have six weeks to figure the animals out. Barring that perhaps we can locate some particularly dimwitted ones. Either way it should be an adventure.
Questions, advice, and comments welcome!
Cheers
In a few short weeks two friends and I are heading to New Zealand for two months, the first six weeks of which will be purely for hunting (final two weeks for sightseeing when the girlfriend arrives). This trip has been over a year in the making and I have learned a lot on this forum so I thought I would share this experience with everyone.
This is a large trip for us so I will share some information about myself and my experience hunting. In addition, I have a final few gear items to decide on so I'll post a kit list so that I can get everyone's opinions. While on the trip I will try to post updates at least weekly based on cell service and/or WiFi availability.
New Zealand is in vogue right now so I'm sure many of you are also planning your own trips. We had tons of questions and received help from many sources. However we are still winging a fair bit. In an effort to not give bad information on topics of which we know very little, I'll save those responses for after we've vetted the information.
The Plan:
On March 6 we leave the States for Christchurch, New Zealand. After picking up our rental SUV, we will head to the Department of Conservation (DOC) to get our permits and any advice they may offer. When we are legal we will make our final gear and food purchases and strike off for the West Coast.
We haven't made any final decisions on the exact locations as we wanted to talk to DOC first. Their website is invaluable in locating hunting ranges based on species available.
In an effort to staunch the hemorrhage of funds (and to bolster our sense of adventure) we will be hiking in from trail heads instead of using a helicopter. As many areas are closed to heli access except by draw we have a greater expanse of range open to us. The DOC uses language such as "extremely difficult to access by foot" when describing these areas. What we lack in good sense we make up for in time.
We've planned this trip with tahr in mind and that will be the focus. However, as the roar will be in full swing towards the latter stages for our trip we will chase red deer as well. We didn't apply for a "roar block" so we will only be allowed in open areas. I would love to hunt fallow deer but I don't know if that will happen this trip.
I'm going to be carrying just the recurve on this trip so I won't be overly dangerous. My friend is carrying a rifle in addition to his compound. While I crave the experience of the traditional bow I am not opposed to burning some gunpowder should the tahr prove too elusive. We have six weeks to figure the animals out. Barring that perhaps we can locate some particularly dimwitted ones. Either way it should be an adventure.
Questions, advice, and comments welcome!
Cheers