The end of winter in the Northern Hemisphere gives me the itch to travel. I often visit Uganda to chase buffalo, before coming home for Spring turkey season. But this year, I switched it up. My wife, Alka, and I headed south to New Zealand for the last few days of February. We hosted two groups of hunters at two of WTA’s top outfitters and we all enjoyed a wonderful trip.
New Zealand offers endless opportunities for non-hunting companions while delivering a world-class hunting experience. Both lodges where we stayed had dedicated hosts who organized daily activities for the non-hunting guests. Shopping, visiting wineries, sightseeing in Mount Cook, jet boating, and many other activities filled the schedule. Once our hunts wrapped up, the guys joined the ladies on several of these excursions. I especially enjoyed spending a day exploring Mount Cook and an afternoon on the jet boat.
After flying to New Zealand and clearing customs, we caught a short flight to Queenstown. Queenstown is beautiful, situated on a lakeshore with steep mountains dropping straight to the water, making for postcard views. The local food scene is excellent. Alka and I tried multiple restaurants, checked out local shops, and rode the skylift to the top of the mountain. It was nice to have a day or two to acclimate to the 13-hour time difference.
We went to our first lodge, got settled in, visited the rifle range, and then had an incredible dinner.
Alka isn’t really a hunter. She has taken a few animals, and somehow I talked her into hunting a red stag. We got out at daylight with our excellent guide, Victor, when the stags were roaring. We looked at a couple of groups and crept over a ridge to glass into a creek bottom. We found stags roaring, fighting, feeding, and moving all over.
We finally decided on a beautiful red stag with a tank of a body, heavy mass, great crowns. And you could tell he was old. He was also dominant. The others gave way whenever he came near.
After a couple of hours, our stag bedded with another away from the others, and we decided to make a move. Victor expertly maneuvered us down into the thick creek bottom with the wind in our faces. Eventually, we moved within 100 yards of where we thought the stags were. After a while, the other stag stood up and repositioned. When he bedded again, Victor wanted to shift for a better angle. We ended up at 65 yards and could see our stag’s antler tips.
We waited 3 hours for the big guy to get up. We roared, threw rocks, raked brush, but he was tucked in and didn’t budge. Finally, in the early afternoon, Victor raked some brush, roared loudly, and the stag stood. Alka quickly got on the .30-06 and with a couple of shots an inch apart to the shoulder, the big stag dropped. Celebration time!
Alka got a super experience with lots of stag action, a great stalk in close, and then the nerve-racking wait for the 525″ stag to stand up and offer a shot.
Over the next few days, our group of hunters took some incredible stags and fallow deer. Toward the end, a few of us wanted to hunt tahr in the southern Alps.
I cannot describe how beautiful and rugged those mountains are, and seeing them from a helicopter is an experience not to be missed. My hunting partner and I both scored on nice bull tahr the morning we went out, and then the chopper pilot took the ladies up for a quick ride to show them the beauty and majesty of the southern Alps. It was a morning none of us will ever forget.
Alka and I then packed up and transferred to our next lodge, where we met four other couples, including our good friends Russell and Cindy. Russell and I were going to hunt together, as we have all over the globe, and again, the ladies had a full palette of fun excursions planned.
During the first afternoon, we saw a number of great stags and some incredible fallow. What really excited me was seeing and hearing bugling elk. We returned for a 5-star meal (Be ready to gain weight in New Zealand!) and prepared for the next day.
Just after daylight, we were on stags and moving around the hills and canyons, glassing and enjoying the views and the number of animals. One of the hardest parts of hunting there is choosing the stag you want to pursue. There are so many, and they are all so different, it’s sensory overload. There are wide, heavy, drop tines, typical frames, and every other antler configuration imaginable.
While glassing some stags in a wallow across a canyon, I spotted a big bull elk up on a ridge. He was so regal standing on the skyline, I kept coming back to him with my binos. I must have talked about him non-stop, because my outfitter and guide Shaun finally said, “We can go after him if you want, but he is about a mile away, and it’s all uphill.” I told Shaun I was ready to go if he was, so off we went, trekking up the mountain.
When we got to the top, we couldn’t find the bull. Huge rock formations blocked us from seeing a number of areas, so we slowly moved from rock to rock, carefully glassing, until we found the big bill on the third set of rocks.
I quickly set up and Shaun ranged the bull at a bit under 300 yards, moving away. Shaun has suppressed Gunwerks rifles available for his clients to use. I knew with that setup, the shot should be easy if the bull presented a good angle.
After watching him for a few minutes, the bull swung around, giving me a quartering away shot, and I tucked one in behind the shoulder. The big guy was done. When we got to him, he was way bigger than I thought, with 54″ beams and a huge frame, the 7×7 stretched the tape to 397″. I was ecstatic!
That afternoon, I was able to go with Russell on an exciting stag hunt where we got in on two great bulls. After a lot of maneuvering, they stepped out of a bedding area at 70 yards, and Russell hammered a beautiful stag with great crowns and kicker tines off both sides. Getting in close on these huge stags is an absolute blast.
The other guys in camp were laying down some great animals as well. On our second-to-last day, we all decided to go with the ladies for a jet boat ride up a glacial river, a short hike, and then a winery stop for apps and drinks. It was a fantastic day of seeing incredible scenery and relaxing with old and new friends.
On our last morning, Russell decided to find a good elk. An hour or so later, we found a big bull working a wallow. Russell and his guide made a stalk, Russ got on the sticks, and the next thing Shaun and I saw through our binos was the big heavy bull tipping over. What a great way to end our superb hunt!
That afternoon, I went along with Russell on an exciting stag hunt where we got in on two great bulls. After a lot of maneuvering, they stepped out of a bedding area at 70 yards, and Russell hammered a beautiful stag with great crowns and kicker tines off both sides. Getting in close on these huge stags is an absolute blast.
The other guys in camp were laying down some great animals as well. On our second-to-last day, we all decided to go with the ladies for a jet boat ride up a glacial river, a short hike, and then a winery stop for apps and drinks. It was a fantastic day of seeing incredible scenery and relaxing with old and new friends.
On our last morning, Russell decided to find a good elk. An hour or so later, we found a big bull working a wallow. Russell and his guide made a stalk, Russ got on the sticks, and the next thing Shaun and I saw through our binos was the big heavy bull tipping over. What a great way to end our superb hunt!
We all headed back to Queenstown in the afternoon, had a great dinner at the Botswana Butchery restaurant, and then it was one sleep and a long flight home.
I hadn’t been to New Zealand in 25 years, and Alka had never been. I can honestly say that it was one of the best trips of our lives. There is so much for hunters and non-hunters alike; every view, every day, looks like it could be from an art gallery. The people are incredibly friendly, and the amenities at the lodges are top-shelf. If you haven’t been, you owe it to yourself to go. And if you have been, you know what I’m talking about and probably want to go back.
Give us a call at 1-800-346-8747 and let us set you up for a trip of a lifetime to New Zealand. I can think of no better way to shake off winter and get a jumpstart on the big game season.
