Thread: American Hunter Needing Advice

Hey everyone! I've been trying to plan a trip down to NZ for the last 6 months. Between joining this forum and doing my research on the DOC website I have a couple of areas narrowed down that I am curious about. The first area I was looking at was the Karangaru and Douglas valley routes. To me this looks like it could be some good hunting. But one negative about it is it seems that those valleys are highly trafficked areas.

The second area, which really got me excited looking at the DOC maps was the Snowy Gorge Creek that goes up into the Hideaway Biv and the Snowy Gorge Hut. Not only does this area seem like some good hunting, but according to DOC there is a variety of species to hunt in this area. I am not looking at taking any trophy animals, but just a good representative species of whatever I'm hunting. (Tahr, Stag, Chamois, and hopefully a Fallow.) I am curious if there are many members of this forum that have hunted these two areas and how they treated you. Especially the Quailburn hunting block.

This trip is still about 2-3 years out. I am still trying to save up some money and vacation time as well as finding a couple of buddies to go with me to help split the costs of everything. My plan is to fly into Christchurch, rent a vehicle, and be out hunting in NZ for about 2 weeks.

Hi and welcome. While I have not had much experience (none at all in fact) in the areas you describe, I would suggest considering a guide of some description. (Professional or even a very helpful local from here if you are lucky) There are a range of issues that can catch people out here and while we dont have any predators that will chase you, nature herself can be very fickle, so local knowledge and an understanding of the environment and the way to changes could ell save your life. Local knowledge with you can also help find the animals as well.

I have not sought Tahr but there are many who do so they may be able to tell you the best time of year to visit but they like steep snowy and mountainous terrain which has its own set of risks and hazards, again somewhere local assistance will help. I know form my own experience that Fallow bucks tend to be found more easily after the roar (Reds), boar are pretty much year round and DOC is happy if you shot every pig goat, possum and wild cat that you can find.

I am sure you will have a great time.

Thanks timattalon. I really wouldn't want to hire a guide or even think about booking a hunt with an outfitter over there. To me that takes away from the hunt itself when you are just hunting high fenced animals. However, I would be up to finding a local that would show us around and give us some good insight. We would pay you back in all the beer and game meat you could handle, lol. Not only that, but they would be welcome to come to Wyoming and bag themselves a nice antelope, mule deer, or even an elk.

You are doing the right thing starting this conversation on here well in advance of coming over. There are many South Island members on here that will have good advice to offer and I am sure there will be some that have hunted the area you speak of. Come on guys show this member some Kiwi preparedness to help, Wyoming is a fantastic place and the offer to reciprocate would be fantastic to take up. @jakewire point this fellah at some members that are local to the areas he is tailing about if you know any.

Can't help sorry , at the other end of the country. I'm sure there would be more than a few members here that could help.... even take a couple of weeks off to go hunting. Keep talking make some contacts, share your hunting experiences to gauge your capabilities..... hunting here is not like other parts of the world it can be very DIY or canned depending on what you want. But it can be very unforgiving for anyone unprepared.

I've done some hunting in snowy creek gorge, I'll send you a pm and help you out

welcome to the forum.
Looks like you are going the right way about getting the information you need. Good luck and have a safe trip.

Originally Posted by High Country Boy

I've done some hunting in snowy creek gorge, I'll send you a pm and help you out

Good on ya @High Country Boy

Cheers
Pete

I know the Karangarua well and have shot some very good bulls in there.
Its very big country and yes it does get a lot of hunting pressure.
But thats mostly because there are a lot of good animals in the area.

The Douglas is really only an option for fly in.
But its a fairly direct flight from James Scott's heli base and gets you into some very good country.
There is a good weeks worth in both locations for a couple of guys.

Its all big, mean and scary country for a first time hunter in NZ and there have recently been a few foreign hunting visitors come to grief doing solo / unguided hunts into that very location. One Australian was pretty experienced having been over a number of times hunting.
But don't let that put you off because I have guided plenty of foreign mates ( for koha / gift ) into there and other areas and the only person to get seriously broken was me.
So you will need to have a Personal Locator Beacon ( PLB ).

Don't waste your time pouring over google earth maps ..... when you get there you will realize that what looked like a nice hunt is really an epic undertaking and not on a human scale.
I have taken guys into areas like that who wanted to nip up this or that gully and then realized it would take a massive effort and was well above their skill set.
Some of the country is "hours per km" not "km per hour".

So long as your expectations are realistic any success would be a bonus.

This is a 14 3/4" bull I shot in the Karangarua. That is a 150m vertical drop he is perched on.
400m shot in evening. Went back next morning and it took 5 hours to get to the bull from where the shot was taken from and 3 hours to get back.
So an 8 hour round trip to recover the trophy ..... just added that to give you an idea of how hard the country can be.
But having said that you might get lucky and bump into one on the track.


Results from a recent South Westland fly in trip with 3 mates from Germany.


You need to have good gear to camp out at altitude in that country but its worth the effort and discomfort if you can be more than a days walk away form the nearest hut.

Even if your fit, experienced, have all the best gear and totally comfortable in that sort of country things can still go wrong.

Thanks akaroa. From looking at pictures on different threads on the forum, the country over there does look pretty rough and unforgiving.

Hi Wyohunter! I agree that you are doing the right thing by joining the forum. I can understand you not wanting to hire a guide (although there are several who specialise in 'fair chase' hunting) but would suggest that a local hunting companion would be a wise choice. The area you have chosen is not only rugged but also very susceptable to sudden and dangerous weather conditions. I would recommend the following as essential; high level of fitness, proper cold/wet weather clothing, and a PLB.

Depending on the time of year I could be keen, not vast experience hunting but spent a bit of time in nz wilderness. Helicopters are your friend in new Zealand and he more people brings the prices down per person

Hi wyohunter and welcome.

Since your trip is a long way out you've got plenty of time for the main thing...fitness. The fitter you are the more enjoyable the trip will be, by fit I mean a good heavy pack on your back and serious miles up hills, you want to be walking 25km minimum a day and maybe 500 vertical metres before you get here. Karangarua is serious country and timing the trip will be very important, there is a high snow fall up top around there and if you haven't done proper mountain work it should be avoided.

For Tahr @headcase would be a good man to talk too.

After fitness your boots are next, plenty of threads on here weighing all the pros and cons with them. I'd bring two well broken pairs, then your sleeping bag, minimum 15 degree Celsius below zero, 10 below would be ok maybe depending on time of year. As for clothing, I've gone back to basics and you will possibly find a lot of what you get in America doesn't really work here, but I stand to be corrected. The flowery crap just doesn't seem to last all that well.

How good are your map/compass skills, or are you a gps man?

Originally Posted by wyohunter

Thanks timattalon. I really wouldn't want to hire a guide or even think about booking a hunt with an outfitter over there. To me that takes away from the hunt itself when you are just hunting high fenced animals. However, I would be up to finding a local that would show us around and give us some good insight. We would pay you back in all the beer and game meat you could handle, lol. Not only that, but they would be welcome to come to Wyoming and bag themselves a nice antelope, mule deer, or even an elk.

While there are some "behind the wire" places here, these are not what I was referring to. The guides I was referring to are more people who know a specific area and what conditions to expect, where and when to go and more importantly when and where not to. Having someone who is there to make sure you a) find what you are after and B) more importantly make sure you get out alive and well. These would be guides that know the animals habits and would still be seeking truly wild game. I expect they would also be a decent judge of a situation with a more experienced perspective allowing for better decisions. In much the same way we have mountain giudes for climbers.

Now while I, myself dont know of any who are still in the business, I am sure there are some reputable ones out there.

Originally Posted by gundoc

Hi Wyohunter! I agree that you are doing the right thing by joining the forum. I can understand you not wanting to hire a guide (although there are several who specialise in 'fair chase' hunting) but would suggest that a local hunting companion would be a wise choice. The area you have chosen is not only rugged but also very susceptable to sudden and dangerous weather conditions. I would recommend the following as essential; high level of fitness, proper cold/wet weather clothing, and a PLB.

Some very sage advice here. I would love o be able to try chase tahr but I know that my level of fitness would get me into trouble rather than out of it. A PLB is an extremely good idea to the point of essential in my opinion. Especially in that terrain.