Hello from indiana

I am a 38 year old hunter from the state of Indiana in the United States. I do backpacking hunts in the Rockies at least every other year so I have a little experience in the mountains alone. Im planning a trip to New Zealand in June of 2023 to do some hunting and sight seeing with the family for at least 3 weeks. A gentleman on Accuratereloading forum highly recomended I come here.

Plan is to hunt for the first week on the south island for Tahr (was planning DIY but the folks on Accuratereloading seemed to think that might not be a good idea?) then just drive around and site see for the remainder of the trip splitting out time after the hunt between the south and north island. I definitely plan on seeing some of the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit stuff!

Any recommendations would be very appriciated, from clothes and gear to outfitter if that's what's necessary. I will be traveling with my wife and two daughters age 13 and 9, so any recomendations for stuff they would enjoy as well!

If there is a better spot to put this let me know and I'll move it there.

Hey welcome. I’ll let you know in a bit the pros and cons of the visitors FAL.

Welcome,
No reason not to DIY hunt with enough research and preparation, plenty of good advice to be had here.
My only advice is depending upon which part of the Rockies you’ve hunted is; NZ winter is humid cold compared to parts of North America where it’s certainly colder, but much much lower humidity.
Your gear choice may need to reflect this.

Welcome aboard!
Now comes the long list of parts etc wanted from the USA!
I can kick it off if you like!?

I have just hunted sections of the Rockies from Colorado up into lower Montana. Never been really humid there like it is here in Indiana. I mostly run synthetic clothing with merino wool socks/underwear. I do run a down western mountaineering bag which might be an issue? What’s your suggestion for gear?

Sorry 40mm but I’m not sure I understand? Parts you want or???

And thanks for the welcome!

Welcome to the forum
There will shortly be a loooooong list of gear for you to consider on this thread I would think :)


yeah 40mm means bits you can carry over for him :D
Just a bit of gentle ribbing to start with mate :)

Good wind/ water proof jacket

Welcome. Tahr like to live in some unforgiving mountainous country and June is winter here with snow well down. The weather will be your worst enemy so prepare accordingly. I would recommend a guided hunt.

Ahhh, got ya! I’m not sure about New Zealand but stuff is pretty dang tough to get here right now as well. I feel like I’ll never see a good supply of primers again. Not opposed to helping get some people stuff they need as well if I can

Thanks for the warnings and info so far. I need to obviously do some more research and figure out the best direction to go for this hunt. Everything about New Zealand looks beautiful to me and intrigues the heck out of me! Like I said I’m not opposed to a guide but have no desire to do any kind of canned hunt that doesn’t require effort. A hunt that doesn’t require effort and some challenges is easily forgotten and just not what I’m into.

I can commit to 7 full days hunting just don’t want to go over that and take away from family time doing other things. Doubt my wife and daughters would be interested in suffering with me on the mountain. Certainly not for everyone

Most of my gear I’m comfortable with in wet environments except the sleeping bag, I would want to switch to synthetic for that just so I don’t have to stress over the constant moisture.

My primary tent is a Dan durstin x-mid 2p.
Anyone run that tent there? Issues or concerns?

How about crampons/ice axe? Necessary or just silly?

Could I get by with just my standard trecking poles and micro spikes?

welcome. remember nz is the literal 4 seasons in one day!
lots of layered clothing is the big one, it can be bloody cold to sweaty hot in no time. good boots and a reliable plb is a no brainer

The southern Alps in Winter, absolutely necessary I would think. If you are used to snow/Ice and steep mountains you will be fine, but the weather can change in very short order and catch even the most experienced hunter/mountaineer out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by left hunter

Ahhh, got ya! I’m not sure about New Zealand but stuff is pretty dang tough to get here right now as well. I feel like I’ll never see a good supply of primers again. Not opposed to helping get some people stuff they need as well if I can

Thanks for the warnings and info so far. I need to obviously do some more research and figure out the best direction to go for this hunt. Everything about New Zealand looks beautiful to me and intrigues the heck out of me! Like I said I’m not opposed to a guide but have no desire to do any kind of canned hunt that doesn’t require effort. A hunt that doesn’t require effort and some challenges is easily forgotten and just not what I’m into.

I can commit to 7 full days hunting just don’t want to go over that and take away from family time doing other things. Doubt my wife and daughters would be interested in suffering with me on the mountain. Certainly not for everyone

Most of my gear I’m comfortable with in wet environments except the sleeping bag, I would want to switch to synthetic for that just so I don’t have to stress over the constant moisture.

My primary tent is a Dan durstin x-mid 2p.
Anyone run that tent there? Issues or concerns?

How about crampons/ice axe? Necessary or just silly?

Could I get by with just my standard trecking poles and micro spikes?

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Welcome, my US friends jokingly call this Nambi Pambiland, because we have no dangerous game. And I always tell them the only thing that can get you here is the environment.
I too would recommend getting a guide for that once in a lifetime hunt.

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Originally Posted by johnd

Welcome, my US friends jokingly call this Nambi Pambiland, because we have no dangerous game. And I always tell them the only thing that can get you here is the environment.
I too would recommend getting a guide for that once in a lifetime hunt.

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And sandfly:) Those tiny stuff in West coast will take care visitors well. You mates feel just itching, one of my friend had bitten in her first trip on legs and arms, and then when she went back home country, the suffering last for six months with cost of hospital bill.

Winter time chasing tahr in June hmmm.Get a guide,save you a lot of time.The hills and mountains down here are not a friendly place to be chaseing tahr in winter.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by left hunter

I have just hunted sections of the Rockies from Colorado up into lower Montana. Never been really humid there like it is here in Indiana. I mostly run synthetic clothing with merino wool socks/underwear. I do run a down western mountaineering bag which might be an issue? What’s your suggestion for gear?

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Sounds like you're onto it.
West Coast of the NZ Southern Alps are similar to SE Alaska or the BC Coastal Mountains in my experience, but with more wind and less defined seasons.
Plan on lots of layers of increasing insulation and a waterproof outer.
Any quality Merino, Down and Gore-tex gear will work. Most alpine kiwi hunters are also very conscious of the function and weight of their gear.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

One thing I would recommend to any hunter swapping hemispheres, buy a compass (apparently the are made for North or South) when you get there.
I have a bastard of a time with direction in the northern hemisphere. The sun is in the wrong place and I can't get it sorted without a compass.

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Thank you for mention it. I almost forgot this, now I can adjust myself instantly when I arrived in NZ . Years ago, when I started fresh, I really have difficulty of finding my way, until a night when I watch the movie " Escape Plan" and suddenly realized the sun is not in North. :wtfsmilie: What a joke am I.

Wonderful information! I can’t believe I never thought of that but that sure would explain my constant confusion with direction while hunting in Argentina🤣

Welcome aboard

Welcome aboard :)

As others have said, June is a hard month to get into the hills. A guide will cost more but increase the chance of success 10 fold than if you just head for the hills by yourself. Drowning in NZ rivers was called "The New Zealand death" back when the first colonisers were rolling in. And Thar country is littered with river crossings to get into their domain.

With one week taken up with hunting, attempting to fit in both the North and South island in, in the remaining two weeks will see you spend most of your time sitting in a car with the steering wheel on the wrong side just driving.

Almost all of our State Highways are pretty much like your secondary minor roads, so quite slow in comparison to what you may think you be able to cover in a day.

I would be tempted to stay in the South Island for most of the trip, then keep 3 days aside for driving to Auckland to fly out, if you really must see the North Island.

You will be spoilt with the low population in the South island (around 1.5 mill now), with the other 4 mill shoved into the North Island, and 2 of those packed into Auckland, making it similar to any other small-mid size city in the world.

Central North Island for volcanoes, possibly Rotorua for mudpools and thats your whack, for three days.

Enjoy