New Zealand in May

[RatRodMike]

Congrats, you're going to have a great time! I would recommend getting everything processed and shipped to you- I had my sheep head shipped to me in 2023 and all the processing and shipping was like $300 maybe? I can look it up if you want.

Also I recommend a day trip to Hobbiton if you can swing it.

That's for those tips. I'd love to see Hobbiton too (I'm sure my family would also) but we're probably not getting out of the airport when we land in Auckland.

 

[bowhuntoholic]

Its easy. Just get your forms from US and fill them out before coming back. You can also do it online, but I just do the paper forms. A friend of mine did it online and said it was easy too. Get the paperwork from the Department of Interior over there in NZ showing you legally killed the animals. It's pretty easy too but they won't give them to you until you're done hunting. I think its $40ish. If you're taking a gun over there make sure to have all your ducks in a row upon landing to get cleared and you'll need your firearm documentation to bring the gun back into the US to show you didn't buy it overseas. Freeze your capes before flying back and they'll be fine. NZ is a disease free country so its pretty easy to bring stuff back as long as it isn't waterfowl (waterfowl is different). Make sure all your gear especially your boots are clean when you land. Theyre picky about that upon arrival. Some times they'll search your bag and make sure its clean, sometimes they'll just ask you.

We need to find out what forms.

 

[RatRodMike]

I just flew in from New Zealand and boy are my arms tired.

 

[RatRodMike]

Had a great time in New Zealand and definably planning on going back.

So, to answer the question that I started this post with I'll try to break down what I did to get the cape and horns back home.

I skinned the head out the day after packing him home. I cut the skull plate off a boiled it for about 40 minutes. Scraped everything off the best I could. We had a wood stove in the house we rented so it was easy to get it completely dry. I then fleshed the cape, split the lips and cleaned up the eye areas. I gave it a good coat of salt and folded it up for the night. Then next day I scraped off the salt and dried the hide the best I could. That night I put into a garbage back and into the freezer. The next day I put into a foam cooler and we left the house for a hotel in Christchurch where I picked up some dry ice. I should have arranged the dry ice ahead of time but got lucky was able to get 5 kilos. This was on Friday and we flew out on Monday. The dry ice was gone by then but the hide was still frozen. I put the horns in the cooler with the cape before leaving as well.

Before leaving New Zealand I was sure to print off the Non-CITES declaration from New Zealand, the USFWS Form 3-177 with I had filled out (the instructions for this make it pretty easy), and the certificate from the Ministry for Primary Industries that I had picked up in Christchurch on that Friday.

Our port of entry was San Francisco. The US Fish and Wildlife inspector looked at the skull plate and cape and approved everything. The cape was partially thawed out by the but that didn't seem to matter. A customs officer was there and commented that the hides they usually see are drier than mine but that it didn't matter. Mine wasn't wet, just not dry. I'll probably try drying the hide more on the next trip. I asked the inspector what she was typically looking for during her inspections. She said it was mainly a check for bugs and seeds in the fur. Disease isn't a concern when things are coming from New Zealand.

I hope this helps anyone else thinking of making a DIY trip like this. Hunting on your own in New Zealand is totally doable with some research and preparation.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Awesome, thanks for the follow up. I would love to hear how your hunt went. Do you have a write-up on a different thread or are you planning on writing one here?

 

[bowhuntoholic]

Okay, my dreams have finally come true. I’m heading to New Zealand for a DIY hunt in May. I’m taking the family but I’ll be the only one hunting. Just a boy and his gun.

I’m hoping to get some advice about bringing back capes, horn and antlers on the airlines. I’ve read a lot and have some ideas but I’m always looking for more information. Anyone have DIY experience with bringing back their trophies from NZ?

Let me know how it goes. We are flying on AirNZ and United coming home. Does anyone have all of the paperwork/online docs for NZ and US? I am not sure exactly what we need. We are hunting red stag in Texas this fall and depending on what we get we will take sika and fallow, if the red stag turns out nice. Otherwise it will just be red stag in NZ.

 

[bowhuntoholic]

Had a great time in New Zealand and definably planning on going back.

So, to answer the question that I started this post with I'll try to break down what I did to get the cape and horns back home.

I skinned the head out the day after packing him home. I cut the skull plate off a boiled it for about 40 minutes. Scraped everything off the best I could. We had a wood stove in the house we rented so it was easy to get it completely dry. I then fleshed the cape, split the lips and cleaned up the eye areas. I gave it a good coat of salt and folded it up for the night. Then next day I scraped off the salt and dried the hide the best I could. That night I put into a garbage back and into the freezer. The next day I put into a foam cooler and we left the house for a hotel in Christchurch where I picked up some dry ice. I should have arranged the dry ice ahead of time but got lucky was able to get 5 kilos. This was on Friday and we flew out on Monday. The dry ice was gone by then but the hide was still frozen. I put the horns in the cooler with the cape before leaving as well.

Before leaving New Zealand I was sure to print off the Non-CITES declaration from New Zealand, the USFWS Form 3-177 with I had filled out (the instructions for this make it pretty easy), and the certificate from the Ministry for Primary Industries that I had picked up in Christchurch on that Friday.

Our port of entry was San Francisco. The US Fish and Wildlife inspector looked at the skull plate and cape and approved everything. The cape was partially thawed out by the but that didn't seem to matter. A customs officer was there and commented that the hides they usually see are drier than mine but that it didn't matter. Mine wasn't wet, just not dry. I'll probably try drying the hide more on the next trip. I asked the inspector what she was typically looking for during her inspections. She said it was mainly a check for bugs and seeds in the fur. Disease isn't a concern when things are coming from New Zealand.

I hope this helps anyone else thinking of making a DIY trip like this. Hunting on your own in New Zealand is totally doable with some research and preparation.

Did you bring home any meat? Any extra paperwork?

 

[RatRodMike]

Awesome, thanks for the follow up. I would love to hear how your hunt went. Do you have a write-up on a different thread or are you planning on writing one here?

Cool. I put something together in the next few days and post it here.

 

[RatRodMike]

Let me know how it goes. We are flying on AirNZ and United coming home. Does anyone have all of the paperwork/online docs for NZ and US? I am not sure exactly what we need. We are hunting red stag in Texas this fall and depending on what we get we will take sika and fallow, if the red stag turns out nice. Otherwise it will just be red stag in NZ.

I believe that most of the paperwork was posted by folks helping me out on this thread. I can post some links if you can't find them.

 

[RatRodMike]

Did you bring home any meat? Any extra paperwork?

We ate a bunch there and I dried a bunch and brought it in my carryon. The flavor was very mild. I'd like to figure out how to bring back frozen meat the next time. I'm kicking myself for not asking the inspector for information about that in San Fran.

 

[bowhuntoholic]

We ate a bunch there and I dried a bunch and brought it in my carryon. The flavor was very mild. I'd like to figure out how to bring back frozen meat the next time. I'm kicking myself for not asking the inspector for information about that in San Fran.

Our outfitter said that one of his guides is also the butcher. He packages it up and puts it in the cooler. It was around $200 including the cooler for 50 pounds of meat. I just am not sure if we need to have to have paperwork from the Aukland office. I found where we can file on line. The office is only a half hour walk from the airport, which might be nice during our long layover.

 

[BEvans]

Had a great time in New Zealand and definably planning on going back.

So, to answer the question that I started this post with I'll try to break down what I did to get the cape and horns back home.

I skinned the head out the day after packing him home. I cut the skull plate off a boiled it for about 40 minutes. Scraped everything off the best I could. We had a wood stove in the house we rented so it was easy to get it completely dry. I then fleshed the cape, split the lips and cleaned up the eye areas. I gave it a good coat of salt and folded it up for the night. Then next day I scraped off the salt and dried the hide the best I could. That night I put into a garbage back and into the freezer. The next day I put into a foam cooler and we left the house for a hotel in Christchurch where I picked up some dry ice. I should have arranged the dry ice ahead of time but got lucky was able to get 5 kilos. This was on Friday and we flew out on Monday. The dry ice was gone by then but the hide was still frozen. I put the horns in the cooler with the cape before leaving as well.

Before leaving New Zealand I was sure to print off the Non-CITES declaration from New Zealand, the USFWS Form 3-177 with I had filled out (the instructions for this make it pretty easy), and the certificate from the Ministry for Primary Industries that I had picked up in Christchurch on that Friday.

Our port of entry was San Francisco. The US Fish and Wildlife inspector looked at the skull plate and cape and approved everything. The cape was partially thawed out by the but that didn't seem to matter. A customs officer was there and commented that the hides they usually see are drier than mine but that it didn't matter. Mine wasn't wet, just not dry. I'll probably try drying the hide more on the next trip. I asked the inspector what she was typically looking for during her inspections. She said it was mainly a check for bugs and seeds in the fur. Disease isn't a concern when things are coming from New Zealand.

I hope this helps anyone else thinking of making a DIY trip like this. Hunting on your own in New Zealand is totally doable with some research and preparation.

Congrats on the hunt. I started looking into a diy New Zealand trip but the firearm importation scared me off. My understanding was you need to know a New Zealand resident to vouch for you and to store the gun while not hunting with it. I would love to hear about how that process went for you.

 

[Kiwi]

Congrats on the hunt. I started looking into a diy New Zealand trip but the firearm importation scared me off. My understanding was you need to know a New Zealand resident to vouch for you and to store the gun while not hunting with it. I would love to hear about how that process went for you.

Most visitor hunters seem to go guided (and therefore have a resident contact) or hunt with a NZ buddy.

I have taken US visitors on hunts and they have used my rifle which is perfectly legal if hunting together.

Bringing your own rifle here on a solo hunt can be tricky.

But reach out if I can help.

 

[RatRodMike]

Congrats on the hunt. I started looking into a diy New Zealand trip but the firearm importation scared me off. My understanding was you need to know a New Zealand resident to vouch for you and to store the gun while not hunting with it. I would love to hear about how that process went for you.

The firearm permit was fairly easy to get. I didn't need to know a New Zealand resident. Just apply several months before your trip (I think they ask for 5 months but 3 would probably be okay). I had to re-check my gun case at every airport but that may have been because we had a lot of problems with late and missed flights. Still it wasn't a big problem but it was a hassle. When you get to Auckland they'll check to see if the S/N of my rifle matched the permit paperwork. You'll also have to have your ammo on your permit. There's a max for ammo weight but my two boxes were way under that.

 

[RatRodMike]

Most visitor hunters seem to go guided (and therefore have a resident contact) or hunt with a NZ buddy.

I have taken US visitors on hunts and they have used my rifle which is perfectly legal if hunting together.

Bringing your own rifle here on a solo hunt can be tricky.

But reach out if I can help.

I may get a guide for stag on my next trip. I would be a big time savings working with someone who knows where the animals are at and smart to have an extra hand too.

Thank you for your helpful info before I left Kiwi. It was a big help.