New Zealand

[montanadogs]

What a lucky guy I am. My father in law met a gal from New Zealand who he is now engaged to. He just met her family in New Zealand this past month and they loved him. So needless to say they offered him a contracting job in New Zealand and he is moving this Jan. I'm pumped. He has already bought us tickets for this next summer.
So, my question is this. Do I have to have a guide to hunt down there? I've looked into it a bit hunting down there and can't really find much info. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[jlmatthew]

Lucky You!

I hear the hunting & fishing is outstanding down there.

 

[putm2sleep]

havgunwilltravel i think has been there? very successful too?

 

[Gerald Martin]

no guides needed, definitely the place for some adventure.

 

[kiwi hunta]

no guides needed, definitely the place for some adventure.

+1 no worries you just gotta climb a lot

 

[mixedbag]

Sounds like you FIL will need a partner in his contracting job.I happen to know a good contractor too that would travel to NZ,lol
Have a great trip,and best of luck chasing those critters.that would be a dream of mine but can't get past the 24 hr. plane flight

 

[havgunwilltravel]

montanadogs, certainly a great opportunity to head over for some wonderful fishing and hunting. If you don't mind me asking what region in NZ is the father in law settling down in? The country has diverse habitat as well as very different species to hunt, location dependent for many of them. Lots of public land and many keen guys head into the 'bush' on the weekends to hunt and fish. This does make the game very switched on and certainly not a walk in the park, like you might see some hunting shows filmed over there. I have often walked in 10-15kms to go hunting for a couple of nights then punched it back out. But this is not always needed.
What species are you interested in hunting?
The Department of Conversation (DOC) absolutely HATE the introduced game species, so you can hunt most of them all year round and whilst there is a handful of ballots for certain areas for certain species you can be rest assured they are willing to help with animal locations in many areas provided you take the time to do a bit of research and call them up with a map in hand and some prior knowledge.
It is a good keen self guided hunters playground over there, provide you don't have too high expectations for your first few hunts in different areas and you are prepared to work hard for animals.
I do love the big open glassing country of the Southern Alps down the middle of the South Island and any person can obtain a visiting firearms licence, apply for a DOC hunting permit online, (free i think) hire a car and go hunt literally of the bitumen in many areas. But be prepared to fly camp, travel light, hunt all day and have big walks back to camp in the headlight in order to be in a position to find more game then the average punter does on his walks.
Happy to help with more information if need be. When are you going over? Ill be chasing tahr and chamois in a few months time.

Something to keep in the back of your mind is that i have made a few trips over there, (self guided) where i have returned home to oz without firing a shot whilst specifically chasing certain species, so it is good to be excited, but also have the expectations reasonable.

If you are just wanting to shoot stuff, hunt a few different animals, knock some game bird species down etc then that is all very achievable, but to chase mature animals of deer species, chamois or tahr self guided then that certainly will take a lot of work and planning.

 

[havgunwilltravel]

If you have an interest in hunting Chamois on the West Coast, it is very achievable if you are prepared to walk/glass all day and climb up river beds. Whilst not very good images, they are typical of what you will need to find in the optics in order to plan stalks and get it done on animals.
A nanny and kid on a grassy slip

Youngish buck out having a feed

As you can see, the animals typically aren't just leaping out at you you waiting to be shot...it all has to be worked for, but then the rewards are so much better when you get your hands on a animal at your feet.

 

[havgunwilltravel]

Thought i would revisit this as it has been almost a couple of weeks since the OP started the thread. Any more news on the NZ hunt planning montanadogs? If i was in your position and wanting to hunt an overseas country with a good opportunity for self guided hunting then i would be all out on the research to ensure the best possible outcome.

 

[dustinf]

Thought i would revisit this as it has been almost a couple of weeks since the OP started the thread. Any more news on the NZ hunt planning montanadogs? If i was in your position and wanting to hunt an overseas country with a good opportunity for self guided hunting then i would be all out on the research to ensure the best possible outcome.

I don't know about the OP, but I've started looking for cheap airfare to New Zealand...

 

[glass eye]

I don't know about the OP, but I've started looking for cheap airfare to New Zealand...

I've searching for cheap airfare since I came home from NZ last June. No luck though. In 2011 we bought roundtrip air from LAX to Christchurch for $984 and this last time I got it for $833 to CHCH. But now it's still well above 1K

 

[dustinf]

Best I've found is $1700, but I'm 2,000 miles further away than you.

I'm thinking the last 2 weeks of May, but I've checked a few different months. Doesn't seem to be much cheaper, no matter the month.

 

[Mudranger1]

There are a couple great New Zealand threads on here. Very informative

 

[Carl]

I'd jump on the New Zealand hunting board and post a bit. They've been very friendly with me in the past. Show some Montana adventures and explain your situation and I bet you'll get lots of advice and help.