Hunters every year come to New Zealand in search of some of the best hunting experiences in the world. Like many countries the oldest and biggest antlered deer are typically on privately owned Ranch land or station country. Younger hunters and those are a tight budget will search out government land or more part time guides where the price point will be the main factor over quality of the overall hunt and trophy game. International hunters looking for a guided New Zealand Safaris will want to be aware of a few factors when making a decision. 1- Who owns the Outfitting company which can be searched under the New Zealand business registry as a good number of Outfitting business have investors and is it important that the owner of the New Zealand Hunting business also guides. 2- How many years, who is your guide, and is he registered under the New Zealand Professional Guides Association, ask for his license number. If a guide is not registered it typically means theres no liability insurance or recourse on your hunt. 3- Is the hunting private land, government land, or shared private land. Price of the hunt will give you a good indication. 4- Are the animals free ranging (low fence from entering the property to leaving) or estate 5- Reference’s, ask for 30+ references, this will also be a good indication of length of time guiding. 6- Quality of the accommodation 7- How many hunters do they take a week. 8- Age of the trophy and average antler size expected. 9- Are they full time hunting Outfitters or is this a side line, booking with part time hunting guides come with risk where you will not be covered should things not go to plan which happens such as no health & safety cover, liability cover which a lot in New Zealand with the lower priced hunts. It is not a legal requirement to be a registered guide in New Zealand.
10- Which Island are they on. North Island has most of the deer species, and alot of native vegetation. Although this is where 3/4 of the population live theres is some very good hunting on private land. South Island has the world famous scenery, Stag, Elk, & Fallow as well as smaller game. Tahr are heavily concentrated more in the central South Island, where Chamois are well spread out in pockets.
New Zealand Safaris offers international hunters genuine hunting experiences, professionally guided based out of our full time Hunting lodge with 2 cooks. Since 2017 Jim Gibson, owner & guide has been taking clients in privately owned hunting properties with world class scenery & trophy animals. These places range from 8000-45,000 acres, and 2 of which back onto glaciers and world famous national park. Having exclusive hunting access gives hunters the type of experience that someone looking for the best they can afford gets. Unmatched in the industry for the diversity of private hunting land trophy hunts start at $6500 USD including days for a Stag, Tahr or Fallow Buck. 2 Species, 1 hunter & non hunter for 5 days $11,000+.
Its recommended to plan 1 year in advance if possible to get the exact dates you would like, although every year hunters plans change and we host 6-8 last minute trophy hunts that can go from 1-3 days depending on available time. The main hunting season is March-July although some of the non deer species can be hunted year round.
Where to hunt in New Zealand comes down to the experience your looking for, high quality hunting, high quality trophies and accommodation, or do you want to take a representative animal for the least amount of money.
As a NZ hunting outfitter, or any hunting outfitter across the world will tell you it’s not uncommon to get inquiries of people looking to come film a show or high profile client. Outside of the industry you may not realize that this often means unpaid hunt in exchange for publicity.
That was not the case here…
Luke Combs and a few of his friends came down this month to experience hunting on private land with New Zealand Safaris. From the beginning of our conversations it was clear, this was as much about going off grid as it was to experience the New Zealand hunting on private land. In my experience, Luke Combs is a true ambassador of not only hunting, but the country way of life. A humble man thats still very down to earth. Many people in his position find it hard to switch off from being world famous but it was a true privilege to show Luke Combs and friends a great hunting adventure with New Zealand Safaris and to be trust that his security and privacy would be maintained at all times. Over the years I have hosted many people that wanted to be able to get away from their busy life and be able to enjoy the South Island of New Zealand with family and friends. A true legend as a country singer it was like having old friends down to hunt, and being also privileged to be invited to spend the day with Luke Combs back stage on one his shows was an amazing experience and a true insight to see what its like when your the worlds leading country singer. We look forward to seeing Luke Combs again and giving the guys another great experience, at New Zealand Safaris its as much about the experience of the hunt as it is about the trophy animals we hunt on private wilderness land. These huge properties are have exclusive access to are still second to none In the industry. If you want to start planning your high quality New Zealand Safaris now is the time to get in touch.
April sees the start of the Fallow Deer croak or rut for Fallow Deer in New Zealand and typically will go through to early May. The Fallow Bucks make a noise similar to that of a bull frog, attracting the females. Unlike many other deer species Fallow Bucks will return to their `Rut Pad` or make their own and stay there during the mating season, the female fallow called `does` will then travel to their favourite or local rut pad to mate with the bucks.
Typically during the fallow deer croak the older females will bring in the younger females which starts the cycle of where they go to mate each year during the croak. Fallow Deer are unique because they have different colour phases of coats which is very unusual in the deer world. Fallow Bucks are sought after for their antlers which have palmation like that of a moose. The largest population of Fallow Deer in the Southern Hemisphere is in South Canterbury, New Zealand near the town of Fairlie. Most of the land is privately owned, the properties that are correctly managed have bucks that when harvested have antlers which are some of the largest in the world.
If you’ve never heard the Fallow Buck croak sound check out this recent video.
For more information on our Fallow Deer hunts click here or send us an email.
