Where to Hunt in New Zealand
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.
