To give you a little history lesson, New Zealand didn’t have any 4 legged mammals prior to human settlement. Red Deer were liberated in New Zealand between 1851 and 1910 for sport and populations have thrived. Red Deer make up 90% of the deer population in New Zealand with 6 other deer species (Fallow, Sika, Virginian, Wapiti, Sambar and Javan Rusa) making up the remaining 10%. The populations have grown so effectively that they are also farmed for the venison. Many other animals have also been introduced but if you’re interested do a Google search because this post is all about deer.
Hunting in the mountains of New Zealand requires you to cover a lot of ground and spend a lot of time glassing the hills looking for deer. Also, because we were hunting during the roar, the stags will respond to calls. You have to hear it for yourself but when a mature stag roars back to your call it will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Once you spot an animal that you are interested in you move in for a closer look. The landscapes that you see in this process are truly amazing. The girls joined us for a few of the hunts and were able to get some great photos.
On the second morning we caught a sunrise that I won’t soon forget. I can’t think of a better way to start your morning.
Now on to the business end of this story, on the second evening we made it to our first look out point to do some glassing and calling. After just a few minutes we heard a Stag responding to our call and the action was on. The call was coming from the valley below us but we couldn’t spot the stag. We decided to move around the mountain face for a better look. After moving we were able to look back at the face of the hill where we started and sure enough there was a mature stag bedded down at the base of the hill. Now the work started as we had to move down the mountain face without being spotted. Our guide continued to call in order to focus the stag’s attention while I slid and crawled down the face to get into range. I only needed to go about 200-300 yards but when you consider the terrain and the fact that I was doing it on my backside it seemed like miles. I don’t want to exaggerate too much but I think I slide through some thorny brush that a rabbit would think twice about entering. Finally, I made it into range but the stag wouldn’t cooperate because he wouldn’t stand up and I was running out of day light. Then just at last light he stood up and I let lead fly. At this point I was exhausted but it was all worthwhile because I was overcome with emotions and I had my New Zealand Red Stag.
Later in the week after the Stag hunting was over we decided to move about three hours further down the south Island to hunt fallow deer. This terrain was much rougher than where we had hunted stag and wasn’t at all accessible by vehicles. We loaded our packs and set out for another hunt. We spent most of the day looking at animals through the spotting scope, some of them where up to 10 miles away. Because there wasn’t any brush in the country you could see for miles. Jill took this opportunity to catch a few winks.
We saw a lot of nice animals but after spotting and walking for 4-5 hours we finally found the buck I wanted. The only downside was he was a couple of miles away, down a mountain face, across a river, back up another face and in the next valley. So the guide and I took off while the girls watched through the spotting scope. So our guide is used to hiking in these mountains and crosses them like a mountain goat, unfortunately I don’t share this capability but I did my best to keep up. I did pretty well going down but after we crossed the river and started back up the other side I started to fade. About half way back up the other side the deer caught our scent and started to move, so I had to hustle up to the top so I could take a shot. I was breathing like I had just finished a marathon but I was able to hold my breath and squeeze off a shot. It wasn’t a perfect shot but it was a solid hit. Now this is the part I’m not too proud of but because I was completely spent the guide topped the next ridge to put the animal down and packed him out. I am not sure if I had crossed the next ridge if I would have had the gas to climb back out. I will say that this was the most physically challenging thing I have ever done in my life. It is an experience that I will never forget.
Our good friends Jason and Alaina joined us on this trip and they were both able to take some beautiful trophies as well.
Our good friends Jason and Alaina joined us on this trip and they were both able to take some beautiful trophies as well.
All I can say is that it was the hunt of a Lifetime.
