Hi everybody!!!

What is reqired for a foreign hunter to bring a rifle to NZ and hunt mainly chamois and maybe pigs,thar and reds on state country on

the south island?. I`m planning a 4 week hunting trip and some additional holiday between Okt until x-mas(spring?) and I want to hunt on

my own on foot. Is it true that one can just buy a cheap license and is allowed to go out for unlimited hunting with a tent and sleeping

bag? It`s difficult to reach good places without helicopter? I`m not searching for trophies. It´s just for wild mountain hunting. So many

questions...

Every advise appreciated.

As far as I'm aware you can just get a tourist permit then a Department of Conservation permit for the particular valley you wish to hunt .
Your biggest problem is getting too and from the valley. You will probably need a rental car.
Hunting in NZ by your self is a risk as most of the country is quite wild and broken with ravines and River crossings.

Hi Guav, Good on you and I hope you do well. I'll sort out some info and Ideas for you. I don't think its hard to bring in a personnel rifle, just make sure its for a cartridge thats easy to get ammo for, .270, .308 etc.
You can rent a car, or buy one for a reasonable price and sell it again when you leave.
If you are looking at hunting the Southern Alps then think about staying in any individual Valley system for two weeks at a time. This gives you a chance to get to know where the animals are and time to hunt as well as a few days to relax etc. The only permit you will require is a Department of Conservation Hunting permit, and its free, and should cover most areas on whichever coast you wish to hunt.
A helicopter isn't essential, but if you want to get into hunting country without tireing yourself out, then It can be a good option. I'll get something together for you in the next few days.
Cheers
SP

Guav,

what you propose is entirely realistic and yes all you mentioned is able to be done. I set up a friend of mine from Norway and he had a great time doing exactly that. i will wait and see what shanks puts up in the meantime try these videos to give you an idea.

South Island Hunting

Yippie! Thank you all!!!

I can hardly believe there is such a place in the world. I have some mountain experience in the european alps with chamois. Most of this

hunts were guided and every single was as expensive as the airticket to NZ. The last one was on my own and it was really fun. The eqipment

is ready (two sets of good old boots, 20-60 x80 optolyth, rucksack, good sleeping bag,bushnell rangefnder, rifle,...). I think it`s better

to buy tent, camping stuff ect. there. Shouldn`t be a problem ? Weather can rapidly change in the mountains, but how are the conditions in

okt/ nov / dez in general ? For accidents or general info I heard there are some mountain radios. What`s that exactly? Or maybe rent/ buy a

satellite. The problem which I see with the rental car is maybe good road access but why pay for a car that is standing 90% of the time

somewhere in the forrest and buying is too much effort/ money. Is there any permit needed for building a spartanic camp (tent, fireplace)

on DOC country other than not leaving garbage? And what about aras where pest control took place? Does the DOC offers this info. Are they

friendly/ helpful?

Hello
You can write me a pm. I've done a selfguided hunt in nz and can give you infos.
Spreche auch deutsch

Hi guav, Im presuming that you will be flying into Cristchurch.
I've just talked with a good freind down there who is happy to help you when you arrive if he can. He will be joining the AR forum shortly under the name of Hendrik.
I think you will need some transport of some sort as it's not easy to move around on public transport with a firearm, but you won't need anything flash, 1000 Euro's should get you a vehicle that will do, and you should be able to get 750 of those back when you leave.
You have to decide which coast you wish to hunt. The east coast is generally better for weather and as a rule, slightly easier to get around, but it can be more difficult to find good numbers of animals. Don't take my advise on that too much though, as I've seldom hunted that coast, Weathered will be better at setting you right there.
The West coast is where I've done most of my hunting, and its alot wetter, more heavily forested and harder to get around, but there are high levels of animals. The three rivers I would concentrate on are the Whanganui, Whataroa and Karangarua.
All three have deer, chamois and tahr, but your time of the year will see the Stags with no antlers, and towards the end of the trip the females will be having young. For the chamois, you will find the Bucks almost anywhere, but concentrate on sunny areas close to cover I.E river banks, large slips and alpine faces that have a mix of low scrub(1-2 meters) and grasses (Tussock). The deer will be starting to feed again after winter, so keep your eyes open for areas of warmth where there could be spring growth, as a general rule riverflat clearings, and easier tussock basins are good starting points, first and last light is best.
The Tahr will be around the steep stuff, and at that time of the year you don't tend to see quite as many, as the females are tucked up with their young, and the bulls tend to be living close to the scrub, but if you search hard you will find the bulls in quite large groups, this is where your spotting scope will be handy. Again morning and evening will be your best bet at finding them as they move up to feed at night, and often linger to catch some sun in the morning.
The Whanganui is the northen most river, and has two huts you can use at $5.00 per night. The first is Hunters hut, and its between 4 and 6 hrs walk from the road end while the other is Smyth, and is a further 5-7 hrs. The lords/ Lambert rivers is a good area to look, but its not easy to get into.
The Whataroa is the next inline, and Again you can access it from the road end and there are a number of different options and tributaries, but to give you an idea from the road to butler junction or scone hut are both in the 8 hr category,but if you have a tent you can break it down and spend some time hunting as you go.Again the deer will be lower down the valley, the Chamios will be anywhere, and the tahr will be up in the steep stuff. good places to look are the Perth headwaters, Bettison stream, and around Top butler hut.
Iv'e written a peice on the karangarua here before, and will find it for you and post a link.
A mountain radio is very good as well as an E.P.I.R.B if you are travelling alone. I will find the Mountain radio website for you, but essentially they are a compact CB radio you can hire at about 40 nzd a week, there is a nightly weather forcast, and you can call in each night and let people know your intentions for the next day.
Fires are generally permitted, but only use dead wood as cutting a tree in a National park is an offence.
When you get your hunting permit from DOC then ask for a poisons summary, which will tell you where pest control has taken place, as a general rule Doc staff are freindly and helpful, but don't expect the staff behind the counter to know much more than what they are told. Ask to talk to a hunter, and even then, be specific as to where you would like to go, as they have a habit of pointing you where they want animals shot.
I'll post up some links this evening.
Cheers
SP

Karangarua Info http://forums.accuratereloadin.../5621043/m/858109209

NZ mountain radio service http://www.mountainradio.co.nz/

If you wish to use a helicopter, then there is only one pilot I would recommend, and that is James Scott of Alpine Adventures.
You can Phone him on +64 3 751 0853 or +64 3 751 0866 His Email is fox_heli@xtra.co.nz
Cheapest flights are for the Karangarua, as thats where he's based, but if you talk to him and work in with him or other groups for the other rivers hes very good as well.

Finally here is a link to my last hunting trip, where I took some Swedish hunters up the Karangarua. The weather wasn't good which is the reason i'd suggest giving yourself as much time In one area as you can. it can take you a few days just to locate animals and then work out how to get to them. If you can spare it 10 days - 2 weeks would be perfect.
http://www.fishnhunt.co.nz/for...cgi?num=1233961981/0

A couple other valleys worth considering for Red Deer and Chamois with out the use of Helicopter access are the Styx and Paringa valleys. Both found on the west coast.

September to December are spring and very productive for tahr. Bulls are mobbed up and feeding low around 1000 to 1400 meters. They follow the first flush of spring growth. I have found Sept my very best time for hunting bulls, the down side is unstable snow conditions south westerly weather patterns and spring floods on the rivers making vehicle access and river crossings tricky in some conditions.
Biggest and best bulls = the hard yards on the West Coast it can take 2 hours to cover 300 meters in the bad alpine scrub there and it is tough country until you break out into the open.
East coast is easier to hunt but also has a lot of steep stuff just less cover.
Hunt both ... just do it as they say

Use James he is very competent and can suggest some good places that are very productive.


West Coast Hunting

Main Divide Looking into typical East Coast Country

Thank you so much guys!!!

I´m little bit busy right now. Will try to find some good maps to follow your suggestions and answer within the next days.

Caracal, will send you a PM in the next days.

Weathered, your videos are great, especially the thar climbing up vertically at about 1:50 min in Westland dec08. Reminds me to buy a

digital cam. Congrats very nice trophies ! What caliber did you use? These clips make my mouth watered...

shankspony, I finally had some time to read your links. Fantastic articles and great pictures of the landscape. And what an old Thar! What

was very interesting was when you mentioned this kind of a Lost World - valley. Thank you for so many good infos. West coast is definitely

my main target. Don`t know how long I can stretch my trip for visit both coasts. Earliest time for fixing my trip dates and buying a ticket

is begin of August. Anybody from the east coast or somebody with hunting experience from there on board?


ozhunter, how many times you hopped over from oz to nz for hunting? Did you always have a guide?


Caracal, PM sent

Between my Hunting, Mountain climbing and Trout fishing holidays to NZ since I was 14, I can't quite remember how many times???
Almost always with a guide, but then again some of these guys were like hunting with a mate.

Hi Guav

As Shankspony mentioned, i'm based in Christchurch and I'll gladly help out where I can. I've only been on the s-island for a few months, but I'm exploring as much as I can.

Let me know what you need and we can sort out the logistics closer to your visit

Cheers
Hendrik

You can get a season's pass for the DoC huts for around $70.