lOOKING FOR ANY INFO FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE HUNTED HERE, BEST BLOCKS, PLANE OR FERRY, CONDITIONS OF HUTS, EAST OR WEST SIDE, ANY OR AS MUCH INFO AS I CAN GET
THANKS CAM

Wind blown shit hole at the bottom of the world,can't think why anyone would go there

Try this site www.fishnhunt.co.nz

No he said Stewart Island TP not Tasmainia.

He didn't say anything about people with 7 fingers

Used to be plenty of whitetail does there, 30 years ago, and I saw one reasonable buck.

Hello Cam

Its in my neck of the woods (I keep a yacht there most summers) but I have never really hunted there - just a few optunistic animals taken when I've seen them on a beach.

From what I hear there are still good numbers of animals. I can put you in touch with folk who do hunt there a lot, but none of them are "electronic", you'll have to talk with them by phone. PM me and I'll give you some names and numbers.

Just for the record there are still several operators running charters into camps at very reasonable rates, its an hour by fast ferry from Bluff, and 20 minutes by air from either Invercargill (fixed wing) or Bluff (chopper). The hunting blocks are all another "hop" beyond these services but the Island is only 40 Nautical miles long so none of it is a real long shot !

It is possible to walk into some blocks like Masons Bay but I don't think anyone does for hunting (buggered if I know why)

Cheers - Foster

I've hunted there in 1996 & 2000. Both in the Lords river area - North, south (private) & west (DOC) blocks. I have spoken to heaps of mates who have hunted the west cost as well as many other blocks.

I was there in May / June for 2 weeks on one trip and 10 days on the next one.

The summary is that hunting white tail deer is very different from any other deer. The deer have a very local territory & are easy to track but hard to see! Yes you will see a lot of white "butterflies" flitting through the bush and after 3 days you realise it is the deer's tail & that it is the same bloody doe just 100 meters from camp or the yearling at the next creek and so on. The bucks do not like being pushed & will stop & grunt back at you but you cannot see the buggers in the thick bush. Very frustrating. Any other species of deer would have gone to the next district but not the white tail. Next morning they are back in the same beat again. I got some bit of luck when I decided to hunt across the wind rather than into the wind but that could just be luck. Most of the animals were seen within 150 meters of the water

I had about 12 sighting of I guess 4 animals before i got a good shot by chance. I also got a quick running shot but missed.

The really experienced guys I spoke to say that they hunt them twice as slow as sika deer. One guy said that once he sees fresh sign he moves at about 50 meters an hour!

Great fishing too! you see kiwi walk up to you in day light.

by the way, take a rifle when you go to the dunny...the deer are peeping toms!

Sounds as though things are much the same as when I was there, Nakihunter. Apart from waiting for them on a beach, the best chance I got was sitting on a log as dawn broke, when one walked past within a few yards.

My guide said the big bucks preferred the inland and didn't come down to the shore much. I camped back in the bush one night without a tent but the only thing that came near was one of the said kiwis. It kiwied right up to me as I lay in my sleeping bag and, since I'd seen how the females give the males a good pecking, I hoped she(?) didn't think I was her husband.

Thanks for the info guys, I will certainly contact those of you who have offered further assistance. I am an experienced Whitetail hunter, although never on Stewart Island and have taken 11 bucks, so I know how frustrating they can be!
Looking to add a Sth Pacific buck to the collection.
Thanks again guys,
Cam