We have a place in central Alberta that looks a lot like Paradise to our family. Except in early spring when it sucks. I'm looking at hunting\family vacation options for that time period in 2018. Namibia is in the running, but I've been to Africa a few times and my hard core hunting wife has inexplicably never caught the bug so we've been talking about something different.

Here are the criteria:
- My wife and I will hunt pretty much anything, but sitting in a stand will make us both crazy.
- We aren't interested in all inclusive resorts and theme parks. Would respond as above.
- We'd all take a tent in interesting country over a city hotel every time. Running water is a bonus, but not necessary .
- Girls, 7 & 9, must be amused. Fortunately, they are easily amused, especially if horses or swimming are involved. We see one parent wandering off to do some hunting while the other rides herd on the monsters.
- All 4 of us like our fishing.
- I've got a thing for pigs, but have only ever taken warthog and bush pig. That needs to change.

A week on a west Texas ranch with trail riding for the girls and a bit of end of season DIY/semi-guided aoudad and pig hunting sounds really good. CWD and roe anywhere is on the bucket list and a castle to explore would keep the girls thrilled for days.

With the above in mind, what would you do?

Dean

My wife and I had a very nice trip to Okau Station in New Zealand last year. They have free range red stag, fallow deer, wild boar, and the wild sheep. My wife would beach comb while I was hunting. The beach was within walking distance of our cottage. We were able to gather abalone at low tied and had them for dinner. We also spent a couple of days in Wellington which was quite nice. More beach combing, shopping and a visit to the Te Papa museum. We followed it up with a few days in Australia checking out the Opera House and fishing for squid and king fish in Sydney Harbor.

That said, I just spent a few days aoudad hunting with Mike McKinny who posts here as Mulie Mike and had a great time.

Two things come to mind:
- Namibia, not the best time but still ok. It might be still wet and green and game is spread out.
- Spain, late March and April are already nice and warm. The valleys are green. You normally don't see as much Ibex as in winter but you can find very nice goats coming down to eat fresh gras.
Spain has plenty of other things to offer to offer, too.

quote:

Originally posted by Caracal:
Two things come to mind:
- Namibia, not the best time but still ok. It might be still wet and green and game is spread out.
- Spain, late March and April are already nice and warm. The valleys are green. You normally don't see as much Ibex as in winter but you can find very nice goats coming down to eat fresh gras.
Spain has plenty of other things to offer to offer, too.

Patagonia in Argentina would fit your bill. There are free range stag, lots of fishing and lots of beautiful country to see and BA is a beautiful city. Mrs Blacktailer and I did a horseback hunt there that was spectacular.
PM me if you would like more details.

Think about Florida, especially the Keys. You could hunt Osceola turkeys in central Florida, as well as shoot some pigs, and then go to the keys to enjoy some fantastic fishing, beaches, swimming and snorkeling/diving.

I made my first visit to the Keys last May, to Islamorada, and absolutely loved it. Very laid back, fantastic weather and I got totally hooked on tarpon fishing (pardon the pun). My lady friend and I are heading back in a few weeks to go scuba diving, fishing and enjoy the entire region. Looking forward to fishing 'the backcountry' for tarpon, snook, redfish, bonefish and hopefully, permit.

It really is a fantastic place.

+1 for NZ. We have good fishing, plenty of pigs and other game (april is the roar / rut) and beaches. Worth considering.

Muntjac and CWD in UK whilst staying in a rural village near tourist attractions and riding stables, fishing lakes etc?

Call Benny Bishoff(Duiker Safaris)in Namibia phone 00264 67 232626
E mail bbshoff@iway.na tell him Michael sent you.

Thanks for the ideas folks, they fed into a great conversation with my wife. We cleared up what we'd really want and why.

Our girls get a week in November off from school that generally lines up with the start of the deer rut. We head out to the farm, the girls play and we take turns hunting. Over the years, we've really enjoyed getting to know the land and how the animals use it. That is what we'd like to get more of. Just in the spring and in a warmer place.

DIY/semi guided in a somewhat warmer place and with enough to do for the girls is the goal. The species to be hunted is almost irrelevant. A juvenile feral pig for the grill would be considered a trophy. We realize that success will be much lower than with a guide, but that is not the point. Getting out there and learning is.

The desire for DIY is going to take a lot of places out of contention simply because of legalities and business models. Fine, no hard feelings. I'm thinking that subletting somebody's pig/feral exotic lease will be our best bet. Any idea how to locate a situation like that?

https://www2.tpwd.state.tx.us/...ics&h=1&cost=&u=&id=

This is the Texas parks and wildlife hunt lease finder. There are lots of hunting lease website, but they all charge for the service. I'd try the free one first.

Google for more options "Texas hunting lease".

Excellent. Thank you.

I joined the Texas Hunting forum with the plan of nailing down something like this.

I personally felt like everyone who contacted me was lying, and probably didn't have a lease to rent out.

Corruption is rampant down there, be very careful.