Seeking Advice and Companionship for New Zealand Hunting Adventure

Dear Forum Members,

Greetings!
I hope this message finds you well. We are a couple of German friends, both in our early 50s and experienced hunters, planning our first hunting adventure on public land in the North Island of New Zealand.
We're looking at a trip in March or April 2023, spanning 8-12 days.

Our goal is to immerse ourselves in nature and enjoy the thrill of hunting, with a preference for areas like Te Urewera Park. We are not focused on trophies, and any animals bagged will be gladly shared as meat donations.
We're reaching out to the community for tips on logistics, accommodations, and potential partners. Specifically, we have questions about obtaining licenses, the availability of huts, and the possibility of renting rifles on-site.
If anyone has valuable advice, recommendations, or is even interested in joining us on this adventure, we would be immensely grateful for your input.

Looking forward to your responses and sharing in the excitement of this upcoming journey.

Best regards form the Blackforest in Germany,
Steffen

Welcome to the forum. I am sure there are members in the North Island who will gladly be able to help you out.
Check out the Department of Conservation website regarding open hunting areas and permits. Also the NZ police web site for info in visitor firearms requirements.

This thread is a good starting point, a lot of the info you need is already mentioned.

Im on the wrong Island to help you much, but my partner comes from the other side of Stuttgart . The Black forest is a beautiful area! It looks like your english is great but if you want anything translated or dont quite understand something, let me know and Il get her to help.

Welcome. When you get PM privileges send me a message re your plans etc. Can potentially hook you up with locals more capable, knowledgeable and younger than me lol, and offer some hospitality. Based in New Plymouth, Taranaki.

I spy with my little eye, 2023
You are only a day behind not a week or more?

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Originally Posted by BlackforestHunter

Dear Forum Members,

Greetings!
I hope this message finds you well. We are a couple of German friends, both in our early 50s and experienced hunters, planning our first hunting adventure on public land in the North Island of New Zealand.
We're looking at a trip in March or April 2023, spanning 8-12 days.

Steffen

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You might be a bit late......

Are you intending to bring your own rifles? Renting a rifle is not possible here, unless from a hunting guide that you are using at the same time.

You might consider putting up photos and stories of your German hunting - most folks would want to know something about the people they are considering hunting with. It will also get the number of posts up so that you can send and receive personal messages.

The south island is not far away, where you can also hunt chamois/gemsen. Book your trip 1st April to 12 April for the red deer roar period.

First question.... why would you travel all the way across the world just to hunt the North Island?

Because the nicest people are up here :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by No good names left

Because the nicest people are up here :thumbsup:

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.....funny post coming from an Aucklander....:D

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Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

First question.... why would you travel all the way across the world just to hunt the North Island?

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Might want Sika, Sambar, Rusa :P

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Originally Posted by Gibo

Might want Sika, Sambar, Rusa :P

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Good point Gibo and German folk are partial to a good beer so they may well have heard of Waikato. Steffens as mentioned above you should visit www.doc.govt.nz where you can learn about permits for public land hunting and also huts. Be careful to inquire about huts in Te Uruwera though as recently many were deliberately destroyed.

Thank you for the warm welcome here in the forum. The diverse feedback and information, such as the valuable insights on rifles and photos, are truly appreciated. The mention of the destroyed huts in Te Urewera and the late timing for this year in March-April is noted. Perhaps, I should rephrase my question: With your experience, how would you approach this trip if you were in our shoes?

Additionally, we are open to the idea of hunting in a completely different area of New Zealand on public land. We have the freedom to choose. Ideally, we would like to hunt for red stag and other wildlife. The meat harvested would be gladly passed on for use. This approach would align better with our concept of meaningful and responsible hunting, as we are not just looking to hunt for the sake of killing.

I'd like to introduce Carsten (the tall guy with grey hair :-) ) and myself with a few pictures. The joint hunting photo is actually a few years old, taken during a trip to Turkey. Here are some mixed impressions, including recent ones from last weekend when my son and I harvested a deer together in our hunting grounds near Baden-Baden, close to our home. Personally, I love hunting with my dog, a somewhat older lady of the 'Small Munsterlander' breed. We enjoy both flushing out game and tracking wounded animals.Attachment 241371Attachment 241372Attachment 241373Attachment 241374Attachment 241375Attachment 241376

Great photos there Steffen

Nice! Interesting way to hang a deer, not seen that before.

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Originally Posted by BlackforestHunter

Thank you for the warm welcome here in the forum. The diverse feedback and information, such as the valuable insights on rifles and photos, are truly appreciated. The mention of the destroyed huts in Te Urewera and the late timing for this year in March-April is noted. Perhaps, I should rephrase my question: With your experience, how would you approach this trip if you were in our shoes?

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I think you first need to decide if you are going to hunt with a guide or not. If you are doing it all yourself then you need to sort out these logistics:
Check with your airline that they permit firearms.
Get a visitors firearm permit.
Search DOC (who administer public land) website and find a few hunting spots (suggest middle to lower South Island).
Get a DOC hunting permit.

Also while I haven't been to Germany, I suspect that hunting is very different here. You'll need to find a hunting area that matches your fitness and confident in the mountains. You should consider contacting a helicopter company and asking them about hunting spots they recommend. Helicopters are a fairly common why to access the backcountry here.

If you want to call me and discuss your trip send me a PM and I'll share my contact details. I have hunted overseas a few times.

Hi Steffen, send a few more posts and you will be able to receive private messages.

I have already signed up to help the Danish guy and I'll be hunting myself in April. So I won't have a lot of time. But if you get really desperate then I might be able to take you guys out for a quick hunt if you were around the Wellington region. My girlfriend comes from your area in Freiburg.

Sent from my SM-S901E using Tapatalk

Blackforst's definitely a nice place. Living in Zürich so not too far away lol. I usually travel to NZ once a year to see family and friends plus bonus the of hunting. Firearms licence is pretty straight forward but you'll need at least 4 months before you fly to get it. Other option is to hunt with people that have one. NZ being different from Deutschland and that we have gun license not hunting a licence (I have this discussion every year with my Swiss hunting mate about what is better lol). South Island is better for red deer and less north islanders lol. Plenty of DOC land (public land) to hunt on but being the roar (brunft) when you are there it will be busy and you'll have to walk further than usual but if you're use to the Austrian mountains then you'll be alright.....
New Zealand Maps app is also very helpful seeing boundaries and public hunting land. Weidmanns heil

You also need to know exactly where you are transiting through. Some countries don't allow firearm transits at all ,some do but are very painful i.e Hongkong.

Some airlines want the gun assembled,some just want a trigger lock,some countries want the gun all together others want a vital part removed. Some airlines policy contradict the transit countries laws etc.

If you plan on bringing your own gun,you need another NZ licence holder to be your secure storage provider.

Pack a PLB. Or as a visitor, ensure your travel insurance will cover a rescue helicopter out of the wilderness in an emergency.
Enjoy planning and executing your trip.

Hello Kiwihunter,
Thanks for your detailed response! It's awesome that you enjoy the Black Forest, and Zurich is indeed not too far away. Your insights, especially regarding the firearms license, are incredibly helpful. Planning with more lead time seems like a wise decision, and the idea of visiting the South Island for red deer hunting sounds fantastic—perhaps scheduling towards the end of the year or early 2025. I would love to hear more about your experiences and recommendations.

The discussion about firearm licenses is intriguing, and delving deeper into the exchange would be fascinating. CYour tips on the hunting season, public hunting lands, and the New Zealand Maps app are highly appreciated.

Considering exchanging contact information to facilitate planning sounds like a great idea. Horrido, Waidmannsheil, and I'm eagerly looking forward to hearing more about your experiences!

Best regards, Steffen

No worries, NZ is a hunters paradise! PM me and we'll chat. The guys on this forum are awesome and full of information. Just let them know your plans and they will help out as well.

Yes , check out the thread and info posted to the chap from Denmark. One aspect not mentioned much there is fitness. Hunting in NZ is mostly walking. The Hochsitz like in your photos (good photos) isnt used much here. Walking in with several days’ supplies will be hard work unless you have a high level of fitness (eg carry 25kg pack plus rifle 6 hr with climb of 500 vertical metres would be typical). The weather and river crossings are usually good but 20% of the time would need a wait for an extra day or two. So you need to be fully equipped for camping out. If flying in its not such a problem but you can still be limited by how much weight the helicopter will take. In many areas helicopters are restricted to specified landing sites. Add to this some agility is very helpful (eg ability to do half a dozen chinups or at least a couple with your full day trip hunting gear).

Thinking about Te Urewera, as mentioned, due to political developments most of the huts have been burnt down in the last year and before that much of the access was through privately owned land (there is no general right of travel in NZ). It would be difficult to understand and manoeuvre through the etiquette of travel and hunting there. So, I would recommend the Kaimanawa and Kaweka forest parks just to the south of there. The country is not too rugged and is good for immersion ! There are plenty of huts and tracks plus both sika and red deer. If you can sort out the rifle issue, there is the Sika Foundation which organises flights to approved locations and would set up meat donation ( sika are small, half way between a Reh and Rotwild so you wont be overburdened bringing some out). You should be able to join the Sika Foundation and then email or phone a contact to see whether they have a trip planned. Trips are often announced at short notice and sometimes there are places available on the day when others pull out. Its also good for trout fishing there.

Thanks for the fantastic offer! Freiburg is approximately 100 km south of my location. We've decided to plan our trip to NZ more thoroughly, aiming for the end of 2024 or early 2025. It would be great to connect directly and exchange ideas. Your insights would be much appreciated!

Thanks for the fantastic offer, brad! Freiburg is approximately 100 km south of my location. We've decided to plan our trip to NZ more thoroughly, aiming for the end of 2024 or early 2025. It would be great to connect directly and exchange ideas. Your insights would be much appreciated!

December-February hunting is summertime here. That means hot, dry and flies. The hinds will have fawns, and the stags will be in velvet. No problem for me as a meat hunter, but it may not be the experience you are after. March - April will have the stags in hard antler, and moving back into the bush.

Of course, if you are chasing thar and chamois, there is less snow - and (probably) less chance of dying in the mountains. People still manage though.