Thread: Worth getting a compound bow for Wellington region?

My wife and I finally moved permanently to New Zealand after spending a number of years travelling. We're in the Lower Hutt region for a few months with family but will probably end up moving down to Nelson eventually when we find a house. I've hunted in Romania for 2+ years while we lived there and had a firearms license but I never hunted with a bow as it was not legal. Had a 40lb recuve I would shoot in the backyard for practice, but that was as far as I could go in Romania. I applied for my firearms license here in New Zealand a few weeks ago, but the guy at Hunting & Fishing kind of scared me when he said he got his license in about 6 weeks, but his buddy who was from Japan had to wait 18 months. I worried that since I've lived in Canada for 30 years and Romania for 3 that my background checks are going to take a while.

I was debating getting a Sanlida Dragon X8 from Archery Warehouse for a few hundred bucks and just getting out in the bush until the firearms license comes, but not sure if this is just a fool's quest. Anyone here have experience bow hunting in the Wellington region? I signed up for NZDA membership and asked if they were going to run any courses this year but haven't heard back yet. Bought a Toyota Hilux so I can get to some more remote places if need be, and am just looking for a bit of advice on how to get started or if a bow in this region is not really worth the effort and I should just wait for the firearms license. Been trying to find YouTube channels to follow to learn how to bow hunt in New Zealand, but most of what I've found seems to be in the South Island. Are there any good channels that show how bow hunting is done in thick bush like we have up here in Wellington?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice.