Hunting

Some images courtesy of www.darryltorckler.com

Hunting

Hunting is very popular in New Zealand and Fiordland is considered one of the premier locations.

In the 60's deer numbers were so high that they had become a real threat to the ecosystem of this fragile land. However, choppers eventually arrived on the scene and helped bring numbers under control. Today helicopters still fly over the park mainly buzzing tourists or workers around this isolated area but you will still see the odd one undertaking deer number control work. (Deer are considered a pest in NZ)

But deer are still plentiful in places and there is plenty of good hunting still to be had. Fiordland offers three animals to stalk, red deer, wapiti and moose. Moose probably shouldn't be on the list as the last confirmed sighting of moose was many years ago. However, recently a DNA test was carried out on some hair found in the bush and it was confirmed as being from a moose. So who knows!...

Red deer are the most common and live throughout the park. Stags are much sought after during the roar and some good heads have been taken. Generally, the better heads have come out of the north of the park but a 13 and a 15 pointer were taking out of Caswell Sound in 2002. As you can see in the top photo, clients took a nice 15 pointer from Breaksea in 2006.

Wapiti or North American elk can also be taken in Fiordland. These large and impressive animals live in and around mainly George Sound and the areas that they can be shot in are balloted during the roar. Many hunters argue that there is no such thing as a pure bred wapiti now as they have interbred with reds. But there is no denying that some very big and exciting animals still live in the big back country.

A permit is required to hunt in Fiordland and you can obtain one from any Department of Conservation office. Just contact them and advise the details of your hunting trip to Fiordland and they'll take care of it for you.