My father and I have hunted in the US however never outside of the country. We heard about the terrific hunting in New Zealand and from the stories and pictures we decided this was something we could not pass up.

We contacted Hunt & Fish South Pacific since they specialize in South Pacific trips to New Zealand and hunting excursions. They did everything from booking our air, choosing the outfitter which best fitted us, and assisting us in getting our trophies and meat back into the US. The service received was exceptional.

Sat. We arrived Auckland, New Zealand and connected with our short flight to Gisborne on the North Island. We were met at the airport by one of our guides and taken to Tangihau Station. We had some lunch before heading out to the cabin (the bush camp) about 4 miles into the 16,500 acres of rolling farmland, hills, valleys, rivers and streams; being city-folk we were amazed. Then we unpacked and went on a scouting trip; we took a Polaris Ranger (kind of like a 4x4 golf cart that held three of us in the cab and 1 in the bed) and did a lot of hiking by foot. We saw some nice Red Stags and my dad wanted to shoot them right away. He held off and then we went back to the cabin for some lunch and went out again with the guns. Anyway, we had not planned on shooting anything but at about 4pm we saw a great looking 12 pt Red Stag and my dad took that one. That night was great and everyone was so excited. Dinner was made at the cabin; spring fed water, hot water heated by the fire, gas lanterns, and good times.

Sun. We shot some Turkeys, saw a Feral Goat (which my dad decided he wanted), and I shot at and missed a 15 pt Red Stag just before dark at about 250-300 yards.

Mon. We went out with Joe, one of our guides, and I stalked a couple of Red Stags only to have them run off before I could get a shot. So we built a blind out of bush and decided to show up there at 12pm and wait it out for a good one to come out of the bush. Well around 4pm I shot my 13 pt Red Stag. It was very exciting and made for great memories I will never forget.

Tue. My dad shot his Fallow Deer at about 7:15am. We went around hunting for another Fallow Deer, shot two Turkeys, and found two Feral Goats. My dad took 3 shots at one of the Goats (200, 300, and 400 yards) as it was running off.

Wed. I shot my Fallow Deer in the morning at about 9am. My dad wanted to go back and find those Goats so we went back to the general area and he got his Goat (32.5 inch spread on the horns). That night we hunted Possum and Rabbits with a spotlight.

Thur. We packed all of our stuff out of the cabin and went back to the main house to finish cleaning all of the meat and bagging it for the freezer. A last look at our great bounty of heads and meat reminded us of the great time that we had.

To sum it up - We made it back with two suitcases of meat weighing 32 kg (the max allowed) each and had no issues with the New Zealand customs or the US customs. Hunt & Fish South Pacific advised us to the last detail what to do. It was so simple.

It was a great time and I would definitely recommend this hunt. There was a lot of walking, my dad (age 49) went everywhere the guides (ages 33 and 21) and I (age 25) went. New Zealand Safari Adventures tailors your hunt to your skills and abilities. The guides field dress and pack the meat and heads out for you, however my dad and I chose to do some of that on our own.

The weather was perfect; it even stopped raining the day before we showed up and rained a little the day we left, other than that it was ~50-60F.

My dad and I had the time of our lives and made memories that will last forever. I have never seen my dad so happy and smile so much. From sun up (by the way Gisborne is the 1st to see the sun in the world everyday) to sun down (sometimes longer than that) we were out there hiking and hunting for the whole five days. We are having two Red Stags, two Fallow Deer, a Feral Goat, and two Possums mounted in New Zealand and shipped to the US. I know I keep saying this but it truly was an unbelievable experience of a lifetime shared with my Dad.