# Hunting in Oz and NZ



## johnboy

I'll share with you some of the things i've got up to, that you may find interesting
I'm nearly 56 and still enjoy my days in the bush, i work for a multi national chemical company here in Australia (Melbourne) , Mainly now i hunt deer with hounds 
Our season goes from just after Easter til the end of november
I was born in NZ and came to Oz in 1987, i'm no great expert in anything outdoors but i enjoy every moment i'm out there, I have every friday off during the season








I'm on the right, Whakatane river ,NZ. Mid 80's 








Here's Steve with a nice 28" sambar taken over those foxhounds
We now only use beagles and blood hounds








Camp is under a tarp on a camp bed , in a swag and sleeping bag








Some of the dogs, i'll post some more as we go along


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## goofy elk

GOOD LOOK'in dogs!


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## tigerpincer

Those look like some great times. It has always been a dream of mine to hunt New Zealand. Hopefully some day I'll find that pot of gold and make it a reality. That Sambar is a neat looking animal. Thanks for sharing the picture.


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## Pumpgunner

Very nice! I used to be a chef and I had a job on the South Island of NZ for 2 1/2 years from 2005-2007. I lived in Kaikoura, north of Christchurch if you know where that is. I was constantly amazed at the quality of hunting and the availability of animals down there, not to mention that the people were the nicest I have ever encountered anywhere. Talk about some hardcore hunters and fishermen! And contrary to what many people think, I had no trouble getting a firearms license and a rifle down there. On our way home we spent a month in Oz driving from Brisbane to Sydney, didn't hunt over there but what a beautiful country. I will return someday!


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## johnboy

Kaikoura is a nice little spot, plenty of animals around there apparently, and plenty of variety , deer , pigs & chamois
Glad to see you enjoyed your time over there, i lived in the North island but enjoyed my trips to the South Island
Did you get to eat Whitebait and if so , what did you think of it ?


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## USMARINEhuntinfool

Thats cool as heck man, one day I'd like to come out there and hunt.. Keep the pictures coming...


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## waspocrew

Looks like a sweet time!


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## johnboy

Here's a few of our foxhounds back in the early 90's, we had a local hunt , got a nice stag and we're off home








My favourite dog Bobbie (she) was a great dog , Border Collie /Blue Heeler X ,loved chasing deer








and retrieving your fish ,soft mouth for a cattle dog








Sambar stag bailed up , i think you guys call it , at bay, 
A lot of times they would swim straight across but we had hunters over there , so he propped there
Sambar use the water well to get away from the hounds


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## Pumpgunner

Johnboy, I did eat whitebait on a few occasions, both fried in an egg patty and just fried whole. I liked it a lot. The only kai moana I had but didn't like was Kina, they were OK just out of the water but any older than a half hour or so and they were not the best. I also spearfished and free dived quite a bit, nothing like getting a good feed of crays, paua and butterfish right out your back door! Here are a few photos from our time there:
[attachment=4:1ex71hzc]buggy.jpg[/attachment:1ex71hzc]

[attachment=3:1ex71hzc]hunting kaikouras.jpg[/attachment:1ex71hzc]

[attachment=2:1ex71hzc]Backyard.jpg[/attachment:1ex71hzc]

[attachment=1:1ex71hzc]Kai moana.jpg[/attachment:1ex71hzc]

[attachment=0:1ex71hzc]Moki.jpg[/attachment:1ex71hzc]


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## johnboy

Anything out of the water should be eaten fresh , i reckon, and you were in the right place for that
What were you after off the buggy , be either deer or pigs ,i suppose
Kai Moana , you picked up some of the language
I was never a fan of Kina , but i'm not a fish eater much either although whitebait , i could get into those
I came from Otaki , just north of Wellington (1 hr) , We used to spend a lot of time whitebaiting
Kahawai used to come into the river mouth a bit and they were fun to catch on light gear


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## Pumpgunner

Johnboy, we were after deer, pigs and feral goats. Shot some rabbits as well. About 2 years before we moved to NZ we spent 4 months in a campervan on the North island, saw a good bit of that as well. Some good surf spots on the coast north of Wellington, I remember Otaki being mentioned as a good fishing spot I believe. Kapiti coast right? I'm missing some of that Kapiti vanilla ice cream they used to make down there, with feijoa sauce.....


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## johnboy

You're right , Otaki is part of that area, 4 months travelling the North island , you would have had a good look around
the photos of us on horses were up in the Whakatane river between Ruatoki and Ruatahuna , A couple small settlements in that area , they used to hunt pigs with the dogs but sometimes a deer or two would be taken
I think most Maori over there would prefer pork to venison


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## johnboy

hounds became part of my life around 1990 , Victoria is the only place in Australia where scent trailling hounds can be used on deer








Homer with a stag taken off him after a solo hunt, We are allowed 5 dogs and 10 hunters per hunt.
No bag limit , any size ,any sex allowed, Season just after Easter til end of november (Sambar only)
Stalking all year round although in the National Park a 2 month break over the summer holiday period








Sambar love to wallow and can often be started from active wallows , This stag was taken on my trail camera








A well used rub tree , Sambar stags will run their rub lines








Meals are cooked on an old saw blade , this one was used to cut asphalt, teeth are bent up to stop meat rolling off








My truck


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## Clarq

Thank you for sharing all of these pictures and this information with us. I find it very interesting.


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## byuduckhunter

I love this post! I lived in Victoria for 2 years (LDS mission) and want to go back someday on a hunting trip. I also have a dream of doing a NZ hunt as well. Where in VIC are you hunting mostly? Thanks for posting!


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## johnboy

We hunt near Woods Point , in the Goulburn , Jordan and Thomson rivers, I live at Warburton , out and up the valley past Lilydale
Hounds , there must be 2 or 3000 or so of them in Vic hunting deer , also used for foxes
My aim one day is to participate in a lion hunt , just to talk to other hound hunters and watch ,hear their dogs work
Get some photos and video of it all


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## johnboy

There are several species of deer to hunt in OZ and NZ








photo by Doug Read
Pictured is a Hog deer , i think Australia is the only place you can hunt this deer on public land








red deer are common through out Vic , SA , NSW and Queensland but mainly in NZ








Rusa deer in SA , NSW and Queensland , the above photo was taken by a friend 
These two cattle dogs had bailed this stag up in a billabong , sort of dam 
Chital and fallow exist in Oz , White tail deer are in 2 small herds in NZ








Was going to put these in the fishing section
But look at the size of these freshwater crays , must nearly be big game
I made a little dvd of where i live and a few other bits and pieces of around here
Nothing special , just a little project for a friend in Washington state
Edited any language out except for one little spot which is a couple of f'n 
apart from that is ok for general viewing
I'll make a couple more up and will post them over if anyone is interested
plus a copy of the dvd that contains the footage of that Rusa with the dogs
They can then be copied or just posted along if anyone is interested


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## provider

This is a great post. I lived in Sidney as a kid. Never hunted there. I would love to take a trip where I could hunt and surf as that will never happen in UT.


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## lehi

Wow I can't get enough of these pics and stories. Thanks Johnboy!


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## johnboy

Let's go to NZ ,What sort of hunting are you after?








This the start of Tahr country , you should be able to access public land and find Tahr
This one was on private property but shows a little of the country and this is easy to medium country








Pigs are in reasonable numbers in some areas , this one was asleep next to a wild cattle carcass , he never got the chance to wake up








Duck season starts the first sat in may , Mallards are the main duck along with Paradise duck 








These are on Stewart island ,hunting and fishing from huts on Maori land which are rented out to parties of hunters








This an old photo (not mine) but these huts and walking tracks, are all over both islands in NZ








Rivers can be an issue but a lot of tracks have bridges of sorts to cross








This is scrubby land around the Mohaka river east of Taupo , Sika deer a plenty.
Pretty and wily little suckers








None of these over there either


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## Pumpgunner

Man, you're making me more than a bit homesick for the Godzone......


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## johnboy

No snakes in NZ because the sandflies ate them all .
I'll drag out some more photos of OZ and see what i've got of that


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## johnboy

So let's get back to hounds and deer, , This is what we run here and there isn;t any lions 
So it's beagles and bloodhound V deer , truly an experience if any of you get over here








camp in the snow, We hunt deer and really would prefer to chase a stag , however whatever is the freshest gets the dogs on it
A good run , some hound music and hopefully some meat, at days end , no matter what the day brings , a beer and a cook up is the go








Some of the sort of country we hunt , some hunt off the roads and others walk off into the bush and follow the hunt








This one bailed (bayed) and this is where they end up , bit of a chore to get the dogs & meat out








Homer a top little beagle ,never underestimate the drive desire or ability of these little dogs 








A couple malformed heads , just a year or so after the fires , what caused them ? don't know really


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