| Logistics
& FAQ
Here you will find answers to the following:
How do I get there?
What permits are required to bring my rifle to New Zealand?
What about visas and insurance?
When is the hunting season?
What is the weather like? So how should I dress?
What about bow hunting or black powder?
What about NZ creepy crawlies and quarantines regulations?
Do you offer any free hunting?
What about taxidermy for my great trophies?
How do I dial your number from the USA?
Could you recommend a travel agent?
What are the road directions to Kanuka Wilderness?
Is your property fenced?
What other touring attractions are there nearby?
Getting here
Your international flight will bring
you to Auckland International Airport. Please book your internal
flight to Palmerston North where we will meet you.
Firearms & Permits
You may bring and use your own rifle. Recommended calibres are .270,
30.06, 7x57 or similar. Hand guns are not allowed in New Zealand.
You will need a Tourist Firearms
Import Permit. Whilst such permits can be
obtained from NZ Police on arrival in Auckland airport, it
is important to set up the process before you leave home.
Have a look at the New Zealand Police website http://www.police.govt.nz/service/firearms/importing.html
At this site you will find a copy of the application form which the Police will have you complete in Auckland.
This form has a unique ID and can only be signed personally by you. You can however, print the form out, complete the details and fax it to the NZ police in advance of your travel. Send NZ Police an email announcing your intentions and
they will instruct you on the requirements.
The police will transfer the information you send to an original form ready for you to sign on arrival. This process will save you time at Auckland airport and is recommended.
You will be required to give the physical address at which you will be in New Zealand. It is:
Kanuka Wilderness Hunting
End of Surreydale Road
Kohinui
Pahiatua
Contact phone within New Zealand is
Neil Mercer 06 376 7035
0274 476 600 cell.
For payment the police require 25 NZ dollars in cash. They won't take US dollars, credit cards or any other payment. Nor will they give change so be ready with the correct amount.
Apart from that annoyance they are very user-friendly.
For getting guns out of the USA you need to check with your Customs/Airlines.
It is advisable to bring
your current firearms permit or licence with you.
Firearms themselves
are not registered, the owner is.
^top
Visas
A current passport is mandatory on entry to New Zealand. No visas
are required for American visitors to New Zealand, however visitors
from most other countries do need them. Check with your travel agent.
(If you are traveling on to Australia, please note that visas are
required for Americans entering Australia.) No vaccinations are
required.
Insurance
Visitors to New Zealand should have current medical and travel insurance.
The Hunting Season
The hunting season extends for the duration of hard antler, March
through mid-August. The rut takes place during April. The South
Island alpine trophies, Tahr and Chamois, are best hunted May through
July when they are rutting and in prime winter coat.
|
Pahiatua
mean monthly temperature (ºF) |
|
|
Ave
|
Max
|
Min
|
|
January
|
64
|
72
|
56
|
|
February
|
65
|
73
|
56
|
|
March
|
62
|
70
|
54
|
|
April
|
57
|
65
|
50
|
|
May
|
52
|
60
|
45
|
|
June
|
49
|
56
|
42
|
|
July
|
47
|
55
|
40
|
|
August
|
49
|
56
|
42
|
|
September
|
52
|
59
|
45
|
|
October
|
55
|
62
|
48
|
|
November
|
58
|
65
|
50
|
|
December
|
61
|
69
|
54
|
Clothing & Climate
Remember that New Zealand's seasons are opposite to those in the
Northern Hemisphere. Winter is mid-year, summer is in December.
Clothing for hunters should be appropriate for cool to cold conditions,
which may include rain and, in the hills, snow.
Bring footwear suited for steep
and wet ground: boots with a good rubber tread sole or deep
cleats, broken in and waterproof.
Temperatures in the central North Island are given
in the table. The South Island is colder than the North and furthermore
most hunting there is in alpine regions. (We will send you a detailed
clothing list if required before you come.) Your
laundry requirements will be catered for.
Bow and Black Powder
With its high degree of vegetation, Kanuka Wilderness provides a
challenging environment for bow and black powder hunters. Join the
elite group of hunters who have been successful at Kanuka with these
techniques.
Snakes & other creepy crawlies
New Zealand has no snakes and is free of many other creatures,
plants and diseases found elsewhere. Consequently quarantine regulations
are strictly enforced. Do not attempt to bring food into New Zealand.
Free Hunting
We have excellent areas for nighttime spotlighting of possums
and rabbits. This hunting is free.
Taxidermy
Our preference is to expedite all trophies however mounting
of your trophies by New Zealand's leading taxidermists is easily
arranged. Charges for these services are additional.
How do I dial your number from the USA?
From the USA
phone 011 646 376 7035
fax 011 646 376 7044
From within NZ it is:
phone 06 376 7035
fax 06 376 7044
Could you recommend a travel agent?
Many of our clients have booked with Jeane Sprague. She is resident in the US and has travelled to New Zealand several times. She will handle your inquiry with great enthusiasm. If you are touring NZ in addition to your hunt then you definitely need to talk to Jeane.
Jeane Sprague
South Pacific Specialist
ALL OVER - DOWN UNDER
www.alloverdownunder.com
You can email Jeane at sales@alloverdownunder.com
What are the road directions to Kanuka Wilderness?
You need to get to the Tui Brewery at Mangatainoka (Approx. 30km east of Palmerston North)
Turn onto Kohinui Road and follow that until it turns to gravel (7-8km).
The road name then changes to Surreydale Road. Follow Surreydale Road a further 7-8km to the deer gate at the road end.
You will pass through two conventional gateways along the way.
Go through the deer gate and follow the track down into the valley floor (600m) to find our camp.
^top
Is your property fenced?
Our Kanuka Wilderness property is 4000 acres and has a 5 foot high perimeter fence. The deer can cross it but they tend not to.
Kanuka is not a ranch but a vast wilderness area privately owned by ourselves.
Hunting in New Zealand is available 12 months of the year to anyone. There are no licences, permits, tags, limits or rules. You can hunt with dogs, spotlights, helicopters or whatever you like. The hunting pressure is constant and has been for 80 years. Consequently there is no game management and no trophies on public land and most private land.
Our perimeter fence is to:
- Define the boundary and therefore alert would-be poachers.
- Allow our deer population to build up.
- Allow our stags to attain some age and therefore big antlers.
- Keep 10 000 of our neighbour's sheep from entering our property in search of food and cleaning us out in the winter.
Stags which jump our fence have a life expectancy of just a few days! 99% of trophy hunting in NZ is therefore behind wire, but you should have no concern about that because the area is so vast.
We at Kanuka Wilderness are members of the NZ Association of Game Estates. Our association has in place a rigid audit process which covers all aspects of the hunt, for example property size, cover, fair chase environment, quality of trophies, guide skills, taxidermy preparation, animal welfare, disease surveillance, hunter satisfaction.
There is a high cost associated with compliance of the scheme. Kanuka Wilderness is one of only nine operations in New Zealand which have passed the audit.
Touring
The main tourist attractions in New Zealand are Rotorua and Taupo in the North Island and Queenstown region in the South Island.
There are always a lot of people at those places but they are worth seeing. See the following websites for regions within two hours of Kanuka Wilderness:
http://www.manawatunz.co.nz/
http://www.tararua.com/
http://nz.com/travel/wairarapa/
http://www.rangitikei.com/
http://www.hawkesbaynz.com/
The river rafting on the Rangitikei river is spectacular. Bungy also! http://www.gravitycanyon.co.nz
The small town of Pahiatua is just a half hour away and the city of Palmerston North is one hour away. |
Kanuka
Wilderness
Phone:
+ 64 6 376 7035
Fax: + 64 6 376 7044
Postal: PO Box 8, Pahiatua,
New Zealand.
Physical Location: North Island, 50km East of Palmerston North
A member of the
New Zealand Professional Hunting Guides Association
From Harry Larson, Concord CA
"I've been to Kanuka twice. Both were
good hunting trips with several trophies and
an excellent guide.
"The weather was mild
and we probably walked 2-4 miles a day. The accommodations were
good and the cost very reasonable.
"My wife Vicki enjoyed
the trip, as she had the opportunity to shop and travel around sight-seeing.
"Auckland and Wellington
were beautiful and cheap.
"The people we met
are friendly and honest and treated us like we were members of the
family. We plan to go back soon."
Bow hunter Paul Felski and red stag
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