My
experience hunting with Doctari Safaris ( by Dave
Wildasin )
I knew I would someday go on the hunt and then in December while
visiting my in laws in Australia I made a last minute decision. I was
going to e-mail for details and see if there were any hunting spots
available. I received an e-mail back that day confirming the price and
dates and started booking flights with great excitement.
I arrived in New Zealand, spent a day getting acclimated and was picked
up the next morning. When I arrived at the property I was still a bit
skeptical. I was mostly after turkey and in my USA hunting experience
you were lucky to get one big tom in a season. The website showed
hunters with three, four even five turkeys. Was it too good to be true,
was I good enough to get close enough to the turkeys, was I too
late in the season for prime hunting. All of these questions raced
through my head as we pulled up to the homestead.
I was greeted by Steve and his family. Steve gave me all the gear I
would need: Shotgun, Rifle, ammo, cammo, even boots and hats. He was
even kind enough to let me use their four wheel drive to get around the
large property. I told Steve again that I was mainly interested in
turkeys and he said that I would definitely get one if I scouted them
and hunted more aggressively than I was used to hunting in the
USA.
That afternoon I got geared up and headed off. I wasn't walking for
more than 20 minutes and I spotted a flock of turkeys 80 yards away. I
ducked down and knew they saw me. I watched them trot off into the bush
and had a sinking feeling that I had already missed my first
opportunity.
After sitting completely still for twenty
minutes I remembered what Steve said, Hunt more aggressively. So I back
tracked and made a large circle around where I had last saw the flock.
Sure enough I got in front of them waited them out and got not one but
two toms after only three hours of hunting. I was excited, this was
already the hunt of a lifetime and I hadn't even started my first full
day of a five day hunt.
Over the next two days I bagged
four more toms and two bearded hens, one with a double beard. I had my
trophies and an experience that I would never forget. I told Steve that
I had accomplished what I had come for and wanted to try for a boar.
That evening Steve and another one of his guides, Alistair took me up
the mountain range in search of pigs. They scoped out the hillsides and
valleys and picked a spot. As we approached the valley Steve said that
he heard something we all froze and ducked down, and there on the other
side of the valley was a group of pigs. We readied the gun and chose
the biggest one. I shot him and we watched him drop, you got him, you
got him they said excitedly. I think Steve and Alistair were as excited
as I was. This really made my experience to see how much fun these guys
had guiding the hunt. We approached the downed Boar to find it was
bigger than we thought. My first wild boar weighed 160lbs. Now came the
fun part, I didn't think about how we were going top get the large pig
back to the ute. Steve told me that its tradition to carry out what you
shoot. So on my back the large animal went. I thought I was going to
die carrying it down the narrow track but thankfully my trusted guides
took over the duties about half way out. I think they were tired of
seeing me struggle at the pace of a half dead turtle. We may still be
there today if I had to carry the pig the entire way. That night we had
a few drinks at the homestead and shared hunting stories like old
friends. These guys really made me feel like I was back at the old
hunting cabin in the USA with my closest friends.
During my stay I saw red stags, many more turkeys, fallow deer, rabbits
and as many hares as you could shoot at. This was everything I had
hoped it would be and more. I would highly recommend Doctari safaris to
any hunter looking for beautiful scenery and plenty of game. The
weapons and ammunition was top notch and Steve's guiding skills were
incredible. I hope to be back in Ranfurly at Doctari Safaris hunting
again soon.
PS. Steve I didn't mention the one missed shot, dont want the boys at
home to know that........Shhhhhhh...
