Beautiful country, looks like a great time. I didn't know they had turkeys in NZ.

 

Are those marriam’s turkeys? They sure look like it with the tail feather coloring
And congratulations on a dream hunt

 

Are those marriam’s turkeys? They sure look like it with the tail feather coloring
And congratulations on a dream hunt

Yes sir, Merriam's turkeys. Depending on what story you want to believe, they were either brought by very early explorers to the islands, or transplanted in the 1800s, with no cross-bteeding from other turkey sub-species. Interestingly enough, the gobblers were slightly different from Merriam's I'd shot in western USA, the breasts were smaller, some had long beards, others had stubby beards, and spurs were small or non-existent, but all were full-fanned toms, all weighed at least 20 lbs. Biologists there think they don't have the same diet our birds do (less bugs/protein). Also, ALL birds, hens & toms, had bright red heads, you had to take your time & pick out full-fan birds.

 

Awesome! Congrats on a very successful trip/adventure. Thanks for sharing!

 

That be a REALLY long flight! and their winter.
What are you having shipped home?

 

It was early spring there. They behaved like typical Merriam's I'd hunted before here in the USA, where they'd answer calls, but dragging toms away from their hens was tough, and you really had to figure out how to get in front of them to get a shot, or catch them heading to travel zones, or coming back & forth from the roost. The gobbler groups were always within eyesight of the hens, and like Merriam's here, they rely a lot more on vision than hearing. They have no natural predators, so they often roost on fence posts or even boulders! This is a picture of a roost post, the turds were as high as my knee. The locals view them as pests rather than game birds, so very little little hunting pressure, but still a very healthy fear of humans.

I had to get a little creative with packing, but I was able to get all of the meat & trophy parts (feet & tail fans) home in my luggage. I brought a cooler as my carry-on bag, & the outfitter had all the meat frozen & vacuum sealed for the trip home; I was a few lbs. over the 50 lb. checked baggage limit, but they let me slide without charging extra. I had to clear customs in Houston, but the outfitter had all the paperwork in order, so it wasn't a major hassle. The one negative to the trip WAS the flight, 4 hours from Baltimore to Houston, 15 hours from Houston to Auckland, & 2 more hours from Auckland to Queenstown, but I will say the plane to Auckland was about as roomy as any economy flight could possibly be (& had free movie & WIFI hookup). If I ever do this again I'd probably bring the Mrs. & add in another week or sightseeing, it really is a beautiful, clean country, the people speak English & seemed friendly toward Americans, at least all the ones I encountered there.

 

That hunt is on my bucket list as well. Gonna have to wait until the kids are older though.

 

That’s awesome. Beautiful country.I have a buddy that has talked about going there for years for them. Congrats!

 

Pretty cool hunt Uncle. Looks like a lot of action in four days!!!

 

Passed thru Auckland airport a couple times but no farther. What was the animal in the above pics? I see tahr, chamois, stag, fallow, and sika in the office pic.

 

The deer I shot was a fallow doe; there were quite a few fallow on one of the ranches, but they are hyper-spooky. We had to use the terrain & rocks (& wind direction) to move on them, it took close to 2 hours, but somehow we were able to get within 70 yards before they realized something wasn't right & got up on their feet. A chip shot with the rifle they lent me.

 

New Zealand is a beautiful place and some of the friendliest people I have ever met.

 

Congrats Nick! Looks like a fantastic trip!!

 

Congrats Unk on a great hunt and thanks for sharing your story and pics!