July 11-23, North and South Island Hunt with Kuranui Hunting Lodge.
My wife, Andrea and I started for New Zealand on Saturday, July 11 after years of delay and planning. We were grateful that the covid-19 pre-testing requirements were lifted by New Zealand and United States. We booked a skycouch on Air New Zealand which was difficult for two people to negotiate so we shaped out time lying down.
We arrived on Monday morning but our connecting flight was canceled so we got a shuttle to Rotorua on the North Island. We were met at the gate by the owner/guide for a short ride to the lodge. When we got to the big valley it was full of fallow Deer and one very nice Rusa bull that stood broadside at 50 yards for a long look. This was the last time we would get this close to a big Rusa.
Day 1 Afternoon Hunt- We started by double checking the 308 Sako at the range. Guide asked if I wanted to take a little walk. I knew there was no such thing as a little walk at Kuranui. My wife decided to accompany us on the walk. It was a steep climb up and down the trail to the valley. About 30 mintues down the trail the rain began. It would rain off and on for the rest of the day. When we arrived at the valley there were 14 fallow and a couple rusa does. We found a huge tree to retreat from the rain. We sat several hours with no bulls. We returned to the lodge soaked, cold, weavy from travel, and hungry. We were told by our host at dinner that they were retiring and had sold their hunting estate. Looking forward to tomorrow's hunt.
Day 2 Morning Hunt- Ater a coffee by the fire the guide and I returned to sit under the same trees, more fallow and rusa does, intermittent rain with an occasional heavy downpour, rusa disappeared when raining, so we returned for nice lunch at the lodge.
Day 2 Afternoon Hunt- Because of the heavy intermittent showers we took the 4 wheeler on the main road in case we needed a quick retreat for shelter.. While riding on the road we saw a nice bull in the valley. We stopped the 4 wheeler to get a better look. We watched the bull for a few minutes before the does broke for dense cover. I had decided to take the bull just before he bolted from the opening. I instinctively shot the bull between the front shoulders as he ran up the well worn trail. He came crashing down the hill, one shot to the spine, a representative animal, off to the shed to skin, cold and wet. We had a great venison loin before retreating to my warm bed.
Day 3 Morning Hunt- I decided to go for a bigger rusa. We are going to try a different trail behind the lodge. I have painful memories of this trail from a few years ago. I could barely get out of bed the next day. So, we headed for the thick cover of the steep mountain to look for a big bull. We finally reached the open hillside but there were no rusa. We sat, watching the hillside for a few minutes and enjoyed the short break from the rain. Suddenly from nowhere a rusa doe appeared below us at about at 75 yards. She stayed for a long time before retreating to the dense cover. A few minutes later, a good bull came out on the same trail but not an upgrade. I had to pass on the bull but I enjoyed watching him.
Day 3 Afternoon Hunt- The day started off with a heavy downpour so we took the 4 wheeler again so we did not get stuck in the rain. We spotted 3 rusa bulls on mountain but they were quickly gone. Suddenly we were in the heavy downpour.
We sat under a couple trees to stay dry but we got soaked.
The ladies returned from shopping. We decided to walk the upper trail to top of mountain where we had spotted the 3 bulls earlier. When we got to the top we saw a nice bull standing in a clearing but he disappeared. The guide spotted 2 more bulls at 300+ yards bedded in the moutain. I could not get steady on the sticks because of the angle so I found a good prone shooting position. We talked about the shot and decided to take the bull. I shot low in chest, unsure of shot, we waited an hour. We knew where the bull went after the shot, bedding down about 20 yards, out of our sight. We saw the second bull final leave, unknown how badly he was injured, curious about why he only went 20 yards, we assumed he was badly wounded, so we quietly walked up mountain watching for movement. We jumped the bull in some really thick cover but we could not get a shot. The terrain was dangerously steep and muddy but there was no blood trail. We tracked the bull. We caught up to the bull quickly but the first shot missed the bull. We continued to slowly track the bull. The quick second shot went high in back and the third shot was also high in back because the bull was lower on mountainside. The shot broke the spine so I took a close heart shot. The large rusa expired in a bad, slick, muddy slope. We had to let the bull down on ropes. I fell down several times before reaching the bottom. We headed back to shed in a downpour. We had a celebration meal before heading off to see the Good Shepherd chapel in Tekapo.
I don't have a picture of the second rusa yet.
Continued in next post.
