Public Land vs Private Land

Both our private and public land hunting areas are free-range. Real Kiwi Hunting defines free-range as an animal born in the wild with no human interference or limitations. Our private land areas are all low fence and animals are free to come and go between private and public land as they please.

In contrast to North America, New Zealand does not have government-imposed hunting seasons for big game. Consequently, public land has excessive hunting pressure from both recreational and commercial hunting. There are no regulations, no tags, no hunting seasons and no draw units – it’s essentially a free for all when it comes to hunting public land in New Zealand with the exception of certain ballot blocks for tahr and elk/wapiti. This has inevitably had a significant impact on herd densities and trophy quality. Mature animals are habitually in challenging terrain and harder to find. Unlike private land, public land does not offer an easy alternative – you must be reasonably fit (unless heli-hunting). Similar to North America, hunting public land in New Zealand is considered to be more challenging. We do not necessarily agree with this statement. Certain terrain on our private land hunting areas are equally as challenging. However, we tailor the hunt to suit your abilities and our well-tracked 4WD access allows for easier hunting if required.

Public land wilderness hunts are conducted daily from a spike camp or canvas wall tent base camp and taken place on foot in spot and stalk style. Getting to your hunting destination will require a helicopter flight or backcountry 4WD. All meals are pre-cooked and packaged homestyle meals or backcountry style dehydrated meals for easy preparation in camp.

So why hunt public land? Public land is for the adventure hunter! The scenery is breathtaking and harvesting a free-range mature trophy class animal is incredibly rewarding. Camping under the stars in one of our canvas wall tents or spike camping nestled in amongst the mountains is an unforgettable experience. While we cannot necessarily guarantee the same trophy quality on public land, our skilled guides will always hunt for the best trophy class animal available.

We have established superior free-range trophy quality animals on our private land hunting areas through comprehensive management of trophy class animals and herd densities. This ongoing management is essential in preserving world-class trophy animals for our hunters. Having exclusive access to multiple private hunting areas means there is less pressure on the game we hunt. It also allows us to change properties according to weather conditions and/or hunter abilities. Private land offers a game rich environment, comfortable accommodation options, homestyle cooked meals, well-tracked 4WD access, spectacular backcountry locations and first-class trophy quality.

Private land hunts are conducted daily from base camp. Your guide will drive a short distance with you from your accommodation to your hunting location and hunts are taken place on foot in spot and stalk style from there. Private land has several accommodation options – from a lodge to a holiday home, cabin, canvas wall tent or spike camp. We highly recommend hunting private land if you’re targeting a mature free-range trophy class animal.